Was so busy writing the new chapter nearly forgot to upload this one!

Enjoy!

"And with an amazing unset, Emerald and Mercury are victorious!" Crue's hand gripped the handle of his seat so tightly it nearly cracked. This match shouldn't have happened. He stopped Cinder from uploading the virus, so how did this happen.

Was it just bad luck? A genuine unfortunate roll of the dice? As Cinder got up from the row of seats behind him and walked off with a smile, Crue doubted it. He almost stood up to smack that smile off her face, before being stopped by Ruby.

"Crue, where are you going?" She asked, looking up at the Faunus from her seat.

"Just… getting some more popcorn." He said, glancing towards the arena. The forested area was in shambles, Coco's minigun having completely decimated the trees. Crue thought that might have been a boon and swayed the fight in CFVY's way.

He was wrong. The more refuse and debris gave more options for Emerald to hide in. It didn't help that her hair basically camouflaged her. "Why did I ever tell her that thing about the unbroken eye contact."

Crue walked off, turning from the stand and very quickly making his way to the other exit, where Cinder would hopefully be coming out of. He was right, and nearly bolled the woman over.

The raven-haired woman reacted quickly, turning to the side and raising her arms in a stance ready to fight whatever was assaulting her. Crue came to an immediate halt, as Cinder's fist stopped just short of his nose.

"Cullen?" Cinder realised; her fist still raised. Crue placed a finger on the fist and slowly pushed it out of his way.

"Cinder." He said, his lips quirking upward in what might have been a mix between a smirk and a snarl. "You must be proud." Cinder seemed to still, before regaining her composure and standing tall.

"Pride is only felt when you are pleasantly surprised by someone's actions. I had no doubts about my teammate's abilities." She met Crue's eyes, amber and steely blue clashing.

The smile Crue gained suggested she had made a mistake with her words, which she couldn't possibly believe she would have. "Yeah, figured you'd say that. Makes sense, you'd send them and not yourself in that case."

Cinder's blood ran hot. "What?" She asked, venom dripping from her voice.

"Well, I'm just saying." Crue raised his hands in a shrug. "You don't exactly have the best track record when it comes to winning fights with Beacon students." He leaned in close. "Or did you forget our little 'spar'."

He watched as Cinder's face grew redder. To the Faunus, he figured it was due to the anger that came with what he had drawn on her after his victory. And that was a part of it, but the majority came from Cinder's own unwanted feelings towards Crue. And her actions the night before did not help.

"You…" She grit her teeth as she glared at him. "That was a training spar, with no weapons, or other interferences. In a real fight, you'd be ash." She glared, her eyes glowing with anger.

"Oh, I'd be Ash and you'd be Cinder, very clever." Crue gave a small sarcastic clap, as Cinder's nails dug into her palms. "You didn't even use weapons in the team battle. And you're telling me you'd still beat me when we're both fully geared out."

He gave a small 'tut tut tut' with his tongue, before growing a challenging smirk. "Shouldn't lie, Cindy." The nickname seemed to be what had finally pushed her over the edge, as Cinder shot both her arms out and grabbed Crue by the collar of his shirt, pulling him down to her.

"If I wanted to, I could destroy you and anyone else in this damn arena." She hissed, her teeth clenched tightly. A few people walking by saw the interaction, some quickly walked on, wanting to be left out of whatever drama was occurring.

More stayed to see what possible gossip they'd be able to share with their friends. Cinder's teeth were grinding against each other, as Crue grinned ferally.

Crue leaned in close to Cinder, their noses almost touching. "Prove it." He growled.

…

"Crue?" Ruby looked up, seeing the Faunus return. "What happened to your face?" She asked, pointing to a bright red handprint on his cheek.

Crue sat down in the chair next to her, his eyes staring off into the distance, his brow knitted in confusion. "Cinder shifted me."

"What?" Ruby asked, tilting her head in confusion.

Remembering that Ruby wasn't Irish, and didn't know all his slang, Crue amended his statement. "Cinder kissed me."

"WHAT!?" Ruby exclaimed, grabbing her side of the chair and shoving herself into his personal space.

"And then she slapped me." "WHY?!" "I DON'T KNOW!" Crue yelled, his hands coming up to slam against his face as he let out a muffled scream.

…

"Cinder! Did you see our match?" Emerald asked, standing up with surprising enthusiasm. Her enthusiasm died when she saw the look on Cinder's face.

