Song of the Grail

by TheCouchEffect

Seven Masters and seven Servants. All with a wish they are willing to die for. In the midst of an eternal war fueled by feelings of hatred and bitterness, a decision is made that will change the fate of Remnant. As the war for the Holy Grail rages on, each Master must decide how far they are willing to go and what they will sacrifice for a chance to attain their wish.

4. First Strike

Atlas battleships were so cool!

It wasn't just the sleek, intelligent design of the ship that impressed her. Or its high-tech, futuristic feel compared to everywhere else. No, what impressed her most of all were the weapons. She may only have read the public reports on these ships, but it was enough to make her giddy. Twin Dust laser cannons, hypersonic missiles, and a hangar bay to launch a full fleet of airships from.

If she hadn't been so dead set on becoming a Huntress, Ruby just might have signed up to join the military instead.

Not that anyone else seemed to share her enjoyment. As RWBY and their sister team marched through the halls of the battleship above Beacon, everyone else looked either bored, nervous, or completely uninterested. Even Lancer and Saber didn't seem interested in this ship!

Luckily for her, she knew one person who'd totally be willing to geek out about this place with her.

"Hey, Chief!" She prodded the back of her Servants mind. "Isn't this place cool?"

He kept walking on as though he hadn't heard her. "It's a sitting target."

She blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

His posture remained perfect, his gait flawless. "This ship has no anti-air capabilities. No flak cannons or point-defense systems of any kind. It relies entirely on its fighters for protection." He explained with the calm patience of experience. "Without them, it's vulnerable. Enemy aircraft can destroy it or land boarding parties with ease."

Huh… now that she thought about it, that did seem like a glaring flaw. Atlas may have had the only real military in the world, but plenty of Grimm could fly. Not to mention that the White Fang probably had airships of their own. As a Huntress, she'd normally have never questioned Atlas on military equipment.

The Master Chief was a soldier, though. If he was the one pointing this out, then it must have been valid.

Now her curiosity was peaked, though. "What are the ships like where you come from?"

If they were anything like the weapons she had spent all yesterday caressing, examining, and field testing? They must have been the most magnificent ships that had ever graced the sky with their presence. She'd have to force Chief to draw a picture of them for her one day.

"Bigger. More structurally sound." He told her. "Each UNSC ship was designed for a specific role and outfitted accordingly."

She frowned. "Could you give me a bit more to go on? Size? Shape? Or, more importantly, its weapons?"

"Not now." He chided. "Focus on the task at hand."

Ruby grimaced, keeping silent after that soft rebuke. He was right. They were here for the war. She could fawn over his weapons once they were done.

As their group stepped onto the bridge of the battleship, they saw General Ironwood hunched over a holographic map of Vale. He must have sent the other crew away, since he was alone when they entered. As his icy blue eyes glided over them, his stern frown grew a fraction of an inch.

"Good, you're all here." He greeted. "Were you all made aware of why you're here?"

Jaune shook his head. "Not really. The Headmaster just told us we were going to make a move and to follow him here."

The flat stare Ironwood gave Ozpin had absolutely no effect on the man. "Then I guess it's up to me to fill you in." As they all gathered around the holographic map, he cleared his throat. "As you all know, the White Fang attacked the Atlesian embassy a few days ago."

Ruby and the others all flinched. When news of the massacre at the embassy had reached them, they were all horrified. They'd all known that the White Fang was dangerous and resourceful - her team most of all. The attack at the docks, the theft of the Paladin and the battle that followed, not to mention everything they had done since becoming radicalized; they couldn't be underestimated.

No one had seen the attack on the embassy coming, though. Not her team, and certainly not Atlas. Who could have? Attacking the Atlesian embassy would have been a suicide mission for anything less than a small army of Hunters. No one would be crazy enough to do that, least of all when General Ironwood and his army would crack down hard on anyone who did.

Then the White Fang had pulled it off flawlessly. An embassy utterly destroyed, the people inside slaughtered, and a city gripped by fear. All without the White Fang taking a single loss.

That first night after hearing the news had been an all hands on deck problem. Not for going after the White Fang, since that would have been pointless with no leads. No, Ruby and the rest of her team had to deal with an altogether more difficult problem.

Keeping Blake from running off half-cocked to continue her crusade against the White Fang with no plan, no leads, and no backup. They'd been prepared to do whatever it took to keep her with them. Barricade the doors, listen to her rant and rave, even tie her up if they'd needed to.

Instead, the Master Chief had calmed her with a few simple reassurances and a promise that they would get justice for the people that had died. Ruby would need to get him to teach her how to calm people down like that.

"What you may not know is that it was not solely the White Fang behind the attack." Ironwood continued as Ozpin joined him on the other side of the map. "The White Fang have a Servant on their side."

Ruby's heart skipped a beat. The White Fang was a part of the Grail War? Out of all the people who had become Masters, she hadn't thought it would be one of them. So many of their group were driven by pain and hatred for what the world had done to them. Should their Master somehow win the war, there was no doubt in anyone's mind what their wish would be.

Nothing less than the total genocide of Humanity.

They couldn't let that happen.

"Are you sure?" Blake spoke up. "There's no chance you're wrong?"

Ozpin frowned. "At best, there are a total of six people who can use genuine magic in this world. Out of them, only two are capable of the magic that was done at the embassy – Salem and myself."

Saber - Geralt, as Weiss had told them - grunted. "Any idea what class they are?"

"Caster is my best guess." Ozpin told them. "While other classes are capable of magic, it doesn't leave quite the same mark as a Caster's. And if I am correct, this Caster is exceptionally powerful."

Jaune laughed nervously, shifting on the spot and scratching the back of his head. "Not that we don't appreciate you telling us this, but um… why are you telling us this?"

"Aside from the fact you and Ms. Rose are Masters who should be aware of your enemies?" Ozpin chuckled before smoothing his features. "General Ironwood has plans to strike one of their bases in the city tonight. Naturally, you will all be part of it."

That made sense, she guessed. If there really was a Servant with the White Fang, regular soldiers wouldn't stand much of a chance. Even full teams of Hunters would struggle against one of them. At least with their teams, they had Servants of their own to level the playing field. However strong this Caster was, Ruby doubted they could take on three Servants by themselves.

"So, you want us to beat the Caster?" Ruby specifically avoided using the world kill. She didn't think she had it in her to even think about, let alone actually do.

Ironwood shook his head. "We can't be certain the Caster is there. If they aren't, then your job is to assist my troops in destroying this base. It shouldn't be too hard given your training and the power on your side."

Ruby tilted her head aside. "And if Caster is there?"

"You are to negotiate an alliance between us and the White Fang." The glare Ironwood gave Ozpin made it clear this wasn't his idea.

It took all of two seconds for them to process that, and half a second more for Blake to ball her hands into fists with wide, shocked eyes. "Are you out of your mind!?" She shouted. "After all the people they've killed, you want us to work with them!? Headmaster, you can't be serious!"

Ironwood looked pleased at Blake's outburst. Ruby wouldn't be surprised if he'd said the same things to their Headmaster when he first heard this plan. The Headmaster, however, weathered the shouting with all the patience of a man who was used to being yelled at by others.

If all his plans were like this, then Ruby could see why.

"As I was saying, you will attempt to negotiate with the White Fang." Ozpin continued as though he hadn't just been yelled at by his most troublesome student. "While they have committed many crimes and killed many people, you must remember that the fate of the world is at stake. We need all the allies we can get."

"Even terrorists?" Yang's eyes glinted with skepticism.

"One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. I'm certain Professor Oobleck has made you all well aware of the discrimination Faunus have faced in the world." Ozpin drummed his fingers along the pommel of his cane. "I understand that some of you have history with them. For the sake of Remnant, I must ask you to put that aside."

Weiss scowled. "I know that Salem is dangerous, but the White Fang as they stand are hardly any better."

"Yet once upon a time, they were an organization dedicated to peace. A force for good in the world." Ozpin pointed out. "For all their hatred, many in the White Fang are just trying to make the world a better place the only way they know how."

"By killing innocent people." Pyrrha frowned. "Headmaster, I know you believe we need allies to do this- "

"It is not a matter of belief, Ms. Nikos. It is simply reality." He interrupted. "Salem is bringing the largest army this world has ever seen to Vale. We cannot afford to discard anyone who can fight - no matter their past. Perhaps this will even be a chance at redemption for them."

Ruby and the others all shared an uncertain look. "Redemption?"

"They are a part of this world as much as we are. The Grimm and Salem do not care about their struggles and will have no problem killing them alongside us." Ozpin told them. "They deserve the chance to fight for this world. To turn their passion towards a worthy cause and show the world that they are more than the monsters their masks make them seem."

"I don't know…." Jaune mumbled. "That all sounds nice, but do you really think it can work?"

"It did for Ms. Belladonna." Ozpin didn't bother hiding his smile. "As I'm sure you'll all agree, she has made the most of her second chance. Her sense of justice is second to none."

"Even if she needs to work on her restraint." Ironwood muttered.

None of them knew what to say, though, least of all Ruby. How could she? The Headmaster was right. While Blake had told them about her past, she had never gone into detail about everything she did with them. It was too painful for her to want to relive.

That didn't mean that Ruby didn't have some clue as to what she'd done, though. The White Fang had been a terrorist organization for years, and Blake had stayed with them until only recently. All the bombings, raids, and deaths… Blake had been a part of it. Whether it was as a bystander or an active participant, Ruby didn't know.

All she did know was that it was the reason Blake had been so determined to stop the White Fang. So obsessed with stopping them. What she had seen and done for the White Fang must have been a heavy burden for her to bare. She must have thought that the only way she could atone for her crimes was to stop them from hurting anyone else.

If Blake could become such a better person when given the chance, then why couldn't the rest of the White Fang?

Ruby stepped forward. "I think Ozpin's right."

Weiss' eyes widened in shock. "You do?"

She smiled reassuringly at them all. "No one's completely evil, guys. If all we ever do is treat them like the bad guys, then that's all they'll ever be." She spread her arms wide. "Don't they deserve a chance to be more than that?"

Blake took a deep breath, nodding her head. "They're right." She slowly admitted. "Not everyone in the White Fang are bad people. If most of them had the chance to help us, they'd take it."

The others still looked uncertain about the plan, even with Blake and Ruby trying to support Ozpin's idea. This wasn't good. If most of them went into this thinking it would fail, then there really would be no chance of making an alliance.

Desperately, her eyes slid to the golden visor of her Servant in a silent plea for help.

"A common foe can turn an enemy into a staunch ally." The Master Chief's rough, gravelly voice told them. "In my world, my people fought alongside our enemies when faced with extinction."

Ironwood frowned. "And were your enemies seeking the complete domination or destruction of yours?"

"Yes."

An uneasy silence settled over the group as everyone digested what they'd been told. Not Ruby, though. A sympathetic frown split her as she looked over the Chief. He didn't seem upset or emotional at the reminder of his past, but how could she be certain? With a helmet obscuring his face, he could have been in great pain and she'd never know.

All she knew was that she needed to be there for the Master Chief. If he ever wanted to talk about what he'd gone through in his life.

Weiss sighed. "Okay, I guess that's settled." She said. "What about the actual plan of attack? I hope we're not just charging in through the front door."

"Hardly." Ironwood gestured for them all to look closer at the map. Upon closer inspection, the map had zoomed in on a cluster of abandoned warehouses in the southern side of Vale by the coast. "Our intelligence suggests that the White Fang have been using these warehouses as both a training facility for their new recruits and a storehouse for their weapons."

"How many are we dealing with?" Geralt asked.

Ironwood's frown worsened. "It's hard to say. Our best estimates put their numbers at around sixty, a mixture of both veterans and new recruits. However, there could just as likely be more or less, depending on the night."

So, they should expect a fight then. While Ruby doubted any of the White Fang there would be on the level of a Huntsman, numbers could more than make up for that. If their veterans were on the same level as Beacon students like Blake had been, things could get difficult. And if there were any more Paladins in those warehouses, she was going to lose it.

She almost hoped that the Caster and its Master were there. At least then they'd have the chance to negotiate and avoid any more violence.

"Bullheads will drop each of you and three teams of soldiers a few blocks away from the warehouse district. From there, you will break into squads and surround the warehouses until you can assault it from all sides." Ironwood explained.

Jaune cleared his throat. "So, um, what exactly are we supposed to do? Lead the soldiers?"

Ironwood leaned over the holographic map, drumming his fingers along the edge of the display table. "No, your job is to protect them from any potential Servant or Hunter level threats. Failing that, you will assist them in dealing with the lesser threat." He grunted. "Consider this a chance for you to learn how to fight alongside a team of trained soldiers."

"Is that important?" Yang chimed in.

"Vital." Ozpin tapped his finger on the side of his cane. "Going forward, you will have the support of Atlesian and Valean soldiers on all missions. When Salem arrives, you will need to know how to fight alongside them as equals."

"More importantly, however," Ironwood added, "you need to be able to do it without putting them at risk. Fighting with soldiers is a lot different from fellow Hunters."

That was an understatement. Soldiers were trained to move as a unit. To coordinate their attacks at range from behind cover and only fight at close range when they had to. Even against the Grimm, they were more than effective at holding the line if they had enough range and ammunition on their side.

Hunters were different. They were trained to always go on the offensive and bring the fight to their enemies. To wade into the fight where it was thickest and keep the pressure up on their enemy, whether they were alone or had a team at their back. Unlike their counterparts in the military, Hunters thrived in melee combat and used their guns more for support than anything else. There was no threat they couldn't handle.

Each of them was effective at their jobs, but it made working together… difficult, to put it mildly. Their styles just didn't mesh well. Only Atlas had tried to bridge the gap between soldier and Huntsman with their Specialists, but none of the other Kingdoms had tried to do the same yet.

Jaune shifted in place, wringing his hands together nervously. "I-I guess that makes sense." He mumbled. "We might as well start learning now, right?"

"Indeed. You will meet the teams going with you in the hangar soon, but I thought it would be best to know if any of you have something to add." Ironwood said.

Ruby tilted her head aside. "You want us to help with the plan?"

"Not the broad strokes of it. That's already set in stone and my soldiers have already prepared for that." He admitted. "More so the roles that your Servants will play."

Weiss crossed her arms in front of her. "You didn't factor them into this plan of yours?"

"Beyond their presence? No. I don't know their capabilities enough to determine what they do." Ironwood gestured towards Ozpin with his head. "Your Headmaster decided what his Servant will do. It's only right you do the same."

"I'll be sticking with the soldiers your teams don't go with, in case you're wondering." Geralt told them. "My style doesn't mesh well with soldiers, but they might need my help if they run into a Hunter or Servant."

Nora gestured wildly towards the Headmaster. "What about him? Why wouldn't you stick by your Master?"

Ozpin sighed. "I'm afraid I will not be joining you on this." He told them. "As a Councilor, I have to coordinate the upcoming evacuation and conscription efforts. With my experience as a Hunter, they have decided I will be in charge of it from this moment forward."

None of them were surprised. While the announcement hadn't been made yet, Ozpin had told them everything so that it didn't catch them off guard when it made the news. If he really was the immortal wizard that he claimed to be, then he was the best person to handle this job. Even if it meant he couldn't come into the field with the rest of them.

A loud metallic thunk echoed through the bridge. Lancer stepped forward and gently pushed them all aside before pointing towards the water near the docks. Ruby blinked in confusion and looked at the others to see if anyone else knew what he meant, but they were all just as clueless as she was.

All except for Jaune. "I think he's trying to say he can do something with the water." He stepped up next to his Servant and placed a hand on their arm. "Is that right?"

A whistling, affirmative moan echoed from Lancer's helmet. He pointed towards the water again, this time slowly trailing a gloved finger towards the warehouses. Then he clenched his hand into a fist and smashed it through the holographic buildings into the palm of his other hand.

Lancer looked up at them all for approval.

Jaune nodded. "Right, okay. He's saying that he can hit them from the water while we attack from the front. A classic hammer and anvil strategy."

Ironwood regarded Lancer for a moment. "And he can do this without jeopardizing the mission?"

"I mean, he's gotta be wearing the diving suit for a reason." Jaune patted Lancer on the arm and smiled up at him. "If he says he can do it, then I believe him. He's strong."

"Fair enough. You are his Master, so I'll trust that you know what he can do." Ironwood's steely gaze swept towards Ruby and the Chief. "And you?"

Ruby glanced up at the Master Chief. She wasn't really sure what to do with him. He kind of excelled at everything. His weapons made him a deadly threat at any range, his armor meant he could shrug off whatever was thrown at him, and his experience meant he always made the right call in battle. Even without his weapons, he was still unmatched when it came to unarmed combat.

Yang had been very annoyed about that last night. There was nothing like having your confidence explode in your face after talking a big game. The advice that he had given the rest of them after the training on how to improve had just rubbed salt in the wound.

On the bright side, that had been even more evidence that her Servant was the best. Heh, Lancer and Saber just couldn't compete as far as she was concerned.

"You know your abilities better than I do." She smiled brightly up at him. "Whatever you decide, I'll back your decision."

A wave of gratitude trickled through their mental link.

The Master Chief stepped forward. "I'll scout ahead of the main force. Alert my Master of any potential dangers that she and the others will need to be aware of." He folded his arms behind his back. "Once the attack begins, I'll strike from inside."

Forcing the White Fang to divert their attention on yet another threat. With their attention and forces being stretched that thin, this whole plan could go off without a hitch. It could even be finished within an hour of them landing in the city!

Ozpin leaned forward on his cane, an inquisitive glint in his eyes. "Are you sure? The Assassin class is usually the one who handles that type of role."

"You don't need to be an Assassin to keep out of sight."

Ruby tried her best to mirror Chief's posture and form without being obvious about it. The snicker she heard behind her meant she'd failed. "He can do it." She narrowed her eyes in an attempt to look as fierce as possible. "I trust him."

Ironwood cleared his throat. "If that's everything, then you should all make your way to the hangar." He ordered. "The sooner you get there, the sooner we can get one step closer to ending the war."

Collectively, they all nodded.

It was time for them to make their move.

---

High society was the worst.

Oh, not the trappings of it. The exotic food prepared by master chefs was to die for. The silk clothes and satin bed sheets made every moment a comfy experience. The fancy wine was always a little disappointing compared to the hype, but being able to lounge upon a mountain of Lien and jewels like a lazy dragon always more than made up for it.

If it were just those things, it would have been perfect. But it wasn't just the pleasures of life. No, there were so many worthless, minor annoyances and meaningless rules that people had to follow. Rules for how to eat their food, expectations on how they were supposed to act, even rules for how they were supposed to look! It labeled anyone that broke those rules a pariah until they conformed to what everyone else wanted, regardless of their own desires.

And don't even get her started on those inane things known as laws!

The rules of others had confined Neo most of her life. What she had wanted never mattered. She couldn't dress or act as she wanted, always expected to be the perfect daughter to yet another family of rich socialites. It would have been her lot in life forever.

Until on one fateful day, she had met Roman. Thanks to him, Neo was finally able to truly be free and live how she wanted. No rules, no laws, and no expectations other than that she be happy. What more could a girl ask for in a partner?

If only she could have avoided ever having to step foot back into her old life.

Neo suppressed a sigh and plastered a sugary sweet smile on her face. As another rich couple walked towards her, she bowed her head reverently and pushed her tray of fancy cheeses forward. They snatched some of the food off her tray before walking off to enjoy the rest of the party, not once sparing her a second glance.

If they had, they may have seen the disgust that flashed through her eyes for just a moment.

Infiltrating this party hadn't been difficult. The rich never bothered to memorize the faces of the hired help, and the workers themselves just assumed any new face was a temporary hire for big events like these. For someone like Neo, it had been even simpler. Just drag some poor fool into a nearby closet and steal their face.

Now she didn't just look like she belonged among the staff, she had the history of the face she wore to back it up.

And who said having an Overactive Imagination was a bad thing?

The party itself was nothing special, at least as far as the rich ones went. Crystal chandeliers, an army of wait staff on standby, ice sculptures, the whole nine yards. It was hardly anything to write home about. She doubted that anyone would be here if it weren't for the true prize of the night.

The auction being hosted for Vale's most powerful criminals.

She'd seen the list. Ancient artifacts from dead civilizations. The original masterpieces of long dead artists which had long been replaced with forgeries in museums. One of a kind gems, jewelry, and ornaments. There were even the blueprints for Atlas' Paladin's on sale for a whopping fifty million Lien.

Neo was tempted to do a little shopping and lift some of those treasures for herself. A few of those paintings would have looked fabulous in her living room, and that Gravity Dust embroidered tea cup was beautiful. Not to mention all the loose wallets, rings, and scrolls these people were just leaving all over the place.

Tragically, she had a job to do.

Assassinations were just too delicate to risk going off script and indulging herself.

A hush fell over the crowd as a man walked across the large stage with a black curtain at the back of the room, a simple wineglass in his hand. He was an older Atlesian gentleman with a grandfatherly smile and a reassuring twinkle in his eyes. His purple suit was made of the finest silks, and the grace he walked with would have been enough to put a ballerina to shame.

