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Start Chapter 26


Cinder feels panic course through her link, and immediately, she understands that somethings is wrong.

Jaune, for all his endless dorkiness, has never been one to panic. He is shockingly level-headed in even the most severe scenarios. Even while sinking into shock at seeing Sienna be skewered on Adam's blade, he'd not faltered to get to her in time. The only thing that had fallen by the wayside had been his own survival instinct.

But not his instinct to help people.

...He really is an idiot, no matter how much she...

...Gods damnit, she cannot even return his affections in her own head.

She shakes off such notions for the moment, jogging her way towards the center of the house, where, if she's right, Jaune will have gone to. He is not in any pain, so she imagines that whatever it is that has caused him to panic is not an attacker, or any such thing, but instead perhaps information.

Where he'd have gotten such information... well, that, Cinder doesn't know.

There had, admittedly, been something... odd a minute or so ago. A feeling like the Maiden's fire had briefly... blipped. Like if it had been a heart, it would have skipped a single beat. She'd thought nothing of it other than to categorize it for later thinking, but now...

Now she wonders if that had not had something to do with Jaune, somehow.

As she pushes her way into the main foyer, she sees Jaune frantically discussing something with Blake, whose eyes are wide and filled with terror. She immediately turns around, breaking into her parents study where they had been having a secure conversation, and saying something that's just quiet enough that Cinder can't quite make it out.

She approaches her little light, and sees that he is white as a sheet.

"What's wrong?"

He startles as she addresses him, although he quickly calms upon seeing her face.

"It's... I had a... I don't even really know how to describe it. I had something like a vision, or a... or a dream, but... I think magic was involved somehow, and it–"

"Calm." She practically orders, forcing Jaune to take a few deep breaths, and slow down his rapidly escalating tone. "Now. Continue."

He nods. "I heard Adam Taurus plotting to attack the Belladonna mansion. Presumably tonight."

That is... not entirely unexpected, to be honest. The fact that Jaune has apparently magically envisioned such a thing is a bit of an oddity, and something she is most certainly going to continue thinking about, but this plan of Adam's...

"It's certainly what I would do, were I in his position." Cinder explains, which earns a groan from out of her little light. "What?"

"I just... most people would have said something like 'it's going to be okay' or 'don't worry, it was probably just a dream'?"

"I don't see why I would say either of those things."

Jaune just snorts. "Yeah, that's about what I expected."

Cinder frowns at him, which for some reason only earns another laugh.

Still, when the voice of Ghira Belladonna summons them into the study they'd been cooped up in, Jaune follows, and Cinder follows him. They enter into a much quainter space than Cinder has come to expect from those who hold power. It has a few couches surrounding a central coffee table – albeit a large and ornate one – with bookshelves and other such things lining one wall, and a set of glass doors leading out onto a balcony on the other.

Cinder catalogues all of this information before she has worried herself about what exactly is being said. Very few things are as important as getting a lay of the land, so to speak, and Cinder prides herself on being prepared. Just in case something happens here, and if she believes what Jaune says – she does almost by default – then something will in roughly twelve or so hours.

Double the reason to prepare, then.

"I assume by now you have heard what Mr. Arc tells us." Ghira Belladonna addresses the room, and though he is speaking of Jaune's tale, he does not seem to expressly believe it. "I see fit to inform you all of the possibility that it may be the truth first, but now, Mr. Arc, I believe I must call into question the legitimacy of your claim, if any such thing exists, that you have had a vision..."

"...By magic." Jaune blushes, looking embarrassed. "But it's... the Queen of the Grimm sort of... taught us magic?"

Ghira Belladonna looks rather skeptical.

"It's the truth." Lie Ren, for what feels like the first time in days, speaks up. "We cannot personally show you what little magic we are capable of utilizing, given we do not possess the necessary catalysts to activate it outside of her castle, but,"

Ren turns to her, and Cinder briefly startles.

"I believe she might be able to give you a demonstration, however... different to what Jaune is trying to convince you of may be."

Cinder's brow furrows, even more so when every head in the room, including those who have most certainly seen her utilize the Maiden's fire before, and have no reason to be watching her, turns in her direction.

"...It is an offensive power, mine."

"The tales say that the power of the Maiden's was that of the seasons themselves." Blake Belladonna speaks up, looking at her incredulously. "Conjuring fire could be the work of a semblance, but..."

Cinder frowns, then sighs, and resolves to try and explain to them that that is not how the Maiden's power works.

It is raw, untapped energy. It is fire, burning within her breast. It is...

...

...Is it?

It is the first time that Cinder has ever considered such a thing. That perhaps the Maiden's power is more than fire, and brimstone, and death. But perhaps...

When she considers it, the story of the old man and the four maidens had told of each of them possessing magic that could bring about their respective seasons.

Winter is the season of cold, and of dark, and of snow and blizzards and death. It is the season of the mountains and the wind. Of a great yawning and sleep.

Spring is the season of renewal. It is the season of rebirth, and rekindling, and remaking. It is the season of storms, and rains, and growth. Of awakening, and taking that first step forward.

Summer is the season of heat, and of light, and of longer days and shorter nights. It is the season of the land, and the sky, and nature. Of sunlight burning across green fields.

And Fall, of course, is the season of harvest. The time when everything is at its ripest. Following Summer, it is Fall that metes out bounty, and in doing so, metes out destiny. It is fall that determines who lives and who dies due to Winter's wrath. It is Fall that determines who and what survives until the onset of spring.

It is Fall that connects them, is it not?

A hand takes her own, and she looks down to see her little light glancing up at her with a reassuring smile, trying to grant her some semblance of strength.

And she can't help but roll her eyes at his foolishness. At his endless positivity, naivete, and of course, dorkiness.

...

...She loves him for these things, she thinks.

And... for some reason, the moment she thinks that, energy comes to life within her. The power of the Fall Maiden, that which has always represented death, and flame, and destruction...

...Cinder can feel it almost... expanding.

All of those things... they are still there. But it is as if a new path has opened up beside it. As if a boulder she'd previously thought had immovable had been pushed aside, revealing another path that she can take.

And it causes her eyes to widen as she holds out her hand, and within her palm, a tiny, miniscule flower blooms to life.

It is such a silly thing. The fact that she can use the magic of the gods to create a flower. And yet... for some reason, as Cinder stares upon its soft, violet petals, observes the way that it somehow generates pollen, energy, life within itself...

She knows that she has done something more magical than conjuring fire could ever be.

The rest of the room feels the same, if their complete amazement is anything to go by.

"...So it's true." Ghira Belladonna murmurs beneath his breath. "When I heard what my wife told me, I assumed it all hogwash, but... you really do possess the powers of the God and Goddess."

She is not entirely certain what he means by that. He must see the expression on her face, for he clears his throat, and sets about explaining.

"Right, I remember my wife telling me you did not know the story. It is a Faunus legend, passed down throughout our people. I suppose it makes some sense that humans would not know it as well." Ghira looks at each of them. "Whereas we are not as familiar with these tails of the... Maidens, was it? We have different tales. Our peoples, after all, come from different cultures."

Jaune and the rest of the Beacon children nod. Emerald, Mercury, and herself, seem rather content to simply listen without input.

"It is said that once, there was a great calamity upon our world." Ghira begins in a voice that sounds like one might hear in a narration. "That mankind attempted to rise up and surpass the old gods of this world. Whether or not they succeeded, well, no one knows, but in doing so, they brought utter cataclysm to the world. The gods, as an act of punishment, shattered the moon, and let its shards rain down upon us."

Cinder's eyes widen as a flash of something courses through her head. It is a scream of utter agony, of a woman broken down, betrayed, and made out to be nothing. Her hair is fair and flaxen, and as she sinks down to her knees, she is crushed by a massive, hulking meteorite.

And yet, where there should be an end to her suffering, release, there is only further pain. Only regrowth. Only an endless existence.

Cinder phases back into the present in the very same moment that Jaune does. He turns and looks at her, questioning with his eyes if she had seen the same thing as her.

She nods subtly, not wanting to draw terribly much attention and divert the conversation away from what is, perhaps, a semi-truthful recount of this world's history. After what she just saw in her head...

Had that woman been...

"After that, this world earned its title." Ghira continues. "Remnant. A piece of that which once was. A remnant of a world without gods. And so, two beings, with magic at their fingertips, decided to try and become gods themselves. It is said that there was peace for a time, that they were able to succeed, to become as gods. And yet... they were fragile. Not of body, for both were supposedly immortal. But of heart. Of spirit. Because inside, they were human beings, just like all of us. And they had human concerns. Human issues. And eventually... these things led the gods to war against each other."

Cinder isn't the only one listening intently. The only person who isn't is perhaps Blake – and that Sun fellow too, who Cinder has honestly forgotten is here until this moment. Cinder assumed that is because she does not quite have the necessary context to grasp just how much of this tale might be truth.

"And so it was that the new gods of this world, or as they're referred to in myth, the Mother and the Father, or the Goddess and the God, warred against one another for millennia. The victor... well, the tales don't really focus on such things. Often, this tale is a jumping off point for others, where other tales can begin. Tales of Vedavik the Emancipator, of Gordran the Lightbringer. Many begin in this time of uncertainty brought about by the warring of the mother and father. And many end with the god or goddess either denouncing or approving of their actions. Honestly, most are simply stories for children, with morals such as 'don't steal' or 'be kind'. I never would have thought..."

"That they were real?" Cinder asks, and Ghira Belladonna narrows his eyes at her, even as he nods his head.

"This... woman. You say her name is Salem?"

"Indeed."

"What is she like?"

Cinder finds herself frowning in that moment.

"...I could not describe her."

Ghira actually chuckles, but it is a dark thing. "Yes... I imagine you could not."

And then, completely ruining the serious atmosphere of the conversation, and just in general throwing the entire meeting into chaos, a figure who had somehow gone unseen until now falls through the glass doors at the back of the room, landing on their face with an audible thud, and a shriek of "Eek!"

Everyone turns towards the offending party, and Cinder has half a moment to realize that she recognizes the silhouette of the oddly camouflaged girl before Sienna Khan is on her feet, an angry snarl on her face.

"What is she doing here!?" Sienna growls out, causing the other figure to hold out her hands to try and protect herself.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm–"

Before Sienna can make any movements, however, Blake Belladonna has stepped in.

"Ilia is here under my protection." Blake says, getting in front of Ilia and protecting her from the rest of them. "And before you ask, no, she's not spying for Adam. She broke away from him when she saw how he treated you."

Sienna sneers. "Did she now? She certainly didn't seem to have much issue fighting beside him against my rescuers, according to what they tell me."

Ilia pales somewhat – and Cinder means that quite literally, her entire body becomes a far lighter shade – as she stammers to answer.

"T-That was because she," The girl named Ilia points at Cinder, causing her to blink in surprise for a moment. "Was bathing the entire room in fire! What else was I supposed to do!? Get grilled alive!?"

Sienna looks like she's a second or so away from charging at the girl regardless, and with how tense the room is, Cinder realizes that she might as well curtail this now.

"In all fairness, she is right." Cinder states as Sienna turns to her. "Her only option was to attempt to fend off my flames. The only way to do that was either to force me to leave the room, which she was, or to kill me, which I imagine she was also trying to do, albeit far less successfully."

Jaune groans and rolls his eyes, and though Cinder isn't entirely sure why, at the very least, her words seem to have had the desired effect of getting Sienna to not look like she wants to skin Ilia alive.

"Fine." She grits out between her teeth. "But let it be on record that I don't trust her. Ilia is a spy. It is quite literally her job to appear harmless and friendly."

Ilia wilts somewhat, but Blake shakes her head. "She also... has a much more personal reason to have left Adam's group."

"Oh? And what's that?"

And it's at that moment that Cinder keys into the way that Emerald has been keeping her gaze suspiciously pointed away from Ilia ever since this conversation has started, and she realizes just what Belladonna is talking about.

"Ah." Cinder says, sick of them dancing around each other. "Emerald, this is your soulmate, then?"

Her enforcer cringes, as does Ilia, who seems to not have wanted that particular piece of information leaking out so easily. Sienna looks back and forth between the two of them, eyeing them warily, before apparently seeing the truth behind the statement, and sighing.

"Ugh. Teenagers."

That, apparently, is all she has to say on the subject. In Sienna Khan's defense, Cinder can't help but feel that it rather adequately sums up their current scenario.

"Oh..." Emerald and Ilia stare at each other as Ilia tries to find something to say to her. "Uh... hey?"

"Yeah, uhm... Hi."

...Wow, that had almost been more awkward than Cinder and Jaune's first meeting, and she'd quite literally killed someone in front of him.

...Not for the first time since her and Jaune's conversation in Evernight a few weeks ago, Cinder feels a twinge of guilt in his chest at the thought, but again, suppresses it. It will not do her any good, now. Not with what's coming.

"Setting aside… all of this," Ghira cuts in, shaking his head. "We're going to need all the help we can get. You say that Adam Taurus means to take the entirety of the Belladonna mansion tonight?"

"That's what it seemed like." Jaune says, though he frowns. "I... I suppose I could have had a vision of the future, but I wouldn't bet on my... my whatever this is being quite that convenient. Assume they're coming tonight, and be pleasantly surprised if they're not"

"Why would they assault here, though?" Blake asks, looking rather confused. "This is one of the most well-defended buildings in Menagerie. It's a veritable fortress, with a guard staff of two dozen well-trained soldiers. Not to mention that the White Fang has always done their best to gain my family's favor. We might be a relic of an older age to them, but there are many in the current White Fang who see us as an integral part of the organization, even now. To attack us out of nowhere like that would be tantamount to turning many of those individuals into enemies. It just doesn't make sense for Adam to do such a thing."

"It does if you consider things from his warped perspective." Cinder cuts in, again taking center stage in this conversation. "Your Adam Taurus is, as you yourself have said, not a particularly stable individual. He is operating in his own little world at the moment. He has, rather recently I might add, accomplished every goal he has set out to. I imagine there is a part of him that assumes he simply cannot lose."

Blake frowns, as do a few more faces.

"So in his eyes, the plan is simple. He will claim, after he has destroyed the Belladonna manor, and killed all of its inhabitants, that the Belladonna's were planning on selling out the White Fang after their grand victory at Beacon Academy. That they had grown soft. Weak. He will claim anything, so long as it gets him what he wants. Because right now, all of his enemies are together under one roof. It is simple arithmetic. The least amount of effort for the most possible gain. I would do the same in his position."

They all briefly look down about that, and a few people glare at Cinder, but she simply raises an eyebrow at each of them.

"I did not say he would actually succeed." She clarifies. "Unfortunately for him, I am here. He has no chance in such a skirmish."

Jaune chuckles, despite the way that he shakes his head amusedly. Still, the notion does seem to bring some small assurance to a number of people in the room, and Cinder supposes that's likely a good thing.

She is not terribly worried about this, to be honest. She could take the White Fang on her own if she did not have to worry about collateral damage. Unfortunately for them all, she does, unless they want the entire place coming down around them in a blazing inferno.

Still, as things are, the Belladonna's will likely have to point her to a few rooms that they don't care about as much, ones in which she can fully utilize her power to aid in the defense.

A few figures begin to filter out of the room at that, apparently deciding that the time for talk has ended. Cinder does not judge them for that – they are correct. Nothing more needs to be said.

Jaune, however, seems to disagree, for he walks up to her with a smile on his face.

"What is it?"

"What do you mean?" He asks.

"You look insufferably smug about something." She says, glaring at him without any malice.

Jaune just laughs. "I guess I just... Well, look at you," He gestures to her. "Taking charge. Acting like a leader."

Cinder's glare becomes a touch more real. "Do not patronize me."

"I'm not." Jaune smiles, and it an odd thing, like he's... watching her more intently. "Leadership's a good look on you. Like... really. I could get used to following your orders. Serving beneath you."

For a moment, Cinder finds herself reddening slightly, until she realizes that she actually has something to say.

She's going to attempt to be funny.

"…Is this the part where you tell me you want me to step on you?"

Jaune stares at her for a solid second in complete and utter silence, and for a moment, Cinder thinks she's erred, said something stupid, and that she'll have to hide away from him until the battle starts...

But then Jaune coughs, and doubles over, hacking still, but evidently laughing along with it. He covers his mouth as he cackles, trying to control himself somewhat.

"Oh gods, I did not expect you to–" He is cut off by his own laughter once again. "Oh man. Holy crap."

Cinder cracks a smile herself. It seems she can manage such things when she tries. "I'm… glad you enjoyed it."

And for a confusing moment after that, Jaune just... stares at her. there is such raw admiration in his eyes that it briefly blinds Cinder, forcing her to look away from him, her single eye trending towards the floor.

"You know, I know you don't think you are, but I think you're doing great at this."

"And what is this?" She counters, not liking this mushy topic at all, trying to steer away from it.

"I just said." Jaune laughs. "Leading people. I know you think I'm joking, but I'm not. You're a great leader."

Cinder scoffs. "And you would know how?"

"Hey, I am a leader." Jaune preens, and Cinder rolls her eyes. "The J in JNPR."

"Ah, yes." Cinder shakes her head, trying and failing to hide the wry smile on her lips. "Because being selected at random by an ancient wizard is a completely valid method of becoming a leader."

"Hey! It wasn't at random!"

"How do you know that?"

"Because I..." Jaune pauses. "...Hey, wait... I actually don't know that."

She takes a moment to let him stew in that uncertainty before clearing up his brief crisis. "It wasn't at random. Ozpin selects based on some aptitude he personally sees in people. I believe you showed him something that made him select you, as that seemed to be the pattern in most teams."

When he looks at her oddly, likely wondering how she would know, Cinder explains further. "We had access to a good many of Beacon's files during our stay there."

Jaune gives an "Ah".

There is a brief silence then, before Jaune looks at her again, this time with concern in his gaze.

"So... what's the plan, then? For dealing with Adam and the White Fang?"

"The plan? That's rather simple, actually."

And even as she says it, she's moving out into the foyer, studying the mansion in every way that she can, parsing out any last nuggets of information she can find that might get them an advantage of some kind come the evening, when Taurus and the White Fang come knocking.

"We reinforce our defenses, outfit ourselves, recharge as best we can..."

"And we prepare for war."


End Chapter 26


And that's that.

See you all in two weeks!