It's dark outside when Lincoln and Anna finish up. With one last look around, Lincoln sighs and falls into bed. "Okay, we did it!" He throws his arms up, but with little enthusiasm. "Yay…" Anna looks at their handiwork and giggles.

"It looks like you take up most of the room, Lincoln."

He crosses his arms indignantly. "Well it's not my fault nobody brought anything!" He looks over at Anna's unpacked things, which consisted of a few books, bathroom supplies, and mostly clothes. There was almost no trace of her in the room.

He looks at her unhappily. "How come you didn't bring anything from home?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean, look!" He grabs a snowglobe off of a shelf and shakes it, showing a cute depiction of a winter wonderland in Atlas. "Stuff like this!"

"Well, it doesn't really snow in Vacuo."

"Then what about a sand-globe? Board games? Pictures?"

She looks away sadly. "I had to leave home in a hurry too, Lincoln. I just didn't have anyone to help me pack like you did."

"What about your parents?"

She closes her eyes. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Aw come on, I told you and Violet about me! It can't be that bad."

She looks at him angrily. "I said I don't want to talk about it!" She turns around and goes to sit on her bed, her back facing him. Lincoln shrinks, being taken aback by her outburst. After a moment, she sighs. "I'm sorry. I'm not like you, Lincoln, I can't just carry on." The girl hugs herself for comfort, and gently Lincoln walks over.

"I'm sorry, Anna."

"It's okay."

"…So did you lose your parents too?"

She scoffs. "Not the way you think I did."

"Huh?"

"I already told you that I'm not talking about it."

"Okay…I'm here if you ever feel like it though."

She smiles at him. "Thanks Lincoln."

He beams. "No problem!" He puts his hands on his hips and looks around. "Now if only Violet and Nero would come back…"

"I hope they're okay."

Lincoln waves his hand dismissively. "I'm sure they're fine! I mean, what are they gonna do, kill each other?" The color quickly drains from both their faces. "Uh…maybe we should go find them."

"Yeah." The students quickly get onto their feet and hurry out of the dorm. Hopefully they won't be too late.

.

Nero grunts as Violet kicks him in the chest. He stumbles back, but manages to stay on his feet. He glares at her as he recuperates, but she doesn't look afraid.

"I don't need tactics to beat you, Nero. You're just that predictable."

He grits his teeth. "We'll see about that!" He rushes forward, firing at her with his gauntlets. She darts to her right, trying to outrun his aim, until he's finally upon her. Violet uses her semblance and summons two arms to grab hold of his arms. Once again, she kicks him in his chest, sending him backwards. He recovers much faster this time and runs right into her, pushing her down. However, she goes ahead and summons two more arms, and the four help push her back into the air so she lands back on her feet. She turns her revolvers into swords mid-movement and clashes with Nero's stiletto blades. He pushes back with a lot more force than she can.

"You don't have what it takes," He hisses.

Violet grits her teeth. "I'm not giving up!" She has two of her extra arms help push on her blades, which is enough to overpower Nero and push him back into a retreat. She pants, having to dismiss her semblance.

Nero stands up straight, barely winded. "I noticed something about your semblance during initiation. It really takes a toll on you, doesn't it?"

"And why would I tell you that?"

"You don't have to. I already know the answer." He darts forward again, and Violet doesn't have enough time to react—but her mind does. She activates her semblance again, and two arms pop out to protect her from Nero's lunge. However, his blow is enough to send her flying backwards, even more exhausted. As she soars through the air, her guns fly out of her hands. She hits the ground hard, and her scroll falls out of her pocket. She flips onto her stomach painfully, trying to get a look at how her aura's doing. Unfortunately, her meter has hit zero—Nero's managed to wipe her out. The boy towers over her, kicking her onto her backside. He aims one of Violet's revolvers at her, narrowing his eyes.

She rests one hand across her stomach while the other reaches out. "Wait, Nero…it's over. I don't have any aura left."

He continues to stare without changing the gun's aim. "Are you afraid, Violet?"

Her eyes widen. "What?"

"Your opponent has your own gun aimed right at your head. You're out of aura. What's your plan now?"

