AUTHOR'S NOTES: Nice long chapter this time, with some action! This story is now waaay off where Volume 9 was (which isn't surprising); it's not even worth a spoiler warning. Still, it does hit a few of the same beats, even if the Red Prince in this story is an evil SOB instead of just a spoiled child. As for the Herbalist, well...yeah, they're worse. Far worse.

Again, reader discretion advised. This gets pretty damn creepy in spots, to the point that it bothered me to write it in places. Drugs are bad; what the Herbalist does with them in this story is far worse...

The Cervena Pevnost (Red Keep)

Ostrava, Kingdom of Moravia

12 September 2001

Marrow's information made dinner very awkward. When they arrived, it was indeed what the Red Prince had promised: a sumptuous dinner, with more food at one time than Ruby had ever seen. The servers wore uniforms and even wigs, and Ruby felt like she had been transported in time to the 18th Century. The food was wonderfully tasty, and for people who had been living on quick bites and even MREs before Ruby Flight had been shot down, it was nothing short of excellent. Even if Marrow had insisted on each entrée be tasted by the Prince's food tasters. None of the servers or waitstaff, much less the tasters, seemed to be offended.

"Why does the Prince have professional food tasters?" Blake was the only one who dared to ask.

"There have been several attempts on the Prince's life since he came to power," one of the tasters replied.

"People not like him or something?" Leave it to Yang to completely lack tact, Ruby thought, suppressing a smile.

"Oh no," the taster said. "He's quite popular with the people. But there are always those who don't like the ruler—revanchists, anti-monarchists, anarchists, even this Salem person we've heard about, I'm sure. These things happen."

"So all this crap about human trafficking is totally not true, right?" Ruby almost kicked Yang under the table, then realized how her sister had said the question: like it was unbelievable. She was testing them.

"Ridiculous," the taster replied. "Lies spread by the revanchists." Ruby caught a glance between the taster and one of the waitstaff: it was one of concern. They clearly did not like where this conversation was going.

"Figured as much," Yang nodded. "We get that too—accused of crimes we didn't do. It's a lot of total bullshit." This time Ruby did lightly kick Yang under the table, and Yang put on a very winning smile. "Pardon my language. I'm from North Carolina."

The taster clearly did not know what that was, but returned an indulgent smile, and Weiss steered the conversation to more pleasant things. Marrow was careful to keep up pretenses, praising the Prince for his hospitality and talking about how he was looking forward to being stationed in Ostrava once NATO recognized Moravia. Ruby finally asked, "So, Marrow, you were gonna tell us how you got here…"

"Right, right. Thanks." Marrow accepted a refill from one of the waitstaff. "Anyway, Weiss, after I ran out of that shelter and got taken prisoner, those guys stuffed me into that BTR, and we drove off. I thought I was in deep shit."

"I thought you were dead," Weiss said, with an inflection that made it clear she was glad he was not.

"Thought I was too, but I lucked out, eh? They actually gave me some food and then told me they were deserting Salem. That Delta Force raid scared the shi—scared the hell out of them. They figured if they stayed with her any longer, they were going to get killed, so they drove down here to Ostrava and handed me over to the Prince, in exchange for him letting them through his kingdom. I don't know where they went—Romania or something for all I know. Like I mentioned, the Prince thought I was a cool guy and he hates Salem, so here I am." He took a drink.

The doors opened and the Chamberlain appeared. "Good evening," he said with a bow. "Is the food adequate?"

"It's exquisite," Weiss said. "Some of the best I've ever had. Possibly even better than the fare at Herrencheimsee."

"Ah, excellent. I will pass on your compliments to the kitchen—that's quite something from someone who has employed Chef Ramsay in the past. Our head chef was concerned when you requested the food tasters be present, Lieutenant Amin."

"We've made a lot of enemies," Blake said, to take the heat off of Marrow. "We asked Marrow to request it."

"Of course; we understand. Lieutenant, will you be joining the Prince tonight?" the Chamberlain asked. "He wanted me to let you know he'll be playing, ah, chess again tonight." Ruby thought she detected a bit of embarassment on the Chamberlain's face.

Marrow made a show of giving it some thought. "Maybe. I want to catch up with my friends first." He snapped his fingers. "Hey, you think they could come down and play?" He motioned to Ruby Flight.

The Chamberlain now looked a little embarrassed. "Er…I would have to ask his Highness." A slight, almost pained laugh. "You do know how he feels about his games." To the women, he said, "Please, excuse his Highness. His mother used to routinely beat him at chess, quite badly, I'm afraid. He is…a little wary, perhaps, of taking on another woman."

Yang waved it off. "Aw, come on, Chambey. I suck at chess! He could beat little ol' me." They all noticed that Yang had suddenly overemphasized a Southern accent. Neither Ruby or Yang spoke with one, which only came out when they were exhausted or drunk.

"Yang, let's not be a pest about it, okay?" Ruby meant the warning. Yang was clearly trying to learn more about the Prince's operation, but they could end up over their head in a hurry.

"Okay, okay. I'm better at checkers anyways." Yang giggled, playing the bimbo role to the hilt-laying it on too thick for Ruby's tastes.

"I will ask, but do not expect a yes." The Chamberlain paused as another man, dressed similarly, walked briskly up to him and whispered in his ear. It occurred to Ruby that, aside from the waitstaff, they had seen no women in the Red Keep. "Ah, you'll excuse me, ladies, Lieutenant? We've just had more visitors arrive."

"Who?" Blake blurted, then she put up a hand. "Sorry, it's none of my business."

The Chamberlain chuckled. "If you're worried that their emissaries of Salem or someone like that, don't worry—these are local folk, nothing more. Routine business, I'm afraid…why the Prince couldn't join you tonight." He gestured expansively. "Please, enjoy your dinner, and stay as long as you like. I'll have tea sent up later. Lieutenant, ring me once you've made a decision about tonight."

"You bet."

The Chamberlain bowed again, and closed the doors.

They finished their meal, which took about another half hour; dessert arrived. Ruby took one look at the chocolate mousse and openly salivated. She called the testers over, who had no problem doing their job, then dug in.

"My God," Weiss said in amazement. "Where do you find the room, Ruby?"

"High metabolism," Yang commented. "Sis here can eat her own weight in sweets."

"Ahf dof nof!" Ruby protested, around a mouthful.

Yang grinned mischieviously. "When you hit 40, Rubes, all that weight is going to slam down at once and you'll be as fat as Port." Ruby gave Yang a look that would freeze a nuclear reactor. Little burst into laughter. "Hey, Boguslawa talks!"

"Don't call me that," Little told her, in between bites. "Little. I hate my name. Boguslawa sounds like some kind of video game monster."

Blake pushed away her dessert. "No, thank you. I think I'm going to explode if I eat another bite."

"I feel the same," Weiss agreed. "As it is, I think I'll need a day on the treadmill just to shed the pounds from this." She pointed at the remains of her lobster, which was quickly whisked away. Yang shrugged and dug in, while Marrow ate his sparingly—not from fear of being poisoned, but from fear of explosion.

Once dessert was finished, Little hesitantly raised her hand. One of the waitstaff instantly stepped forward. "Excuse me," she asked. "Where is the ladies' room?"

"Ah," the waitress said. "This way. I'll show you."

Ruby slid back her chair. "I'll go with you. My back teeth are floating." Surreptitiously, she took a steak knife from the silverware and casually put it into her pocket; none of the waitstaff seemed to notice.

"Think I'll hit the can myself." Marrow got up, pointing at the remains of the mousse. "I love chocolate, but it goes right through me, eh?" The waitress smiled and motioned him to follow.

The head waiter opened the doors. "While the other two ladies and the lieutenant are powdering their noses, allow me to escort you back to your rooms."

Yang shook her head. "No thanks; we'll stay until they're back from the bathroom."

The waiter looked pained. "Normally, I would agree, but the Prince has asked to use the room for business, and we need to tidy up quickly." He put his hands together, almost in prayer. "Please. You are guests. You will not be harmed—the Prince has given his word, and his word is inviolate here. I was given orders to begin immediately. Your friends will be escorted back to your room, I promise." There was a note of pleading in his voice.

"Certainly." Weiss dabbed the corners of her lips, then stood. Yang and Blake, a little more reluctantly, followed.

The bathroom Ruby and Little were shown into was as palatial as the other rooms: black marble floors and walls, soft lighting, and a stand of warm towels next to the door, complete with uniformed, female attendant. "Whoa," Ruby said in awe.

"I feel so embarrassed," Little admitted. "I don't want to go to the bathroom here. It seems like a crime to."

The bathroom attendant covered her mouth to hide her titters. "It's quite all right," she assured Little. "You must try the bidet. Center button." Ruby and Little looked at each other; neither had any idea what a bidet was.

They separated and went into the stalls. Ruby managed to get her pants down without tearing anything—Blake wasn't the only one who thought the pants were too tight, and after the heavy meal, she felt bloated. Whew, Ruby thought as she did her business, at least I'm not blowing up their toilet here. That'll happen later, I'm sure. What's a bidet, anyway? She heard the door open and several shadows passed by the stall. Maybe I should give it a shot—center button, center button, where is it—

Ruby was still trying to find the toilet controls when the stall door was suddenly wrenched open. She looked up as a man stepped in. He was not dressed in red, but entirely in black, his features masked.

"Man, I don't like this," Yang said as the door was shut behind them. Despite the head waiter's politeness, it had been unsmiling guards who had escorted them back to their room. "The food was good and all, but we need to get the hell out of here."

"At first I didn't think Marrow was telling the whole truth," Weiss admitted. "But after the Chamberlain invited him to chess, and was so evasive about us attending…"

Blake opened the curtains and slid up the window slightly. There would be no jumping out the window to escape; it was three stories to the ground, and below them was the long entranceway they had been marched up this morning. "So those are the people the Chamberlain was talking about." Weiss and Yang joined her.

"Whoa," Yang said. "That's a lot of limousines." People were being escorted out of them, all of them well-dressed.

Weiss peered closer. "I know some of those people. That one there." She pointed to an overweight man dressed in a blue suit. "That's Giovanni Musou. He's Mafia. Very bad news. He tried to run my father out of Italy before the government intervened."

"And I know her." Blake pointed to a woman who was walking up the stairs, flanked by bodyguards. "Junko Enoshima. She's a Faunus. She left the White Fang."

"She friendly?" Yang asked hopefully.

Blake gave a small, ironic laugh. "She left because she didn't think we were violent enough. The Japanese government has a kill on sight order on her. Last I heard, from Adam, she had gone to South Africa. Even he thought she was excessive. What's she doing here?"

"A lot of money for a kingdom that supposedly is out of the way of everything," Weiss said. "What are they here to sell?"

"I've got a better question." Yang stepped back from the window, actually looking nervous. "What if they're here to buy?"

All of them jumped when there was a knock on the door. Blake snatched up a hand towel from a dresser and wound it into an ersatz garrotte. Yang grabbed a flower vase; it wasn't much, but it was glass. Weiss nodded to both of them, then strode to the door, opening it on the second knock. She wasn't surprised when she had to look up at who was behind the door—Weiss was rather short, so she stared up at most people. She was surprised that she had to crane her head back, because the woman that was there stood well over six feet tall, with a long fall of blonde hair and piercing aquamarine eyes. She was dressed in the same uniform as the waitstaff, with a golden sash like the Chamberlain, but a skirt that ended well above the knees on some very long legs. Weiss noticed there was a half-moon shaped thick pendant dangling from her neck. In her hands was a tea tray. "Good evening," she said in accented English. "Would you like some tea?"

"Ah, yes, I suppose," Weiss said, a little intimidated by the woman looming over her. Yang put the vase down, even as she shook her head at her friend, while Blake put the garrotte behind her back. Yang was ignored, and the woman walked in with the tray. "And you are?" Weiss fairly demanded.

The woman chuckled. "I am the Prince's tea lady…among other things." She gave them a fey smile. "Elisabeth is my name." She set down the tray on the little table next to the bathroom. "Would you like some sugar?"

"No thanks," Yang said. "But we would like you to taste it first."

"Why?" Then Elisabeth nodded. "Oh, of course. You worry about being poisoned. Understandable, in this place." She poured tea into each of the cups; there were six of them. "Where are the other three?"

"Bathroom, downstairs. They should be up soon." Blake stuffed the towel into a pocket. "What kind of tea is it?" Yang remembered that Blake preferred tea over coffee.

"Earl Grey. Is that adequate? I can get another kind, if you prefer."

"No, that's fine." Yang and Weiss sat, but Blake remained standing. All of them waited as Elisabeth picked up each teacup and sipped from it. Since the three pilots were still staring at her, she gave them another nod and finished the last cup down to the dregs. She looked at them, waiting. "All right," Weiss said, and Elisabeth handed each of them a saucer and a cup. "Careful," she warned. "The saucers are just out of the dishwasher, I'm afraid—they're a little wet, and warm." Each accepted the saucer; Yang nearly dropped hers with her metal fingers and had to grab it with her real ones. "Apologies," Elisabeth said. "I put too much in that one, I think." She stepped back. "Would you like me to remain for the others?"

"That's okay," Yang said. "We'll wait. We can just call you to pick up the tray, right?"

"Certainly." Elisabeth bowed. She walked to the door, and left.

Blake sipped her tea. "This is quite good."

"That's one big girl. 'Among other things'?" Yang snorted. "I wonder if she's the Prince's mistress."

"We should've asked her about the people downstairs." Weiss glanced at the clock. "Ruby and the others are taking their own sweet time."

"Shouldn't have left them." Yang checked the clock as well. "Dammit. This place gives me the fucking creeps. I should've told the headwaiter…the head…waiter…" Yang blinked and shook her head. "What the hell?"

"What's wrong?" Blake asked.

"Don't know…my heart…it's racing…shit…" Yang set down the teacup before she spilled it.

Weiss went pale. "Oh God. Mine…mine too." She tried to stand up, then wavered; she tried to set down her cup as well, but it fell from her hands and clattered onto the table. She stumbled and sank to the carpet.

Yang slumped and slid out of her chair. "What…oh fuck…"

Blake stared at her friends in horror, and then felt her own heart begin to pick up speed. She threw the cup against the wall and grabbed the towel, and noticed her fingers were wet. "Oh shit," she whispered. "That's not water from a dishwater. That's…" The room began to waver. "That's…kerasine…" She grabbed at the bed. "Yang…Weiss…"

"Blake…" Yang reached for her, but her eyes were already starting to fix on Blake, the pupils huge. She slammed her hand against the table; the pain gave her some clarity. "Run, Blake."

"No time. Listen." Blake could feel the drug starting to take hold. "Think of something. Anything. Something...something you love. Something you can hold onto. Anything…we…anything we see…not real…" She gritted her teeth. "Yang, hear me?"

"Yeah…trying."

"Weiss?"

Weiss looked back at Blake for a moment, her eyes blank, then blinked. "Yes…I'll…" One hand raised up, then fell bonelessly to the carpet.

Blake managed to remain her feet. She dug her nails into her hands. "Got…think, Blake…think…"

The door opened, and Elisabeth leaned against the doorjamb. "Impressive," she said, and her accent was gone now. "You're still standing. I should've remembered to adjust the dose for Faunus." She checked Weiss and Yang. Both were now staring unblinkingly at the ceiling, their faces slack. "But I got it right for them."

"You…" Blake's vision swam. "Elisabeth…Elisabeth Bathory…"

Elisabeth laughed. "Oh, that's a good one! You figured out my little joke. But no, little Faunus, that was a lie. My real name is Monika. Monika Bylinkar."

Blake shook her head, trying to focus. She had gone to survival school like all fighter pilots, but she also had knowledge from the White Fang. Adam, despite his reputation, hadn't always resorted to beating information out of someone, but occasionally used sodium pentothal—so-called truth serum. He had told her, in case she was ever subjected to it, how to resist it. You have to find something to focus on, he had told her. Something they can't take away from you. A favorite memory, your parents… He had smiled at her then, that sardonic smile that she had hated and loved. Or me. Think about me, Blake. "The…Herbalist…" Blake struggled out.

"Exactly! I'm impressed, Blake Belladonna—you are a strong one. But then I would expect no less from Adam Taurus' former lover." Blake was starting to waver. "Please, take a seat." Blake's legs suddenly folded underneath her and she sat down heavily. "This won't take long." Monika walked closer and knelt next to her. Blake's head fell to one side. "Just answer the questions. What are you?"

"What…do you mean…" Blake felt the world slipping from her grasp, the walls turning to water, the woman in front of her melting like wax. She tried to grab her, and ended up looking like a kitten trying to bat something out of the air.

"Are you sure you know? You have to be sure what you are, and of what you're going to be." Blake finally dropped over to one side, lying full length on the floor, her yellow eyes just as open and dilated as the others. "There you go. That's better." She straightened up, staring down at them. "The question now is, who do I sell you to? Enoshima? Bester? Or even Salem herself? Though she doesn't pay all that well, and the Prince would be upset." Monika looked at the clock. "And what is keeping my people?" She lightly toed Yang. "Oh well…I suppose I should begin with the blonde. She'll fetch the highest price." She reached into a pocket and pulled out a note card. "Let's hope my research was right this time."

Ruby tried to shrink back from the masked man, but there was nowhere to run in a bathroom stall. She clamped her legs shut and covered herself. "What the hell are you doing? Get out!" She felt stupid for saying it; it was pretty clear no one would listen. There was a scream from the stall two doors down, where Little was, then yells in English and Polish to leave her alone.

The man stared down at Ruby. "This does not have to hurt," he said, his voice slightly muffled. He raised a syringe. "This will just knock you out. You will not be harmed. We are getting you out, yes? Back to Germany."

Bullshit, Ruby thought. That's probably fucking kerasine. There was a shout from Little's stall, then the sound of someone being kicked. "Uh, okay," Ruby said. "I'll go with you. Can…can I at least pull up my pants? Kind of naked here." He nodded. "Thanks." He didn't turn away as Ruby stood and pulled up her underwear and pants, and buttoned them. Damn perv. Little's shouts and curses had dwindled away to faint moans. "Okay, let's go."

The man took a step forward and grabbed her wrist with his right hand while he moved the syringe forward with his left. "Please to make a fist for me."

"Sure." Ruby made a fist—with both hands. Her left hand rocketed forward to punch him in the jaw. It was an awkward punch, and Ruby was no hand-to-hand fighter, but it caught the man by surprise. He rocked back for a moment, shook his head to clear it, but still held on and tried to push the syringe into her arm.

Ruby knew her punch wouldn't knock him out, but it was a distraction, long enough for her to pull the steak knife from her pocket and stab the masked man. It was a clumsy thrust: she aimed for his neck, but he got his arm up in time. All that did was ensure that the knife sank deep into the skin. He screamed and dropped the syringe, staggering back. Ruby lost the knife, but braced herself against the marble stall walls and kicked him hard in the chest with both booted feet. The man went flying through the door and into the sink. She dropped down, looked frantically for another weapon, and snatched up the syringe.

Ruby dashed out of the stall to find herself confronting four people, all dressed in the same black outfit—except one, dressed in the red of the Keep's staff: the bathroom attendant. She and the other two men stared at Ruby in surprise. Ruby saw that one of the masked ones was holding Little by the arm; the Polish girl looked dazed, and she stared right through Ruby, not even seeming to recognize her.

The man Ruby had stabbed managed to pull the knife out and suddenly rushed her, holding the bloody blade in one hand, yelling something in a language she didn't recognize. Ruby tried to stab him with the syringe, but he knocked it out of her hand with the sweep of one hand and shouldered her back into the stall. Ruby gulped as her assailant assumed a fighting stance; he was clearly a better fighter than she was, and a lot stronger. "I sure wish I had a damn Sidewinder right about now," she grumbled.

"Give up or die," the man snarled.

"Um…" Ruby wanted to come back with a quip, but she couldn't think of one.

Before she could decide on what to say or the man could grab her, there was a banging at the bathroom door. The attendant rolled her eyes, said something in Czech, and walked over to the door, yanking it open. She promptly went flying backwards, blood splattering on the walls, as she was hit across the face with a metal bar. Marrow Amin stepped in. "Come on, fuckers!" He waved the towel rack he had torn from the wall of the men's bathroom, when he had heard Little's screams.

The other two men moved forward, letting go of Little. "You stay," one of them snapped at her, and Little did exactly that, still staring into space. Marrow put his back against the wall. The attendant stirred weakly and started to get to her feet.

Once more, the one attacking Ruby was distracted, and once more, Ruby took advantage of it. There was a roll of toilet paper on a shelf next to the toilet itself. She grabbed it and hurled it at the man's head. He blinked in surprise and knocked it away, which gave Ruby enough time for seize him by the shoulders and plant her knee in his groin. He doubled over and dropped the knife; Ruby tried to squirm past him, only for him to grunt out something, grab her with his free hand, and slam her painfully against the stall wall. The breath was driven out of Ruby's lungs and she sank to the floor of the stall. He kicked her in the stomach, or tried to; there wasn't much behind the kick, but Ruby still was knocked spreadeagled to the floor, gasping for breath and trying not to vomit.

Marrow, for his part, wasn't having much better luck. He was a fighter pilot, not a trained kidnapper; the two he faced were, even if they weren't used to this much resistance. He landed a solid shot with the towel rack against one of them, knocking them back and slicing open their cheek, but the other slammed Marrow back against the wall with a palm strike, then kicked him into the corner. Marrow kept hold of the bar somehow and swung it wildly, keeping them back, then was grabbed around one leg by the attendant. The one Marrow had sliced put a hand in his vest, clearly reaching for a pistol, but the other stopped him. "Wait!" he shouted in English. "The Prince wants this man alive!" He whirled as he heard the noises from Ruby's stall. "Kazimir, no! That one has silver eyes!"

Kazimir evidently wasn't listening. Cradling himself with one hand, he backhanded Ruby with the other, then got on top of her and put both hands around her throat. Ruby, dazed with the slap, tried to fight back, tried to get her arms between his, then bring her legs up, but he had his legs between hers and she couldn't get leverage. She also couldn't get her breath. Her vision began to dim, even as she heard the other kidnapper shout at Kazimir to stop.

"Dammit, Kazimir—" He was cut off by the sound of a gunshot, which also took off a good portion of the man's skull. The kidnapper next to him whirled, only to be shot twice in the chest. "Sorry," Marrow said, and brought the towel rack down on the attendant's head. More blood splashed across the floor, but this time she stayed down. "Who the hell are you?" This was to the person who had run into the bathroom, a smoking pistol in his hand.

Ruby heard the exchange and the gunshots, but she felt her eyes bulging as the man atop her choked her life away. Her hands scrabbled for anything, and her left hand closed on the knife. With her last bit of strength, she stabbed her assailant in the neck, to the point that the tip came out the other side, tearing through veins and arteries. He instantly let go of her, his hands going instinctively to his neck, even as blood poured over them and onto Ruby. He coughed twice, slumped over to the side of the stall, and went limp. Ruby rubbed her neck, gasped for air, then rolled over and vomited into the toilet.

"Who the hell are you?" Marrow repeated. He moved aside as the newcomer shot the attendant in the head. Marrow noticed he was a cat Faunus, with calico-colored ears atop his reddish hair.

"Come with me if you want to live," the Faunus said, then grinned. "Sorry, I've always wanted to say that." He moved past Marrow to Ruby, who was still throwing up her dinner. "You okay?"

Ruby managed to get her breath. "No," she gagged.

"Well, you need to come with me if you want to get out of here alive. Not kidding about that part." The Faunus helped her to her feet. "Are you hit? Cut?"

"Not…not my blood…" Ruby wanted to collapse. She saw the corpse at her feet and nearly vomited again; she would've fallen if it hadn't been for the Faunus holding her up.

Marrow came over and picked up Ruby, putting her on his back. "That fucking Prince…he promised he wouldn't do this…"

"Promises are like birds: they taste great, but always escape." The Faunus turned to Little. "Hey, who are you?"

Little looked at him languidly, then gave him a drunken smile. "Maly."

"Your name is Little?" She nodded happily. "Well, come on, Little. Follow us now, okay?"

"I can't." She pointed to one of the corpses. "He told me to stay."

"He's dead." The Faunus raised his voice and practically shouted at her. "Follow us, now!" He turned and strode out of the bathroom. Little hastened to catch up. Marrow did the same, and put the metal bar on their rescuer's shoulder. "Not gonna ask you again, eh? Who the hell are you?"

"Sorry, we're in a hurry." He smiled over his shoulder. "The name's Charles Cheshire. You can call me Charlie." He picked up the pace.

Ruby felt like she was going to pass out, but she massaged her throat and managed to croak, "My friends—my flight, upstairs—"

"That's my next stop." Cheshire checked to make sure he had a round in the chamber. "I have some unfinished business with a certain Herbalist."

"Yang?"

Yang gazed up at Raven Branwen. "Raven? The fuck?"

"That's a hell of a way to talk to your mother." Raven stood, legs slightly apart, dressed in her red-trimmed black flight suit. Yang got to her feet and looked around. They were back in California, standing on the heat-baked runway at Raven's base at Palmdale. Yang started to sweat, and tried to tug open the collar on the Napoleonic uniform—only to find that she was wearing her flight suit. Oh yeah, Yang thought. Why would I be wearing a uniform? Wait—why am I here? I thought I was…somewhere else? She also realized that her artificial arm was gone, and for the first time in six months, Yang stared at her right hand, as it had been, flesh and blood. Raven smiled at her and put a hand on her shoulder. "You don't always have to go forward, you know. You can go back…back to before? Back to before Beacon, and Ozpin, and all of that?" She shrugged, with that sardonic smile of hers. "Who are you anymore anyway? You're not that Yang. Not really."

"Mom?" Blake blinked. She was in the Belladonna Lodge, laying on the couch, her head in Kali Belladonna's lap. "What am I doing here?"

"What are you talking about? You've been here for a week, silly." Kali bent down and kissed her daughter on the head. Blake looked down at herself: she was wearing her Marine khakis, her ears still concealed by a bow. Kali gently pulled off the ribbon and let it drop to the floor. "It's simple, Blake, really. You could just be human, or just a cat, if you wanted. Really, it's up to you." She smoothed back hair from her daughter's forehead.

"Mom," Blake questioned, "why would I do that?"

"Like I said, it's simple, much simpler than trying to be a bridge between humans and Faunus. Why struggle with that responsibility?" Kali smiled. "Kitten, who are you anymore? What are you?"

"Mom, please stop." Weiss put a hand over the top of the bottle of schnapps. Willow looked at her quizzically. They were in Jacques Schnee's office in Herrencheimsee, and that gave Weiss a start. "Wait a second…what am I doing in Schnee Manor?"

Willow shrugged, her smile not more than a third drunk. "The Schnee name. Why bother anymore, Weiss? What does it even stand for now? Your father has destroyed it. I suppose I have as well. Who cares?" She hugged Weiss to her. "Leave it behind, Weiss. Let it die. Instead, you could be a nobody. Could you imagine? Not even a single bit of baggage on your shoulders? Isn't that what you want? To be free of being a Schnee? To be just something else?"

"Don't you want to be whole again, Yang?" Raven asked. "You could be. Just don't be Yang anymore. Be something better. So who are you?"

Yang's eyes blazed. "You want to know who I am? Fine." She held up her right hand; it was metal again, and she curled it into a fist. "This is who the fuck I am, Mom." The last was spit at Raven. "My losses, my failures—those more than anything are what have made me into who I am. It showed me I needed to grow the fuck up. If there's something missing, Raven—which you'd know if you were ever fucking around—it's not because I lost it. It's because I haven't found it yet. And the only way to do that is to keep going." She reached out and grabbed Raven by front of her flight suit, her lips curling back into a snarl. "You want to know who I am? I'm Yang Xiao Long, a fuckmothering fighter pilot, you bitch."

"Yang?" Both of them turned at the sound of Ruby's voice. The heat shimmer from the tarmac distorted her features and the flight suit she wore, and the man who stood behind them, but Yang knew Taiyang when she saw him.

"Don't you want to be something simpler, dear?" Kali asked gently.

Blake pushed her away and got up. "A simple life wouldn't be my life!You should know that, Mom." She tapped on her own chest. "My family, my friends, my culture. I belong to them, just as much as they belong to me. To give that all away wouldn't be simplicity. It would be betrayal."

Kali stood, biting her lip in the way Blake remembered her mother doing so when she was flustered. "But Blake, who are you anymore?"

"A Faunus. A Marine. A fighter pilot."

"Blake?" She whirled around. Standing in the huge double doorway of the lodge was Ruby, in her flight suit, and standing behind her was the bulk of Ghira Belladonna.

Weiss stepped back from Willow, who grabbed the bottle of schnapps. "I don't know who you think you are," Weiss snapped, "but let me tell you who I am. I am the granddaughter of a hero, and the child of a villain. I am the heir to nothing but a name that has served Germany since before it was Germany, but I will not be defined by my name, because I will be the one to define it."

"But who are you, dear?" Willow insisted.

"I am Weiss Schnee, mother." Their eyes met, ice-blue on ice-blue. "And I am a fighter pilot. That is all I've ever wanted to be. That's all I ever needed to be."

"Weiss?" Weiss looked over her shoulder. Ruby stood in the doorway in her flight suit. Behind her, to Weiss' surprise, was Ozpin.

Monika looked at the three women. They were no longer on the floor, but standing on their feet. Their hands were loose at their sides, twitching on occasion. All three had gotten up on their own, prompted by Monika's words; in the fugue state, they would hear only their mothers, see only their homes. Usually, it was simple for Monika to mold anyone under the effects of kerasine into whatever she wanted, and she usually began by breaking them down, making them forget everything under the drug's influence. Monika prided herself on her ability to do this; once, she had convinced the Red Prince's mother to kill her own husband, convincing the older woman that the Red King was possessed by demons, and the only way to exorcise him was to cut his throat open. Once that deed was done, Monika had convinced her she could fly. The Red Queen could not, but the Red Prince was satisfied with the results. Other, younger girls, Monika had simply conditioned to think that every man or woman that took them were the person of their dreams, and they stepped into a life of slavery with a smile on their face.

These three were a little tougher than the norm. Their eyes were glazed, like most under kerasine, but instead of the blank, unblinking look of someone whose personality was buried under the drug and awaiting a simple order, they looked determined. Monika stepped back as each told her they were a fighter pilot. "Damn," she whispered below their range of hearing, "they're holding onto that. Training to resist torture—I should have anticipated that." She looked at Yang, Blake and Weiss like art pieces she wasn't sure how to finish. "Another dose, perhaps—no, that might destroy their brains, and anyone who buys them doesn't want a damned vegetable—"

"Yang? Blake? Weiss?"

Monika, in her distraction, had not heard the door open. She whirled around and saw two men and two women. "Ruby Rose?" She thought she recognized the short, silver-eyed girl from her research. The other girl was standing almost at attention, breathing hard, clearly under the effects of the kerasine as well, but Ruby was not. Neither was the dog Faunus, Marrow Amin, but the Prince had requested her to spare him. She did traffic young men on occasion, though the market was not as good, so she had agreed to not put him under and sell him off as well.

The fourth one, the cat Faunus, she knew. "Charles? Charles Cheshire? What are you doing here?"

Cheshire stepped into the room. "What I should've done years ago." He raised the pistol.

Monika stepped back, more surprised than frightened. "What? Why?"

"Don't worry," Cheshire said. "It isn't business, just personal." He pulled the trigger. The bullet caught Monika between the eyes. She still looked surprised as she collapsed to the floor, knocking over the teacups. The three behind her did not even react.

Cheshire lowered the pistol. "Jaysus, that probably echoed down the hall. I should've just stabbed her or something. Well, hopefully that Prince is down in his fun dungeon with the other buyers." He motioned them into the room. "Quickly."

Ruby ran forward. "Yang?" She shook her sister.

Yang reached out and hugged Ruby. "Hey, Rubes. What are you doing here?" She looked past her to Monika's corpse. "Oh shit! Dad, you shot Raven?"

Blake fell to her knees and grabbed Monika's shoulders. "Mom? Mom? Dad, why did you shoot her?" She stared up at Ruby, her eyes filled with tears. "Ruby, what's happening? Why are you in Menagerie?"

Weiss looked down quizzically at Monika. "Something's not right here. Why would Ozpin shoot my mother? He's dead, isn't he?"

"Uh, Charlie?" Marrow pushed Little into the room and closed the door.

"It's the kerasine," Cheshire explained. "C'mon, Monika, you whore from hell, you never go anywhere without it…" He fended off Blake's hands. "Blake, stop it! That's not your mother!"

"It's not?" Blake sounded pitifully confused, her cheeks streaked with tears. "But Dad—wait." She reached up and touched his face. "You're not Dad. You're…Charles Tabey?"

Cheshire let out a snicker and continued to search the body. "Close enough….oh, there it is. Ha! Should've known." He pulled the half-moon pendant from her neck, and opened it. "Right, then." He took out three syrettes. "This is the antidote. There's only three of them." He handed it to Ruby. "They trust you. Go ahead and give them a shot. We'll have to wait for it to wear off with Little over there, but she'll be fine."

Ruby nodded, adrenaline wiping out the last of the sudden exhaustion. She carefully took each syrette and pressed it into her friends' arms.

"Ow!" Yang protested. "What the hell, Rubes? First Dad shoots Raven, now you're stabbing me?"

"No, no!" Blake half-screamed. "I don't want a shot! I hate shots! Please, Mom, I hate shots!"

"That's odd." Weiss stared down at her arm. "That's a very large mosquito."

"Get them on the bed," Cheshire ordered. "Marrow, help her. They might go into convulsions." Between Ruby and Marrow, they managed to get the three women onto the large bed, Yang giggling, Blake weeping, and Weiss still muttering about mosquitoes and how it made no sense that Ozpin would shoot Willow. None of them started convulsing, but they continued to babble until their voices trailed off and their eyes fluttered shut into a relaxed sleep.

"That's normal," Cheshire assured them. "They should wake up in about ten minutes, and they'll feel really refreshed."

"Are you sure she's going to be okay?" Marrow pointed at Little, who still stood in the center of the room, as blank as before.

"Yep. Hey, Little, are you going to be okay?" Cheshire exclaimed.

Little's expression was one of confusion. "I don't know, am I?"

"Stop it," Ruby growled. "Don't do that."

Cheshire got up, having grabbed Monika's wallet and three vials of kerasine. "Sorry. Bad habit." He regarded the corpse. "We used to work together, but then I got smart." He glanced at Ruby. "I'm a piece of shit, Miss Rose, but I'm getting you and your bunch out of here."

"We've heard that before."

"I know. But unlike that dick Jinxy Peddler, I actually mean it." He held out the gun to her, holding it by the barrel. "I'm not getting paid to get you home. I'm doing it because that way I don't have to worry about a certain half-pint CIA agent putting me in the fucking ropes. You're my ticket to a full pardon." He pushed the gun into her chest. "She sent me, okay? Now you can believe me, or you can shoot me, but I know how we're getting out of Ostrava." Ruby took the gun hesitantly. Cheshire walked past her, unconcerned, to the still-open window and looked down. "I am curious how we're going to get out of the Red Keep, though."

AUTHOR'S ADDITONAL NOTES: Yeesh. Nothing like taking the somewhat well-meaning Herbalist from V9 and turning him into an evil woman who does sex trafficking. Needless to say, she's not ascending; rather the opposite. Monika Bylinkar (whose last name translates in Czech to "Herbalist") is based in appearance and personality on Goldie Musou from Gunsmith Cats. Goldie is actually worse in the manga, if you can believe it.

In canon RWBY, Yang, Weiss and Blake confront their past selves, but that wouldn't have been as effective here, since Ruby Flight's past selves are six months ago. In any case, Monika wouldn't know much about them, but might know about their mothers, so I used that instead. And then there's Charles Cheshire, whose surname should be obvious, to say nothing of who he is. The Charles Tabey reference (the old, rich Faunus that Neo assassinated in ORW III) was deliberate. But is he like the Curious Cat in canon? Well, we'll see.

Next chapter will be nonstop action-and aerial action at that! The Red Prince's reference to a classic aircraft collection wasn't a throwaway line...