His name was Vladimir Birch. A retired Atlesian officer and beloved philanthropist the entire world over. He also happened to be one of Spider's chief lieutenants and the head of their Vale branch.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I wanted to thank you all for coming here tonight." His voice easily carried across the entire ballroom. "I know that many of us in here have had our issues. Our little spats over territory, competition for business, and more than a little spilled blood. It's why I am so glad you were all so willing to come here tonight and put that all aside."

He spread his arms wide. "The people of this world want comfort, entertainment, and security. Simple luxuries that make their little lives bearable. And it is all thanks to us." He grinned, raising his glass in toast to the room. "We are the support structure of society. The monsters they use to feel better about themselves. The entertainers and suppliers when they need a quick dose of joy. And of course, the cleaners for those who believe themselves in power."

The guests all began to clap. Some out of simple politeness, while others out of genuine agreement with the old fool.

From her secluded corner by the wall with the other servers, Neo couldn't help but roll her eyes. This man still loved to hear himself talk, even all these years later. She'd never met the man before, but she'd seen him visiting Lady Browning's many times when that place still existed. Always showed up on the weekends to talk with Lady Beat for hours on end.

If she remembered right, his daughter had been friends with Melanie and Militia Malachite back then. The one with the annoying laugh who helped those two pests find ways to make her life difficult.

Guess she'd be getting the last laugh tonight.

"This party tonight is to celebrate us and our accomplishments. And to kick things off, we shall start with the auction!" His words were met with far more enthusiastic clapping this time. "Trust me, my friends. This is going to be a night to remember."

He didn't know the half of it.

As his speech finally came to an end, the curtain was pulled back to unveil the first item up for sale. An ancient, towering marble statue of an old Mistralian emperor. While it was missing an arm and half of its face had been chipped away by time, it was still in remarkably good condition. Even the sword it held aloft was still in one piece, casting a shadow over the entire room.

It was time to begin.

As the crowd whispered among themselves, Vladimir had turned around to gawk up at the statue in pride. Before any bidding could start, there was a deafening crack that echoed through the room and silenced them all. Time seemed to stand still as the stone sword of the statue snapped in half and fell to the ground beneath it.

Vladimir barely had time to open his mouth and scream, let alone move out of the way. The marble blade nearly split him in two and impaled him to the stage. There was a raspy, wet gurgle sound as he tried to let out one final scream of pain before finally falling silent forever.

As the rest of the building erupted into screams and panicked shouting, Neo silently laughed behind her hand. Watching the room descend into chaos was so much fun. Especially since the best part was still to come.

It happened slowly, at first. A simple cough as people were rushing around and arguing with one another about what to do next. A few bouts of dizziness here and there as people struggled to stay on their feet. Then, one by one, people started collapsing into spasming, coughing fits on the ground as they struggled to breathe.

By now, everyone who hadn't already collapsed was scrambling to reach the exits. With how eager they were to escape and trample one another in their haste, none of them had noticed that the only people to die were the heads of the crime families.

With barely restrained glee, she only just managed to avoid skipping out of the building with the rest of the fleeing patrons and staff. From there, it was simple enough to slip away from the crowd undetected. People never noticed the hired help, and that went double when a catastrophe was happening.

Once she was far enough away, she ducked into an alley and allowed her disguise to fall. Gone was the dull and generic face of the man she had taken the place of. Her heterochromatic eyes and tricolored hair faded back to life. Stepping out of the alley, she spared the still panicking mansion and its criminals one last Cheshire grin before turning to leave.

She swung Hush in her hands as she moved towards the park. Ambulances sped past her on the street, but she barely paid attention to them. By this point, the poison she'd slipped into the food had done its work. All those paramedics would find was a sea of immaculately dressed corpses and panicking guests.

Neo was tempted to go back just to watch the show.

"You did well, Neo."

She paused mid-step and glanced towards the bench to her right. A bald man in a professional black suit sat there reading the newspaper under the streetlight. Had he not spoken up, she would have walked right past him without a second glance, not even to the barcode tattooed on the back of his forehead.

A grin stretched across her face. She flipped over the back of the bench and took a seat next to the man, one leg crossed over the other. She smiled confidently up at him and reached over to poke him in the side.

Without looking her way, one of his gloved hands stopped her before she could. "It wasn't an insult." He told her. "Most assassins I know wouldn't have been able to pull that off without being spotted."

She snorted. Most people didn't have the luxury of being half as amazing as she was. One of the many benefits that came with being her. Tapping her chin, she stood up and moved in front of him. As his icy blue eyes looked at her over his newspaper, she grabbed Hush and held it aloft. Then she mimed it snapping in half and impaling her, followed by the rapid flailing of her arms and running around like a headless chicken.

He blinked.

She cocked her hip to the side in question.

"I can't tell you how I did it." Neo could have sworn his lips twitched upwards just a bit. "Trade secret."

Neo sighed dramatically and turned her back to the man, making a show of her displeasure by stomping her foot.

Assassin could be no fun at times.

Ever since she'd met the man, she didn't think she'd seen him smile or relax once. Just show up to ask for instructions on a job and then off he went to end some poor bastard's life without fail. She'd have been more annoyed at him if he hadn't saved Roman's life from that scary green giant that night beneath the highway.

Just for that, he'd earned her eternal gratitude.

"We should get back to Roman." Assassin set the newspaper down on the bench and stood up to his full height. He towered over her, though that wasn't an uncommon thing with her. "He'll want to know that we've succeeded."

Neo nodded and gestured for him to lead the way, skipping alongside the Servant the entire time.

When Neo had first heard about this Holy Grail War thing, she'd thought it was all just one big scam. A magical death tournament for a wish that involved heroes from the past and other worlds? Yeah, no way. Not in a million years was something like that possible. It was like something out of a fairy tale, for Brother's sake!

Not Roman, though. Even as injured as he'd been, he'd believed Assassin. Ever since that night, they'd been hard at work. From what Assassin had told them, this Grail War was serious business. Heroes with fantastical, otherworldly abilities lead by ruthless Masters were going to turn Vale into a battleground. For a pair of thieves like Roman and Neo, this was so far out of their league, it wasn't even funny.

If there was one thing they were good at doing, though, it was surviving. If that meant stacking the deck in their favor by offing every major criminal in the city, then that's what they'd do. The power vacuum that created would leave a perfect opening for a man like Roman to swoop on in and take over the criminal underworld.

Something like that would normally have been impossible. Even now, their resources and people were hard at work laying the groundwork for Roman's rise to power. If they'd attempted something like this even a few weeks ago, they would never have been able to pull it off. Not even with that fire bitch and the White Fang's help.

It turned out that a good assassin could make all the difference.

Soon enough, they could make their move and take their place at the top. From there, all it would take is a single word and Assassin would make quick work of Cinder. Then they'd finally be free to pull off the greatest heist in all of history.

The Holy Grail wouldn't know what hit it.

---

"So… how're things going?"

"Fine."

"Nothing important to tell me?"

"Not yet."

Ruby sighed, fiddling with the scope of Crescent Rose. Her team was waiting a fair distance away from the warehouses they were about to assault, just like JNPR and the other teams. Despite her concerns, no one had spotted them when the Bullheads landed, and they were able to make their way here without any issue. The White Fang hadn't even bothered to keep any lookouts to stop them.

Blake had said that it was unusually sloppy of them, but Ruby couldn't help but doubt her friend. From everything she'd seen of the White Fang so far, they weren't the smartest bunch of baddies around. Maybe the Vale cell was the odd one out and the other Kingdom's branches were more competent.

Whatever the case, she was just thankful that things were going smoothly for now.

"Something wrong, sis?" Yang leaned against the wall of the abandoned building they were hiding behind and crossed her arms. "Never known you to get anxious before a fight. That usually only comes after when you have to socialize with people."

She growled in annoyance. "I'm not that bad!"

Yang grinned. "Ruby, you get nervous about meeting new people."

"Everyone does!"

"When we first met, you blew me up and couldn't recognize sarcasm." Weiss chimed in.

"You were waving Dust around and getting it everywhere! Anyone would have sneezed."

Blake smirked. "Your go-to strategy in an argument is to keep repeating the word nope until people give up out of confusion."

Her eyes narrowed. "If it works, then I don't see how there's anything wrong with that." She crossed her arms and humphed in annoyance. "You guys just like to exaggerate everything."

Yang shrugged a shoulder. "Helps ease the tension. Now, spill. What's on your mind?"

Ruby fidgeted in place and stroked the barrel of her rifle. "I'm just anxious, I guess."

"About what? The White Fang?" Yang couldn't keep the incredulity out of her voice. "Ruby, we've kicked their butts every time we've gone up against them. Why are you worried?"

Weiss hummed. "Is it the prospect of fighting a Servant?" She asked. "I'll admit, I'm nervous about that as well, but we should have faith in ourselves. We made it into Beacon, after all."

Ruby shook her head. "It's not that."

Blake blinked. "Then what is it? I've never known you to get nervous about a fight."

"It's not the fight I'm worried about." She admitted with a deep frown. "It's Chief. I wanna impress him."

Frowning, Yang pushed off the wall. "Hold on, you wanna impress him? Why?"

How could she not want to impress him? He wasn't just her Servant; he was a part of their team now! They may not have known him for long, but he'd already shown that he had their back. The first thing he'd done had been to save them all from Torchwick by destroying a Paladin in seconds. Then he'd been willing to stand up to the Headmaster and General Ironwood without a second thought. Of course, she wanted to show him that he could trust her to do the same for him.

Though that wasn't the only reason. She got the sense that Chief was the type of person to take things on alone. Not out of a desire to do things by himself, but because that was the only way he knew how. If he was as exceptional in his world as he was here, then he may not have been able to rely on anybody to have his back.

Whether that was true or not, it didn't matter. Ruby was determined to earn his respect and fight with him as an equal. The first step to that was showing him she could handle herself in a fight.

"He's part of the team now." She told them instead. "Is it so wrong I want him to respect us?"

Chuckling, Yang reached forward to ruffle Ruby's hair. All her fierce glare did was make the older blond snicker in amusement. "You worry too much, sis. It's sweet that you wanna look good for your Servant, but you shouldn't be worried about that. You're already one of the best fighters in our class."

"I agree." Weiss nodded. "I'd wager that by the time you're our age, you'll have surpassed even Pyrrha."

Blake grinned. "Wow. High praise from you, Wiess."

"Of course! I won't accept anything less from my partner."

Ruby smiled and kicked her foot into the ground, a bashful blush lighting up her face. "You guys… I really am lucky to have a team as supportive as you."

"Master, reporting in."

She raised a hand to quiet her team and looked down at her Command Seals. He'd told her she didn't need to do that to speak with him, but it made her feel just a bit more connected with him. "What's wrong? Do you need help?"

"Negative." The Master Chief told her. "I've finished scouting the warehouses. I counted eighty White Fang scattered over the area with no sign of any Paladins or the Caster. Unknown if any of them have Huntsman training."

She gave a firm nod and gestured for her team to follow her, typing what Chief told her into the scroll so the other teams could know. As she peaked around the corner of the building, she raised her rifle to look through the scope at the warehouses in the distance. She couldn't see anybody yet, but that would soon change.

"We move on your signal." She told him. "Make it a big one so the other teams and Lancer can hear you, alright?"

"Understood, ma'am."

They all waited with bated breath as the seconds ticked by. Their patience was rewarded as a familiar bright blue explosion could be seen in the distance. Gunfire from automatic Dust rifles followed, only to quickly drowned be out by the deafening crack of the Master Chief's own weapons.

Ruby shifted Crescent Rose into its scythe form. As the rest of her team and the others scattered around the perimeter all moved in, she took a moment to breathe. To center herself and prepare for the fight ahead of them.

Then… she moved.

One moment, she was watching her team sprint towards the warehouses ahead. The next, the world became a blur as she disappeared from sight. A trail of scarlet rose petals was left in her wake as she sped past her team in the blink of an eye. Coming out of her semblance, she rolled over her shoulder and sprinted forward through the doors of the first warehouse she saw.

She skidded to a halt as she took in the sight before her. White Fang grunts rushed around in a frantic panic and fired wildly into the rafters above them. Scattered across the ground were over a dozen corpses. Most were sporting single, clean holes and leaking blood where Chief had shot them in the head. There was even a large area where the ground had been scorched pitch black.

With the charred and burned bodies that had been thrown against the wall as well, Ruby could guess what had caused that.

One of the White Fang grunts turned around just in time to see her standing there. "Crap! We've got more behind us!" He shouted to be heard over the cacophony of gunfire and raised his rifle.

Before he could pull the trigger or she could dodge out of the way, there was another loud crack. The Faunus didn't so much fall as the bullets that slammed through his skull threw him forward. Her mouth ran dry, but there was no time for her to stare at the death in front of her. When another grunt raised their rifle in her direction, she launched herself forward.

Aura was an amazing thing. It allowed Huntsmen to far surpass their limits and unlock fantastic power with their Semblances. With the power of their soul fully unlocked, they were able to go up against hordes of Grimm and come out on top. Just like a muscle, however, you needed constant exercise and practice to bring the best out of it. Not just Semblances and enhanced physical abilities, but simple control.

Without proper control and training, Aura was unreliable and weak. Easily broken by a superior opponent and only good for drawing out the pain.

As the first White Fang grunt learned when she rematerialized behind him and slammed the blunt end of Crescent Rose into his head. His Aura flared for a moment of pitiful resistance before shattering with ease. He flew back and slammed into a nearby steel crate, slumping to the ground, unconscious but alive.

The rest of the White Fang were still too busy panicking over where the Master Chief was when she struck again. Augmented by the power of her Semblance, Ruby propelled herself past the half dozen meters between her and her next target. The curved blade of her scythe slashed their rifle in half straight down the middle.

With the momentum still carrying her forward, she slammed the shaft of Crescent Rose into their chest with enough force to crack bones, their Aura not even flaring to defend them.

A stray bullet pinged off her Aura from her left. She moved on instinct and propelled herself forward, using the kick of her rifle to add to her speed. Slamming into their chest feet first, she angled the barrel of Crescent Rose behind them and fired. Kicking off their chest in tandem with the blast, she launched them back into the steel wall of the warehouse hard enough to leave a dent.

Another grunt tried to level their rifle at her, but she was moving through the air too fast. She flicked her scythe up before quickly bringing it down atop their skull. This time, the grunts Aura held. It was a small mercy when she quickly followed it up with two more slashes of her scythe, shearing their Aura apart and leaving them a groaning mess on the ground.

She was like a scarlet blur of steel and pain. Whenever she had finished slashing and bashing through the defenses of one grunt, barely a second would pass before she moved on to her next target. One attack lead into another with a fluid grace only water could match.

Yet somehow, she was still not as effective as her partner. For all their numbers and enhanced senses, none of the White Fang had found her Servant yet. Every time one of them tried to sprint for cover, Chief quickly dispatched them. A single shot to the head without fail, always piercing their Aura. A lethally effective method that Ruby wasn't sure how to feel about.

By the time the rest of her team and the group of soldiers accompanying them arrived, the two of them had already dealt with half of the warehouse. While the Atlas soldiers immediately moved for cover and laid down suppressive fire on the White Fang, her team rushed into the melee. Against the combined arms of soldier and Huntsmen, the unorganized mass of White Fang was rapidly falling.

It almost seemed like this battle would go off without a hitch.

An explosion rocked the building and Ruby raised her arm to shield her eyes from the intense light of the blast. She let out a breath of relief when she saw that her team were alright, but it didn't last. The soldiers that had come with them were sprawled out on the ground, the cover they had been hiding behind blown to smithereens.

Their Aura had saved them, but not by much if their moans and singed armor was anything to go by.

Her grip on Crescent Rose tightened. "Protect the soldiers!" She ordered. "Get them to safety."

Trusting her team to protect the others, she searched for the source of the grenade. Near the back of the warehouse, there was a solid wall of muscle taking cover behind a crate, two large moose antlers atop his head. He was massive, easily towering over his fellows who rushed by him. In his hands was an imposing battle axe, the shaft pointed towards them at an odd angle.

He must have been a Hunter, or at least had the training of one. This must have been the one in charge of training their new recruits.

The Faunus snapped their axe up and fired off a grenade before she could move. Her muscles tensed as she prepared to activate her Semblance. Just before she could move, however, the Master Chief leaped down in front of her. Snapping his left arm up, the forces of gravity bent before his will, sending the grenade hurtling back at the White Fang leader.

It was too fast for their enemy to react in time. The grenade slammed into his chest and exploded on impact. His smoking body flew backwards and tumbled along the ground. Just as the terrorist began to force himself to his feet, Ruby rushed in.

Powered by her Semblance, a flurry of blows rained down upon him. Her scythe carved through the air and crashed down upon him, sparking off his Aura and forcing him back even more. Every time he tried to retaliate or block one of her blows, she sped around towards his blind spot and hit him again.

A snarl split his face as he brought his axe up to smash her from below. When she dodged and reappeared behind him, however, this time he was ready for her. He spun on a dime and grabbed Crescent Rose by the blade just before it could strike him. His Aura flared and sparked in protest but held firm. He ripped it from her grasp and slammed his boot into her gut.

Gasping in a mixture of pain and surprise, she flew back onto the ground. Gritting her teeth to fight through the pain, she looked up just in time to see the White Fang member raised his axe and her scythe in the air above them. Shouting in rage, he brought them down with as much strength as he could muster to skewer her to the pavement.

Instinctually, her Semblance kicked in and she sped out of the way. She rematerialized not far away from where she'd lain and spun towards her attacker. Without her weapon, she was all but useless. She either needed to get help from her team or find some way to take her scythe back.

As it turned out, that wasn't necessary.

Before her attacker could pull his weapons out of the ground, the Chief charged into him shoulder first, faster than a speeding bullet. The Hunter-trained Fang leader cried out in pain and flew back, releasing his grip on Crescent Rose.

The Chief didn't let up in his assault. An armored fist lodged itself in his stomach, quickly followed by an elbow to the jaw. The sickening snap of bone accompanied each one. Again and again, her Servant rained down bone-shattering blows upon the Faunus, his Aura having crumpled under the first blow.

Ruby watched as the Master Chief grabbed the Faunus by the antlers. Without warning, he jerked them down and slammed their skull into his knee just as he brought it up. His grip on the antlers and the force behind the blow was so strong that when the Faunus flew back and flipped through the air, his antlers remained in the Chief's hands.

As the man landed in a crumpled, unconscious heap, the Chief tossed them aside without a second thought. He snatched the fallen warrior's axe off the ground and raised it in the air, prepared to bring it down and end the threat to his Master's life.

Until she appeared in front of him, hands on his chest and a pleading look in her eyes. "Chief, stop! He's down!" She shouted. "There's no need to kill him!"

"Our objective was to destroy the White Fang." Despite his words, her emerald knight lowered the axe.

She suppressed a growl. This was like the night they first met all over again! He was going overboard and killing everyone he saw as a threat. First Torchwick and now the White Fang here tonight. She knew that he was a soldier, but she couldn't have him going around killing everybody. Not when they could avoid it.

"We can do that without killing them." She gestured to the unconscious and otherwise subdued White Fang grunts her team had taken down. "These people aren't Servants or Grimm. They don't have to die."

His golden visor stared emotionlessly back at her. "Is that an order?"

Her silver eyes narrowed. "Yes, it is."

"Understood." He briefly inclined his head and dropped the axe to the ground. "The last of the White Fang fled out the back. They must be regrouping. We need to follow them."

A sigh escaped her lips, and she walked over to snatch Crescent Rose off the ground. "You're right, but don't think this is over." She warned. "When we're finished here, you and me need to talk about the way you fight."

"Noted, ma'am."

---

Jaune wasn't sure what he'd expected from the White Fang.

Whenever the news brought them up, there was always an undercurrent of fear in their words. Fear of the deaths that followed in their wake. Horror at just how depraved and cruel they could be to their victims. Sometimes even moral judgement over how the White Fang had abandoned their pacifist roots to become monsters. Or in the case of Atlas, sheer rage.

He'd honestly been a little nervous about tonight. Even if team RWBY said they were nothing to worry about, they weren't exactly the best people to take advice from. They fought giant monsters and dangerous criminals like it was a game for them. Gods, he'd once heard Ruby brag about killing a horde of over sixty Grimm without breaking a sweat!

The gap between his strength and their own was so vast it might as well have been an ocean.

As it turned out, however, there was a big difference between your average White Fang recruit and a Hunter-in-training.

Even for a fraud like him!

Ducking under the clumsy swing of a White Fang grunt, Jaune bashed his shield into the face of his enemy. When they stumbled back in pain and dropped their sword, he slammed the blunt of his blade into the side of their head. He winced at how their skull bounced off the pavement when they dropped to the ground.

He almost whispered an apology to them for that. Then, remembering that these people were terrorists who'd have been happy to kill him, he shrugged and moved on.

Nothing he could do about it now.

Raising his shield up just in time to block a stream of bullets, he sprinted behind a nearby set of crates. Now in relative safety, he breathed a sigh of relief. Not long after, his team found their way behind the crate. If this battle had been easy for him, then this must have been a breeze for them. They didn't look like they'd broken a sweat so far.

"This is easier than I thought it would be." He said out loud. "You think we're just that good, or is the White Fang just that bad?"

Nora grinned. "Could be both."

"What's the plan, Jaune?" Ren asked. "We're a little outgunned here."

Good question. It would have been great if he had a plan to tell them. He peaked around the corner of the crate up at the catwalk above. When his team and the soldiers accompanying them had stormed the warehouse, they'd focused on targeting the White Fang on the ground. It had seemed like such a good idea at the time that Jaune hadn't given it a second thought. Not with how easily they all seemed to go down compared to a Grimm.

He should have known something would go wrong. Nothing was ever easy when he was involved.

He wasn't sure if they'd just missed the people on the catwalk or some of the Fang grunts had gone up there once the fighting started. What he did know was that they had turned this from a quick and easy fight into a very dangerous situation. Once they had manned the turret up above and started firing down on his group, it had forced his team to scramble for cover.

All while the rest of the White Fang could flee out the back or get into better positions to shoot at them.

A bullet pinged off the steel crate next to his head and he ducked back just in time to avoid a concentrated burst of fire on his position. He grimaced and looked around for the soldiers that had come with them. The tension in his muscles relaxed when he saw they had taken cover as well, albeit with a few more injuries than his team.

"Jaune." Pyrrha's voice cut through his thoughts. "What should we do?"

His eyes narrowed. "Your Semblance is Polarity, right?"

"It is." She confirmed. "What did you have in mind?"

"Think you could rip the weapons out of their hands and crush them?" He asked. "Could make getting them to surrender a lot easier if they can't fight back."

She frowned. "I could… with how many of them are here, though, it'd drain my Aura pretty fast." She glanced away. "But if that's your plan, I'll see what I can do."

"No, don't. We need you in this at your best." He didn't want to leave her weak enough that a single stray bullet could break her Aura and threaten her life. "How about the catwalk instead? Think you could break it, so the turret is gone?"

A laugh bubbled past her lips. "That I can do."

With the turret still focused on Jaune's side of the crate and the Atlesian soldiers nearby, none of them noticed Pyrrha peak out from behind their cover. When no one immediately tried to shoot her, she stepped out with her shield up. By the time the White Fang had realized she was in the open, it was too late.

The catwalk creaked dangerously above them. The grunts above stopped firing to look down at their feet as the metal beneath them rumbled and shook with increasing fervor. Then, without warning, the ear-splitting screech of metal drowned out the gunfire in the warehouse.

The free-floating catwalk jerked to the side and launched the Faunus on it into the walk. In one smooth motion, Pyrrha magnetically spun the metal walkway on its side and slammed it into the ground in front of them – allowing it to act as a barrier against the remaining White Fang's gunfire.

Pyrrha looked their way with a bright smile. "Come on. We have a warehouse to clear."

As the four of them and the Atlesian soldiers advanced to take out the remaining White Fang, one thing was obvious to Jaune.

Pyrrha was the best partner anyone could ask for.

Standing amidst the crumpled, groaning forms of the White Fang, Jaune felt a smile split his face. These grunts hadn't been the toughest opponents, but they were still dangerous. They had been planning to launch more attacks on the city to spread terror among its people.

And he had helped stop them. Even if he wasn't as strong or skilled as his friends, he had still helped put a stop to it. More than anything, this showed Jaune that he really could be a Huntsman. After all, if he could stop international terrorists, then it didn't matter if he was a fraud or not.

Though muted by the metal walls around them, they could still hear gunfire in the distance. Jaune frowned and stepped forward. "Come on. We need to go help the others clear the rest of the warehouses."

"Shouldn't someone stay with these guys?" Nora gestured to the White Fang at their feet. "I know they're down, but we don't want them escaping."

Hmm… good point. Well, if anyone was going to stay and watch them, it would have to be him. As the weakest person here, he wouldn't be missed as much as his team would. Even the soldiers would be more helpful if they could put their numbers to good use.

And honestly, these goons had already been beaten. No amount of pained stumbling or crawling on the ground would help them get away with him standing guard. At least, he hoped not. It'd be embarrassing if he somehow managed to screw this up.

"You guys go on ahead." He ordered. "I'll stick around to watch the prisoners."

They all gave him a brief nod of confirmation before rushing out the back towards the rest of the fighting. Only Pyrrha stayed behind for a moment, uncertainty writ across her face. It was only after he gave her a reassuring smile that she relented and ran after the others.

Taking a seat on a nearby crate, Jaune hummed quietly to himself. If things kept going the way they were, it wouldn't be too much longer until the rest of the White Fang had been dealt with. This mission had been easy. No Hunters among the White Fang and no sign of the Caster or its Master.

Jaune had never been a spiritual person. Few people on Remnant were. Even after the Headmaster had revealed the truth to them all, he still didn't feel any need to revere the Brother Gods. But if every fight in the Holy Grail War could go this smoothly?

Then maybe the Gods weren't so bad, after all.

He heard a soft thud behind him, and he turned to see what it was. That was the only thing that managed to save him from the lance that struck where his head had once been.

A startled gasp tore from his lips as he launched himself back. He managed to raise his shield just in time to block another strike aimed at his throat. His enemy took advantage of his unsteady footing and slammed their boot into his shield, launching him back and sending him tumbling along the ground.

Peaking over the rim of his heater shield, Jaune caught a clear view of his enemy. Crouched low to the ground was a thin woman in a black version of the typical White Fang uniform, her mask tightly pressed across her face. The lance in her hand looked simple enough, but time listening to Ruby had taught him no Huntress ever had simple weapons. The fact it was dripping some unknown, green liquid just put him even more on edge.

Jaune resisted the urge to sigh.

The Gods could go fuck themselves.

This was bad. He got his ass kicked daily by the rest of his classmates, and they were all just first-years! If that was anything to go by, then this woman would turn him into mince meat faster than he could blink! Why!? Why was his luck this bad!? Watching the prisoners was meant to be the easy job he couldn't screw up!

If he ever found out who or what was behind his terrible luck, he was kicking them in the balls.

He needed to focus, though. Fighting this woman wasn't an option, and he doubted she'd just let him run for backup. Which meant he had one option… he would need to talk and bullshit his way out of this.

… he was so gonna die.

"You should surrender." It took everything he had to keep his voice steady. "It'll be a lot easier than fighting and save us both a lot of pain."

Okay, so just him, but she didn't need to know that!

She snorted. "I've seen you fight, brat. You're nothing special."

He audibly gulped. "And um… where exactly were you during the fight?" He decided to ask. "Seems to me your friends could have used your help."

"Typical Human. I was waiting for the right time to strike, not just charging in like an arrogant fool." The Huntress growled. "Once I've killed you, I can get these morons out of here."

Oh, she'd just decided he was going to die no matter what. And here he'd been hoping there might be a chance he could get away with just a beating if he was lucky. That'd show him to get his hopes up.

"I won't go down easy." Please believe him. "All I have to do is make a lot of noise and my team will come running. You won't be able to stop all of us."

"You can't scream if your lungs are filled with blood."

… he was beginning to understand why Atlas called the White Fang bloodthirsty psychopaths.

"Look, just surrender now and I promise you'll get a fair trial." Jaune tried instead. "That's what you guys want, right? The chance to tell your side of the story and be heard? You can finally get justice."

The fierce scowl on her face showed him that had been the wrong thing to say. "I've seen your Human justice many times! You talk and talk and talk, yet when it comes to doing anything, you look away! You allow our tormentors to get away with a slap on the wrist while we are beaten down and labeled monsters for daring to fight back!"

Okay, looked like he had hit a sore spot. Not that he could blame her. He'd been around Blake long enough to know that the law treated the Faunus differently than Humans. It wasn't an excuse for their terrorism, but he could at least understand why they felt the need to fight back.

Abuse someone long enough and it was only a matter of time until they snapped.

The time for talk was done. The Huntress lunged forward; lance poised to strike his exposed legs. Instead of blocking the attack, he stepped aside at the last moment and slammed his foot down on its tip to hold it in place. Rearing back, he tried to slam the edge of his shield into his foe's face.

She weaved out of the way and used her momentum to kick her leg into his stomach. A grunt of pain escaped him and stumbled back. With her lance now free, the Huntress swung it up to slash at his face.

Crocea Mors diverted the strike and batted it aside. As he and the Huntress clashed, Jaune could see the faint outline of serpent scales around the edge of the Faunus' mouth. Tightening his grip on his shield, he yelled and pushed forward against her lance. With his superior height and weight, it was an easy task to push her back.

What he hadn't expected was for her to leap back and dance out of his path. With the sudden loss of a counterbalance, he stumbled forward with a startled cry. Before he could regain his footing, the Huntress swept his legs out from under him.

His skull bounced off the pavement, and his vision swam. A pained cry tore from his lips as her lance impaled his left shoulder to the ground. He tried to raise his blade to fend her off, but it was useless. She stepped out of its arc and grabbed his arm by the wrist. Then, with nothing more than a simple twist of his thumb, she forced him to drop his weapon and kicked it away.

Cruel laughter reached his ears, and he looked up at the smiling face of his soon-to-be killer. He didn't know what was worse. The fact that his killer seemed to find his defeat amusing or the fucking spear in his shoulder that he was pretty sure had been laced with some kind of poison!

"Honestly, even for a Human, that was a pathetic showing." She taunted. Instead of just tearing her weapon out of his shoulder and killing him, she crouched down and straddled his chest. "You Humans always looked down on us Faunus for our animal aspects. I think it's only right that you die from mine. My own little form of justice, if you will."

His heart was hammering in his chest so fast it felt like the ground was shaking. When her lips pealed back to reveal a mouth full of massive fangs dripping with saliva, he could hear his heart beating in his ears.

Of all the ways he thought he'd go out… this hadn't been one of them. He'd hoped it would be when he was old and infirm after a life of glory and adventure, surrounded by friends and family. Maybe even heroically sacrificing himself to save a band of refuges from a hoard of Grimm.

Not by a random snake woman straddling his chest in some crumbling warehouse with a spear in his shoulder.

He tried his best to struggle and throw her off. He really did. He was too weak, though. He didn't know if it was the spear in his shoulder or the poison in his system, but all he managed to do was weakly bat at her with his one good arm and limply buck his hips.

A sadistic giggle tore past the Huntress' lip. "Oh, don't struggle. This is already gonna hurt enough." She hissed. "No need to make it any worse."

Her hands tightened around his throat, and she leaned down, mouth stretched wide. A gasp escaped Jaune, his eyes widening in shock at something over her shoulder. It wasn't for her, though. The ground rumbled, and the Huntress blinked, leaning back to look at what had caught his attention.

Just in time for a massive, armored fist to slam into the side of her skull.

Her body sailed through the air and slammed into the far wall, leaving a massive dent where she had struck. The Huntress fell to the ground in a battered and bruised heap, a pained groan escaping her lips.

When she looked up to see what had hit her, Lancer's towering form and the emotionless gaze of his golden visor greeted her. For a moment, a deafening silence permeated the room. Lancer shattered the silence when the drill on his arm began spinning violently.

"P-please, wait!" The Huntress cried, her hands coming up in surrender. "I give up! I won't fight anymore!"

The ground shook as his Servant stepped forward.

"I'm sorry! I was just trying to scare the brat!"

A roar echoed from within Lancer's suit, shattering the few remaining windows in the warehouse. His scream was filled with such rage that it drowned out the sounds of combat coming from outside. As Lancer reared back his drill, the Huntress let out a desperate wail and sent him a pleading look.

Even impaled on the ground with poison flowing through his veins, Jaune couldn't just sit back and do nothing. He couldn't watch someone die. Not even someone who had been trying to kill him. He struggled against the spear in his shoulder and reached out. "Lancer, wait-"

It was too late.

Her Aura shattered the instant Lancer's drill struck her skin. There was a sickening squelch followed by the rapid-fire sound of bones being ground into dust as her chest caved in. For a fraction of a second, a bloodcurdling scream escaped her before she fell silent, the drill decimating her lungs and stealing the air from her throat.

Jaune didn't want to look upon her violent demise, but he couldn't look away. For what seemed like an eternity, he watched and listened as his Servant butchered the woman who had tried to kill him. When Lancer stepped back, the full impact of what had been done to her hit him. She hadn't just been impaled by the drill; she'd nearly been cut in two!

A giant, gaping hole where her chest had once been. Her lifeless eyes stared back at him in accusing, agonized saucers and her face frozen in a silent scream.

Lancer turned to him, the drill finally spinning to a stop and splattering blood across its wielder.

Jaune couldn't help it.

He threw up.

He hadn't… he'd known that there would be killing involved in this war. Ozpin had made it clear what the stakes were, and Jaune had agreed to it. He just hadn't expected it to be so brutal, though. He'd thought that he could avoid it where possible and only kill those who left him with no choice.

Lancer was covered in so much blood. Too much for it to all have been from the Huntress he had just slaughtered. His Servant had been assaulting one of the warehouses on his own… just how many people had he killed?

How many more would he kill before the war was over?

His Servant stopped next to him and reached out to grasp the spear in his shoulder. Before he pulled it out, Lancer tilted his helmet down towards Jaune. As he stared up into the reflective visor, only one thought was on his mind.

Had that Huntress died watching her own face contort in pain?

Grimacing, he nodded up at Lancer and braced himself for the pain. In a single smooth motion, Lancer tore the spear from his shoulder and tossed it aside. Jaune screamed in pain and clutched his shoulder, gritting his teeth and groaning from the throbbing pain.

"Damn it… I need to get to a doctor." He told Lancer. "That woman poisoned her weapon, and I'm losing a lot of blood."

A worried moan met his ears. Lancer crouched down and gently took Jaune's hand away from his wound. Turning towards him, his Servant slowly placed his hand atop the wound. Another low, melodic rumble echoed from within the giant's suit as his golden visor met Jaune's blue eyes.

Jaune tried his best to smile. "Of course, I trust you."

Even if Lancer had gone overboard with all the death, there was no changing that. Lancer had only been trying to protect him and follow his orders. He couldn't blame him for that, especially when he'd just saved his life. He'd just need to find a way to convince Lancer to be a little more merciful next time around.

Then Lancer's hand set itself on fire and Jaune wondered just why the universe liked to kick him while he was down. His screams did nothing to deter his Servant from turning him over and then laying his flaming hand on the back of his shoulder as well.

When he was finished, Lancer stepped back and offered Jaune his hand. With tears staining his eyes, Jaune glared at his Servant and struggled to get to his feet on his own.

"Why would you do that!?" He practically screamed.

Lancer let out a long, bone-chilling moan and gently prodded his shoulder. Jaune felt a flash of concern through their bond.

He sighed. "Right. You needed to stop the bleeding. I guess that was a good idea. Just warn a guy next time, will you?"

Lancer reached down to ruffle his hair. Scowling, Jaune jerked away in annoyance and tried to fix it. With a tired sigh, he snatched his weapons up off the ground. The sound of fighting had stopped by now, and it didn't take a genius to realize that their side had won.

A ragged breath escaped him. "D-damn it…." He mumbled. "Lancer, would you-"

Lancer didn't even wait for him to finish talking. As his drill disappeared in a shimmer of magical energy, he gently scooped Jaune up off his feet and carried him bridal style. He would have been embarrassed, had it not been for the throbbing pain coursing through his body.

As things stood, Jaune was just happy to be off his feet.

When the two of them emerged from the warehouse, Jaune resisted the urge to flinch away. He had been right about his friends having won, but he hadn't expected it to have been so… brutal. While some of the bodies on the ground were still moving and making noise, most of them weren't. They had been slashed and chopped apart to such a brutal degree that various limbs and heads were scattered around the area, their original bodies unidentifiable amidst the carnage.

At the center of it all was Ozpin's Servant, Geralt. It wasn't hard to figure out he had done most of the killing. Just like Lancer, Geralt's armor was covered in the blood of the people he killed. Unlike his Servant, however, Geralt looked… unhappy with what he had done. Not disgusted or sad, just disappointed.

It wasn't a look he'd expected to see on a man who had dismembered people like they were Grimm.

It didn't take him long to spot his team and team RWBY standing off to the side over a group of White Fang they'd taken prisoner. Compared to him, they all looked fresh as daisies. When they spotted him in Lancer's arms, he tried to wave and smile. "Hey, guys. Great job-"

"Jaune!"

They sprinted over the moment they saw the shape he was in. He was almost afraid they'd try to tackle him out of concern. Thankfully, Lancer lifted him up high enough that none of them could reach him.

He really was such a good partner. Not as good as Pyrrha, but still.

"What happened to you?" Nora shouted. "We left you alone surrounded by unconscious and useless goons! Don't tell me they did this to you!"

Thankfully, no. What little pride he had left wouldn't have survived something that humiliating.

"There was a Huntress we missed. She attacked me once you all left." He tried to laugh but ended up wincing from the pain it caused. "She was… a little more than I could handle."

"Yet you survived." Pyrrha pointed out. "That's impressive. Most people our age couldn't hope to beat a fully fledged Huntress, so take pride in what you've accomplished."

He smiled. "I think you're overestimating me."

"I don't know, Vomit Boy." Yang teased. "I think she's underestimating you. I'll bet you beat that Huntress, and these are just your trophy scars."

"Well, of course he did!" Nora grinned. "He is our fearless leader. No one can beat him when he puts his mind to it!"

Jaune couldn't help but roll his eyes. He knew they were just saying it to make him feel better, but it was working. If nothing else, it was distracting him from his pain. "That's me. So stubborn I could use it as a weapon. Watch out, Pyrrha. I'll be coming for your title any day now."

Pyrrha's emerald eyes sparkled in delight. "I look forward to it."

A strange sound came from beneath him. A deep, rhythmic whistling – like a hummingbird was trying to sing from within a church bell. It took him a second to realize that it was Lancer's laugh. It was strangely pleasant to listen to.

"Shouldn't we get you to a doctor?" Ruby eventually pointed out. "You look like you're in bad shape."

"I feel worse than I look." He admitted. "The poison's not exactly helping."

They all reared back in shock. "Poison!?" Ruby shouted.

"Yeah. That Huntress coated her weapon with it." He frowned. "Did I forget to mention that?"

Based on the way they were all hyperventilating and frantically looking around, he had.

Thankfully, one of the Atlesian soldiers nearby had noticed. "I wouldn't worry too much." He assured them. "We've got a doctor back on the flagship who deals with this sort of stuff all the time. A night under her care and he'll be good as new by tomorrow."

"There, see? Nothing to worry about!" He gave them all a thumbs up.

Pyrrha reached out to touch him but pulled back halfway, an uncertain look in her eyes. "We should still get you to that doctor as soon as possible." She suggested. "Who knows what the poison is doing to you?"

A good point. They couldn't leave yet, though. Not when his curiosity had been peaked by the sight of Geralt moving towards one of their prisoners. The others all followed his gaze towards the white-haired Saber as he crouched down in front of the cowering man.

"You. What's your name?" Geralt asked.

"P-Pip, sir!" With how high their voice was, they couldn't have been any older than eighteen. "Please, don't kill me! I have a family!"

Geralt grunted. "I don't plan on it. Not unless you give me a reason to. Answer my questions and everything will be fine."

"I can't tell you anything!" The boy cried. "I only signed up a week ago! I barely even had time to get a uniform…."

Geralt's eyes narrowed. "I'm not looking for anything you wouldn't know." He reached out to grab the Faunus by the chin and force them to look at him. "Do you know who was behind the attack on Atlas' embassy?"

The boy frantically nodded his head. "Y-yeah! The news may not have reported it, but everyone in the White Fang knows it was Adam Taurus who lead the attack!" Despite the fear on his face, his voice was filled with admiration. "He's a legend among Faunus. He's gonna be the one to burn Atlas and the SDC to the ground!"

Weiss and Blake both flinched. It wasn't hard to see why Weiss would considering this was her home and family they were talking about, but why Blake? Jaune knew she'd been in the White Fang, but she couldn't feel responsible for what they were planning. Did she maybe know who this Adam guy was? Had she worked with him in the past?

Questions for later.

"Interesting. Has he started working with anyone new recently?" Geralt prodded. "They'd look strange. Almost like a Huntsman, but with a more commanding presence. Probably be trusted even more than other members of your little group."

Pip shifted in place. "I… did hear a rumor that he was working with some stranger. Word is, they just appeared out of nowhere one day and saved one of our camps from a Grimm horde." He said. "No idea what kinda Faunus they are, though. Never heard of one with pointed ears for an animal trait."

That sounded like a Servant alright. It looked like they'd found out who Caster's Master was. Ozpin and Ironwood would be happy, at least. If the look of terror on Blake's face was anything to go by, though? This was far from good news.

"Hmm. Good to know." Geralt grabbed Pip by the shoulders and helped him to his feet. "You're gonna deliver a message to Adam for us. Got it?"

The boy flinched away. "I-I don't know where he is. Like I said, I'm new."

"Then give the message to someone who can." Geralt quickly raised his hand and made a few brief, strange signals with his hand. To Jaune's astonishment, Pip suddenly stilled and stared at Geralt with rapt attention, all traces of fear gone. "Tell Adam that the Headmaster of Beacon knows about Caster and wants to negotiate. There's something important he should know if he wants his wish granted."

Pip swayed and stumbled away, quietly muttering the message to himself the entire time. Some of the Atlesian soldiers moved to stop him, but a stern look from Geralt halted them. Ironwood wouldn't be happy about this, but Ozpin had said he wanted to negotiate with Caster's Master.

Letting one of the White Fang's agents go to deliver a message was one way to make that happen.

The first battle had ended in their favor. Barring Jaune's own injuries and a few injured Atlesian's, this had been an effortless victory. He could only hope that the rest of the Holy Grail War would go just as smoothly.

The fate of Remnant depended on it.

---

Vacuo was a Kingdom founded on a singular ideal.

Might makes right.

It was a core part of its identity. The blistering sands and scorching heat left little room for the weak or stupid. To survive in Vacuo, you needed to be strong, resourceful, and cutthroat. If you weren't willing to step on other people for what you wanted, then you would inevitably end up as a steppingstone for someone else. It was why their people were pound for pound the strongest fighters in the world.

Or at least, that's how things were supposed to be.

Ever since the end of the Great War, Vacuo had been in decline. Once upon a time, they had been an equal of the other kingdoms. Their armies had saved Vale from being conquered, and it had been Vacuan soil where the war had been won. The world should have been theirs for the taking!

Yet while they had won the war, the peace that followed had been their undoing. Foreign nations and their elite stealing their resources. A treaty that denied Vacuo its right to the territory and resources of their fallen foes. Even mass emigration as its people sought out other, less hostile Kingdoms to live in. After close to eighty years, it had left Vacuo a hollow shell of its former self.

Jax Asturias would fix that.

As the true heir to Malik the Sunderer, it was his birthright to rule over a powerful Kingdom.

He certainly felt like royalty, even if nothing was official yet. Lounging within his royal chambers, he sat back on his bed while one of his servants fed him freshly peeled grapes. The Crown Bunker may not have been as connected to civilization as he'd have liked, but he made sure that they didn't lack the luxuries out here. He and his sister were royalty, so they deserved to be treated as such!

If only he could convince her their secret bunker needed a memorable name. Then things would be perfect.

Jax sighed in contentment as he swallowed the fresh fruit. That could come later. Things were running smoothly for his people lately. Followers flocked to their banner, and they added many powerful Semblances to their army. All it would take was a little more manpower and political support. Then they could finally make their move.

There was a brief knock before his door was pushed open without his permission. His sister, Gillian, entered and rolled her eyes at him. She saw the luxuries of royalty as more of an annoyance than anything else. It was her loss.

You hadn't lived until a buxom beauty had fed you peeled grapes on silk sheets.

"Gill! Good to see you!" He greeted, munching on another grape. "What brings you here?"

"Business, Jax." She crossed her arms. "Tell your minion to go away."

Reluctantly, he waved his servant away. With glazed over eyes, the woman mechanically marched out of his room and shut the door without making a sound. A yawn escaped him, and he leaned back. "Go on. What is it?"

Gillian scrunched up her nose in disgust. "Will you please put on some clothes?"

He pouted. "Spoil sport."

After a few annoyed moments of rifling through his drawers, he stood before his sister and crossed his arms. "There, I'm wearing pants. Now what was so important you had to interrupt my leisure time?"

"Oh, nothing much. I just thought you'd like to know who destroyed our operation in Vale." She sighed dramatically and shrugged her shoulders. "But you're right. That really is such a minor thing compared to you living out a juvenile fantasy. Please forgive me, dear brother-"

"Alright, alright! I get it!" Jax growled, face flushed from embarrassment. If anyone else had talked to him that way, he'd make them eat glass. Gillian got a pass. "What do you know?"

"From what I'm told, it was a Hunter. He struck from the shadows and cut down everyone with ruthless efficiency." She told him. "By the time our people realized what was going on and rallied to confront him, it was too late. There wasn't enough to stop him."

Jax frowned. "What about our Huntsmen? We had like over a dozen of them working in Vale. Doesn't matter how skilled he is, he couldn't have taken them all."

"You'd be surprised." Gillian hummed. "He hunted most of them down before the fighting began. There was a full team left, though. It didn't matter. He toyed with them like they were Shade dropouts."

Jax whistled. Anyone who could take out a full team of Hunters on their own in open combat would be a valuable ally to have on their side. Or better yet, a pawn to have under his total control. With strength like that on their side, even the infamous Headmaster of Shade wouldn't be able to stop them.

"Interesting." He purred. "We had security cameras at our base in Vale, right? They must have caught a glimpse of this guy."

"They did."

Silence passed between them. Eventually, Jax pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. "Gillian, do you have the footage?"

Scoffing, Gillian crossed her arms and looked away from her brother. "You know how I feel about using Atlas technology!" She growled. "Those bastards don't deserve to be rewarded for oppressing our people!"

Jax avoided her eyes. He didn't like Atlas as much as the next guy, but his sister was something else entirely. Not using Dust, scrolls, or most other modern tech because it had been made in Atlas? It was absurd, not that he ever told his sister that. She was depriving herself of valuable tools over something as meaningless as pride.

He blamed their father for this.

"I'll just have our agents send it to me later." He grunted. "Well, looks we'll be focusing on Vale for the foreseeable future."

She blinked. "What do you mean? I know the prospect of this Hunter excites you, but we can't just abandon our plans here to chase him down."

He chuckled. "Oh, we won't be." He said. "My puppet on the Council has been telling me very interesting stuff lately. Apparently, there's a massive Grimm horde lead by a sapient Grimm trying to destroy Vale."

"And after hearing all this, you've somehow decided it's a good idea to focus our efforts on the doomed Kingdom?" Gillian asked. "Jax… are you insane?"

"They do say insanity and genius are two sides of the same coin." He grinned. "Think about it, Gillian. All of Vale's strongest Huntsmen will be gathered in one spot. And if Vale's leaders have their way, they'll have Vacuo, Mistral, and Atlas' Hunters as well."

Gillian hummed, her black braids swaying as she tilted her head. "So many powerful warriors and Semblances will be there. If we could get them to join us-"

"We'd be unstoppable." He finished. "And it's not just Huntsmen. There'll be military leaders, captains of industry, and prominent political figures. All trying to prepare that city to defend itself from destruction. It's almost like they're asking us to take their power for ourselves."

His sister looked away. "I don't know… I won't deny their power could help us reclaim Vacuo, but if we take all their defenders, millions will die." Her voice quivered. "I don't want genocide on my conscience, Jax."

Jax did his best to keep his annoyance off his face. His sister always had been soft. Here was a golden opportunity to take back the birthright that had been stolen from them, and she was hesitating over the worthless lives of Valeans. That kind of compassion was pathetic.

He'd have to find a way to break her of it, but now wasn't the time.

"I'm told their civilians will be evacuated to other Kingdoms until the threat is over." Jax assured her. "They'll be fine. So what if their city falls? We were planning to conquer it, anyway."

Gillian frowned. "I suppose…." Another sigh escaped her as she turned to leave. "I've already taken the liberty of sending Carmine and Bertilak ahead to rebuild our operation in Vale. They'll make the preparations for our arrival."

Good. It would be a while before he and his sister could go to Vale, but when they did? All that power would be theirs. No one would be able to stand against them. Vacuo would be theirs. And after that?

The entire world.

---

"Have you arrived in Vale yet?"

Whitley glanced out the window of his private jet. This late at night, Vale was a shining beacon in the distance. Even surrounded by mountains, its skyscrapers were a sight to behold. Swirling the water in his glass, he hummed.

"It shouldn't be long. A few more minutes at most, father."

"Excellent." His father's eyes narrowed on the other end of the screen. "Remember, this is not a vacation, Whitley. You are there on official SDC business."

As if he needed to be reminded of that. He'd waited so long for his father to give him a chance to prove his worth, and now he had it. If he could prove himself here, then perhaps he could finally convince father that he would be a worthy heir to the company.

"I understand." He bowed his head in respect. "May I ask you something, father?"

His father frowned. "Hmm… very well. What is it you want to know?"

"This deal you want me to help broker between Vale and the SDC… it seems rather steep." He began. "I understand that our Dust is the cream of the crop, but charging a thousand percent per ounce might be too much. It could drive our clients to seek alternatives."

It was simple economics. If one supplier was charging too much for something, customers would find less expensive alternatives. The SDC may have cornered the market when it came to Dust, but that didn't mean they didn't have competitors. A move like this could be dangerous in the long run.

"Ordinarily, you'd be right. A move like this would be foolish." Yet if the greedy glint in his father's eyes was any indication, he believed otherwise. "I've come to learn that Dust will soon be in high demand in Vale, however. It would be a waste not to take advantage of it."

Whitley kept his face straight. Whatever his father had learned, Whitley wasn't sure he agreed. Any businessman or politician worth their salt would be insulted by a deal like this. Even if Vale did agree to it, their people would suffer. He could already hear the news stories of people hoarding Dust and getting into fights over it.

Their already poor reputation was going to take another hit.

"I'll trust your instincts." He said instead. There was no need to antagonize his father. "Will I be free to make decisions on my own?"

"Within reason." Father told him. "Our Vale branch managers will be there to assist you, but for this deal, you will be in charge. Remember, a Schnee leads, we do not follow."

Words he had heard his entire life. For better or worse.

"I'll do my best, father."

"I know you will. Good luck, Whitley, not that I think you'll need it." His father laughed. "They may complain and shout, but you will have all the power. Simply remain firm and they will accept the deal."

Whitley bowed his head. "Thank you for the advice. I'll make you proud."

"We shall see." His father paused for a moment. "Should you succeed here, perhaps we can talk about your future in the company."

A thrill of excitement shot through him. Despite his best attempts, he couldn't keep the smile off his face. If father noticed, he didn't comment on it. With a brief nod, he ended the call and left Whitley to his own thoughts.

The youngest Schnee quietly laughed to himself. He couldn't fail here. He didn't know what had driven his father to this, but he didn't care. He would prove that he had what it took to become the heir to the company.

