AN: Okay a few things this time around, this is an actual chapter, and as I noted in the now deleted not update, I had a beta for this one, but only for about 25 or 20 percent of it before he lost power. I don't know when he'll be able to get back to help so I'm going to update this story as I did before, editing what I can to whatever capacity I can.

Also, thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter.

This story at this point is completely written out, editing is all that needs to be done.

So there are other story's I'm working on now when I'm not editing, the Loki story is one. And there is the fact I want to edit this story, a lot of what I want to do is cut it down to a smaller version, this ended up much longer than I thought it would.

Also, MarcusMebadd, I tried to PM you, but your accounts PM is still locked.

Family Matters

"Can your brother do that?" Ruby asked Thor after hearing the story from Blake. Thor shook his head, his shaggy blonde hair swaying as he did so, in a way that reminded her of Jaune's.

"I don't know-," He said "He has some of his power back, but as far as curing someone of that…it nearly killed me in this form." He pounded his chest for emphasis "Only the power of Mjolnir saved me, but Loki may have some trick up his sleeve, he always does."

"Okay, let's leave that on the back burner for now." Jaune cut in. "We can assume Weiss is safe for now."

"How do you figure that?" Ruby asked

"She asked for help for her father, not herself, and thought that Loki could come into the home freely, she probably doesn't feel like she's in any immediate danger."

"Kayyyy," Ruby said rubbing her arms in a self-soothing manner, still worried but put a bit at ease by this logic.

"I think we need to worry about Winter." He added, surprising Ruby, but also Blake and Yang by the expressions on their faces.

"Why?" Yang asked, but her tone said it was more for clarification of an idea she already had.

"She's the one who sold Weiss out." Jaune's voice had more venom in it than Ruby had expected. She didn't know where this …anger was coming from.

Thor spoke next "It was hardly malicious Jaune." Everyone turned to look at Thor, "She was trying to protect her sister by removing her from the upcoming battle by the means she thought would restrain her, but she didn't count on a dying father."

"She still sold her out." Jaune countered.

"Yes, but it was out of love, and love will make fools of us all," Thor said, closing his eye and taking a deep sighing breath, Ruby thought he might be talking from personal experience.

"Still" Blake added, "The motivation doesn't change what she did."

Thor sighed again "No, it doesn't." He rubbed the back of his head, and Ruby was wondering if the sibling betrayal was reminding him of his issues with his own brother. "But she'll have to answer to Weiss, and the rest of us should stay out of this and let them resolve it, Winter won't do anything to us."

The room seemed to have drained of energy, and Jaune plopped down on the couch. "So …what do we do now?"

"We wait to hear from Weiss or Loki." Ruby said, "Even if things don't go according to plan, I'm sure Loki can work his voodoo and get them out." Ruby suddenly flinched a little at Thor's booming laughter, reminded of her first day at Beacon. She turned to look at him "What's so funny?" she said trying to flush with embarrassment.

Thor's laughter died down a bit before he answered, "Loki hates it when his magic is called 'voodoo', I hope you use the term around him; his reaction is priceless."

"Leave us," Jacques said to his staff and Weiss as Loki entered the room. Weiss noted how her father seemed …stronger than before. Not much, but there was some color back in his cheeks, and his voice was lively.

"Father." She said with a small curtsy, more out of habit than anything. "You are looking better."

"I am feeling better. I'd like to know more about the circumstances of my recovery." He said. His voice returned to the calm, measured tones she'd grown up hearing, and while she was relieved to see evidence of her father's improving condition, she had already grown accustomed to the softer tone he'd used earlier and had dearly missed it.

She didn't know how she was going to explain this to her father. He was notoriously skeptical of anything outside of technology and money, a reason why she suspected he didn't approve of her and Winter's career choices, he didn't think highly of Schnee family semblance, and his general preference to military power over Huntsmen. She doubted he would believe a god had used magic to purge him of his affliction.

Before she could respond, Loki spoke, "I used my semblance to purge the parasites from your body, sir."

Her father's eye's cut to Loki and squinted "I wasn't talking to you young man." He said coldly.

He was going back to normal at least, for better or worse. She looked at Loki who did a weird sort of half-bow and said, "I apologize, I just didn't think your daughter would be able to explain the specifics properly."

"Well, what are the specifics, what is your semblance?"

"I can move myself and others through space."

"And how exactly did that cure me? You expect me to believe you removed every single parasite with that power?" Her father's skeptical nature was coming through. But the ease at which Loki fashioned this lie was pretty impressive, and she suspected he might have been using his real semblance.

"No, I just moved you without the parasites, they were left behind, and your daughter purged them, though I'm afraid we may have overdone it in making sure they didn't survive." He swept his hands around the room which still showed the damage from the 'procedure.'

Weiss looked her father in the eyes, and in his weakened state along with what she was sure was Loki's semblance helping, combined with what could only be relief at his recovery, she saw he was accepting this explanation. Weiss was certain that were the circumstances different, they would have failed to convince her father with this lie.

"So, young man, you can use this ability to cure any disease?" Her father asked, and Weiss felt her pulse rise a bit at this question, wondering if Loki could explain this part away.

But as she looked over at him he was shaking his head "No sir, this method would be ineffective against viral or bacterial conditions. I don't know the specifics truly, but I must consciously pick any creature to move, anything with any level of thought can't be moved without some concentration, so it's more that I couldn't move them all more than anything else."

That seemed very weird to her, and she didn't know if it was the fact she knew it was a lie or if it was actually weak that she found herself getting nervous. But as she looked at her father, she saw him accepting this. Her father didn't know much about semblances, she reminded herself. He probably didn't realize this was odd even as far as a semblance went.

He nodded and leaned back in his bed "Well, at any rate, I've still got some recovering to do, those creatures may be gone, but the damage they did and the poison they leave still needs to treat." He waved and hand dismissing them.