Violet looks at him worriedly. "Nero it's over, you already beat me."

"Not out there I haven't. The rules don't mean anything outside of this school, and that's the only thing saving you in this situation." He pulls back on the hammer. "Come on, leader. Save yourself."

"Nero stop, this isn't funny."

He suddenly explodes, "And this isn't a game either, Violet! Face it, you're nothing outside of these walls! Do you think the world's going to wait on you to make a plan before saving it?!"

The door to the training room suddenly flies open, and Lincoln and Anna bust into the room.

Lincoln shouts, "Nero stop!" Then, there's a gunshot. Everyone freezes in place, absolutely terrified. Nero's arm is up in the air, the pistol aimed at the ceiling. He scoffs at Violet and tosses her gun next to her, while she continues to watch him in horror. Wordlessly, he puts his hands in his pockets and leaves, brushing past his other two shocked teammates. Shakily, she looks down at her weapon beside her. His words echo through her mind as she slowly wraps her fingers around the handle, easing onto her feet and holstering it at her hip. Silently, she walks over and collects the other one, before finally turning to Lincoln and Anna.

He gulps before asking, "Violet? What happened?" After a few moments, Violet walks over and starts explaining everything from the beginning.

.

Meanwhile, Nero is on his way to the dorm so he can get ready for bed. On his way, however, he meets Ozpin.

"Ah, Mr. Vanta!" He greets. "What a pleasant surprise. I was just looking for you."

Nero furrows his eyebrows. "What? Why?"

"To congratulate you, of course." Ozpin smiles. "Why don't you come with me?" He starts to walk off, and the student follows begrudgingly. They head into Glynda's office, where she's waiting. The headmaster gestures to a seat. "Stay a while, Mr. Vanta. We have much to discuss." Nero plops down into a seat and crosses his arms.

Ozpin leans against the desk, facing him. "Glynda had your sparring match pulled up on her tablet. You did quite well against your opponent."

Nero scoffs. "What, my supposed 'team leader'? She's a joke."

"As we've noticed. Clearly, you're superior to your classmate in every possible way. Therefore, I've had Glynda make some new arrangements for you." Glynda types away on her tablet before handing it to Ozpin, who shows the student. Nero simply stares without emoting. Ozpin smiles. "Yes, Mr. Vanta. This is Team Nylon, with you as its leader. We'll have a replacement for your old team within the week. Congratulations."

Nero arches an eyebrow, annoyed. "Is this supposed to make me feel guilty or something?"

Ozpin shrugs. "That depends. Is it working?"

Nero rolls his eyes. "I don't care about being the leader. I just don't want her leading me."

"Tell me how you really feel."

"I just did," the boy hisses.

"Are you sure? I have a feeling you're hiding something, Mr. Vanta. Could it be that you aren't a team player?"

"I can work on a team."

"Then why is it under Miss Argyle's leadership that you seem to be struggling?" Ozpin chuckles. "Unless that is, you happen to be afraid of something."

"I don't get scared," Nero growls.

"Oh, but you do, my boy." Ozpin leans forward, looking him right in the eyes. "You may think that you can bury your past and your feelings with a few cold remarks, but I know better. I am very familiar with that look in your eyes. You're a young man who thinks you have nothing to give and yet everything to lose." Nero continues to stare back at him, seemingly unfazed. Ozpin chuckles and relaxes. "I was once much like you. I wasn't the leader of my team either when I was in school. I did everything I could to distance myself from them, to become autonomous so I would stand out amidst my peers and perhaps one day make something of myself."

Nero glances around at the office. "Well, it looks like you did fine."

"But not alone. Do you know who was the leader of my team?" Ozpin steps aside and gestures to Glynda. "Glynda Eleanor Goodwitch, an aspiring young Huntress who, although wasn't the strongest, was the most sound of mind out of everyone on our team. She, unlike myself, knew how to manage others. All I cared about was proving myself to everyone. Does any of this ring a bell, Mr. Vanta?" The boy crosses his arms, saying nothing. Ozpin shrugs. "That's alright, I think I already know. I hope I've gotten through to you, young man."

"Yessir."

