Issue #10

The engines of the bullhead hummed, the wind outside whistling past the fuselage. Team BASK, called that for the moment and hopefully in the future as well, headed to their destination. The team had received their mission via their scrolls shortly after the speech by Headmistress Goodwitch, the mission having been picked for them as it was a test. The details listed a location a few miles outside of Azure Crest, a coastal town south-west of Vale, where increased Grimm activity had led to a spike in attacks. The town had put in a formal request to Vale for a team to come and clear whatever new nest had sprung up.

Vermilion felt incredibly nervous, she'd dealt with Grimm in her time training at Beacon, had gone into expeditions into the Emerald Forest with Jaune. She'd killed Ursa and Beowolves since, but this was different. This was a test. This mission she was on would define the rest of her stay at Beacon and it made her more than a little queasy, it was either that or the bullhead.

Vermilion was back in her cape with only some slight modifications, courtesy of her father, now having gauntlets covering her hands. They matched Jaunes, being a cream white in color with golden accents. It was also their first time out on a mission so they were all dressed in their battle outfits, though Vermilion used the term loosely. To go with her pointed hat, Silvia was decked out in a flowing cloak over a long dress like one piece. A brown belt adorned her waist and was lined with dust vials. Hidden within the cloak was yet even more pouches filled with dust vials and crystals.

Noel was dressed in a white tank top with her nightshade symbol emblazoned in the center of it. The rest was simply black cargo pants with a leather holster for Aurora Rubra on her right thigh, she had by far the most practical attire of the group, bar her father, because Willa was dressed in, well, a dress. The girl kept claiming it was a battle skirt but Vermilion remained suspicious of the dress dyed in vibrant blues and stark whites.

Noel's head lolled to the side in her sleep, her cheek resting on Vermilion's shoulder. The faunus had been out like a light minutes after take off. Willa had brought along a text book that she had read for a while but was now just rechecking all of her equipment whereas Silvia stared off into space, Vermilion still had no idea what was going on inside that girl's head. Jaune sat across from her, arms crossed and eyes closed and she'd have thought him asleep had she not seen him react to subtle motions of the aircraft, specifically when they encountered turbulence.

The lights suddenly dimmed and Jaune's eyes shot open and with his foot he nudged Noel none too gently on the shin, the girl waking up with a snort. Vermilion stifled a giggle but not before her friend caught it, sending her a baleful glare.

"It's not funny, Mili." Noel pouted, making Vermilion have to try harder not to laugh.

"It's about to get even more unfunny if I don't get your attention." Jaune added, eyeing the whole team who immediately wiped the smiles off their faces to pay attention to him, "Alright you've all been given some of the basic details on the mission. Search and Destroy in sector twenty-nine, just a few miles outside of Azure Crest."

Jaune placed his scroll on the floor, a topographical map of the area popping up above it, rotating slowly in the air, "This is the sector we will be clearing. As of the latest report Jackyll attacks have been on the rise so locals think a pack has moved in to this area. Hunters stationed at the town have sighted the Grimm coming from the East."

Jaune gestured in the general direction of where the Grimm had been sighted, "The density of these attacks have the citizens holed up in the port and the hunters have their hands full securing the town. Noel, tell me what you know about Jackyll type Grimm."

"The Jackyll is a canine type of Grimm known for travelling in large packs. Individually they're pretty weak but they make up for it in numbers. They tend to have sharp fangs and claws similar to Beowolves but are purely quadrupedal. Spinal plating protects their backs and their jaws have very dangerous biting power."

"Good. Willa, how should we search for the nest?"

The girl took a moment to consider the map. Sectors tended to be twenty square miles in area and were difficult enough to search, it was a lot of territory. After a minute she finally answered, "Considering the members we have it would probably be best to split up into three parts, Noel and me on one team and Silvia and Vermilion on another, yourself being alone."

Jaune nodded, "Why those pairings?"

