Another week another chapter. A review last chapter pointed out that Crue destroyed a relic created by the Gods. And surely they would notice such a thing, right? *cough cough* yeah absolutely that's totally right and something I was doing intentionally and totally did not realise it until the reviewer brought it up. *cough*

I'll... think of a reason why the Gods haven't come back yet.

Hopefully it'll be a good one.

Anyway... uh... On with the chapter!


Evernight Castle was as gloomy as ever. Cinder never particularly cared for the atmosphere of Salem's base of operations, but for some reason the weight of the darkness seemed to weigh down on her more than before.

Maybe it was because she was on her own once again. Hazel and Tyrian had left the castle, both on missions of great importance. Of course, she didn't care too much for Tyrian's absence. It left the castle pleasantly quiet without his mad cackling, or his and Solaris' mad other things.

But, Hazel being gone had more of an effect on her than she had realised. Before Beacon, she wouldn't have cared for his presence one way or another, other than the fact he was an ally who served under Salem.

But, ever since the loss of her arm, and her fixing of said arm, she had come to appreciate his presence. And, if she ever dared to admit it, look forward to it. And as her own minions had decided to lay their loyalties elsewhere, she found herself alone with Salem once more, working on controlling her new addition.

"You must make it dread you." She instructed, holding a hand against her sleeve. How do you make a Grimm fear you, Cinder wondered. Grimm didn't feel any kind of emotion. They felt the urge to destroy, which Cinder supposed could be a kind of 'want'.

The hiss of pain that escaped her mouth as she tried to impose her will over this new addition caused her to scowl. She had killed countless Grimm, training to become the Fall Maiden, this arm was smaller than even the weakest Beowulf, so why was she having such trouble with it.

She was distracted by an eerie clicking noise approaching. She turned, desperate for some kind of interruption from this 'training'. She turned to see a Seer Grimm floating slowly towards her and Salem. It was a strange Grimm, not particularly deadly, instead used as a means of communication.

Then again, the tips of the tentacle were barbed and pointed. Seeing it gave Cinder an involuntary shudder as she remembered her brief time undercover in Haven. She had seen Grimm not unlike the Seer on the covers of certain books that some of the upper years had.

She wondered what Salem would think of it, knowing the most deadly creatures on Remnant were sometimes used as nothing more than a means to get someone's rocks off. "What?" There was a hiss of anger from Salem, and for a split second Cinder briefly worried she had somehow gained the ability to read her mind.

Instead, when she refocused she saw Salem glaring at the Seer, the red lines on her face glowing in anger. "How is this possible?" An ominous whispering came from the Grimm, as whatever information it delivered to Salem caused her to slam a fist down onto the crystal table.

Her fierce expression turned on Cinder, who swallowed roughly under her gaze. "Cinder." Her voice was calm, despite the fire behind her eyes as her hands came together atop the table. "It has come to my attention that Beacon has been reclaimed."

Cinder's eye widened as she struggled to make a sound. Beacon was back? Everything she worked for, gone. Everything she lost, all for nothing. An unsurprising amount of anger filled her being, as her arm reacted to the emotion.

"Enough out of you." She scowled at her arm, which, to her surprise, listened. She looked back to Salem with an expression of disbelief.

"I am unsure as to how exactly." She answered, reading her face. "However, there is one possibility." Her eyes stared directly into Cinder, practically piercing into her soul.

"I am going to ask you this, one. Last. Time. And I expect a clear answer." She leaned forward. "Did you kill Ozpin?"

Of course she did. That was hardly a thing to lie about to Ozpin's immortal enemy. She looked back to the entrance, finding no one. Emerald was not there to speak for her, so she would have to do so herself, as she doubted Salem would accept a simple nod.

"...Ye…Yes." It was a rasping breath that took a while to get out, but she managed it. She had killed Ozpin with the Maiden's Magic, the same Magic she could feel coursing through her.

Salem let out an angered breath. She turned to the Seer. "Has Watts arrived at Haven, yet?" Another whisper that sent shivers up Cinder's spine emanated from the Grimm.

Whatever the response was, it wasn't what Salem wanted to hear. Her frown deepened as her nails cracked into the crystal table. "Kevin has been killed." She hummed, causing Cinder to blink in surprise. She thought the Grimm Dragon being called that was just a running joke amongst Solaris and the others.

"This could only be done by a powerful Huntsman, such as those from Mistral. Those who Lionheart assured me had been slain." She tapped her fingers in a rhythm, as she concentrated with a frown. "Unfortunately, I cannot send his Seer to question him. The semester is still ongoing, and it would not do to lose a piece before the attack."

Cinder knew she was correct, having been in disguise at Haven she was well aware of their schedules, and what time would be best to begin an attack. Right now, they were in the middle of their second semester, then there would be a long break, and then the planned attack.

"Recall our forces to the Grimmlands." Salem's rhythm stopped as she turned to look away from Cinder, staring out one of the windows that decorated the room.

"What are you planning…"

Neopolitan was nervous. A rare emotion, but understandable given the situation. She was on Menagerie. She was a Human, on Menagerie. The continent that had been given to Faunus after the Great War as a 'reward' for their participation.

An island that was two-thirds desert, and inhabited by some of the most dangerous Grimm on Remnant. Some reward.

Normally, Neo wouldn't have cared for the history of the place. She wasn't a racist, but she had never really felt much reason to care for the Faunus' plight. But, ever since dating Crue, it was hard not to notice how differently they were actually treated.

Of course, if anyone was racist in his vicinity, the person spouting the remarks would soon be knocked under by Crue himself, or Neo. She had even managed to convince, interpreted as threatened, Roman to not to be as racist as he usually was.

But, the fact she was a lone Human on Menagerie was not what was currently causing her nerves to prickle. No, that would be the fact that Blake had family on Menagerie. And that family resided in the largest house on the island. Which they were currently on the doorstep of.

Neo had robbed more than her fair share of houses in her time, and she could immediately tell that whoever was inside was someone important. It was probably Menagerie's equivalent of a mayor, or high ranking council member.

If she had come to Menagerie by herself, she wouldn't think twice about robbing it. Even now, standing before the massive double doors, a part of her mind was registering all the possible entrances, escape routes and contingencies in case something went wrong.

Old habits die hard, she supposed.

Blake was standing in front of the doors, a hand hesitating before the large brass knocker. "What is it?" Sun asked, tilting his head slightly to stare at the knockers that looked startlingly similar to the head of a cat.

"I, um…" Blake began, swallowing slightly. "It's just been a long time since I've seen my parents." Looks like Neo wasn't the only one nervous to meet Blake's parents. She had never had the best experience with parents, her own being the obvious examples.

And now she was meeting the parents of someone who used to be a member of the White Fang. Neo didn't gulp, but she did begin to sweat a little more that had nothing to do with the Menagerie heat. …well that might have been a lie. She was dying in this heat, and eager to get inside.

If anywhere in Kuo Kuana had air conditioning, it was hopefully the house before her. "Well, you came all this way." Sun gave Blake a supportive smile. Neo didn't, as frankly any more time spent putting off meeting her parents was better in her boo- oh she's lifting the knocker.

Two rather ominous sounding thuds came from the knocking, sending both Sun and Neo back a pace as Blake swallowed and stepped back politely.

"Ok, if we're being honest, that's kinda intimidating." Sun said, pointing to the door. Neo nodded in kind. She was still nervous, but she figured she should probably make a good impression. With some reluctance, she took off her hat and held it before her abdomen with both hands, making the picture perfect impression of a well mannered girl like she had been taught so long ago.

"Psst." Sun whispered, catching Neo's attention. A pink eye glanced over, seeing him pointing to his head with his tail. She raised a brow in confusion, before her eyes widened just as the door opened. A pair of pink and brown wolf ears sprung into being, as a woman appeared in the doorway.

A short cat Faunus with piercings in her ears peeked around the door, before her eyes widened and her ears seemed to perk upward. "Blake…?" She whispered in disbelief.

Blake gave an awkward lift of her hand in greeting. "Hi, mom." In a blink, Blake's mother had rushed forward and enveloped her daughter in a hug.

"My baby girl." The older woman said softly. Blake hesitated for the smallest moment, before returning the hug and burying herself into the crook of her mother's shoulder.

