"It's complete," Ozpin said as he looked his cane over and placed it back into the chest, covering it with the tattered blanket that he normally used to shield him from the wind during the recent storms that had begun to plague the land. Time, he had found a way to harness time, and it was detrimental to ensuring that the human race survived. He stepped out of the hut, moving quickly toward the kingdom, but avoiding running as he didn't want to draw any unwanted attention to himself. The Brothers had been all-powerful, they had created everything, both good and evil, and when the people came to destroy them, The Wizard sealed their power away inside of a pair of enchanted stones. He'd made a mistake, however, deciding for once not to leave the passage of his power to fate.

He took on an apprentice, a young girl who had potential and seemed to have knowledge beyond her years, always thirsting to know more about The Brothers and everything that had come before. Ozpin was more than willing to teach her, to find someone so willing to learn magic felt refreshing. He hadn't met anyone with such desire since he had gifted the maidens their powers, but they seldom came by anymore, protecting the corners of the earth on their own. Would he need them now? Would the power he had reserved for so long be enough? How had he failed? It wasn't supposed to end like this.

The girl's thirst for knowledge soon became a hunger, and it was an unbearable pang of famish that Ozpin was unable to satiate or tame. She began doing whatever it took to acquire more and more power until Ozpin feared what action she might take next, and there was no doubt in his mind that it would be against him. He was the one who tried to "prevent" her growth. He was the one who was "holding her back". The discovery that he had made several days ago wasn't one that he could simply overlook, and he looked to snuff out the hatred in haste. He nodded to the knights that guarded the castle's entrance as he passed through the gate, trying to avoid looking rushed or flustered. Yet still, he needed to hurry.

He found the cottage that had been reserved for the work that he and his apprentice conducted, and he threw open the doors.

"Ozpin," came her silky smooth voice. She faced away from him, leaning far over one of the alchemy tables, examining something closely. "So you know what I've done then. You know that I took the stones."

"Salem," he said unimpressed, closing the door behind him. "I've forbidden even myself from using that power, but somehow you think you have surpassed your master exponentially? I am the one who created these stones. I have been around for hundreds upon hundreds of years. Even I would not be proficient with such power. What makes you think that you can control it?"

"Perhaps your centuries of life have made you deaf," She told him. "Could you not hear it? The Stone of Death spoke to me." It was as Ozpin had feared. He should have known that this would happen, it was as though The Brothers were finally punishing him for what he had done. They'd left him with no choice, they had planned on wiping out the entire human race and starting over from scratch. Here they were, trying to destroy everything once again, but Salem was their puppet this time. She turned around and he could see that her skin was pale, red veins climbing across her skin.

"What have you done?" Ozpin asked. Salem laughed quietly before making her way across the room to him.

"Just as I know that you've stolen part of the power from the Stone of Life, I've done the same with Death," She told him. "I did this to prove to you that I was strong enough! I wanted us to be together forever! We can bring balance to the world, just like The Brothers did!" Ozpin shook his head. She was never supposed to know or find out. He knew better. This wasn't an attempt to prove herself, she only desired raw power.

"We can still fix this," he told her. "I can go back, to before you gave up your life to this… darkness."

"Do I seem different?! I still want what we always desired! Peace! For everyone!" She exclaimed. She sounded sincere, but he knew that it was the power talking, trying to convince him otherwise.

"Not if it means drawing power from the stone," Ozpin told her. He opened the door behind him, just to be blasted through it with a flash of red power. He tumbled out into the grass, several soldiers noting what happened and rushing over to help, but they were thrown back as well.

"If we cannot come to an agreement, I will protect this world on my own," Salem stated. She blasted him back again, as he slid across the ground he disappeared, reappearing behind her and holding her in place with his own magic. "You know what my having this power means! I control The Four! If you kill me, they will return and have free reign!" She managed to break free, a stream of energy hitting him like a laser, throwing him through the back of the cottage. He crashed through the wall and came to a quick stop as he landed in the soft, wet mud of the garden. How did it get to this?

"I refuse to kill you, Salem," he told her. She sneered.

"Just like you refused to kill The Brothers! You're too soft!" She yelled. She blasted him again as he stood, planting him in the castle wall. Knights poured in from out of the castle itself and began to surround her, the king moving down the stairs and slowly approaching as his men moved to each side to let him through.

