Ah September, how I hate you. You're the month that carries my annual speech, the deadline for our dining awards, a point where I need to start doing tax returns and also a host of other shitty work-related things.

You really are the worst month of the year. And you've always been it – being the month I used to have to go back to school, too.

Seriously. To hell with September.

Beta: College Fool

Cover Art: Kegi Springfield

Chapter 83

Jaune had to admit, Weiss both impressed, frightened and made him wary for his mother's presence. The way she took over the situation was incredible, not even batting an eye at the fact Kevin was behind her. She segregated the warring factions quickly, forcing them into small groups and casually informing them that if they caused trouble, the fact they were grouped together would make it very easy for the dragon to squash them.

The fact he couldn't tell if she was serious or not terrified him. The fact that his sisters listened, sulking to the side? That made him afraid of Weiss meeting his mom. Salem would love her.

Even so, the situation was still something of a powder keg waiting to go off. The longer this went without Kevin stomping someone, the more relaxed people would become, and that would lead to the tension returning. Peace would only last so long as their fear of Weiss, which was another reason why she was the perfect mediator. The White Fang knew – or thought they knew - exactly how little the Schnee cared for the faunus. Weiss had a reputation, and that counted.

"Oh wow, thanks for this," Qrow said, stumbling up. "I thought I-"

"Back in position!" Weiss snapped.

"W-What? I'm on your side!"

"As far as I can tell, half of this is your fault anyway." Weiss pointed imperiously. "Back in line."

Qrow slumped. "I… can't fault that…" He went back to stand between Coral and Sapphire, both of which shot him indignant glares. Their postures were so similar, hands crossed under their breasts and heads turned away, that it was impossible not to see them as sisters.

Realistically, they owed Qrow for this even being possible – not that Jaune would ever `thank` the man he'd seen bonking his sister. If it wasn't for Qrow so thoroughly occupying Coral and Sapphire's attention – especially Sapphire's – then Jaune wouldn't have been able to force his will past hers and reclaim control of the Grimm. Sapphire might have overruled him, but that required concentration, or at least some degree of focus. Whether it was her own anger or Qrow's Semblance at work was unknown, but either way her attention had wandered, allowing him a chance to take control.

And the time they'd bought had given Kevin time to get over here, too. Handy.

Note to self, I really need to send him home after this. No idea how he got himself stuck in a mountain in Vale, but Amber was devastated.

"How are we going to manage this?" Ruby asked, sliding up behind him.

"Honestly? I have no idea."

"What!?"

"This is all Weiss," Jaune said, waving a hand towards his partner, who at that moment was confronting the two White Fang factions, hands on her hips and Kevin's great maw hovering only a few metres above her head. He had no idea what she was telling them, but judging from how cowed they looked, it wasn't friendly advice.

"I provided the means to get everyone to stop, but I've got no idea how to make it stick other than killing everyone." Jaune noticed Ruby's horrified expression, "Which I wouldn't do, obviously."

"R-Right. Obviously."

"So, yeah… this is Weiss' show now. Though it looks like others are helping." He nodded to Ren and Blake, one of which was talking to each side of the White Fang respectively. It looked like each of them was planning to branch off and deal with each army one at a time. Ozpin was already speaking to the Mistral side. "I guess I should deal with my sisters and Yang can speak to her mom."

Yang, having listened in, winced, "I'll help you with yours if you do the same with mine."

"Fine." Yang's mom did maybe want to kill her, after all. It was only fair. And Qrow was Yang's Uncle. "Ruby, can you maybe keep Ozpin busy with the Mistral side and not…" He fought for the right words.

"Not waging a war on you or your sisters?" Ruby offered.

"Yeah…"

"I'll try. He, uh, might not be in the best mood after what we said, though."

"It's not likely to get any better once he realises how Jaune summoned that dragon," Yang said.

"Kevin."

Yang rolled her eyes. "Kevin, then."

Ruby wilted. "Um. I'll help with yours if-"

"Good luck, Ruby," Jaune said, slapping her shoulder before she could finish the offer. No way was he dealing with Ozpin right now. Oscar might be able to keep him busy for a little bit, but there was no telling what abilities Ozpin had.

