A/N: Hard to believe it's almost been a month. More writer's block, but it feels like I'm finally over it. I cranked about half of this in the past couple days, so that hopefully means my muse is back. Good news: the story's almost done! Just the epilogue to go, which I'm starting to write right now.

To Bagration, yes, the arm is still there. Cardin's only got one left, so it's only natural that he keeps a spare on hand.

To AxDevilman, out of all the villainous cast in RWBY, Hazel's the one that bothered me the most. Tyrian worships Salem and Watts wants revenge against Ironwood, but Hazel's mad desire to destroy Ozpin never fit in my mind with the gentle, sympathetic antagonist presented in the fourth season. The Hazel I presented is the one I was hoping to see in the canonical series, fighting against Ozpin because he sees him as the more subtle evil that could (or has) subjugate humanity without them realizing it. Ah well, we can't always get what we want.

And to the rest of you, thank you for all your support and reviews. I'm glad you enjoyed the story. And if you didn't enjoy it, well, what are you still doing here?

Alright, that's enough out of me. On with the story!

Chapter Sixty-One: Flash of White, Flash of Red

Cinder led him to Beacon's courtyard. The broad paved sidewalks had been shattered in the fighting, and the stone fountain had a crack running down its middle that bled water. The trees had all been knocked down, and some burned husks still gave off wisps of smoke. Amid the wreckage, perched on an island of smooth concrete, stood a desk chair, borrowed from one of the classrooms.

Watts scanned the nearby rooftops and distant trees, aiming his gun in a slow circle. Cinder threw him at the door of the chair and said, "Have a seat."

Cardin sat stiffly, buying as much time as possible. His severed arm felt heavy and cold in his hand, but Cardin clung to it as the only weapon he had. Out on the open, exposed and defenseless, he felt like bait. He wished he knew who - or what Cinder was trying to catch. He wondered what would get Cinder to talk. Begging would be met with disgust, promises with scorn and skepticism, and he still had no idea what she wanted from him.

"Why are we having class out here?" Cardin asked, wincing internally at his poor excuse for sarcasm. "There's plenty of good classrooms you haven't smashed to pieces."

"I thought you could use the fresh air. Besides, this way, everyone will get to hear you scream." Watts' shadow writhed, and out of it rose a Seer. Cardin felt the blood drain out of his face just looking at it, and his knuckles went white from gripping the sides of the chair.

"Should you really be wasting-" He stopped himself there. Implying he was a waste of time was asking to get killed. "If you needed me to do something, you could try asking first."

"Why ask when I can take it from you? That way, I wouldn't be wasting any of my time." She gave him a feral grin and waved the Seer over.

"I was able to resist last time."

"Last time, you had a roof over your head." Cinder looked up at the smoky, gray sky. "I don't think your Semblance can bring that down on us."

He almost got caught by that misdirection. She didn't want him to know why it was outside, that somehow tied into what she wanted. "I'd try, but I'm a little short on Aura at the moment, as I'm sure you noticed."

Cinder's eyes glimmered, and she leaned closer to him. "All the same, I would rather not take any risks."

Cinder bound him to the chair with lengths of rope around each wrist. Cardin tested the knots and found them unyielding. The Seer looked over him, awaiting the command to break into his mind.

"Any chance you're going to tell me what you want from me?"

"Ruby Rose," Cinder said slowly, watching him for any signs of a reaction. Cardin knew what she was after and struggled to stay impressive. "You know why Ozpin was so protective of her."

"What do you mean?" Denying knowledge was dangerous, but he had to draw out the conversation as long as possible. He could only hope that Cinder wouldn't resort to force immediately.

"You know exactly what I mean. We already have a good guess of what it is she can do, but we wish to confirm it."

Cardin pointedly looked at the Seer and asked, "If I tell you, would you keep that thing away from me?"

"Of course," Cinder said. "But only if you tell me the truth."

Cardin snorted. "You don't have any reason to believe me. Even if I told you the truth, you'd still use that thing to check."

"Then what was the point of asking?"

Now he knew she was buying time as well, buying time for her trap to share whoever was coming for him. Ruby was the obvious answer, but she would be just as helpful as he was in getting the Relic. Did she plan to interrogate the Specialist? Speculation occupied the back of his mind as he verbally tiptoed his way around Cinder.

"If really rather not go through having that thing in my mind a second time, so I figured it was worth a shot."

