Here we are again boys and girls. Back to yet another continuation for this story. So far this is the most fast-paced story that I've got so far, and I aim to keep it that way. I am going to try out a different style of writing for a bit here, nothing too insanely different from how I usually write, but if you squint you will be able to see a hint of difference. If I don't like it, I'll probably swap back to normal automatically. You'll probably notice that too.

Beta: CrowSkull

Destiny Fated Black

Chapter 19

Two words- No, four. Fuck the Ace Ops…

Four days. Just four days is how long it took for Ironwoods Ace Ops to make it from Atlas all the way to Vale in one simple long trip via the fastest Bullhead that Atlas had on stock. It caught Ozpin off guard, at best, he expected it to take a week or perhaps more. But thankfully, this was one of those surprises that made him smile as he heard the news of said surprise. Before him stood General Ironwood, and the best squad of huntsman in Atlas at his side. Clover Ebi was a man with a semblance of good fortune, the complete opposite of Qrow one might say if they compared the two. Tall, built, disciplined. Reported as a great soldier and Huntsman, and also the leader of the Ace Ops who answers only to General Ironwood himself, Winter Schnee, or the council of Atlas. Beside him were his soldiers — not teammates, as they were quick to disclose — Marrow Amin, a dog faunus with dark skin and pale blue-green hair. His semblance was to temporarily slow downtime in a fixed area or person. Next was Harriet Bree, a woman with a speed semblance similar to Miss Rose's before she, unfortunately, had it stolen. The last two being a man and a woman respectively were named Elm Ederne and Vine Zeki. The former's semblance being to root herself in place with aura and tank almost any head-on attack, or it could be used to keep her balance, and the latter's being to send out his aura through his arms (or legs) like… 'Vines'. Whoever named that one either had a cruel sense of humor or could see the future.

It was said that they've never failed a mission before. Quite lethal in battle and had amazing teamwork. Perfect, the old headmaster thought. He wondered why he never brought himself to meet the squad on his own terms, they would make for a great decision into his circle. He may just find use for them after the deed is done, since Ironwood was… to put it kindly, right under his thumb. The Ace Ops might just find themselves with a new employer.

"It is great to meet you all at last," Ozpin began, his voice authoritative yet polite. "Although I wish we could have met in different circumstances, there is a duty to be done. So, Clover Ebi, you are the leader of the Ace Ops correct?"

"I am." The brown-haired man nodded his head. "General Ironwood filled us in on the mission we have come here to do."

"Yes; Operation White he called it." Ozpin rolled his eyes internally at the name, the meaning of white was very clear when it came to what they are up against. "Tell me what you know about your target."

"Sir," Clover saluted, shifted his stance so that he stood sideways to the headmaster and then uttered out a single command to his soldiers. "Soldiers, recite your briefing."

Marrow was the first to step up. "The targets name is Marcus Black. He has white hair, pale skin, black eyes, and has been seen wearing a red and black shirt with no sleeves, brown pants and black boots."

Up next was the woman with hot pink eyes, Harriet. "He is enlisted as hyper lethal, we are all ordered to not do combat against him one on one, always in at least a pair."

The towering tall woman was next, Elm. "Also, he uses short blades such as knives or small swords along with a state of the art Atlesian Handcannon, which shoots .50 caliber dust rounds that have the potential to penetrate aura if shot at the right spot."

And last but certainly not least, the man with the markings on his forehead. Vine. "He is known to have huntsman training from the best school on Remnant, Beacon. And is also a trained assassin with hundreds of confirmed kills of both other huntsman, and his targets. His semblance has no designated name, but we have given it the callsign STEAL. From what scarce victims that have survived encounters with him, we know that under no circumstances shall we ever allow skin to skin contact with that man, lest we give him our semblance."

"I have issued them to all have full-body skin-tight battle armour by the time the hunt begins," Ironwood announced. "If by chance that the armour is pierced through or broken, it has also been fitted with the option to self-destruct."