Weiss didn't feel like hanging around her father as he drifted off to sleep, and turned to leave, with Loki following her.

As they got outside the room, nurses immediately went back in.

"So… is he back to normal?" Loki asked.

"Well, he seems to be, just very weak." She said, "Why didn't you heal him?"

"He was too curious, and I had to fabricate a lie, I shouldn't do anything else around him, or else things might get more…complicated than they need to be. He will heal on his own."

She hadn't thought of that, but it made sense for him to try and stay under the radar. She had other things on her mind at the moment anyway. First getting out of here, second was having a conversation with her sister.

She was as certain as a person could be that she was here because of her sister without actually hearing her confirm it. She wanted to get back as soon as possible, but she didn't want to just leave without talking to her father. She wanted to know if he was okay with her leaving. If he was, great, one less thing to worry about. If he weren't, she'd go anyway, but at least she'd have her guard up.

She wasn't sure if she could count on Klein this time, she hadn't seen him, or any of the original staff. She thought her father or maybe brother had purged the staff in their paranoia. She knew her father had suspected Ironwood of being responsible for his condition, and she thought that was more a sign of a paranoid mind. After she left, she wouldn't put it past her father to fire all the staff for "failure."

She felt a pit in her stomach at the thought of Klein or any of the others losing their jobs, she hadn't considered it until now. Just one more thing she'd have to fix.

"Do you want to leave?" Loki asked her, breaking her train of thought.

"Not yet, I want to talk to my father one more time." She paused, "You can go back if you want."

Loki laughed in his throat, "And miss the opportunity to extort a favor from him?"

Weiss couldn't tell if he was joking or not, but she was glad to have someone else nearby. She'd have preferred Ruby, Yang or Blake, but she didn't want any more of her friends involved in this than she had to.

"Well, we won't be leaving until later tonight then." She said.

"Why that late?"

"Because if he doesn't want me to leave, it'll be easier then." She said frankly, and just half nodded his head to the side and shrugged. "One of us should call the others."

"You should do it; I don't think they'd believe a word out of my mouth," Loki said, with a sigh.

She knew he was probably right, but she didn't want to say that. She felt bad for him, but by his own admission, he'd earned his reputation, and probably wasn't going to ever truly get away from it.

She took out her scroll and thought about who would be best to call. Ruby came to mind first, but her partner's excitement might not be the best to convey the message. She decided to call Blake, whom she believed to be the most level-headed person in the group apart from maybe Ren, but she didn't have the rapport with him she had with Blake.

Her decision made, she dialed the number.

Blake felt her scroll vibrate in her pocket. Pulling it out she looked at the caller ID and saw it was Weiss. She looked up to everyone staring at her, and she just said: "It's Weiss." Before answering the call "Hello?"

"Blake?"

"Yes?"

"It's Weiss, I'm just calling to check in. Loki told me you told everyone what was happening?"

"Yes, did it work?"

"It looks like it, but I just wanted to let you know that we'll be heading back tonight."

"Tonight? Why so late?"

"I'm not sure if father will be willing to let me leave again. If he's not, I'd rather slip out with as little fuss as possible."

"Can't Loki just …teleport you back?" Blake asked and was greeted by silence. "Weiss?"

"Sorry, I just had to ask Loki something," Weiss said, and Blake smiled at the idea that the thought hadn't even occurred to Weiss, as simple as it was. Weiss contented "He said he can't handle two people, at least not safely. Better to just wait."

"All right," Blake said, not sure what else to say.

"We'll see you tonight then," Weiss said before adding "Goodbye, and …take care."

"Take care, Weiss," Blake added and ended the call. She turned to look at everyone to report "They're fine, and they think it worked with her father." She said as she hid the vague sense of disappointment at that idea, as bad as that made her feel about herself; she held no love for the man, and any concern about him was only a concern for Weiss. "They'll be back tonight, or at least that's the plan."

"Why so late?" Ruby asked.

"Weiss isn't sure if her father will be okay with the idea of her leaving again, and if he isn't, she'd rather slip out as quietly as possible."

"Like he could stop her," Yang muttered, and Blake knew she was right, physically, Jacques won't be able to stop her, but she doubted Weiss would want to cause more fuss than necessary.

Her scroll hummed again, she looked at it, wondering if it was Weiss again, but it soon became clear that wasn't the case, as everyone's else scrolls went off, some were vibrating, others were ringing their tones.

Looking down, she saw it was a document sent by Winter. A slight twinge of irritation came to her at the thought of Weiss' sister, but she pushed the thoughts aside, knowing this had to be important, and opened the document. It took her a moment to realize it was a plan detailing the inevitable assault.

"Is this their plan?" Jaune said to the room rather than to anyone in particular.

Blake wasn't sure what his tone meant, but she too wondered what Ironwood was planning. From what she was gathering, the plan involved, somehow, driving the Grimm where the enemy had their base from the ocean floor to the surface.

How that would even be managed, she had no clue, the thing was enormous, there was no way conventionally to harm it, as far as she knew. But even if they did, the fallout of forcing such a creature off the sea floor would cause problems for everyone in the ocean and shores nearby.

Their part, however, which was all the document did in full detail, was far less important than she would have thought. They would to take part in the third wave attack; after the first two groups had already landed, and their job will be to guard the beachhead.

It was almost insulting, after everything they have been through, along with how close they were to all of this, to be relegated to such a small job in the overall scene of things, it didn't seem right. But arguing the point would probably get them thrown off the mission altogether. This wasn't something they could just run off and join up when they felt like it, this huge military operation was under Ironwood's command and if he didn't want them there, they wouldn't.

"This isn't right." Sun said, "After all this, we're guarding the exit."

"It's still an important job." Ren spoke up "If something goes wrong, that's the means of escape."

"Still," Sun said, "We should get chance to see it to the end."

