Here we go and all that. I meant to mention in my other fics, but forgot, that I released a new Fanfiction last Saturday. Whoops. Anyway, feel free to check it out if you're interested. I'm fairly excited for it and it's had a lot of planning gone into it. It's called "Relic of the Future".

Beta: College Fool

Cover Art: Kegi Springfield

Chapter 58

Jaune banged a fist on the door.

"What!?" an upset voice replied. "You can't come in! I'm in the shower!"

"Ruby, you've been in the shower for three quarters of an hour," he yelled back, holding his knees together, hands between them. "Some of us need to use the bathroom!"

"Well give me another half hour."

"The water will be cold!" he whined.

"Good!"

Oh, come on. This really wasn't his day. Jaune held his urges in and looked around for help. Weiss rolled her eyes, clearly unwilling to get involved in what she saw as a childish argument. Pyrrha had been up an hour before them and already had a shower. She was busy with her hair. Jaune growled and banged on the door again. "You're not the only one who needs to use it – and I have a meeting with the headmaster in ten minutes. What are you even doing in there?"

"…" There was a long moment of silence before Ruby answered. "Shower things."

Gods damn it! He really did have a meeting with Ozpin; one that had arrived in the form of a message request on his scroll. He'd woken up to it, grumbled unhappily, and gone back to sleep. That was biting him in the ass now. He hopped from one foot to the other in clear agitation.

"You know there are public restrooms all over Beacon," Weiss said. "You-"

Jaune didn't hear anymore. He was already out the door.

Ten minutes later, a few of which had been spent in blissful relief, he found himself headed towards the tower of Beacon and the elevator that led to the top of it. To his surprise he wasn't the only one there. Mr Branwen, Ruby's uncle, was present, as was General Ironwood. His instincts immediately flickered at the latter, a rush of fear overtaking him. None of them were armed though, and their poses spoke of them being relaxed.

Then again, if Qrow Branwen had known the truth he'd probably not let him share a room with his niece, so his secret was probably still safe.

"Thank you for coming, Mr Arc," Ozpin said. "Please, take a seat. I hope my summons didn't catch you at an inopportune time."

"Er no, it's fine." It wasn't so much the summons as Ruby. What was up with her? She'd looked incredibly red when she'd woken up, and then stormed into the shower before anyone could so much as ask her what was wrong. For some weird reason she'd dragged her bed sheets in, too. It's too early in the morning for this. Maybe it's some custom for them to do it. I don't know.

"I'm glad to hear it. I called you here today because I felt that in the spirit of our agreement to work closely together, you ought to have some things revealed to you."

He perked up at that, a little surprised. "Really?"

"This is a sign of trust," Ironwood said solemnly, "and not one given lightly. In my opinion you are too young to know these things, but… but I cannot deny that you are also too young to be hunted by our enemy, and too young to be a piece in this war without understanding why. A lack of information gets good men and women killed."

"And while you are too young for this," he continued, "I hope you can understand the importance of keeping anything we say here firmly to yourself."

"I understand, General."

"I hope you do." Ironwood nodded to Ozpin, stepping back.

"Thank you, James," the man said. "Mr Arc, please sit down. What my friend here tells you is true and while I would normally hesitate to include one so young into such truths, I feel your situation is a unique one. You are a target for the Grimm, as we have discussed before. As James says, keeping the truth from you would be a foolish mistake lest you fall for a trap of the enemy, and since we both now know why they are searching for you and how important it is to safeguard your powers, we are left at an impasse."

"Because I can sense Grimm," Jaune said, recalling the theory Ozpin had come up with.

"So, it was you," Ironwood said, earning a sigh from Ozpin. "I should have known."

"Yes, yes, because of that, Mr Arc – and other things. Again, I must urge you to sit down. What I'm about to explain to you will shake you to your very core. You won't want to be standing for this." He sounded so serious that Jaune swallowed and did as asked, taking the lone seat opposite the headmaster. Ironwood and Qrow remained standing, creating a strange sense of his being surrounded. He could feel Remy squirming in agitation.

"Here," Qrow said, pouring a small amount of amber liquid into a glass. "You might need this."

"Be careful," Remy warned. "It might be poison."

"I doubt they'd poison me," he replied internally. "Besides, you can take care of poisons, right?"

Jaune took the drink, downing it in one. His face puckered a second later. The taste was horrible! If it wasn't poison, then he had no idea why anyone would want to drink it. The foul stuff burned his throat and mouth and he instantly wished he had some water to get rid of the aftertaste.

