Here we are and here we go!

Beta: CrowSkull

Destiny Fated Black

Chapter 28

Ruby stood awkwardly away from the rest of her team and friends. Yang has been able to get back on her feet without any help recently and Weiss was the first to recover straight after. They trained lightly together, slowly getting back into the shape and in the groove of things. It was nice seeing them get along after Yang gave Weiss a hard time just a few short months ago around the beginning of their first semester at Beacon. Jaune and Ren were there as well, training not far from them. From Team JNPR, they were the first to make a full recovery. Although they looked terrifying close to death earlier, she was assured that it was just because of the blood loss and oils and blood from the Grimm and the train that they crashed in. Nora was conscious but still in bed, recovering from a minor concussion of her own after one of the pieces of debris hit her in the side of the face, and Pyrrha was still out and unconscious from the last time she heard about her. Though that was to be expected, she was the one who fought the most and the hardest. Not to put down her other teammates any, but she was just up against much harder opponents and near-impossible odds against the likes of the Grimm and Marcus Black himself. Honestly, Ruby was just happy that she was alive.

Thinking of the man that had destroyed Team RWBY and now hurt her friends made her frown and face scrunch up in a mix of negative emotions. She hated him. She never thought she'd be capable of hating anyone, but she hated him more than anything in the world. Then there was Cinder and Emerald, the former apparently being the real one behind everything bad happening in Vale and the latter apparently pretended to be her friend and was the direct accomplice of Marcus Black himself. It was a deep betrayal that came suddenly. Thankfully, she wasn't that close to Emerald. She thought they were friends, but distant if anything. It hurt hearing about her being arrested and being a traitor, but in order to be a traitor, she'd need to be on their side in the first place. She was glad that she was gone and locked away forever. There hadn't even been a trial. Marcus got a enough of a confession out of her that was more than enough to warrant it, and it wasn't like any lawyer would risk their jobs trying to defend a girl like her.

But still, Marcus Black helping them? The thought was so… misplaced. Even though it very clearly wasn't. How could the man who was potentially responsible for her mothers death ever do anything to help them?

"Hey," A tanned hand lightly smacked her on the side of the head, snapping her out of it. "Stop that, I was asked to train you not to be a student councilor. Tch." Harriet Bree, one of the best of the best huntresses in all of Atlas spat to the side and did some ballistic stretching with her arms.

Harriet was asked by her uncle Qrow to train her because he was going to be too busy with Ozpin and Ironwood that day apparently. If Ruby wasn't so nervous, depressed, and awkward at the moment she would have been a lot more excited to meet her. She was one of the best huntresses in the world! She should have been excited! But for some reason, that feeling was just so… null, for the lack of a better word she knew. Harriet was there, and while that did make her smile somewhat, it wasn't anything to remember. Besides, she was asked to train her. Because she was too weak and slow without her semblance and needed the extra training. Harriet wasn't doing this out of the goodness of her heart.

"Sorry," She mumbled absentmindedly when Harriet took another step toward her.

Harriet picked up on her dull tone and sighed to herself. Already feeling bad. "Don't be, kid, I've heard about everything you and your team went through. I might not be the best person to talk to, but I can't lie to say that I wouldn't feel anything if I lost any of my teammates. To actually lose one of them though?" She winced after just thinking about the possibility. "You are stronger than most. I might be a little prickly on the surface, so I'm sorry about that, but I wouldn't have accepted your uncles proposal if I didn't at least care."

Ruby's eyes snapped back up and she couldn't help it. Getting praise from one of the best huntresses on Remnant? That was something that was able to bring a smile to her face, however slight it may have been.

"There ya go," Harriet smirked and patted her on the head. "Now, I watched some of the videos that your uncle recorded of you and him training in the past, so I have a vague idea of how you fight. Since you lost your semblance, however, I'm not exactly up to date anymore. So we'll start off with some light sparring so I can see what I am working with here. You down?"

