Ugh, busy week is busy week. I'm really snowed under at work and with other things. Why can't I just win the lottery so I can retire and write fanfiction all day? That would be a nice dream. Alas, the 9-5 takes its toll.

Beta: College Fool

Cover Art: Kegi Springfield

Chapter 65

"What's the plan?" Yang roared over the sounds of the Bullhead's engines. Their ride was currently making its way to Beacon, streaking across the treetops with the doors open, blasting wind inside. It was filled to capacity and more, normally fit for twelve and yet carrying sixteen or so of them. As such, it hung low, not that the pilots cared. The more brought to Beacon the better.

"Early reports show White Fang and Grimm," said pilot said, her voice augmented by the speakers that patched into her flight helmet. "They're not working together obviously, but the White Fang are avoiding the Grimm and directing them towards other students and staff. Their goal seems to be wanton destruction rather than any clear objective."

Beside Yang, Blake's hands clenched into fists. "Adam…"

"What was that?" Yang asked.

"It's… It's nothing."

Didn't sound like nothing, she thought, but refrained from pushing further. They had bigger problems to contend with than team secrets. Through the door, she watched Beacon approach, the tall spires she'd become used to. One was rocked by an explosion and a cloud of smoke billowed above. Tracer fire lanced up into the sky and the sound of gunfire and explosions could be heard even over the Bullhead.

Knowing Beacon was under attack was one thing; seeing it was another. The bile that rose up in her throat threatened to overwhelm her and her eyes flickered between lilac and red. They'd pay for this. She'd make sure of it.

"We need to secure the academy building itself," Weiss shouted. "The dorms and the training rings can wait, no matter how much that hurts. The man building, the tower and the supply rooms are the main objectives. If any of those fall, we'll be in trouble."

"And the injured Ren said. We'll need to keep an eye out for them and secure the infirmary as quickly as we can."

"Forget the infirmary," the pilot called. "Get any injured back to us and we'll ship them to Vale."

"Alright, injured first, then we secure the man buildings and only after all of that do we go after the White Fang." Ren looked to Blake as he said it. "Are we all in agreement?"

"Sure thing," Nora said.

"Aye," Yang agreed.

Blake's silence held for a minute. Ren kept her gaze, however, until she finally allowed her eyes to drift shut. "I agree."

"Good. There will be time for justice later, but we need to make sure Beacon stays standing after this is all said and done." The normally quiet man sighed and ran a hand through his hair. This was stressing them all out, but soon they'd hit Beacon and such emotions could be taken out on the Grimm. It was at least a small blessing that Ruby was still on Amity looking for Jaune. They'd be safer there.

"We're coming in hot," the pilot yelled. "Get ready to disembark!"

The vehicle swooped down low past the trees that surrounded Beacon and onto the school's grounds itself. It was a mad melee of activity, with pockets of students fighting against Grimm and terrorists alike, while more ran in the background, joining fights or feasting on White Fang that had gotten too close.

Yang was the first to hit the ground, hurling herself out with an angry cry. Ren, Blake and Nora landed quickly behind her, followed by Weiss and Pyrrha – and then more students, both from Beacon and transfers from other schools. In the distance, yet more Bullheads roared towards their location.

"Alright, let's go!" Yang yelled, charging forward.

"We should follow them," Weiss said to Pyrrha, the two left behind. "Jaune and Ruby will be fine. Have a little faith in them."

"I do," Pyrrha said.

"Then what's the problem? What has you so distracted?"

Pyrrha tore her eyes away from the tower of Beacon. From Ozpin. From duty. From destiny. From the promise of a way to end this once and for all, and to protect Beacon and everyone in it that she held dear. Pyrrha drew a long breath and let it go.

"I need to find Ozpin."

/-/

A distraction; this was all a distraction. Cinder slammed her fist into a nearby container and screamed her displeasure. It buckled under the force of her maiden-empowered blow, flying back to crash into several others. That bastard, Adam, had played them. He'd played her. He'd laid this not as a means to victory over Amity, but rather to keep her and Hentacle busy while he launched his attack. He must have known Hentacle would sense the Grimm, and that she would be too cautious to ignore such a threat.

