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Getting back to Vale had been fairly easy with a Beacon licensed Bullhead and especially amid the chaos, though the fire was already well under control and on its way to being put out. Luckily, as many people noted, with surprisingly little Grimm attacking responders and rescue personnel, a fact noted by many as almost worthy of conspiracy theories. Some of which were already taking off, with moderate success, on tabloids Jaune had already seen listed as 'emergency releases.'

At his request, and using Cinder as a proxy, Salem arranged them a place to stay for a while so that they could form a proper plan to deal with Ironwood.

"Salem," Jaune sighed, looking at the floor they had rented at the top of one of Beacon's nicest hotels, four penthouses the size of regular houses separated by a wide hallway. "This isn't exactly what I meant when I asked for a place for us to stay."

Even with the curtains drawn, the 'rooms' were all fur rugs, leather furniture, mahogany carved tables and paintings made too look grand and let the people staying there feel grand. The only way up was a set of three express elevators that went straight to the lobby, two on either side of the hallway with cards for each, that sat on one of the long tables in the hallway right now. Each of the penthouses looked the same, single floored with enough space for entire entourages to enjoy themselves with guests, kitchens, two full bathrooms, two bedrooms… Most people in Vale itself lived worse than this, and did so in contentment.

Each also had a dining area, and living room, both with large televisions and small refrigerators even now stocked with drinks of the very alcoholic persuasion, as well as various snacks. The living rooms each had a fireplace in the furthest out corner, probably for safety, and leather couches in a wide circle around a wide wooden table with a television hanging on the thick wooden walls, another mini-fridge full of drinks sitting under it.

"Then you should have specified, Jaune." Salem answered with a chuckle, the orb now open to air and floating beside him in the hallway, "I simply got us a private place where no one will come without announcing themselves, and with enough space for all of your companions to rest and for you to… Deal with them, I suppose. You can't ignore them for long, after all. Not without them rebelling against you."

"I'll talk to them." He sighed, running a hand through his hair, already dreading the conversation he knew was coming. "Where is Ironwood's fleet now?"

"A tenth of the way to Atlas, and making good time at that." She answered after a moment, probably needed to look through the eyes of the Grimm she had trailing the flotilla. "If you like it, I could simply have my great dragons sweep in to meet them. To the very last, they would meet their fates in the salt of the ocean. A good vengeance, at least to me."

"I don't have a vendetta against the soldiers, I just want Ironwood himself." Jaune responded quietly, chilled for a brief moment by the temptation that using her dragons to wipe them out posed. "They didn't do anything to me, it wouldn't be right to hurt them. Not if I can help it, at least. They don't even know about any of this."

"Very few know about me, so that is to be expected." She agreed, "Do you intend to change that, by the way?"

"Would you care if I did?" He asked, looking at the Seer with a raised eyebrow. "Actually care, I mean. I don't really think that it would pose you very many problems, but…"

"But people would panic?" She asked, chuckling darkly in her usual chilling way. "No, Jaune, they don't pose me any danger in knowing. Not any true danger, anyways. At worst they would start some asinine crusade, get their militaries decimated, and kill this iteration of me. Then they'd move on, not knowing I had resurrected. If the governments of the world didn't simply try to quash that information."

"Prevent the panic." Jaune nodded, sighing and pressing a fist to his forehead with a groan, "I guess they wouldn't want to risk losing their positions to people deciding to placate you directly, if they could. Could they?"

"Not truly, and even if I allowed villages and Kingdoms to swear fealty to me, your kind tend to have unfortunately short memories, especially in regards to kindnesses." She seemed amused rather than offended, oddly enough, by that idea but Jaune let it go. He wouldn't understand whatever answer she offered even if he asked about that. Probably. "Your head must be aching terribly, surrounded by somany fretting people and your friends as well."

"I guess you would know how that works." He sighed, nodding, "Yeah, kinda hurts a bit. Between everyone else, and what happened to Roman, and the panic in the city, my head is splitting. Or feels like it, at least."

"I have instructed Watts to see to obtaining a new helmet for you. From what he has said to me, it should be a few more days yet before it can be made and sent to you. He's being forced to use contacts in Vacuo to make it, with Atlas' talks of closing their borders." Salem informed him, laying a tendril on his shoulder in what he was sure was meant to be a kind, maybe even reassuring, gesture but felt like a threat coming from a Grimm. "If you wish it, though it would strain me gravely, I can nullify your Semblance again."