He was starting to feel calmer. Cinder was no doubt planning to time the interrogation to when Ruby and the others arrive, in hopes of luring her into the open. Until they got here, the empty conversation would continue.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?" Cinder stepped behind him and put two fingers on his shoulder. "Remember the dance we had?"

"I've been trying to forget."

"It was the first time I've ever danced with someone. I found it quite enjoyable, although that was more a testament of your discomfort than any skill you have on the floor."

Now she was being obvious about killing time. Was she trying to make him second-guess his assumptions, or did she not see a point in hiding her motives from him? It's not as though he had any choice but to let her play for time.

"I'm flattered," Cardin said dryly.

Cinder's fingers walked up the side of his neck and caressed the side of his ear. "And what happened after, that was my first time too."

Cardin shivered involuntarily. "I've been trying to forget that."

"How rude." Cinder gave a mirthful chuckle and let her fingers trail away. "To tell the truth, I had no orders to have sex with you. I could just as easily have left it at the dance we had."

She let the sentence hang in the air, inviting him to ask why. Instead, he asked, "Wouldn't Salem be mad you acted on your own?"

"Salem expects it of me. After all, to serve the purpose that she had intended for me, I had to be just a little bit human."

Cardin's stomach dropped at the secret that Cinder had let slip, at the confirmation of his theory about the monster that lay beneath her skin. Cinder watched his expression of horrified realization and smiled.

"You knew already, didn't you?" Cinder looked up for a moment, appearing lost in thought though her eyes darted across the smoky horizon. "Yes, it had to be obvious, after my brethren got a hold of you, back at Mount Glenn. I was tempted to leave you to them, to miss by a hair's breadth and lament that I was unable to save you, but I still had use for you."

Cardin looked around, wondering if there was some way of escape, a jutting slab of concrete or fallen tree that would give him enough cover to slip away, but Watts fixed a glare on him, and dreams of escape vanished from Cardin's mind.

Cinder locked eyes on him, sensing his intention and reveling in the despair at finding it impossible. "You're too smart for that, Cardin. If I so desired, I could burn just enough of your skin to leave you alive, but in exquisite agony."

Cardin let his silence and stillness speak for him. Once Cinder was satisfied that he had been sufficiently subdued, she went back to her idle conversation. "I was curious." She looked sharply at him, expecting a reaction, and seemed bemused when she didn't get one.

"I was once an ordinary Grimm, spawned from the depths of Mount Glenn by the despair and paranoia that arose from the communities stranded in their underground shelters. I knew nothing but the urge to infest one and attack the others, feeding off the fear of betrayal held by them. For a while, there was nothing but joyous slaughter. A few hosts of mine died, and when they did, I found another one. By the end, when the last human beneath the mountain fell to the claws of Creeps, I took the tiny body I inhabited, escaped the mountain, and was taken home by a Nevermore."

"That's where I come in," Watts said smugly. "The same technology for extracting and storing Aura works in Grimm as well. I'm glad I found a productive use for Polendina's frivolous pet project."

Cinder scowled at the interruption. "Stroke your ego somewhere else, if you wouldn't mind. I find it vulgar and unsightly."

"And once that was done," Cardin continued, "You tried to steal the Fall Maiden's Aura and only got half of it."

"Precisely. We had hoped to take her first before Ozpin could hide her away, then the others could be collected easily enough. If it hadn't been for that Huntsman, the little act of being a student from Mistral would have hardly been necessary."

"And Duke Orgen?" Cardin asked.

"Extra security, to make it impossible for Ozpin to maneuver against me. Salem recruited him years ago and made sure he rose to power."

Which explained how the main branch of the Orgen family and the Duke's two older brothers conveniently died of natural causes. Cardin filed away that nugget of information for later so he could try to spot other moles in the political system, if he survived.

Cardin fumbled for a way to continue the conversation, but at a sharp cough from Watts, Cinder sighed and beckoned the Seer closer with a girl of her finger. "It seems we've wasted enough time. Once I have what I need, you can go back to the others."

As the Seer's barbed tendrils reached for Cardin, he leapt out of his seat, too panicked to sit still or think straight at the terror that approached him. Before he could take a single step green barriers leapt up around his wrist, fixing him in place. Cardin yanked his arm away, but his skin burned away as Cardin pulled, leaving the flesh underneath raw and slick with blood. Cardin gave up after half an inch. The barriers drifted down, forcing Cardin back into the chair. He could only stare as the Seer made contact.

This time there was no pain, no nightmarish visions and confused haze. He was back at Salem's castle, sitting in the dining room, staring down the same delectable spread that had greeted him the first time. From the other end of the table, Salem watches him.