"I'm sure many people feel the same way." Thor said, "Everyone thinks they're the heroes of their own stories."

"Yeah, but after everything we've seen and done, we're closer to this than most."

"True." Thor said, "But Ironwood probably wants people who are more experienced, and closer to him, on the front lines."

Blake listened to the exchange and agreed with both of them, yet she knew this was situation was one where playing the game with the General was necessary to get on the mission.

"Sun's going down," Loki said, staring out the window of the living room.

"I can see that," Weiss said, a bit of a snap in her voice.

"I'm just letting you know I'm going to leave soon, you can come if you want, but you better talk to your father soon."

She knew that, but he hadn't called for them, and she dreaded going to him alone. She wanted to ask Loki to come with her, but she needed to get over this on her own. She checked her scroll for the time, and while 'leaving in the dark' was a vague term, she'd planned to go as soon as it was completely dark outside.

She looked at Loki as he watched the sun go down. "It will be over soon." He said

"I know."

"Assuming we live, what comes next?"

"If my father reinstates me as heiress, I'll fix my family's name. I hope saving his life will endear him to that end." She sighed and stood up. "What about you?"

"I don't know, maybe your father will give me a job." He said with a shadow of a smile on his face.

"I'll ask him." She said smiling and set off to see her father.

"Good luck." Was all he said.

Weiss found her father sitting up in his bed. He was still thin and pale, but his eyes were back to their sharp and aware state.

"Weiss." Was all he said when she entered. He was working on a tablet, which he set down on his bed "Can I help you?"

"Yes." She said before taking a deep breath "I want to leave and go back to the base with my friends and Winter."

Her father didn't respond for a few moments, then he spoke again "You know your sister is the one who had me come and get you."

"I've suspected it," Weiss said, and she hid the pain inside her well.

"I know you hate me." He said, in an uncomfortably unfeeling voice. "And with your little friend out there, I doubt I could keep you here." He picked up his tablet and started working again "Leave if you wish."

The cold, dismissive nature made her uncomfortable, and now that she had her answer, she had a few more things to ask him.

"Do you remember what you said to me when I first got here?"

"Yes, what of it?"

"Did you mean any of it? Or was it just a disease-addled brain talking?"

He stopped for a moment, looked up at her and spoke, "It doesn't matter now."

"It does to me!" She said, her voice getting a bit louder "Are you sorry?"

"Yes." He said curtly "Tell your sister that when you see her, now if you don't mind I have work to do to try and get our family assets back from Ironwood."

The fact he said it like he was ordering takeout made her doubt his sincerity. She quickly reminded herself he was never emotional and outside of anger, he was always so cold and logical. The fact he was letting her go of her own free will made her hope that he was sincere, if not as emotional as she would have liked.

"Well then…I'll be off, I don't know if you're aware of what going to happen, but –"

"I am aware; Ironwoods security isn't as tight as he thinks it is, at least not when it comes to our family."

"Yes well …I just wanted to say …I don't hate you." She wanted to say she loved him, she did, but he'd hurt her too much over the years for her to say it out loud to him, at least for now.

He looked up at her for a moment, then went back to work.

She wanted to ask about her position in the family business, but that seemed to lack any tact, and besides, it might not matter in a few days anyway. She turned to leave, but her father spoke

"How do you know that young man who helped me?"

She turned to look at her father "His brother went to Beacon." Which was true.

"I'd like to talk to him before you two leave."

"Why?"

"He saved my life, I need to properly thank him."

Suspicious of the request, but didn't seem much harm that could be done. "I'll send him in."

Weiss waited outside her father's room, waiting for Loki. They had to be talking about something; saying thank you shouldn't be taking ten minutes. Her mind couldn't help but think one or both of them are trying to get something from the other.

She chose to ignore the desire to eavesdrop, knowing it was improper to do so; she waited. The door eventually opened, and Loki walked out and said, "Are you ready to go?"

She nodded and asked, "What were you two talking about?"

"Oh, this and that." Was the only response he gave and started walking down the hall.

Winter sat in her office, wondering about what she did. She felt terrible betraying her sister's trust, but if she lived, she could hate her for the rest of it.

Her scrolled hummed, taking a look at it she saw it was Weiss. She really didn't want to answer it, but there was no point putting it off.

"Hello?"

"Winter, it's Weiss, I'm on my way back, we need to talk when I get there."

"Wait, Weiss did you escape again; you know father will-"

"No, he let me go."

Winter felt like she'd been poleaxed. Let her go? That did not fit with her father's previous behavior. "Why?"

"We'll discuss that when we see each other, but I have to ask, did you know he was sick?"

Well, she had heard. "Yes, was that why he let you leave?"

Her sister ignored her and continued "Did you know how bad it was?"

"It was bad enough he had to step down from his position of CEO." Was all she said, because, in truth, she didn't know the full extent of what her father had contracted, but knew he'd moved out of the public light to recover.

"We'll talk when I see you," Weiss said and cut the call. Her sister was mad at her, and now it was for nothing. If their father let her go, then all her plan had done was alienate her sister, the only real family she had.

She wanted someone to be mad at, but there was no one to blame but herself. She could be angry at her father, but she didn't feel it was justified, given he'd finally done what she wanted him to do for years, given her sister freedom.

She would have to answer to Weiss, which felt ridiculous, she was the older sister, yet she felt like a child afraid of being scolded.

She would just have to face it.

"Brother, Weiss," Thor welcomed the two.

"Thor." Weiss responded, nodding to him "Are you the welcoming party?"

"After a fashion, but more for my brother only, I have some questions for him, and I assume you have some for your sister."

Weiss nodded and without so much as another word left to attend to her business. Thor forgave the mild rudeness given she had a hard task ahead.

Thor turned to Loki once Weiss was out of earshot and said "So, did you, actually do it?"

"After a fashion, yes."

Thor raised an eyebrow "What is that supposed to mean?"