As his eyes took in the city below, a frown crossed his face.

And who knew? Perhaps he could visit Weiss while he was here. She was at Beacon and it wouldn't be too difficult for him to find time to visit. If the rumors were true, she'd been on quite a few wild adventures ever since she came to this Kingdom.

Oh, who was he kidding? The only person she cared about in this family was Winter.

She'd never want to see him.

---

The Grimm – a Beowolf - struggled against the mechanical restraints, holding it in place. Various machines monitored its vitals and catheters were hooked up to its body. Slowly, a noxious green liquid flowed from the machines into the body of the canine Grimm. Struggling against its bindings, it howled in agony. Its powerful jaws snapped at an imaginary threat while its claws dug into the cold steel beneath it.

For over a minute, the monster continued to thrash around. Its muscles visibly strained and bulged against the torture being inflicted upon it. Even its normally hate-filled, glowing red eyes had dulled. Until finally, the Beowolf stilled on the operating table. The monster barely moved, even as the ominous red of its eyes and bone armor were replaced with a luminescent green. The only sign it was still alive was the gentle rise and fall of its chest.

In the observation room above, Dr. Merlot cheered in excitement!

After years of setbacks and struggle, he had thought that his attempt to control and enhance the Grimm would be in vain. Mountain Glenn had shaken his faith after he had lost all his research in its destruction. Yet he had persevered, and now he had been rewarded!

Earlier experiments had already proven that his serum could make them stronger, faster, and unlock potent new abilities within the creatures. Some had even become more intelligent after exposure to it. Yet until today, none of them had survived more than a few minutes with it running through their system. The vital signs of his current test subject, however, were normal.

If he could replicate this for all species of Grimm, then this version of the serum would be a true success! All he needed now was to finish his work on the control chips, and he would be one step closer to his vision. A vision of a world where Humanity no longer feared the Grimm, instead embracing them as beasts of burden and tools for their advancement as a species.

With himself immortalized in history as the savior of the world, of course.

He couldn't get ahead of himself, however. He needed to test what his new mutant Grimm were capable of. That meant thorough combat trials that would push these monsters to their limits. It was only once he knew exactly what they could do that he could begin planning how to best use them.

Merlot hummed and tapped his finger against his chin. The Vytal Festival was being hosted in Vale this go around. And if he remembered right, it was getting close to the time Beacon sent its first years out with veteran Huntsmen on missions. So many powerful warriors would be gathered in one place – each with unique fighting styles, Semblances, and strategies.

The perfect test for his experiments.

Yes… Vale would do quite nicely.

---

"The Schnee brat will be landing in Vale soon."

"Do you plan to target him?"

"Not yet. The Schnee will pay for what they've done, but only when the time is right."

"A wise move. Yet he is a child, is he not? Surely there are better targets for our campaign."

"No. Short of Jacques himself, the boy will make a good example. His death will show the world the White Fang can make the Schnee bleed."

"At the cost of a child's life. I cannot help but wonder if there aren't better ways to do this."

"Enough, Caster! Whatever you may believe, I am still in charge. This is my war, not yours. We'll fight it my way."

"As you wish, Master. Just be careful. There are some lines that should not be crossed."

---

"Useless fools! Your weakness makes a mockery of our goddess!"

Salem let out a tired sigh and closed her eyes in annoyance. "Tyrian, be silent. I am in no mood for your shouting."

Her deranged follower flinched away. For someone as obsessed with her as him, her scorn would have hurt him far more than any physical blow. "O-of course, my goddess."

With Tyrian suitably chastised, Salem turned her attention back to the Grimmlands below to watch the battle taking place.

And what a battle it was. A variety of Grimm from every continent had been gathered here. Flocks of Nevermore that blotted out the sky, Beowolves and Ursa working in tandem to crush their enemies, even a Geist possessing a group of nearby boulders. Even one of Ozma's vaunted Huntsmen would have trouble dealing with this many Grimm working together.

Yet their enemy was not a Huntsman. It wasn't even Human. From a distance or on a dimly lit night, perhaps they could have been mistaken for medieval warriors. Yet the eerie moans and guttural grunts they made gave away their inhuman nature. Some wore torn, tattered robes while others wore massive sets of rusted, bloody armor. A few even had crude gray masks sewn onto their faces.

Yet for all their differences, two things united the monstrous creatures. The first was rotting ebony skin that clung to their bones. The other was the dreadful aura that rolled off them in waves. She'd seen her followers' shudder in the presence of these monsters – even Tyrian. Her Grimm, though? They seemed almost… galvanized by the stench of death that followed them.

The two opposing forces clashed below. Claw and fang ripped through the armor of their foes. Blades, spears, and hammers tore through the bone and sinew of the Grimm, spraying blood across the ground that quickly evaporated. The Geist smashed one heavily armored monster into a fine paste, only to be blown back by a massive blast of lightning from one monster wearing a robe.

They were evenly matched.

"My, my." A voice with an alluringly powerful lilt spoke. "These Grimm of yours are impressive."

Salem's eyes flicked towards the source of the voice. Standing not far away was an exceptionally beautiful woman. Analytical brown eyes peered down at the battle below, her ashen white hair falling into two pigtails on either side of her face. Cloaked in a purple and black coat with ritualistic gold trimmings, she cut an imposing figure.

Her Servant.

Her Berserker.

"They are my goddess' children." Tyrian grinned in delight at the sight of an Ursa tearing its enemy apart below. "They are utterly perfect."

Berserker chuckled. "I wouldn't go that far. They are strong, yes, but little more than mindless beasts." A smile stretched across her face as the Geist was brought to its knees, a lance piercing its bone mask. "Nothing my Risen can't overcome."

Ah yes, that had been these creatures' names. Risen. A fitting name for what amounted to little more than walking corpses, driven only by the whims of their mistress. Strength to match the Grimm and the intelligence to match Humanity.

They would be a useful tool.

Tyrian growled. "Heresy! None can surpass my goddess' creations!"

"Touched a nerve, have I?" Berserker taunted. "Well, perhaps none in this world can surpass your goddess. Alas, you are now in the presence of two goddesses. You should count yourself lucky for the privilege."

Tyrian barred his fangs and uncoiled his tail. His muscles tensed as he prepared to lash out at the affront to his goddess. Berserker's eyes sparkled with mirth, as though Tyrian was no threat to her at all.

"Enough." Salem sighed and turned away from the battle. "She is goading you, Tyrian. Do not waste your life over my honor when I still have a use for you."

Tyrian forced himself to relax, though his glare for Berserker did not lessen. "As you command, mistress. Shall I go collect Watts and Hazel?"

If it would get him out of her hair for a few moments. "Yes. I wish to hear of their progress."

Once he was gone, Salem collapsed into a nearby chair next to the war table and looked toward the ceiling. She honestly hoped Tyrian couldn't find them. The fool wouldn't bother returning until he had them with him, which meant she could finally have some peace and quiet. Just a bit of time to rest her eyes.

Or at least, that was what she should have had, were it not for the presence of Berserker.

"He reminds me of my own followers." Berserker sauntered over and sat on the edge of the table, looking down at her. "The Grimleal were just as devoted to me as he is to you."

"And were they as deranged as him?"

A grin. "Some were worse. They were willing to damn the world at my command. It made them useful pawns."

Not too different from Tyrian then. Salem was glad she only had him to deal with and not an entire religion. She didn't think the world – let alone herself – could handle multiple Tyrian's. The things she'd heard him say and seen him do in her name….

It made even her want to puke.

"Your Risen are impressive." She told her Servant. "They will make a fine addition to my army."

"Combined with your Grimm, they shall be unstoppable." Berserker grinned. "You said we had a few months before we began our attack? A promise to your dear Ozma if I'm not mistaken?"

Her eyes sparked dangerously. "Yes. It shall give us time to gather our forces and weaken their own."

Flipping her hair over her shoulder, Berserker looked like the cat who had caught the canary. "But of course. What other reason could there be?" She said. "After all, you want the bastard dead as much as I do. You would never dream of going easy on him-"

"Was there a point to this line of questioning?" Salem growled. "Or are you just determined to annoy me, Berserker?"

"Why can't it be both, Master?" With a wink and a laugh, Berserker hopped off the table and stretched her arms. "Creating an army of Risen can be a rather dull task, and this world of yours is so interesting! I'm curious about how you use your souls as weapons."

It was strange. From what she knew of past Grail Wars, Berserkers were mindless beasts. Powerful warriors that traded their sanity and sapience for enhanced strength that gave them an edge over their opponents. They often caused the deaths of their Masters due to the strain it placed on their bodies, but such was not the case with her.

If she had summoned a normal Berserker, it would have been a perfect tool in her war.

Yet somehow, Salem's Berserker was in control of herself. Capable of coherent speech, forethought, and manners. It should have been impossible… yet here she stood. All the power and none of the insanity that was said to come with it. Could it be possible that it lurked beneath the surface, waiting for a time to reveal itself?

Salem didn't know. It irked her not knowing if she could trust her Servant.

"Sate your curiosity then." She told Berserker. "Watts and Hazel will answer any questions you have. Or Tyrian could kidnap a few people with their Aura unlocked, if you would prefer to see for yourself."

Berserker hummed in delight. "Mmm… I do prefer to see things for myself. Who knows? Perhaps a bit of experimentation will reveal new ways to strengthen my Risen." She laughed. "I think I'll do just that. Oooh, I can already imagine the possibilities. Risen, Grimm, and Aura? It will be my masterpiece."

"Do as you like." She shrugged. "As long as Ozma and the other Masters fall, I do not care how it is done."

"Excellent, Master." Berserker bowed deeply, though Salem didn't fail to notice the arrogant glint in her eyes. "You simply leave the details to me and rest. When the time comes for war, Vale will fall, and the Holy Grail will be ours."

Good… that was good. Nothing else mattered but the Grail. The world could burn for all she cared. She would save her daughters.

No matter the cost.

---

Well folks, it's about that time again where I drop a chapter off and leave you all waiting. Sorry for how long this wait was. I got busy with graduation preparations, and then I ended up getting stuck on the fight scenes. Turns out those are the bane of my existence, so I hope you all enjoyed them! This was pretty fun to write!

And now, each Servant has been revealed! I'm especially excited to put Berserker to work as this story goes on. She'll be a fun one.

Before I go, a quick question for you all. Normally I respond to reviews in PM's, but would you prefer I answer them in AN's instead? Give a bit more reader engagement and all that good stuff? Let me know what you'd all prefer and I'll see what I can do. Other than that, I'll leave you all to have a good day!