It was all to keep her busy.

That might have meant so little to Adam, not realising her intentions, but if he put Beacon under threat and she wasn't there to have the maiden transferred to her? Why, Ozpin might spirit Amber away once more – or she might be killed in the crossfire, robbing her of the power that was rightfully hers.

"Damn it!" she roared. "I'll kill that filthy beast when I get hold of him!"

"Beacon is under attack," Jaune said, reading a message on his scroll. "Why? I thought you said you'd called it off!"

"I did, but it seems not everyone agreed. We need to return to Beacon and halt the attack."

"That might be a problem," Jaune noted, looking towards the entrance they'd come through. It had been sealed off by a large set of blast doors; steel, several layers thick that had come down the moment the alarm was raised. Ostensibly, it was to prevent the dust from being caught up in whatever was going on, exploding in the bowels of Amity Colosseum and sending it – and tens of thousands of civilians on board – crashing down to Remnant. At the moment, it served the purpose of locking them away.

Cinder summoned the power of the maiden immediately, fighting as she often did with the overwhelming power. She gave it a direction, an intent, and held one hand out towards the bulkhead.

The steel warped and strained under her assault, scorching in places and melting in small areas. Despite that, it mostly remained in one piece, albeit badly damaged. Worse, there would be at least ten more of those to work through, not on this door but on every staircase they wanted to take back up to the surface.

Adam had well and truly thought of everything… or perhaps the fool was just lucky. Either way, an escape seemed all but impossible and the general access panels for the doors were on the other side. While there had been one on their side the blast doors had closed over it.

"What's going on?" Jaune asked. "If Adam has hijacked your plan then you know what's happening up there, right?"

"The White Fang were to cause a distraction on Amity, supported by myself via the CCT which we infected with a virus. This would cause chaos and panic, forcing the majority of the huntsman on defence to see to the protection and evacuation of the civilians. While this was happening, the real attack would begin on Beacon – led by Adam and his White Fang, spearheaded with captured Grimm that would be released among the populace."

"The virus on the CCT was to provide two distinct benefits," she continued. "One, it would prevent news of this from reaching other kingdoms, and thus prevent any support being provided, and two, it would cause disarray in the communications, hopefully giving the White Fang more time to attack Beacon while a distress call could not be made."

"But you haven't activated the CCT's virus," Jaune said.

"No, but it matters little. Even if the other kingdoms will know what is happening here, it won't solve our immediate problem. We're trapped here with no way of influencing the battle."

"What about Emerald and Mercury? Could they come here and let us out?"

"That would take too much time. They're better off aiding in the defence of Beacon where they can actually be useful. And speaking of useful, help me break through these blasted doors. You might as well transform now. The time for subtlety has passed."

Jaune nodded, quickly transforming beside her into his albino form. The Nevermore which had clung to him began to caw and flap their wings excitedly, but he ignored it with the patience of one used to such over-enthusiasm.

"I need to get back to Beacon before the maiden is moved," Cinder said.

"You'll still fight on our side, right?"

"Yes, of course. Adam knows my identity, so killing him is all but necessary at this point. I'll have the best chance of that working with Ozpin." For now, anyway. There was also the fact that Adam needed to die for this insult, and for betraying her. "Unless you have a solution to our current problem, however, I don't see that we'll be reaching Beacon any time soon."

She threw another blast of fire at the doors for emphasis, and though the metal ran hot and began to drip in some locations, it wasn't enough to destroy it. These doors had been created to withstand dust explosions and were several feet thick. In time, she could work her way through, but time was the issue.

"Help me destroy the door," she commanded.

"It's not going to work. Even if we break through that one, there are more."

Cinder dropped her hands and scowled. "Then do you have something else in mind?"

"Perhaps." Jaune strode away from the exit and Cinder followed, curious and a little hopeful as well. He led them to the container they'd found the Nevermore in, but rather than use that, he placed a hand on it and pushed it aside. With his Grimm-enhanced strength it slid across the room. He moved to a heavier one, instead. "Stand back. I need room for this."