She was bright red, and her eyes were glowing with anger. Mercury, who was about to make a quip about Emerald searching for praise, decided he'd be better off with the rest of his limbs still intact and kept quiet.

"Uh, is everything alright?" Emerald questioned meekly. Cinder let out a deep breath through her nose as she stared at her subordinate.

"The plan proceeds as normal." She managed to say, her teeth clenched so tightly her mouth barely moved. "Now, do not disturb me. In fact, leave the dorm." Cinder stamped her way over to the bathroom, leaving scorch marks in her wake.

The door slammed closed, leaving Emerald and Mercury in silence. They decided to follow Cinder's orders quickly and quietly, less they become nothing but scorch marks too. The second they were outside of the dorm, Mercury spoke up.

"Five lien says it was Crue."

"Of course it was him!" Emerald snapped. "He probably said something idiotic that got on her nerves again. He's the only person dumb enough to fight with her."

"He's a braver guy than me for that." Mercury chuckled, probably the only compliment he'd ever pay the Faunus. "Though, Solaris said all Cinder needs is someone willing to stand up to her. That'd break her out of her shell."

Emerald paused for a moment. Solaris was who Mercury was sent to visit, and apparently worked for whoever Cinder worked for. Which meant she would have a better understanding of how Cinder ticked.

"Do you think I could meet her? Solaris?" Emerald asked. Mercury gave her a blank look. "What, it's not like you've had any success with her advice." The grey-haired boy gave an annoyed grunt that he couldn't disprove Emerald's words.

"Even if I wanted to, which I don't, by the way." He began, giving Emerald a frown. "She's focused on Vale. She's trying to find and stop the Wolf, so he doesn't interfere with Cinder's plan."

"Didn't she already find him?" Emerald asked, recalling the incident that made the news.

"Yeah, and he got away, and then Ironwood found him. And then he got away. Slippery bastard, isn't he." Mercury laughed.

"I hope Cullen's the Wolf." Emerald grumbled. "Then we actually have an excuse to get rid of him."

"Yeah, I hoped so too." Mercury agreed. "But I mean, come on. Wolf Faunus. The Wolf. It's too on the nose."

"Yeah. Yeah…" The thief sighed in annoyance. "He's not that stupid." She thought back to all the times Crue had deliberately aggravated Cinder. "Is he?"

"He's not." Mercury said with a roll of his eyes. "Plus, he was dating Ne- uh, Polly." He quickly looked around, making sure they were the only two in the corridor. "Which, as much as I hate him for it, he wouldn't have been able to hide anything from her."

"And now she's single." Mercury rubbed his hands together as Emerald rolled her eyes. "And thanks to Solaris, I've got more than a few tricks up my sleeve to get her to fall for me."

"Oh please." Emerald drawled. "Cullen has a better chance of sleeping with Cinder than you do with Neo." Mercury scoffed and waved off his partners insults, as they continued to argue down the corridor.

Back in their dorm's bathroom, Cinder was furiously brushing her teeth, in hopes of getting the taste of Crue out of her mouth. She spat into the sink and downed a bottle of mouthwash before nearly throwing up.

"WHY?!" She screamed at her reflection. "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" She accused her own reflection, as if it would cow and offer an excuse. "He's one man." She slammed a hand down, the porcelain heating up.

She had no one she could talk to about this. These feelings she harboured and hated. Emerald? No, the girl would probably gut Cullen herself. Solaris? She'd never let her live it down. Neopolitan. Cinder almost shuddered to think what the girl would do.

"He's one man, one man who constantly manages to piss me off and get under my skin!" A molten handprint formed in the sink as Cinder's grip tightened. "Why do I have these feelings for him!? Why are you weak to him?" She slammed a superheated finger on the mirror, causing it to shatter into a dozen pieces.

A hundred amber eyes stared back at Cinder, as she backed away from it and hit the wall. The eyes glared at her, blaming her for their weakness. "No! It's not my fault!" She argued. "It's his! It's always his!"

She needed to get rid of this. Whatever power Crue held over her had to go. For the first time in a while, blades of glass formed in her hands. She stared at them, looking at her reflection and gripping them so tightly they almost cracked.

For her plan to continue, she needed to get rid of these feelings. To get rid of Crue. He needed to be away from Amity, away from her. She looked up once more to the shattered mirror. She could contact Salem…

"No." Cinder hissed dispelling her blades as she seethed. She had already failed too much in front of her Queen. No more would she crawl to her and ask for help. She would end Crue herself. It would be her Destiny.