"You're late," she said. "And missing an arm. Did my pets mistreat you?"

Cardin looked down to find his arm missing in the vision as well, though where the scabbed wound should have been, smoky light wisped out of a black void.

"Bullhead accident." He looked at the food in front of him, aware that he hadn't eaten for hours, but between the adrenaline filling his veins with crackling fire, the sharp, throbbing pain from his missing arm, and instinctive fear of Salem kept him from feeling hungry. "Now what? And why have you taken such interest in me?"

"As to the second," Salem said, "You are the first human in all of history to have escaped from my realm, mind intact. It may have been luck on your part, but perhaps you may prove to be an interesting new player in this game Ozpin and I have played over the centuries."

At a wave of her hand, the feast vanished, and the table shrank in length until he was within arm's reach of her. Cardin involuntarily leaned back, but he kept enough composure to stay in his seat. Salem smiled at him and said, "You're quite good at hiding your fear." She lifted her head, as if sniffing the air. "No, it's that you don't have much of it."

Cardin cleared his throat, feeling tense from his nerves. A glass of water materialized from thin air, but he didn't dare drink something conjured with Salem's power.

"If you wanted me dead or tortured, you'd have started already."

"Perhaps I should, then."

The untouched water leapt towards him, expanding as it wrapped around Cardin's head. He flailed in his chair, struggling uselessly as his lungs burned. It felt as though that single moment of oxygen deprivation was stretched out for minutes, hours, days, time stretching like tardy until he could see through it. When he finally got a gasp of air, time snapped back into the handful of seconds it had been, leaving Cardin disoriented and breathless.

"Ah, there's the fear," Salem said. "Of course, it's only natural to fear pain."

It took Cardin a few tries before he finally stopped shaking enough to make comprehensible words. "What do you want from me?"

Salem mulled over his question with a bored expression. "The only information you have that is of any use to me concerns the young silver-eyed warrior."

Cardin a first impulse was to play dumb, but the memory of drowning stopped his tongue. "You already know what she is."

"I do, though how Ozpin managed to preserve that bloodline when I thought I had finally purged it from the gene pool is a mystery to me. That is of no concern. I merely wish to confirm the girl's ability, or rather, the lack thereof, to use her eyes."

On one hand, Cardin knew that his life may depend on keeping that tidbit of information as long as possible. The threat of Ruby making half of Salem's army crumble into dust could not be ignored, and so long as it remained, Salem would have to hold back. Considering what Salem could do to him, however, made dangling that information like a carrot a dangerous gamble.

"And if I tell you?" Cardin asked, playing for time while he tried to figure out how a centuries-old deity would respond to delay tactics.

"Then you will be free to go."

"That's it?" Cardin asked. "You're not even going to try making me work for you like last time?"

"There's hardly any need. Ozpin already distrust you, and if I let you live again, others will doubt you as well. You may very well perish at the hands of your allies without my assistance."

"So, in other words, you're more interested in seeing how my life plays out than actually getting my assistance."

Salem gave him a condescending smile. "It's not as though you would be of any use to me, although Watts might enjoy experimenting with you. You might even get a new arm out of the deal."

"I appreciate that offer, but I must decline."

In the silence that followed, Cardin weighed his options, the fingers on his metaphorical scales shaking as he worked frantically to find a course of action that would keep him alive the longest, or failing that, the least painful death. A growing expression of boredom on Salem's face only added to his nerves.

"You've had plenty of time to think," Salem said, making Cardin twitch with a snap of anger. "Are you going to tell me or not?"

He felt certain that refusing her would mean his death. Escaping like last time wouldn't work, not with his Aura just beginning to come back and nothing to use his Semblance on. Yet, if he told her that Ruby was defenseless right now, Salem might send every Grimm in the city after her. It was either save himself and doom everyone else or hold out and pray help comes in time.

Maybe Russell's death still had him shaken. Maybe Dove's sullen, condemning gaze left him with pangs of guilt. Maybe it was Ruby's boundless enthusiasm, or Yang's brazen, confident attitude, Jaune and the healing warmth he provided or Weiss with a frosty demeanor hiding her inner fragility. Maybe he had finally lost his mind and was going soft like everyone else. Cardin didn't feel like letting someone die in his place a second time.

He could tell her no, but maybe Salem didn't need to know that he had made up his mind quite yet.

"I'm not sure I can trust your word," Cardin said. He carefully met her eyes, conveying a false front of sincerity, cooperation, and awe with all the skill forced into him by his father. "How can I be sure you won't just kill me when I tell you what you need to know?"

'Need' was a poor choice of words if Salem's subtle scowl was any indication. "Don't overestimate your position, Cardin. My plans would proceed regardless of what the silver-eyed warrior could do."

"But it would be inconvenient, wouldn't it?"

Her scowl deepened, but she gave no other sign of her displeasure. "You're trying to buy time, aren't you? Are you hoping that a couple of students will be able to rescue you from my Maiden?"

The chair he sat on coiled itself around him, locking his arm and legs in place. The table vanished, the ceiling became a black void, and Salem towered into the gloom, rising high enough that she had to crouch to see him.

"I already know that the fledgling warrior can't control her abilities." Salem's voice was deep and booming, and it echoed off the walls with eerie resonance. "That much was made evident when you decided to crash that Bullhead into my Wyvern despite the fact you had her on board. All I wish to know from you is, was it her power that purged the Scarab from Cinder's pet project, or some other scheme of Ozpin's? Tell me the answer to that, and I will let you go."

Cardin felt no need to ask what would happen if he refused. Knowing that, he did it anyways. "I'm not telling you."

Thunderclouds formed overhead as Salem grew even angrier. Lightning flashed around him, snapping at his arms and leaving long red welts. Cardin grit his teeth and endured it, hoping for some miracle to free him from the Seer's grasp before Salem got bored with the torture and killed him.

Neither of those possibilities happened. Instead, the storm subsided, though the clouds remained, and Salem shrank closer to his own size. "Well played, calling my bluff. I intend to kill you some day, but not before seeing how you change the world. For once, someone other than Ozpin has their hands on the reins of power, and I'm curious to see how it plays out." The Goddess of Grimm sighed and said, "Still, I can't let that go unpunished. Let's see how much you can handle without losing your sanity."

As Cardin braced himself for what was to come, a glowing white sword as wide as he was protruded in front of him, seemingly out of nowhere. At first, Cardin thought it was Salem's doing, but the Goddess' shocked expression told him otherwise. Salem's castle faded around him, the shattered Beacon grounds taking its place, but the sword remained, cleaving the Seer in two. It weighed and hissed as it split apart into black motes.

Cinder had her bow drawn, while Watts ducked behind his force field. A loud crack filled the air, and Cinder's bow shattered into glass shards, the bullet making Cinder's Aura flash as it slammed into her chest.

The glyph in front of him bulged outward. The sword rose further, revealing a spectral hand wrapped around the hilt. Foot by foot, an armor-clad behemoth wreathed in white smoke stood before him. It slashed at Cinder, but with a wave of her arm, a flurry of burning glass pierced it in the chest, and it faded away.

Ruby and Weiss were both on the rooftop of a dorm building. Ruby sighted Cinder with Crescent Rose, while Weiss frowned in concentration as she made more summoning glyphs. A few of them winked out before anything could come out of them, but four Boarbatusks rolled out and charged at Cinder. Gouts of fire destroyed each one.

Cinder aimed her fire up at the rooftop. Ruby grabbed Weiss and vanished in a flash of petals just before the flames hit them. "Perfect," Cinder said. "Our guests are right in time."

Watts checked his pistol and aimed it at Cardin. "Don't think about going anywhere. We're not done with you yet."

Crescent Rose fired again. Watts hissed in pain as his hand was hit. The gun fell from his grip, and the barrier around Cardin's wrist wavered. Cardin yanked himself free, wincing as he scraped his hand raw. He made it two steps before another of Watts' barriers snared his ankle, tripping him over. With one arm missing and the other still clutching the missing arm, Cardin landed hard on his left shoulder, reopening the wound. The thin trickle of Aura he had recovered while snared by the Seer flared to life, trying to close the wound. Cardin forced it to stop, instead pulling on his shirt to staunch the wound. He tried to stand, but the barrier forced his ankle to stay at an awkward angle.

"Let him go!" Weiss shouted. Three white Beowolves sprung up around her, loping at her sides as she charged at Watts from behind. More sniper fire came from Ozpin's tower, destroying Cinder's bow as she remade it. Cinder smirked and conjured lightning in her fingertips. The Beowolves fell to a single jolt, and sparks crackled along Weiss' Aura.

Watts recovered his gun and pointed it down at the kneeling heiress. "I like Jacques quite a bit, so I'm actually a bit sorry to do this to him. Ah well. I'll send him my best bottle of wine."

A metal hook flew over Watts' shoulder and snagged the pistol by its revolving chamber. As Watts pulled the trigger, the gun wrenched up in his hand, sending the shot wide. The gun whipped around in the air and clocked Watts in the side of the head.

Clover ran out of cover, brandishing his weaponized fishing pole and twirling the charm on his coat, but no luck could protect him from the wave of fire that rose at Cinder's command. He took the flames on his Aura, protecting himself from serious burns, but the strength of the blow flung him into the dorm building he had sprinted from hard enough to crack the stone and shatter his Aura.

Weiss rose unsteadily to her feet, but Cinder kicked her back to the ground. Bow and arrow formed in her hands as she drew, pointing the barbed glass head at Weiss' heart. Two rounds slammed into her shoulders, but she didn't even flinch.

Just before Cinder loosed her arrow, Cardin felt a sudden impulse. He hurled his arm forward, aiming it between Cinder and Weiss. As the arrow flew, it sank into the arm, shattering against bone as it charred the flesh around it. Arm and arrow turned to ash and floated away, leaving Weiss and Cinder staring in equal disbelief.

From her vantage point, Ruby saw none of this. She saw Cinder's back, the twitch of her arm as she released the arrow, and the plume of Ash drifting on the wind. Rage and grief boiled inside her, and she cried tears of molten, incandescent lead. With a heart-rending scream, silver light poured out of her eyes, bursting forth in a shimmering shockwave. When it reached Cinder, she spasmed, arching her back and dropping her bow, as black miasma poured out of her nose and mouth. The light reached further, rolling through the broken capital, instantly vaporizing any Grimm it touched. Their howls of agony echoed through the empty expanse before fading into utter silence.

In the silence that followed, two gunshots rang out. The first smashed through Ruby's Aura. The second sent a spray of blood. Ruby pitched forward, scythe slipping from her fingers, and toppled over the side of Ozpin's broken tower.

Clover was back on his feet, but even if he could reach her with his fishing pole, he wouldn't have a way of stopping Ruby's fall. Jaune was by his side, restoring the Specialist's Aura with his shield raised towards Watts. Clover had his pole in hand, twirling his charm as he took aim with the rod.

Another burst of inspiration seized Cardin. He shouted to Clover, "Throw me!"

Clover showed a split second of shock before nodding. With a flick of his hands, the line wrapped itself around Cardin's waist. He only had a moment to consider his sudden idea before he was airborne, on a collision course with Ruby as she fell.

Even if he caught her, the force of their fall, combined with their lack of Aura, would probably kill them both. Cardin reached deep within himself, struggling for that last glimmer of Aura left in him, and poured it into his remaining arm. As he slammed into Ruby, sudden vertigo seized him as he became near weightless. The air felt as viscous as honey as he crashed through it, and his head swam as each heartbeat forced more and more blood, easier to push thanks to his reduced mass, into his brain. Bitter cold gripped his chest through the agonizingly slow descent. His vision faded to black around the edges, leaving him with a dull green spot. The spot rushed up to him, and he hit the ground with a startling, but safe thud.

When his vision cleared, panic seized him. Ruby's right eye was bloodied and torn by bullet fragments, while all that remained of the left was a crater. Jaune ran up to them and knelt by Ruby.

"No please, not again," Jaune pleaded as he poured the last of his Aura into Ruby. "Just let me save her, please."

Cardin rolled onto his side and pushed himself upright. "Try to save that right eye, if you can," Cardin told him.

Jaune looked at him as if he had sprouted horns. "I have to heal the left, she's bleeding to death."

"You saw what she did. She saved the whole city. I don't think she'll be able to do that if she's blind."

Jaune shook his head. "I can't risk it. I can't let her die."

Cardin put his hand on Jaune's shoulder. "That power is the only thing that might destroy the Grimm forever. It's the one thing Salem is afraid of, and for all we know, Ruby's the last one to have it."

Jaune bit his lip. A frustrated growl burst from him, and he put both hands on Ruby's chest. "She better live. If she doesn't, I won't forgive you."

Fatigue and blood loss caught up to Cardin in a dizzying rush. Too exhausted to even sit up, Cardin fell on his back and stared up at the smoky, gray sky. He tried to answer Jaune, but the words came out as an incoherent mumble. As his eyelids drooped, he tried to raise his head one last time, for a glimpse of Ruby's silver eyes, but the effort sapped the last of his strength, and sleep took him.