"What is the meaning of this, Wizard?" The king demanded.

"Stay back!" Ozpin yelled. Salem's twisted smile grew larger by the second, her skin becoming whiter and her eyes losing all humanity.

"You never thought that I would be equal to you in power!" She exclaimed. Ozpin moved to attack, but she deflected it, and it took out one of the archer's towers, the entire structure obliterated and collapsing away from them. "I'll show you how wrong you were." She lifted her hands slowly, the knights and king levitating off of the ground, frantically waving and flailing about.

"Salem!" He shouted desperately.

"I shall show you power, Ozpin! I will show you how to maintain peace!" She screamed. She clenched both of her hands into fists and threw her arms out, the men instantly disintegrating and their armor crashing to the ground all around them.

"No!" She turned back towards Ozpin, a jewel emerging from her forehead as she threw back her head and cackled.

"I declare this kingdom as my own. I will rule over this land and ensure its peace forever!" She exclaimed losing it again, laughing uncontrollably. "Are you scared, Ozpin? Are you scared that I equal you in power… or perhaps surpass you?" She looked over to where he was again and found that Ozpin was gone. She smirked. "You can't hide from me…"

"I don't plan to!" Ozpin shouted. He raised the staff with the Stone of Life attached above his head and slammed it against the ground, the earth slowly opening up. Tears ran down Ozpin's face as he struggled to keep Salem from moving. "I'm banishing you from this realm, Salem! You shall never return!" Slowly she was lowered in, struggling and screaming as he turned away. "And even if you try, I'll be ready."

"Then what?" Yang asked. "How did the journal even end up on Vytal in the first place?"

"Ozpin was the King of Vale that led the troops to victory against Mantle and Mistral, he must have left it on the island when he was negotiating the terms of the treaty," Glynda explained. "Does it go into any other detail about the Stones?"

"Not really," Ruby told them. "Just that by using both of them with Oz's staff would be able to bring back either Salem or Ozpin if they failed to inhabit a new host upon death."

"So we're not any closer to finding them?" Blake asked.

"Not really," Ruby told them.

"What did she mean by 'The Four?'" Yang asked. Qrow chuckled.

"I wouldn't worry about that, Oz always said that the legend of The Four wasn't real," Qrow offered. "Good to know that we've got plenty of time to find them though. They can't be used to bring back Salem without the cane. At least, I'd assume that's what the Neo-Salems are after."

"Shouldn't we be more worried though?" Blake asked. "If someone can tap into their power like Salem or Oz did, the results could be cataclysmic!"

"Was that a pun?!" Yang asked with a grin.

"No," Blake replied. Yang folded her arms.

"Sourpuss…" Yang muttered.

"Yang, this is serious! I'm worried about the future of our children!" Blake shouted. Yang sighed.

"As long as Ruby is around, nothing like that is going to happen," Yang reassured her. She grabbed Blake by the shoulders. "We'll stop this, just like we stopped Salem the first time." Blake nodded.

"Okay," she exhaled.

"I wonder why Ozpin didn't fix it then. Why didn't he just rewind time then and change the outcome?" Ruby asked.

"Ozpin was a wise man. Perhaps he only saw one outcome possible," Glynda suggested. "Does the council know?" Ruby shook her head.

"This information is being withheld from them at Ozpin's request," Ruby told them. "I wonder how he knew when to deliver the messages… they were prerecorded, weren't they?"

"Unless he came here to the future and saw what was going to happen," Yang offered. They all looked at her for a long moment. "What? It's a possibility."

"If that's all you have Ruby, I think we're all free to leave," Glynda told them standing up from her desk. Qrow watched the students out the window and smiled. "Feels like yesterday, doesn't it?" Qrow nodded.

"I wish it was," he said. He watched as his mind played with him, he envisioned Summer, Tai, Raven, and himself, all walking together to class and laughing at something stupid that Tai probably said.

"You'll be there on Saturday, right Qrow? Shadow's birthday party?" Blake asked. Qrow's mind flashed back to what he had told Raven at the inn. He smiled.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world!" He replied.