"You're supposed to sip it," Qrow laughed. "Nice, kid. We'll make a man of you yet."

"I'll get rid of it," Remy hissed. "Ugh, this is foul."

Forcing himself past it Jaune looked back up to the headmaster and nodded, showing he was ready for whatever they were going to lay on him. It had to be bad for the man, normally so calm and reserved, looked deadly serious. He sighed and took a sip of his own drink, placing it on the desk and laying both hands down.

"This is a truth kept from the public for obvious reasons, Mr Arc. It may shatter everything you have held as truth, but I ask you to remain as calm as you possibly can. If you need it, you may ask me questions afterwards and I will do my best to answer." He paused for emphasis. "Are you ready to hear it, Mr Arc?"

Jaune swallowed. "I am."

Ozpin nodded solemnly and drew a deep breath. The tension in the room reached a fever pitch, Ironwood and Qrow watching Jaune for any reaction, both prepared to step in if things became violent or he acted out. That alone had his heart being wildly. This was big. It had to be. Ozpin's eyes snapped open, his mouth moved. Words came forth.

"There is a Queen of the Grimm."

Jaune waited.

And waited.

And waited…

"I see the truth has stunned you to silence," Ozpin said, nodding. "I can assure you it's the truth. The Grimm are not as mindless or uncontrolled as many are led to believe, and there is one such individual who controls them all – the dread monster, Salem, Queen of the Grimm."

Well, yeah… Duh…

Jaune blinked and looked to the General and Qrow, hoping either of them would have something more to say. In turn, they took his expression as his seeking confirmation. Qrow nodded. "It's true, kid. Believe me when I say I wish it wasn't, but it's all true."

"O-Oh…" Jaune stammered, recalling that this was probably supposed to be something he shouldn't know. "W-Wow. I mean, that's insane. Someone leads the Grimm?"

Ozpin nodded. "Yes."

"And the Grimm aren't just randomly walking around killing people for no good reason?"

"That is true."

"Because, you know, it would really be random if they were. I mean, that wouldn't even make any sense. There'd have to be someone giving them orders because otherwise the Grimm would have just thrown themselves at humanity en masse and one side would be extinct by now. It's kind of obvious someone was in control." Jaune trailed off. "Just saying…"

"You're not wrong, Mr Arc – and like you say, in hindsight much of this starts to make more sense once the truth is revealed."

"I wasn't talking about hindsight…"

"And that is why the general public must be kept unaware," Ozpin went on, ignoring him. "If the people knew that there was some figure behind the Grimm, why, the panic would be incredible. I dread to imagine what might happen."

"Yeah, me too." The people might band together and actually target the one responsible for the Grimm if they knew, killing his mom and family. Humans might actually win. Since it was all a secret and no one knew Salem existed, no one was aware there that there actually was a way to end the Grimm threat once and for all. As such, they felt there was nothing that could be done. Grimm would just exist forever and there was no way to stop them.

Come to think of it, why were they keeping it a secret? Limiting panic didn't make any sense since – even if he wasn't fully in on the culture yet – he was pretty sure thinking mindless murder monsters were everywhere would cause just as much panic. Heck, if they knew someone was controlling them then at least that panic could turn to anger or a desire to end that person. What good would having the people think the Grimm were an eternal and unstoppable force of nature do?

Was Ozpin even trying to stop his mom?

"I'm glad you agree. Ironwood, Qrow and I have been working against this Queen for many years, orchestrating a constant battle to prevent the Grimm from overthrowing mankind. Our goal is to overthrow and kill Salem once and for all."

Jaune's brow twitched. "And how's that going for you?" Ozpin coughed and looked away. Qrow found himself intrigued by the ceiling, and Ironwood was busy on a scroll. Jaune sat there for a good five minutes before he realised his question wasn't going to be answered. "That bad, huh?"

"Not nearly so, Mr Arc. Our focus has been on the protection of the cities," Ozpin defended. "We've bolstered defences, tracked her movements, and set in motion several plans to limit the damage she might cause. Through our actions we've pushed back her influence."

"There have been good results, as well," Ironwood said. "Twenty-five years ago she was far more active in trying to harm humanity, but through our staunch defence we were able to beat her back. She has been licking her wounds ever since, and the last two decades have been rather peaceful."