"You're getting me a new… Thank you, Salem. I appreciate it a lot more than you might think." He snorted after a half-second of thought, shaking his head, "Actually, it makes sense. You can probably actually sympathise with me dealing with all of this... Just noise around me. Kind of weird, for the only thing that can actually manage to sympathise with me to be a Grimm of all things."

"And do you want me to…?"

"I…" He gave the Seer a look, genuinely weighing the options for a long moment before he sighed and shook his head, "No, but thanks, Salem. I need the ability to talk to Neo, and make sure I understand my friends properly."

"That is quite manipulative of you, Jaune." Salem chuckled again, this time managing somehow to sound warm for once. "I must say, it is quite a change from your demeanor and attitude when we first met."

"Not to manipulate them, not at all, I just… This crap is so complicated, I need to head off misunderstandings right off the bat or shit gets bad. I just know it." He defended calmly, understanding the concern - if that is what Salem had, there - over the shift she thought she saw. "Your confusion right there is an example of problems I want to get rid of. Assumptions like that could destroy this group. Maybe literally, you know, considering."

"Possibly." Salem agreed, tendril receding, "My offer remains open, of course, should you wish to come and take it." He nodded and turned to step away, but stopped when she added, "And forget not that once this is dealt with, you are mine. I do not care who you spend your time inside of, or how many of them, but you will be mine."

He nodded and the tendril receded, the Seer turning to gaze out the window once again as he walked away. That wa sa problem that he wasn't sure if he was going to deal with. On the whole, Salem had been straight with him, from day one almost. If she promised something, she seemed to do it, and that wasn't even just directed at him as far as he was aware. Not that he had been able, or sometimes even motivated if you went back far enough, to pay that much attention to it or even see it.

The first stop he decided to make was Ruby and the others, in their own room of course because as far as his senses told him, they were too nervous and unsure for anything else. Which was fair, and he had to remind himself that they had immediately chosen to come with him and help him, even if Winter had encouraged it.

Which was a conversation all on its own, with the android in tow.

Pushing open the door, he was met with five nervous, concerned faces, filled with worry and flowing with fears over what the hell came next alongside thoughts about him, Salem, how she might be controlling him and more…

"Hello, Jaune Arc!" And there was Penny who cheered, waving her hand and sitting on a couch next to Winter, between her and the arm of the couch. Weiss sat on her sister's side, with Ruby next to her and then Nora and Ren as well. "How are you?"

Jaune hesitated for a second before he gave her a weak wave and sighed, "Hi, guys."

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked, of course the first to speak and completely centered around checking on him, "I heard what happened, your, um… you know, friend, Cinder? She explained it." "As best she could, at least…"

"Yes, Roman may not have been the best of people," "Or decent even." "But he was always there for you, from what I understand, and you were close." Ren added, Jaune forcing himself to ignore the other young man's thoughts by force of will and a reminder that their being here was already a kindness, "My condolences for your loss, Jaune."

"Our condolences." Nora corrected, gesturing around the circle of friends - plus Winter and Penny - in a circle with her finger, "We're all sorry for your loss. Trust me, Renny and I get it. Family isn't perfect, but you love 'em regardless. Kinda how it works, you know?" "Even if they are massive dicks with a crime spree the size of their egos."

"And I am sorry again as well," Winter offered, sitting next to her sister, and looking exhausted if not surprisingly happy. Most of which, he found when he looked, came from the younger Schnee next to her. Interesting. "For my part in things. I know it is a weak excuse, to be true, but I was merely following orders."

"I get it." He said in response, shrugging, "You were doing what you thought was right. I can imagine Ironwood didn't paint a very good picture of me, and you came around in the end, so… It's not fine, but you know what I mean."

"But…" Ruby paused, eyes closing as she took a breath and formed her thoughts, before she finally asked, "But, Jaune, as much as we understand how you feel… Are you sure about any of this? Working with Salem? We were supposed to have killed her. You… Did you lie about that?" "Because that is all that makes sense…" I need to know. We all need to know. My sister lost an arm to her."

"I… We did, Ruby. We did, I promise, okay? It's just..." He sensed her doubts spike, and quickly explained, "But… She doesn't, you know, stay dead when you kill her. She just… finds a new body, or makes one, it all depends on her I think. She's like Ozpin, in that way. She will just come back no matter how much you kill her. Or how hard. She might let you kill her again, if I ask her to."

