Yo!

I think I'm officially moving the day this story releases to Monday. It may even move back to Sunday at some point, we'll see.

Anyways, without further ado, and whatnot...

Chapter 39

"…Repeat what you just said."

The way it had been voiced to Cinder made it sound like it was not at all a request. She held onto the barb that immediately bubbled up within her throat, and instead let out a quiet breath, expelling that feeling before it could take control of her. She'd gotten quite good at that; regulating her anger.

"I said that your services, and those of the White Fang, are no longer required." Cinder stated plainly. "As of today, our contract has ended. You will no longer be needed."

Adam was never subtle in how he felt, even at the very best of times, so Cinder hadn't expected him to remain silent, or any such nonsense, but admittedly, the furious grunt he let off was a bit much, even for him.

"You think you can just cut us off like that!? Abandon us at the finish line, after what my people have sacrificed for you!?"

She rolled her eyes. "Your part in this is no longer required. I have paid you for your services in full. Thusly, I fail to see what we have left to discuss."

"Paid?" Adam actually laughed. "Paid!? Do you think this has ever been about pay!? No. This is about getting justice for the faunus! Justice for those the Kingdoms of Remnant have trodden upon, justice upon the masses who sit idly by and do nothing while my people are caged and enslaved!"

Cinder wanted to sigh out in annoyance, but held her tongue again. There was no use angering the bull further, unless she wanted her eardrum blown out.

"And now you mean to cut us off before we can acquire justice!? No. Not after what my people have sacrificed for you. You prevented the Breach from going ahead, and in that, you robbed dozens of my brothers and sisters from seeing a reward for their sacrifices. I will not allow you to do such again."

"Except it's not up to you, Adam, what I choose to do." Cinder reminded him, and she gripped the scroll in her hand just a bit harder than was perhaps necessary. "Your role was ever to act upon my orders. To follow my commands. Thusly, I have a singular, final order: Leave, and take your men with you."

"My men," Adam sneered. "Will be assaulting the Vytal Festival, as I was informed we would be. Too many preparations have been put in place. Grimm have been captured. Paladins have been readied. The dust that you have acquired sits with us in warehouses on the outskirts of Vale and cannot be moved without notice. If you call off this attack, then we have nothing."

Cinder took a deep, steadying breath, doing her best to keep herself calm. Again, it would not do to freak out, and bring this to a mudslinging match. No. Currently, she had the upper hand. She was being the bigger person, and more than that, because she was calm, she was further angering the man on the other end of the line.

As long as she maintained her composure, things would go her way.

"Then you may keep the dust, and the Paladins," Cinder said with a wave of her hand. "I have no further need of them. Consider them a generous donation to your cause. May they find use in your hands."

Adam seethed. "You do not seem to understand who it is you're talking to, girl."

Somewhere deep inside of herself, Cinder understood that she should've, even through such a barb, maintained her composure. A part of her understood that perfectly well. After all, it wasn't even that sharp a cut at her.

But… girl… there were very few people who called her that.

And one of them was just about her least favorite person on the planet that still drew breath. With a laugh like a hyena and a scorpion tail far less venomous than his words. One of very few who wielded power over her, and who continued to do so.

Someone who she could not take her anger out on, or risk her mistresses wrath.

And perhaps it was that rage, that fury that had long since lurked inside of her, wanting to be taken out on something, that caused her to break, that caused her jaw to tighten and her lips to pull up into a sneer.

And when she spoke her next words, they were laced with more malice than she'd put into anything in months.

"I believe it is you who is confused about the person they're addressing. Perhaps you forget, Adam, the day that I came to your camp, burned down your walls, and easily dispatched a good dozen of your men as I cut a path straight to your tent. Perhaps you forget that it was I who even put you in this position, who could on a whim bring the entirety of Vale to its knees. Perhaps you forget that the White Fang in Vale would be nothing without me giving you space to operate."

Adam remained silent, and for some reason, that only poured more fuel on the fire for Cinder, caused her to keep going.

"So let me remind you of something very important. Currently, the two of us are partners, or however you wish to word it to make yourself feel oh so terribly powerful. I am cutting off that partnership. I am not asking. I am not giving you a choice. I am, in no uncertain terms, getting rid of you. You are lucky that I do not see any reason to rid myself of you in a more permanent matter. But in case you don't grasp what it is I'm saying, and you likely don't, given you've never seemed all that bright, allow me to elucidate something else for you…"

She leaned into the scroll, even though such a thing had no purpose, and felt the heat of her semblance flaring to right in her hand. It was controlled, enough to not melt the plastic, but it was oh so close to boiling over.

"I am very aware of where it is the White Fang operate out of. I am very aware as to just where it is your main base is located upon the island of Menagerie. I am very much not the only member of my little group. And if I were to communicate back to any of them that a former ally of mine was getting a bit uppity, and had information that could hinder our cause, what do you think would happen to you and your little friends, Adam?"

She waited for him to say something. Anything. A part of her that had not been active in months was blazing, hoping, almost praying that the man would come back around, and allow her to unleash further vitriol.

But instead, there was nothing. No final word. No grand statement.

Subservience.

Cinder supposed that things were as they should be on that front.

"I'm glad I don't have to make myself any clearer, then." Cinder spoke, feigning a much lighter tone, knowing such a thing would make Adam livid. "I have rather enjoyed our partnership Adam. That being said, I look forward to never hearing your voice again."

And yet, just as Cinder was sure it was over, that she'd managed to make things abundantly clear to the man on the other end of the line, Adam spoke.

"This… is not the end of this."

She laughed mirthlessly.

"I beg to differ."

And she promptly hung up.

/

It had been nearly three and a half weeks since Glynda Goodwitch had last spoken with Emerald, since the girl had cried and ran from her, and left Glynda behind both heartbroken and confused.

In her eyes, that was entirely too long a time.

Of course, Emerald was free to take as long as she needed for whatever it was that was bothering her. Glynda wasn't going to push. It was more on her end that she was upset. She should've done something by now.

The reason she hadn't had mostly been about respecting Emerald's privacy, but…

She rubbed her temples with her hands, doing her best to try and keep a headache from developing.

Her life never ceased to grow more complicated.

At the very least, Glynda had learned a few things about the incident in the weeks that had gone by. From what she'd been able to ascertain, Emerald being upset hadn't all been about her, given she had not seen Emerald with Penny for a few weeks afterwards as well, but Glynda couldn't help thinking she played a more than decent part. There were compounding factors, but then, that had never stopped Glynda from blaming herself before.

She had a feeling it wouldn't now, either.

It was as she was thinking about this, taking a sip of tea while she graded papers in the teachers' lounge – an activity she didn't often partake of, but one that became more and more essential the closer they got to the end of the semester, or, in this case, the closer they got to the Vytal Festival – that a figure stepped into the room, and, with a raspy voice, called out to her.

"Yo, Glyn." Qrow waved lazily towards her, and though she rolled her eyes at the nickname, she was actually… decently glad to see him. "What's up? You usually grade exams in your room, don't you?"

…Okay, so maybe Glynda's earlier reasoning for why she was currently in the teacher's lounge was, in fact, a lie. In all actuality, she was here because being in her office meant thinking about what had happened the previous night with Cinder, and that…

She did not need that. Not right now.

Besides, she'd decided to trust Cinder, hadn't she?

…

"It's nothing." She responded after a while. "I simply find it easier to work here is all."

"Riiiight," Qrow didn't seem to believe her. "Whatever you say."

He sat down in one of the wheeled chairs, and, like a juvenile, proceeded to spin a few times in place.

Glynda shook her head ever so slightly.

"So… something's up with you and Oz, no?"

She didn't immediately respond, and really, she didn't have to. Glynda hadn't visited Ozpin's office in the two or so days since she'd discovered the real reason why he'd encouraged her to accept Cinder's feelings.

She had no plans to see him any time soon, either.

She wasn't sure what he could do to make such a thing up to her. For him to have betrayed her trust to such an extent…

Well, a simple apology probably wasn't going to cut it.

Of course, they still communicated by text, but it was with curt, single word replies from her, and occasional outright dismissal.

She was angry. More than that, she felt deceived, plain, and simple.

She shook her head. Thinking about this was not at all helping her mood. She had enough to worry about.

"The Headmaster and I are currently not on speaking terms." Glynda made her position quite clear, not even looking up from the paper she was grading.

"Y'know, I'd ask why, but I have a weird feeling I probably shouldn't."

Glynda just nodded her head, and Qrow chuckled.

"So… you still worried about little miss… what was her–"

"Emerald." She spoke between clenched teeth, eyeing the man beside her, who rather quickly raised his hands in surrender. "And yes. I am still worried about her."

"Right." Qrow nodded along. "She's the same girl who you said thought of you as a mother figure, right?"

Glynda nodded. That particular thought was a depressing one, given that Glynda had, in some way, betrayed the girl. She had so clearly been hurt, had thought Glynda had done something wrong. She herself didn't know what that was, but…

Well, she wouldn't dismiss Emerald's feelings.

"Yes. She is."

"And I'm taking it there's quite the plethora of things going on in that head of yours surrounding that particular fact?"

She glared at the man, which, in turn, likely answered his question for her.

"Well… what do you want to do?"

"If I knew that, Qrow, I would've done it already." She practically huffed, her left-hand curling into a fist atop the table. "I… this is a delicate matter. Emerald was upset with me. I believe that she has gotten over the other issue that was plaguing her, but I do not know if she has forgiven me yet. Until such a time, I'm not going to push her."

Qrow stared at her for quite a while after that, enough to leave Glynda feeling the smallest bit unnerved. When he finally did speak, it only sought to further unnerve her.

"Can I be honest with you?"

That did bring a chuckle to her lips, though it lacked humor.

"Are you ever not?"

"Yes, actually." Qrow said, sounding completely serious. "Right now, if you don't want me to be."

Glynda heard his words, took them in, and then sighed. Qrow was giving her an out. If she wanted it, she could have it.

But…

"…You may be honest."

Qrow nodded, and then he reached over, took Glynda's chair, and spun it so that she no longer faced the desk she was sat at, but instead faced him directly. She'd have been annoyed about such a thing on a different day, but…

Well, she had bigger concerns.

"I think for once, you need to break this reactionary habit of yours, and go on the offensive."

The words had Glynda's eyes widening, and unconsciously, she leaned backwards, her back completely flush with the chair she was sat in.

"…What makes you say that?"

Qrow smiled. "I guess… let's just say that when the two of us were talking the other day, I saw something playing about your eyes. I'm pretty sure you have a certain… idea, let's call it, as to how to handle Emerald's problem. Am I right?"

Half of Glynda reacted in shock, genuinely surprised the man had been able to read such a thing, even as the other half reacted defensively, wanting to protect herself from his words.

So, she'd had an idea. It was… it was ridiculous. There was no way that Emerald would agree to such a thing. She was a fool to try and intrude to such a degree on her life. She was a teacher. Just…

She was just a teacher.

The way she'd gone silent, however, had opened up more than enough time for Qrow to nod, and then continue speaking.

"Yeah, I thought so. But, if I'm willing to guess, you're waiting for her to come and ask you for it. Because you think that if you were to confront her with it, she'd feel… perhaps pressured, or trapped? I get that. Trust me, I do. But…" Qrow ran his hand down the scraggly beard on his chin, before his eyes lit up, and he looked back to her with a roguish smile. "Let me tell you a story."

Glynda wasn't entirely certain where said story would be going, but… at the same time, what Qrow had said so far did make a certain amount of sense, even if she didn't agree with it.

"So… you weren't yet a member of Oz's little circle when Summer died, were you?"

Glynda shook her head. That had been… well, more than a few years before her joining.

"I guess I'd have to explain the landscape of that for a bit, or… actually, y'know what? We'll skip the whole Oz section, given you two's current…" He gestured towards Glynda with his hand. "Feud?"

"Feud works." Glynda said.

"Feud then." Qrow nodded. "So yeah, there were some rumblings, losing Summer. But more importantly than that… it felt like the final nail in the coffin of Team STRQ. Those days were behind us. Raven was gone. Summer was dead. Tai was a single father. And I was… well, as per usual, I was the odd man out. And I looked back towards the only remaining member of my team, or, well, the only real one, and I saw him struggling."

Glynda watched as Qrow's eyes darkened ever so slightly.

"I saw Tai barely hanging together. I saw him get up every day and be completely absent. I saw him nearly get fired from his job teaching at Signal for coming to class completely hungover, and tired out of his wits. I watched my niece be forced to basically raise her little sister, despite the fact that she wasn't even a decade old. But… even with all of that, do you know what my first thought was?"

Glynda almost didn't want to hear it, but she urged him to continue.

"It was "Well, Tai will get back on his feet. Yang and Ruby will be fine."" Qrow laughed, although it was a mirthless thing. "I didn't want to step in there and just… insert myself. STRQ… it was over. It had ended. I was Yang's uncle, but I wasn't Ruby or Tai's anything. I thought… I'll stay away. They wouldn't want me there anyways. Besides, I had my own worries at the time, being a Huntsman, trying to take over Summer's load under Oz's orders. I thought that was the most important thing. But then, one day, I was out on a mission, and I had a close call. I guess it took me nearly dying to make me just kinda… sit my ass down, and really consider my priorities. What actually mattered to me, y'know?"

Glynda nodded.

"And I realized it was Ruby, Yang, and Tai." Qrow smiled. "Of course, I loved my nieces, but Tai… hah, I loved that idiot, too. And all three of them needed me. So… despite the fact that I was a little bit afraid, I retired from active duty. I called in a few favors to get me a job teaching at Signal – or, well, I basically stole Tai's job, since he was barely working anyhow – and brought in some food on the table. I thought they would be surprised to see me, maybe even reject me outright at first, but… the moment I walked in on that first day, and Tai saw me, he just about broke down right then and there. Gave me a big bear hug and thanked me from the bottom of his heart. Tai needed that; I think. A break to just… to just deal with his grief without having to be try and be a responsible parent. Especially when his being so absent was putting the strain of parenting Ruby onto Yang."

"And it took me a while to come to a conclusion." Qrow said as he stared up at the ceiling of the teacher's lounge above him. "That the reason that I hadn't approached them earlier… it wasn't out of respect for whatever family unit they had, or not wanting to take up Summer's position or whatever other excuse I'd managed to make up in my head… it was because I was scared. I was scared I wouldn't be good at it. I was scared that in the end, I'd only hurt them all more. Or maybe, deep down, I was scared that they'd reject me. Want nothing to do with me."

Glynda wasn't entirely sure why she swallowed on nothing, then.

"…What does this… have to do with me?"

Qrow turned his head to look at her, and the two of them met eye to eye. Despite what she'd said, that she wasn't sure why he was telling her this, she couldn't find it within herself to maintain that eye contact.

"Don't let fear stop you from doing what you think you should." Qrow stated with a certainty that was rare from him. "I should be clear, of course, that if you don't want to do whatever it is that I think you're going to do, then that's different. But if you do want to, and the only reason you're not is that you're scared to impose, or anything like that? Then do yourself and Emerald a favor and kick that feeling to the curb. It isn't doing anyone any favors."

Finally, Qrow seemed to have finished. Or, well, Glynda said finally, but really, she had listened to every word the man had spoken. Noted every detail. Now she was… well, pensive was probably putting it lightly.

Even still, she knew one thing.

"…You are ridiculous, do you know that?"

"Ye-ep." Qrow popped the 'p'. "But hey, I'm pretty good at what I do. And I've heard that I'm quite good at the touchy-feely stuff when the going gets tough."

"That you are, apparently." Glynda rolled her eyes, but it was an affectionate sort of gesture. "I'm still not entirely sure what it is I want to do, but… this conversation has been incredibly helpful, Qrow."

Qrow snorted. "I'm guessing that's you less than subtly getting rid of me?"

She glared at him once again.

"Right, right, I'm leaving."

The man stood up, but before he could make it very far, Glynda stood up, reached out, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I do appreciate it, Qrow. Seriously. You've… given me a lot to ponder, is all. I think I need to do that thinking on my own."

"I know." Qrow winked. "That's why I'm leaving. Besides, I don't want to overstay my welcome."

And then he was gone, and Glynda was left alone.

She sat back down in her chair, allowing herself a moment to simply exist within the silence of the teacher's lounge. Or, well, she said silence, but the air conditioning unit was only a few doors down the hall, so this room often heard some of the reverberations through the vents. And there were cobwebs in the corners that hadn't been cleaned in nearly two months, and–

…She was trying to distract herself by observing these things.

Glynda turned back around, reached into her bag, which sat on the desk in front of her, and took out a simple stack of papers.

She idly read the first few lines for what felt like the thousandth time. Every time before, she had felt jitters run through her, and promptly put the form away inside her bag.

Glynda shook her head.

She was a coward, wasn't she? She claimed to care so much for Emerald, and yet…

And yet, she was ignoring her own feelings. From the desire within her to see Emerald smile again. To be there for her whenever she needed her, just like she'd promised.

…She had been running away.

In that moment, Glynda made a decision.

She would run no more.

And so, Glynda began to write.

/

Emerald was, ultimately, happy to be back doing another study session with her… huh, they were her friends, weren't they?

Ruby and Penny were here, as was the norm, but for the first time in a long while…

"So, what gives," Coco shot Emerald and Penny a sideways glance. "You two look awfully chummy all of a sudden."

This remark was directed, in Emerald's opinion, at Penny, and she felt the reason for that was obvious, given that the girl was shoulder to shoulder with her, and had been, largely, clinging to her for the better part of the last hour.

For some reason, even though she was pretty sure she'd usually mind, she didn't here.

Weird.

"Ah," Penny raised a hand in the air, her pointer finger – which was the same finger she could transform into a key for her door seemingly on command – aimed towards the ceiling. "That would be because myself and Emerald have made up."

"You guys had a fight?" Coco seemed stunned at the very concept. "I… honestly didn't think Penny was capable of such a thing."

"Ah, it was more on my end?" Emerald rubbed at the back of her neck. "I was having a rough day, and–"

"And I pushed Emerald harder than I should've to answer about what exactly was bothering her." Penny cut Emerald off before she could take credit for their little spat, all the while smiling over at her with this look in her eyes like she thought the world of her. "I apologized, and Emerald accepted my apology."

Emerald thought that largely checked out. To be honest, she would've had a hard time wording it differently, except that she probably would've chosen to take some more blame for what had happened. She had a feeling that interjecting and doing such a thing here would only earn her scorn from Penny.

But Coco… she wouldn't stop looking between the two of them, her eyes hard, her lips puckered together like she was set to lean in and kiss Velvet, who sat beside her with her eyebrows gradually rising.

She seemed to know something Emerald didn't. In fact, they all seemed to.

Even Ruby was giggling about something or another.

"…What?" Emerald had finally had enough beating around the bush. "Is something up?"

"I mean… everyone can tell, no?" Coco looked towards her teammates. Fox was the only one who seemed out of the loop, but then, he was also blind, so Emerald figured that made sense. "Alright, fine, I'm just going to come out and say it."

Emerald was actually glad. This whole dancing around… whatever it was that Coco and the gang had picked up on was beginning to aggravate her.

Coco leaned forward, lowered her sunglasses dramatically, and then gave a Cheshire grin.

"You guys totally banged, didn't you?"

Emerald didn't think she'd ever gone so red so quickly in her entire life. Penny, somehow, stayed totally still, not reacting at all to Coco's words, even as the entirety of their group did. Velvet slapped Coco's arm over and over and hissed at her about how saying such a thing was "entirely inappropriate!".

Penny, on the other hand, looked lost.

"Banged? What is that, Coco?"

Coco seemed not to have calculated the fact that Penny wouldn't understand what she meant, because now, she was going to have to explain what banging was to an android.

Power to her, frankly.

"Well it's… it's a euphemism."

"For what?" Penny asked so sweetly, so innocently, that Coco almost seemed cowed.

But Emerald had learned something about Coco in the brief time she'd known her. Something very, very annoying.

When Coco was challenged, she often saw it as her sworn duty to take it, regardless as to whether or not she wanted to, or whether or not it was a smart idea to.

"For having sex." She managed to eke out between Velvet trying to cover her mouth with both hands.

And Penny paused.

She was eerily quiet. Emerald could've sworn she heard the gears in the girls head turning, trying to process what she'd just been told.

She proceeded to hiccup.

She hiccupped again.

And then hiccupped a third time.

Emerald was just staring at her.

"Uh… Penny?"

"E-Emerald and I did not have sexual intercourse!" Penny shrieked loud enough that Emerald was decently sure that the entire library knew she hadn't scored. "W-We merely – that is to say, the two of us simply talked inside my room on our lonesome, and I shared with her something very precious."

"Ah, so that's what the kids are calling it these days." Coco teased further somehow, ignoring the way that Velvet was covering her face, Yatsuhashi seemed to be attempting to take on a breathing exercise, and Fox was actually studying. Oh, and Ruby was hiding underneath her cloak, trying to block out the gazes of the good two dozen people now watching their table with rapt attention. "Sharing something precious? I'll admit, it's kind of cute. Like saying you 'made love'."

Emerald was still red, although this time, she was able to retort.

"Look, we really didn't… do that. Penny and I just talked."

"Exactly!" Penny backed her up for what felt like the first time in her life, and Emerald sighed in relief just before that feeling was brutally and effortlessly crushed. "Even if Emerald is my girlfriend, we have not yet had sexual intercourse!"

Emerald regretted, in that moment, never actually telling Penny why it was she didn't want her to call her that in public. Nor had she even explained to Penny what exactly it was that girlfriends really, actually were, since no one else seemed to have informed her!

…But wait, hang on, if Penny didn't know what girlfriends were, then how did she know–

"Huh. Nice." Coco's words cut into Emerald's thinking, distracting her long enough that she lost her train of thought.

"Congratulations you two!" Ruby said excitedly, bouncing up and down despite her embarrassment. "That's great. I'm so happy for you!"

"But… we're…" Emerald tried in vain to correct them.

"Hm?" Penny turned to look at her. "Is something the matter, Emerald?"

"I just… tell them we're not… y'know…"

"That we did not engage in sexual intercourse?" Penny seemed to look anywhere but at Emerald, her hands jittering in a way that was almost entirely unlike the normally completely, robotically still girl. "I know. What an odd thing for them to say. The two of us would certainly never do such a thing and I have absolutely no desire to ever engage in such an act with you."

That… well, Emerald was almost offended… that seemed rather specifically tailored in terms of insults.

Still, that was just… Penny. She probably hadn't even realized that she was being a bit mean. Emerald would get over it.

"Yeah, well, can you clear that up with the–"

And then Penny hiccupped.

Emerald's higher functions stopped in that moment. Instead of trying to consider anything else going on, she stared at Penny. A second passed. And then another. She was not certain how long they maintained eye contact, but it was long enough for Coco to laugh at them, pull out her phone, and start taking pictures of it.

"…Uh… Penny…" She murmured, her face rapidly reddening to the point that it resembled a cherry tomato. "…When you hiccup… that means you're lying… right?"

"That is not at all what my hiccupping means!"

Penny, of course, hiccupped.

This was rather damning.

Seeing that she was already rather deep in her currently dug hole, Penny did the next logical thing, which was to dig that hole deeper.

"I have no desire at all to engage in such acts with you!"

Penny hiccupped.

"I have not been looking up instructional videos online on the topic of female sexual pleasure! I have absolutely no interest in sexual matters, nor have I been seeing you in my memory banks more often, or fantasizing about you in any way! The two of us are friends, and good friends, but just friends, and I have zero desire for you to be my girlfriend, even though you are already my girlfriend!"

That… that made approximately no sense.

And then, naturally, Penny hiccupped again.

Penny was, impossible as it seemed, actually giving off steam. It poured from out of ears. Not enough for someone to notice if they didn't already know of Penny's secret, but…

…

Emerald really wasn't sure what she was supposed to feel about apparently having made a synthetic human fall for her, but she knew for certain that it wasn't a simple emotion.

…

And though she was loathe to admit it… despite her feelings for Cinder, despite her lingering worries over Ms. Goodwitch, and the upcoming Vytal Festival…

She found she didn't quite hate the feeling…

Life only ever grew more complicated, didn't it?

…

Wait, hold on, what did Penny mean 'yet'!?

/

Cinder Fall awoke at the crisp hour of roughly Seven thirty, got up, readied herself, and stepped out into the wide corridors of Beacon.

It was a mess of people. Throngs and throngs of them littered the hallways, all making their way in a singular direction. Their shared destination was, of course, the landing bay, where a multitude of airbuses were waiting to shuttle them off.

Cinder supposed she shared in their excitement, by a certain definition of the term. She was, of course, rather anxious, near sick with nerves. She just… she just had a bad feeling, was all.

Cinder's bad feelings were rarely wrong.

Even still, she was, by certain definitions of the term, excited. And so, as she exited out into the courtyard of Beacon, took in the morning sun, and allowed the light to wash over her, she also took in the sight of Amity Colosseum, hovering as if by magic in the air over Vale.

It was here. The time had come.

The Vytal Festival had begun.

End Chapter 39

So it begins.

...Anyways, dramatic one liners aside, see you all next week!