"Yeah, I can do that." Ruby took out Crescent Rose and shifted it into its ready state. "I'm not as fast as I used to be though, so I'm not even as good as those videos you watched."

"We'll see," Harriet said as yellow lightning crackled around her body. Her mechanical weapons shifted down to her arms and she took a stance that implied that she fought in a hand to hand style. Similar to Yang. But Ruby knew better than to draw comparisons between one of the best huntresses out there and a simple huntress in training in her first year at Beacon.

Harriet was the first to attack, but was careful not to overdo her semblance and be too fast for Ruby to keep up with. Ruby blocked her fists with the staff of Crescent Rose, albeit frantically. And made space between the two of them by aiming the barrel at the end of her weapon and opening fire. She lost much of the control when using this tactic along with her semblance, but Uncle Qrow didn't have a speed semblance and he was able to make it look so easy. She relied on that knowledge and kept using it in order to master the technique. Harriet looked surprised but not unpleased when the close and personal range turned into sniper rifle range, and with a smirk, she quickly closed the distance before Ruby could take aim with her sniper.

Ruby widened her eyes with surprise when Harriet suddenly zoomed up to her with speed that rivaled— No, surpassed her own semblance when she still had it. She always knew that there had to be another semblance out there similar to her own, but she didn't think it would be this crazy. Harriet took speed and mobility and control and raised it up to a whole new level and this was her holding back!

She was amazing!

Ruby smiled as she felt her arms burn as they futilely tried to keep up with the huntress, and Harriet smiled when she noticed that Ruby wasn't backing down or giving up despite utterly losing this sparring match. Harriet pulled her punches, but to Ruby's already weakened aura, there were bruises that started to form each time Harriet landed one of her metal fists on her body. However, that didn't mean that Ruby got nothing on her.

Ruby ducked underneath one of her punches and then dove away from the kick that followed immediately after. Harriet chased after her, but found herself being pulled forward without her power doing so. Ruby pulled the trigger of her weapon and the blade of Crescent Rose dug into the aura on her back. Harriet grit her teeth as she felt her aura flare on her back as she was forced forward and then clotheslined.

She didn't flip over herself as dramatically as some people made it seem, but Ruby's forearm crashed against her chest and she fell backward over Crescent Rose's blade and onto the top of her back. She rolled through with the momentum provided to her, and she crossed her arms in an X formation in order to block the boot that would have smashed into her face otherwise. Through her guard, Harriet smiled, and when Ruby tiredly fell to the ground exhausted already, she lowered her guard and huffed.

"You caught me off guard there," Harriet said with a smirk. "Good job punishing me for underestimating you. Imagine if you had your semblance there, you would be giving me a run for my money."

"I… don't think… that's true." Ruby said as she plopped back on her butt in a sitting position. "You were holding back so much."

"You could tell?" Harriet asked, genuinely surprised. It was obvious that she would be holding back against a first-year student, but she thought she at least made it a little convincing.

"Yeah, I know what it's like moving really fast," Ruby explained. "You didn't look like you were using a whole lot of energy, where when I used mine at high speeds I get tired. I think you could go even faster, can't you?"

"I could," Harriet confirmed with a nod. "But this wouldn't really be training if all I did was kick your ass all around the school, not would it?" Ruby laughed along with her at the lighthearted joke. "But when you get your semblance back, we'll really see who's faster than the other."

Ruby blanched and her silver-eyed widened before she closed in on herself, awkward and nervous once again. The topic of her former semblance was still a sore spot for her, and Harriet understood why. She couldn't imagine being as fast a fighter as she is now, and then suddenly losing that speed and part of her aura.

"Listen," Harriet sat cross-legged in front of her. Matching her level. "You're going to have to get used to fighting without your semblance now. I get why you're discouraged, really, I do, but that doesn't mean you can give up."

"I'm not!" Ruby snapped in a quick protest.

"At this rate, you might." Harriet continued. "I didn't say you already did, but you looked like a kicked puppy every time someone mentions the fact that you got your semblance stolen from you." Ruby opened her mouth to protest, but Harriet cut her off the moment her voice began to manifest. "Don't try and deny it, you're fifteen years old. It's just natural to feel bad for yourself at times. But you won't always be stuck like this- Look at me." The huntress grabbed Ruby's chin and forced her to look into her eyes. "You're going to get your semblance back, in the honor of all the Ace Ops, I promise you that. But until that happens, it's going to take an unknown amount of time before you get that semblance back. So you need to master yourself, conquer yourself. Do you understand?"

"I…" Ruby bit her lip and looked away, but Harriet pulled her chin and made her look into her hot pink eyes. Unable to look away, she was forced to think about Harriets words and take them face to face. It made sense given what she has found out about Harriet so far, she seemed like the kind of woman to take her problems head-on and never gives up or takes no for an answer. Always striving to get stronger, and better. Before she lost her semblance, she was the same way. If they'd met while she still had her speed, things may have turned out better between the two, but even without it, Ruby looked up to her with sparkling eyes like she was the greatest huntress in the world. "Yeah, I understand!"

"Good," Harriet helped her up and pushed Crescent Rose back into her arms. "Then take that big ass scythe of yours and swing it at me until you hit me again or until your arms get too tired to even move. For the next few weeks while the festival is amongst us and the Ace Ops are in town, I'll be your trainer. Now, do you think you can handle that squirt?"

Ruby replied by cocking back Crescent Rose, loading a dust round with a hungry look in her eyes.

Harriet smiled, yellow lightning crackled around her eyes and all around her body.

"Good."

She never prided herself in being a great teacher, but if there was one thing she was good at it was dodging Ruby's bullets, tapping her on the forehead, and then letting the girl create distance over and over again for hours until the girl finally worked herself into passing out.

Ozpin tapped a finger on his desk as he looked at the red-headed girl sitting across from him in the seat meant for students who he needed to speak to personally on some matters. Sometimes they were in trouble, other times it was to pass on some bad or good news, and sometimes it was for potential recruitment into his circle. The last was one he hadn't used in quite some time, but it was usually always a good way to gain allies. Get them when they are young and eager, when they are willing to lay their lives down to protect people from the Grimm, that is the best time to find them. It was how he was able to get Team STRQ in his service so easily. Summer Rose was the perfect choice and the rest fell into line once they saw their leader so enthused with the idea of saving the world from the great threat of Salem and her allies.

Here, he didn't feel nearly as calm as he did before. For one, he wasn't alone. Far from it. On either side stood General Ironwood and Winter Schnee, the latter of whom just recently got out of the hospital after the same experimental medical treatment given to Qrow was done on her with fantastic results. Qrow himself was next to her, and next to him was Taiyang and Glynda. On the side of Ironwood was the entirety of the Ace Ops save for Harriet Bree. Though he was sure that she was going to get briefed as soon as humanly possible so she wasn't too far behind in the loop of things.

"Miss Nikos," Ozpin spoke softly. "I am sorry to pull you out of the hospital as soon as you woke up, you must be confused. But I assure you, I wouldn't have done this without good reason."

"I know," Pyrrha nodded her head tiredly. A mere hour ago she was still in a coma, and shortly after waking up she was given a dust drug to give her an adrenaline boost and wake her up. "Mister Clover made sure to explain to me that this was important. Though I have to ask, how are the rest of my teammates?"

"Mister Arc and Mister Ren are awake and getting back in shape," To prove it to her, Ozpin flicked a switch and his computer turned around to show Pyrrha a live recording of her two male teammates sitting next to each other talking to one of their other friend. A blonde faunus who seemed to harbor no shame in the way he picks his clothing, she wasn't all too familiar with him, but Jaune seemed to be. She smiled at the sight, and almost asked about Nora before she remembered that she was still sleeping beside her in the bed adjacent to hers. She wasn't in a coma, just recovering from a variety of minor injuries along with a concussion. With that all handled and confirmed for her, Pyrrha sighed through her nose and sat back into her seat, much more relaxed than she was before.