The last twenty years? Wasn't that about the time his mother and father met? It was probably when she got pregnant with Sapphire – and then the rest of them in quick succession. Jaune looked to the three men smiling proudly and resisted the urge to sigh. Staunch defence, indeed. He had a feeling his dad would have something to say about that, and probably about how much `attacking` he's been doing to keep mom busy. She'd leapt from pregnancy to pregnancy for a couple of years.

"Her attempts to capture you have been one of the first times she has acted in the last decade," Ozpin said. "I was unsure at first if we weren't reading into things too much, but hearing that several Grimm attempted to take you alive. And seeing this new strain of Grimm, this Hentacle-" Ironwood groaned at the name, "-shows us that she has awoken once more. Whatever devious plan she has devised involves yourself, Mr Arc. It is because of this that you need to be aware of her existence."

"Okay. Well, consider me aware, I guess. Is that all?"

"You do not seem overly perturbed," Ozpin noted.

"Oh, I am," he said, the lie coming quickly. "It's a real shocker. Wow, a person in charge of the Grimm. That's insane! Still, I think I'll be okay."

"Over-confidence is a risky trait to have," Ironwood warned.

"I'd know if she was close, though," he said.

"Your Semblance," Ozpin agreed, nodding, and somehow getting the wrong end of the stick again. "Yes, I suppose you would. Go easy on him, James. We all adapted to the truth in different ways. You've not sensed any Grimm in Beacon, then?"

"None," he answered instantly. "Definitely none."

"You're certain? I've heard it said Hentacle can adopt a disguise rather similar to that of a human."

"There are definitely no Grimm here," Jaune lied. "And no bad guys that I can sense, either. Nothing whatsoever. None." His smile became forced. "Absolutely not a single one."

"I see. Thank you. I suppose that is a credit to our security." Ozpin nodded to Ironwood, who stood a little straighter. "However, I'd like to ask you to keep your senses alert during the Vytal Festival. Can you do that for us?"

"I can… do you expect something to happen during it?"

"I think it is a possibility. Salem's actions have been unpredictable of late. Her last attack was five years ago, and she struck a library in Vacuo, frightening away the caretakers and stealing much of the knowledge there. We are lucky no one was killed."

Five years…? He wasn't sure but he had a feeling he'd asked his mother why they didn't have any novels to read, and… yeah, well, there'd suddenly been a full library installed in the tower a few days later, hadn't there?

Oops.

"It's possible she is seeking to limit access to knowledge that might be used against her," Ironwood said. "It's the only reasonable explanation. Or that she is seeking for information on something."

"Ten years before that, there was a Grimm attack on a hospital in Mistral."

Jaune gasped.

"Yes, and I recall that the children's ward was breached." Ozpin shook his head, either not seeing or not reacting to Jaune's horror. "It is a miracle that none of the new-borns within were harmed. The Grimm seemed to have become tangled in baby supplies and nappies, and fled when the huntsmen approached."

Amber's birth…

"Ozpin theorised that she was trying to interrupt the birth of new huntsmen and huntresses," Qrow said. "Not sure if it's true or not, but there were a few attacks on other hospitals, too. The Grimm always ran away when they ran into nappies, though. I hear some people in rural communities took to hanging new and unused nappies on the outsides of their doors as a way to ward the Grimm away. I hear some places still do it today."

Well, to be fair there really wasn't anywhere you could buy those kinds of things in the Grimmlands. Cinder had been too young to send on her own, Watts had been busy and Hazel was already looking after the other girls. Tyrian hadn't been sent because he probably would have kidnapped a load of the other babies there.

"There was an attack on a pharmaceutical shop recently too, wasn't there? A pack of Ursa. Miraculously, the owner survived – but a lot of his stock was damaged or dragged away."

"Was that two years ago?" Jaune asked miserably.

"Yes. How did you know?"

"N-No reason…"

"Hey, wasn't that around the time you caught the flu?"

Jaune pointedly didn't answer.

"There was also an attack on that kinky sex shop last year," Qrow said.

Jaune's face turned bright red. It was too much. "I don't need to hear anymore!" he shouted. "Stop, stop, stop. I get it! I get it!"

"Yes, quite." Ozpin coughed. "Mr Arc gets the point, I'm sure. The Queen of the Grimm's attacks have been unpredictable of late, but after much research and deliberation, we believe we have discerned the true purpose for her actions."

"That she became a mother and desperate housewife?" Jaune groaned, cheeks suffused with colour. Qrow barked a sharp laugh.