Cobalt stood on the edge of a bluff, watching the kingdom that stood far below amassing its armed forces to prepare for battle. The fact that the situation had gotten this far out of hand was hard to believe, but now that it was, Cobalt had been sent in to stop the uprising before it began. Southern Mistral. Some big shot who claimed that the kingdom should be split in two. He wasted no time. This was the cusp of a civil war, but the burning question on his mind now was where Neela Xiao Long has disappeared to. That was the real mystery.

Neela had been assigned to the region only a few months ago by the council, her mission was to infiltrate the rebel camp and take down their leader, a loud mouth instigator by the name of Fade. But she had broken off contact with them only a week after the beginning of her assignment, and the council began to assume the worst. They sent in Cobalt now, hoping that he would have better luck stopping Fade, but Cobalt had other things on his mind. His top priority was saving Neela. He peered at the camp far below that had been established outside of the newly built fort.

Though the man boasted being for and of the people, he sure contradicted himself with the lavish and extravagant fortress that they had built for him. Cobalt shook his head and leapt off of the cliff, allowing his armor to take the blow as he landed below in a thicket of jungle trees. He could attack. It was possible that he'd be able to make a large enough dent that they would be set back a couple of months, which would give the council more time to assess the situation, but he had been given the go-ahead to infiltrate. He was meant to be from a village close to the southern tip, one of their officials, here to offer aid and support. Then, he'd assassinate Fade. That was the plan, plain and simple.

He stepped out of the dense glade with his hands raised, several men pointing and training their weapons as they ran to him, keeping their distance.

"Who are you? State your business quickly, or I'll have no choice but to shoot!" The private shouted so hard that he shook. Cobalt shook his head. It was sad really, Fade was so elegant of a speaker that he had convinced these men that they were prepared to partake in a war, but Cobalt could clearly see that the man's safety was still on, and his nerves caused him to tremble. Maybe that was the catch. Maybe Fade's semblance was mind control related. The more that Cobalt thought about it, the more sense it made. He cleared his throat.

"I'm from the Southern Port. Your officers should be well aware of the fact that I was on my way to meet with Fade today. My name is Samuel Smoke," he told them. He cringed slightly at the words coming out of his mouth. That was the best name that the council could come up with for his cover? He placed it aside in his mind and continued. "If you'd only ask your commanding officer, he can look up the information and you'll see that I'm telling the truth. It's very important to me that Fade knows he can't count on our loyalty when this war against Sterling begins." The private nodded and yelled back for his commander.

There was a long several moments where the men held him there in utter silence, leaving him to wonder whether or not they had seen through his facade, or if it was legitimately taking that much time to confirm his arrival. Cobalt was beginning to worry about being attacked or ambushed and lightly brushed his weapon's handle with his fingertips. If it took them a few more minutes, he was going to start tearing the place apart. The commander returned, an awkward and sheepish look on his face as he motioned for the men to lower their weapons.

"I'm terribly sorry Smoke, it won't happen again!" The man reassured him as he led them through countless ranks of men, leading him into the fortress without an issue. "I've been told by Fade that we will accommodate you in any way possible or needed in order to secure your support. You can't begin to know how much it would mean to Fade to have unrestricted access to the Southern Port, it'll cut off a third of Sterling's imports and exports. The man needs to be brought down, and once we accomplish that, Lord Fade will be more than willing to give you command over one of the territories."

"I'm just glad that I'll finally get to meet the savior of Remnant," Cobalt told him.

"There must have been some kind of misunderstanding between our contacts," the commander explained to him as they entered into the elegant fortress, guards saluting as they passed by. Cobalt looked around, impressed with the extravagant banners and architecture, despite how quickly the building had been assembled. "He won't be able to meet with you today, but he will be back late tomorrow evening. In the meantime, we've been asked to provide you with a drawn bath, a hearty meal, and our finest living quarters today in order to ease your decision making tomorrow." Cobalt groaned internally. He was under the impression that this was going to be over quickly, he had been promised. He was going to have a long conversation with Ruby when this was all over.

"The bath has already been drawn. Please, let me direct you to the bathing house," the commander offered. Cobalt agreed, he knew that he had to play along at least until his meeting with Fade. The door was opened and Cobalt stepped in, instantly frozen in place by the sight before him. There were women with pitchers wearing nothing but simple white cloths, tied… or more or less draped… across their breasts and over their lower regions. He swallowed hard. On second thought, he would be thanking Ruby after this was all over. He removed his garments, moving into the pool and sitting along the ledge as the women poured the water over his head. He looked up at the ceiling and exhaled. He could get used to this.