Ozpin could see the exhaustion in her green eyes. The dark spots around her eyes and a paler composition to her skin's color. If he could have it any other way, he would have let her rest until she was fully recovered. Sadly, he just didn't have the luxury of time on his side this time.

"As you know, the tournament begins tomorrow morning." Ozpin began. "Since you and your team are injured and exhausted as you are, you will not be able to participate."

"I understand." Pyrrha didn't seem saddened by the news like her partner was, but that was to be expected. She's been fighting in tournaments all her life.

"Also, the threat of the White Fang and terroristic acts in Vale is at an all-time high," Ironwood continued for him. "We do not aim to intimidate you with the presence of so many powerful figures Miss Nikos. The matter we are about to discuss with you is to not leave this room no matter the outcome. I will warn you that no words will be minced, and the very fate of everyone in this room, the innocents in Vale, and huntresses and huntsmen in training from all four academies are at risk. Cinder Fall, the White Fang, Marcus Black, and Emerald Sustrai are only a few names that bring along the threat with promise."

"Hey, first things first," Taiyang interrupted the general and stepped forward. "How are you feeling? Heard you got in a spat with the man himself, that couldn't have been easy for you."

"He defeated me so easily…" Pyrrha looked down in shame as she remembered her short battle with Marcus that lasted less than ten seconds but ended in her crushing defeat. "I thought I could hold him off for at least a minute but… I was very wrong."

"There is nothing to be ashamed about there kid," Qrow said. "He was able to hold both me and the Specialist here off for basically the entire train ride, and beat both of us in the end by outsmarting us. If anyone should be ashamed, it's us. We were supposed to protect you, and we nearly let all four of you die."

"For that, we apologize," Winter added. "You may not accept it, but we offer it anyway. We were both defeated despite having the advantage in numbers. If we had acted more intelligently, we may have been able to defeat him before the train crashed like it did."

"I-" Pyrrha stopped herself. "I understand, thank you for doing your best. Know that no ill will is present."

Qrow and Winter nodded their heads.

"With that out of the way now…" Ironwood shot Taiyang and Qrow a glare. "Ozpin, Glynda, do you think it is time to explain our offer?"

"Soon," Ozpin said while holding up a hand, silencing the General. Surprisingly enough to Pyrrha, the General listened and bowed his head submissively. "Firstly, I'd like to better explain the situation we find ourselves in. Miss Nikos, tell me, what do you think is happening in Vale right now?"

"Marcus Black is up to something," Pyrrha answered immediately. "From the looks on your faces, I assume it is something big that as the General stated earlier, could put to risk everyone's lives of Vale and Beacon."

"Close, but unfortunately that is just scratching the surface." Ozpin paused and sipped out of his mug, finishing it all in one go. "You have been asleep for quite some time so I expected that you would not be very well caught up with the news of the kingdom. But Marcus Black is not as big of a threat as we originally thought. He was but an accomplice to a much greater evil."

"Was…?" Pyrrha blanched.

"Yes," Ozpin continued. "Was. It turns out that Marcus was forced into working with them some way or another," He made sure to leave out the fact that Marcus had apparently been forced to kill his own son a few years after his wife was murdered by the very organization that tore him away from the life of a huntsman decades ago. While that was a depressing thing for the immortal to think about since he could actually relate very well to the pain of losing family members in similar ways, Pyrrha did not need to know that just yet. His feelings were conflicting enough as it was. "While you were out, we received a call that beckoned us to track down his scroll and locate the facility in which his organization was hidden. This organization is the ones who were responsible for countless assassinations all over the world, and he not only gave us a way to root out this Valean base but also ousted the true threat to Vale that has been hiding right under our noses."

"Cinder Fall and Emerald Sustrai, two women whom I once called my own students. Were ousted as terrorists and murderers and conspirators. And Marcus handed one of them right to us." Ozpin took a moment to collect his thoughts and take in a deep breath before continuing. "Marcus' confusing actions aside, when it came to Cinder Fall, I met and even battled her for a few moments before her and the ones who work for her retreated after realizing that she'd been betrayed. Her powers in particular were extraordinary, and it gave even me a difficult albeit manageable confrontation. After giving it some thought and looking over the recordings, I have come to realize that she is the one that stole one-half of the powers of the fall maiden."

"Fall maiden…?" Pyrrha's tired eyes scrunched down in her confusion. She was keeping up with everything that the headmaster said up until that point. "You mean the fairy tale that I was told as a child? That most children were told as a child at some point?"

"Yes," The General returned with his answer. "The story that you are familiar with is in fact true. The four seasonal maidens exist, and each of them holds an unimaginable power that could either be a great ally of humanity or it's bane. Magic."

"Yes, he said magic," Clover repeated at Pyrrha's further confused expression. "Magic is real, trust me, me and the Ace Ops had just as hard of a time believing it ourselves. But if you look around here, we are all being completely serious."

Pyrrha did as it was implied and looked around to the other faces in the office of the headmaster. Qrow Branwen, Taiyang Xiao Long, Winter Schnee, Glynda Goodwitch, Ozpin, the General and the present members of the Ace Ops all nodded along to Ironwoods words, reinforcing them as the complete truth. Pyrrha didn't know what to think. The last time she'd been awake she was protecting her friends from the claws of the Grimm, and now she was having an existential crisis. If Magic and the season maidens, what other fairy tales were real? The story of the brothers? Lady in the Tower? The story of a fallen hero?

Her head fell into her hands as she thought. It was too much to process all at the same time.

Ozpin gave her a few minutes to collect herself, and thankfully she was able to calm down on her own. He didn't think anyone in that room would have been able to help her at that moment because suddenly, they were all strangers to her again.

"What we are asking you next is going to be a difficult choice for you to make, but one that you must make your decision by the end of tomorrow. Before that, however, tell me, do you still have access to your semblance?"

Pyrrha wondered why he would ask such a question. Pyrrha looked up at him and looked for anything metal and settled for a metal thermos that was placed at the edge of Ozpin's desk. It was probably placed there intentionally and she could imagine why they wanted to test her suddenly. Marcus did manage to grab her while they were fighting on the train.

Pyrrha focused on her aura and semblance and stretched out her right hand. It flickered black and the metal thermos fell over. Just doing that made her feel pain, but she still felt the presence of her semblance. Even if it did feel a little weak…

"Yes," Pyrrha said with a determined nod. "I am weak now, but it is still there. I didn't get it stolen…" She sighed explosively out of apparent relief. Everyone in that room knew why. They didn't show it, but they were all holding their breath to see what happened next. After a few moments, Ozpin nodded and smiled. Pleased with the first good news he'd heard in a long while.

"That is fantastic news, now, Miss Nikos, we all have an offer to make for you. The previous fall maiden was attacked and part of her power was stolen as you know, but the maiden is still alive. Amber, is her name, and we have developed a way to transfer what is left of her power to a new and willing host. If possible, we'd like that host to be you…"

Cinder and Adam waited patiently in the same room, and left the entrance to that room wide open for various reasons. One of them being so that their next visitor didn't get any ideas and try to 'prank' them by breaking through a window or thinking that it was some kind of test and he needed to make his way into the building stealthily. Just in case Tyrian got that idea anyway though, Cinder made sure that this particular hideout was one that was expendable and not really needed.

"When is he arriving?" Adam asked, slowly growing impatient.

"I will not rush him, that may make him more annoying when he finally arrives." Cinder scoffed. "Be patient Taurus, your time will come to kill Marcus. Of that, I promise you."

"Your promises mean nothing, I wait for action." Adam sneered. "Black is in the way of the White Fang's revolution, and I will remove that threat myself."

"With help," Cinder mocked.

Adam scowled but didn't correct her. She was right after all, he knew he couldn't beat him on his own after observing his skills from various recordings and meeting him himself almost a year ago when Cinder came to recruit him and the Vale branch of the White Fang. He was the strongest in the White Fang, which was why he couldn't take any chances and accepted the help of Cinders associate as easily as he did. It was a necessity. Nothing more, nothing less.