Ozpin chuckled as well. "Not quite, Mr Arc. The attack on the library was in search of information. In that trove, she found something that intrigued her and decided to look further into it, prompting her attack on locations where she believed more information might be found, specifically the wards where young children were kept."

Jaune blinked. That was… quite the leap in logic. "What kind of information would be kept there?" he asked.

"Fairy tales, Mr Arc. Fairy tales."

He stared at Ozpin.

Ozpin stared back.

"Fairies are real?"

"He means books mothers might read to children," Qrow groaned, one hand on his forehead. "Come on, Ray. Even you can do this, can't you? They're like stories and folklore. Little tales and stuff."

"Ohh… kid's books? Legends? I've read some of those."

"Read them yourself?" Qrow asked, annoyed for some reason. "No one read them to you, maybe before you were tucked in for the night?"

"Cinder used to read some to me."

"At least she had someone do it…"

"It sounds like she cared for you greatly," Ozpin said, smiling. "Fairy tales are often stories designed to teach young children life lessons, morals, or wisdom that can keep them safe as they grow. Most consider them to be fanciful and make-believe, but not all are so. Some are more real than you could ever imagine. Some hold… power. Power that Salem wants."

"Remy?"

"Yesh?" the parasite replied, voice a little… strange sounding.

"Did my asking mom to buy me more books set off a Remnant-wide conspiracy?"

"Looksh like it. Whoo! Go you!" There was an odd sensation inside of him as Remy swam around randomly, drifting to and fro and… was he singing?

Jaune felt a headache coming on.

"Tell me, Mr Arc. Have you ever heard of something called a… Maiden?"

"Sure." Jaune shrugged. "I've heard the name a few times. Mom said I should marry one. Well, she said I should sleep with one," he admitted, blushing. "I don't think she cares as much for marriage as she does the actual sleeping part."

"I didn't need to know that," Qrow deadpanned. He turned to Ozpin. "She does have the Spring Maiden, right?"

Ozpin nodded. "It makes sense. It would be an easy way to keep her loyal." He looked back to Jaune. "But you didn't sleep with her, correct?"

Jaune's cheeks heated up. "I didn't."

"And what does the young Miss Fall think of this?"

"C-Cinder!?" His face became even brighter at that. "She's definitely against it, believe me."

"Good lass," Qrow laughed. "Talk about loyal. You should shack up with her."

"She's like a sister to me!"

"But she isn't," Qrow said pointedly. "And that's something I'm very keen on maintaining right now."

"Should the uncle of the woman I'm dating be telling me to date someone else?" Jaune asked.

Qrow's face became pained. "Yes. Yes, he should."

"Enough, Qrow," Ozpin rebuked. "This is neither here nor there. Mr Arc, the maidens are true and you have possibly met one before in your life. Let me tell you a story about how it all started, and just why it is so important to keep them out of Salem's hands."

/-/

"Where's Jaune?" Yang asked when she and her team reached the cafeteria.

"Called for a meeting with the headmaster," Weiss replied. "I'm sure he'll catch up with us later."

"Not afraid he'll be late for his match?"

"Not unless the headmaster of Beacon is going to be late as well. He'll be there." Weiss eyed their team, watching as Nora chatted incessantly into Ren's ear while the leader methodically ate his porridge. On the other side, Blake had been approached by Ruby, and was listening to something she was saying. Weiss sighed. "I suppose your team is going to have an easy day of it since you've already ad your match."

"Yep." Yang grinned. "A zero stress day. Just what the doctor ordered. Hm?" Yang glanced over as Ruby tugged on Blake's arm, leading her away from the group. "I didn't realise those two were so close," she said.

"Me neither, but it's not a bad development. Ruby could do to pick up some of Blake's maturity."

"Hm, Blake could do to open up a little more."

"Let's hope they both pick up traits from the other," Weiss said, sitting down. "I think it'll be good for both of them."

/-/

Blake's mouth fell open. Her ears flattened against her head and she felt her stomach flip. This was it. Her life was over. All those terrible things she'd done as a part of the White Fang had come back to haunt her and she could see a dark tunnel ahead. There was no light. In fact, darkness seemed to be creeping in at the edges of her vision. She swayed and nearly fell.

Ruby caught her. "Blake? Blake?"

The name stirred her. One hand reached out to grip Ruby's collar, twisting itself in her hood as she stared up into worried silver eyes. "I-I must have misheard," Blake said weakly, desperately, pleadingly. "C-Can you repeat what you said?"