She did so and watched as he pushed the container that must have weight a tonne or more. His muscles bulged, and his tentacles sprung forth, adding to the side of the container like hands of their own. It grated and screeched as it moved but move it did. He pushed it to the back wall, which was brick and stone rather than metal. He repeated it until there were fix or six against it, all next to one another and pressed against the wall. A thin sheen of sweat covered his skin.

When he turned to the next and wrapped his tentacles about it, he looked to her. "Ready?"

"I might be if you told me what it is I'm supposed to be doing."

"Fire," he replied – and in that instant she understood. Jaune shifted his body, using his tentacles to lift and throw the final container. It sailed toward the others, sure to crash into them. As it did, Cinder reached deep inside herself and ignited the power she'd taken. A searing ball of flame struck the container, melting and burning through the side and into the interior. It happened in a flash, not a moment before it struck the others.

The explosion rocked the warehouse, devastating the back wall and expelling brick and stone outward, down into the forests below. The difference in wind pressure from their altitude caused an immediate imbalance and the air was sucked out of the room as the pressure sought to stabilise. Cinder's feet slid across the floor and she fought for purchase.

"I've got you," Jaune called, wrapping a tentacle around her stomach and another around a fixed metal pillar. The limb was firm and hard and he rolled it and her up, drawing her back against him with several coils.

"A little more warning would have been appreciated," Cinder snarled, shielding her eyes against his chest, if only to stop the whistling wind biting at them. Squawks and rustles of feathers echoed as the Nevermore were sucked out. "What's next? We're miles above the ground and not even you could survive a fall like this!"

"Do you trust me?" Jaune yelled over the roaring wind.

"Against my better judgment, yes."

"I trust you, too," he returned, looking deep into her eyes. "Please don't let any of my friends die. Look after them for me."

"What are you-?" Cinder cut off with a gasp as his tentacle unravelled suddenly. She wasn't prepared for it, nor for the little heave he gave at the end, tossing her into the air. The wind caught her immediately, hurtling her out into the open air with a scream.

She was overwhelmed by a murder of juvenile Nevermore a second later.

/-/

Jaune watched the murder congregate into a huge swathe of black wings, bundling Cinder up between them and hurrying her away in the direction of Beacon. His eyes shone red the whole time, imparting his orders onto the Grimm. It was the best he could do and only one of them could have made the journey. Despite wanting nothing more than to get back to Beacon and help, it was Cinder who could end this.

With a sigh, he turned around to face the doors to the warehouse, which he'd heard shift and open as he threw Cinder out.

There, stood in the entrance, was a familiar figure in red. Ruby watched him with wide silver eyes, which soon glinted – not with power, but with tears. "I… I can't believe it," she whispered. "I thought. But I thought you were on our side. Why? WHY!?"

He couldn't do anything in his Grimm form other than remain silent, but if he could slip by her and escape, he could-

"Why, Jaune!?" Ruby demanded, scythe flashing forward. "Why would you do this!?"

Jaune stilled. He considered not answering, feigning ignorance, confusion or anything else, but the look in her eyes made it clear she wouldn't be fooled. More than that, he was in the exact same clothing he had been less than an hour before. There would be no fooling her here, nor getting out of the situation. Not that he could have, anyway. It looked like she'd known for a while.

"You knew, then," he said simply, not even bothering to alter his voice.

"I knew, but I kept it a secret. I thought… I thought that maybe you were different. I thought we were friends."

"We are friends, Ruby."

"How can you say that?" she cried. "How can you say that when Beacon is under attack? Look at what's happening – and you just helped Cinder escape. Is she in on this, too? She has to be. I saw the Nevermore, Jaune. I saw you work with the White Fang in the past!"

"I did," he admitted.

Ruby's frame shook. "You… You're a Grimm."

"Half-Grimm."

"Eh?"