And that was a conversation best had when the "War of way-too-many" wasn't on the verge of breaking out again. That name was a little convoluted. Maybe they'd just call it the Battle of Haven, even if that didn't do the sheer complexity of it justice.

"You're stalling," Yang said.

"Yes. Yes, I am. Can you blame me?"

Yang took a look towards the complicated mess of Qrow, Coral, Sapphire, Cinder, Tyrian and Lionheart. She sighed. "Not really. Best we get this over with, though." Yang had a point, and Jaune sighed and nodded.

The reactions of those involved as they approached were varied. Coral and Sapphire sniffed and glowered at him, clearly offended that their little brother had felt the need to step in on what was a territorial dispute. Sapphire was probably upset he'd taken the Grimm back from her, and while she could overrule him if she wanted to, it would only start the fight all over again. Raven was glaring at them, clearly unimpressed with Yang's allegiance, and with him oddly enough. Cinder had a black eye and looked almost guilty. Not going there. Lionheart coughed into his fist and flushed. Tyrian…

Tyrian waved happily. "Hi Nephew!"

"Uncle…" Jaune groaned. He placed both hands on his hips. "Okay. Does someone want to explain how this all started?"

"He groped me!"

"He didn't finish inside me!"

Jaune's face travelled the whole spectrum of anger to disgust. "T-That… Okay. Leaving that one until last. Tyrian," he said. "Why are you and Cinder here?"

"We came to hunt the Spring Maiden," Cinder interrupted.

"And definitely not to escape your mother, our divine Goddess, in a bad mood."

Cinder flushed.

Tyrian smiled.

Jaune slapped a hand to his forehead. "Right. Great. And who is the Spring Maiden again?"

"That would be my egg donor," Yang drawled, jerking a thumb in Raven's direction.

Raven didn't appear bothered by the title, or the dismissive nature of Yang's voice. The bandit placed one hand on her hip and kept the other on the hilt of her drawn sword. It was clear she was still considering violence, only having stopped because she knew that if she was the only one to do so, everyone might ally against her.

"You," she snapped. "Where is Vernal?"

Jaune blinked. "Who?"

"Vernal! The one I sent to deal with you."

"You sent a `mook` to deal with my brother?" Coral asked.

"No. I sent Vernal, my personally trained apprentice."

"She sent a mook," Sapphire agreed. "How insulting."

Jaune ignored them. "Was this Vernal person about yay high, short hair, blue eyes with a disappointing lack of skill or ability? Makes a sound like this when she gets her ass kicked." Jaune opined a high-pitched yelp.

Raven didn't look impressed.

"If so, she's over there somewhere." He pointed vaguely over his shoulder. "She didn't seem all that important, so I just dumped her with the others."

"And all of a sudden, I'm even more glad she left me with Dad," Yang said.

"Who are you?" Raven demanded.

"Isn't that obvious?"

"Having never met you in my life before now? No."

"Huh. That's fair." He'd gotten used to most people having known him for ages and somehow not having figured out something was wrong. "I'm Yang's boyfriend, Jaune Arc. I know it's late, and probably not the right moment, but it's nice to meet you, Yang's mom. I'll always try my best to be good to her."

"And he's my brother," Sapphire said with a wide smile.

Qrow scowled. "It's true, then. Shit. Nothing makes sense. I saw Nicholas Arc not three years ago. How could you be from him?"

Jaune stared at the man. "You think I'm three years old?"

"What? No! I'm saying that he was free three years ago. He wasn't some kind of prisoner in-" Qrow paused. "Shit. Don't tell me that was a Grimm in disguise or something? Is the real Nicholas locked up in a Dungeon somewhere?"

"No. That was the real Nicholas," Jaune said. "And he doesn't really spend time in the Dungeons…"

"Except when he asks Mom to roleplay," Coral said helpfully.

Sapphire and Jaune shuddered.

"E-Even so," Jaune continued valiantly, "Dad is Dad and he's still himself. He's not a prisoner of my mother, and he visits whenever he can. It's just too long a commute to and from the Grimmlands for him to live there all the time, and someone has to be the breadwinner."

Qrow choked. "B-But Salem…?"

"Well, she is the Queen of the Grimm, but it's not like it's a high-paying job or anythi-"

"Not that! She's the Queen of the Grimm. He's a Huntsman. What do they even do together!?"