Ruby clearly didn't want to. She looked away and one foot started to play with the other. "I… I asked if you'd help me order some tentacle hentai online," she mumbled.

She hadn't misheard. Blake's breath came out through clenched teeth in a frightened whimper. Yang was going to kill her. It was all over.

I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I promised I wouldn't run away anymore.

Screw it. She was totally going to run away!

"Blake, please," Ruby whined, voice quiet and horribly shy. "You're the only one I can ask. I'm too young and there are age checks. I… I can't ask Weiss to help me and I can't ask Yang, obviously. Pyrrha's reputation would be ruined if anyone found out. They'd think it was for herself!"

"W-What about Jaune?" Blake gasped.

"It can't be him!" Ruby snapped, with far more passion than the question really deserved. Her cheeks were bright red. "It definitely, absolutely, positively can't be him. For reasons."

"Why?"

"It's… it's complicated. Very complicated."

"But why me?"

"Because you were there when I bought it." Ruby said. Blake's eyes widened. "You're the one who took me to that book stall." Blake's face fell. "You're the one who was reading in the adult section." Blake whimpered. "And you're the only one I know won't tell anyone."

Blake didn't respond. Her eyes swirled in their sockets.

"Blake? Blake!?" Ruby slapped her cheek lightly. It was that which pierced through the darkness, bringing her back to reality. Horrible, terrifying, cruel reality. A reality where she'd corrupted Yang's sister. She'd corrupted Ruby…

Was there anyone in their two teams who wouldn't kill her for this?

Was there anyone in in Beacon!?

Blake came alive with a burst of sudden energy – all of it born from a sense of self-preservation, the desire to remain breathing. She leapt up and gripped Ruby by her shoulders to stare down into her eyes. "You can't tell anyone!" she hissed.

"Well, yeah. Duh…" Ruby blushed and looked away. "Not like I was going to go around admitting it…"

Okay. Good. This was… this was… okay, it was still horrible but it was manageable. She could control the chaos. She could make sure it never reached the light of day. No one could ever find out, but at least Ruby understood that.

"Doesn't the book stall have any more?" Blake asked.

"They only had the one on… on that. I checked."

"And it has to be…" Blake winced. "Tentacle based?"

Ruby's cheeks turned an incredible shade of red. She nodded. "Please don't ask why."

"I have a feeling I don't want to know why," she replied, even if she maybe knew deep inside just as much. "Okay, look. I can… I can lend you one of my books for now. It's not a comic," she added, earning a frown from Ruby, "But it does have tentacles in it."

Ruby lit up. "It does? Do you like it too, Blake?"

"I'm… not going to answer that question." Not like she had to, what with how much she was blushing and the rather obvious tell that she even had some in her collection. "You can't let anyone see you with it though, and if anyone does see you, then tell them you got it from someone else. Or you found it. Just do not, under any circumstances, let Yang find out that I supplied you with anything resembling smut. Okay?"

"Okay."

"On pain of death!" Blake pressed.

Ruby balked. "You'll kill me?"

"I didn't say your death…" Blake looked around nervously. They were safe, for now. "Okay, come with me. I'll show you where I hide my collection and you can help yourself. Just make sure no one sees you."

"You hide it under your bed," Ruby said. "Everyone knows that."

"Ruby, that's where I hide the stuff that I want to be found," Blake explained, not quite meeting the younger girl's eyes. "There… there might be more."

"But Yang told me even that stuff was filthy," Ruby said, eyes wide with awe. "How much worse is the stuff you don't want them to find?"

Blake didn't answer. There was no need to. Ruby was about to find our first-hand.

Gods, how she wished Adam had just killed her…

/-/

"And that is why the power of the maidens must be kept away from Salem," Ozpin finished, relaxing once his long-winded explanation was done. "It is a power that can be stolen through murder and one that holds great potential. The current Fall Maiden, Amber, is currently being protected, but the wounds she took are grievous. She is not expected to survive."

"That's terrible," Jaune said, wincing at the thought of the poor woman's fate. "How was she attacked?"

"She was ambushed while alone and unprotected. Qrow was able to recover her before she was killed, but sadly it was too little too late."

"I didn't get a good view of them," Qrow said, frowning. "Too late to help her. Story of my life."

Something niggled at the back of Jaune's mind, and it wasn't Remy's rather unfaithful demonstration of a pop song they'd heard recently. That was just white noise at this point, and burning a hole in his brain from the pain of it. Still, he turned to Ozpin. "The Fall Maiden's powers would have made this woman super strong, right?"