Ozpin raised his eyebrows with shock. "Why?"

"Sir," Clover faced him and saluted once more. "All of our semblances are powerful in their own right, if the target managed to somehow get through the armour and steal one of our semblances, it would not only render one of our combatants incapacitated but also stands to empower the target even further."

"And you know this how?" Ozpin inquired. To his shame, he himself didn't know how exactly his former student's semblance worked. As far as he knew, he could shut semblances down and that's that.

"After reviewing footage from the battle on the docks some weeks ago," Ironwood pulled up the same video he was describing. "It was noted that when the target caught Ruby Rose, an esteemed huntress here at Beacon, while stealing her semblance not only her semblance glowed, but his as well. It is a hypothesis that Marcus Black can not only steal semblances but aura as well. We cannot risk Marcus Black returning to full strength after bringing him so low. Not and risk losing the entire Ace Ops itself."

Finally, the council of Vale, who were sitting silent throughout the entire conversation up until this moment finally spoke up. "So, you believe that even with the full might of your… 'Ace Ops', they might not be enough?"

"Rest assured Councilman Albert, Marcus Black stands no hope of fighting us all at once. Even in pairs I doubt he'd be able to. But if there is even a chance that he defeats one of us and takes their semblance, we can't risk failing the entire operation."

"Obviously you know that self-destructing would cost you your own life. Are you willing to take such drastic measures?" Councilwoman West inquired.

Clover and the rest of his Ace Ops, along with General Ironwood, all stared back at the woman's face with the utmost determination and truth.

"Yes." They all answered at the same time.

"Good." The same councilwoman said with a pleased smirk. Such were the way things really worked with the government of Remnant. At any means necessary, Marcus Black has committed crimes against all kingdoms of Remnant, and after coming to a deal with

Ironwood, Vale would get the credit for the termination of Marcus Black. He was a known assassin and a man of true evil. The world would rejoice and Vale would be the one to thank for the ridding of such a person. It was a sacrifice for the General to make, but he had to put aside petty squabbles to empower one's name for the purpose of doing what was right, and what was right was making sure that there would never be another Blake Belladonna out there. He never wants to be present for the funeral of a seventeen-year-old huntress in training again, and especially not one of his own.

"You then hereby have our permission to pursue and hunt down Marcus Black, as long as the terms we have come to remain…"

"I will not go back on my word, council members." Ironwood bowed his head submissively.

The council winked out of the screen a few moments later, having gotten what they already wanted there was no reason for them to remain present on the screen. As soon as they were gone every member of the Ace Ops relaxed their stances. Some even hunched over or stretched their arms over their heads and yawned. Ozpin looked at the scene and chuckled to himself, it was the same way he felt every time he had to speak to any of the other council members. Sometimes he wishes that he never had to converse with them and that being the headmaster of Beacon didn't mean that he had to have a seat on the council. It was all very obnoxious, but nothing he couldn't handle.

"When will you all be making your move?" Ozpin asked Clover.

"As soon as possible," The man replied much more crassly than before, he crossed his arms and adopted a smug smirk. "It's about time we were sent after that fucker. I've had enough of watching the news about seeing someone new being killed by that guy."

"For a guy who's supposed to be a master assassin, he's unusually famous." Harriet snorted. "Aren't master assassins supposed to be the incognito of incognito?"

"Most of them are," Vine said, his palms were pressed against each other, almost like he was praying as he spoke. His voice was calm and pure. "I've heard of their organization, simply called 'the organization'. I never encountered one before, so this will surely be a valuable learning experience for us all."

"Not all of them are sent after council members or Schnee's," Marrow huffed. "I have a feeling that there was a reason this specific guy was sent after each and every one of the hot important targets around the world. I mean, didn't he go after and kill the last headmaster of Shade?"