"Good. Oh and by the way you'll be serving detention with Glynda after your first day of classes. You did threaten your team leader, after all."

Nero grumbles, "I understand…"

The headmaster nods. "Now hurry along back to your dorm. Glynda will be watching your team closely until she sees improvement among you. And don't worry, your team isn't anything special—there are several other teams who are also having some issues coming together." Nero, without another word, gets up and leaves. Ozpin sighs. "Was I like that in school?"

Glynda smiles. "Only when your reputation was at stake. So yes, every day sir."

He chuckles. "Thank you, Glynda."

"Anytime, professor." Ozpin knocks on the desk before standing on his own two feet and exiting as well, leaving Glynda to finish up her work for the night. He has his own matters to address, in the meantime—it concerns the safety of the entire school body.

.

Violet, Lincoln, and Anna are all gathered in the dorm room. Violet has just finished explaining everything to them, and her teammates can't help but be startled.

Lincoln lowers his head. "So what do we do? I don't want you guys to be fighting all the time."

Anna shakes her head. "Me neither." Violet, instead of responding, stares at the floor. She's deep in thought, contemplating everything that's happened since arriving at Beacon. Her teammates look at one another worriedly, but then the door to their room opens. They look to see Nero, looking as stoic as ever.

Lincoln stands up. "Nero…"

The young man walks in. "I know." He goes over to Violet, standing in front of her. Anna and Lincoln are tense, but they don't interfere. Nero looks down at his leader, who still hasn't picked her head up.

With a deep sigh, he says, "I'm sorry for crossing the line, Violet. But I won't take back what I said. You're not ready to get in a real fight."

Violet slowly picks her head up, a determined look on her face. "…Then I'll get better." She stands up without an ounce of fear in her body, far from where she was during their last meeting. "If I'm not where I need to be, then I'll get better. With or without your help."

Nero stares for a few moments before crossing his arms. "I guess you're a leader after all."

Lincoln jumps up and down in excitement. "Does that mean you're friends now?!"

Violet smiles at him. "Close enough." The boy cheers and throws his arms into the air, making Anna giggle.

Violet looks back at Nero, holding her hand out to him. "We've all got a long way to go, Nero."

He grabs her forearm, and they shake. "Yeah. But we'll do a lot better under your leadership than mine."

She lowers her head. "I'm…actually surprised that you aren't the leader, Nero." They release each other's arms.

He huffs. "Trust me, Ozpin made the right decision." Violet's eyes sparkle, before she quickly regains her composure by clearing her throat.

"Thanks—thank you."

"Just don't disappoint us, got it?"

Violet takes a deep breath. "I won't."

Finally, with all of the initial drama out of the way, the team gets ready for bed. Lincoln pulls his partner aside and explains his background to him, just so he's up-to-speed, but like Anna, Nero doesn't want to share anything either.

Lincoln looks to Violet hopefully. "Violet? You're our leader. You'll tell us about you, right?"

Her eyes scan each of their faces before she hesitantly gets into bed. "Not tonight. We'll talk some other time, okay?" Lincoln frowns, and Anna pats him reassuringly on the back. Then, all four students crawl into bed and go to sleep.

.

Over the next few days, the team settles in. Lincoln still has the highest luggage count, with Violet in second place, and surprisingly enough, Anna and Nero tied for last. They both brought the absolute minimum with them to Beacon, although neither would disclose why. It drove Lincoln absolutely mad.

On the morning of their first day of school, Violet's alarm on her scroll goes off. She turns it off quickly, before sitting up and stretching. She glances over at her other teammates, but they're all still asleep. She sighs and then starts getting ready for the day. The girls' Beacon uniform consists of a red plaid skirt with white ruffles, a formal white shirt, a dark brown vest, a black formal jacket with gold trims, and a small red string in place of a tie. Violet's also wearing black stockings and dark brown leather school shoes, and of course, her beanie on top, which has been on her head since last night. The boy's uniform is the same, except they wear black pants, a blue vest, and a red tie.

To Violet's amazement, after all of that preparation, her teammates are still asleep. She looks at the time and notices that class starts in twenty minutes. She shakes her head in disappointment, thinking to herself, I hope they wake up soon. Otherwise they'll be late. Quietly, Violet leaves the room, heading to class. According to her schedule, their first class is History at 9:05. She walks to the listed classroom, and after laying out her three-ring binder, four pens, white-out, back-up pencil, and her scroll to record the lecture, waits patiently for class to begin.

Students start filing in eventually, but none of them are her teammates. She keeps glancing at the time, and as the beginning of class creeps closer and closer, she starts to wonder if any of them had even set an alarm. What has her even more concerned is that the teacher isn't here either. But then, right as the clock changes from 9:04 to 9:05, a blur zips into the room and stops abruptly behind the desk. Violet's eyes widen as she realizes that he's the professor. He has wild green hair, large round glasses, a white button-up shirt with only half it tucked in, a yellow tie, formal black pants, and leather brown shoes. He has some sort of black band around his right arm, and his tie isn't as tight as it should be. Violet can't help but question if that falls into dress code.

"Good morning students!" He greets, speaking rather quickly. "My name is Professor Oobleck, and I will be teaching you the wonders of history and how it applies to you as a future Huntsman or Huntress!" His dark blue eyes suddenly land on Violet and the three empty seats next to her. He zips over in front of her, leaning over the desk to be right up in her face. Instinctively, Violet bends back to put some distance between them. "Young lady! Where are your teammates?"

She blinks unwittingly. "Am I responsible for them?"

"That's what being a leader means…so yes!"

All of a sudden, from the doorway, the very students barge in, all incredibly exhausted. Their uniforms are in various states of untidiness, but they obviously didn't have a lot of time to get ready.

Oobleck stands up straight. "Ah! You must be the rest! Come in and sit, class is already behind by sixty seconds!" He zips back to the front of the room, and Violet's disgruntled teammates all have their seat next to her. Before Anna or Lincoln can separate them, Nero takes his seat right next to her, which causes Lincoln to sit next to him since Anna is deathly afraid of him, leaving her on the end.

Nero whispers angrily at Violet, "Thanks for waking us up, leader."

"I thought you could take care of yourselves!"

"I asked you if you had an alarm set, you had the alarm!"

"It's not my fault none of you did the same."

Oobleck suddenly cuts into the conversation. "Team Vanilla!" Instinctively, Violet turns towards him and raises her hand. The professor nods. "Then you must be Miss Argyle! And your teammates are here as well—excellent!" He marks them as present on his roll sheet and then starts class.

Anna glances over at Nero and Violet nervously, murmuring to Lincoln, "I hope every class isn't going to be like this…"

Lincoln shrugs. "Well, it could be worse. They're not trying to kill each other!"

Anna puts her head down. "Please stop saying that…"

Lincoln laughs quietly. "Whoops."

The rest of class carries on, and they end right on time. Oobleck dismisses them, although calls on Violet to have a short word with her.

"Miss Argyle is this going to be a problem?"

She shakes her head profusely. "No sir! I'll do better in the future, I promise!"

"Let's hope you are correct! You have a very important role in your team, young lady."

She takes a deep breath. "I understand."

"I know you do—now carry on!" He zips over to the chalkboard at the front of the room to erase everything, and Violet exits the classroom. The four continue on with their day, and they attend three more classes that day. They were Grimm Studies, Combat Practice, and to end the day, Intro to Botany and Herbology.

As they walk out of their last class, Nero grumbles, "If I wasn't going to detention, I would beat the crap out of you, Violet…"

The girl throws her arms into the air angrily. "What did I do?!"

"You left us behind, that's what you did!"

Lincoln pouts. "You have detention?"

Nero sticks his hands in his pockets. "Yeah. For beating the crap out of Violet." Then, he starts to walk off. "I'll catch up with you guys later."

Lincoln looks at the girls. "Well! Looks like it's just us!"

Violet rubs the back of her head. "Actually, I have to go too."

"Whaaaaaaaat?!"

Anna tilts her head. "Where are you going? You don't have detention too, do you?"

"No, but I do have a part-time job after school."

Lincoln furrows his eyebrows. "You work after school? But isn't school enough work already?"

"Sorry guys, it's just how I am. I'll be back before dinner!" And with that, she hurries off.

Lincoln sighs and looks to Anna with large puppy-like eyes. "You aren't leaving too, are you?"

She smiles. "No, I'm staying." He cheers enthusiastically as he grabs her and starts running off. She laughs, "Where are we going?"

"I don't know, but I'm super excited!"

Anna giggles. At least he's enthusiastic.

.

Violet drops off her school supplies in the dorm before hurrying off-campus and into the city. She catches the soonest airbus she can, and shortly afterwards she finds herself back in the Commercial District. She travels deeper in, until she arrives at a particular shop: Tukson's Booktrade. With a wide smile on her face, she walks in, and the owner Tukson is wiping off the counter with a rag. The walls are dark green and lined with bookshelves, while there are stands along the floor holding even more stories. There's a backroom behind the counter, where Violet usually works.

Tukson sees her walk in and throws the rag over his shoulder, holding his arms out for a hug. "Violet!"

She meets him happily in an embrace, holding him tightly. "Hey Tukson."

They pull apart and he pats her on the head. "How's it going? How's school?"

"You won't believe it! I'm the leader of my own team!"

He laughs happily. "That's great! I bet your Aunt's proud."

Violet scratches the back of her head. "Actually, I haven't told her yet."

He looks at her in surprise. "Well why not?"

She lowers her head. "One of my teammates doesn't like me very much…I didn't think being a leader would be so hard."

"Well, what did you think it was going to be like?"

"I don't know! I just thought they'd listen to me."

He chuckles. "People aren't machines, Violet. They've all got their own agendas too." He nudges her playfully. "Hey, if any of them give you a hard time, just call me."

She smiles. "Thanks Tukson."

"I should be thanking you! You're still willing to help out here even when I know you've got plenty of schoolwork to be doing."

"It's not that much."

"If you say so." He pats her on the shoulder and goes back behind the counter. "Now then, are you ready to start?"

She grins excitedly. "Am I!" Tukson smiles and gives her a list of things to do. Violet works without question, and finishes each task speedily and with much care. By the end of the day, all of the books are sorted alphabetically, including the extras in the backroom, there isn't a speck of dust in the entire store, and the register is organized too. She's done twice the amount than what Tukson had originally told her to do, but she finished his list early—what else was she going to do, leave?

It's around 6 o'clock when she finishes, and by the end of it she's pretty tired.

Tukson grabs her by the shoulder. "You did great work today, Violet."

She smiles. "I always do."

"You know what else you always do?" He suddenly looks at her sternly. "Overwork yourself." She groans, but he continues, "I'm serious, Violet. Your Aunt told me to keep an eye on you and make sure you don't work yourself to death! You've been keeping busy for over three hours!"

She waves her hand dismissively. "That's fine."

"Not when you come in as many days as you do. Now you've got to make a decision, Violet, you can either work every day for an hour or two or stick with three days a week and work a maximum of four hours like you used to do. You know the rules."

She sighs. "Okay…"

He crosses his arms. "So? What's it gonna be?"

"Um…" Her gaze drifts towards the ground, trying to think straight. Tukson's stare softens, and then he sighs.

"You don't have to have an answer right now. If you come in tomorrow, I'm only letting you work an hour, alright? And if you don't, then we'll go with Plan B. Okay?"

Violet nods. "Alright…"

"Good. Now go back to school, do your homework, and get some rest."

"Okay Tukson."

"Hey, do you want me to tell your Aunt your news?"

She shrugs. "Sure. I don't know when I'll be able to do it."

He smiles. "Great. We'll talk over dinner tonight!"

Violet giggles. "You have another date planned?"

"Well sure! We're celebrating your first full day of classes!"

She looks at him knowingly. "Alright, whatever you say, Tukson." She turns and walks out, waving to him. "I'll see you later."

"Remember what we talked about!" He calls after her. After she's gone, he sighs. "What a kid."

.

Violet finally gets back to Beacon and walks into her dorm. Her other teammates are finishing up their homework as they look at her.

Lincoln cheers. "Violet!"

Anna's worried. "Hey, are you okay?"

Violet rubs one of her eyes tiredly. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just worked myself a little too hard."

Nero scoffs, closing his book. "I wish Lincoln knew what that was like."

"Hey!" While the boy complains, Violet hobbles over to her bed and gets out her homework, ready to start on it.

Anna gains the courage to speak up. "Do you want help with that?"

"No, I can do it. Thanks."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Nero walks over and peers at what she's done so far before immediately pointing to her first answer. "That's wrong."

She squints her eyes. "What? No it's not, that's…" She pauses. "Oh. You're right. That's supposed to say blue…"

"You know the yellow version of that plant kills you."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

"So what if you try eating the yellow one because you're tired?"

She growls, "I get it, Nero…"

"Do you? Because you're still treating this like a game."

Lincoln cuts in, "Guys please not now! You just made up!" The pair stare at one another for a moment before Nero breaks eye contact, collecting his dark grey bag and leaving for the bathroom. Lincoln grabs his and follows after him, leaving the girls with the bedroom.

Anna goes over to her bag and starts pulling out her pajamas. "Are you sure you're okay, Violet?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine…" She mutters. She collects her pajamas as well and then goes back to her bed, beginning to get undressed. Anna stays near her bag and keeps her back towards Violet as she changes too. The shy girl wants to say more, but she just can't bring herself to make the sounds. To try and counter her anxiety, she takes a few deep breaths and finishes up changing. Anna's now wearing a pastel blue tank top and black pants. She hears Violet zipping up her bookbag, so she guesses she's done too and turns around without looking too suspicious. Like she wouldn't have cared either way.

Violet yawns. Tonight, she's wearing a white graphic t-shirt and pink shorts—and her beanie, of course. So far, no one's asked about it. There's a knock at the door, and Anna lets Lincoln and Nero in. Lincoln's wearing a blue muscle shirt and gym shorts, while Nero's wearing a black t-shirt with some sort of metal band on it and baggy black pants.

He's the one who finally asks, "Why the heck do you sleep with a beanie on all the time?"

Violet, anticipating this question, shrugs. "Hair stuff."

Lincoln looks to Anna. "Is that true?"

The shy girl turns red and looks away. "I mean, I don't know…! My hair's really short."

Nero crosses his arms. "Fine. I don't even care." He walks over to his bed and lays down, his back facing everyone. Violet sighs as the rest of them get into bed.

She mutters, "If you don't care why did you ask…?" She continues working quietly, under the lamp that she brought from her Aunt's house. It clamps onto the bed frame, and is super adjustable—one of the best things she owns, she believes. After finally finishing her homework, she turns her light off and almost immediately falls asleep. She didn't even notice Lincoln, who's been trying to fall back asleep for the past hour.

.

The next day, in their combat class, Nero is the first to volunteer. Glynda nods and pulls up his aura meter, displaying it onto a large blank banner on the far side of the room.

She looks back at him. "Who's your opponent?"

Nero looks right at his leader. "Violet." The girl smirks as she gets up and heads down into the arena, as Glynda brings up her aura meter as well. Nero gets into a fighting stance. "I still haven't gotten you back for not waking us up yesterday."

Violet does a quick stretch. "Then let's settle it, shall we?" She braces herself, determined to do better this time.

Glynda raises her arm in the air. "Ready…set…" She brings it down. "Go." The fight begins—to Lincoln's and Anna's relief, it isn't a fight about who's better. It isn't about a petty rivalry either. This is a match between friends—finally they're friends. Hopefully, things will continue to go this smoothly for the rest of the year…

.

Meanwhile, there's trouble brewing. Across the ocean from Vale is another continent called Mistral. There, bad things are starting to happen. In the underbelly of the city, where the worst scum of Remnant gather, there's a meeting happening between three important individuals. They call themselves the New Remnant Triumvirate. They are currently the most dangerous trio in the entire world—not that anyone knows that yet.

Currently, two of them are sitting in a dark room around a table, with only a candle for light. They're both women. One of them is wearing a black sleeveless robe, a crimson scarf around her shoulders, and a ceremonial crimson rope around her waist. Her hair is short and black and she has fierce yellow eyes. Her complexion is dark, and she has darker animal-like stripes on her arms. What stands out most about her are the orange tiger ears on top of her head. The left one is pierced with a golden earring, as are her two human ears inherited from a past family member. There's an oval-shaped crimson jewel on her forehead.