"I'm half-Grimm," he explained, neither drawing a weapon nor making an aggressive step towards her. "I'm half-human, too, so it's not like I don't think the same way you do. I'm not mindless like the teachers tell you. I can think for myself, I can plan on my own decisions, I can dream and I can imagine a better life. I get to make my own choices and I don't hate humanity." He revealed both his hands and held them up before him. "I'm not your enemy."

"Then… Then why did you work with Torchwick?"

"I had to protect my identity. He knew who I was from the first time we met – and that was an accident. I didn't mean to attack you. After that, I didn't really have a choice, but I did my best not to hurt any of you. I never harmed you."

"That… that's true," she allowed, and for a fraction of a second her muscles relaxed. It didn't last, however. "But you still worked with the White Fang, and you left the stands right before the attack happened. And Cinder, and the Nevermore… you can control the Grimm. Why is all of this happening if you're on our side?"

Jaune winced. "It's complicated."

Ruby cocked her rifle. "Uncomplicate it."

He wanted nothing more than to do so, but that would take time – more time than either of them had. There would be questions and a need for answers, not to mention the fact they still needed to make their way back up topside.

"There isn't time to explain, Ruby. I need you to trust me."

"Trust you? I did trust you. I kept your secret, but… but I thought I was doing it because I knew you wouldn't hurt anyone."

"I don't want to hurt anyone," he said, stepping forward. Ruby hopped back, keeping the distance between them, and as the two moved, he pushed her closer and closer to the exit. "I came to Beacon because I wanted to be a normal person, a normal human. Yes, there was a plan to attack Beacon, but I was never a part of it. I even convinced Cinder to hold off on it. This isn't us, Ruby. It's the White Fang."

"The White Fang you and Cinder helped…"

"Yes, I'll admit it – this is our fault." Cinder's more than this, but he was still complicit. "But we're trying to fix this. We're trying to make it better. We came down here to stop the Nevermore, or what we thought were more Grimm. Cinder is on her way to Beacon to save it."

Ruby shook her head. There were tears in her eyes. "How am I supposed to believe that?"

How, indeed. Ruby was human, fully human, and while that had never mattered before, this was the first time she'd ever faced him in his Grimm form and known who it was. With all the evidence against him, trust would be difficult. No one could hear her scream down here and all it would take for me to keep his secret would be to kill her.

In a moment where Ruby's eyes closed to shake away the tears, he surged forward. His tentacle hit Crescent Rose on the haft, directly between her hands. It flew away as she gasped, and she shrieked when his limbs wrapped around her torso.

But she froze when her body was drawn against his chest, and when his hands slowly wrapped around her. The tentacles retreated, hovering out of the way.

"You're my teammate, Ruby. You're my friend. I know you might not be able to trust me, but I trust you implicitly. Your hands are free. You could kill me right now, or at least attack me and escape. I can't catch you with your speed." He rested his chin atop her head. "If you ran back, you could report me. I might be able to escape but I'll never have a chance to come back again, to be human again. You could do all of that and I wouldn't be able to stop you." Jaune paused to let out a long sigh, feeling every one of his seventeen years. "It's your call, Ruby. It's your decision to make."

The girl in his arms had gone sack, and although she didn't wrap her arms around him or return the hug, she didn't fight her way out of it, either. He chose to take that as a good sign. It wouldn't last, however. Blind faith could only take you so far.

"On the other hand, if you help me, I'll fight on the side of Beacon. I'll return there, and I can order the Grimm to leave, to depart back into the Emerald Forest. That would leave just Adam and the White Fang to deal with. They can't stand up against me, not with you at my back. We can go back and save everyone. Pyrrha, Weiss, even Yang. They need our help."

"Or you could summon more Grimm," she whispered against my chest.

"Or I could do that," he allowed. "I could be the worst calamity for Beacon right now, but… I'd just like you to ask yourself; how bad could I have been already, if I wanted to?"

Ruby didn't answer, lost in thought.