"Awe, is the poor puppy scared of the big bad assassin?" Elm teased the short man, which earned a nice 'fuck you' as the instantaneous reply. "I for one can't wait to crush this man into the dirt! I haven't had a good fight in so long!"

"Don't treat this guy like any other fight," Clover piped in, and instantly the Ace Ops were all silenced and listened to their commander. "If you let your guard down for even a second, he will kill you. Make no mistake of that, understand?"

"Yes, sir." His soldiers replied.

"Good," Clover smiled and nodded his head with approval.

"They are very disciplined," Ozpin remarked to Ironwood. "They make good soldiers."

"They are," Ironwood confirmed. "With their might and intelligence, Marcus Black will be rooted out and destroyed. Of that, I promise you."

"Make no promises," Ozpin suddenly barked, Ironwood stepped back with surprise on his face. Ozpin never used that tone with him before. "I will not allow promises because you never know what kind of things that man has at his disposal. Why I have good suspicion who he is contracted to at the moment… I am sure with some thought, you shall know the same."

Ironwood swallowed and understood what Ozpin met. The last part was said in a whisper, and Clover and the Ace Ops knew better than to be nosy about something that they weren't allowed to know just yet.

"Go on then, do your duty," Ozpin demanded next, turning around and facing the windows of his office once more. "Make your presence as scarce as possible, Ace Ops. I expect a check-in every few minutes once the mission starts. And if at any moment you believe that Marcus Black will somehow win or take one of you down, self-destruct or full retreat. There is no shame in preventing needless death or committing yourselves to a crushing defeat."

"Understood, sir." Clover accepted without any hesitation.

Ozpin watched in the reflection of the window before him as all of the Ace Ops went back into the elevator and descended back down into their private quarters. Presumably to begin gearing up and preparing themselves for what's to come. Good, they would need every second of preparation they needed. The headmaster knew that Marcus was good, maybe even good enough to take him on in single combat and have a chance at winning. But no amount of skill would be enough to defeat the entire Ace Op's by himself. Or so he told himself. Anything was possible, and they were on a string of defeats as it is.

"How is the maiden?" Ironwood asked once they were alone.

"Alive," Ozpin said.

"Have you found a candidate to take her power?" The General then asked in a lower voice.

"Multiple in fact, but the primary choice at the moment is Pyrrha Nikos. I am sure you have heard of her."

"I have, and I believe that she will make for a wonderful maiden. Have you brought it up to her yet?"

"Not yet. I've been… preoccupied as of late as I am sure you can imagine. I don't know when next he'll strike, where, how, and if he will at all." Ozpin sighed dramatically. "He was in Beacon, James. He was in Beacon the night of the dance, and likely before that as well. He was right under my nose and yet I missed him. Because of my mistake, Blake Belladonna is dead."

"You couldn't have known… Ozpin." Ironwood tried to console his old friend.

"I should have…" Ozpin closed his eyes. He mourned the death of his student, along with many others. "I should have… but I won't let it control me, I must let the mistake help me grow." He had to, living as long as he did if he meddled with his mistakes in his mind every single time he made one he would have gone mad, and in some cases, had gone mad.

"I am glad to hear it," Ironwood said with a sad smile. "As for Miss Nikos, when shall we give her the choice?"

"Soon, my friend," Ozpin said calmly. "Right now, Team JNPR has been logged for a training mission. I almost had a mind to cancel all of the training missions for student safety, but a certain member of Team RYS saw fit to inform me of something that their late teammate found and left behind for them. Information on the White Fang's potential whereabouts, and you would never guess where…"

"The same place my drones were mysteriously shot down," Ironwood pieced it together and figured out what the headmaster meant. "Mountain Glenn."

"Indeed. Along with Qrow and Specialist Schnee, they will go on a search of destroy mission." Ozpin looked to Ironwood. "Make sure that your Ace Ops will be ready if the time comes."

"I will," Ironwood assured. "Shall I let them know now?"

"Please do." Ozpin sipped at his mug and continued staring out as the sunset before him. Ironwood knew that it was time to take his leave, and did so with little thought as he realized that Ozpin wasn't going to continue speaking. After giving his goodbyes, Ironwood turned and entered the elevator, descending down to likely tell the Ace Ops of Ozpin's decision. In the meantime, the old headmaster let himself lose his posture and he let his head slump against the glass, staring into his own brown eyes as his glasses fell off his nose.

Again, he let a huntress become a victim of the assassin Marcus Black. First, it was Summer, who was so adamant and determined to turn Marcus back to the light that even he began to believe that there was still hope for him yet. Only to be told by a crying Qrow and Taiyang that she'd been killed. A pierce wound through the heart, ending her life quickly. He was there when she was buried, and to the request of her family, her funeral was not held public. Not even that long ago that month, another huntress fell to his hand, this time a young girl. There weren't a lot of things that made him… Ozma… actually feel something. But he felt an intense sadness and anger at the sight of Marcus Black standing over Blake's body. Even his magic returned to him, and he was ready to kill the man right then and there, only to let him getaway.

Salem got to him, and that made it all the worse. Because of his mistakes, he lost cuntless huntsman and huntresses and now Salem has control over him, the dangerous man that he was.

He should have never allowed Summer to convince him not to send huntsman after him after the letter that was left behind. He was an assassin, trained not to feel but to kill, and just that. There was no conversing, no negotiating, with a thing like that. It needed to be eliminated as a threat once and for all. If he wasn't the damn headmaster, he'd go after the man himself and rectify his mistake.

But he could do nothing, at least not yet. Though a small part of him hoped that the Ace Ops failed so that he had a reason to go after the man personally, he couldn't. Beacon needed him. Emotions couldn't impede his direction. Logic is the true path to take here, for the good of everyone.

"No more," He told himself, the world, the Gods, and the man who would soon be dead. "No more mistakes. I don't know how many more I will be able to force myself to forget."

Emerald swore as she darted down the hall in order to avoid the people who had just left the elevator, the Ace Ops, they really came. She sprinted to the stairs and jumped down each step and made it to the bottom within two short minutes. She was slick with sweat and cursed heavily as she assured herself that she was in the clear, and started walking calmly as to put on a show that she was simply running for exercise instead of sprinting for potentially her life to the people around her to look at her strangely. They ultimately didn't think any of it, and Emerald grabbed her scroll and typed in a number she memorized quickly.

"Report," Cinder's voice demanded.

"Ironwood and his Ace Ops are here," Emerald said after a heave. "The bug from the virus Marcus planted got to Ozpin's computer, I just needed to get closer to the room for it to actually work."

"And what did you hear?"

"They're sending the Ace Ops after Marcus, they want to kill him. Any means necessary," Emerald smiled, proud of herself for being able to be of use to Cinder. "Even going as far as to wear full-body suits that self-destruct if he became able to steal their semblances. It's crazy how far that little lie went, they are pinning everything that we did on him."

"Amusing as it may be, do not let that fact make you complacent. Such can change very quickly if either of us are caught in a lie, and nowadays people are dying like flies…"

"Yes mam," Emerald swallowed nervously, taking the woman's advice immediately. "I'll tell Marcus about it after I am done talking to you, he's on his way to Mount Glenn and it would be bad if he was ambushed-"

"Emerald," With just her name being uttered, Emerald clicked her mouth shut and stared submissively into Cinder's yellow-orange eyes. "Marcus will be completely fine on his own I'm sure, even if his guard is down at the time of an ambush. As long as completes his mission, Ozpin, Ironwood, and their Ace Op's are welcome to go ahead and capture him for all I care."

Emerald found herself confused, surprised even. Cinder was the greatest supporter of Marcus. The best defender. She even specifically sought him out while she was just someone she picked up along the way because of her semblance. So much trouble she went through just for him, and all their flirting and battles of wits was enough to make her barf at time. Yet so suddenly, she was turning her back on him? After everything he's done for them? Marcus was not a friend of hers and he actually annoyed her quite a lot, but even then she found herself to at least put a good word in for him. As annoying as he was, he did save her life and even gave her a free ticket into Beacon much earlier than any of them expected.

"Why?" She asked after gathering up the courage to question Cinder.

Cinder stared back, unamused. "Questioning me Emerald? I shall let it go this one time, and only because I can understand any confusion." Emerald breathed a sigh of relief. "Tell me, do you think that even for a moment Marcus Black wouldn't stab us in the back if it meant gaining his freedom?"

Emerald opened her mouth yet nothing came out, she knew the answer.

"He would. That is everything he ever wants. Freedom. And with us and under out Queen, he will now never truly be free, and he knows that. Which means just one thing, he will eventually turn on us. Either years from now or even this very hour. I tried so very hard, oh I did…" Cinder managed to actually hold some genuine guilt in her voice as she said that. "But I cannot simply hold faith that he will be the man I want him to be. A shame, he and I would have made for a great pair."

"So… do we have to kill him or…"

"Hah!" Cinder barked with laughter. "If I ever order you to try and kill that man I may as well be killing you myself. No Emerald, he is not to be killed. If he decides to keep working for us than I shall see that his service does not come to a conclusion. As long as we need him, I will go out of my way to ensure his service continues. But after that… well, that would be his choice to make."

"I understand…" Emerald said as she bit her lower lip. She took no sides in this one, she thought it was a little unfair, and whatever happened she would take Cinder's side in the end because of everything she did for her, but it was hard not to look at Marcu's situation and not feel even a little bad for him. He really would never get his freedom. If it was possible before, it wasn't now.

"I am happy to hear that," Cinder smiled at her through the scroll. "Now go, I hear that the newly named Team RYS are in desperate need of friendship, and their closest sister team are on their way to a mission. Do make sure that you attain their trust, that is your top priority as of now."

"Yes, mam." Emerald nodded her head submissively, as a dog would its master.

She sighed when Cinder hung the phone up on her as she always did when a conversation of theirs came to an end. It was strange, even she had to admit it. Cinder wasn't the typical woman, that much was clear after a single conversation with her, but this was a new reach for her that not even Emerald knew about. She could have sworn there was a kind of sick interest that Cinder had for Marcus, that she wanted him in more ways than what she was willing to think about in her mind. Only for Cinder to up and go admitting to her that she would drop him at the drop of a hat, even after he saved her life once before against the previous fall maiden. If it weren't for him, a lot of things that they achieved would have taken much longer. She had to feel like she owed him, at least for a time.

Not long enough it seemed. Emerald hesitated as she scrolled down the list and found Marcus' contact information. Growing up on the streets, it was a known rule to pay back the favors you owe, and to collect on those favors as well. She owed Marcus a favour after saving her life against that weird assassin Cobi, and again for getting her into Beacon so quickly. A favor, her troubled mind told her.

With a quick sigh through her nose, she managed to find a way to play both sides.

"Marcus, be wary of the ace card and make sure you continue to impress…"

Favor delivered, it was up to him now to actually understand her hint once it reached him via scroll.

Her eyes narrowed as she got her response.

"?"

Men were so stupid, she swore.

Mount Glenn… It was still as destroyed as the last time he saw it. It took a few hours to get here and they arrived a few days ago, but he and Roman made the mutual decision to stay above ground for as long as possible. Unfortunately, they couldn't stay up there forever. The White Fang's work apparently needed to be done underground in the very tunnels that changed both men. In their eyes, for the good. In the eyes of the world, to true evil. In those tunnels, Marcus lost the only family he ever truly had. His brother Maddox, a boy who was too good to become an assassin. And their other teammate, whose name Marcus has committed himself to forget over the years, was torn apart by Grimm right in front of them. She was unconscious at the time, but no one really knew if one could feel while they were unconscious. They both died a terrible fate, and even though the tunnels of Glenn were supposed to be defended for the civilians to escape, the council gave authorization to bomb the entire tunnel.

Marcus stood where he once stood two decades ago. The skeletons and remains of the bodies that were left behind after the tunnels collapsed were still there, which of course included his brother and lost teammate. It wasn't a coincidence that he and Roman found themselves returning to the scene of their changing, they sought it out after all. The remembered the tunnels, the scenery, the signs, and the places were every claw scratch mark was carved into the concrete walls.

He remembered Roman pulling him away from the battle even as their teammates were slaughtered. The explosion happened right under his legs, so he lost them the very moment the tunnels were collapsed. His brother was less fortunate, getting his entire lower body trapped under rubble while their last teammate was knocked out from the blast and shattered her aura. Not even their other comrades, STRQ, and all the other noteworthy teams of huntsman of that era were able to help them. They were too busy trying to retreat and get away from the horrors of the world that decided to rain chaos, literally, right on top of their heads.

"This is where I became the mastermind criminal." Roman sniggered as he looked into the massive pile of rubble ahead of them. "Where I saved your ass from ending up like the rest of our team."

"Hm…" Marcus hummed, too engulfed in the nostalgic scene before him to properly register his words.

"Does this mean I'm also to thank for your master assassin status?" Roman asked with a snort. "Do I get a cut of your rewards then? I'm pretty sure you owe me what… a few thousand lien? More?"

"That's not how it works," Marcus replied. "But… thank you, for saving me back then."

Roman widened his eyes for a moment but calmed down just as quickly. He let out a quiet huff and shook his head. Marcus never thanked him for anything, even back in the days where they were both huntsman. To hear it now… well, he hadn't felt true happiness in a long time. Which only meant one thing. "Is this going to be where the other half of Team Mobster dies?"

Marcus didn't answer, not at first. His eyes looked at them through the corner of them, and while his hands were in his pockets, Roman knew that look.

"Depends," Marcus said honestly, then gestured a thumb behind himself in a general direction. "You've been having Neo tailing us ever since we left that train. Is this where you start your little rebellion against Cinder?"

"Hah!" Roman barked with laughter, making Marcus narrow his eyes even further. "Neo's not here to ambush you, and honestly I don't know if we could even beat you together and with the element of surprise. I know you, Mark, even if you constantly claim that you are different from before, I know that you knew Neo was there the entire time."

Unsurprisingly, Neo came out of her semblance before them, arms crossed and a neutral expression on her face.

"But, I also know that you wouldn't kill me-" Roman cut himself off as a blade found it's way to his neck in the blink of an eye, his aura stopped the blade from actually cutting his skin, but the message was clear.

"You so sure about that?"

"Eh, it's about 50-50," Roman gasped and waved a hand toward Neo, who stopped herself from attacking. Her own blade was mere inches away from Marcus's neck, but he knew that she wasn't going to go through with it if Roman didn't want her to. "Y' see… a little organization tried to pay me to kill you."

Marcus growled under his breath.

"Believe me so easily? Wow… looks like their even worse employers than Cinder." Roman choked on his words but continued to look smug even in the face of his potential death. "How about that? They want you to kill me, and me to kill you. You think whoever wins gets bonus pay or something."

"They've wanted me dead for a long time," Marcus said as he dragged his knife back, cutting into Roman's aura but not cutting him. "It sounds like something they'd do. Let me guess, I'm taking too long with my little list?"

"Right on the money there," Roman said as he rubbed his neck. "See Neo? Told you we can talk to him."

"Explain. Only chance you're getting."

"Well, for one I know you've had plenty of chances killing me before now." Roman started. "When I took care of you and was sleeping beside you, just before after you skydived from the tower, on the bullhead ride on the way here. Hell… just about every moment where it was just you and me in a room together."

"..."

"Silent all of a sudden? You know I'm right man, I'm sure you can kill me if you really wanted you, and I'm sure you'd be able to get over it quickly. But you know what I say? Fuck. That. Why do you think I sent Neo to hang out with you in that cave so many times? No offense honey, but I wanted to see if you would take the chance to kill her while you had the chance." If anything, Neo looked impressed with Roman. No offense was taken.

"Why take that chance?" Marcus found himself asking.

"Because we have the same goal in mind." Roman continued.

"And that is?"

"Freedom."

"Mm…"

"With you, it's easy." Roman chuckled. "You've been fighting your whole life, killing your whole life, listening to others your whole life. You just want to take it easy and retire, don't you? Well, I think we both know that once our usefulness to dear Cindy runs out, we're as good as dead."

"You maybe," Marcus crossed his arms. "She expressed to me multiple times that she wants me, in more ways than one…"

"And how do you think she managed to snag me up so quickly?" Roman countered. "'Work with me Roman, and you will get everything you ever imagined of.' Bah, bullshit that was. Can't believe I let her wind me up nice and tight around her thumb. Can't believe the same shit got you too."

"I saved her life…" Marcus weakly said in his or her own defense.

"Yeah?" Roman quirked. "You're smarter than me Mark, tell me that you genuinely believe that she wouldn't just toss you away like an empty pack of gum once your taste becomes numb. Like that weird feeling of chewing rubber until you get sick of it and spit it out." The criminal took off his hat, making himself look all the more like his younger self years ago. "If you really do believe in her, I'll let you kill me right here and now. Take my hat and bring it to her. Since she likes you so much she might even believe whatever lies you tell her."

"I…" Marcus didn't. Neo took on a strange expression, almost like she was conflicted herself. She expressed what he felt. Because deep down, he knew that being free at this point wasn't really that possible. He tried that route once, and look how it ended. His wife murdered, his son killed by his own hand. Even if he tried again alone, dyed his hair and give himself a new name. He'd always be hunted, and at this point, it would be by both sides of this stupid war he tried getting away from. Salem and Ozpin would be on his ass the entire time, and both sides would want to kill him.

His inaction was as much answer as Roman needed. He visibly took a deep sigh of relief and returned his hat to his head. Neo skipped up and patted Marcus on the back and winked at Roman before she disappeared with her semblance once again.

"And like that, the seed is planted," Roman said with a nervous chuckle. "I don't expect you to accept it quickly. You were always a slow thinker when it came to anything that isn't fighting. So I'll let you decide. Wanna become like them?" He pointed to the skeletal remains of their dead teammates. "Or do you wanna live for just a little while longer just to spite destiny?"

Marcus' hair covered his eyes as he looked away from the criminal. Returning his weapon to its holster and making it clear that he wasn't going to fight them unless provoked.

"Think about it, because I'm pretty sure time is running out." Roman lit a cigar and smoked it. "See ya' around, and if you decide that you're going to kill me. Make it quick, please. I'd like to think our old friendship is still a thing today."

Marcus continued to stand in that tunnel as his thoughts raced from one thing to another. A choice had to be made, Roman told him something he already knew. He always knew, he just chose to ignore it and see how things went. Between the organization, Salem, and Ozpin, he never really had good choices to make. Never really had any decent options.

That was his destiny, as he imagined Cinder would put it. But how long as that destiny going to remain the same.

And if he even had a choice, could his destiny be changed at this point?

So many questions had been opened to him, and very little answers. Answers he'd have to find himself, and this time they wouldn't be so multiple choice.

Saved the last scene of this chapter for the beginning of the next chapter. I got everything down that I wanted to get down this chapter. But to clear some things up, Team JNPR will be the ones going to Glenn as stated earlier by Ozpin. Instead of Oobleck, Qrow and Winter will be the ones taking them. So you all know what that means! No seriously, you'll have to figure it out yourself. No more hints from me this time. Though I am willing to hear some of the theories you all have to share in the reviews.

Please review let me know what you think!

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