End of the Beginning.

Outside of Beacon. Air buses are seen picking up the last few civilians and students. Port and Oobleck oversee the evacuation. It had become all to clear that the battle was lost, and staying to fight would be to dangerous and pointless. All everyone could do was evacuate the school.

"That's it! Everybody on board! This is a mandatory evacuation!" Port instructed.

"A safe zone has been established in Vale! Please, remain calm and listen to Atlas personnel!" Oobleck added.

Weiss stares at what is in front of her, in disbelief. As Ruby comes running down the path, Zwei barks to alert Weiss to her leader's presence, and Weiss turns around to greet her.

"Ruby!" Weiss said in relief as she held Ruby's hands for a moment.

"Oh, I found you!" Ruby said in equal relief.

Weiss looked her over in concern "Ruby, where have you-".

"Don't worry, I'm fine! What's going on?" Ruby asked. Unsure of what to say, Weiss lowers her gaze sadly "Weiss? What is it?".

Weiss steps aside, giving Ruby a clear view of Severa, Blake and Yang lying on the ground. The three girls have bandages wrapped around their wounds, and Yang is unconscious, while Bernadetta holds her remaining hand in concern. Behind them sit Nora and Ren, who are too battered and bruised to fight. Blake reaches over and places her hand on Severa's.

"I'm sorry" She gets tears in her eyes.

Ruby reaches out and opens her mouth to say something, but in her emotional state, she doesn't know what to say.

"Blake... are you..." Severa managed to whisper, but was barely conscious.

Blake curls up, closing her eyes "I'm so sorry".

"Yang..." Ruby whispers.

Sun walks over "Hey. She's gonna be okay. The soldiers have a ship ready to take you guys to Vale".

"But Jaune and Pyrrha are still missing" Nora attempts to stand, but she quickly sits back down, groaning and holding her side.

"What!?" Ruby asked in alarm.

"And Lucina is gone too... and Lyre!" Bernadetta said, clearly worried about her friends.

"Don't worry, I got her" They looked and saw Ike... carrying an unconscious Lyre on his back, while blood was running down his arm.

"Lyre! What happened to her!?" Weiss asked in very clear concern.

"A neck injury... Someone had already given her emergency treatment when I found her, but she still needs proper medical attention, and soon" Ike said as he groans a little.

"Ike... your arm" Ruby said in worry.

"I'm fine, just a flesh wound" Ike said.

"Look, guys, that giant Grimm is circling the school! Even the White Fang are pulling out! We all have to go, now!" Sun declared

"We're not... leaving!" Ren stands up, but then falls to his knees.

"I'll find them... I'll find them, and I'll bring them back" Ruby declared.

"No! We will find them" Weiss said before she turns to Nora and Ren "Watch after the others. We'll be back".

Ruby and Weiss run back toward Beacon Academy, while Sun watches them go.

"You better be! Idiots" Sun said.


At the top of the tower, in Ozpin's office, Lucina was standing with her sword ready, watching the Wyvern flying around. She was gripping her sword tightly, waiting for the massive Grimm to get closer. Once it does, she will break though the window and stab it in the eye. She knew her chances of killing it was slim at best, but maybe she could injure it enough to make sure it didn't attack the city.

Honestly, even she knew this was an insane and stupid plan. But she just couldn't abandon Beacon and run away, she had to try something. However, her plans were crushed when a large amount of smoke flows out from the elevator, masking the entrance of Cinder . She confidently strides in to the room, a smirk on her face.

"Well well, this is certainly a pleasant surprise" She said.

"You..." Lucina said as she turned her attention to the evil woman.

As if sensing her presence, the Wyvern climbs up to the top, peers at her through the window, and screeches. Cinder speak with a gentle, comforting tone "Shhhh... This is your home now".

The Wyvern stares at her and utters a shorter, quieter screech. Seeing this made Lucina put all the pieces together.

"It was you all along... Torchwick and The White Fang working together to go on city wide crime sprees... The Grimm outbreak... The horrible things that happened during the Tournament... You were behind it all!" Lucina said, her anger growing with every word.

Cinder only smiled "As much as I would love to take credit for all this. Truth is I couldn't have done it without help".

"From your minions. Mercury, Emerald and Líf" Lucina said.

Cinder shook her head "No. They are useful, sure. But someone else made all this possible. And when I told Her about you, She became very eager to meet you, Lucina. But she assured me I could take some time to... Bond with you".

Lucina screams in rage as she attacked Cinder with her sword. She swings her sword several times, but Cinder avoided each swing before sending Lucina back with a palm strike. Lucina recovers quickly and attacks Cinder again, who uses her power to form a sword, allowing her to block Lucina's strike.

"You look tired, Lucina. Maybe you should sit down" Cinder said before she forced Lucina back, making her fall on her butt.

Cinder was right, Lucina has spent most of her energy on fighting the Grimm, and the blow she used to finish of The Beast took a lot out of her. But she couldn't give up, regardless of the odds that were clearly stacked against her. She got back up and continued her attacks, but Cinder stopped her strike by grabbing her arm.

"Such a pity. You have more power in you than you realize, and you are yet to even begin tapping in to it. Had you fought me at your peak, you might've had a chance. But as you are now, you are simply to week" Cinder said before she disarmed Lucina of her sword and forced her back "Lucky for you, I don't mind that you are weak. I prefer to be the dominant one in a relationship".

"SHUT UP!" Lucina screamed as she went to punch Cinder, only to have her arm caught and twisted behind her back, as Cinder wrapped her free arm around Lucina's neck.

Cinder smelled her "Lovely. You will make a perfect girlfriend".

"Never!" Lucina said before she broke free and managed to kick Cinder back "I didn't like you even before you revealed yourself as the mastermind behind all this! There is no way I could ever love a monster like you!".

Cinder gained an evil smirk "How cute. You actually believe you have a choice".

Before Lucina could react, Cinder struck her, making her slide in to Ozpin's desk. Cinder quickly grabbed Lucina by the neck and forced her down on the desk. Lucina tried to push her of, but Cinder forced Lucina's arms over her head, using one hand to keep them there before using her free hand to grab Lucina's face.

"Vale is burning, Beacon will fall, and everything you love will be gone. You only have one choice left. Choose me, or the flames. Be mine or you will burn" Cinder said darkly.

Lucina glares at her "I would rather die than ever being with you".

Cinder frowns but didn't let go "Suit yourself, I gave you a chance. But you have failed to notice that when I want something, I get it. Even if I have to take it by force".

With that, Cinder forcefully gave Lucina a hard kiss on her lips. Lucina struggled before she managed to bite Cinder's lip, making her pull back. Cinder rubbed her lip but kept her grip on Lucina's arms. She slapped Lucina hard in the face, before kissing her again. Lucina refused to give Cinder access to the inside or her mouth, so Cinder's tongue licked her on the lips... But then Cinder removed her hand from Lucina's face... She rubbed Lucina's chest before she began moving her hand up Licina's shirt.

Lucina was kicking violently, trying to get Cinder of her. The sound of sparks distracts her, and she looks over her shoulder at the elevator. After a few moments, the sparks come to a stop, and immediately upon the elevator doors' opening, Pyrrha's spear flies toward Cinder, who casually leans to her right to dodge with an annoyed look on her face.

The spear is soon followed by Pyrrha's shield, backed by Pyrrha herself, and Cinder puts her arms up, blocking it and pushing it away, which also forced her to let go of Lucina who quickly moved away. While Cinder uses fire to hover in the air, Pyrrha calls her spear and shield back to her with polarity, staring down her opponent.

"Lucina! You ok?" She asked, her eyes never leaving Cinder.

"You arrived just in time, Pyrrha" Lucina said, a little shaken up by what almost happened.

"You know it's rude to interrupt two lovers' alone time" Cinder said coldly.

Pyrrha glares "You have no idea what love is. You are just a monster".

Cinder gains a fiery glow around her eyes and swipes her hand through the air, attacking Pyrrha with an arc of fire. She then shoots a stream of fire, which Pyrrha dives over. Six small fireballs form in a circle behind Cinder, and she sends another streak of fire toward Pyrrha, who barely avoids it. Once again, the Maiden sends a stream of fire the young redhead's way, but this time, Pyrrha blocks it with her shield. She leaps toward Cinder, powering through the flame, and as soon as the fire stops, she spins around and slashes Cinder's arm with her spear. However, Cinder catches the blade and pulls, turning Pyrrha around. Cinder slams her palm into Pyrrha's stomach, and fire bursts forth, blasting Pyrrha slams into a wall and falls to her hands and knees.

Lucina, who had retrieved her sword, tries to attack Cinder from behind. But Cinder blocked her strike and hit her away. Lucina hit the wall hard, causing what little remained of her aura to vanish. She was growing frustrated. In her weakened state, she was useless.

Pyrrha then stands back up and faces Cinder with determination still in her eyes. Cinder propels herself forward with flames jetting from her hands, smirking once again. She attempts to slam into Pyrrha's abdomen, but Pyrrha leaps into the air above her and wraps her arm around Cinder's. As Cinder slows to a stop, Pyrrha positions herself to place her feet on the wall behind her and pushes off, flipping herself over Cinder. She uses the momentum to flip and toss Cinder across the floor.

Cinder lands on her front and, as she slides, she pushes off the floor to get back on her feet and perform a back-handspring. Her smirk turns into a look of slight concern upon the sight of Pyrrha charging forward to slam her shield into Cinder's abdomen and push her over. As Cinder stumbles backwards, Pyrrha hits Cinder's right hand with the blunt end of her spear, then slashes Cinder's left hand with the spear's blade. She then spins around and slashes across Cinder's abdomen and legs.

Pyrrha spins around to attack again, but Cinder performs a backflip whilst kicking Pyrrha, with flames trailing behind her foot. The kick knocks Pyrrha into the air, and Pyrrha quickly rights herself. She flips her spear in her grip, holds it back, and then tosses it toward Cinder while firing the gun mechanism. Six fireballs appear around Cinder again, but they dissipate when Cinder backhands the spear away. Pyrrha's shield then flies toward her, and she hits it away, as well. After being momentarily distracted by the shield, Cinder returns her attention to Pyrrha and gains a look of slight surprise, then annoyance.

Pyrrha launches herself toward Cinder and puts her arms around her, tackling her. The two turn each other in mid-air, fighting to be the one on top. Upon their landing, the room fills with a white cloud. When the dust settles, Pyrrha has Cinder in a choke hold, and Cinder is barely managing to hold Pyrrha's spear away from her neck. The Wyvern flies away, and Cinder's eyes begin glowing as she applies heat to the spear in her hands. Her grip tightens as she heats the spear more and more, staring over her shoulder at Pyrrha.

"HOLD HER!" Lucina said as she got in front of Cinder and held her sword, ready to stab it in to Cinder's heart... which she doubted she even had.

Upon hearing a loud screech, Cinder turns her gaze ahead and smirks, while Lucina and Pyrrha gains a look of fear. While Pyrrha sets her focus on the Wyvern that is flying toward the tower, Cinder finally snaps the spear's melted blade into pieces. Just before the Wyvern slams its wing into the roof of Ozpin's office, Cinder elbows Pyrrha in the abdomen. The room fills with a green glow as the windows shatter and Pyrrha goes flying across the room. Giant cogs and debris come crashing down in the office, and the structure containing the CCT's transmitter falls to the ground outside, in pieces. Lucina was pinned under one of the cogs, dropping her sword in the process.

Pyrrha crawls toward her shield, while Cinder watches on from her position levitating off the floor with flame jetting from her feet. While looking for a way to distract Cinder, Pyrrha notices Ozpin's collapsed metal desk and uses her polarity to throw it at the corrupt Maiden, knocking her to the floor. She then quickly grabs her shield and rolls across the floor, sitting up on her knees and holding the shield up. With a burst of flame, Cinder throws the desk off of herself and levitates in the air.

Pyrrha rolls out of the way of two streams of fire that Cinder sends her way and attempts to block a third. However, the force of the third sends Pyrrha tumbling backward, and the floor momentarily catches fire while Pyrrha rolls to her feet. From behind the wall of flame, Pyrrha throws her shield at Cinder, who confidently backhands it away. She then looks up in surprise to see a multitude of giant cogs floating in the air around her, including the one who had been pinning Lucina, showing she was now free. Using her polarity, Pyrrha directs her shield to knock Cinder's feet from beneath her and then slams a cog down on Cinder's abdomen to pin her to the floor. She calls her shield back to her arm, then brings the cogs together into a pile on top of Cinder. However, Cinder blasts them away with a powerful burst of fire, sending them in all directions. One of the cogs flies toward Pyrrha, who raises her shield to block, in vain. The force of the impact slams her into the remains of a wall, taking away the last of her Aura.

"Pyrrha!" Lucina shouted out as she desperately tried to get up.

Cinder forms an obsidian bow in her hand. As she raises it up and draws back an obsidian arrow, Pyrrha charges forward, spins, and throws her shield at her. Cinder looses the arrow, which shatters upon impact with the side of the shield. However, as the fragments part ways above and below the shield, they glow orange and rejoin each other on the other side. The fragments melt into each other and cool into the shape of an arrow, which continues on its path directly into Pyrrha's ankle. Pyrrha collapses in pain. She attempts to pull herself to her feet, but the pain is too much. Both ends of the arrow break off, making removal impossible. She turns over onto her hands and knees as Cinder moves to stand in front of her.

"It's unfortunate you were promised a power that was never truly yours" She kneels down and lifts Pyrrha's chin, staring into her eyes and smiling "But take comfort in knowing that I will use it in ways you could never have imagined".

Pyrrha pulls away, sitting up and matching Cinder's stare "Do you believe in destiny?".

Cinder frowns, narrowing her eyes "Yes".

Cinder stands back up and forms an obsidian bow and arrow again. She pulls back the arrow, lowering the bow to aim at her weakened opponent.

"No Cinder! Don't do it!" Lucina shouted in utter terror of what was about to happen "Do what you want with me, but please! DON'T DO THIS!".

Cinder glanced at her and her evil smile only grew. Nearby, Ruby finally reaches the top of the tower, landing in a kneeling position. She looks upon the scene, seeing Pyrrha sitting with her eyes closed, accepting the fate that awaits her. Cinder looses the arrow, which plants itself directly in the center of Pyrrha's chest. Ruby watches in horror as Pyrrha gasps in pain, the wound in her chest emitting a red glow. Cinder approaches her fallen foe and places a hand on Pyrrha's head, using her Maiden powers to flash incinerate her.

"NO!" Lucina screams in despair as Pyrrha instantly ceases all movement and sound, her body glowing orange and then scattering as embers.

Her headdress remains in Cinder's hand, and the villain drops it on the floor. This scene is reflected in Ruby's silver eyes, which widen in despair and become filled with tears. Ruby clenches her fists, curls her arms to her body, and then suddenly flings her arms out to the sides, beginning to levitate slightly off the ground. Brilliant white light flows from her eyes as she screams out the name of her dear friend.

"PYRRHAAAAAA!" The white light envelopes her, spreading out to the Wyvern and Cinder.

Cinder was in complete shock "WHAT?!".

Lucina shields her eyes as everything went white and then... everything went black.


A while later, Lucina slowly woke up, noticing she was in a bed. She looked around and noticed she was in her old room... she was home. She slowly sits up rubbing her head in pain, she tried to remember what happened until the door opened.

She looked up and saw someone she hadn't seen for a while now "Father?".

"Lucina! You're awake" Her father, Chrom, said in relief.

Lucina looks at him for a moment before she suddenly began sobbing "Father!".

Chrom hurried up next to her and gave her a strong hug "It's ok, Lucina, you're safe now".

Lucina hugged him back, still sobbing "It's gone, father! It's all gone!".

"It's not your fault, Lucina" Chrom said.

"And Pyrrha... She is... she is..." Lucina began but didn't dare finish.

"Lucina" Chrom gently grabbed her face "It's not your fault. Non of that was your fault".

"I failed... I tried so hard... I tried to become stronger... but I'm still to week" Lucina said as she cried more and more.

Chrom hugged her again "It's not your fault, Lucina. It's not your fault".

"He's right, Lucina" Came a female voice.

"Mother?" Lucina said weakly as she saw her mother, who's name is Eir.

Eir sat on Lucina's other side "You did everything you could, and we are proud of you for that. Don't blame yourself over what those monsters did".

Lucina looked down "But-".

Eir took her hand "No, Lucina. It's not your fault. Nothing that happened was your fault".

Lucina sobbed again, making her parents hug her from each side... and she really needed it now.


Meanwhile... Severa was sitting in her own bed, a band aid over her injured eye. She had been told her eye was to badly damaged, and could not be saved, so her vision had literately been cut in half. But her missing eye wasn't even close to her biggest loss... in her hands, she was holding Pyrrha's headdress in her hands... she knew what happened... but it was still sinking in.

"Severa..." She looked up and saw her mother, Cordelia.

"Pyrrha? Is she?" Severa asked.

Cordelia looked down sadly "Yes...".

"No... Not her... please not her!" Severa said her voice shaking, and tears leaking out of her remaining eye.

Cordelia walked up and gave Severa a gentle hug. Severa didn't pull away as she just sobbed uncontrollably "I'm sorry Severa... But you are not alone in this... I promise I will not leave you alone in this. It's about time I became the mother you deserve".

Severa finally returned the hug, crying hard "Mama!".

Cordelia held her close, not letting go until Severa wanted it... A hour later, Severa had fallen asleep, her face still wet with tears. Cordelia stroke her cheek and sighed. She noticed a bird outside... and she knew exactly what that meant. She carefully left Cordelia's room and walked outside.

"I know it's you. Come out, now" She demanded. She heard a thud behind her and turned around to see... Qrow.

"Hey there, Red. You look as good as ever" He said, sounding tired but was still trying to flirt.

Cordelia looked at him for a moment "Been a while...".

"Yeah... it has been a while" Qrow agreed, feeling some tension.

"Why are you here, Qrow?" Cordelia asked.

"Just wanted to check on her. And now that I know she has you to look after her, I have nothing to worry about" Qrow said as he turned to leave.

"She needs both of us, Qrow" Cordelia said.

Qrow stopped and sighed "Cordelia, we don't even know if-".

"Stop! Don't even dare finish that sentence! I've only slept with one person in my whole life. We both know she is yours, and denying it will not change what happened" Cordelia said, doing her best to stay calm.

"Fine, let's say she is mine. We both know why I can't stay. She has enough crap to deal with without me showing up out of nowhere and making her life even worse" Qrow said.

"How could it get worse!? She lost everything, Qrow! Her dreams of becoming a huntress, her beloved cousin, even her girlfriend is nowhere to be seen!" Cordelia snapped before quickly calming herself "Qrow... she needs us more than ever now. I am taking time of my duties as a huntress so I can fully focus on being a mother... And I could use your help".

Qrow finally walked back to Cordelia and put a hand on her cheek "Cordelia... You know why I can't stay... She's been doing fine without me around to mess things up. And she will do much better with you. You are a good mother, you just didn't have much time to show it. Me? I am the worst person she could have in her life".

"Shouldn't she be the judge of that?" Cordelia asked.

Qrow looks down "I... I can't... I'm sorry".

Cordelia was silent for a moment "Fine... leave me alone with her... you've already done it once, so it should be easy now".

Qrow looked back at her "You know why".

"Yes! I know why, and I don't care! I needed you! WE, needed you! You are just to scared of your own bad luck to even try" Cordelia snapped before turning away as tears began running down her face "I should hate you for this... but I don't... and I never did. My feelings for you never changed... not even now...".

Qrow gently grabbed her shoulders from behind "I love you too, Cordelia".

Cordelia heard a sound and looked, only to see a black feather falling. She put a hand on her face and began crying...


Back with Lucina, she had recovered enough to leave her bed, and she was looking out her window. She had been informed that Lyre Severa was recovering from nasty injuries and Bernadetta had been forced back to Atlas along with Weiss... the life Lucina had... was completely destroyed.

"Lucina?" Came the voice of Eir as she entered the room "Dinner is ready".

"I'm not hungry..." Lucina said as she kept looking out the window.

Eir walked up to her "Lucina... I understand that you've been through a lot... But you can't keep torturing yourself like this".

"Then what do I do, Mom?! What do I do!?" Lucina demanded, feeling so utterly useless.

"There is only one thing you can do, Lucina. Get up. When you fall of a bike, you get up and try again. You are strong, Lucina, very strong. You inherited it from Chrom, and just like him, I know you are not someone who would let anything stop you" Eir.

"But I didn't fall of the bike... It broke and I can't get back on it" Lucina said.

Eir smiled "Then you just need to find a new bike and go down a different road. No one can just tell you what you should do, Lucina, only you can... My mother never gave me a choice, I was what she wanted me to be. But your father saved me, and now I will give you what my mom never gave me: A choice to pick your own path. And if you feel that your new path is the right one, then follow it, where ever it might lead".

Lucina looked at her mother for several seconds... and she knew she was right... and there was only one path Lucina could see now. A leaf falls from the tree outside Lucina's window and slowly drifts to the ground. Over time, the ground becomes covered in snow.


Ruby steps outside, wearing a backpack, and quietly shuts the front door.

Jaune walks up "Hey".

"Hey, Jaune. Haven's a long way to go" Ruby said.

"I know. It's the only way we have" Jaune said.

"Are you sure you want to come along?" Ruby asked.

"The journey will be perilous, and whether we'll find answers at the end is entirely uncertain" Ren said.

"But we wouldn't be here if we weren't up for it" Nora added.

"And besides. We won't accomplish anything if we stay here" Lucina said as she walked up. She had cut her hair, which was only reaching past her ears now, a new look for a new beginning.

Ruby smiled "Then let's get started".

The five begin their long trek, down the road leading away from Taiyang's home. A long and dangerous road was ahead of them... but they are not going to turn back.


"A smaller, more honest soul... It's true that a simple spark can ignite hope, breathe fire into the hearts of the weary. The ability to derive strength from hope is undoubtedly mankind's greatest attribute. Which is why I will focus all of my power... to snuff it out. How does it feel, knowing that all of your time and effort has been for nothing? That your guardians have failed you? That everything you've built will be torn down before your very eyes? Your faith in mankind was not misplaced. When banded together, unified by a common enemy, they are a noticeable threat. But divide them, place doubt into their minds, and any semblance of power they once had will wash away. Of course, they won't realize it at first. Like you, they'll cling to their fleeting hope, their aspirations. But this is merely the first move. So you send your guardians, your Huntsmen and Huntresses, and when they fail and you turn to your smaller soul, know that you send her to the same pitiful demise".

Suddenly a ominous-looking stone stairway lined with dark, purple crystals can be seen. It leads up revealing a figure in black overlooking a barren wasteland.

"This is the beginning of the end, Ozpin..." She turns her head revealing a ghostly looking face "And I can't wait to watch you burn".

Her eyes glow ominously as she makes an evil grin

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Wow... that was a lot. But volume 3 is finally over. But now, I wish to shed some light on a few things.

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First of: Sorry if the part with Lucina and Cinder triggers you. But it's very clear now that Cinder is a cruel, evil monster who believes she is entitled to anything she wants. And she is more than willing to resort to utterly horrific methods to get what she wants, and I highly doubt she is above any evil act. At least not at this point. But that doesn't mean I was going to let her have what she wanted.

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Lyre and Bernadetta's stories will continue in the next volume and you will find out what's going on with Lyre.

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And now for the hardest part of this chapter. Lucina's mom. Choosing her mom was very difficult. Female Robin was to obvious, and I'd like to use at least one male Avatar, since Byleth and Corrin are females in this story. I ultimately settled on Eir, a character from Fire Emblem Heroes.

I have something massive planned for Lucina in the future, and Eir will be the main reason for it. So stay tuned for a major reveal down the line.

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Now with all that out of the way. Tell me what you think.