"Are you enjoying yourself, Smoke?" One of the women asked. He chuckled slowly and deeply.

"Most certainly," he replied. They were pulling out all of the stops in order to try and convince him to give them port access. It really was a shame that he'd have to kill Fade, perhaps in another life, they could have gotten along… or the man could keep treating him like a god. Cobalt groaned slowly. It felt so good, and the women were nice to look at. No complaints at all. It was like he was on a paid vacation of sorts. Maybe there would be grapes soon?

"We want to keep you as comfortable as possible," Another one of the women told him. "If you'd like, Fade offers his most prized concubine for your usage." Cobalt thought it over. His body was heavy, the heat of the room had loosened him. They were throwing women at him now? As much as his mind toyed with the idea, he was a gentleman and would politely decline. "Perhaps you would care for a glimpse of the maiden before making a choice?" Cobalt shrugged and smirked. Nothing wrong about looking right? Okay, scratch that, it was still wrong, just less wrong. He might as well humor them, no need to make the woman feel unwanted after receiving constant attention. Maybe he was looking at it wrong, maybe she enjoyed being Fade's sex toy.

"Perhaps a peek," Cobalt agreed. The door opened behind him and warm water was splashed on his back again, he could hear the padding of feet as whoever had entered moved around the pool to enter across from him. He glanced over. Her shape was amazing, easy to make out through her sheer white dress, she almost looked like a goddess. Her dress slowly spread across the water as she waded in. He would be able to see everything. Another pitcher of water was dumped over him, and he brushed the water off of his face, getting a good look at the concubine's face. Cobalt sputtered, leaping to his feet and throwing his hands out.

"I'm so glad that you could join us today, Samuel," She spoke as she lowered herself further into the water. He couldn't form the words. He was all but paralyzed, but yet she continued into the water.

"Neela?!" Cobalt shouted. She smiled softly and disappeared into the water, swimming over to Cobalt and slowly standing in front of him. His mouth, his mind, everything forgot how to work at the appearance of her soaking wet body. Her breasts, as good as naked, just inches from his own chest.

"I don't think that we've ever met before, Lord Smoke," Neela spoke, she held her body against his and whispered in his ear. "Am I not to your satisfaction?"

"This isn't right!" Cobalt yelled as he jerked upright. Several of the other students laughed and Glynda stopped where she was in front of the chalkboard. They all watched him for a long moment and he waved at them, flushing and burying his head in his book. Why do I always have these weird-ass dreams at the worst times?

"What isn't right, Mr. Thenard?" Glynda asked. He chuckled.

"Sorry, I must have dozed off," he apologized. He was up so late last night putting the finishing touches on the bracelet. "I think… I'm gonna clear my head and I'll be back in a few minutes." Glynda watched him irritatedly as he left the room. As he opened the door, Neela and Tawney ran directly into him. Cobalt fell back onto his ass and looked up at them dazed, his mind flashing back to the dream.

"Are you okay, Cobalt?" Neela asked. Cobalt blushed hard as he became aware of the situation.

"What's wrong with me?! I was so close! What was that sudden stroke of morality bullshit?! This is a fanfiction for Oum's sake! Why don't I get a lemon, huh?! Screw you!" Cobalt shouted out. Neela and Tawney exchanged glanced.

"What was he on about?" Asked Tawney.

"Maybe Ren can help him. You should go see the nurse," Neela said.

"That's not funny, author! And what's this nonsense?! These two getting along… or at least not competing?! And Neela just to spite me?! It couldn't have been Lykos and Titus?! Bullshit, utter bullshit!" Cobalt fumed. The door was thrown open again and slammed into Cobalt.

"Go have a breakdown elsewhere, Mr. Thenard!" Glynda demanded.

So now we know that the Neo-Salem movement has means of reviving her, but will RWBY be able to collect the pieces first? Next Week: Chapter 36 - Birthday Party!

A big thank you to Y8ay8a, Sa-Dui, Diyaru4500, Demize00Zero, TheCipherNine, SketchHungry, Ookaminoki, Lightning-in-my-Hand, and Dishwasher1910. All of their artwork can be found at Deviantart, you can search Silent-Celica and under my favorites tab, I have a collection for NITE.

Until next week, stay classy!