"They fuck," Coral said.

"All the time," Jaune agreed.

"Too much," Sapphire added. "It can't be healthy."

"Certainly not in the positions they often try," Cinder said.

"Nowhere is safe," Tyrian sighed. "You can hear it everywhere."

"It really is as simple as that," Jaune said to a shell-shocked Qrow. In a way, he pitied the poor man, even if he still wanted to punch him a little. Coral took after their mother more than any other, at least in that department. Qrow would get a first-hand account of just what being Nicholas Arc was like. Jaune didn't even question it. Coral wanted, and so Coral would get. The only question was how much Qrow would play hard to catch.

"For those who haven't yet gotten it," Jaune said, really only for Qrow and Raven's benefit. "I am Jaune Salem Arc. My mother is Juniper Salem Arc, known to most as just Salem, Queen of the Grimm. Yes, that Queen of the Grimm. No, I am not evil." He ignored Sapphire's snort. "And I didn't sneak into Beacon for some nefarious plan. Yes, I am dating Yang. No, she is not being forced in some way."

"Like he'd dare," Yang said.

"Right now, I am also the person calling this ceasefire," Jaune said. "Which means that it is a ceasefire called with the name of Salem." He stared at Sapphire and Coral. "Respect that and don't break it. The same goes for you, Cinder. And you, Uncle Tyrian."

"Aww…"

"Okay. Last person. Leo, why did you even attack Qrow in the first place?"

"I assumed it was your glorious master plan, oh most maleficent one."

"I told you to wait. And to delay supplies."

"Yes," Leo agreed. "Delay supplies to force them to stay while you gathered and orchestrated all these forces to attack at once, trapping all your enemies in one spot so that you might destroy them all!"

"Not quite…"

"There was more to your glorious plan?"

"I…" Jaune sighed. "Leo. Close your eyes."

"Okay. What am I waiti-oof!" Leonardo slumped back unconscious, tumbling to the ground. Jaune's knuckles ached but he waved them in the air a few times and turned back to the others.

"No one actually objected to that, did they?"

"No."

"Not really."

"Fine with me."

"He was very annoying."

"Great," Jaune said. "Now comes the hard part. What do we have to give each of you to decide this isn't worth it and stop this war, taking your factions away in peace?"

/-/

"The Albain brothers?" Sienna asked.

"Dead," Blake replied.

"And the Church of Adam?"

"No more."

"Long live Blake," someone in the background cried.

Sienna raised an eyebrow.

Blake pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I'll tell them their `Holy Leader` is embarking on a pilgrimage," Sienna offered. "Hopefully once we have them back in Menagerie, they'll start to calm down."

And if not, it wouldn't be her problem anymore. Blake nodded gratefully. "That would be ideal. Thank you."

"The White Fang will also have to start working on its image again. Adam has tainted it, and this attack on Haven hardly makes it any better. Hopefully the Schnee family will make it clear that it was but a schism of the White Fang, and that we moved to prevent this assault." Sienna eyed Weiss firmly, and behind her, Winter stiffened.

"The SDC understands and accepts your offer," Weiss said.

"Weiss!"

"Sister, I am here as the representative of the SDC, am I not?"

Winter sighed. "You are…"

"And you are here only as the commander of my guards, correct?"

"That… is correct…"

"Hm. I think that means I am the one to make all the decisions invol-"

"Yes, Weiss," Winter said with a sigh. "Yes, you are."

"Ah. I thought so." Weiss nodded, as if she'd ever forgotten the fact. "In that case, on behalf of the SDC, we thank the White Fang for stepping in to prevent an attack from rogue elements of your faction. We wish you well in containing and dealing with them."

"Weiss," Winter hissed when Sienna nodded and turned back to her troops. "I must caution against making deals with the White Fang! They are terrorists, not to mention our enemies!"

"Then by all means take your surviving men and challenge her," Weiss said. "How many is that, eight not injured and ready to fight? Against her hundred or so? Go on." Weiss waved a hand. "Feel free."

Winter's scowl was legendary.

"Things aren't what they used to be, Winter," Weiss said, this time a little softer. "I think we've all gotten too used to who our enemies are and aren't that we've forgotten things can change. I've come to realise it's not that simple. The world's not as black and white as people would have us believe."

"You cannot change the world in a day, Weiss. The White Fang are our enemies."

"Like the Grimm are?"

"Yes!"

Weiss snorted. "Tell that to my not-so-little friend."

As if it could hear and understand her – and maybe it could – the dragon let loose a puff of air, blowing Weiss' hair forward and Winter's back. Her sister froze, seemingly haven forgotten that a great, big dragon was stalking around after Weiss.

"He actually saved me the first time. Swallowed me whole. Bit Adam to shreds and spat me back out." And while she still wasn't amused at the last bit, she couldn't find it in herself to tell the dragon off. "Now, he's here again. Helping. That's technically more help than I've received from most humans. My teammates not included."

"I see."

Winter didn't, but Weiss hoped that she might in time. It was hard for everyone else; they didn't have the context she did. They didn't know Jaune. They hadn't become friends with an ex-White Fang terrorist in Blake, and they hadn't seen an enemy like Emerald turn into one of your closest allies. Considering all of that, Weiss figured the whole boundary of enemy and ally was flexible.

"You are the one in charge then, sister. You and your team. What is to be our part in this?" Winter sighed. "I can hardly fight you at this point. If I even wanted to."

"Just do your job. Secure the area. Let Ironwood know it's safe."

Winter coughed.

"W-Well… safeish."

Winter's eyebrow rose higher.

Weiss shrugged helplessly.

"I'll stay for the two weeks intended," Winter said. "After which, I will make up my mind. Should the White Fang honour your request, and the Grimm retreat, I will inform Ironwood that an… an accord has been reached." Winter grimaced at the word. "Something tells me you will not be staying for that, however. Would I be correct in thinking so?"

"You would. I… I have a team to return to. I have a teammate who has been separated from us who needs a rescue. If not for fear of her life, then at least her sanity."

"And the reason you're able to command the Grimm…?"

"Is a part of that," Weiss said. "I could explain, but I'm not sure you'd believe it. Things aren't like what we were taught, Winter. We've been living on false assumptions. Or maybe we haven't and it's just that no one has actually tried to bridge the gap."

"You think that you will be able to?" Winter's tone made it clear she thought Weiss arrogant. Maybe she was, but her solution – Remnant's solution – was to continuously wage a war they could never win, and likely to doom humanity to a slow death either way.

Remnant's method wasn't working.

Jaune's… It was insane, she accepted that, but it had potential – and they'd be heading in that direction to rescue Pyrrha, anyway. Might as well try while they were there.

"I won't ask you to have faith in me, Winter. But I won't ask for your permission, either."

"I've a feeling I no longer have the right to expect it," Winter said. "Very well. You've handled yourself well without my interference. I suppose I can continue to trust you now. I will… cover for your absence with father. But only for as long as I'm able."

Weiss nodded, grateful. "Thank you."

/-/

Jaune cocked his head to the side at the sound of Bullheads lifting off. Since Kevin wasn't interfering, he had to assume it wasn't an attempt to attack. A brief glance showed that the White Fang's numbers were dwindling. That was good. It looked like Weiss was having more success than he was. Go figure.

"I want Qrow."

"I want Qrow as well," Sapphire said reasonably. "But I only need him for ten seconds."

"You're going to kill him, aren't you?"

"No."

"Sapphire…"

"Maybe. Just a little."

"Don't I get a say in this?" the man in question asked.

"No." Jaune, Yang, Coral and Sapphire said.

"I want Ozpin and Qrow gone," Raven said. "And Yang cleansed of the Grimm that infests her."

"That's also a no," Yang said. "Yin is my son. Ozpin is technically inside an innocent boy – and wow, that sounds bad – and Uncle Qrow is Uncle Qrow. You're not killing him any more than I'm letting Jaune's sisters kill him."

"That could be solved by letting me kill her," Cinder offered.

Jaune sighed. "Cinder, no."

"Now, now," Yang said, touching Jaune's shoulder. "We should hear her out."

"Yang, no," Jaune and Qrow said in unison.

"No killing is going to happen here," Jaune said. "Raven, you tried to kill Yang before and she nearly ended you. Try it here and you'll be up against four of us, and Sapphire, Coral and I know how to use our Grimm forms a lot more effectively than Yang does. Secondly, she's your daughter. And Yin is your grandson. I know you're, like, worst mother of the year or something, but surely that's a line even you shouldn't want to cross."

"It is not something I desire," Raven said. "But Yang will draw the attention of Salem. Her life will forever be in danger."

Wait, was that concern from Raven?

"And Salem's attention might be drawn to me as a result."

Never mind.

"Salem knew about you ages ago," Cinder drawled. "Seriously, you worked with Ozpin for multiple years and then decided to run away to a little tribe in Mistral. Did you think that would keep you hidden? Even assuming you didn't take the Spring Maiden's powers, we already had an eye on you. We're hardly amateurs here. The only reason we never bothered to attack you was because we didn't need to. You were well in hand."

Tyrian nodded. "And because our most beloved Goddess was too distracted to care."

Cinder sighed. "That too. My responsibilities had also been shifted to babysitting Jaune, so killing you was put on the backburner."

Raven didn't look pleased about that, or the suggestion she was somehow less a threat than Jaune hurting himself if left alone. Her hand tightened on the hilt of her sword. She might also have just realised how useless her attempts to avoid being drawn into the war really were, or her efforts to hide. Really, though, Raven was easier to find in the wild where any Grimm could stumble on her. If she'd really wanted to hide, she should have stayed in the cities and lived a quiet life out of the public eye.

"No one is killing anyone," Jaune said again. "Not even Raven. I'm not starting a precedent here, and before you say it, Lionheart is just knocked out. We'll give him to the Mistral students and tell them the truth. They can decide what to do with him."

"They'll probably kill him," Cinder pointed out.

"Yes, but that'll be their choice and they can face the consequences." He locked eyes with Cinder. "If I ask you not to kill Raven…"

"I will call you naïve," she said. "But if you ask me not to kill her now, then I shall agree. This was to be an assassination. The element of surprise has already been lost."

"Thank you." Not perfect, but enough. "And you, Tyrian?"

"Eh. I was just here to escape our Goddess' rage. And maybe to punish the one who dared assault my niece."

"I didn't realise she was a real person!" Qrow protested again.

"That doesn't change anything," Jaune, Sapphire and Yang said once more.

"Seriously," Yang added. "Stop digging deeper holes, Uncle Qrow. Why would it be any better if you molested someone who wasn't sentient? Then you'd just be taking advantage of an animal or something."

Qrow, having no answer to that, paled.

"Exactly!" Sapphire cheered.

"However," Yang said, interjecting. "Even if Uncle Qrow did do that, `death` is a pretty ridiculous punishment for it. At best, he'd be charged for it, but considering he's family and he didn't realise what he was doing, you'd more likely sort it out between yourselves."

"Peacefully," Jaune added, before Sapphire could say they'd been doing just that. Sapphire pouted.

"As for Coral," Yang continued, "I don't really see what the big deal is. You did try and sleep with her and it's not like you're related or anything." Yang shrugged. "You've been a bachelor forever, Uncle. I say go for it."

Coral grinned. "I approve of her, Jaune."

"B-But she's part Grimm! She's literally the spawn of Salem!"

Yang grinned. "Saying something about my tastes?"

Qrow looked at Yang in question for a second, before reality hit. He looked to Jaune, back to Yang, and then looked even more horrified.

"Don't knock it until you try it, Uncle. Besides, you were more than fine with her before you realised who her mother was. Didn't you once tell me not to judge a book by its cover? And about how you're not responsible for what your family or parents do? Or are you saying I'm just like her." Yang jerked a thumb in Raven's direction. "All my offence intended."

"Charmed," Raven said.

"N-No…" Qrow said. "You're not like her, Yang."

"Exactly. So, saying Coral is like Salem is wrong, too. She's her own person. Even if she's only half-person."

"She has tentacles!"

"So does Jaune half the time." Yang motioned, and Jaune brought the transformation forth without hesitation. Qrow's face drained, as if he'd held out hope this was all a joke but now saw it dashed. He was a little surprised when Yang grabbed one of his tentacles, but she didn't seem bothered by it. She pointed it vaguely at Qrow as she kept talking, "Honestly, it's not that big a deal. Sure, if you're into it like Ruby totally pretends she isn't, it might be awkward, but other than that, it's not that much different than, say, a guy spontaneously turning into a bird."

"What if I don't want to…?"

It was Coral who answered, frowning. "Then don't. But don't send such mixed messages as to literally sleep with me and then claim you don't want to. And be prepared for me to feel a little upset afterwards."

"And me," Yang said. "You may be my uncle, but Coral is Yin's aunt. I'm not going to hold you down while she beats you up, but I'm not going to stop her, either."

"Gee. Thanks, suddenly least favourite niece…"

Yang rolled her eyes. "Stop being a bitch, Uncle Qrow. You do or you don't. It's not exactly a difficult question. Might as well answer it now. Do you like her, or has the fact you know who her mother is somehow turned you off?"

Jaune made to interject but stopped when Yang shot him a meaningful look. He stepped back and waited. Coral did so as well, showing little of what she thought or felt. It couldn't have been good, though. For all her confidence, Coral was still a person. If she really did like Qrow, having him reject her based solely on what she was would hurt. And then Jaune would hurt Qrow – but he'd respect the man's right to a choice, if not the man himself.

"It's not… I don't know," Qrow said. "I don't know what to think right now. I don't want to be the kind of guy that says it matters, but I'm a little shocked here. Give me a break. I just found out the girl I'm into is part-Grimm."

Coral's lips quirked up. "The girl you're into?"

"Don't read into it."

"I'm reading into it."

Yang gave Jaune's shoulder a gentle punch. "I think they'll be okay."

"Yeah," he replied, watching Coral grin. "I think so. Funny how we never had this moment."

"Because you got me pregnant and ran off with my sister. You should count yourself lucky I didn't strangle you in your sleep. We've got bigger problems, though," Yang said, looking back over his shoulder.

"What do you-" Jaune turned and saw Ruby approaching at a dead sprint, without Ozpin. "Oh…"

"I couldn't stop him," Ruby panted.

"What?"

"Ozpin," she said, holding a hand to her stomach. Not injured, but winded perhaps. "He saw your transformation, Jaune. He figured it out. Figured everything out, including that we knew. And Yang. I tried to stop him. Tried to reason with him."

Jaune's stomach fell. "What happened?"

"He wouldn't have it. Wouldn't listen to a word I said. Kept saying how it had to be done, how the world wouldn't be lost under his watch. That she had to be destroyed." Ruby looked nervously at them all and bit her lip. "I-I don't know what he was like. It was as if he'd gone mad. Or he thought we all had. Before I knew what was going on, he punched me in the stomach. He could fight," she said. "He lied before. That hit… it was much harder than what Oscar could do. I wasn't ready for it."

"Shit."

"Hm, so you finally realised what he's truly like," Raven said, sounding smugly satisfied for once. "Perhaps I was mistaken and there's hope for you yet, Yang." The Maiden turned her back on them. "I shall take my tribe and leave. I wanted Ozpin gone, and my objective is achieved. There is nothing else here I care to sit through."

Jaune looked to Yang. Yang shrugged back. "Um. Sure?" he said. "See you around?"

Raven snorted. "I would hope not."

"See you when we tear the maiden's power from your broken body," Tyrian said, waving happily. Raven stiffened, and then, with some effort, forced herself to keep on walking, back to her tribe. Cinder rolled her eyes and punched Tyrian in the shoulder, earning a yelp and a wounded look from him.

Jaune shot his Big Sis a nod in thanks.

"Well, that's the White Fang and Raven's tribe dealt with," Yang said. "I'm guessing the Grimm won't be a problem?"

"Sapphire shall remove them," Coral said. "Isn't that right, sister?"

Sapphire grimaced but nodded. She'd be hard pressed to wrest control from both Jaune and Coral, and the distraction would surely let them ambush her. If she was knocked unconscious, the Grimm would default to her final order – except if there was another Salem around to order them. Sapphire might have been able to take them both on – she was the eldest and also the most experienced – but she couldn't handle herself against them with the help of so many others. With a toss of her head, Sapphire sent out a silent message and the Grimm began to depart. Except for Kevin, of course, who continued to shadow Weiss in what Jaune was fairly sure only he realised was an almost adoring manner.

He wasn't sure what Weiss would think once she realised Kevin liked her.

Then again, this was Weiss. Maybe she'd try and put a saddle on the big lug. Ride him back to Atlas, knock down the SDC and declare herself Queen of the Icy Throne. Yep, definitely had to take steps to make sure Weiss and Mom never met, otherwise he'd have an arranged marriage within moments.

Still, Ozpin aside the battle looked to be over. Already, the Mistral students were cheering and the last of the White Fang were being shuttled away. Raven had a portal open for her own bandits, who were marching into it, carrying their wounded with them. The Atlas contingent stood awkwardly in the middle, their Bullheads downed and them having nothing to do other than wait for orders. No one quite knew what to do about the dragon, but the fact it was docilely following a short girl like a puppy probably helped keep the panic down.

Ozpin was gone, and Jaune had a feeling they hadn't heard the last of him, but in a way, they'd always known it would come to this. Ozpin was never going to accept Jaune being Salem's son, or his suggestions of peace and co-operation. At least this way, Ozpin didn't have the chance to attack or hurt any of them, and Ruby was just winded.

And everyone was back together at last.

All except for Pyrrha.

But not for long. They'd all gathered as one, and with Kevin here, they had a way to the Grimmlands.

"We're coming, Pyrrha. Stay strong."

/-/

"Let it go," Watts advised. "Don't try to stay strong."

"I-I- UWAROOOOGHHH!"

The echoing splash as Pyrrha threw up into the toilet was horrifying, as was the smell, which had Mannie backing up with both paws over his snout, snorting as if he'd been physically burned. The Beowolf hit the wall and kept going, sliding out of the bathroom with its tail between its legs.

Watts had no such mercy, and simply scrunched up his nose while he held the girl's long hair out of her face with one hand and rubbed her back with the other.

"There, there," he said, thinking of the numerous times he'd done this before with the other Salem girls. He'd half-expected to have to do it for Jaune, too, but having run off to Beacon, he imagined someone else had filled that role. Maybe Cinder.

"I likes you, Jaune~"

"I'm not Jaune."

"No, no," Pyrrha said drunkenly. "I really likes you! Like, really likesh. Really likes…"

"That's lovely, Miss Nikos."

"Kiss?"

"No."

"Why? Not pretty…?"

"No. It's because I'm not Jaune," Watts said reasonably. "And a host of other reasons related to suitable age, personal feelings, professionalism, not taking advantage of a woman, and a desire not to be strung up by my entrails by my mistress."

Pyrrha blinked, vomited, and then came to the obvious conclusion. "A-Are they not big enough?"

"Excuse me?"

"T-These," Pyrrha said, trying to cup her breasts and only half-succeeding. Her other hand was cupping a small amount of her stomach. She gasped. "Is-Is it because one is bigger than t'other!?"

"No, and they're not different in size. As far as I can tell. That's an ab. Also, I'm still not Jaune."

"Hmm, Jaune," she droned, eyes closed. "Your mom's nice."

"I'm glad you think so."

"Your uncle is a bit of a dick, though."

Watts sighed.

Really, this job never got any easier. Oh wait, now she'd slumped in his arms and was snoring lightly. Her body sagged, suddenly feeling about ten times heavier than it had a moment before. With a groan, Watts crouched and tried to work the girl up onto his shoulders, wincing as she struggled a little and planted an elbow in his eye.

"Be evil, they said. Become a supervillain, they said. It'll be fun, they said." Watts grunted. Instead, in his spotted career as a villain, he'd found himself tucking your monstrosities into bed, changing diapers, dealing with Salem's Labour eight times and generally playing butler-slash-babysitter.

With a gurgle, Pyrrha dribbled down the back of Watts' head.

"This wasn't in the job description…"

And so, the battle ends – not with a bloodbath, but with casual threats of one forcing each and every side into something of a stalemate. Of course, Ozpin was never going to accept Jaune's reasoning – nor was he going to hang around in a vulnerable body when he realises there are three of Salem's ilk around, and that his closest allies are compromised in various ways.

Not much to say here. There's still a little fallout to go, but September is a bitch, so I'm going to have to split it over two chapters. Next chapter won't all be fallout, of course. They'll decide on their next step and put plans into action.

Next Chapter: 20th September

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur