Heart's Embers

by SugarLoaf12

It's been fifteen months hasn't it? Living from day to day, moving from place to place. Looking for the next payday, the next target... the next fight. I thought living outside their war would be easier. But sometimes knowing... is all it takes to leave you wondering "What if" I think back to why I left and I know I made the right choice... Ozpin be damned.

38. Festivity Of Butchery

Hey, guys! Managed to finish this one out over the weekend, work has been keeping me pretty busy lately, but I'm glad it doesn't seem to have slowed me down this time around! Honestly, I think picking out the outfits for this was probably one of the most fun parts of this. Hope you guys like it, and that you all had a good Easter!

P.S.

For the one who asked, no there is not, nor will there ever be a lemon in this story. I've tried that kind of writing before, not for me. Would've just sent you a PM, but don't seem to have that option on your review.

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

"Speech"

Thoughts

---

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Festivity Of Butchery

Yang's hands slammed on Pietro's desk as her eyes flashed red "We need to talk"

He blinked in surprise at her actions "What is the meaning of this?" he asked concerned "Are you feeling unwell?"

"How long have you known?" she demanded.

"What?"

"HOW LONG?!"

"Yang, please calm yourself. I don't understand-"

Yang lifted him by his coat "How long have you known it was Slade?!" she shook him "What did she do to him?! huh?!" she shook him more insistently.

"She? You mean Salem? I'm not sure I understand the question you're asking me" he said holding his hands up in a calming manner.

"Knowles! That was the name you said! What did she do to him?!"

Pietro froze, eyes widened in shock "You know?"

She dropped him into his chair, her hair ablaze "Yeah, I found the memory Ozpin locked away. Elise pulled me out before I could see the whole thing"

"I... I didn't..." he sputtered out.

"Bullshit! Tell me everything! What project were you working on for Ironwood?! What happened to Slade?! Where did you take him from?!"

Pietro dropped his face into his hands, sighing deeply. He sat back up straight and gestured to the seat in front of his desk "Sit down, this is going to take some time to explain"

Her anger never died down, but she did as she was told "Talk"

Pietro took a deep breath "What I am about to tell you... not even Ironwood knows the full details. Only Ozpin and I were the ones who knew the truth" he flipped one of the pictures on his desk around to face her "A long time ago, what was it? Twenty years or so?" he asked aloud "General Ironwood commissioned a team of his best scientists to do everything they could to best serve Atlas'. We were all experts but each of us specialized in different fields of science"

The first was a male with a rosy complexion bright blonde hair and dark brown eyes. The second, a woman next to him with ginger hair, freckles, lime colored eyes, and paper white skin. The young Arthur Watts stood in the center, to his left stood a bronze-skinned woman with brown hair and matching brown eyes. A much younger Pietro stood to the far left with a bright smile on his face. He pointed to each of them as he continued to speak.

"Dr. Carmine Abbott specialized in cybernetics, Dr. Jasmine Knowles in genetics, or eugenics to be more accurate" he spat the word with disgust before continuing "Dr. Arthur Watts in robotics, Dr. Meral Lawson in engineering, and myself in neurology. We all pooled our advanced knowledge to invent ways to better protect Atlas, from improved weapons and armor, to the airships you see in our skies today. Each of us however, were devoted to individual projects in hopes of being selected by Ironwood for the position of director of the science division"

"Projects like Penny" she nodded.

"Precisely" he cleared his throat "Meral worked hard to create what would eventually evolve into the Paladins we have today, Arthur did the same and created the prototype Knights that serve us today. Carmine invented artificial prosthetics very much like your own arm there, and I sought to create a synthetic body capable of generating an Aura, thus resulting in Penny years later. And Jasmine..." he wore a deep frown.

"Doctor, what did she do?"

He shook his head "She sought to discover what part of our DNA determined our Semblances, for instance the Schnee family Semblance is completely hereditary" he explained "She discovered our cells held markers that could be extracted and implanted into other cells that mimicked the effect of the respective Semblance. Though she faced many setbacks at first. She had tried with the cells from animals and it led nowhere... so she started making artificial human cells"

"Artificial? Don't you have surgeries that use that kind of thing to help people when they're injured?"

Pietro nodded "They can be used on a child born with a missing limb to grow a new one, or force damaged tissue to bond with the artificial cells for injuries. It's not guaranteed, but it's better than nothing. Of course, this would not work for someone like yourself" he gestured to her missing arm "Though I am certain she would've gladly given such research to Ironwood if it had in hopes of convincing him to pick her. Most of these experiments were harmless at first, it would be impossible to grant someone's Semblance to another person due to the inherent tie they have to our Aura's and in turn, our souls"

"Then what changed?"

He sighed "She started creating artificial... people"

Yang's eyes widened in shock, her Semblance deactivating and her eyes returning to normal "W-what...? Is that even possible?"

"She was implanting markers for Semblances from Huntsmen all across the world in hopes of forcing their development. But as you know, Semblances are not tied directly to DNA and genetics, but our very souls. Unless the Semblance proved hereditary, genetic markers alone wouldn't recreate the desired Semblance. In fact, she found it always resulted in developing Semblances inherently unique to the Aura's each child held. This caused her to terminate each child with this result as a failure, she killed dozens before I discovered what she'd done"

"But you told Professor Ozpin instead of Ironwood, why?"

"Ironwood granted each of us a lab in any of the four kingdoms to work on our desired projects. Carmine chose Vacuo, Meral chose Mistral, Arthur and I stayed in Atlas, and Jasmine chose Vale. In the face of so many of her preconceived failures, she started mixing more than one marker into a single subject. This didn't seem to change the outcome, just more dead children" he explained sorrowfully "When I found out, I reported straight to Professor Ozpin because I believed he should be aware of what she was doing in his kingdom"

"And he put a stop to it..."

He nodded "Professor Ozpin confronted her and when she tried to kill him to keep him quiet, he killed her in self defense. He took the only remaining child and gave him to a suitable home, one where he'd be cared for, loved. I never knew who he gave the boy to, never wanted to, and I never reported the incident to Ironwood. Officially, Dr. Jasmine Knowles took her own life when her life's work hit a dead end, and I provided Ironwood with proof her experiments didn't work beyond surgical applications for medical patients. He took me at my word"

"Then how did you find out it was Slade?" she asked.

"When I had Jaune heal those stab wounds from Adam Taurus. I had to physically scan him, it raised several red flags. When I noticed some startling similarities, I ran his DNA to reference ancestry within our records... and found nothing"

Yang scrunched her eyebrows "Nothing? He's not related to anyone? How is that possible?"

"Well, despite using the markers from several different genetic sequences, she never actually implanted any DNA into the artificial cells" he shrugged "For instance, I know for a fact that she used the same markers from the Branwen twins in Slade's creation, but his DNA is in fact not that of a Branwen"

"She used my mom and uncle's DNA and yet Slade isn't related to me in any way?" she asked.

"None, as I said. But they weren't the only ones she used, she had a rather concerning cocktail of different Semblances she tried to instill in her creations, and Slade was no different"

"What do you mean by markers, exactly?"

"Well, much like our fingerprints are inherently unique, even among identical twins, our cells all have individual genetic markers that can be traced through ancestry. These markers are unique to the person in question, but doesn't include any traces of DNA within them. Slade's DNA, like all the others she created, is completely unrelated to any of the DNA she had collected"

"But you didn't tell him?"

"How could I? It would mean revealing everything he thought he knew about his family to be wrong, shatter his entire worldview. I couldn't do that to him, he's been through too much for me to take his family away from him twice"

"But..." she clenched her teeth "Damn it... damn it!" her hands closed into fists "He deserves to know the truth, to know what Ozpin hid from him, but..."

"But telling him would hurt him more than it'd help him" Pietro nodded "I know, I went through the same debate when I learned the truth"

"But why would Ozpin be so desperate to keep Salem from learning this about him?"

Pietro shrugged "I don't know, but if I had to hazard a guess. It was because he feared Salem would use her research to create an army of unwitting slaves... or he was worried she'd find a way to make it work"

Yang shook her head "Hasn't stopped her from using Chimera's technology"

"No... it hasn't" he sighed.

"Did the other Huntsmen know their DNA was being used? Did Qrow?"

He shook his head "Unlikely. All the DNA she collected was during routine checkups with help from Professor Ozpin, likely without consulting them prior"

"That sounds like the Ozpin I know" she growled.

"But you don't need to worry about Slade's wellbeing. He's not related in any meaningful capacity to the owners of those markers, no chance of any hereditary complications"

"Then... Slade and me, we're not, uh..." she let the sentence hang.

He chuckled "No, Ms. Xiao Long. You needn't be concerned with the two of you becoming... intimate"

Her cheeks flushed, looking away in mild embarrassment "I wasn't... um, asking that..."

He gave her a knowing look "Of course you weren't, because I suddenly was struck blind and stupid"

She blew the locks of hair out of her face "Who ended up getting the position in the end? You?" she asked curiously.

He shook his head "Ironwood offered it to me, but I declined. That was when I decided to become a doctor full time, I had no desire to see another atrocity like that. Arthur was initially angered when he had been passed over for me, so he poured himself into his work as a Huntsman to become a professor at the academy, rejecting the position on principle. Meral took the position and Carmine decided to move out to Vacuo permanently, choosing to give his cybernetic prosthetics to those who needed them... then turned up dead a few years ago, murdered"

"What's Dr. Lawson doing now?"

"She retired, she's been tinkering plenty at home the last time I saw her. She was actually very helpful when it came to making Penny" he smiled, then stood from his chair "All these years I kept the final report on Jasmine's project locked away in my personal safe"

Pietro opened a nearby drawer with a small safe inside, opening it with the combination "Safe?"

He nodded as the door opened "I kept it hidden so it would never-" he gasped.

"What?! What is it?!" she sprang to her feet.

"It's... it's gone. But no one knows the combination but me! How could..."

"Wait..." Yang pulled out her Scroll and quickly searched for a picture "Did have this on it?" she held the device toward him.

His eyes widened "Where did you see that?"

"Slade drew it. He saw it in one of his visions, or Elise's visions I guess, it was just after arriving here in Atlas. Tyrian had a file with this symbol on it"

He shook his head "Then Salem has it, but that file was heavily redacted. It's unlikely she'll learn the name of the doctor responsible"

"Does Ironwood know about this?" she asked pointing to the phone.

"Doubtful, that was the symbol Jasmine used for her project, but it never would've made it back to him after I shut it down. He only read my report, not this file"

"Could Salem use it against us?"

"Not unless she learns the file's connection to Slade, which I doubt she knows already. The less people know about this the better"

"Why else would she send Tyrian for this file if she didn't know? Unless there's something else in there-"

"No. I made sure to cover up anything that could be used to restart her work. Salem will learn nothing from that file if she didn't already know. I will inform Ironwood and report it stolen, beyond that, it's up to him whether or not to inform all of you about it. But no one else can know the truth about Slade, he deserves to continue living his life happily. There's no reason for us to tear that away from him, even accidentally"

Yang huffed, crossing her arms "Fine. I get it" she shook her head "I don't like it, but I get it"

He smiled "Thank you, Yang. You're doing the right thing"

"Yeah... I hope so"

Outside the room stood an Atlas officer, eyes wide with shock. With a blink of her eyes they turned from white to brown and pink, shaking herself from her stupor. She wore a deep frown on her face, everything she'd just heard made her want to do nothing more than go see Slade, to make sure he was alright. She had to remind herself he had chosen Ruby over her, that he had chosen them over Roman. She took a deep breath, but no matter how many times she repeated it to herself, she still didn't feel it ring true in her heart. Despite what she thought of his decision to work with Ruby, she couldn't bring herself to hate him, not like she wanted to, like she needed to. Straightening her stature, she marched off, leaving the doctor and the blonde far behind.

---

"You want me to do what?!" Jacques bellowed.

"Lower your damn voice, Jacques" Ironwood said sternly "The whole point of this is to trick them, not broadcast the plan to everyone in earshot"

Jacques frowned "You're going to get me killed with this stupid plan" he argued, a bit quieter this time "You want me to open my home to the whole city while they're sending an assassin after me?"

"It's called setting a trap, Jacques. Would you rather wait around and hope he doesn't get the drop on you while we're not around?"

He plopped down into his chair "What difference does it make if I die either way?"

"You are not going to die" Winter replied sharply.

"Oh? What makes you so damn sure of that?!" he asked with a pointed look.

Her expression softened, placing a comforting hand onto his arm "Because I am going to keep you safe, the whole time. No one is going to hurt you, okay?" she gave a reassuring smile

He stared up at her from his seat, anger fading, he exhaled slowly "Okay, Winter. What do you need me to do?"

She smiled "We need you to host a banquet at our family estate, a fundraiser for the poor refugees in Mantle. We'll cover all the security details to make sure no one gets a shot at you. But we need the place to seem lightly guarded, we don't want the assassin to catch on that their expected. We'll have several undercover Huntsmen to keep an eye on things"

"You think no one is going to notice a few extra Huntsmen in the crowd?" Jacques asked.