"But is it a Destiny I want?"

The tiny voice in the back of her mind grew silent as she ripped it from her head. She wanted this. She beat him. She'd use what she had at her disposal.

And as she smiled and raised her Scroll, she remembered. She had a lot at her disposal.

…

Winter Schnee was quite certain she had a good beat on her sister. She helped train her, support her, and had been around her since she came into the world until she left for the military. So where, Winter wondered, did she acquire such snark directed at her.

"You're leaving?" Weiss asked, disappointment evident on her face. Winter didn't want to say she enjoyed the look, but it did make her feel a little better that she would be miss her.

"Yes." Winter nodded. "I was merely needed to oversee the transport of additional units to Vale." She explained. "Our last shipment was lost to an ambush. I believe you had a run in with its cargo, actually."

The Specialist wished to say more, but Weiss spoke up. "You're not going to be taking any other students with you when you leave, are you?" She asked, sipping from her tea as she looked at her sister.

Winter flinched inwardly but kept her outward expression neutral. "That was an irresponsible action for me to take. Especially in front of you." It apparently wasn't the words Weiss wanted to hear, as the Heiress took a deep breath, and Winter readied herself for another barrage of accusations.

Instead, the younger sister's breath caught, as she gave a low scoff and let her anger dissipate. "It was. But I am not going to ruin my relationship with you over a misunderstanding." She said, swirling her cup.

Winter's eyebrows raised in surprise and pride. "That's, very mature of you Weiss. I'm glad to see Beacon hasn't lowered your standards."

"Thank you." She nodded, before gaining a smirk that Winter had never seen before on her sister. "Crue reminded me of that." This time Winter did wince outwardly. She understood why Weiss would hold this attitude, given that the Faunus was her friend. And while she was happy to see their father's views hadn't rubbed off on her, she desperately wished it could have been any other Faunus.

"I can see my actions have upset you." Winter finally said. "But I do not wish to ruin our relationship over a misunderstanding either." She reached out to touch her hand. "You've done, well, out here on your own."

Weiss face softened slightly at her sisters' words. "You should be proud." Weiss preened, a smile growing on her face. The two began to talk more openly, the conversation becoming warmer as they continued.

"I do wish you had at least messaged me about the General's worries about Crue." Weiss said, stirring her tea idly. "I could have told you he and Penny weren't dating. It would have saved a lot of time and embarrassment."

Winter opened her mouth to argue but paused. "Crue told you that the General was worried that the two were in a relationship?"

"Yes." Weiss frowned. "I can't believe you would try to arrest someone because of that. I understand the General's protectiveness, I've seen it in Crue enough times, but a military leader should really have better standards."

Winter felt a deep confliction within her. She could explain the true reason for Crue's attention of the General, defending her superior and enlightening Weiss as to her own concern for her safety. But, Crue hadn't shared Penny's true nature with those he was apparently close with.

"The General is only human." Winter decided on. "As am I." Weiss' face scrunched up at her words, surprising her sister.

"That's, not the best excuse to use when the person you tried to arrest was a Faunus." Weiss seemed to sink into her own shoulders as she explained.

Winter felt herself freeze up, before mimicking her sisters' actions on a more minute level. "That, was something Headmaster Ozpin was keen to remind us." She sighed. "I know this is a remarkably unprofessional question to ask, but how did Crue react to the situation?"

"Annoyingly well." Weiss crossed her arms in a huff as she leaned back in the chair. "He walked in without a care in the world. And just said it was a misunderstanding." She grumbled to herself. "But it's fine. He reminded me how important it is to spend time with the people you care about."

Weiss looked up to meet Winter's eyes, her own crinkled upward in a smile. Winter made a mental note to thank the boy. Not apologise for the arrest, as that was already over and done with. But the fact that even after that he pushed Weiss toward her.

"I see." Winter said softly. "I may have misjudged him. However, he was still quite rude to General. I've never seen someone with such disregard for authority." To her amazement, Weiss laughed.

"Yes, that does sound like Crue." She said with a surprising fondness. "The attitude grows on you. Like Dust in the ground, but it grows on you." She smiled.

Winter stamped down on any amount of jealously that wormed its way into her heart. On second thought, maybe she'd forget the thanks. "Well, regardless." Winter tried to change the conversation. "How has your training been coming along?"