So they waited. Cinder talked to Salem through a Seer earlier in the day to let her know about the most recent developments in her mission. Excluding her choice words of disappointment, Salem was all for the idea of sending Tyrian out to find Marcus and Neo with the help of Adam in hopes of ridding the master assassin as a serious threat. The Seer parted from her after Salem assured her that she would find Tyrian and tell him to go to Vale and find her. It shouldn't be that hard since they exchanged multiple messages throughout the day via scroll and two separate signal boosters for their hidden and private server. Tyrian was much more sane through text than he was in person that it was honestly a little scary. But that was just part of the package that came with his skills. She sent him the location where she and Adam would be waiting for him, and any moment now he would be arriving at the estimated time he promised her through text.

That time was around now. Tensions aside, she was getting a little impatient herself. Tyrian always liked to irritate her whenever he could, but this was getting out of hand. He knew the seriousness of the situation and her mission in recovering the second half of the fall maiden's powers. If anything, he would listen to her for Salem, and that was enough.

Eventually, after about another fifteen minutes of her and Adam sitting in a tense silence, they heard something land just outside the open doorway. Cinder sighed through her nose as she saw a man wearing a very oversized trench coat that was just slightly bloodied near the left tail end. A scorpion tail wriggled out of the coat and Tyrian's yellow eyes flashed purple for a moment in the darkness just before he let the coat fall over his shoulders and around his feet.

"I have arrived!" Tyrian screamed as he stepped into the building, showing off the scars on his chest with his barely concealing white shirt. "I do apologize for being slightly late, I saw someone wearing this thrifty coat and I just had to take it. Unfortunately, he wasn't all too keen on giving it up." The fact that the coat had blood on it and was in Tyrians possession told the rest of the story.

Tyrian dashed forward and into Cinder's face. The woman didn't flinch but Adam placed a hand on the hilt of Wilt just in case it was an attack, stopping himself only when he noticed that Tyrian didn't draw the very obvious weapons he had on his forearms and wrists. Quite disappointed at the fact that Cinder still wasn't afraid of him, Tyrian tilted his head and licked his lips.

"So, let us get right to the point then. Who are you so afraid of that you called for help from none other than myself?" Tyrian asked, leaning back and balancing himself on his tail as if it was a chair.

"Marcus Black," Cinder didn't bother to correct him, it only would have amused him. If being honest with herself, there was a small degree of fear. But only because she wasn't sure if she could beat him if she was caught off guard. In a straight fight, she would win. But in Amber's case, she had more power than even she did at the time and yet Marcus caught her off guard and was the one who took her down in the end. It didn't matter how much power she had if she didn't have the time to use it. "I'm told you know of him."

"Know of him!?" Tyrian burst out into laughter. "I idolize him! You should see some of the carnage he leaves behind after he completes his major contracts! I mean, did you see the news when Atlas lost Willow Schnee's brother? Ha! That was historical! I can only dream of creating that much chaos! I mean, killing huntsmen and police and innocent children are all well and good, but in the grand scheme of things it only really matters when its someone with a position of power."

"Do you think you can defeat him?" Adam asked, irritated that he hasn't yet been addressed yet and making himself known.

"Oh? Are you the one I'm apparently supposed to fight with?" Tyrian reeled upon Adam and got dangerously close to him. Adam gritted his teeth and refrained from shoving his potential ally away even when Tyrian took it to the next level and sniffed him. Apparently pleased with his scent, Tyrian took a step back and marveled at him as if he was art on display. "I smell the scent of blood on you. I like that. And you started young too, even better. Tell me, how many people have you killed."

"I don't count," Adam replied.

"Good!" Tyrian bellowed. "I don't either. I lost count somewhere in the hundreds. Being a serial killer is hard work however, so now I only specifically kill huntsmen unless I get bored or interested enough to after the weaker sheep." He picked at his nails and flicked away a piece of flesh. "Anyway, what was it you asked me again?"