"As I said, they'll be undercover, they'll look the part. Trust me" she looked to Ironwood.

"We'll have a token guard of Atlesian Knights posted around you at all times, along with Winter and Penny. I'll make a public appearance while the rest will filter in with the crowds. You'll be using your own company's security guards for the evening so as not to arouse suspicion"

"Even undercover, most of Atlas' high society families will recognize that your Huntsmen are out of place. Most of us don't carry weapons"

"I'm aware. That's why they'll have their weapons confiscated at the door, placed somewhere safe. No one will stop me from bringing my weapons inside, and your daughters are entitled to carrying weapons within their own estate. No one will second guess us"

"So I'm being protected by a bunch of unarmed Huntsmen... great" he deadpanned.

Ironwood rolled his eyes "We're Huntsmen, we're hardly defenseless even without a weapon"

"Don't worry, Father. I thought of that already" Winter smiled "Klein will secure their weapons and stash them so they can recover them later, for when they might need them. Some of them might be able to get some of their own weapons inside, but we can't rely on that"

"In the meantime, Penny will be keeping watch over you until the banquet, in case someone tries something stupid when they think we're not watching. I want a public announcement for the banquet out by tonight and scheduled for the end of the week. We can't give them too much time, but if we jump the gun, they won't be able to make an appearance, and all will be for nothing"

"How am I supposed to sleep or eat knowing an assassin is trying to kill me?" he asked incredulously.

"That's what Penny is for. She'll stand watch while you sleep, and everything will be properly taste tested for poison before you are allowed to eat it. She's not biological, poison won't harm her even if she does ingest it, and she doesn't need to sleep. You'll be in good hands" Ironwood assured.

"I don't like this..."

"Neither do I, but we don't have any other information at this time. We were lucky to get even that" Winter explained "Just focus on planning the party, if mother gives you any trouble, I'll set her straight"

"No, no. There's no reason to add more friction between the two of you, she already complains enough as it is"

Winter smirked "Well at least she's willing to speak about me again"

"Give her time, Winter. I'm sure she'll come around... I hope she will"

Winter exhaled "I won't hold my breath"

He sighed deeply "I'll get started on planning the event, Sunday at 7:00" he told them.

"Perfect" Ironwood nodded "I'll go brief my team"

"I'll stay behind until Penny arrives to take over. I'm not leaving him alone with an assassin on the loose"

"Understood" Ironwood turned on his heels and exited the room without another word, leaving the two alone.

After a short silence between them, Jacques removed his Scroll "I have to make a call" he answered her silent question.

Her mother's face appeared on the Scroll "What is it?" she snapped.

"Willow" he greeted with a smile through grit teeth "I was just calling to let you know that we shall be hosting a banquet this Sunday as a fundraiser for the refugees down in Mantle. I assume that will not be a problem?" he asked anticipating an argument from the look on her face.

"Mantle? That's... that's..." she seemed to be weighing the decision in her head "That's brilliant, dear!" she smiled radiantly.

"It is?" he asked surprised.

"Yes, yes, it is! The more money we raise for Mantle's refugees, the more goodwill we buy with the people! That means more sales, and more money for us!"

"Right" he forced a smile "That was exactly what I was thinking"

She laughed "Here I had thought James had softened you, but you're just as conniving as ever"

"Does that mean you'll help?"

"Help?" she snorted "I wouldn't trust you to plan something like this if our lives depended on it. I'll have invitations sent out by the end of the night, we'll need catering, staff, decorations..." she listed off "So much to do!"

"Just as long as James is invited, I'd like our daughters there as well"

"Yes, yes, of course" she waved him off dismissively "Be sure to have Weiss invite those friends of hers with her as well, they were just darling, especially that young lady. Ruby? Was it?"

Jacques chuckled "I think I could twist her arm"

"Good, good, good. I have to get right to work, so much to prepare" she ended the call, he let out a sigh of relief.

Winter smiled "Well, that was easier than expected"

Jacques frowned "Yes... it was"

She quirked her eyebrow at him "Yet, you sound unhappy"

He scoffed "That was the first time your mother and I have actually agreed on anything since you went to the academy"

She blinked in surprise "Really? That was a decade ago"

He chuckled "I know. I was only able to convince her to forgo the divorce when she discovered I wouldn't lose my position in the company. That's when we started sleeping in separate wings of the estate"

Winter frowned "Father..."

He stood from his desk "It doesn't matter where I am, I won't feel safe so long as that woman is still out there" he shuddered "Why is she so fixated on killing me? What threat am I to her? What-" he froze when he felt Winter's arms wrap around him.

"I don't know, Dad... but I won't let anything happen to you. I promise"

"Winter..." his hands slowly embraced her, tears stinging his eyes "Thank you..."

---

"Why?!" Ruby groaned from behind the curtain of her changing room.

She could hear Blake laugh and Weiss groaning from the changing rooms to her right "Do you need help in there, Ruby?" Yang's snarky reply came from her left.

"No, no!" she called back quickly, then whispered "I just don't understand why there has to be so many- I'm fine!" she called the last part, exasperated.

"Relax, Ruby. We all get to dress up and look beautiful!" Nora called from her changing room on the opposite side of the hall.

"Yeah, in stupid lady stilts... again" she grumbled to herself.

"Lighten up, Rubes. Sure we're gonna be on mission, but this is an all expenses paid shopping trip!" Yang called with excitement.

"It was nice of Ironwood to cover the costs" Blake agreed.

"And we even get to keep what we don't spend! Talk about a deal!" Yang agreed.

"Ugh" Ruby frowned as she kicked off the heels she'd been trying on "Whoever invented heels is the worst"

"I for one am very excited! This will be the first dance I am able to attend without bodyguards" Penny added from the changing room beside Nora.

"Penny, aren't you going to be a bodyguard?" Ruby asked.

"Yes! But I am sure it will be much more enjoyable without being watched the whole time"

"See? At least one of us is ready to have fun!" Nora called.

"Well, at least some of you can have fun" Weiss sighed "I'm going to be too focused on keeping my father from being killed, need I remind you"

"Come on, Weiss. We're all gonna make sure nothing happens to him" Yang assured.

"Guys, we probably shouldn't talk about that here. We're still in public" Ruby urged.

Blake opened the curtain, stepping out with a boxed up dress "Ruby's right, we should just focus on picking out dresses and go"

Nora flung open her curtain dramatically "Way ahead of you!" she sang.

Ruby's head poked out from her changing room "You're both done already?!" she asked looking between them.

Weiss stepped out from her own with an amused smile "To be fair, Ruby. None of us had Yang shoving dresses into our dressing rooms"

"She couldn't decide what she wanted!" Yang argued defensively.

"I didn't want any of them!"

"Tough! We have to dress up, Ironwood's orders" Yang shot back as she stepped out with her own.

"Last time I tried fighting in heels didn't go very well!" she reminded them.

"Last time you were fighting alone" Weiss shot back "Besides, Ironwood's going to be right there the entire time. We'll be fine, I doubt the boys will have any trouble fighting in their suits"

"They don't have to wear lady stilts!" Ruby shouted, ducking her head back behind the curtain.

Penny flung open her changing room "How do I look?" she asked excitedly.

Penny wore a short, light green dress with opaque skintight sleeves stopping just above her wrist. The edges of the collar were black and the upper chest was decorated with white designs. There was narrow black detailing around her waist alongside a pair of light green, golden tipped heels.

Nora gasped "Penny, you look wonderful!"

"Ditto!" Yang smiled "You've got good taste"

Penny blushed "Thanks, it's the first time I'm picking a dress for myself. I know I'm gonna be stuck watching Councilor Schnee the whole night so I needed your opinions now" she smiled as she finished.

"Well you chose quite well" Weiss assured.

Nora grinned, getting uncomfortably close to Yang and nudging her with her elbow "So, what'd you pick out, Yang" she wriggled her eyebrows suggestively "Any particular head you looking to turn this time around?"

Yang huffed, turning red from embarrassment "Oh, just the one" she nudged her back "Some of us haven't told the boy we like yet" she added through grit teeth.

"Oh, I am certain Slade will love whatever dress you've chosen. You looked stunning during the Beacon dance after all" Penny replied.

Yang smiled "Thanks, Penny"

"She's right, if there was ever a perfect time to figure out how Slade feels about you for sure, it'd be while you're all glamoured up. Not that there's any question as to how he feels" Weiss chuckled.

"He did make an entire bike for you, Yang" Blake reminded "That's a lot of work to go through for just a friend"

"That's-"

Ruby interrupted Yang as she threw open the curtain to her changing room, several boxed dresses stacked high in her arms "Little help, please" Yang rolled her eyes with an amused smile, she stuck her hand beneath the tower of boxes and took them from her on one hand "Not the top one!" Ruby quickly took it back.

"Ooooh" Yang's smile widened "Good choice, Ruby"

"Thanks" she grinned.

"I'm just glad you're not trying to convince Ironwood into letting you wear your combat boots" Weiss smirked.

Nora laughed "Yeah, I remember how you begged Yang to let you at Beacon"

"At least seven times" Blake added.

Ruby leaned in close, holding up two fingers "Two words! Stupid. Lady. Stilts" Penny counted on her fingers as she spoke, a look of confusion crossing her features.

"That's three words, Ruby" Weiss corrected.

"I am your team leader, Weiss! Team leader says, no one can question the team leader"

"Not how that works"

Ruby smiled to herself "Yes it is" she whispered.

Blake watched Yang carefully, the blonde seemed to be elsewhere, a deep frown settling on her features "Yang? What's wrong?"

She didn't notice, prompting Ruby to question her sister as well "Yang? Yang!"

She was startled by Ruby's tone "What? What?"

"Are you okay? You seem... not okay"

"Distracted" Weiss corrected.

"Yeah, that"

Yang sighed "No, no. I'm fine, guys. Really" she forced a smile.

They looked unconvinced, but chose not to push, an awkward silence taking hold "I wonder how our boys are doing" Nora mused, breaking the silence.

Slade sat on the bench outside the men's changing room with his shades covering his eyes, on each side of him sat Ren with a magazine in hand and Oscar, reading over the receipt for his suit. Slade sat with his arms crossed over his chest, leaning against the wall behind him, one leg crossed over the other "These things are expensive" Oscar grimaced "We'll have to thank Ironwood when we get back"

"Especially considering you haven't been getting paid as a Huntsman like we have" Ren agreed "Though I suppose you haven't been going on any missions until now either"

Oscar let out a satisfied sigh "I can't wait! I've been cooped up in the academy for so long working on my Semblance and combat training, I can't wait to put it to use"

"Hopefully not too much. We're only going to be security detail for Mr. Schnee"

"What do you think, Slade?" Oscar eyed him, he remained motionless "Uh... Slade?" he poked him with the edge of his cane.

Slade slumped forward slightly, a light snore emanating from him, grumbling quietly to himself. Ren quirked his eyebrow at him "Just how long has he been asleep?"

Oscar struggled to hold in his laughter then, poked Slade harder in the chest with the cane. Slade's hand came up, grabbing the cane "Ah!"

"This doesn't end well for you" he warned irritably.

Oscar pulled it back from him as Slade sat straight "Sorry" he rubbed his arm sheepishly.

"Ugh" he removed his shades "What did you want?" he asked tiredly.

"Are you alright, Slade? You look terrible"

Slade snorted in amusement "I haven't exactly gotten alot of sleep in the Chimera base, I wasn't among friends. I still have a lot of sleep to catch up on"

Ren nodded "Luckily, you'll have the chance. Once we return from this trip, we'll have nothing on our schedule until tomorrow"

"Mmm" Slade gave a light nod "I needed to get out anyway. This is the first time I've seen the sun in nearly a week"

"Really?" Oscar asked.

"Salem doesn't exactly have beachfront property" he chuckled "And living inside a mountain wasn't much fun either"

"Well, at least you're not there anymore" he offered.

His body shook involuntarily "Yes, the cage of Apathy was truly an inspired design choice" his hand moved toward his flask, stopping as he noticed what he was doing.

Oscar's attention was drawn to his hand when he heard him groan, assuming he might've been in pain "You alright?" he asked.

"Peachy" he replied agitated.

Jaune stepped out in a bright yellow suit, white undershirt and a matching yellow tie "Eh?" he asked with a bright smile.

"Oh god" Oscar laughed.

"No" Slade deadpanned.

"But-"

"No" Ren and Slade interjected in unison.

Jaune slumped dejectedly "Fiiiiiiiine" he turned back and started trying on another suit.

"Hey, boys" Yang called as she approached with the other girls "Where's Uncle Qrow?"

Slade snorted "Pretty sure he bought the first suit he saw and bailed. I don't think he's very excited for the dance"

Ruby laughed "He isn't exactly... social"

Nora gasped, feigning shock "Say it isn't so?" she mimicked a snobby accent as she spoke.

"Silence, you boob!" Ruby replied, mimicking Winter. She couldn't help but giggle at her own joke.

Weiss rubbed her eyelids with a sigh "I take it we're waiting on Jaune?" she asked with a knowing look.

"Of course" Ren replied.

"No!" Jaune stepped out with a suit picked out "See? I'm all finished.