"Oh." Neo thought numbly. "So that's what a happy family looks like."

"Kali?" A booming voice suddenly sounded out from inside the house, as a large shadow approached the door. "Who is it?"

Neo, while being fully aware of her diminutive stature and totally rocked it, had never encountered someone who made her crane her neck the way the man before her did. A tall, muscular Faunus with piercing yellow eyes and a full black beard appeared in the doorway.

His eyes immediately flit to Neo, then Sun, and then they landed on Blake and Kali. His expression changed, surprise and shock clear on his face, before his entire body seemed to loosen in reaction to his daughter.

Kali kept a hand on her daughter's shoulder, looking almost afraid to let her go again as Sun grinned from behind the two. Neo simply placed her hat back upon her head as she waited to be invited in and be out of this damn heat.

It wasn't any cooler inside the Belladonna's… Neo supposed she could call it a mansion. It was certainly big enough to rival the ones from Vale. She had expected some kind of air conditioning, but at the very least she was out of the immediate heat of the sun.

Kali Belladonna was a whirlwind of a host. In the span of a few minutes, introductions were given, snacks were brought and tea was made and they were sat at a low table with nothing but cushions between them and the floor.

She also had a cup of tea between her hands. Neo hadn't even seen Kali give it to her.

She was impressed.

That didn't mean she was going to drink it, however. At least not until she had seen everyone else take a few sips from it. Even then she was still hesitant to drink something hot in a hot climate. Why couldn't Blake have run away to Atlas or somewhere cool.

…oh right. Faunus and White Fang traitor. Neo resigned herself to the foreseeable discomfort she would get from this climate. Sat between Blake and Sun at the corner of the table she felt out of place, being the only Faux Faunus in the room.

Her ears- Crue's ears sat atop her head, flicking occasionally whenever someone talked as she had seen them do many times before. "We were horrified when we heard the news. The Kingdom of Vale isn't perfect, but it certainly didn't deserve what happened. Oh, we were both so worried."

Kali reached over to rest a hand on her daughter's shoulder reassuringly. Neo couldn't believe that Blake had ran away from this. She would have killed to have a mother that cared this dearly for her.

"Please, I knew she'd be fine." The tree of a man, Neo had learned his name was Ghira, held his head up high, proud of his daughter. His words gave Kali a scoff as she rolled her amber eyes.

"That isn't the slightest bit true." She said in a fake whisper. "You should have seen him pacing." Ghira looked embarrassed at being called out for worrying about his daughter. Neo found it surprising a father would actually care so much about his child.

"You guys have nothing to worry about." Sun said with an easy smile. "I've seen your daughter in action before! And trust me, she's got some moves!" He gave a few finger guns in Blake's direction, who had been in the middle of drinking from her tea, before her head shot up as her eyes widened and she swallowed.

"And what exactly do you mean by that, Mr. Wukong?" Ghira asked with a glare, leaning on the table and staring daggers at the boy.

Sun froze, as he slowly turned to face the much, much larger man. "I… Uhh… Well, you see sir…" He was grasping at straws, eyes flicking back to Blake for some help. The girl in question seemed content to avoid his eyeline and stare deeply into her tea.

"It's just that, you know, that she's such a good fighter and all, uh, and as a fellow fighter I have a lot of respect for her…" Sun's tangent continued, digging himself deeper and deeper into a hole he couldn't hope to get out of.

Neo took a sip of her tea, finally content that since no one else had keeled over that it wasn't drugged. Idly, she decided she should probably help Sun out of the hole he was now filling in with dirt to bury himself alive.

He used to be a friend of Crue's, and knew about their relationship and was ok with it. Of course, that was also something he shouldn't have known, so the saving would be a bit rough. Neo gently placed her cup on the table as Sun continued. "...because of her fighting. Not her looks."

"Not to say she isn't good looking! She is-ghgh!" Sun's breath left his body thanks to Neo jabbing an elbow into his side, as he crumpled onto the table and breathed in deeply. Ghira raised a single eyebrow at the scene, before meeting Neo's eyes.

They seemed to analyse her for a moment, before he gained a small smile and turned to his daughter. "I like this one." He said.