"I could have waited until everyone was asleep and summoned an army of Grimm into the school. I could have sabotaged all the rocket lockers, sending your weapons away. I could have poisoned the infirmary, the food, or just set off a bomb. There are so many ways I could have done this better if destroying Beacon was what I wanted."

And maybe listing those things wasn't the best way to go about it, but Ruby was nodding and that was a good sign. She didn't look up to meet his eyes and instead spoke into his chest. "Why come to Beacon, then?"

"Isn't that obvious?"

The silence said it wasn't.

"I came to Beacon because I wanted to be a huntsman." When she didn't respond, he squeezed her a little tighter. "Trust me, Ruby," he whispered into her hair.

"I… Jaune… I…" Ruby's body trembled. The decision was too big for her, he knew, but she was the only one who could make it. Her training, her upbringing, everything she had ever known and loved in life – the role of a huntress, her mother, her father – all told her that the only choice was to kill the Grimm. They all told her Grimm could not be trusted.

And yet here he was, telling her otherwise and pleading with her to make the decision that might doom her friends and everyone she knew, if she chose wrong. It wasn't fair; he knew that. But he couldn't change what it was. He could only try to make things better.

"I beg you, Ruby. Let me help. Let me fix this."

Ruby's eyes closed.

She made her decision.

/-/

Blake ducked under an attack from a man in a White Fang mask, kicked back up and disarmed him with her heel, before wrapping the ribbon of Gambol Shroud around his neck and drawing him into the path of a Beowolf trying to kill her from behind. She didn't see his death, but she felt and heard it, both in the screams and the slackening of her weapon. It wasn't a kind fate. Then again, neither was bringing Grimm to attack innocent people. Her brothers and sisters of old had chosen to start this. All she could do was finish it.

The Grimm itself didn't have much time to savour its victory before Nora pulverised its skull with a swing of her mighty hammer. Her partner carved a path through the Grimm, cutting them a route directly to the courtyard outside the academy proper. The fountain was chipped on the edge where a Grimm had fallen and now spilled its water out onto the floor. There were other teams there, one of which Blake recognised as Team CFVY.

"Nice to see you could join us, first years," the leader of said team laughed.

"Well," Yang quipped, "we couldn't let you hog all the fun."

"Rude. Anyway, the situation is about what you can see. Vel, behind you." There was a cry as the rabbit faunus spun on her heel and slew an Ursa. "We've got some civilians who were visiting the academy inside. Yatsuhashi is protecting the entrance to that room and the Grimm can't get through to it if we hold the main entrance here."

"Do you have any injured?" Weiss asked.

"A few cuts and bruises on the civilians but nothing more. One or two of our lot took it hard, though. Some of these White Fang are really strong."

"Have you seen one with red hair and bull horns wielding a red sword?" Blake interrupted, drawing all attention to her. Ren and Yang shot her concerned looks, but Blake shook her head and quickly explained. "He's the leader here and the one in charge of the attack, I'm sure of it. If we take him out, the White Fang will lose what little order they have."

"You're sure?" Yang asked.

"Absolutely. Adam would be the strongest one here. There's no one who can lead the White Fang like he can."

"And if you cut the head of the snake…" Ren mused. "It's worth a shot, especially if we outnumber him. Coco, have you seen anyone like that?"

"I haven't, but one of the guys that's been hurt said it was done by a terrorist in the cafeteria. Apparently, he was the strongest person he'd ever faced. That was all I got before he passed out from blood loss."

The four members of Team RYBN shared a long look. It could have been anyone and strong didn't necessarily mean Adam, but then again this was Beacon. If a student here was getting beaten that handily by a terrorist? Well, that bared looking into. It had to be him.

"The cafeteria, you say? Why would anyone go there? There's no reason to attack it."

True, there was no real benefit to holding it as the cafeteria was outside the main academy building. Apart from its proximity to all parts of Beacon, it was a wasted effort on the White Fang's part. It didn't make any tactical sense.

And yet, maybe that was the point. Anyone who went out of their way to cause that kind of damage would attract attention. Adam might just have been making himself obvious so that someone would notice him.

So that she would notice him.

Blake's stomach twisted. "It's him," she said. "It's definitely him."

Ren nodded. "This Adam. Can we take him?"

"I… I don't know. He's stronger than me, certainly." And yet, despite that, she would have gone charging in at any other moment. She wasn't sure why she wasn't now, but somehow, she felt calm, unnaturally so. Ren's eyes focused on her were somehow the cause. "If it were the four of us, we might be able to take him. No, I'm sure we could. But it would be a close fight."

"How close?"

"I don't know."

"I see." Ren looked away, and just like that the strange calm that had overwhelmed her vanished. Blake gasped and slumped, surprised at the sudden rush of anger she felt. She had to find Adam, had to stop him. Nora's hand on her shoulder prevented her.

"Nora, what are-?"

"Sh." Nora held a finger to her lips. "Let Ren think."

"This man is the leader of the White Fang," Ren said out loud. "He's strong enough to command them, and even to fight a huntsman-in-training on an equal level. If he is so influential within the White Fang, then it raises the question of why he has not been caught already. Because he is strong? Perhaps. It would be reckless of us to challenge him."

Blake's heart beat faster. "But we-"

"But we have little other option," Ren finished. "So long as he remains, there is a chance the White Fang will continue to rally. And, if he's the leader, he may have worse plans for Beacon in store. Dangerous or not, killing or capturing him is our best chance." He looked to Coco. "Can you hold things here?"

"Heh. Sure thing. Go tear this guy a new one for us."

The relief she felt was crushing, and yet strangely it was followed by its own fear. She knew she had to face him but wanted nothing of it. Still, this was her responsibility. "Thank you," she said to her team, grateful that she wouldn't be doing it alone.

"Tell us about him," Ren instructed.

"Adam is skilled with a single blade but also has a shotgun in his sheathe. His Semblance allows him to store power into an attack that he can shoot out. If he sheathes his blade or it starts to glow, put distance between you and him. He's vicious and won't hesitate to kill you if he gets the chance. This won't be a fight to first blood or low aura."

"He sounds tough," Yang said.

"He is."

"Any idea on how we'll fight him?"

"I have an idea," Ren said, smiling uncharacteristically. It wasn't a confident or happy smile, but rather a reckless one. The fact his eyes affixed on her didn't do much for Blake's own confidence, let alone her good mood. She had a feeling she wasn't going to like whatever plan he had.

"Y-Yeah?"

"We give him exactly what he wants."

Huh, she was right. She didn't like it.

/-/

Travel by Nevermore was not what many would have expected it to be. None of the juvenile Grimm were strong enough for Cinder to ride, and her clothing wouldn't have held if they tried to carry her using their claws, even hundreds of them. She'd have torn them and plummeted to her death, naked as well for the added humiliation. The Grimm knew that, however, and their orders were to get her to Beacon however they needed to.

That led to a rather uncomfortable transition. Cinder was bundled in among hundreds of Nevermore, practically suffocated by feathers as they used the weight of their own bodies to propel her along. It was like an army of ants joined together to raft a river, except that they formed a strange facsimile of a tunnel that she was thrown around inside of. A tunnel that consisted of sharp beaks, sharper claws and feathers that felt like they were tipped with steel.

"Jauuunnneee!" she screamed, partly in anger, partly in pain.

Really, this was what she got for throwing that stupid word around. Trust. Who had any use for it? About the only saving grace was that she was indeed en route to Beacon, which she'd glimpsed through a rare hole in the tidal wave of Nevermore.

It was the sound of gunfire which gave it away, however. Cinder supposed she should be grateful none of it was aimed at the Nevermore, which would have made for a nasty surprise, but it at least alerted her to her rude landing a few seconds before it happened.

The Nevermore had no real way of slowing her descent or themselves and simply parted around her, spilling her onto the soft grass, which wasn't quite so soft when you were moving at extreme speeds and didn't have any time to prepare. She hit it hard with her shoulder, rolled and cartwheeled aimlessly across the ground and crashed through a bush, before she came to a gentle halt at the base of a tree, slamming into it like a missile.