Weiss sat up a bit straighter as she regaled her sister with how far she'd come. Winter was glad to see her improvements, but she could always be better. "Oh?" She asked. "And what do you think you've learned?"

…

Crue was dealing with the fact his most hated person in Beacon tongued him the same way any other person would. By drinking.

"Why the fuck did she kiss me?!" Crue exclaimed, slamming a head down on the bar. Junior frowned slightly at the damage done to his establishment but was too busy tending to other patrons. The Vytal festival brought a lot of tourists, and that meant a lot of customers.

"I don't know what to tell ya, kid." He said loudly while mixing a drink and sliding it to a patron, who whooped and made their way back onto the dance floor, only to be immediately replaced by another.

"Maybe she likes you?" He suggested. The way the Faunus' head shot up with a look of horror suggested that was a terrible answer. "I've never met the girl." The man shrugged.

Crue realised he was right. Then realised he needed better advice. "Where are the twins?" He mouthed. Junior gave a single nod upward. The Faunus gave his thanks and left the bar, making his way through the dancing mob to the door that lead upstairs.

One of Juniors men noticed him approaching the door, and quickly held out a hand to stop him. Upon realising it was Crue, the bouncer gave a small apology and let him by. Crue was glad he kept in contact with the group.

Who knew saving a club from a few terrorists would mean free drinks and allies for life. The Faunus' ears were immediately grateful for the sound proofing, the thumping music of the club now muffled. He gave both of them a quick flick.

It was strange how quickly Crue found himself accustomed to a set of new appendages. But then again, he had them for a few months now. "At least it wasn't a tail." He murmured. "I don't think I could handle it wagging every time I see the others."

He arrived at two doors, one white with blue stripes on it, and the other black with splashes of red. "Eeney meeney miney…" Crue stretched out his arms and rapped on both doors. There was a delay of about two seconds, before both doors were wrenched open.

"WHAT?!" Miltia and Melanie exclaimed in unison, before realising who it was that had knocked.

"Damn. You two really are twins, huh." Crue laughed, before noticing their attire. They weren't in their usual red and white dresses, instead, they were dressed in soft fabric bottoms and extraordinarily long t-shirts.

"Ah." Crue said, his mouth clicking shut. "I came at a bad time, huh."

"You think?" Melanie grumbled. He would have had difficulty telling them apart, were it not for the fact their t-shirts were red and white respectively. Miltia let out a groan at her sister's snark.

"Yes, Crue. Bad time." She sighed. She didn't need to tell Crue twice. He'd been sleeping in the same room as four girls for months. He was just glad none of them had synced up yet.

"Alright, one question and I'll get out of your hair, I promise." Crue held up a hand to his heart. Melanie grumbled as she looked skyward and prayed for patience. Her twin, on the other hand, nodded and gestured for him to get it on with.

"Cinder kissed me. Then slapped me. Then ran off. The fuck do I do?" He summarised it as best he could. That seemed to catch both girls off guard, as Miltia's eyes widened, and Melanie's head swung back down.

"Isn't that the bitch that you hate?" She asked.

"The very same." Crue nodded with a click of his fingers. "And I thought she hated me. But apparently, I don't know shit!" He threw his hands up in annoyance. "Or she's the mother of all fuckin' tsundere's." He murmured.

The girls didn't understand that last part, but it didn't seem necessary. "Well, you hate her, right?" Miltia asked, waiting for Crue to nod. "Then, why do you have to do anything?"

"Cause, I don't know if this is genuine, or if it's some weird fuckin mindplay to distract me. I didn't want to fuckin' kiss her! I didn't want her to kiss me!" He suddenly snapped his fingers. "That reminds me, you two should be ready to bounce."

"What? Why?" Melanie suddenly said, stepping out of her room to look at Crue.

"Because Cinder's plans affect all of Vale." The Faunus answered grimly. "And, yeah, I plan to stop her and kick her fuckin teeth in- wow yeah I really shouldn't have been worried about this kiss." He cut himself off, frowning and looking to the side.

"Crue!" Miltia stepped out, snapping her fingers in front of his face. "Vale! Danger! Cinder! Explain!"

"Cinder wants to cause chaos and bring Grimm to Vale during the Vytal Festival!" He answered immediately. The twins stepped back, their mouths open in horror. "I'm going to stop her!" He tried to reassure.

"Isn't she the one who had Roman under her heel?" Melanie turned to her sister, who nodded.

"Roman wouldn't do what anyone says, unless he didn't have a choice." Miltia agreed. They both turned to Crue, who felt his sweat drop.

"Ok, yes, she's managed that." He groaned. "But I've beaten her before." The twins looked hopeful. "In a spar. Where we agreed to only fight barehanded."

"You couldn't have left us with some hope?" Melanie asked. Beside her, Miltia began biting a nail as she rapidly muttered to herself.

"Yeah, I know it's not the best- wait." Crue paused, looking at the two. "Aren't you guys the fucking mafia? Can't you do something?"

"Well, yeah, but we could hardly fight Roman or Neo, let alone- wait." It was Melanie's turn to pause. "Weren't you fucking Neo? Why can't you ask her for help?"

"Yeah, that's great." Crue clapped his hands together. "Hey Neo, ex-girlfriend of mine who we ended because I broke your trust, your boss that we both hate kissed me. What are your thoughts on that?" He tilted his head so far to the side his ears were sloped.

"I meant with the whole stopping Cinder thing, dumbass." Melanie reached forward and clipped Crue on his Human ear. The Faunus let out a short 'ouch' before standing straight and rubbing his ear gently.

"I, haven't talked to her since we broke up. I got one message from her, but it turned out to be an accident from when she dropped her Scroll. I'm worried I'll just mess it up again." Crue explained, sighing as he felt unwanted feelings come bubbling up.

"Crue." The Faunus turned to see Miltia's green eyes glaring at him. "Vale itself is at stake, and you're telling me, you aren't talking to one of the only people who could help, because you're 'worried'?"

In Crue's own opinion, he would rather face a raging Goliath than talk with an ex after everything he'd done. But, given that there was an equivalent to a raging Goliath in the form of two pissed off twins, he had to agree they had a point.

"I'll, message her. But if she doesn't respond there's not much I can do." He backed away from the two. "Just, be ready. I don't want you guys to die because of my mistakes." He turned back down the stairs, the thumping music growing louder and louder. "I don't want anyone to die…"

He knew he would have to talk to Neo eventually. He just hoped it would be after making Cinder eat dirt and the Vytal festival finishing without a hiccup. Then maybe they could try getting back together. And go on an actual date. He'd probably have to break Torchwick out of Ironwood's ship but, that'd make for a nice date as well.

He re-entered the club, with a short nod to the bouncer and moshed his way over to the bar. Junior caught his eye, and after serving a few more customers, stood before him. "How'd it go?"

"Well enough." Crue answered vaguely. "But, they also pointed out something I need to do." He sighed, causing the bartender to raise an eyebrow.

"I need the absolute strongest shot you have, because I have to bite a bullet." The Faunus told him.

"What's the bullet?" Junior asked, already having a drink in mind.

"I need to message an ex-girlfriend to ask for help." The mob boss sucked in air through his teeth as he moved to grab the strongest whiskey he had. "There's more." Crue stopped him.

Junior turned, wondering what could possibly make that worse than it already was. "The ex is Neo." And forget the whiskey, Junior decided. He reached down below the bar and took out a bottle that was covered in dust.

Squinting, Crue could vaguely make out a name. "Taijitu Juice." He murmured. That sounded strong enough. He watched as Junior took a shot glass, and with the precision and steady hand like that of a surgeon, poured the drink.

A single drop missed the glass and hit the countertop. It hissed. Violently. Crue had never been one to back down from a strong alcohol before, and while he definitely wasn't backing down now, he knew he was going to regret this one.

With a sigh, he took out his Scroll and opened Neo's contact. He composed the message, grabbed the shot and closed his eyes. Maybe it'd make it go down easier, he thought, as he threw it into his mouth and hit send.

"Oh fuck it's poitín!" His Scroll hit the table as he immediately began coughing roughly. Crue decided that, if he made it through this drink, talking to Neo, and stopping Cinder, he'd never drink again. His Scroll remained on the counter, glowing with his message of three simple words.

"Can we talk?"

Sometimes a person can only be pushed so far until, certain emotions are finally shown. Cinder, who has never felt those emotions before, isn't entirely sure how to deal with them. Slapping and Kissing seems to have worked. Though, not for her benefit. And what is a person to do when someone exists who makes them feel things they don't properly understand? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

After Crue and Neo have a long talk, that is. Can't wait to see that.

Not a lot of commentary here, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter, if you did, let me know, and as always...

Until Next Time

-Friday, the author.