"So our fight was for nothing, then, in the end." Ren sighed, shaking his head, "At least we can rest knowing that we tried." "For all that might be worth, which is markedly little in the grand scheme of things." "Few in the world can claim to have even attempted to end the threat of the Grimm. Not in any honest or real capacity, at least."

"Real trendsetters, all of us." Nora half-heartedly cheered, sighing, "Not that it's a fun trend, or anything."

"But… yes, Ruby, I'm sure." Jaune finally answered, the young Rose blinking in surprise, "Salem, for all her many faults, has always been honest when she's spoken to me. Always willing to listen to what I want, too, which is why that fleet is floating. She could knock it out of the sky over water, kill everyone on board."

"But you don't wish for that." Winter offered hopefully, clearly distraught at the mere idea of so many lives being lost. A sentiment echoed by everyone else in the room, even Penny seemed to fret over the abstract numbers. "Otherwise, you would not have mentioned it the way that you did." "Hopefully not, at least."

"The only person I want dead is Ironwood himself." Jaune explained, looking around the room and knowing he had to sell this. "I tried, you guys. So hard. Over and over, I let it go, but he kept trying to hurt me. He sent Winter to attack me, I'm pretty sure he had the Council of Vale pressure my father who almost lost the village because of it, and then he killed Roman. All I ever wanted was to just… Just be left alone. But I couldn't have that. Because Ironwood wanted a fight."

"And now?" He continued, looking around at them, shaking his head with a bitter smile as his voice began to rise to a pained, angry snarl, "He murdered someone, broke treaties to do it, and then ran. He's willing to endanger that entire fleet rather than face me. He thinks I'm evil, serving Salem, so that means he is willing to have her wrath slam home. On Atlas. He's a coward, a murderer, a liar, and he will pay for every last thing he has done. And I will take it out of his hide."

"Even if it hurts other people?" Ruby asked, hands shaking in her lap, but eyes hard and watching him closely, "Are you willing to hurt innocent people, just for revenge? Is that how far you've gone?"

"He started this war, Ruby." Jaune reminded her, raising a finger, "Not me. Not even Salem, that was Ozpin back in the day. I wanted peace, and he attacked me over and over. What would you do if someone murdered Yang, right in front of you, for no reason? Worse, actually, for wrong reasons."

"I-I don't know." She lied, and he knew it, giving her a sad but knowing smile.

"Yes, you do." He said simply, challenging her by tapping the side of his forehead twice, "I know exactly what you would do, you imagined it before you caught yourself. You'd hunt them down, and bring them to justice yourself. Now how do I do that to the general of the Atlesian Navy? Winter, will Atlas listen to a petition on this?"

"They… Would hear you, if you had the right backing, but he holds two seats on the Council itself. Any graces on their part would be feigned entirely, and he'd be exonerated." She explained quietly, grimacing, "He's too influential for anything else." "Democracy at its finest…"

"I won't get justice that way, Ruby." Jaune explained simply, shrugging his armored shoulders, "That isn't something I can accept. I can't live my whole life with a target on my back, just because of his stupid paranoia. I can't do it, and I can't subject my family to it. And now I have all of you to think about."

"We came with you." Ren filled in, nodding understandingly, "Even if you leave now, and do nothing to him, he will hold that against us." "And if he was willing to violate international law to kill Roma…" Ren looked at Nora worriedly, mouth open slightly as the realization hit home, "What are we compared to that?"

"I can't risk that, either." Jaune sighed, looking around the room, "Yang lost her arm, Blake and Roman died already, and now you are all at risk again... I will not let that stand. None of you will be safe while that bastard breathes." And he wouldn't be satisfied, but he left that much unsaid. It wasn't needed. Instead, he said, "Tomorrow morning, I will have Cinder arrange transport while Salem gathers what she needs."

"What's your plan?" Ruby asked worriedly, swallowing while her eyes seemed to search him for something he didn't know, something in his face or eyes or maybe beyond. "I-I won't help you hurt innocent people, but… I can't leave my sister in danger. So… I just need to know… I can't be a part of hurting innocent people. I'd die first!"

And she would, he knew, smiling at her warmly. She'd stand there and let someone slide a knife right between her ribs before she laid a finger on an innocent. He admired that about her, how brave she was, and in this light, standing with her hands balled into fists and eyes hard, she was beautiful in a way. Beautifully pure and naive, in a lot of ways for both...