Slade looked to the suit he'd chosen "Jaune... put it back"

"But this is a nice one!"

Blake grimaced at the sight of it "It's too... bright" he grumbled as he picked out another suit.

Ren sighed exasperated "He needs to stay away from primary colors"

"Unless it's black" Oscar chuckled "This is the third time he's done this"

"I thought it looked nice" Penny whispered to Ruby confused.

She leaned back to her "The idea is to blend in, Penny. Not stand out like a sore thumb"

"Oh, yes. That's right"

"You're not telling him why you're saying no are you?" Weiss asked.

Slade smirked "Nope"

Nora grinned "Perfect"

---

Schnee manor was several stories tall, painted white as the snow with deep blue roofing. It had four towering outcropped structures, two in the front and two in the back with expansive west and east wings stretching across the property. It had a long U shaped driveway from it's golden gates with three pillars each holding up the Schnee crest. The courtyard leading inside was surrounded by archways, with a large fountain in the center. The fountain also contained the Schnee emblem with wings around it. It had two gardens with small hedges with the flower symbols engraved into the stone, and a pair of benches on each side. All of this led up to a brick stairway up to the front door. All around the exterior were white banners advertising the humanitarian efforts that would be taking place there that night. In the doorway stood a well dressed woman greeting each of the guests, checking their names off a long list as they entered. On the opposite side of her, stood an armored SDC security officer who confiscated any weapons before guests proceeded inside, most guests brought nothing along, but allowed themselves to be searched anyway. There was a convoy of vehicles entering, each vehicle stopping long enough to let the passengers out before being directed back out to a separate area for parking.

Ironwood placed two fingers to his ear "Let's go over the plan one more time. We won't have our earpieces in once we head inside"

"Why're we losing the earpieces?" Ruby asked through the comm.

"They'd look suspicious on anyone not providing security" Winter's voice answered.

"Oh"

Ironwood smiled with amusement, shaking his head "We'll all file inside two at a time, stick with your partner until we make it inside. Winter, Penny, and Weiss are already inside to make sure there aren't any hiccups upon entry. They'll confiscate your weapons, Klein will return them as soon as possible. Then we keep an eye on Jacques and the rest of the guests while we determine the identity of the assassin. If you have a small weapon you can sneak inside, do it. Otherwise, don't risk causing a scene. While half of us provide security and investigate the guests, the others will pair off and search the rest of the manor, we don't want any surprises tonight"

"Right" came Yang's reply.

"Remember not to draw any suspicion, we don't want to chase off the assassin before we have a chance to catch them in the act" Weiss reminded them.

"This isn't our first rodeo, Weiss. Everything will be fine" Jaune assured.

"Blake, make sure you keep your ears hidden with that bow. The last thing we need is for anyone to make a scene about a Faunus being allowed inside" Winter added.

"Don't worry. It won't be going anywhere"

Ironwood's car slowed to a stop "Alright, this is it. Let's get this job done right. See you all inside"

The general stepped out of his car wearing his usual uniform, Due Process snugly in their holsters. Slade stepped out the opposite side and made his way over to Ironwood's side, following him through the courtyard. Slade wore a long, black tailcoat suit with a matching vest and suit pants. He had a white undershirt beneath them and a black tie, as well as black dress boots for ease of movement, anticipating a fight further down the line. He had Oscar's cane in his gloved hand and placed a black top hat on his head with his opposite hand. His gauntlets were fitted over the suit snugly, Ironwood looked at him with an amused smile.

"You really enjoyed spending my money, didn't you?"

Slade tilted his head "Who says I bought this?"

He blinked "You owned this?"

He shrugged "What can I say? Roman took care of his friends"

He snorted "So it seems"

They both made their way over to the entryway, being stopped by the guard with a raised hand "Weapons"

"Of course" Ironwood nodded to Slade, who started removing his gauntlets and handing them over.

"General Ironwood needs no introduction of course" the greeter mused "Who might your friend be?" she inquired.

"Slade Stroud"

"Stroud, huh? Sounds familiar" she checked both their names off the list "Both of you have a pleasant night"

"You too" the guard looked to Ironwood "I need your weapons and to pat you down"

Ironwood quirked his eyebrow "Excuse me?"

"Standard procedure, Sir. If you could just-"

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Willow called with a sharp tone.

"Mrs. Schnee, I was just-" Slade chose to use this moment to proceed inside, neglecting to hand over Defiance hidden within the holster on the outside of his vest, beneath his suit jacket.

"Just taking the weapons of General Ironwood? Are you truly so incompetent you can't follow simple instructions? All Atlas Military personnel are allowed to bring their weapons inside so long as they're on the list"

"B-but, you said e-everyone-"

Willow motioned for him to stop talking with one hand and turned back to Ironwood "Apparently you just can't find good help anywhere these days" she gestured for him to follow her inside.

Ironwood smirked as he took notice of Slade's sudden absence "I suppose I should just be glad he asked before trying to pat me down. Otherwise you might've needed another guard"

She laughed politely "I'm sure we'd make do. Please, do enjoy the party. I worked hard to make this fun for everyone involved" her gaze settled onto Slade "Even unwanted guests"

"He was invited by your daughter, Willow"

"Yes, thank you for reminding me" she scoffed "You'll have to excuse me, I simply must see to the catering staff. I believe they may have forgotten to serve the Hors d'oeuvres"

Ironwood was relieved "Be my guest, don't let me stop you" they waited until she was out of earshot before speaking "Well done, Slade"

He chuckled "What can I say? I saw the opportunity, so I took it"

The main entrance hall had a large stairway that led to the rest of the manor. A wide stairway with curved balconies on both sides allowed passage from the ground floor. At the top of the stairway was a paned triptych of arched windows, and on both sides of the stairway stood enormous white suits of armor designed after the Schnee family patriarch Nicholas Schnee. The floor at the bottom of the steps bore a large, blue, circular pattern decorated with the Schnee emblem in various places.

The ceiling of the room bore the same pattern with a chandelier hanging from it. There was a catering table set up on the right side of the room, and the door on the left led into the ballroom, with many guests having already taken to dancing to the music playing inside. Both Slade and Ironwood could see Jacques mingling with the guests, he was being followed by four SDC Knights flanked by Penny, now wearing the dress she'd picked out earlier in the week, along with stylizing her hair into a single braided bun.

"Well, it seems Mother is just as unpleasant as I remember" Winter called as she approached them from behind.

She wore a white dress that went down to her knees, held up by straps tied around her neck in a bow, showing off her shoulders. The sleeves of the dress had light blue snowflake designs lining them, along with blue detailing around her waist, the Schnee crest on the back of the dress. She also wore a light amount of makeup with blue nail polish, and white heels matching her dress and snowflake earrings. Her blade was still on her hip, one hand resting on the pommel of the blade She looked extremely uncomfortable as she walked toward them.

"Have I ever mentioned how much I hate these events?" she groaned.

"Once or twice" Ironwood smirked "You could at least try to smile"

"With all due respect, Sir. I'm not the one who needs to blend in here... and you're not wearing this ridiculous dress"

"This house is way too big" they heard Ruby's voice as she approached, her eyes were wide with awe.

"We could fit twenty of our houses in here and still have room for more" Yang agreed "Haven't you been here before?"

"Yeah, but it's still huge! I almost forgot how big it was!"

Ruby wore a long, short-sleeved rose colored dress with matching heels and a decorative hairband. The dress stopped a few inches from her ankles, Crescent Rose closed on her back. She wore red nail polish and matching lipstick along with light makeup on her face and rose shaped earrings. Yang on the other hand wore a long golden short-sleeved dress that stopped just above the floor with a thigh high slit. It had a droplet shaped cutout over her chest and a matching one inversely showing her lower back. She wore light pink lipstick with slightly more defined blush and eyeshadow than her sister, along with clear nail polish. Slade's jaw dropped at the sight of her, she was positively radiant, he blinked in surprise at the sight before him, earning a silent chuckle from Winter.

"Weapons" the guard called.

"Yep" Yang removed Ember Celica as Ruby did the same with Crescent Rose.

"I'm so sorry, baby. I promise I'll be right back" Ruby swore, caressing her weapon lovingly.

The guard eyed Yang's prosthetic, to which she offered an innocent look "You wouldn't ask a lady to dance with one arm, would ya?"

He grumbled "Just behave yourself"

"Names" the greeter called.

Yang turned to answer while Ruby reluctantly handed her weapon over "Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose" she answered quickly, hoping to get inside before the guard could change his mind.

The greeter nodded as she found the two names "Very good. Go right in, have a pleasant night"

"Thank you, you too!" Yang called as Ruby sulked.

"Yang..." Slade watched her in a trance.

She giggled, looking him over "You look nice" she smiled with a tilt of her head.

He snapped out of his trance, clearing his throat "T-thank you" he smiled back "It was a gift from Roman"

Her eyebrow quirked "Oh?"

He shrugged "I saved his life while on a job, he refused to take no for an answer"

She smiled "Well, if nothing else. He had good taste"

Ruby pointed "Was the top hat really necessary?" she asked with a laugh.

"No" he shrugged "But it came with the whole ensemble. I figure why not use it, right?"

"Well the cane is probably a bit much, but I think the hat completes the look" Weiss called as she approached from the opposite side of Winter.

She wore a blue sleeved dress with a raised collar and Schnee emblems on the shoulders. She wore a long pair of matching blue gloves reaching over her sleeves, matching blue heels, and a slightly more decorative tiara with a sapphire in it. She had matching earrings to Winter's but wore more makeup than she did. Myrtenaster rested firmly on her hip, prepared to be wielded at a moments notice. Slade rolled his eyes at her, twirling the cane in his hand as he replied.

"It's not my cane, so..."

"Why exactly did you need to bring that in instead of Oscar?" Yang asked.

Slade offered a blank look "Well..."

She covered her mouth as she laughed "You just wanted to have a cane, didn't you?"

"You can't prove that" she started laughing harder.

"Well at least you were able to sneak it inside, they took my baby!" Ruby resumed sulking.

"You knew they were going to, Ruby. You'll get it back later" Yang said with a roll of her eyes "I'm just glad they didn't talk me out of my arm. Prosthetic or not, it's not exactly standard issue"

"I snuck in more than that" Slade wriggled his eyebrows and patted his left side.

Ruby leaned to her left and looked to see the holster attached there, weapon still snug inside "No fair" she pouted.

"No way" Yang grinned "You snuck that past them? How? Your Semblance?"

"Willow Schnee was kind enough to provide an opening" Ironwood answered with an amused smile.

"Anything we should know going into this? Anyone we should avoid?" Slade questioned.

"I could give you a list a mile long" Weiss sighed.

"Just don't do anything to draw attention to yourselves or get on mother's bad side. Keep well behaved and don't cause a scene, and we'll all be fine..." Winter shook her head "I'd rather be facing Grimm right about now, at least I'm allowed to kill Grimm"

Ruby frowned "We should make sure the others hear this. Especially Nora... maybe... maybe tell her twice"

Winter sighed in exasperation "I'll be sure to reiterate it to the rest of the team"

"Is Penny still with Jacques?" Ironwood inquired.

Winter nodded firmly "She's keeping an eye on him at all times. I was happy to look after him while she went dress shopping, but somehow I'm still the one wearing this uncomfortable thing, and you're still in uniform"

"Yeah, cause dear old dad talked you into it" Qrow nudged her playfully as he came to a stop between her and Slade.

Winter looked him over "Even dressed up you can't help that disheveled look"

"Well we can't all look as good as you in dress up"

Winter's looked away to conceal the light blush on her cheeks "I'd rather be in uniform"

"I don't like it in here. I feel like everyone's watching me" Blake frowned.

Qrow wore a gray suit with a white undershirt, the collar turned upward and the shirt loosely buttoned, save for the top one. He also wore a matching grey tie, fitted loosely around his neck. Blake wore a short black dress with matching heels, and her old bow from Beacon. The dress had short opaque sleeves and collar as well. She wore a pair of diamond stud earrings and violet eyeshadow. Winter fixed Blake with a sympathetic look, her stern expression softening.

"Keep that bow on, and all they'll be seeing is another beautiful girl" Winter assured her.

Blake blushed from embarrassment "T-thank you" she started playing with her hair, Winter smiled at her timidness.

Qrow quirked his eyebrow at Slade "A bit much, isn't it?"

"It's a nice suit! It was a gift!" he argued.

"Well I think it looks great!" Nora called as she and Ren met them inside.

Ren wore a full black suit with a white undershirt and a black tie. Nora wore a short, light pink, sleeveless dress with a thick black sash around the waist. The top of the dress split vertically to the sash and was laced with white lacing. The coupling of the dress was transparent mesh with an opaque collar and hem, as well as lines connecting the collar to her shoulders. She also wore black stockings and pink heels. She wore light pink blush and faint red lipstick.

"I'm not saying it doesn't look good. Just more than necessary" Qrow shot back.

"Look, I don't get to dress up like this often... actually, never. Let me have some fun with it at least"

"Well I'm sure at least one of us likes seeing you in it" Nora purred, elbowing Yang with a knowing look. Yang was unamused, pushing her face away from her with her metal hand.