Adam growled lightly, but he kept his composure enough to repeat himself.

"Ah! Right, well, I don't know."

"What do you mean to don't know?" Cinder asked, shocked.

"Well, I never saw him fight before!" Tyrian pointed out as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "He could be the best warrior in the world or he could be the worst. Those little recordings you sent me are of him fighting others and usually they are either in large numbers or are just too weak to pose much of a threat to him. I doubt he even tried very hard to dispose of him. Though I did enjoy watching the video where he killed-"

"It is in your best interests that you do not bring that up, Tyrian." Cinder warned him. She didn't care for Adam's feelings, but if those got in the way of him working with Tyrian then she was going to have none of it.

"Ugh, already using our Queens power against me I see," Tyrian sighed and leaned on his tail again. "Very well, I think I can beat him. He uses knives, a gun, and underhanded tactics along with a very great amount of skill. Though I have taught myself to fight against huntsmen and learned how to kill them with and without my semblance. However, as a parallel, Mister Black has also trained to kill them, and probably has just as much experience as I do in doing so." He giggled excitedly at the thought. "It will be very entertaining to throw myself against him."

"I'd advise against that," Adam said. "His semblance is to steal other semblances. If he grabs you, you'll permanently lose aura along with your semblance."

"Ah, don't you worry about that." With a sickening demonic sound, Tyrian's purple aura flared around his hand before flickering out. "I have the perfect counter for that."

"And that is?"

"You'll see~"

"I am already regretting calling you here." Cinder said with a frown. "But It is too late to change my mind. You are here and as much as I hate to admit it, I need you to do this for me."

"Give me one week," Tyrian said as he held up a single finger. "One week, you get the rest of whatever your plans are set in stone and be prepared to enact on them. At the end of that week, I promise you his head, and much more~" He giggled maniacally again. "I heard he had a girl with him, a fighting one too~ Eeee! This is going to be so exciting! Come, Adam!"

Adam looked very uncomfortable to have Tyrian jump to his side and wrap an arm around his shoulder and pulled into Tyrians side. And he did the right thing in pushing him away when he did. Not that it affected Tyrian at all.

"We have assassins to kill! Things to do! Heads to decapitate!" Tyrian went on as he dragged Adam out of the door. "Oh, and also, since we're going to be working together, does that mean I am part of the White Fang?"

"No."

"Can I at least wear the mask?"

"I'll give you a mask after we're done with this mission."

Cinder smirked as the two of them bickered and left the room. Oh, Adam hated Tyrian already, but Tyrian seemed to like Adam a lot. That was good, and that meant they would both work together against the common enemy that was Marcus Black. In the end that was everything that mattered.

In terms of solidifying her plans, they were already adjusted and well on their way. All she needed to do now was wait for the best opportunity to attack. The citizens of Vale were already angry with Ozpin and put off by Ironwood. The breach plan may have ended in disaster, but they'd failed to capture either Marcus or Neo and left the least threatening one, Roman, dead. That coupled with the murder of a student on Beacon grounds, the anger from Menageries leaders and faunus discrimination just rising higher and higher as a result was more than enough to arouse some negative emotions en masse.

All it took now was the straw that broke the camels back. Just one more thing to go wrong, and what better stage than one that is broadcasted worldwide?

Not even he would be able to do anything about it when everything comes to fruition. If he even lives long enough to see it.

And there we go. Quick explanation, the reason why I ended the Pyrrha/Ozpin scene was because the rest of it went down pretty much the same as it did in the show. Ozpin made the offer, pushed for her to understand, Pyrrha said yes but was given time to think about it, etc, etc. The only difference is that Pyrrha only has a day to think about it. Which means either tomorrow in the story or the day after. I might push it to be the day after just to give myself a little more time. But next chapter, the tournament begins. Wish me luck on that, because there are a lot of looses ends to tie. Or to leave untied… who knows, this story already has a lot of potential. I'll think about what to do with it next at a later time.

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