His words cause Neo to blink and sit up a bit straighter with a grin that probably wouldn't look out of place among all of these Cat Faunus. "Dad!" Blake groaned. She hadn't explained to her parents that Neo was a criminal, for good reason, she figured.

Kali made a small 'o' of realisation with her mouth as she looked to her daughter. "Oh yes, you haven't properly introduced your Human friend, Blake."

The room suddenly fell silent.

Neo's eyes were white, as she glanced down to the tea, suddenly wondering if there was some kind of drug or poison that only affected Humans and not Faunus. "Uh, I-I'm not sure who you mean." Blake said, staring at her mother as she tried to turn her body enough to almost block Neo from her view.

Neo quickly observed the room. She had already clocked several escape routes when she came in, but now she needed to find the quickest one. Her breathing suddenly became rapid, though still quiet as she looked over to see Sun staring up at her with some worry.

"Oh, don't worry dear." Kali said, almost casually as she took a sip of her tea. "I understand why you'd be careful about your presence here on Menagerie." She placed the cup down on a saucer, the sound echoing in the silent room.

Her amber eyes found Neo's, and for a moment they seemed to almost stare through her. Neo knew she had a small frame, but being under Kali's gaze suddenly made her feel even smaller. Those eyes held a wisdom to them that were unlike Blake's. Eyes that had seen much more than her daughter.

"It's a very good disguise, dear." Kali continued, almost apologetically. "Don't be too hard on yourself." She tilted her head with a kind smile. "When we were just starting the White Fang, I was the one who screened new recruits."

"Some Humans thought sticking fake dog ears on their head was good enough to fool us." She rolled her amber eyes, no one at the table feeling quite able enough to laugh at it, save for Ghira who let out an amused huff through his nose. "But it is a very good imitation, dear. Is it a Semblance?"

Despite the fact Kali had just outed the fact there was a Human under their roof, she was treating Neo with nothing but kindness. And Ghira had yet to react, simply pausing to drink some tea and give Sun a stinkeye.

Neo found herself nodding numbly in answer to Kali. "Ohh. How lovely. You're very skilled with it." Kali was still nothing but smiles. Neo wondered where all this kindness was when it came to her daughter. Speaking of…

"Mom, h-how did you know?" Blake's eyes were wide, as her head flicked back and forth rapidly between Neo and Kali.

"Blake!" Sun hissed. "Uh, what-what do you mean Miss B. Neo's a Faunus, see." He reached out to tug on the ears, before reminding himself they were fake. Neo leaned back instinctively, the ears atop her head flinching towards Sun as she did.

"Ah, there it is." Kali smiled, causing Neo to look over to the older woman. As much as she hated to admit any flaw in her disguise, she was desperate to find out what was wrong. "Your ears twitch and flick in response at all the right times. But, there's just one tiny error."

She made a show of taking a short sip of her tea for dramatic effect, before looking Neo dead in the eye.

"They're mirrored."

Neo sucked in a breath through her teeth, breaking eye contact with Kali and staring at the table. Of course they were. They weren't hers. She had them reacting how she had seen before, based on what she had observed on Crue's head.

Both Sun and Blake realised the implications of what Kali had said, turning to see Neo making fierce eye contact with the table before her, both wearing expressions of pity. "You must have cared dearly for whoever they belonged to." Ghira's voice rumbled, bringing up his own cup of tea, not to drink it, but to simply swirl it round as he stared into the liquid.

"Oh, yes, yes." Kali agreed, finally causing Neo's eyes to flicker up from the table. "They must have been quite important to you to be able to create such a realistic imitation of them. Or…" She trailed off with a small smirk.

"You happened to have a very good view of them up close."

Neo blinked once, several moments running through her mind of when she had seen Crue's ears up close and personal. Her favourite moments were when she was atop him, staring down and watching how his expression changed under her.

That included his ears.

Neo was never one to shy away from such topics of conversation, or even be embarrassed by them, but given the present company, she found herself growing a small blush as she coughed silently and broke eye contact with Kali.

"Oooh. Both." A bright white smile came to life on Kali's face as she leaned both elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands. Her amber eyes had lost the calculating wisdom they had shown, and now looked hungry for gossip.

"What were they like? Were they strong? Good in bed?" "MOM!" Blake suddenly screeched, her face bright red as her ears pressed flat against her scalp.

"Don't ask that! That's gross, that's my brother!" Her words caused Kali to raise an eyebrow and glance over to Ghira.

"Kitten. I know you've been gone a while, but we haven't given you any siblings during that time." The larger man rumbled. His words caused Blake to realise what she had said, growing even redder as she tried to explain, before bringing both hands up to cover her face.

"Not for lack of trying." Kali said coyly, causing Blake to scream into her hands in mortification. Neo raised an impressed eyebrow, looking between the two. There was technically less of a height difference than between her and Crue, but even then the sheer presence of Ghira certainly made it seem much larger.

The man in question gave a cough as he looked away from the table, a faint blush showing beneath his beard. Neo looked back to Kali, who simply nodded and opened her mouth, presumably to share more gossip and embarrass her daughter even more.

A sudden loud knocking sounded out, interrupting Kali and causing Ghira to shoot to his feet, jostling the table. "I'll get it!" He coughed, making himself seem more presentable and quickly power walked around the table with eyes focused on a distant point in front of him.

"Saved by the bell." Blake brought her hands down from her face, which was still red as a tomato, before glaring at Neo as if it was all her fault. She gave a shrug in response, realising their other companion had remained awfully quiet since she had winded him.

Sun had his cup of tea pressed to his lips, but the liquid had long run dry and was simply holding it there and staring off into nothingness in hopes of avoiding being asked anything to do with the current situation. "Yes, unfortunate timing." Kali said, smiling as her daughter frowned at her.

"But don't worry, he can always reschedule the meeting. It's just been hard dealing with them lately." She drank some of her own tea as she spoke.

"Dealing with who?" Blake asked, her face slowly coming back to normal.

"Hm?" Kali hummed. "The White Fang." She said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, with such casualness that it actually took a second for her words to kick in.

"WHAT?!" Blake and Sun exclaimed, standing to their feet alongside Neo who, while obviously unable to scream in shock, was nonetheless concerned about terrorists knocking on doors.

In no time at all, Blake and Sun had already run to the front door, where Ghira was in the middle of conversing with two men in red robes with a matching set of black and white garments. "Dad!" Blake exclaimed, immediately catching her father's attention as he turned around.

"Blake, what's wrong?" There was no real sense or urgency in his voice, but there was a hint of concern for his daughter.

"Miss Belladonna." The man with a grey fox tail said slowly, bowing as he spoke.

"We had no idea you'd returned." The other poke in kind, two fox ears inclining as he bowed alongside his companion.

"What are you doing talking to these people?" She glared at the two robed figures, looking up to her dad with a certain amount of disbelief that he would do such a thing.

Ghira raised an eyebrow at her words, before speaking. "This is Corsac and Fennec Albain." He gestured to each in turn. They represent the White Fang here in Menagerie now." Blake's eyes narrowed even further at the two.

"Those psychos are here, too?!" Sun's blue eyes were wide, as his hands clenched into fists in case the two before him tried anything.

"Young man." Fennec frowned. "I'm not sure what you've heard of our organisation, but I can assure you, we're not nearly as ferocious as the media would have you believe."

"What we've heard?" Blake repeated, almost mockingly. "We've seen firsthand! Your fanatics slaughtered people!"

Ghira, upon hearing his daughter's words, immediately turned to the brothers with a glare. "What is she talking about?"

"Precisely what we came to discuss with you, Your Grace." Corsac answered.

"Is everything alright?" Kali asked, approaching the scene.

It was at that point Neo's focus centred on her. As soon as they had arrived in the entrance hall, she had teleported herself amongst the rafters above, hiding from the sight of the two men at the door. She had hidden from Faunus before, and knew darkness was not her friend.

Silence, on the other hand, was. And thanks to the fact the two down below were constantly distracted by the Belladonna's… and Sun… it meant she could easily wait for an opportunity to strike, should the action become necessary.

If these two decided to attack, they would very quickly be introduced to Hush. She tuned out most of the conversation, keeping an eye on their hands. They were constantly pressed against each other, as if almost in prayer.

Religious fanatics instead of the usual terrorists? Did they see the White Fang as a religion? Would attacking them be seen as a hate crime? Neo's thoughts ventured onto a different track, before seeing Ghira step forward, towering over the two.

"Goodbye, gentlemen." Just before he reached out to close the door, the brothers nodded and stepped back.

"Of course, and remember to beware, your Grace." Ghira closed the door with noticeable slam. Not enough to be considered rude, but enough to make it clear their presence was no longer wanted. Neo watched as they walked away from the window above the door.

They made no immediate moves to return and attack, and were only talking to each other as they descended the steps. Neo squinted as she watched them go. They were two to keep an eye on. She looked back to the inside of the house, seeing only Blake's parents and Sun.

"What was that stuff about 'beware'?" Sun asked, trying to avoid the frown Ghira was giving him.

"Ever since the Fall, those that were at it, or at least those who served under Adam, have been spouting the same thing since they came back." Ghira trailed off, his frown lessening ever so slightly.

"Beware the Golden Eyed Wolf."

Silence followed his words. Neo had no idea what the Hell it meant, but damn if it didn't sound ominous. "It doesn't help Sienna is back on the island. She's been working overtime since the Fall seeing as a Faunus was blamed for it…" Ghira trailed off, frowning at Sun who wasn't entirely sure what he had done wrong.

"Do not mention that to Blake." He pointed a finger threateningly at the boy, while Kali was looking around the room curiously. A pair of amber eyes suddenly stared upward, meeting Neo's. The girl tensed upon being spotted, but felt her posture relax as Kali let a small smile appear on her face.

"Were you keeping us safe, dear?" She asked. Both Sun and Ghira looked to Kali in confusion, before following her gaze. Neither male had noticed her up there, if the way their eyes widened was any indication.

"You can come down now, I'm sure we have a lot to talk about." She offered a hand up to Neo, as if she might need it to help her get down. Neo nodded, concentrating for a moment before appearing on the ground next to her in a shattering of glass.

The sound caught everyone by surprise, but Kali was the first to regain her composure. "Oh my, is that a second Semblance?" She asked. "My, you certainly are full of surprises, aren't you dear." She reached out and placed a hand on Neo's head, gently rubbing it.

Neo would be lying if she said she didn't feel somewhat uncomfortable at the action, but it would be a bigger lie to say she didn't enjoy the feeling. "Now, come along. We can grab Blake and have some girl talk and let the boys have some alone time."

Kali placed an arm under Neo's, gently leading her away from the door. Neo allowed it, if only because she felt saying no to this woman was a crime she wasn't sure even Roman would think to commit. She glanced back as she was led on.

Sun was still as a statue, and Ghira looked as though he was trying to set him aflame by glare alone.

Neo shrugged, returning her gaze forward as Kali began to talk about how she and Ghira first got together. For the first time since getting on that boat, she wasn't entirely regretting following Blake to Menagerie.


Bit of a perspective change, finally seeing Neo meet the Belladonnas. I'm convinced that Kali could convince any of the villains in the show, with the exception of maybe Tyrian and Adam, to let go of their anger and motivations just by sitting down with them over tea and talking to them.

Kali Belladonna is a force to be reckoned with, and has shown Neo kindness. This obviously means Neo will kill for her. Understandable really. But for real, a simple showing of kindness can change a lot for a person who has never experienced it. It's why she fell for Crue in the first place. Not to say she's going to suddenly fall for Kali, but a motherly figure actually treating Neo how one should treat a daughter? Yeah you can bet she'll never let anything bad happen to her.

Salem has found out about Beacon and is not happy. Understatement of the century, I believe. I was mentioning how there were a surprising number of Mistrali Huntsmen, but now you know why. They were the ones meant to be killed by Lionheart. I'm sure the Headmaster has a wonderful explanation for why all these Huntsmen are suddenly alive and well. But, it'll have to wait until we see him next.

This chapter was a bit shorter than usual, but mostly because it always feels weird rewriting scenes that happened in the show exactly. With minor changes, of course.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter, let me know if you did, and as always...

Until Next Time

-Friday