Mud, feathers, blood and leaves – along with myriad scrapes and cuts and her ruined clothing torn by claws. No one would look at her and doubt that she'd been busy, though most would assume she'd wrestled with a Beowolf. Cinder scowled, paused, cringed and then spat out four or five black feathers. They fluttered in the air before her tauntingly.

"Never again. The next time he asks if I trust him, I'll stab him in the throat."

But she'd reached Beacon and that was what mattered. Limping out of the bush and ignoring the aches and pains of her landing – and the hundred or so Nevermore now sat on the branches staring at her – Cinder assessed the situation. The school still stood but there were Grimm everywhere and students trying to deal with them. Of the adult huntsmen none could be seen, too busy with the colosseum. Several masked figures fought here and there and more lay dead on the floor. Of Adam, there was no sign.

No news is good news. The last thing I need is him recognising me here. In an ideal world, she could leave his apprehension to the students, but there was a chance those idealistic fools would take him alive so that `justice` could be served. That would be bad if he decided to fold and incriminate her, so killing him was a priority.

That said, becoming the Fall Maiden was a bigger priority, and there was always the chance she could go and kill him after that. She could use the excuse of being new to her powers to mask the killing as an accident. No one would really care. Still, that meant she had to find Ozpin and quickly. Surely this would count as incentive enough for him to accept her decision and speed along the transfer process.

The main building of the academy stood still, surrounded by students who fought against the Grimm and White Fang both. They were holding their own and even driving them back in places. Then again, such was my intent, she thought, watching it all. In truth, there had been no way to secure the White Fang an actual victory, but in the same way Amity was to be a distraction for them, they were to be one for her. She hadn't given thought to helping them be victorious, only in how to convince them they could be.

"Cinder!" It wasn't Mercury or Emerald who called her name, but rather the white-haired Schnee. It took a moment for her to recall she was on their side, but when she did she nodded and hurried over, sliding one of her blades into the neck of a Beowolf as she passed by.

"You're all alive," she noted. "Where is my team?"

"They went to take some injured back to the Bullheads and guard them. I think they wanted to wait for you to arrive."

A fair assumption and a simple enough plan on their part, since they didn't realise she would be taking an alternate route to Beacon. Neither had she, to be fair. "Fine. Do you know where Ozpin is? I need to see him. He has something of mine that can turn the tide of this battle."

"He does? Well, we could certainly do with that. He's in the main building – on his way to his office, I think. Pyrrha's with him."

"Nikos?" Cinder's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"I don't know. She said something about a responsibility – about becoming something and an offer she could no longer refuse. I think – huh, Cinder?"

There was no response from her, nor would there be. Cinder dashed across the space between Weiss and the main doors, cutting aside any Grimm or faunus who dared stand in her path. Nikos, the Invincible Girl, one of the strongest of their year and the one she'd been pitted against in the first rounds. Jaune and his warnings, his mysterious mentions of a second candidate and that he'd convinced them otherwise. It all made sense. It all made terrifying, aggravating, murderous sense.

Cinder's eyes flared to life as she hurtled into the building and toward the central elevator. The power was hers and hers alone. No one would take it. Not Amber, not Ozpin, and certainly not Pyrrha Nikos.

She would make sure of it.

Uh-oh. Wow, this week has been another hectic one for me. Each June is when my work has the big show we have to go to, where I have to do speeches all day, work 6-10pm and also sleep there to look after the equipment. We're in the prep phase for that at the moment, which means I have to do the work I need done now, and also the work I won't be able to do then.

It doesn't leave me with much free time for writing, sadly. It also means – though I'm not certain yet – that come June, I may need to have a week of no updates to do this sodding event. I just don't know yet, but I will sooner. I'm going to try and write all my fics in advance, so I may not miss any, but it may be that I get some done, but some not, and as such one or two fics may have no update that week.

We'll see, and it's not until the third week of June, so it's a while away. I just wanted to give some warning.

Next Chapter: 10th May

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