"The creatures have been expunged from his body, but they left some damage and venom in him I was not able to cure, at least in one treatment."

Thor rubbed his chin, having experienced the same issues with his own time with the parasites, he wondered how a man weaker than himself, at least physically, had survived as long as he did.

Loki seemed to read his mind, and for a moment Thor thought he may in fact be able to "He didn't have an awoken Aura, those creatures feed on it, so oddly enough, him being weaker slowed the progression."

"So, what did you tell him? I doubt he'd believe you used conventional treatment to heal him."

"I made up a story about my semblance being able to move them out of his body, laced with some my actual semblance, he believed it easily enough." Loki looked at him "Enough small talk, what is it you really want to know?"

Thor smiled at his brother, cutting through to the matter at hand. "Were there any side effects to this? Could your body handle it?"

His brother's eye's widened for a fraction of a second, but soon returned to normal. Loki looked around to see if there was anyone else nearby, and once the coast was clear, he held out his arm and rolled up his sleeve.

On his forearm, halfway between his wrist and elbow was what looked like a burn, but only a vague sense. The skin was black and cracked like dry earth, with a yellow puss seeping out of the cracks.

"Loki…what happened?"'

"I'm afraid this energy I've taken…is fighting against my body."

"I thought it made you stronger, why would it react this way?"

"I've separated it from the power that was meant to hold it, it's…unstable and unpredictable, during the procedure I used to save Weiss's father, I experience a feedback that nearly blew the room to pieces, even with Runes to focus it."

"Can you heal it?" Thor asked but Loki was shaking his head

"I'm afraid to try, If I try to undo what it did, I may make it worse."

"This didn't happen when I used the relic's power…"

"You used it very briefly, I've turned my body container for the pure energy, and I'm afraid it may not hold up without it being properly focused."

"Like the Maiden's power." Thor said

"Exactly, it's almost like it's alive and wants to be reunited with the power it was meant fuel, and it burns against any other use."

"You need to get rid of it."

Loki just laughed "Not likely, I just need to keep it simple, I may not be able to do the magic I would like, but it's still better than what I was able to do."

"Brother…"

"If I let it go, in all likely hood it will return to Cinder, better I keep it contained for now."

Thor didn't disagree with that in a general sense, but the injury Loki had sustained looked bad, and in all reality, the spell he'd attempted to weave wasn't all that powerful. If he tried something stronger, it would likely kill him.

"Don't worry brother." Loki said, putting hand on Thor's shoulder "You know me, I'm pure self-preservation, if I thought it would kill me, I'd get rid of it." He smiled a walked into the base.

Thor wasn't convinced, had this been the old Loki, he'd have bought the line. But he'd changed, in some subtle way he couldn't put his finger on, and while he wasn't sure he'd ever trust him fully, it was odd to think his brother was being deceptive in some sense of altruism.

Weiss stood outside the door of Winter's office. She'd been there for five minutes and hadn't knocked yet. But there was no sense in putting it off, better to clear the air now and be done with it.

She knocked and her sister's familiar voice called "Enter." Weiss entered to see her sister was sitting at her desk, and didn't look surprised to see her sister.

"Weiss." Was all she was greeted with.

"Winter." Was all she responded with.

Winter took a deep breath and exhaled slowly "No point in pretending, you and both know why you here."

"Why did you do it?"

"I…wanted to protect you, from the inevitable conflict to come."

"So, you sold me out to father?"

"He's the only one who could ever really stop you." She laughed lightly at this "He picked a fine time to stop it."

"Winter." Wiess said "I don't want to be mad at you, especially with…what could happen."

"I don't want you to be mad at me." Winter responded, "I just want you to know I only wanted to keep you safe."

"I can look after myself."

"I know, but that won't keep you safe, you should know that better than most of huntresses in training, you've lost friends, who were even more talented and competent than you, and you've seen other's with very near misses."

Wiess didn't responded at first, but eventually responded "I know."

"Which is why I hoped you understand, in this line of work, it's not so much if as when."

"Maybe…but you should also know I can't let my friends go while I stay."

Winter nodded, of course she knew this, which was why she'd gone the route she did. Her only other option would be to get Ironwood to pull her off the mission, but he wasn't likely to sacrifice any assets so close the operation.

"Weiss, I can't undo what I did, and frankly I don't regret it, I'd do it again if I thought it would work." It hurt her to see her sister's face, which was tearing up and twisting with pain. "I'd do anything to keep you alive Weiss, and won't lie about that." Her sister now had tears running down her face, but was keeping her composure otherwise "I'm sorry I hurt you, and I'll never forgive myself in that regard, but I'm sure you understand the desire to keep someone you love safe at any cost." Weiss wiped her tears away, and turned to leave but Winter was up and already hugging her. "I'm sorry I've hurt you."

"Father…" Weiss started.

"What?" Winter said, breaking the embrace and looking at her sister.

"He…said to tell you her…regretted his decisions with us."

Winter blinked and shook her head "What?"

"He was a bit delirious when he said it, but he…clarified when he was more lucid."

Winter was now trying to reconcile her father's reconciliation along with trying to console and fix issues with her sister. "You're sure?"

"Yes, he was much better by the time we left." Weiss looked her in the eyes "He thinks Ironwood poisoned him."

Winter scoffed despite herself, "He wouldn't do such a thing."

"Winter, what father was sick with, is a weaponized parasite, I've seen it used before."

That was disturbing, and there weren't many people in the world who could have access to bio-weapons like that. "Ironwood still wouldn't-"

"I don't agree with him." Weiss said "I believe he's correct that someone poisoned him, but I don't think it was Ironwood or anyone else in Atlas, this was a weapon of one of Salem's agents."

Family matter's fell to the back of Winter's mind, and she thought that might have been Weiss way to disengage from the conversation, but regardless of the reason, this needed to be explored.

"But, why would the enemy want to harm father?"

Weiss shrugged "I couldn't say, but if you don't mind, I want to check in with my friends."

Winter knew the conversation was more or less over at this point, but she needed to know Weiss understood her. "Weiss, you understand why I did what I did." She put her hand on her sister's shoulder

"I understand." Weiss moved slowly removed her hand from her shoulder "But, I don't approve of it. I'm not mad at you, but I think we need to spend some time apart before we can…get back to normal."

"I understand." Winter said, upset but happy she'd had as much progress as she did. "It's been a busy couple of days, rest up a bit."

Weiss just nodded and turned to leave the office.

Loki looked in the mirror in his bathroom. The 'blight' as he decided to call it, was far worse than he'd lead Thor to believe. The patch on his arm wasn't the only, or the first of it to appear. The first, he hadn't even realized it, had been when he teleported to the Schnee manor. It had been a burning sensation across his stomach, and at the time he'd just thought his body wasn't used to the sensation.

The patch he had shown Thor was the newest as far as he knew, it was certainly the most recent in terms of what he actually felt.

Now the blight was on his upper arms, across his back, and on his right thigh. The thing was they didn't feel nearly as bad as it looked like it should. He didn't know if it was due to dead nerves or a side effect of the magic. He'd have a talk with Cinder, from what he understood she'd had a similar situation, while not exact, there were some common threads.

The difference being she outright stolen half the Maiden's power, the abilities and energy. He'd just taken the energy, and his mind went back to the fuel comparison he'd made before. It now seemed he was using the improper fuel for this engine and he was tearing it up as a result. He'd have to be careful from now on at least until he fully understood what was happening.

A knock at the door forced him to stop his examination. "One moment!" he called and pulled on a long-sleeve shirt to cover the marks, he'd have to dress them soon otherwise the discharge would seep through after enough time. He went to the door and opened and was surprised to see Yang standing there, and for once she was glaring daggers at him. "Ms. Xiao Long." He said politely enough but was having a hard time hiding his confusion. "To what do I owe the honor."

"I wanted to talk to you." She said and marched into his room without invitation.

"Please come in." Loki said closing the door behind her. Yang sat on the couch throwing her arms over the back of the couch and kicked her feet up on the coffee table. "Make yourself comfortable." He added. "What did you want to talk about?"

Yang didn't say anything at first, she just looked around the room before she said, "Did you really save Weiss's dad?"

"Maybe." He said walking back into the room "I purged the cause, but the effects will be with him for some time, and I'm doubtful if he'll ever fully recover, he wasn't the most robust individual I've ever seen."

"Yeah." Yang half laughed "Weiss and her sister didn't get their fighting prowess from him."

"No, I understand it's from their mother's side, even if she hasn't been the most impressive."

"Why did you help him?"

Loki raised an eyebrow to this "Why wouldn't I?"

"You aren't exactly Mr. Altruist, and he's not exactly the most deserving of help, after everything Blake told me he's at least partially responsible for."

Loki didn't respond at first, he just stared at her "Why does it matter to you?"

Now Yang went silent, but only for a few seconds "I don't trust you."

"Ah."

"Why did you do it?"

"Would you believe me if I said I did it because Weiss asked me to?"

"No."

"Well, then…" he took a deep breath and let out a sigh "Would you believe anything I said?"

"Not unless it's shifty or self-serving."

Loki narrowed his eyes and said, "Why do you distrust me so much?"

"You know why."

"God of lies, right." He looked at her, and he could tell something was off. She wasn't being totally honest. While Thor was sensitive to weather patterns even in his human form, he had an almost preternatural ability to tell when someone was being deceptive. "Why are you really here?"

The change in Yang's body language was subtle, but totally clear to him. "I did want to know why you saved him, given…well you being you and him being him."

"Weiss asked." He said. "But you're here for more."

"Thor has…told me a bit about your dad, and I read a bit about him." She took a deep breath "You don't have…like any hang-ups with neglectful parents?"

"I… might, but I didn't help Jacques for his own sake." He looked at her and noticed her splayed out posture had compressed into something more guarded. Her feet were down and she had her arms crossed over her chest. "You have some parental issues as well, yes?"

Yang shrugged and said "Yeah, my mom…" She looked him in the eye "Thor tell you that?"

"Well, yes, but he wasn't the only one, and it was all just in passing, I pieced the rest together." He said "We aren't our parents, and I am a firm believer that children don't have to become their parents, Weiss and her sister are a fine example of that."

"Wished you'd tell Thor that." Yang said putting her hands laced behind her head "He's constantly afraid of making the same mistakes your dad made."

"You talk about this?"

"Well, not a lot, but it does come up."

Loki felt this was closer to what she really wanted to talk about. "I helped him to help Weiss, but if I'm being honest, I the idea of the man being indebted to me…well it's sure to be useful for the future."

"There it is." Yang said, a small sense of triumphed in her voice, but her other line of thought had drained some of the bravado she'd come in with.

"Now that I've been honest with you, how about you be honest with me?"

"What are you talking about?"

"God of lies, I can tell when I'm being deceived." He finally took a seat in the chair opposite the couch. "Something is on your mind, and for reasons that elude me, you've come to me."

Yang clammed up at this, and the fact she didn't get up and leave after hearing what she claimed she wanted to hear, this confirmed she came here for some other reason, or at least some additional reason.

"You and your brother, me and Weiss, we all have…parent issues, and this thing with Weiss's dad kind of brought it all together in my mind."

"I need a drink, you can keep talking." Loki said as he walked to the small kitchen and grabbed two beers. This was more to dull his own pain, because while the blight marks weren't as painful as they looked, that didn't mean they didn't still hurt…well more ache at this point. He'd of like something stronger, but that may raise questions, maybe not of his condition, but of some underlying issue.

"I just, wanted…you said you don't think children have to become their parents, but what if we don't have a choice?"

Loki placed an open beer in front of her and sipped his own "Why ask me? Why not Thor."

She shrugged "Thor…for all his family issues, didn't get abandoned by a parent who didn't want him." She rolled her shoulders "And despite it all, even you'd have to admit, becoming like your father, Odin I mean, wouldn't necessarily be bad. I get he's callus, but from what I understand, he's generally a good guy."

"Yes… Good King Odin." Loki muttered. As much as his father aggravated him and foiled him, he was generally a wise and just ruler. Still, he didn't approve of what his father had done with him as a child, making him a tool and planning to make him a puppet king. He was so focused on the bigger picture, he seemed to forget his children had feelings and emotions. It made him a great king, but lacking in the fathering department.

"You ever think…that if you ever had kids, you'd do a better job than your father?"

He'd been halfway through a sip on his beer when she asked the questions, then lowered it at the question. Truth be told, no he didn't, but he wasn't sure that was do the way he was raised, he thought that sometimes there was something wrong with him at his core.

But he was more curious about why Yang would ask the question. He supposed it may be the sense of mortality potential death brought among people. What they'd done, what they could have done and what may have been.

"No." He finally said, "I'm not exactly…the nurturing type."

"What about your brother?"

Again, he found himself feeling this was leading up to something. He looked at the drink he'd given her and she hadn't touched it.

"Terrible." He said, "Worse than me."

Her eye's widened and her color paled a little. "Why?" Yang's voice cracked a little and Loki thought these were far more telling than Yang intended.

"I'm joking." He said, taking a sip to side his smile. "For all his faults, my brother is a surprisingly caring and nurturing individual, I'm sure you've seen him trying to help…unfortunate souls in the past."

The look on Yang face told him that yes, she had indeed seen this trait, and she was calming down.

"Okay…" she sighed, letting out a breath she probably didn't know she was having.

"You haven't touched your drink." He said.

Yang reaction was subtle, but her eye's widened slightly "I'm not thirsty."

They sat there in silence for a few moments before Loki spoke again "How long have you known?"

"Known what?"

"Okay…how long have you suspected?"

"What?" Yang said, doing a fair job at hiding her nerves, but he was far to experience to not notice the slight changes in her body language.

He wasn't certain, but he behavior was making him more convinced he'd reached the right conclusion.

"I now understand why you came to me. I don't socialize with the rest of your friends much, and anything out of my mouth will be meet by instant skepticism. Even with being the god of lies, I didn't really make myself out to be honest in our first meeting. Your sister, while your most trusted confidant, is innocent, excitable and naive enough to let it out by accident. Blake, as your partner, would be the next best choice, but you haven't completely forgiven her for leaving all of you, not yet, and poor Weiss is so overloaded now you won't place anymore strain on her."

"What-"Yang began, but he cut her off.

"And you obviously couldn't tell my brother, at least with the questions you have and get an objective answer." He sipped his beer and looked at her. He could tell he'd stunned her, but he'd intentionally not voiced his own thoughts on what he thought she was talking about, just in case he was wrong.

Yang was silent for a while but spoke after a while "I don't even know for sure, it's just…if I'm right, I have questions."

That more or less confirmed it in his eyes, but he still wanted to hear her say it. "Thor…no one can tell how someone will act when presented with a situation, but I think he will take it well enough…if you tell him." He paused for a moment as he thought of something "You're sure it's my brother, it couldn't be someone else?"

"He's the only person." She said "At least…the only one who could…have done it." She said.

Loki noticed her face flush ever so slightly at the last comment, and thought there might be another reason why she didn't confide in her partner. But that wasn't relevant in the situation at hand. "You aren't sure?"

"I haven't been to a doctor or taken a test or anything."

"Say no more." He said. She didn't know for certain , as it stood it was just a scare, although it could be more. But it was enough to get her mind moving in that manner, especially with the upcoming operation. "But if I were you, I'd find out sooner rather than later."

Yang just nodded and stood up "Thanks for listening."

He waved his hand in a dismissive manner "It's of little concern to me, I'll keep your silence, if for no other reason I'm tired and don't care for the drama it would result in." To his surprise Yang smiled at him. "What?"

"I was just thinking." She started "Thor might be right about you, that at the end of the day, for all your issues, you do have a heart."

"Watch it." He said as he finished his beer and picked up the one he'd offered her "Poke me too much, and I may change my mind."

"Whatever!" She laughed as she left "You won't." she said. "Or if you do, you'll at least keep it 'low-key'!" she smiled as she said the final line and left the room.

Sucking his teeth, he thought of telling everyone just to show he wasn't so predictable, but he knew at the end of the day he wouldn't.

Looking at his shirt, he saw the puss seeping through. He needed to dress the blight now, Yang had only missed it because she was caught up in her own issues to really notice.

But his thoughts wandered back to Yang and the conversation they'd had, and the idea he might be an uncle.

"Jaune." Ruby asked.

"Yeah?"

"You ever think about kids?"

Jaune felt his blood run cold at the question, not sure how to answer, but decided on "What do you mean?"

"Yang…been talking about them recently." She said, "I think she'd wondering what it might be like to be a mother, given we might not be around in a few days, and wondering what it might be like to have them."

Jaune felt himself calm down a bit, but the morbid thoughts unnerved him. "I guess, I mean, yeah I've thought about having kids…one day, but it's a vague and off in the future sort of thing."

Ruby didn't seem to really appreciate what he said, in her own world "I want kids." She sort of mumbled. Jaune felt his face flush but caught his face and followed up with "Not now, but…someday."

"So, we have to make sure we survive this mission." Jaune said.

Ruby giggled "Exactly, so make sure you don't die." She hugged him and snuggled into his chest.

Jaune didn't know if she was implying anything or not, but the idea still made his mind race. Ruby was remarkably innocent in many ways, and he didn't know if she was implicating him in her future or not.

It didn't matter, because now he was thinking of children, and the future. This line of the thought made his blood chill, because now the future was not so certain to him.

When he was younger, the future seemed limitless and unending. Now it seemed it might have extended less than a month. It was scary, but at the same time…exciting. The uncertainty, the risk, it got his heart pumping.

He didn't know what that meant about him, but it was better to be excited than scared he thought.

"Ruby…if we win this, then what?" He said trying to get the conversation in another direction.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, if Loki is right about that thing being the source of the Grimm, and it's killed along with Salem, the Grimm will be gone, and Hunter's and Huntresses will be…in far less demand."

"You mean …we won't be needed?"

"Not that exactly…but in far less demand, what would you do if you couldn't make a living off being a huntress?"

"I'd open a bakery." She said not missing a beat "My mom had the best recipes."

Jaune found he envied Ruby for her plans, the idea she knew where she wanted to go if this didn't work out. He didn't, this was all he ever wanted, and if he had to quiet it, he didn't know what he'd do. But he'd have to make his way, one way or another.

"Jaune?" Ruby broke his thoughts with the question.

"Yeah?"

"We… might not live much longer…"

"Yeah?"

"I…" Her face was flushing at whatever she was thinking.

"Ruby." He began "If you're thinking what I think you're thinking…Yang would kill me, she nearly did once and nothing even happened then."

"She doesn't have to know." Ruby said, quickly and somewhat excitedly. "We might be dead soon, so why not?"

As much as he loathed to agree with her, he saw her point. But at the same time, he wasn't exactly sure he saw their relationship in the same way she did. He did love her, but at the same time, he didn't know if it was fair to her. He still had his own hang up and wasn't sure it was fair to Ruby.

He'd voiced these thought to her before, but she insisted she didn't care, that she'd liked him from the day they had meet. She had no way of knowing that made him feel worse, that he was feeling like he just ignored any girl who liked him.

"Ruby…it's just not…"

"Just once?" She said, but phrased it as a question. "I don't want to die with doing it at least once."

Jaune was conflicted, but he was in the same boat as her and he had similar feelings.

"Ruby…" he said before he gave his answer.

Cinder sat in her cell, wondering if she'd made the correct choice when she spoke to Loki. Of course, she knew she didn't really have much of a choice, it was either talk and hope it brought her some good faith with her captors, or keep quiet and wait for Salem to send someone to kill her. She was of no use to Salem now, she couldn't get her the relic and her ability to be a fighting asset was now not much greater than an average huntress.

Mercury and Emerald were caught, probably being interrogated as well. She doubted they'd get anything more out of them than they did her, but they would be looking for any difference in the information given, looking for lies or misinformation that may have been feed to them.

"You're looking better." A familiar voice said from behind her.

"I've told you everything Loki, what do you want know?"

"I have a question about when you stole half of the Maiden's power."

"Why? You clearly have the ability do the same."

"I'm more interested in the side effects of what happened when you first stole them." He said, "Did you experience anything…unusual?"

Cinder turned to look at him, or rather his hologram. It looked so real, but she'd learned that they were no more physical than the air in the room. "I felt…like I was hungry, but other than that…no. Why do you ask?"

He rolled up his sleeve and she was his forearm was bandaged. He undid the wrappings, and as he did it, she thought it was odd an illusion would have to do so. But these thoughts were driven from her mind at the sight of his injury. The skin looked black and burned, cracking like drying mud on a hot day, and a yellow pus fill the cracks. She imagined it didn't smell to good either.

"I've been having these…blight spots appear somewhere on my body every time I push the limits of the magic I've taken, you never experienced anything like this?"

"No." She said coolly "Granted, my situation was different, but it's…similar enough."

"Any ideas on why?"

"No, unless…" she looked at him "It's that you're a man, and this power was only ever meant for young women."

"That would be rather unfortunate, I stole only the magic with the intent of circumnavigating that weakness."

"You could give it back." Her voice was in no way serious, she knew he'd never do it, and look on his face told her he knew she was aware of this.

"Well, that's all I have to ask you." He rolled his sleeve back down and said "Goodbye."

He faded from existence and now she had something to ponder. Was his reaction from separating the power from the ability? Or was it that he wasn't supposed to have it because he was a man. When she stole the power, she had both the "toy and the batteries" as Loki had put it, but only half. Loki now had the batteries and nothing else. Was it possible that was causing the energy to react unstably?

It at least gave her something new to think about here in her cell.

Loki rewrapped his arm and decided not to use the magic for the rest of the day, and see if Aura could heal his wounds. If they didn't look noticeably better in the morning, he'd have to start thinking of other solutions.

His mind wondered back to Yang and his brother. Nothing was certain at this point, but it seemed to solidify his and Thor's situation in this world. They were mortal and like the mortals. His own body wasn't tolerating strain of magic like it used to and he only to look at Thor once to see he wasn't his old self, in terms of physicality. They were vulnerable, fragile…one of them.

He'd held disdain for them for so long and now he seemed to be among them permanently. He didn't remember why he was sent here, and neither did Thor. His brother was certain it was a test, Loki was thinking it was more of a sentence, but neither could be sure. The only links they had to home were the Nordic tomes, Mjolnir and each other. Strangers in a strange land, he'd never admit it, but the few links to home comforted him.

Thor had set up much more easily than he had, in part no doubt due to his own fondness for mortals and his time among them. But Loki hadn't expected to grow as fond of these people and their world as he had.

But Thor was on the verge of starting a family her, a flesh and blood one. Where did that leave him? Was he falling behind him, and would his brother's surprising tolerance evaporate once he had someone else he could connect with on the same level?

It was foolish of course, any child he sired wouldn't know anything of Asgard other than what it was told. But it made him feel…empty that Thor had other connections and he didn't, Weiss was his closest friend her and that was more of a mutual feeling of being mistreated and misused.

They had "dated" shorty, but that was a lie he'd fostered for his own selfish ends. But he did like her, because despite her problems she still the drive to achieve her dream. Frankly he respected the fact that she hadn't let her problems break her and make her into…well someone like him. A creature of spite and malice. He'd know his actions were often jealous and petty for a long time, but he didn't know how to be anything else frankly. But here, he thought…he might be able to, if for no other reason than he didn't have the options he once did.

He thought of the conversation he'd had with Weiss's father. The man had a…sinister quality to him. Not the overwhelming dread of some he'd meet, but a more…low quality to it, more like a Crime lord than the owner of the world's most successful corporation. Granted in his experience the two often weren't much different. But he just seemed mean, like he'd been harassed for too long and eventually turned sour from it.

He also didn't get right to the point either when they spoke. He danced around the issue, trying to get him to reveal something. He was decently subtle, but Loki was far to experience in these fields to fall for it. Eventually, he asked if he planned on taking the company from him.

That had managed to surprise him, because he hadn't even considered it, not that it was outside of what he may have tried, but the man having it as a thought was bizarre. At least until he explained his own inheritance of the company. He'd married Weiss's mother, taken the family name and his father in law passed the company onto him as his "son". Granted he'd been a high-level employee prior to this, but he'd married into the company's ownership.

He'd thought he was courting Weiss, and by saving him he'd endear himself to both of them, and gain control of the company the same way he did.

Loki had told him he wasn't interested in his daughter, and Jacques had replied with the comment that such a thing was wise, because Weiss was far too good for him.

That irritated him a bit, given he'd save the man's life and that he didn't even know him, in this life or his previous. It was just a general sense of superiority the man had. But despite that, he'd been told he's be properly compensated for his service and then dismissed.

As he thought of this, the idea of dating Weiss just to aggravate her father crossed his mind. She may even like the idea, but he liked her too much to have a farce of a relationship just to aggravate her father, a man who really didn't mean anything to him in the end.

But, at least Weiss had reconciled…somewhat…with her father, and he seemed to reinstate her as his heir. Loki wasn't sure if this was out of gratitude, or the scare of the idea of what more or less happened while he was sick, his son was seen as too weak and it had resulted in the family losing control of the company. Weiss, despite her young age, had shown grit and toughness that instilled more confidence in her than her younger brother.

Loki suddenly found himself mentally and emotionally drained. He had things to think about, and he'd pushed his body further than he probably should have given his injuries.

He needed to get some rest, and hopefully he'd heal up a bit overnight.

Weiss felt oddly lonely in her room. Yes, she was alone in the room, but the feeling went deeper than that. Like she was grieving some sort of loss. She knew of course it had to do with her sister, but it didn't really help.

She understood her reasoning, but still hurt. She didn't want to dwell on it, they had talked and that was that, but it would still be some time before they could be around each other and the air returned to normal.

Instead she decided to wonder what her father had wanted talk to Loki about. He didn't normally take time to concern himself with "lesser" people. But Loki had saved his life so she understood her father's curiosity. He probably wanted to know more about his power.

There was also the possibility he was trying to pump him for information, or even bribe him to watch her. But Loki wouldn't do that, he… he would what?

When she thought about it, she didn't really, truly know him that well. And his history made it less likely that she would, if he was such a gifted deceiver. And she had been on the receiving end of it, yet here she was implicitly trusting him not to betray her to her father.

Why? She didn't consider herself an overly trusting person, and Loki had burned her once already. Why was she so certain he wouldn't betray her?

As she thought on it, and her feelings towards the trickster. She knew they connected on a level of disappointing parents, and being outshone by older siblings. But they liked the same sort of things, finer things than their other friends. Granted that was due in part to their upper-class upbringing.

But it was more than that, it was…something deeper, and she didn't like it. She didn't like that she trusted a known liar, trickster and thief. But she did, and she wasn't sure why.

As much as she tried to analyze it with cold logic, she could satisfactorily answer her own question.

"Loki." She muttered "what is this hold you have on me?" and started pacing her room.

Of course, Thor had told them he was famous for duping people, repeatedly, so it may just be something he was good at, gaining people's trust and getting them to trust him.

Then there was the fact that within their circle, they both were the only ones who weren't in a significant relationship, so maybe they just gravitated to each other out of loneliness? While she spent time with her friends, they also made time for their significant others.

Her mind wondered to Ruby and Jaune and her stomach knotted. Her partner and the boy who pursued her relentlessly at school were together. Although their relationship wasn't as…mature as the others, they were almost sickeningly lovey sometimes, at least by her standards.

At least when Loki was around, she knew he wasn't to get call to go out with someone, significant other or even a friend, which made her a bit sad, that he really didn't connect with the others like his brother had. She thought that other than Thor, she was the only friend he had.

But as she thought about him more, the more she felt…and odd mixture of emotions. She trusted him, but felt like she shouldn't. She felt pity for his isolation, but knew by his own admission it was his own fault. But as she thought, she realized what one of the feelings was, and it explained her situation pretty well.

Attraction. She was drawn to him on an emotional and physical level. They connected in many ways, but she found him physically attractive as well. Not in the same way as Thor looked…or had, but in a more elegant and sophisticated way. That had been why she asked him out in the first place.

But was it just mild attraction or infatuation? She examined her own feelings as objectively as she could and realized it was more than that. She liked him in a way she hadn't liked someone since…. well that wasn't important.

But she didn't want to like him like that, if she did, he would hurt her, somehow some way.

But this desire to expel the feelings did nothing to do so. She needed to talk to someone about this, someone who had more experience in this field than her, and there was only one person she knew that fit the bill and was available was also someone she was still very mad at.

"Well." She muttered to herself "At least this might help fix our relationship."

AN: Okay, there it is, tell me what you think.