In another life, maybe, he thought with a small shake of his head.

"I don't want innocent people hurt, Ruby." Jaune assured her, "But you are mine, all of you. My friends are what is at risk. My team, my family, my friends, my allies… because of one man. One coward. One murderer, masquerading as a hero. My plan is simple. I surround his fleet when it makes landfall with great, Grimm dragons, too far for them to march for Atlas, and then I wait."

"The Atlesian Fleet's fuel reserves can last around two days without refueling, once they cross the ocean between Sanus and Atlas." Penny offered helpfully, smiling brightly at being able to help as everyone looked to her, "The strategy would force them to land their craft, which would allow us to identify Ironwood and go for him directly."

"The least amount of innocent people get hurt that way." Jaune nodded, "It's the best I can think of short of just… Surrounding Atlas and holding it hostage with too many Grimm for them to face until they hand him over."

"It's the best idea I think we have at hand." Ren offered, sounding tired already in a way Jaune understood. "Unfortunate, yes, but the best idea we have still. If it works."

"It will." Jaune assured him, smiling bitterly, "That much, at least, I know for sure. The strength Salem can bring to bear could see the Kingdoms destroyed utterly if she actually wanted that."

"And what do we do after?" Nora asked quietly, the group by now settled well enough on the situation. "I don't think we can just… Go back to Beacon, like nothing ever happened. Not after all of this, we could barely really do it before."

"It's up to you." Jaune shrugged, sighing and turning to look at the door. "I still have to talk to Neo, though. So… I'll let you guys talk it out yourselves, okay?" He chuckled and added, quieter, "Been putting this conversation off way too long, and I need to… Deal with it, before I find another excuse to avoid it."

"We will let you know if we require you for anything." Weiss offered, sounding tired and weak in a way that actually worried him to an extent. "Deal with your… Friend?" "At least I think they are just friends... "

"Fiance, actually." He corrected nervously, the entire room suddenly warming with excited, sometimes naive thoughts as minds raced with ideas, expectations, surprised reactions and images. All of which made him chuckle, shaking his head, "We, uh, got together a month or two after she took me at Beacon. It was just us, for a while,upin Salem's castle, and we were scared, and it started out as just physical stuff… But you guys know the kind of guy I am. Once we started that, and with dealing with Salem, and Neo being the only real friend there… Kind of grew a mind of its own, and before we knew it, we were cuddling and… Stuff. And now, you know, we're here."

Weiss, surprisingly, was the first to speak, clapping her hands together and smiling, "Oh my Gods, that has to be the most romantic thing I have ever heard in real life!" Everyone looked at her, eyebrows raising in surprise, and the youngest Schnee coughed into her fist, "I, um, I just meant that it was quite romantic. The reasons they got together are… Cute, I suppose, and- All of you stop smirking at me!" "Insufferable peons. Am I not allowed to enjoy a true romance?"

Taking the moment when they finally broke, relaxing and teasing Weiss, Jaune turned and pulled the door open, slipping out quietly as they finally started to allow themselves some small kind of hope.

"You aren't going to enjoy yourself?" Salem asked coyly, waiting for him in the hall. When he shook his head, she clicked her tongue in a sort of annoyance, "Well you should know, Cinder has stepped out for a while. She asked I inform you she was gathering money from her contacts, and she would return within a few hours. In spite of me so politely informing her I am not, in fact, a doorman."

"And Pyrrha?" He asked, ignoring her annoyed sigh.

"With the harlot, oh hush Jaune I will call her what I wish." She snarked, when he gave her a sour look. After he sighed and shook his head, but didn't say anything, she continued, "As I was saying, the Mistralian is with your harlot, trying to keep her under control." After a few seconds, Salem added in a quieter, somehow subdued and almost sympathetic voice, "It would appear that Roman was… quite dear to her. She is not taking it well, in any capacity."

"I'm going to go see her now, actually." He answered quietly, doing his best to maintain a straight, hard face in the face of the emotional wall that seemed to assault him from the other side of the door when he paid attention to it. Neo's emotions, he could tell, mixed with Pyrrha's anxiety and concern. "It… She'll be fine."

"As you say, I suppose it must be." Salem agreed, Seer turning and hovering away towards the last of the four rooms, that she had claimed as hers immediately upon the elevator letting them out on the penthouse floor. "Be careful, however, and know that I am here should you need a rest from your Semblance."

"I know how much that has to take out of you." Jaune called to her, quiet enough to not disturb Neo or Pyrrha. The Seer hesitated, turning to look at him, and he explained, "I would have to guess it is kinda like my ability to change people's minds. And that is exhausting, mentally."

"Indeed." She answered quietly, the Seer continuing on silently, "Enjoy your evening, Jaune. Come to me if you need to, but if you do not, let me rest through the evening. I am quite tired."

"Good night." He offered weakly as the door closed behind the creature, sighing after she'd left and scolding himself. "Good night? To the Queen of the fucking Grimm? Are you serious, Jaune, or just crazy?" Looking at the door, and who was behind it, he sighed and shook himself, "Well, hope a little of both ends up bein' the case."

As soon as he opened the door, he ducked under a plate hurled his direction without a second of reaction, catching another on his forearm plating and then shutting the door behind him as Neo hurled herself at him bodily, Pyrrha scrambling to get up off the floor while Jaune wrestled with her. Small hands pounded on his head, hips wrapped around his waist in an embrace that once would have brought him joy and rushing blood.

Now, though, it let her swing their weight towards a table that - with her thrashing his head and chest weakly through his Aura - he couldn't evade. They fell, the small woman releasing him with her legs and then leaping,landing on his chest again as his back hit the floor and he gasped.

"You used your Semblance!" She accused, hands braced to either side of his head and bright brown eyes, surrounded by red rings of pain and tear tracks running down her face, "Against me! Why?"

"You were hurting, so bad, and I couldn't handle it. I had to make decisions, though, and short of knocking you out by force…" He smiled apologetically, reaching up to lay his hands on her ribs affectionately like he always did when they were in this particular position, and waving at Pyrrha before she leapt to his protection. "I had to get us out of there. Make sure you were safe."

"You mind controlled me." She accused again, thumping a fist against him as her own chest heaved, in grief not effort, before crumpling on top of him. She huffed when he wrapped his arms against her, sniffling, "That bastard killed Roman."

"And we're going to kill him for it." Jaune assured her, running his fingers through her hair soothingly while she trembled. Fear, pain, grief, anger, all washing around in her mind amidst an odd contentment she always felt there when he held her on top of him, letting her feel like she was the one in control, but still being held. "We'll catch him, and then he'll be all yours for however long you take."

"I want to make him hurt." She whispered to him, shifting up his chest until she sat on it with his hands gripping her hips gently, her forehead resting against his, yes misting with tears but hard and pink regardless, "I want to make it slow, make him scream and beg for it to be over. I want it so bad it hurts, right in my chest."

"It's grief, too." He told her, rubbing small circles in the skin left bare on her hips without her jacket. "But we'll get him, I promise. And you can do whatever you want to him, I won't lift a finger to stop you. I promise."

"I know." She sighed, closing her eyes and breathing deeply, "I was so scared when you put me under… Scared I'd wake up in a cell, or worse, to your body laying on the ground."

"I'm sorry." He said, waving Pyrrha towards the door and giving her a thumbs up to let her know it was fine to leave. She hesitated for a moment before leaving, closing the door quietly behind her as she went.

"Never again. You understand?" She moved one of her hands to his cheek, thumbing it gently and then sliding it up to play with his hair, "Never, ever, again. I don't ever want you to ever use your Semblance on me again. Not like that, at least."

"Never again." He agreed, "I promise. Cross my heart, hope to die."

"Good." She said, leaning down and pressing her lips to his gently, kissing him for sheer comfort rather than anything else. "We don't have to leave for a while, right, Jaune?" He shook his head, and she pressed down against him, "Then distract me. I can't deal with this all at once."

Normally he would have argued,pushed her to grieve, but he knew Neo. Neo was a woman of vices, and with no one nearby to torture and not enough ice cream in the world to sate her either, that left one thing. So he let it go, letting her reach up to pull the shoulders of her and pulling away to say, "I love you."

She smirked, leaning down to kiss him again and thinking, "I love you too, now fuck me into the ground for a while, okay? We'll be adults about this all tomorrow, but right now that's too much noise."

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Zenith Tempest :

Nah. Settin' up for the future.

Xager The Chaos King :

You shall find out.

Smokey panda :

Hey, man, if you ask nicely then he'll probably let you grab those horns for a ride.

Gizmo Gear :

Because people suck.