"Correct."

"Strong enough that you think if Salem had them, she'd be unstoppable."

"Essentially, yes."

"But this super strong woman, who has magical powers on top of being a huntress, fell for an ambush and was beaten by three normal people?"

"Quantity has a quality of its own, Mr Arc. And Amber… she was not experienced with her powers. She was vulnerable in that state and would have been stronger had she more time to prepare herself."

"But you knew of her," Jaune pointed out.

"I did."

"Then why wasn't she protected?"

The question seemed to stun Ozpin and Qrow, though not Ironwood, who rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Yeah, Ozpin," the man drawled. "Why wasn't she protected, Ozpin? Why don't you answer his question, Ozpin?"

"W-Well, Amber always valued her independence…"

"More than her life?" Jaune asked, not at all convinced. "And, I mean, I get that it would be cruel to do something against her will, but maybe you could have explained the danger and convinced her to stay with you for training. Or maybe you should have just forced her. I know it's not the right thing to do, but if the whole world is resting on this…"

"She liked to travel-"

"And you let her?" Jaune asked, eyes wide.

Ironwood looked like he was currently drowning in smugness. He basked in it, eyes closed. Smile splitting his face in two. Ozpin, on the other hand, didn't appear quite so pleased. "It's complicated, Mr Arc. Very complicated."

"It doesn't sound complicated…"

"Well it is."

"And since she was attacked and you know full well someone is after her, you decided to bring her here to Beacon? Wouldn't that be the first place whoever attacked her would look? They saw Mr Branwen. And you just said Salem knows who you are and knows you interfered."

"Beacon is the safest place for her."

"Wouldn't somewhere less obvious be better?"

"Yes," Ironwood said.

"No," Ozpin countered, frowning at the man. "Mr Arc, I can tell you have Amber's best interests at heart here, and I can see you're simply sharing your opinion. Still, you must trust me on this." He smiled. "I'm not a complete fool. I know what I'm doing."

"And you don't think someone could infiltrate Beacon and get close to her… or find out about her?"

"I doubt that would be possible under my nose."

Jaune really wasn't sure how to answer that one. At all.

"Hey!" Remy cheered, slurred, warbled. "But… but aren't we sneaking in? Bwahaha! That's sho funny!"

"So, you told me about Salem so that I wouldn't be caught off-guard, but why tell me about the Maidens?" he asked. "Was there something else you needed me to know?"

"You have a quick mind, Mr Arc. There is." Ozpin sighed. The weight of several years seemed to press in on him. "I'm afraid that despite our best efforts, Amber is unlikely to survive much longer. We need to look towards transferring the maiden's powers onto another. This procedure is dangerous and will also leave us, and the maiden, incredibly vulnerable. That is why I wished to request your assistance in the matter. With your Semblance, you could inform us if any threat approached."

There really wasn't any way for him to say no to that, especially since it shouldn't have mattered either way to him. "Okay, sure. What do I need to do?"

"You need only be ready at the time," Ozpin said. "We're currently considering several individuals who we believe are strong and loyal enough to become the next Fall Maiden. We have two in mind, and, since you have agreed to help us, I suppose it would not be too much for us to point out who they are. You know both."

"I do?"

"One is your teammate, Pyrrha Nikos. Her strength and skill make her a natural candidate, while her humility should help to prevent the power getting to her mind or ego. The last thing we need is someone with a less than clear intent inheriting the power. We're looking for individuals who espouse the values we respect most; loyalty, kindness, strong will – and beyond all of that – raw skill and determination. Miss Nikos is a natural candidate."

He could see that. He wasn't sure Pyrrha would want the added responsibility, what with her having explained how much she hated all the fame and attention she got normally. In fact, she'd hate it. He might be doing her a favour if he pushed the suggestion away from her. "And who else?" he asked.

"Someone a little more… questionable, I suppose. Our intent is to look for individuals who show loyalty to Beacon, but that isn't often easy. We are just a school. Miss Xiao-Long has her connection to Qrow, but would throw caution away at the first sign someone she cares for is in danger. Ruby, on the other hand, would chase after danger seeking to do good, ignoring our warnings entirely."

"And Weiss has her family," he finished, guessing what the angle there was. Come to think of it everyone had someone or another they might be more loyal to.

"So, in lieu of finding someone loyal to Beacon, we considered finding someone loyal to an individual already in our cadre." Ozpin smiled proudly, pleased with his wisdom. "With that in mind, we wanted to suggest your close friend, Miss Fall."