She's sitting back in her chair with her arms crossed, impatient. The other woman is sitting prim and proper, her legs crossed and her hands in her lap, a smug grin on her face. She has long black hair, pulled over her left shoulder. Her eyes are amber-colored, constantly burning with some sort of intensity. She's wearing a short crimson dress with gold accents. There's an extravagant navy blue feather piece on her right hip, where her dress is its shortest. Her shoulders aren't covered, and at the bottom of her dress there's black lace. To finish it off, she's wearing black heels that tinkle like glass with each step she takes.

The faunus woman growls. "Where is he?"

"Patience, Sienna. He says he's got quite the treat for us."

The faunus stands up and leans over the table, glaring at her. "I have a whole organization to maintain, I don't have time for trivial games!" She hits her fists on the table.

The other woman waves her hand dismissively. "You worry too much, Sienna. I hear the White Fang is doing rather well; the best since its creation, actually."

"Even so, I have to work to maintain that status."

A third voice cuts in—a man's. "There's no need to concern yourself with losing supporters, Ms. Khan." The women turn their heads and look to see the third member of their group. He has tan skin, very short black hair that's graying on the sides, and a wicked-looking mustache. He's wearing a formal untucked yellow shirt, a purple vest, and a gray trench coat. He's also wearing purple fingerless gloves, and he has rings on his fingers. His tie is black, and a little loose, and his eyes are green. Still, he exudes refinement and formality, albeit he's still a slightly condescending man.

He looks to the other woman. "You're looking well, Cinder dear."

Her smug look finally goes away, promptly annoyed by his presence. "What did you want to show us, Watts?"

"Doctor," He corrects, holding his arms behind his back. "But first, I would like to hear from the both of you." He looks to Sienna. "Well?"

"The White Fang has total control over Mistral." She looks at Cinder angrily. "Like I said before, the headmaster is much more useful to us alive." Turning back to Watts, she adds, "His seat in the Council is ours. He'll say whatever we need him to."

Watts nods. "Excellent. And you, Cinder?"

"I have Roman Torchwick keeping the people of Vale on edge with his Dust robberies." She glances over at Sienna. "The White Fang will have a nice supply once he's done. Not to mention they'll be too worried about themselves to even notice the lion acting strange." She smiles mockingly. "He isn't as reliable as Sienna makes him out to be." The faunus growls, but Watts quiets her down.

He looks at both of them. "It sounds like everything's going according to plan, then."

Sienna crosses her arms as she finally sits back down. "That depends on what you've been up to, while we've been carrying this plan on our backs."

Watts chuckles. "Believe me, I am the backbone of this operation." He lays down his scroll, and a large rectangular hologram pops up. They see some sort of political poll, and so far it looks like there's a clear winner. "I'm securing us another seat on the council as we speak. I have an old colleague of mine running in the election in my stead. His name is on the ticket, he will be attending the public events, and make the necessary speeches. I, however, will be dictating his every action. I tell him what to say, and he says it." He picks up his scroll, dismissing the hologram.

Cinder smirks. "Maybe you aren't so useless after all, Arthur."

Sienna huffs angrily. "You can still do more."

Watts gestures to the doorway. "I actually have one more thing to show you." He holds up one of his hands as the rings on his fingers start to glow. He makes a gesture as if he's beckoning something to him, and the women start to hear rabid growling. A cage starts to roll in, with a sheet thrown over it to hide whatever is inside. The thing is thrashing about wildly, obviously intent on getting out.

Watts places a hand on top of the small cell. "This is a pet project of mine. I spoke to you both previously about needing assets, and I have provided in the form of artillery." He grips onto the sheet. "I present to you both the result of fifteen years of work." He pulls the sheet off, and while Sienna looks horrified, Cinder starts to have a wide grin on her face.

Sienna gets to her feet, taking a step back. "What…is that?"

Watts smirks. "I call this…the Maiden Project."