"Noel and I are not only partners but have complimenting abilities, my semblance makes me versatile with dust manipulation as well as having long range options to cover Noel's more melee focused style. Silvia and Vermilion are much the same with Silvia being a dust user and Vermilion focusing on close range. Considering you are a professional huntsman, you would be able to handle yourself alone."

"Good." Jaune said, satisfied with her answer. He had no issue with the pairings, it being rather obvious with any degree of thought, "We'll split up and search the sector one part at a time following parallel paths about a mile apart. If you find any Jackylls, do not engage. Follow them if you can to their nest, they are diurnal Grimm so usually they return by night if they can. We'll meet back up at nightfall."

At that moment the lights shifted to red, it was a signal that they were just a minute out and Jaune stood up, moving to the bullhead's door. With the press of a button the hatch opened, letting in the snarling wind from outside that whipped at their hair. The wind lessened as the craft came to a hover above the densely forested area. The sector was still in the mountainous area of Sanus, more foothills at the base of the Bastion Mountain range.

"All right girls, show me your landing strategy." Jaune announced with a small smirk on his face at whatever joke was there, the other three got it as Noel giggled, getting up from her seat. Almost lazily she walked over to the open hatch and turned to her.

"See you on the ground!" And tipped backwards out of the bullhead, a broad smile on her face. Vermilion rushed to the edge in time to see her form disappear beneath the canopy though not before she saw her clone appear, linking hands, and propelling the girl towards a branch before vanishing. Willa was next and without a word she stepped off the aircraft like she was stepping down stairs. Bright white glyphs shimmered into existence in mid-air as she stepped down onto it, her foot contacting it like it was solid. With a spring in her step she shot off into the air, landing gracefully on one glyph after another until she, too, had vanished through the canopy.

Silvia stepped up to the edge alongside Vermilion and hooked her arm through her new partner's, "Allow me." With panic she realized what the green haired girl meant but it was too late to stop the girl. With a tug she pulled them both out of the bullhead though neither of them was in freefall. A weird sensation of weightlessness came over her as she realized that the girl was using her semblance on both of them, the pair floating down towards the ground slowly. Not even a few moments later, her father rocketed down past them like a meteor, a brown, white, and gold streak and disappeared with a thud.

The last two to touch down did so as lightly as a feather but the journey had left her queasy and Silvia had her hands on her knees, brow covered in sweat, the use of her semblance on so much at once having taxed her. Jaune was standing off to the side though there was a crater a few feet off from where they had landed.

"Alright BASK, split up and start search, make sure you stay in shortwave range and stay in contact, report anything suspicious." Jaune said, working out the directions they'd need to go in to begin their search.

"So," Vermilion asked as she cut through a Beowolf that had burst through the underbrush at them, they had yet to actually see any Jackylls in the few hours they'd been trekking through the thick forest, "What made you join Beacon?"

They'd travelled in relative silence the whole time but this was one of the first times she'd been alone with the strange girl, normally when they were together it was as a group and Silvia didn't participate much except for the odd comment.

"What else is a witch to do? I wanted to help people ever since I was adopted, Mom showed me how to use dust. It just felt right." Silvia answered as she caved in the skull of another Grimm with her staff. She wasn't using her dust attacks because it could not only alert Grimm in the area but she only had so much dust on her.

"You were adopted?" Vermilion asked as they trudged back through the undergrowth.

"Yeah. I was in an orphanage until I was five. My parents were Huntresses, they graduated Haven together and just sort of fell in love after that. Mom started the dust lessons after I got into her ice vials and froze my hand to the table." They both giggled at that, "Gwyn taught me how to fight. She was always tough on me, I hated it when I was younger but, well, it's pretty useful now."

"Sounds like your parents would be proud." Vermilion commented, ducking under a low branch as they walked. It made her think of her parents, both were hunters and while she hoped her own mother would have been proud of her she wasn't entirely sure about Jaune. He always felt distant, if a little grumpy at times. He had thawed out ever since her being his daughter came to light but it still felt like he didn't know how to approach her, calling him Dad just didn't feel right.

Did she even want to be closer with him?

Yes. Yes she did, the answer was obvious but the how was a lot harder. They couldn't exactly go out and bond together. He trained her, that was true, but with how harsh his training was it wasn't good for a sentimental moment, especially not with her laid on the ground covered in sweat, not that she wasn't grateful for his tutelage. She had improved by leaps and bounds over the last half year and it was mostly thanks to his close attention to her growth. But she was still seventeen, soon to be eighteen, and wasn't young enough to need a father figure so much.

They couldn't really bond over killing Grimm, either.

"What was your mom like?" Silvia asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"Eh?" Was Vermilions eloquent response.

"Your mom. She's pretty famous in the hunter circles but what was she really like? Everyone only knows the genius weapon creator Ruby Rose, nobody knows Ruby Rose the mother."

"Ah, well, she was pretty normal I guess? I knew she used to be a huntress but she couldn't remember anything, she had amnesia. She loved baking cookies and helping out Toland. He's the guy that found her. She read me bedtime stories all the time. Said they made her feel like she could almost remember something when she did." Vermilion paused, "It's one of the things I miss the most." She said softly, Silvia almost didn't catch it.

"She sounds great."

"She really was." Vermilion smiled sadly.

The fire crackled in the night, wisps of embers float up on a cushion of hot air as Vermilion stared into the burning flames. It was quiet except for the sound of the small campfire in the middle of the makeshift site they had made at the end of their long day searching. Her father was a fair distance away and apparently in a tree, having taken middle watch. Her own watch had just ended but she felt wide awake, the nervousness from before seeping back, unease clouding her chest and making it impossible to sleep even with how tired she was.

With a sigh, she drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. It was hitting all at once, the loneliness she'd been reminded of from her earlier conversation with Silvia, the trepidation about her future, and the fear.

She'd never had enemies before, really. Not in the way she did now. People wanted to kill her for no other reason than that she had silver eyes. Just because she was born. The thought constricted her chest, her breath heaving.

It terrified her.

She was just a seventeen year old girl. She'd lived in a small coastal village just half a year ago and now she was in the middle of a Grimm infested forest. She'd had to make the adjustment if she wanted to stay alive. No one should have to make that kind of choice, it wasn't fair.

"Vermilion? You okay?" The voice caused her to look to her right and see the pair of amber orbs reflecting the firelight and staring straight at her with a worried gaze.

"Fine."Vermilion lied, "Did I wake you?"

Noel wasn't having it, however, and with a small glare she sat up, ears on top of her head flicking forward, "I can hear your breathing. What's eating you?"

"I…" Vermilion looked back into her lap, "I'm scared."

"About the mission?" Vermilion shook her head, "The Salemites?" That got a nod.

"I can't sleep. I'm scared and nervous, and I miss my mom." Her voice cracked and her hand shot up to stifle the sound, trying not to wake anyone else. Her eyes burned as the emotional dam broke, the emotions she'd held in check for so long coming loose over a bit of nostalgia. Warm hands wrapped around her shoulders from behind.

"It's okay Mili." Noel whispered, "I'm here. I can stay with you if you want?" Vermilion could only nod, her hands grasping at Noel's, drinking in the comforting presence. They stayed like that as the fire died down and she began to feel drowsy. But even being in the confines of her sleeping bag she could still feel the warm presence of her teammate at her back having drawn up her own sleeping bag and lain down with their backs touching through the material, it was a surprising comfort and one that had her drifting off to a peaceful sleep with one last thought.

Maybe things were going to be okay.

"High Priestess." The hologram of Cole Crowley bowed on one knee before the garbed woman, her red eyes appraising the figure. She sat back in the high backed, ornate chair. It wasn't a throne, only her Goddess could occupy that, but rather a comfortable chair from which she made her deliberations. It had deep red velvet cushions and the arms were carved from a dark black wood to look like snarling grimm.

"Crowley. Report."

"At once." Cole stood again and met the eyes of his leader, the only person who could give him commands, with his own, thin, eyes, the hologram not displaying enough color to show off his deep gray irises that could be mistaken for black at a glance, "We have narrowed down the Winter Maiden's location. Just as we suspected she is a Beacon, Ozpin is hiding is sheltering her."

"Then she is not beyond our reach. Have you identified her?" Slowly she sipped from the wine glass, it's blood red content disappearing behind her lips.

"No, not yet. My greatest apologies High Priestess."

The priestess waved it off with on hand, "No matter. You've narrowed it down to a few hundred students out of thousands of candidates in Vale. I'm assuming our asset in Beacon is currently looking?"

"Yes, Mistress."

"And your other objective?"

"The Third through Seventh seats have been dispatched to eliminate the child while she is out of Beacon's reach."

The Priestess hummed in response, "Tell me more."

"The Silver-eyed girl has gone on her mission. The seats available to me are moving in to eliminate her and everyone with her."

Red eyes widened, "Arc will be there won't he?"

"Yes, Mistress. There is one bit of new information we have received though I hesitate to tell you if it's of no import."

"No information, no matter how small, is useless Crowley."

"Of course, Mistress, thank you for the wisdom." He continued after she waved it away, "The silver-eyed girl happens to be the daughter of Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc. There is no doubt."

The wine glass in her hand shattered under her grip, spilling the liquid across her but she paid it no attention as she bolted upright, "There is no doubt?"

"Indeed mistress, I would not dare to bring you unverified information."

One hand came to her chin as she sunk into though, her black and white robes twirling around her as she paced before the hologram of her underling. This changed everything, it was like a bolt of lightning had struck her. The information was important, she knew it, but she had to figure out why.

It hit her a moment later and a smile split her features, whirling around she addressed Crowley once more, "It is Destiny! We have been shown the path!"

"Mistress? I'm afraid I do not understand."

"I didn't expect you to, Crowley." His eye twitched at the subtle dig, "This is the way we will revive our Goddess!"

When it was clear she wasn't about to elaborate, Crowley was forced to ask, "In what way, Mistress?"

"Salem is of Grimm yet for the moment she is sealed away. What she needs is negativity and this time it shall be quality over quantity. Many suffer every day and it has no effect on our Goddess, it should be obvious, then, that she needs something exquisite. Something delectable." Her smile turned manic, "Capture them alive. All of them. We shall drag Arc before our Goddess and torture his daughter in front of him."

The Priestess snarled, We shall shove him into the pits of despair as a broken human being and when he has expended his use we shall kill him in the most agonizing and slow way possible. His grief and rage shall be the catalyst to re-awaken Salem."

Cole's eyes visibly widened and his mouth drifted open in awe for a moment before he snapped it shut, "High Priestess I will see to it at once."

"Yes, Crowley, see to it and Salem will reward you for your loyalty."

With a nod the projection winked out of existence, blanketing the solemn room in darkness with it's sole occupant. Suddenly her goal was so close, after nearly two decades their Goddess would once again walk Remnant. The Priestess felt giddy, euphoric even, and let a giggle slip from her mouth. With that the bulwark of her self control was lost as she descended into laughter that echoed off the walls of her chambers.

A/N:Yes, I am not dead.

Really, I am very sorry this took MONTHS to get out but, well, I was grieving. Plain and simple. Afterwards I was hit with a tremendous case of writer's block. I would sit down every day to write THIS chapter down but I just couldn't do it. I would stare at the screen listlessly. So yeah it was a difficult one for me to write but every other chapter should be good to go. Man I feel really bad for Cinder in the Wind, that one has had even less updates. I'll be working on that next and trying to play some catch up.