Jaune choked.

"Your aptly named friend," Ironwood chuckled. "She has fought against Hentacle before and nearly died for it, so her loyalties are clear. What's more, she has shown willingness to leave her home in order to protect you. Our designs align with hers, wishing to keep you away from Salem. As such, she should find it easy to accept our teachings."

"That's why we're having this conversation," Ozpin finished. "You are the closest to Miss Fall and can speak with her in private. Push the idea on her, see what she thinks of it, and, if you believe she is ready for the responsibility, come back to us."

"I-I get it," he said, still a little lightheaded. "This is why you wanted me here, then? Because I'm close to her."

"And because it is you she is loyal to," Ironwood added.

Cinder? Loyal? To him!?

Sort of…

Maybe…

"I'm not sure she would be all that interested," he hedged. He wasn't quite willing to say it was because the last thing Cinder would want was Ozpin and Ironwood snooping around her business. He probably needed to warn her they had an eye on her, otherwise she might be caught doing something she shouldn't be. "I can ask her, though. If you can leave it with me…"

"We have time, but that time is fast running out. We're hoping to make a decision by the end of the tournament and this will pose a good opportunity to get a feel for the skills of each candidate. The risk of another attack is high, so they must be able to defend themselves." Ozpin waved a hand. "In the meanwhile we would appreciate it if you could keep this to yourself. The only reason you have been informed is due to your direct involvement, and the fact that both candidates are close to you. Your insight on them might be invaluable."

"I understand." Jaune rose unsteadily from his seat. "Can I be excused? The tournament will start soon and my team will be fighting today."

Ozpin nodded. "Good luck, Mr Arc. I'll be looking forward to seeing how both Miss Nikos and Miss Fall present themselves in the tournament."

Yeah, me too, he thought, backing away toward the elevator. If Pyrrha did well then she'd be made the maiden – and she'd probably hate it. On the other hand, he had no idea what Cinder's response would be, but the added attention from Ozpin and his lot would be bad, bad, bad. The risks were way too high.

And if it was going on what happened in the tournament, Pyrrha would probably win. Cinder was stronger, probably, but she wasn't about to go all-out in something like this. Not when she had to keep her cover.

Pyrrha was going to become the maiden.

Jaune's scroll beeped. He drew it out and turned the alarm off; a reminder to get to the festival. While he was doing so he noticed the message from his Uncle Watts, the one his mother had promised would be sent but which he hadn't opened yet. He did so now and scanned through it.

Dear Nephew,

Your mother informs me I am to provide you some information on Cinder's goals as per an agreement. She has asked me to make you work for it, so do not expect everything to be handed to you on a silver platter here. All I will say is that it has to do with the seasons.

And a power Cinder will kill to acquire.

From,

Your Best Uncle

Arthur Watts.

Jaune stared at the screen open-mouthed. Well, that was a thing.

"Hey looks," Remy slurred, drooping out of the joint between Jaune's neck and shoulder. The little Grimmling gasped for breath and swayed to the side, staring listlessly at the silvery scroll. "It's a silver platter!"

"Yeah… yeah, it is."

Cinder wanted the power of the maiden.

Pyrrha was going to become the maiden.

Cinder was going to kill Pyrrha.

Unless… unless he helped her become the maiden instead. He had no idea what she'd do with the power, and if she was the one who had attacked this Amber girl, then that didn't bode well. But if the only other option was that Cinder might try and kill his teammate? There was no choice. None at all.

"I've got to talk to Cinder."

Remy started to dry heave and wretch on his shoulder.

"After I get you a tissue," Jaune sighed.

/-/

"Are the three of you prepared?"

Her three underlings nodded and Cinder smiled, pleased to see they had a grasp of the situation. The four of them stood in the audience as the tournament's second day began, the irritating crowds shouting for it to start sooner, incapable of waiting even a measly few minutes.

"Good. Remember, do not show all of your skills in the fight. We don't need to draw attention."

"You're sure we'll be up next?" Mercury asked.

"Have a little faith, Mercury. When I infiltrated the CCT I made sure this was one of the things I could change. I made the decision last night and set out opponents. We'll be facing a team from Vacuo, a Team NDGO."

She'd picked them specifically for their strengths and weaknesses, in what she hoped would be an impressive – but not too impressive – fight. Importantly, information on their Semblances had been acquired through other means, so their team knew the weaknesses of each.