"Woah!" Jaune called "Going all out with the suit, my man!" he approached with Oscar in tow.

"It's alot to look at all at once" Oscar agreed with a short chuckle at Slade's exasperated expression.

Jaune wore a matching suit to Ren but with a red tie instead, and Oscar wore a well fitted black suit with a green tie "Everybody's a critic" Slade sighed.

Ironwood chuckled "I'm going to start mingling now, much as I'd like not to" he shook his head "The rest of you... have fun" he smiled with a wink as he walked off.

"I must say, Weiss. Your friends certainly clean up well" Jacques called as he approached.

Weiss turned with a half smile "Hello, Father"

He smiled back "Why don't you introduce me to your friends"

"Of course!" she gestured to each of them as she spoke "This is my team leader, Ruby"

"Hello" she waved politely.

"The other members of my team are Blake, and Yang"

"Nice to meet you" Blake forced through a half smile.

"We appreciate the warm welcome. That was a joke... to break the ice. Get it? Warm welcome? Ice? Cause of all the snow?"

"Yang, no"

Slade chuckled "Chill out, Weiss. Let her have some fun... get it? Chill out"

Yang jabbed him with her elbow playfully "Ice one"

"We should probably cool it before all hail breaks loose"

"Ooh! Double pun!"

Weiss hung her head dramatically "Ugh. Great, now their both doing it"

Jacques shook his head in amusement "Well, don't stop now, Weiss. Who're the rest of your friends?"

"Oh!" Weiss snapped out of her trance "This is Jaune the leader of team JNPR, and his teammates, Ren, and Nora. Then there's Oscar, you already know Slade, and then there's Qrow, Ruby and Yang's uncle, uh... sort of"

Qrow snorted "I'm actually Qrow. I'm only sort of Ruby's uncle"

"Qrow? As in Qrow Branwen?"

"That's right, you've heard of me?" he asked.

"Only through Winter's descriptions of you" he answered.

"Ah... so they're offensive" Winter jabbed him in the side, earning a laugh from her father.

"Well, I can see why you and Mr. Stroud get along so well. You're both quite skilled in annoying my daughters"

"That's snow joke" Yang grinned.

"Ugh" Winter groaned.

"I stand corrected, all three of you are skilled in annoying my daughters" he chuckled.

"I hate all of you" Weiss grumbled.

Jacques looked up to find one of his guests waving him over "You'll have to excuse me, I believe my presence is being requested. It was nice to meet all of you, I trust you will... enjoy yourselves?" he asked trying to be discrete.

"They know why they're here, Father. Don't worry" Weiss assured.

He nodded "Until later then"

Oscar stepped around Slade, placing his hand onto the cane, Slade released his hold on the handle, returning his weapon to him "Aw, and I was just starting to enjoy owning a cane"

"Why not buy one?" Oscar asked.

Slade feigned offense "Buy? Might as well be a four letter word"

"Wow, somehow you're both generous and cheap at the same time" Blake laughed out.

"I am a man of few talents"

Winter rolled her eyes "Just don't forget to stick with at least one other partner at all times. We don't want to be taken by surprise with no way to call for help" Winter told them sternly.

"You got it" Oscar nodded in agreement.

"And behave. If we cause a scene before our 'guest' arrives, we could scare them off"

"Don't worry, we'll blend in" Ren assured.

"How about blending in on the dance floor" Nora suggested excitedly, taking Ren by the hand a pulling him along.

"Wait, wait, wait" he tried, but she wasn't having it.

Jaune shook his head in amusement "Ruby, why don't you and Oscar go check out the west wing while Blake and I check out the east" he suggested.

"Sounds good, Klein will be busy stashing your weapons safely. I'll alert him to your locations and he'll be along with them" Winter explained turning on her heel.

"I'll come with you, like you said. We can't be too careful" Qrow suggested as he followed after her.

"Fine by me. The sooner we finish this, the sooner I can get out of this preposterous dress"

Yang looked to Slade "Guess that leaves us to watch the guests for any suspicious activity"

"That doesn't exactly narrow down our search. Half of these people are probably criminals"

"Well, we'd better start somewhere. The assassin isn't just going to find themselves" Weiss replied.

"Yeah, yeah" Yang waved her off.

"Yang and I will check the food, you know, for poison"

"Good idea, I'll-wait a minute!"

"Too late, you already agreed. Bye!" Yang yanked Slade quickly, rushing over to the catering tables.

Weiss just stood with her mouth open, unable to stop herself from trying to protest "Ugh... why do I even like these people" she groaned out, stomping off.

Weiss stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed Whitley watching from the balcony with a deep frown on his face. She walked up to where he was standing and leaned down to lean on it beside him "Weiss" he greeted.

"Whitley" she replied back "What's wrong? Why're you up here all by yourself?"

"Nothing" he answered quickly, looking away from her.

"Hey, you don't have to-" she reached out her hand to him.

"Don't touch me" he smacked her hand away.

"Whitley, what is the matter with you?"

"Me? I'm not the one who abandoned my family, I didn't leave my sister alone with her"

"Her? You mean mom? What-"

"Why don't you just run back to Ironwood and leave me alone. It's what our family is good at" he snapped.

Weiss was left speechless as he stormed off toward his bedroom, she wanted to go after him, but she couldn't understand what set him off like that. She'd always thought he'd wanted her and Winter gone so he could take over the company from their father, now he's upset because they left? None of this made any sense to her, she racked her brain for answers but gave up on understanding after a moment, she reminded herself she had a mission, and she'd be damned if she failed it now. Not when her father was finally beginning to act like the one she'd always wanted.

Qrow eyed Winter as they walked "I'm surprised you didn't change your hair"

"You don't like my hair?" she asked.

"I didn't say that, I was just curious. You did have to get all dressed up tonight. It's not like you have to follow the rules of the uniform"

Winter shrugged "I like it like this, and I'm used to it. What about you? You do something with your hair to make you look so raggedy?"

"I don't-"

"You mean it just looks like that on it's own?"

"Not... entirely" he answered hesitantly.

"So, what do you think?" Yang asked twirling around to show off her dress "I wasn't sure if it was too much, but I thought-"

"You're stunning" Slade answered quickly "I don't know if it fits the whole low profile thing we were going for, but damn if it doesn't look good on you"

Yang giggled, her face matching a strawberry "Thanks..." she rubbed her metal arm, subconsciously hiding it behind her back without thinking "You look pretty good too"

"I know" he straightened his coat "I always look good"

She playfully punched him in the arm "Shut up, jerk"

"What? It's hard to look good when there's competition for who looks the best in here" she fumbled over her words for a moment, trying to formulate an answer "I mean have you seen Ironwood's beard? It's majestic"

The moment she understood he was using comedy, it was like a light switch went off in her brain "It's grown on him"

Slade fixed her with a look of disappointment "We're terrible"

"Oh, just the worst" she agreed with a nod. They stood in comfortable silence until she suddenly broke it, asking "You had a dance when you attended Beacon, right?"

"Once a year" he answered "Why?"

"Well, I was just wondering if you'd ever gone with anyone"

"Like on a date? No" he shrugged "Never had anyone I wanted to ask, besides... I don't dance, not unless I'm given a very good reason"

Yang sputtered at the memory of his 'attempt' at dancing "That's probably a good idea" she laughed out.

"See? That's why I don't dance" he chuckled "What about you? Did you ever go with anyone?"

"Well there was only the one I got to go to before everything fell apart. But I helped plan it out with Weiss so I didn't really have time for boys"

"Ah" he nodded in understanding "There was no one you wanted to go with"

"Eh, more or less" she shrugged "I still got a dance out of it"

"With who?" he asked quirking his eyebrow.

"Blake. I had to convince her to go somehow"

Slade chuckled "Oh, Yang..."

---

In the east wing of the house, the only source of light came from the shattered moon outside and the halls remained empty, save for the presence of two Huntsmen in the shadows. Blake peaked around a dimly lit corner "Do you see anything?" Jaune asked.

"No, I think we're clear"

They both stayed low as they crept through the halls, they went room-to-room, checking to see if anything might've been out of the ordinary. After searching about a dozen rooms, they suddenly heard someone's footsteps behind them. They both twisted around, dropping into combat stances only to find a well dressed, short, slightly heavyset man with balding brown hair and a large mustache. His brown eyes flashed yellow.

"Oh, good. I was starting to worry I wouldn't find you" they then shifted to red "Do you have any idea how heavy these things are?"

"Uh? Klein?" Blake asked hopefully.

"That's me" his eyes returned to brown, he reached into his bag and removed Gambol Shroud and Crocea Mors for each of them.

Jaune smiled "Thanks, Klein. You're a big help"

His eyes shifted pink, looking away with embarrassment "Oh, you're far too kind" he closed up his bag, eyes returning to brown "I should get going, I've got to find your friend Ruby and give her back her gear. You two be careful now, and try not to break anything, would you?"

Blake laughed "We'll try to resist the temptation"

He smiled "Good luck" he then turned to leave "Oh, and Madame Schnee's room is two doors down on your left. If you're going to find anything, it'd be there" he informed them before heading off.

"That's right. That's where Weiss' brother took us last time we were here"

"It's as good a place as any to start" Blake agreed.

Jaune and Blake crept to Willow's bedroom and after a moment, she managed to pick the lock on the door, gaining entry. They both stepped inside and took a look around the room, it was quite large, easily larger than any of the rooms they'd checked prior. The room had it's own fireplace, a large chaise lounge, a personal dresser and mirror and a set of double doors leading into the bedroom with an attached bathroom and walk-in closet. Inside her bedroom was a desk with a piano on the opposite side from it, and a bed not far behind. The desk had a small holographic display on it.

"Where's Penny when you need her?" Jaune asked.

"Right where we need her to be" Blake brought up her Scroll and called Penny, connecting the device to the terminal "Penny, I need you to search the files on here for anything we can use"

Penny gave no verbal response, but she quickly got to work on downloading any files through her connection to Blake's Scroll "Guess, we should search for any physical evidence" he suggested upon seeing the computer surging to life with activity.

"Do we even know if there's any cameras in here? Everything we're doing being recorded would not be a good look for us, or Ironwood"

"I don't know, but let's hope Winter and Penny have security taken care of already-" he stopped when he noticed a hand written letter on the side of the piano "Think I've got something"

"What is it?" Blake asked as she made her way over.

Dear Madame Willow Schnee

I regret to inform you of my failure to convince the General into revoking the embargo as you had requested. Due to unforeseen circumstances with the kingdom's security and new intelligence provided by the General, I find it highly inappropriate to continue our partnership for the foreseeable future. However, I do not wish to alienate my friends, I know you and I have worked hard to keep Atlas pure for many years now. I plan on meeting with your acquaintance in Mantle, if her work is as critical to our kingdom's security as you say, I am certain we will all come to a reasonable agreement. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding my decision, and I will arrange a meeting.

-H

"H?" Jaune asked.

Blake's eyes narrowed "Unforeseen circumstances... do you think they could be talking about Salem?"

"How could they? The only people Ironwood told was... the Council" he paled "You think someone on the Council is working with Salem"

Blake shook her head "From the sounds of this letter, no. But that doesn't mean this friend of theirs isn't. And it sounds like Weiss' mom is at least partially involved"

Jaune frowned "From the sounds of it, no one addressed in this letter is very fond of the Faunus"

"Bigotry in Atlas, what else is new?" Blake asked nudging him "It's alright, Jaune. I know the right people see me for me. They're the ones that matter"

Jaune smiled "Well, hopefully your dad has been able to convince some people with the work he's doing to rebuild the White Fang into something better"

She smiled back "Yeah..." she moved back to her Scroll to find a text message waiting for her.

"Data is secured. I'm connected to security, erasing evidence of our search"

Blake disconnected her Scroll "Thanks, Penny" she ended the call and turned back to Jaune "Come on, we need to find that assassin and quickly"

"Right. Let's keep looking"

Back in the ballroom, Ironwood stood with an untouched glass of wine in his hand, Nora and Winter flanking him on either side "Is this what you do when you're not planning battles?" the former asked.

"I do whatever it takes to keep my people safe, same as any other Huntsman worth the title"

"Like sipping wine at a dinner party?"

"If that's what's necessary. I might point out that you're here too" he added with a smile.

Nora laughed "Well we can't all be broody beards like you and Winter"

Ironwood's shoulders shifted with a silent chuckle "Pft. She doesn't have the hair for it"

Nora snickered "Oh, I bet she does. In other places" she looked to her right to find the woman in question staring at her with disdain.

"You're disgusting"

"Knew it!" Nora laughed, sauntering off.

Winter sighed in exasperation, turning her attention to the laughing Ironwood "I wish you wouldn't encourage her"

"Huntsman or not, she is still young. Ozpin was right about one thing at least... we should let them be young while they still can" his smile faded "Soon enough, we're not going to have any choice but to fight for our lives... and they're going to be the ones on the front lines"

Winter watched him curiously "You've changed since your visit to Vale, you're... surprisingly calmer than you used to be"

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No... it's just nice to see you can enjoy yourself too sometimes, Sir" she smiled.

He smiled back at her "Where is Qrow?" he asked quietly.

"Getting some 'fresh air'"

He nodded in understanding "Any word from the others?"

"Klein has made sure each of them was served only their favorites" she answered discretely.

"Good, we wouldn't want them going without"

"General Ironwood, how good to see you out of that stuffy academy" he turned to find the source of the voice.

"Councilwoman, I was not expecting to see you here tonight. You've never been big on... humanitarian efforts"

She smirked "What can I say? Recent developments have caused me to revaluate my priorities"

Winter quirked her eyebrow "Are you saying your views on the Faunus have changed?"

"Hardly, but there are far worse things out there than animals"

"They're not-"

Ironwood cleared his throat, stopping her "What brings you here tonight, then?"

"Given... recent events" she spoke carefully "I have become a tad more inclined to assist those who've been... displaced by the Grimm"

Ironwood nodded in understanding "That's very generous of you. I am sure Jacques would be more than happy to accept anything you can offer"

"Of that I have no doubt" she replied with a roll of her eyes "He does seem to have more security around himself than I'd have expected for tonight"

"After all that's happened, can you really blame him?" Winter asked.

"No, I suppose not" she offered them both a small smile "Enjoy the party, General, Specialist" she walked off, speaking with other guests.

Winter's eyebrows knit together "I don't like her"

Ironwood chuckled "Because of her views on the Faunus? I seem to remember you sharing those views no too long ago"

"That's... I... well..."

He smiled "It's alright, Winter. I know about your history with the White Fang, you needn't explain yourself. I'm just glad you've grown past it"

She sighed "I just wish it hadn't taken me so long. It was Weiss who showed me that I was wrong"

"And it was Ms. Belladonna that showed her she was wrong. Everything in it's time, Winter"

She smiled "You're too kind, Sir"

Nora bounced over to find Slade and Yang speaking with Ren just outside the ballroom "So, when're you two gonna dance?" she asked bluntly.

Both Slade and Yang reddened and struggled to form a response "That's... we're not... I wouldn't say..." Yang started.

"She and I... we're not... this is hardly... we're on duty"

"Nora, you're embarrassing them" Ren gently reprimanded "But, she does raise a good point. It'd be a shame to let that dance floor go to waste when you're both so well dressed"

"That's... not exactly-" Slade started.

"Would anyone care for a drink?" a waiter suddenly asked, lowering the tray on his hand toward them.

"We're not old enough for that stuff" Yang answered, gesturing between her, Nora, and Ren.

The waiter nodded "What about you, Sir?"

Slade's eyes were slightly wide at the sight of alcohol "I... uh..." his hand started to reach up "N-no, I'll pass. Thanks" he waved his hand in rejection.

"Of course" the server quickly shifted his attention to the next group.

Yang eyed Slade "That's the third time you've denied alcohol tonight. Did you quit?"

"I'm... moderating myself" he answered "I went without the whole time I was stuck in that base with Chimera all around me. By the time I got back here... well, I figured I already had a head start"

"So you don't smoke or drink anymore?" she asked surprised.

He shrugged "Well, I figured if Qrow could do it..."

She smiled "I'm proud of you, Slade"

He returned her smile "Heh, thanks"

The both of them remained silent, each of them smiling at the other. Nora looked between them with a knowing smile "Well, Ren and I are going to just... find somewhere else to... stand" she quickly pulled Ren along with her, leaving the two of them alone.

Yang rolled her eyes as Slade asked "What do you think that was about?"

"Oh nothing, probably just got bored of us" she answered quickly, giving a nervous laugh.

"If you say so" he shrugged "She just seemed a bit-" he stopped as a woman bumped into him, pressing something into his hands.

"Hey, watch where you're-" Yang stopped when she noticed she'd disappeared "-going?"

"Yang"

"Am I crazy or did I just lose sight-?" Yang started to ask.

"Yang" Slade turned to her with a small piece of paper in his hand "Go find Ruby, now" he said urgently.

Yang looked down to the paper, her eyes widened when she read "They're after her. West wing" she opened her mouth to speak.

"We don't have time to debate. You find Ruby, I'll tell the other's what's going on"

Yang nodded and made her way out of the room, she moved quickly, but not quick enough to draw attention. Ironwood watched her leave and shifted his gaze to find Slade exiting the room, he motioned to Nora and Ren who nodded, following after Yang. Slade then made his way over to him and Winter, leaning against the railing of the stairway. Without saying a word, he handed the paper to Winter, who quickly read it over before handing it to Ironwood.

"Neo is here" Slade whispered.

Ironwood frowned "The others?"

"They're headed to reinforce Ruby, just in case"

"But not you?"

"It's like you said, General. I need to trust them"

"Trust who?" Qrow asked as he approached "What's going on? You're all tense"

"Neopolitan just warned us to protect Ruby" Winter answered as Ironwood handed him the paper.

"Protect her? Doesn't she want to kill Ruby?" he asked confused.

"She does, which is probably why she doesn't want Salem's men to get to her first. Slade already sent Yang, Nora, and Ren to reinforce her and Oscar. Between the five of them, they can handle it" Ironwood assured.

"Then I'll get after them too-" he started.

"No"

"No?" he asked surprised.

"I just lost three Huntsman to our mission here, Qrow. They can handle it, but we need to make sure Jacques isn't killed while they do"

"But they're after Ruby!" he quietly protested.

"Then they're not here to kill the Councilor" Slade explained "We need to make sure nothing happens to him while they handle their end"

"I-" Winter placed his hand onto Qrow's shoulder "Please, Qrow. I know you're worried about her, but we have to focus. Trust them to do their job and we'll do ours"

Qrow frowned "Five minutes. If I don't see Ruby or any of the others back here in five minutes, I'm going after them"

"Agreed" Ironwood nodded "Slade, keep an eye on the guests down here. Winter, stay with your father while Weiss keeps an eye on the guests upstairs. I'll have Penny send out a warning to the search teams. If we don't get a response from Ruby, I'll go after her myself"

---

In the west wing of the manor, Oscar poked his head inside one of the rooms, finding it empty he closed the door. Ruby stood behind him with Crescent Rose on her back, having recieved it from Klein. They both moved down the hall to the next room, opening it to find yet another empty room. Oscar sighed, closing the door and turning back to Ruby.

"How're we supposed to find something if we don't even know what we're looking for?"

Ruby shrugged "If we find anyone who's not supposed to be here, well, besides us, I mean... It's probably gonna be the assassin after Weiss' dad"

"And if we don't?"

"Hopefully we'll know it when we see it?" she answered with uncertainty.

"Well, so far that's been going-" Ruby grabbed him, covering his mouth as she ducked behind the wall.

"What do you think you're doing here?" came Willow's strict voice.

Ruby and Oscar thought they'd been caught until her question was answered by a timid boy's, one they both recognized "Mother, I was just... feeling light headed"

"Whitley Schnee, I told you that you were not to leave the party without asking me first. We have appearances to uphold, young man"

"Y-yes, Mother"

"There's a good lad. Let's go, before your father notices we're missing"

"O-of course, Mother. Sorry, Mother"

From their corner, they waited and watched silently as Willow strut past them with Whitley ahead of her, a firm grip on his shoulder, forcing him to walk faster to keep pace. After a moment of silence, their footsteps faded. Ruby released her hold on Oscar, both of them sighing in relief as they got back to their feet.

"Sorry about that" she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"No, no. That's alright, Ruby. That-" he started to reply as he turned back to her.

"That was a close one" Weiss finished from behind them.

"Weiss?" Ruby turned to her "What're you doing here? I thought you were supposed to keep an eye on your dad?"

"I was, Ironwood said you guys were taking too long, so he sent me to help. I know the house better"

"Oh, well I guess that's true" Ruby nodded in understanding "Where do you think we should search then?"

Weiss motioned for them to follow "If we're going to find anything, it'd be in here" she pointed to a pair of double doors.

She led them into a two story library. Bookshelves set into alcoves lined the walls of the room on both levels, and the center of the first floor was set with multiple lounges, chairs and low tables. A large rug covered the ground, and a multi-tiered chandelier hung in the center of the room. There were a few pillars holding up the walkway for the second story with wall candles on each and more in each corner of the room on both floors. A large staircase curved from the upper floor to the center of the ground floor.

"Wow..." Ruby looked around in awe "Blake would love it in here"

"No kidding..." Oscar leaned over the rail, looking down to the first floor "She might just move in"

Weiss smirked "It's no academy library, but we do have quite the collection, it's true"

"Yeah, but what're you expecting to find in here?" Ruby asked.

"How about old friends?" asked a hauntingly familiar voice.

She turned to the source of the voice with wide eyes "Mercury?"

Ruby was kicked in the abdomen, then with a spinning kick to her face, she was thrown over the railing "Ruby!" Oscar called.

Weiss leapt over the rail after her, leaving Oscar with Mercury as he moved to kick the boy in the face. Using his Aura to defend himself, from the strike with his left hand, then swept his legs out from under him using the Long Memory. Mercury fell onto his back, but quickly recovered by spinning on his hands and flipping off them into several back handsprings away from the boy.

Weiss landed on the edge of the staircase as Ruby got to her feet, she held two green revolvers, firing them at Ruby as she raced forward. Ruby used her Aura to deflect each round with her open hand as Crescent Rose formed into a scythe in the opposite hand. Spinning it expertly, she fired a single shot back at Weiss, breaking the illusion as Emerald leapt back.

"Emerald" Ruby glared.

Mercury kicked for Oscar's right side, forcing him to block with his cane, then spin on his heal and block a kick from the opposite leg with his forearm. Spinning back the opposite way, he deflected a kick by swinging his cane with it, knocking the Long Memory outward. Reversing his grip on his weapon, he tucked it in to his chest, using it to block two more strikes for his chest. Flipping the Long Memory in his hand, he struck Mercury's leg down as he attempted a third kick, stumbling his opponent with the strike. Using the opening he'd created, Oscar struck the cane into his chest at super human speed, creating green after images of his arm as he struck.

Mercury was knocked back by a final powerful strike to his chest, sliding to a stop "Not bad, kid. But who am I really fighting? You? Or the Professor?" he grit his teeth in frustration, earning a smirk from Mercury "Doesn't matter, we're not here for you"

"Ruby!" Oscar called as Mercury flipped over his head.

Ruby gasped as she turned to find him descending toward her. She spun Crescent Rose, using the handle to block his strike as he landed on the weapon. Pushing him back through the air as Emerald charged her, she spun her weapon, deflecting several rounds before firing at her, forcing her to deflect the round with the blades on the end of her weapons. Mercury landed on the back of a chair and kicked off, firing his boots to propel himself forward, splintering the chair in the process.

Oscar struck for Mercury midair, knocking him to the ground. Catching himself on his hands, he flipped through the air, striking downward for Oscar as he landed on the ground. He managed to block Mercury's strike, who then caught himself on one hand and swept for his legs with the opposite leg. Oscar picked his leg up to avoid it, and blocked a rising kick for his face, sliding back into a roll from the force of the strike. Rolling on his back to his feet with the momentum from Mercury's strike, he managed to block in just enough time to defend against a spinning aerial strike for his face, knocking the Long Memory from his grasp.

Oscar spun to kick for his face, Mercury matching it with his own kick. Blocking the strike, Mercury slammed his heel on the same leg into the back of Oscar's opposite knee, dropping him on his side with a painful grunt. Mercury flipped forward, slamming his heel down onto Oscar's arms as he blocked. Oscar got on one knee as Mercury spun, striking twice more with powerful kicks, forcing Oscar's hands apart before a final kick to his chest threw him backward onto one of the wooden tables.

Ruby sliced for Emerald's legs, forcing her to flip over the weapon, landing on the balls of her feet. She spun downward beneath a second attempt from Ruby for her head. Emerald sliced the blades on her weapons for Ruby's face, forcing her to block with the blade of her scythe. Spinning Crescent Rose around her body expertly, she sliced from her right side as Emerald shifted to her left, then rolled the weapon over her shoulder, striking for her horizontally as she caught her scythe in her opposite hand. Emerald slid back away from Ruby as she caught her weapon, firing it at the shocked mint haired girl.

Emerald was struck in the chest, only to vanish as the real Emerald appeared, slamming her elbow into Ruby's chest, throwing her backward through the air. Ruby slid to a stop on her heels, only to have Mercury kick her across the face, stumbling her to her right. Emerald raced forward, planting her heel onto the center of Crescent Rose, she flipped forward, hooking the sickle-like blades on her weapons to the scythe and spun over her head, wrenching her weapon from her grasp as Mercury charged toward her.

Mercury kicked for her face, only to meet her forearms, pushing them down with his heel, he performed a rising kick to her face, stumbling her back with a groan of pain. Kicking for her head, Ruby ducked just in time to avoid it as his boot fired. Spinning as he attempted to slam his heel down into her, she moved faster than he could and slammed her fist into his face, throwing him backward. He flipped backward through the air, sliding to a stop on his heels beside Emerald, the blades on her weapons hanging from extended chains.

"Em!"

"Yeah..." she used her Semblance to blind Oscar as he got to his feet, shrouding the room in darkness.

"Ruby? What happened? I can't see anything?"

"Oscar, I'm right-ah!" he heard from his left, accompanied by a gunshot from Mercury.

"Ruby!" he started panicking, trying to think of a way out of this situation.

Breathe, Oscar. Remember your training, you can do this Ozpin's voice encouraged.

Oscar took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He reached out with his Semblance, he felt pain, pride and... fear? He hadn't been expecting that one to surface from his opponents. Mercury rushed toward Ruby and flipped forward, kicking downward for her face, only to find it blocked by Oscar standing right in front of him, the Long Memory horizontal over his chest. Mercury's eyes widened in shock when he noticed the boy's eyes were closed.

"Oscar!" Ruby called as she got to her feet.

"I'm alright, I got this"

With his opposite leg, Mercury kicked the cane upward, and spun to deliver a second kick to his chest. Oscar turned the cane downward and blocked the strike from his right leg, then switched to a reverse grip as he turned the cane over to block a strike from the opposite leg. He slid back away from a third kick, then hopped over a fourth for his legs, holding the Long Memory behind his back, maintaining the reverse grip. He blocked the next kick behind his back, then elbowed Mercury in the abdomen, the cane rising upward to strike him in the face. Emerald swung the blades from their chains toward Oscar, who simply knocked them aside individually before delivering a devastatingly fast series of blows to Mercury's chest, throwing him backward through the air after about a dozen of them. Mercury came crashing to the ground on his side, rolling against the wall behind him.

"Mercury!"

Oscar leapt toward Emerald at blinding speed, forcing her to her knees with the strike as she used the handles of her weapons to block it. He delivered yet another blindingly quick series of strikes to her chest, throwing her backward through the air toward Mercury, planting her feet on the wall. She flipped forward as Mercury got to his feet. Oscar dropped to one knee, panting from exhaustion.

"Oscar!" Ruby called rushing to his side.

Seizing the opportunity, Mercury rushed forward to strike as Emerald swung her blades in an attempt on the boy as well. Ruby planted herself between them and Oscar, but was unable to block either strikes, she closed her eyes in anticipation, then heard metal clashing against metal. Opening her eyes, she witnessed Yang's metal arm, having caught Mercury's heel in her grip. To her right, she found Ren and Nora each with one of Emerald's chains in their hands.

"Guys" she smiled.

"Thank goodness" Oscar breathed in relief.

Yang grinned "Hey, guys. Long time no see"

Mercury growled "Blondie"

"Nora!" Ren called.

Nora pulled Emerald toward her with a grin on her face, pulling her fist back to strike. She slammed it into her abdomen as she arrived, throwing Emerald backward, only for Ren to kick her in the back. Wrapping the chain around one hand, he pulled her back toward him and slammed his palm into her shoulder, causing her to cry out in pain. Nora caught her as she was sent back her direction, then hoisted her up, slamming her down into the ground with one hand.

Yang punched outward at Mercury with her opposite fist, firing Ember Celica, only to find it was still missing from her arm. She turned her arm over and looked at it in dismay, Mercury used this opportunity to fire with his trapped heel, knocking Yang's hand from him. He spun, swinging the back of his hand toward her face, only to meet with the back of her own. Attempting to strike her with the same hand, he aimed for her abdomen, only for Yang to redirect it with her own, then dropped to one knee when he swung with his opposite hand closed in a fist. She slammed her metal hand into his abdomen, firing it as she did, launching him backward.

Mercury caught himself on his hands and flipped back to his feet, sliding to a stop. Nora and Ren moved to secure Emerald, only to find her vanishing before their eyes "What?!"

"Nobody move" they all turned to see Ruby had been snagged by Emerald, one of her blades pressed against her neck threateningly from behind, as the other hand covered her mouth.

"Ruby!" Yang called, her eyes flashing red.

"Uh... guys?" Ruby called from behind them, each of them turning to see her safely with Oscar "I'm right... here?"

"Em?" Mercury asked raising an eyebrow at her, then looking between them.

Emerald blinked "Then who do I-gah!" she was kicked in the face by the Ruby in her grip, the toes on her heel swinging over her shoulder, then slamming into her abdomen as she lost her grip, dropping onto her back.

Mercury fired into the false Ruby, shattering it into glass. He looked around the room and found Neo just in time to block a kick to his face from above, his leg was kicked aside by her opposite heel, flipping back onto her open parasol. She spun on the handle with one hand and slammed her heel into Mercury's chin, throwing him back into the air, flipping back onto the wall behind him. Separating the blade from her now closed parasol, she swung the blade horizontally for his legs, forcing him to hop over it. Using this opening, she smacked him across the face with the parasol, then spun on the back of one heel, the opposite heel striking his abdomen, forcing his back against the wall.

Mercury glared at her "What are you doing?!" Neo smirked.

"What're we waiting for?" Nora asked, looking to her friends.

Spinning the weapons in her hands, she reconnected them as her parasol opened over her shoulder, just in time to deflect several rounds from Emerald as she rushed toward her from behind. Neo flipped backward over Emerald, spinning Hush as she soared overhead, continuing to block her attacks. Emerald backed up slowly toward Mercury, while Yang, Nora, and Ren took up positions beside Neo, ready to lend a hand.

Mercury growled "We need to get out of here, Em. We're outnumbered"

"Right" Emerald opened a portal behind them, aiming her weapons toward them as they backed away.

"Wait!" Yang moved to go after them, but was stopped when Hush blocked her path, the silent girl shaking her head at her.

They watched as the two vanished through the portal. Neo straightened her clothes, resting Hush onto her shoulder, she took two steps forward and spun to face the group. Each of them remained in defensive stances, stepping closer to Ruby and Oscar. She rolled her eyes, made a circular motion with her finger toward them and then jabbed her thumb into her chest, shaking her head.

"Uh... what?" Ruby asked furrowing her brow.

Neo gave a silent sigh of exasperation, shaking her head as she massaged her forehead. She placed Hush beneath her arm and held her hands up in mock surrender, then lowered them to her hips "I think she's trying to say she doesn't want to fight us" Ren offered.

Neo gave a bow with a flourish of her hand, catching Hush in her opposite hand, she rested it onto her shoulder once more "That's a switch. Last time I saw you, you wanted Ruby dead" Yang replied unconvinced.

Neo shrugged, she pointed to Ruby and then ran her finger along her neck "You still want her dead" Nora growled.

"Why did you help us? Fighting them was a good way to get yourself into trouble with Salem" Yang asked.

"Yeah, aren't you working with Cinder?" Oscar asked.

Neo took a deep breath, shaking her head in mild annoyance. She gestured to them with her open hand, then pointed to herself and held up one finger, then waved her hands in rejection toward them. They looked between each other with confused looks, then back to Neo who smacked her palm against her forehead in annoyance. She removed a notepad and pen from her pocket then wrote quickly upon it, tearing the page off.

Yang stepped forward and carefully accepted it from Neo, looking it over "This was a one time thing..." she read aloud "But why?" she asked looking to Neo.

"She wants a chance at Ruby for herself" Ren deduced.

Neo took a step back from Yang, then nodded "Not gonna happen. We're bringing you in" the blonde declared.

Neo rolled her eyes, Yang pulled her arm back to strike, shattering Neo like glass.

"Where'd she go?" Ren asked, each of them searching carefully.

After a moment of finding nothing, Yang decided they were safe "I think she's gone"

"You both alright?" Nora asked.

"Yeah... thanks" Oscar called getting to his feet with some help from Ruby.

"What happened?" Yang asked as she approached.

"Emerald, she tricked us into thinking Weiss had come to help. She lured us into an ambush" her sister answered.

"How did you guys know we were in trouble?" Oscar asked.

Yang looked back to where Neo had been "I think... Neo warned us"

"Huh?" Ruby cocked her head to the side.

"Back in the ballroom, Slade got a note from someone saying they were after you. It didn't elaborate, but it was enough. He sent Nora and Ren with me to make sure you were alright, while he stayed with Ironwood"

Ruby removed her Scroll from her pocket and found a message from Penny trying to alert her. She quickly answered that her and Oscar were alright thanks to the others "We should head back. We don't want to be missed from the party"

Yang nodded "We'll rejoin the party, just make sure you keep Crescent Rose out of sight"

"Right..."

Back in the main hall, Winter observed the room carefully from her place beside Penny. She reached into her pocket when she heard the familiar chime from her Scroll. She checked it to find a message forwarded by Penny from Ruby, then a second from Nora clarifying they kicked ass. Winter rolled her eyes, then looked to Weiss and Slade on the balcony above her. They nodded to her, each of them holding their Scrolls, indicating they'd recieved the messages as well. Judging from the relieved looks from Qrow and Ironwood, she assumed they must've also seen it. She looked to Penny, who winked back at her, earning a small smile from her.

Winter couldn't shake the feeling something was off. She observed the room, taking in those in the rooms and their positions in it. She thought back to the floor plans she'd had the team study, the security details, exits, windows, possible hiding places. She ran all of it through her head as she desperately searched for the one thing that was wrong with the piece before her. Finally, she found what she wanted, her eyes narrowing at Qrow

She quickly advanced to his position "Dance floor, now"

"Huh? You want to-woah!" he stumbled slightly as she pulled him by the arm.

"Is your sister taking Qrow for a dance?" Slade asked from his place beside Weiss, both of them watching intently.

Weiss giggled "Looks like it, and it doesn't look like he was expecting it"

"When did they start being a thing?"

Weiss looked at him incredulously "Seriously?"

"What? Did I miss something?"

She rolled her eyes "It's no wonder she's so frustrated"

"She? Who? Winter?"

Weiss patted him on the head "I'll explain when you're older"

He narrowed his eyes at her "Now I understand how Ruby feels"

"If you start calling me 'Nice Weiss', I'll hit you"

Winter forced Qrow into the right stance, placing his hand on her hip and began the first steps of their dance, falling in step with the rest of the room. Qrow struggled to match her steps, having little practice in ballroom dancing. She slowed her pace slightly to accommodate him, careful to keep him from stepping on her toes. Qrow watched her carefully, noticing her eyes darting around the room, never focusing onto him as they danced.

"What do you see, Winter?" he whispered.

"It's what I'm not seeing that worries me" she answered matching his tone.

Qrow took a moment to take in the room, observing those dancing around them, then the onlookers, and finally, the guards posted at the doors and corners. That was when he noticed "The guards aren't at their posts" he whispered.

"Exactly. I need you to cause a scene, you can do that, can't you?"

He smirked "I'd be my pleasure" they moved to the edge of the dance floor and separated, each of them moving back to the entry hall.

Slade watched Winter stride purposefully toward Ironwood, Qrow went the opposite direction, making his way over to the table littered with plates of food "Something's wrong"

"And what exactly would that be?" Willow's voice called from behind them.

Weiss and Slade both turned to see her with her hand firmly on Whitley's shoulder "Mom" Weiss greeted.

"Weiss. Is something the matter?" she asked eyeing Slade.

Slade shifted into an unusually cheery cadence "Oh, you have no idea! I believe I just spotted a platter of fugu and just have to get my hands on some! It's the most delicious dish, and so hard to find, don't you agree?"

Weiss stepped back as he'd successfully garnered her mother's attention, she pulled out her Scroll and sent a message to everyone who wasn't in the room to hurry back. Whitley took notice of her action, but said nothing, forcing his focus back onto Slade. Willow released her hold on her son and forced a smile onto her face, stepping toward him.

"I do, in fact. Finding a chef who could prepare it is no simple task. Why don't we all head down and sample some?" she offered politely.

Slade eyed Weiss, who shook her head quickly "That sounds lovely, Mrs. Schnee. But I believe your daughter has been dying to spend some time with her dear brother"

"She has?" Whitley asked confused.

"That's right!" Weiss spoke enthusiastically "Work has kept me so busy lately, it's been ages since we've seen each other"

Willow looked between them for a moment but didn't argue "Very well, but do make sure you've enjoyed some of the food before the night is over, Weiss. The staff worked quite hard on it"

"Of course, Mother"

She firmly pushed Whitley toward Weiss "Well, go on. Don't let me stop you. Shall we?" she asked looking to Slade.

"After you" he gestured politely. He followed behind her, nodding to Weiss gravelly as he passed.

Whitley crossed his arms over his chest "Not that I'm ungrateful to you and your friend for separating me from Mother, but what exactly are you doing? You seem to have something planned for the evening"

"Oh, it's nothing like that, Whitley. You just left in such a hurry last time, I was hoping we could speak. Perhaps some fresh air would do us both some good"

"Right..." Blake and Jaune poked their heads out from behind the wall, catching sight of Whitley and Weiss "I don't know who you think you're fooling, Weiss. But I wasn't born yesterday. Regardless, I have no interest in speaking with you, or attending this ridiculous event at all, if it weren't for Mother's insistence-"

His attention was drawn away from the sound of a loud crash and several gasps of shock. Whitley looked over the rail to find Qrow had fallen into one of the catering tables, knocking all the food from it to the floor. He was taking a suspiciously longer time to recover than could be expected of him, floundering as he did on his side. Weiss motioned to her friends to keep hidden and moved away from Whitley, heading for the stairs.

"Qrow! Are you alright?" she called, acting distressed.

Willow wore a deep frown on her face as she continued to make her way over "Sorry, guys. Didn't mean to-woah!" Qrow intentionally slipped on one of the platters, falling to the floor dramatically.

Whitley furrowed his brow, shifting his focus to Weiss who in fact didn't move to help Qrow, but rushed to Klein who was watching with a look of concern. He nodded and quickly rushed off, returning moments later with a black bag in hand. He approached the exit to the opposite hall, where he noticed Weiss' blonde friend was waiting with several of the others that had accompanied her. He handed them the bag and quickly made his way back to the room. Whitley's eyes darted over to find Weiss had shifted to the ginger-haired girl that had been following their father all night, she seemed to tense at whatever news was relayed to her.

He then noticed Winter was speaking with Ironwood, neither of them concerned about their friend floundering on the ground. They both quickly made their way toward Qrow, then he noticed Slade reaching into his jacket. Before he could move or say anything, the guards around the room trained their weapons onto Jacques. Penny wrapped herself around Jacques suddenly, leaping across the room behind a pillar out of sight of the guards as they fired.

"What the hell?!" Whitley cried in shock.

The room erupted into chaos, the guests all running and tripping over each other as they desperately searched for safety. Willow quickly ducked behind the side of the staircase, keeping out of sight. Blake and Jaune leapt from the shadows behind him, landing on the ground floor and rushing the guards nearest to them. On the opposite side of the room, Yang and Ruby rushed out toward the guards there while Ren and Nora did the same going the opposite direction. The crowd of people panicked as the guards all turned their weapons on them instead, forcing Weiss to use her Glyphs to protect them, Winter attempting to assist her.

"Qrow!" Yang called, tossing Harbinger to him.

Qrow caught the blade as he quickly got to his feet, he jumped in front of the crowd closest to him and deflected several rounds from the guards. Slade and Ironwood both removed their weapons from their holsters, firing into the guards on the second floor. Ruby fired Crescent Rose into two of them as Yang slammed her fist into the one aiming his weapon for her, throwing him onto his back. Ren fired StormFlower into three guards as they lined up on the stairs, dropping them quickly. The civilians trying to leave found the front doors locked, blocking their exit, causing them to panic even more.

Blake impaled a guard on her blade, then noticed Oscar leaping into the action, rendering another guard unconscious with a flurry of strikes. Jaune blocked several rounds with his shield, then cut through the two guards in front of him, dropping them to the ground. Winter used her Glyphs to launch Nora into a group of four guards, slamming Magnhild into the ground, scattering them from the force. Penny slammed her fist into one of the guards closest to her, knocking her unconscious. Qrow fired Harbinger into an attacking guard as the room cleared, and Weiss used her Glyphs to race around the room, snatching civilians and getting them out of the line of fire. For their part, the Knights protecting Jacques fired upon the guards and moved to his new position to defend him. Whitley had ducked back behind a pillar, hearing footsteps approach to his right, he looked just in time to see an armed guard train her weapon on him.

"No... no..." tears welled up in his eyes.

"Whitley!" He watched in awe as Winter appeared out of nowhere, slicing her blade through the guard from behind.

The guard dropped to her knees, then slumped on her back "Huntsmen, stand down" Ironwood called after a moment of silence, the guards had all been dispatched.

Jacques poked his head out from behind cover "Is it over?" he asked fearfully.

"Seems that way" Jaune called, the group of Huntsmen all lowering their weapons.

Winter's weapons clattered to the floor, she dropped to her knees in front of Whitley, checking him over "Whitley! Are you hurt?"

"I-I'm a-alright" he stuttered out.

Winter pulled him into a tight embrace "You had me worried"

He wasn't sure if he was more shocked that he'd almost been killed or the fact that his sister was hugging him. He sighed in relief, returning the embrace. Weiss slid to a stop beside her siblings "You're okay!"

"I-" he was interrupted as she joined the hug, shocking her brother even more.

"Don't scare me like that again, got it?" she asked sternly.

"I... I won't" he allowed himself a soft smile, wrapping his arms around his sisters.

Ironwood holstered his weapons "Qrow, get those doors open" he gestured to the front door.

"Right, right" he pocketed his hands as he walked off to find another exit. The party guests were all crowding their saviors, throwing praise and gratitude their way.

Harris came out from her hiding spot with her Scroll in hand "Guess I didn't need to call security after all"

Ironwood snorted "I think the security here was the problem"

"It would seem so"

Jacques approached Penny gratefully "Thank you, you saved my life" he insistently shook her hand.

Penny grinned "Just doing my job, Sir. I am pleased you're so happy"

"Am I ever" he sighed in relief "James, you did a fantastic job here tonight" he called as he approached.

"Anything to keep my people safe, Councilor" he smiled.

"So I see, I must say I am beginning to understand-" Ironwood's eyes widened when the Knights behind him aimed toward Jacques.

"Councilor, get down!"

Ironwood removed one of his pistols as he used the other hand to push Jacques behind the pillar. He smacked the weapon of the Knight closest to him with his own, knocking it away, then wrapped his arm around it's neck. He fired a round into each of their heads, dropping them instantly, then released his hold on the final Knight. He spun, kicking the back of it's knee from behind, then fired a single shot down into it's head.

He lowered his weapon "Schnee? You alright?"

Jacques stood from his place on the ground, straightening his clothes "It s-seems all of my guards wanted me dead tonight"

"Not all of them" he reminded, holstering his weapon.

The crowd of guests remained in shock when the front door opened "Someone called for an-oh..." Qrow stopped midsentence at the scene before him "What did I miss?"

"Another attempt on the Councilor's life" Ironwood answered.

Penny strode over to Councilor Harris with an angered look on her face, yanking the Scroll from her hand "What do you think you're doing?!" she shouted at the girl.

"My job" Penny answered.

"Penny?" Ruby asked concerned.

She turned to Ironwood "Sir, the signal that sent the kill order to the Knights was sent from this device. I detected and traced it the moment you were attacked"

Ironwood removed his weapon from his holster once more as Slade did the same, both of them aiming toward the woman as they surrounded both her avenues of escape "Councilor, put your hands were I can see them" Slade ordered.

"This is preposterous. I have done nothing wrong! That thing must be defective!" she pointed an accusing finger to Penny.

"You won't be hurting anyone ever again" Ironwood replied, his eyes glazing over.

His finger twitched on the trigger, his gaze shifted down to the weapon in his hand, his brow furrowing. Slade holstered Defiance and stepped forward, forcing Councilor Harris to her knees, then pulling her hands behind her back "Councilor Harris, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of Councilor Jacques Schnee and countless civilians in attendance here tonight"

"You can't do this to me! I am a member of the Atlas Security Council! I-"

"You are going to jail for a very long time, isn't that right, General?" Winter asked with a smile as she approached.

Ironwood's glassy eyes seemed to return to normal, he looked between Winter and Slade as he holstered his weapon "That's right" he removed a bolas from his pocket, handing it to Slade.

"You're a real son of a-" Harris stopped when she suddenly choked, black sludge coming from her mouth.

"Harris?" Ironwood's eyes widened.

"No... you promised..." she coughed harder, slumping to the ground as Slade released his hold on her.

"Penny!" Ironwood called.

"Sir... there's nothing we can do" she walked beside him "It's that stuff again... the Grimm"

Ironwood sighed "I know..." he shook his head, his hands closing into fists "Get her a medical team immediately, have them transfer her to your father as soon as possible"

"General-" Winter started.

"That... will be all, Winter" Ironwood's gaze showed his exhaustion clearly "The rest of you know the way back to the academy. Get some rest. I'll see you all in the morning"

They all watched Ironwood silently leave the building, each of them worried by his demeanor. Over the course of the next hour, the staff cleaned as best they could while the other guests left and military officers questioned witnesses, Jacques apologizing for the climax of the evening, assuring them their donations would not be wasted. Willow retired up to her chambers, Winter and Weiss spent some time with Whitley while they waited for their father to finish up farewells.

As for Ruby and her friends, the rest of them did their best to celebrate the success of their mission inside the ballroom, save for Yang, who sat outside in the snow covered courtyard connecting to it. Weiss and Winter had joined them after Whitley bid them farewell, heading off to bed. All of the girls had their heels off, having grown tired of them, save for Penny, who seemed unbothered. The guys had removed their ties not long afterward, as well, slinging them over the back of their necks. Blake had removed her bow long go, letting her ears free for the rest of the evening. Slade approached Yang silently, hands in his jacket pockets, he took a seat beside her on the bench.

"Hey"

"Hey" she greeted back as he sat.

Yang had long since removed her heels, rubbing her feet. Slade admired her features from his place, a small smile forming on his lips at the sight of her. She caught him watching her after a moment "What?" she asked.

"Nothing" he shrugged "You look tired"

"I'm exhausted" she exhaled "It's been a long night"

He hummed in agreement "You've been under alot of stress recently, most of it because of me"

"Slade, I'm not blaming you-"

"I know you're not" he got to his feet "But you need a break, a real one"

"Uh... what're you doing?"

He turned toward her with a playful smile "Would you grant me this dance, milady?" he bowed with a flourish of his extended hand.

She smiled "You can't be serious"

"We don't need to be serious all the time, do we?" he winked.

"I thought you didn't dance"

"As I said, not without a very good reason. I think I've got a pretty good one right here in front of me"

Yang's face flushed "O-okay" she placed her hand in his, getting to her feet.

Slade quickly pulled her toward him, placing a hand on her waist as she placed hers on his shoulder, then gently grasping her free hand. They began to sway slowly, Yang looked down at their feet while blushing "I thought you knew how to dance?"

"I-I never exactly danced with a man before..." she admitted.

"Ah, Blake" he chuckled "Well, if it makes you feel better, I never danced with a woman before either"

"Who taught you how to dance?" she asked curious.

"Roman"

"What?! Seriously?!" she laughed at the thought of the two of them dancing together.

"To be fair, he insisted I be taught right. Said Neo had no sense of rhythm... He was an impatient teacher" he chuckled at the memory.

"What made you want to learn to dance so much?"

"Was taking a job, needed to go to an event like this one and Neo and I needed to blend in. Therefore, she needed a dance partner"

"Torchwick couldn't cut it?"

"Well, he couldn't disguise himself like Neo can, and everyone knew who he was. Besides, he said the party only needed one terrible dancer as it was"

"And he picked you?"

"I know, right?"

Yang laughed "So stupid..."

"It was stupid, but it was fun" he chuckled.

"Wait, if you never danced with a woman before, does that mean you didn't dance with Neo?"

Slade laughed "As it turns out, one of my classmates from Beacon was at the party and recognized me immediately, turned into me being stuck there the whole night while Neo did all the hard work.

She laughed "Was that the reason you got this suit?"

"No, but it was the first time I got to wear it" She shivered, the sensation of her bare feet on the cold ground finally getting the best of her. She found herself being gently lifted by his Semblance placing her feet onto the top of his shoes "It's far too cold for you to be doing this barefoot"

"T-thank you" her cheeks flushed due to their proximity. Yang had a bright smile on her face, sharing eye contact with him as he now controlled the dance. She gently placed her head on his chest, letting out a satisfied sigh "Thank you for being here... with me"

"Thank you for not giving up on me"

"Huh?" she looked up at him in surprise.

"You convinced me to come back and help you at Haven, you insisted that I could help, even when I didn't think I could fight anymore. When I thought all I could do was run... you made me want to believe in myself again"

"Slade..." she smiled.

"I'm glad we met when we did. As exciting as my work was... this is better" he smiled "It's good to be part of something important again, even if I was the one who chose to run away from it"

"You had good reasons, Slade. But I'm glad you're here too. I hope it's not just the work that's keeping you around, though"

He chuckled "Well, there is you... er, all of you, I mean" he blushed, breaking eye contact "I regret a lot of things about my life. I regret losing so many people I care about, I regret abandoning Ozpin, I regret leaving Qrow, I regret that you had to experience so much pain, not meeting you sooner... but I think it might have all worked out in the end"

"I'd have been different back then, you'd have been different too. We might not have liked each other"

He laughed "What? You mean you weren't always the terror you are now?"

"Hey!" she punched his arm playfully "Remember which one of us has the metal fist here" the two of them suddenly stopped swaying, both of them released their joined hands.

The two of them lost in each other's gaze, Yang tilted her head toward his. Slade started to lean in, wanting nothing more than to give in to the desire he had for the woman in his arms. His eyes lowered to her prosthetic arm, which did not go unnoticed by Yang. He pulled away a moment later, exhaling in disappointment. He couldn't bring himself to look her in the eye when he spoke.

"We should... probably call it a night"

Yang pulled back away from him, stepping onto the freezing stone "Oh, uh... right" she started fidgeting with her metal arm, shifting her weight from side to side, avoiding eye contact "I'll just... yeah" she picked up her heels with a nervous laugh, hiding her face from him as she passed him.

"Yang-"

"Goodnight, Slade" He watched her silently as she left, her shoulders heaving every few steps. He caught sight of what could've been falling tears, but couldn't be sure it wasn't just the snow.

He slumped onto the bench with a deep sigh, burying his face in his hands "Really hit it out of the park this time, you idiot"

---

The shattered moon illuminated the academy dorm with it's silvery rays, snowflakes falling from the dark, chilly sky as a crisp wind weaved around the building. The clouds perfectly framing the moon above, the sound of silence deafening to the blonde shielding herself with the covers on her bed, burying her face into the pillow. The stillness was broken by the synchronized laughter of her friends as they approached.

"I still can't believe you thought breaking a table was the best distraction!" Weiss laughed out.

"Well it wasn't exactly my first idea" Qrow defended.

"Did you Semblance give you some help, or did you just expect the table to hold your weight?" Jaune asked.

"Maybe a bit of both..."

"That's so great! I wish I caught that on camera" Ruby said between laughs.

"Hey, it worked didn't it?"

"It did work" Blake admitted.

"Only cause you were so dramatic!" Nora laughed loudly "Everyone must've thought you were an idiot!"

"Or drunk" Ren added.

"I doubt anyone would be surprised by either of those facts" Qrow snorted "Besides, I never touched a drop"

"Why don't we all call it a night before we lose track of another hour" Jaune suggested.

"Sounds good to me" Oscar agreed.

"Fine by me, you kids are cramping my style anyway" Qrow chuckled.

Ruby opened the room to their dorm, bursting with laughter "Goodnight, Uncle Qrow" she called desperate to get away from the source of her laughter.

"I can't believe it's this late already, I-oh" Weiss stopped as she entered the room with Blake, motioning for them to be quiet "I didn't realize Yang was sleeping" she whispered.

"Well, she did leave earlier than us-" Ruby started to reply, matching her volume.

Blake's ears perked up at a familiar sound "She's not sleeping" she interrupted.

"Huh?"

Blake moved to sit on the edge of her bed "Yang... why're you crying?" she asked hesitantly.

"Crying?!" Weiss and Ruby asked quickly moving to their teammate's side "Yang, what's wrong?" her sister asked.

"Nothing, I'm fine. I'm just... tired" Yang lied pathetically.

"Yang" Weiss called sternly "What happened?"

"I said I'm fine"

"If that were true, you wouldn't be laying here crying. You-" Blake started.

Yang threw the covers off as she turned to them in anger, her eyes flashing red "I SAID I'M FINE!" tears threatening to fall as Blake jumped from the sudden volume.

"Yang..." Ruby frowned

The enraged blonde, realizing what she'd done, rolled back over away from them "Just... leave me alone. I don't want to talk about it. Okay?"

Yang just glared at the wall in silence, none of her teammates said anything. A short while later, she felt two slender arms snake around her waist, pulling her into a hug "I love you, Yang" Ruby spoke softly.

Yang took a shaky deep breath, exhaling into a broken sob. She turned herself over, Ruby's grip loosening to allow her movement, then pulled her sister into a comforting hug "I know, Ruby... I love you too"

Weiss sighed "Yang, do you remember what we all promised each other back at Beacon? When we learned Blake was a Faunus?"

Yang sighed, opening her eyes to her friends "That we would tell each other when something was wrong..." she frowned.

"That's right" she nodded back with a smile.

"I broke that promise when I ran away, after Beacon fell I..." Blake sighed "I won't be doing that ever again"

"And I left you to go to Haven when you needed me back home. I'll never leave you when you need me again, never" Ruby swore.

"While I may not have had much choice in my departure, I sure as hell am not abandoning any of you. They'd have to kill me" Weiss kneeled down "So, Yang... tell us what's wrong"

Yang sat herself up with Ruby following suit, she gave a shaky exhale "Slade... rejected me" she forced out.

"He what?!" Ruby asked shocked.

"But... that doesn't make any sense" Blake sat down beside her once more "Yang... I'm so sorry"

Weiss' expression was stern "Tell us everything"

Yang crossed her arms, hugging herself as she spoke "We were dancing outside, we were so close, I thought... I thought..." tears started to fall "I tried to kiss him... and he just... looked right at my arm, and he pulled away"

"Did he say anything?" Ruby asked.

Yang shook her head "Just that we should call it a night. I'm so stupid!"

The three of them forced her into a hug "You're not stupid, Yang. You're one of the smartest people I know" Weiss comforted.

"And your the best sister I've ever had" Ruby added.

Yang chuckled lightly "I don't think it counts if I'm the only sister you've ever had"

"What did I say about questioning your team leader? It counts because I say it counts" she insisted childishly.

"Did you say anything to him? Tell him how you feel?" Blake asked.

"No, I just..." she shook her head "I froze up! I left before he could catch me crying. I didn't want him to see me like that. Not because of him"

Blake frowned "Yang... I know this might not be what you want to hear right now... but what if he was just scared?"

Yang snorted "Can't imagine why" her eyes rested on her prosthetic arm.

"Hey, you know that's not what she means" Weiss argued.

"What else could he be afraid of?" she asked.

"When I first came to Beacon, I was afraid to make friends because of my past with the White Fang, I was afraid the people I cared about would get hurt... and they did" Blake looked to her arm "When that happened, I ran away, as fast as I could"

"You came back"

"Yeah, I did" Blake smiled "But when you met Slade, he was in an even darker place than I was. Sure, Adam turned out to be different than I thought he was, but Slade lost everything, his family, his team, even his trust in Ozpin. He lost hope, Yang. Slade was afraid of losing someone he cared for again, just like I was. When it came down to it, he came back, he didn't run away, and he hasn't run away since... but he could be afraid of taking that extra step into a relationship"

"Why? What would it change? We'd still be there for each other, we'd still fight to protect the people we care about. Why would he be afraid of-"

"Because it'd be another thing for him to lose" Weiss interrupted.

"I... but he'd... that's..." she stuttered out in frustration.

"Yang" Ruby frowned "I know you're hurt, I know you're mad, and I know you're embarrassed... but you can't really know how he feels unless you talk to him"

"The man is absolutely crazy about you, Yang. There's gotta be a reason for it" Blake assured.

"Not crazy enough..." she glared at her metal arm.

Ruby took Yang's face in her hands "She doesn't mean your arm, Yang. Slade has to have a reason, he never does anything without a very good reason, right?"

"You're... probably right... But what if-"

"You believed in him even when others didn't you believed in him when he went running to Salem, and you believed in him when he didn't believe in himself. Don't lose that now, not when you haven't even talked about it"

The tears stung her eyes now "I just... can we... go to sleep now?" Yang asked, hopeful to end the conversation.

They girls shared a look between them before turning back to her "Yeah, we can start fresh in the morning" Weiss assured.

"Thanks" Yang laid back onto her side, rolling away from them. Ruby retook her place, hugging her sister tightly "Who said you get to be the big spoon?" she asked with a smile.

"I do, because my sister needs some love. And as team leader, it's my job to make sure you get it!" she grinned.

Yang rolled her eyes "You're such a dork, Rubes"

"But I'm your dork, and you love me for it"

Yang sighed "Yeah... yeah, I do"

---

Salem sat with a deep frown on her face, her hands folded in front of her on the table, her gaze distant. Tyrian sat in his usual spot with an manic look while Hazel sat across from him. Emerald and Mercury stood at the opposite end of the table from Salem, while Sable stood off to the side with Hunter and Cole. Emerald's hands were shaking, she wasn't sure what she was more terrified of, failing their mission, helping Cinder against orders, or the fact that Salem knew about her betrayal and hadn't punished her for it.

Mercury cleared his throat, finally deciding to speak up "We were... unable to recover the Relic or capture Ruby"

Salem's refocused her gaze toward him, but she made no move to speak. Emerald swallowed "W-we were ambushed-"

"I didn't ask for your excuses" her eyes narrowed, grip tightening "I want the girl"

"We were outnumbered. The plan was to act as a distraction, not get ourselves killed while doing it" Mercury argued.

Salem got to her feet abruptly "Yet you failed to even keep them occupied long enough for our men to eliminate their target"

"That wasn't our fault. Ozpin-"

"Ozpin?" Salem asked "He interfered?"

"He was the one carrying the Relic, he defended Ruby until the others arrived"

Sable let out a metallic hiss, he adjusted a knob on the inside of his helmet before speaking "It would seem the Professor has decided to step back onto the board"

"Then we should attack all at once! If we fight together, even Ozpin will have no chance stopping us" Hunter suggested.

Cole snorted "Don't be stupid. If we attack them outright, their friends will just interrupt our battle. Besides, even all of us together don't have the strength to take the academy by force. Not without an army backing us"

"Are you suggesting Her Grace isn't strong enough to stop Ozpin?!" Tyrian asked angrily.

"I'm saying we need to be smart"

"How dare you accuse her of being foolish!" Tyrian's tail rushed toward Cole only to find it trapped, his eyes widened as he paled at the sight.

Salem stood between them, having moved at blinding speed, she caught his tail with her hand "I think we've lost enough of our own lately to start fighting amongst ourselves, Tyrian. Don't you?" she spoke in a soft voice, yet the unspoken threat was clear to him.

He swallowed nervously "O-of course, Your Grace"

Salem released her hold on Tyrian, she turned toward Emerald "I can understand your failure to capture Ms. Rose and the Relic from him. I can understand not being able to defeat their reinforcements, you were not intended to be able to" she spoke as she approached "What I cannot understand, is how you were forced to retreat before my agent could kill our target"

"We-" Emerald started.

"I wasn't finished" Emerald swallowed in fear "I promised the life of Jacques Schnee in exchange for the bodies we've recieved for our assault. We've tricked Ironwood into believing he had disposed of Chimera's main base of operations in Atlas. I understand Slade was able to secure intel from the base before it could be erased..."

"Thus learning of the plan to assassinate the Schnee patriarch" Sable finished.

"Which is why we implemented our distraction" Salem exhaled "So, I will only ask this once. Why were you forced to retreat so quickly?" she asked running her finger across Emerald's chin, forcing the girl to look at her.

Mercury swallowed "We were outnumbered, and Oz-"

Her eyes snapped to him "His latest incarnation has barely been stuck with him for six months. He would pose no greater threat than the girl"

"He's tougher than you'd expect. He was able to keep pace with me with his eyes closed"

Salem quirked her eyebrow "Is that true?" she asked, looking back to Emerald.

"Y-yes, Ma'am. I blinded him with my Semblance... it barely slowed him down"

"We were lucky he tired quickly. He doesn't have the endurance the others do yet. But we were interrupted before we could secure the targets"

"By who?"

"The blonde girl, and two of her friends from the wannabe Maiden's team"

"Yang Xiao Long" Salem seethed "I do so tire of hearing that name. She's almost as persistent as her dear sister. They certainly do take after her, don't they?" she whispered the last part to herself.

Emerald took a deep breath before speaking "There was someone else there too..."

Her brow furrowed "Who? Slade?" she asked in annoyance.

"Neopolitan" Mercury answered "She attacked us, forced us to retreat before we were ready"

Salem's eyes widened in surprise "The girl working with Cinder? What could she possibly gain from aiding them?" she wondered aloud.

"We don't know, but she must have not stuck around. They wouldn't have gotten back in time for your ambush otherwise"

"Resulting in my agent on the Council to require termination" Salem rubbed her eyelids in annoyance "I am beginning to tire of these interruptions"

"Our army is ready, we could march on Atlas tomorrow" Hazel proposed.

"No"

"No?" Cole asked confused.

"We may have Chimera and my Grimm on the ground in Atlas, but they'll need reinforcements before they can take the city. I have already sent my aerial forces to the kingdom. They should arrive within the week, then, and only then, shall they march on Atlas"

"You don't think we have enough?" Sable asked surprised.

"I don't want a repeat of Beacon or Haven. We may have dismantled the kingdoms infrastructure and eliminated dozens of Huntsmen in the process... but all I care about are the Relics, yet here I stand with NONE!"

Salem's hands smashed to the table, the crystal molding to the shape of her palms and fingers. Tyrian timidly spoke up in the face of her anger "What would you have us do?"

Salem breathed heavily with rage, collecting herself as she slowly stood to her full height "Emerald, dear" she called, turning back to her.

"Y-yes, Ma'am?"

"I have something I want you to deliver, an offer"

Emerald tilted her head "What am I... delivering" the door behind her suddenly opened as a Seer entered, making it's way over to her silently, her eyes widened in fear "Oh..."

Salem turned her attention to the others "The rest of you report back to your posts. I want you all ready to march the moment I give the word"

Tyrian grinned, chuckling in excitement "Yes, Your Grace"

They all vanished moments later, leaving Salem with Mercury and Hazel as Emerald followed suit, uneasy about the Grimm following behind her "What would you have of us?" the large man asked.

"I want the both of you to head to Vacuo. I won't be requiring your assistance further for Atlas, it will fall with my gathered forces here"

"Just the two of us?" Mercury asked surprised.

Salem grinned "Oh, you'll have some help. I assure you"