A disturbance caught her eye off to the side. Jaune, her foolish little brother, had entered the competitor's stands and looked to be trying to make his way towards her. His arm was snatched by his partner half-way. He was dragged over to his friends despite his best efforts to break free. She chose to ignore it. Now wasn't the time for their closeness to be made visible. Not with what was to come.

"Did you rig his fights as well?" Emerald asked.

"I had a small hand in keeping him away from ourselves, but I've otherwise left his team's opponents up to fate," she replied. "So long as our teams do not cross there will be no problem."

"You've made sure we won't?" Mercury asked nervously.

"Yes. I specifically chose our opponent and set it last night," she said, turning to frown at the two. "Why? What has you so worked up?"

Mercury and Emerald exchanged nervous glances but it was Neo who answered, tugging on Cinder's arm and then pointing behind her, in the direction of the arena. The two teams to face off against one another had been selected, their faces emblazoned proudly on the big screen. Cinder's eyes widened and her frown slipped into a dumbfounded expression.

"Impossible… I rigged the matches…"

"Well, it looks like someone un-rigged them," Mercury whispered, staring at the sign that said Team CMEN, their team, would be facing off against Jaune's. "That or someone did the opposite and rigged them so we'd end up fighting."

"Nonsense. Who would-?" Cinder froze. Could it be? No, surely now. Her eyes flickered to the box up near the top of the arena. She knew General Ironwood would be inside, and likely Ozpin, as well. Had they discovered her? Did they know?

No, of course not. If they did then she would never have been allowed near the arena. That said, it could be a test. They might have changed the fights today and she, lost in complacency, hadn't even thought to check! Her eyes narrowed.

"What do we do?" Emerald asked.

"We lose the fight," Cinder growled. "Give it your all but do not win. We can't run the risk of Jaune losing control here. Our plans won't be overly affected if we proceed or not. It will just be a minor setback."

Her three underlings nodded, catching the order even as they made their way down off the stands and towards the ready rooms. On the way she passed by their opponents, catching Jaune's eyes. He looked panicked and afraid. She rolled her eyes and ignored him.

She had a fight to throw.

/-/

Jaune felt sick. Sick to his stomach. This was what Ozpin and Ironwood had meant; the parting line about judging the difference in skill between Pyrrha and Cinder. They'd rigged the matches to place their teams against one another, no doubt hoping to base the maiden on the victor of this battle. The winner would become the Fall Maiden.

And if that wasn't Cinder, then she would kill the other.

"Come on, Jaune," Weiss growled, tugging him along. "We have a fight to win."

No, Jaune thought.

He had a fight to lose. He had to throw the fight.

"I'm gonna throw something…" Remy moaned.

"Please don't…"

NOTE: Some have pointed it out and I wanted to make it clear; yes, I'm aware that Ozpin revealing Salem HAS happened before. This was during the confusion stage with CF in which I was trying to take the plot one way and CF another. Salem was an attempt by me to drag it back to comedy and Grimm, but CF convinced me to go back into romance and the whole thing went forgotten and led to nothing.

Now, I need it again - and rather than make up some convoluted reason as to why Ozpin mentioned it once and then ceased to care, I simply re-wrote it. I figured if I didn't, then after 24 chapters (which is almost half a year), people wouldn't even remember, or might ask why it wasn't done earlier.

Is it perfect? No, not at all.

But this fic isn't and I've already shared my frustrations on that for what happened before. I'm basically now taking an approach of "re-write and change whatever I have to" because frankly, it won't ever work otherwise.

There we go. Okay, this chapter is maybe a little fourth wall, what with the rather blatant jabs at Ozpin for holding an idiot ball so big it eclipses the sun in the third season of RWBY. "Hm, I know Amber has been attacked and I know someone will come here for her. I'd best do absolutely nothing and then act surprised when something happens."

In the show itself S3, and to a much worse extend S5, were ridiculously exposition heavy (and a lot of the blame for that can be laid on Ozpin. Or, well, RT's writing, but delivered through Ozpin). I'm a little annoyed I had to do that here as well in this chapter, but I'm hoping to cut it much shorter in future, if not try and remove it entirely. I tried to liven it up here with some jokes ala Ozpin's successes in stopping Salem basically being her getting pregnant and going on maternity leave from being evil.

Either way, I'd hope to see no more long-winded Ozpin meetings. Yay.

Now, what comes next in the Game of Throws? Who will throw harder, and can Jaune snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in order to save Pyrrha's life?

Next Chapter: 22nd March

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur