Man, the heat is really laying down the law this week. Just stepping outside for several seconds and I was blasted by I wave of it. And I was immediately like 'aw naw'.

The summer season really chose to go full blast near the end of it, huh?

Anyways, time for a bit of a reunion!

It was much cooler outside than usual, with fluttering glowing rose petals decorating the skies above them, the sun being visible in a certain perspective, while petals circulated around the spot where sunlight could get through. It was occasional for the rose petals to flutter about and fly in this manner, especially in such an abundance, but it was a beautiful sight to behold when the chance arose. The white and red rose petals spiraling around and decorating the skies around them in a sea of white and red, as well as a hint of other colors like purple, blue, and black. Though mostly, white and red were the majority colors to be seen in the vast swirling sea of rose petals.

Salem watched the rose phenomenon with calm and quiet interest, smiling while adjusting her flower hat. The swirling rose petals danced with the gentle yet constant winds, giving a bit of a beautiful floral vista with a refreshing breeze, which she appreciates during an otherwise warm and somewhat humid day. Her black and red flower dress flowed and waved slightly with the wind; her undone hair being left to majestically do the same. Her red eyes turned towards her daughter and granddaughter beside her, hand in hand as they watched the view with such beautiful wonder in their eyes. Salem always loved that look, the spirited gleam.

Salem cleared her throat a bit as the wind picked up slightly. Ruby jumped slightly as she was just light and small enough at the moment to be pushed forward by it more than the others, though she was able to stop herself from falling with her mother's help. Summer smiled towards her and nuzzled wolf noses with Ruby, who cheerily nuzzles her in return.

"I love watching the rose petals when this happens. Such a grand display of floral beauty is to be appreciated whenever we can." Salem smiles as she finds a nice patch to seat herself, putting down a large, expanded towel for the trio to sit on. She patted down her dress before eventually sitting on her knees, her dress flattening around her. Ruby nuzzled Summer one more time, before she smiles and goes over to Salem, whom she gingerly hugged. Salem was unhesitant to hug her back and kiss the top of her head. "Of course, their beauty isn't quite un par with my two lovely Roses."

"You're flattering us, Mother. You're beautiful too." Summer reassured while sitting down herself, her dress similarly laid around her. "The most beautiful out of all of us."

"How flattering of you yourself, Summer." Salem hummed with a small chuckle, tilting her hat on her head. "Each of our unique beauties are sure to impress everyone around us, wherever we're seen." Salem slid her arms around Ruby and snugly hugged her. "Your beauty is going to blossom so wonderfully, Ruby."

"You really think so?"

"I absolutely know so, my dear." Salem kissed the top of her forehead, which made her giggle and her tail wag. Salem softly caressed and pets the top of Ruby's head, with the former looked up towards her. "Something on your mind?"

"Mhm." Ruby nodded softly, tilting her head as her ears wiggled slightly. "I was just wondering, Grammy. What did you do to become the Demon Queen?"

"Oh? How was I acknowledged as such?" Salem hummed as she lightly rubbed her chin, with Summer softly gazing towards her with a waving fluffy tail. "Well, one would count my various clashes with the Hero Ozma as one of the reasons. Some have recognized that the God of Light was the one who assigned him his mission. Me going against that mission meant going against the entity himself, which didn't make it too hard to demonize me."

"It became much easier for mother to be seen as the world's enemy, when she's personally opposed and killed it's hero several times across the ages..." Summer hummed as her fuzzy wolf ears twitched slightly.

"However, I would say that the aftermath of my war with Ozma is when my recognized title truly took off, ironically when I decided to live in exile, away from everything for the most part." Salem summoned a Deer Grimm before them, and it displayed some events for Ruby to see for better understanding. "I was mostly an inactive, non-factor throughout a majority of the Dark Ages, but even still, the legacy born from my war with Ozma has its consequences. It did not take long for various legends about me and Ozma to spread across the Dark Ages and fuel some of its happenings, as well as the beliefs formed from them."

"How did that happen?" Ruby tilted her head, with Salem lifting her onto her lap. Ruby nodded as she turned towards the Seer and leaned back against Salem's plush chest, with her grandmother sliding her arms around Ruby for a soft hug.

Salem swirled a circular rune around the Seer as it began displaying Remnant from the Dark Ages. "In this era, coming off the throes of the Barren Age, magic and mana (magic energy) returned to the world in a vast surplus, much more than the Genesis Age ever had. Because of this unexpected development, various changes occurred across the centuries to accommodate for such a foundational shift." Salem nodded as Ruby's eyes brightened somewhat, seeing various creatures appearing throughout the images. "Creatures of various types, shapes, and sizes soon began to emerge, in a magic restored world where they can thrive. Beings that originally did not exist, now do. Events and phenomenon that were originally impossible, suddenly became possible."

"Really?" Ruby asked with sparkling eyes of wonder.

Salem nodded softly. "Where was Vampires emeegered and ruled the night, Werewolves were dominant under the moon. The undead rose and roamed the lands, and Phoenixes light up the sky with every time they resurrect from death. Angels emerge from the light to cast their judgements, where Demons of all sorts would right to keep them at bay." She pushed her hair behind her head with a hum. "And Dragons, the mightiest of them all, stood superior. Their innate raw strength and vast power leaving them with few worthy rivals to their name, further proving that their immense confidence in themselves is not unfounded."

Summer hummed with clasped hands, her fluffy tail waving to and fro. "Of course, with the resurgence of magic and the abundance of conflicts, the development of technology and science also hastened to march it. From robots to cybernetics, to super computers to technological weapons and generic engineering. Such a powerful force like magic had science to bounce off of and improve drastically from."

"In essence, when there are some who do not have an innate talent for magic, they turn to science, which managed to quickly close the gap in terms of potential. Whatever it took to survive the Dark Ages." Salem hummed, sounding rather impressed by such a development. "And when both magic and science work alongside each other as well as in unison, the possibilities expand and multiply further. Scientists and sorcerers can work hand in hand, others can be both at once."

"Scientific sorcerers and sorcerer scientists?!" Ruby gasped with her hands in her cheeks, with both Salem and Summer nodding and chuckling at her enthusiasm.

"Of course, all of these developments, these various possibilities, expanded to reach even further potential. In order to survive, thrive in, and even end the Dark Age. Because during that time, the Grimm were at their most ruthless. A vast majority of Grimm were everyone's enemy, that similarly wish to destroy everything they see that isn't themselves."

"It was a harsh time to grow up in." Summer softly agreed, shaking her head at some of the memories. "I don't think I would have done nearly as well if I didn't have mother supporting me."

Salem took a breath while placing a hand on her chest. "Since I was the main significant force against Ozma with the appearance and powers of a Grimm, I've been recognized in the Dark Ages as the Demon Queen. Sometimes a Demon Empress. I was the main enemy everyone could focus on, which allowed their efforts to further unite so they could help each other." Salem softly hums. "I do believe that one of the more amusing names would be Devil Goddess, since I was seen as the ultimate evil of this world to fight."

"Devil Goddess?" Ruby tilted her head curiously. Her Grammy was seen as a Goddess? A Grammy Grimm Goddess?

"I used to portray myself as such. I'd say that at this point I could possibly make an even more believable demonstration than before." Salem shook her head with a shrug. "But alas, I'm not nearly interested in such an idea anymore. I'm no goddess; I'm simply a mother and grandmother." Salem gazed towards the skies along with her daughter and granddaughter, her let down hair gracefully flowing with the oncoming breeze. "And I'm perfectly happy with being just those things. I don't need to be anything else, now."

Ruby hummed as she sits nicely in Salem's lap, resting against her bosom. Before long, she turned around and gave her a cuddly hug once more, which Salem affectionately returned. "There has to be a place out there in the world where people would accept you, Grammy."

"You're a sweet child, Ruby. But I'm quite far away from being human at this point in my life." Salem lightly placed a hand over her heart. "The heart that beats within my chest, and the soul that surges through this body. Neither belong to a human anymore." Salem softly shook her head. "Of course, there are various creatures out in the world at this point, but I don't think they'd favor me all that much, either."

Ruby tilted her head, turning towards Summer. Summer lightly placed her hand over Salem's, lightly caressing it. "No matter what you are, you are still cherished family to us, mother."

"Of course, my dear Summer. And that means the world to me."

Ruby rubbed her chin as her ears flicked slightly. "Maybe if I could create that place, if there really isn't one like it out there anywhere. I could make it myself. There has to be a way to make a place where Grammy would be accepted. I can do it!" Ruby declared more resolutely, with Summer and Salem smiling at how insistent she was about it. She couldn't help but try, for she loved her grandmother enough that she couldn't believe there was no way for her to reconnect with the world, in a way for it to accept her.

"The very idea of you wanting to do something like that for me fills me with such joy, Ruby." Salem hugged her dear granddaughter, who gingerly returned the embrace. "I won't discourage you my dear. If this is truly what you wish to do for me when you grow up, then I shall accept it. But should you change your mind, I would be fine with that as well. So long as it's a desire you truly wish to fulfill, then I will support you wholeheartedly."

"I'll do my best, Grammy!" Ruby smiles brightly, with Salem planting another sweet grandmotherly kiss on her forehead. Summer tenderly hugs them both, her bushy white wolf tail waving as the Rose petals around them continued to dance beautifully, filling up the skies.

The trio embraced each other in a warm hug, with Ruby thinking of a territory, a realm, where her grandmother could feel happy and accepted by many people, not just her family. She may be content how she is, but Ruby wanted even more for her grandmother. She wanted her to be content and happy, as well as have connections with others that truly care about her. She would find a way, and at least on a base level, she knew where to get started. It was unfortunately true that most places in the world simply would not accept Salem due to everything that happened before.

She would have to create her own Kingdom, where Salem can start over properly. But what would be a good enough place, where Salem can rebuild herself in the eyes of the world from the ground up? The Land of Darkness/Evernight Realm seems like it might be a good place. A beautiful view of Remnant's moon was definitely one of its biggest positives. She's had to think about it more as she grew up, a lot more.

But no matter what, Ruby was set on creating a domain where her grandmother can live luxuriously and be more openly accepted in the eyes of the world. She promised herself that she would keep this sincere desire of hers thriving strongly within her heart.

Ruby slowly fluttered her eyes, her wolf ears flicking slightly. She was moving along with the others as Cinder was currently leading the way. Ruby's tail fluffed slightly, waving calmly behind her as she and Penny were observing the various vistas within Mistral, with things slightly getting darker due to the atmosphere of the current area shifting. Ruby deduced that it has something to do with the nature of their visit.

"Are you sure that this is a good idea, Cinder?" Weiss uttered as she and the others were following Cinder within Mistral...that is, going lower and lower into its depths, and the lights begin to cease reaching them. It was a cloudy day today, so that was not going to help matters at all.

"Positive. I know somebody who can help us get a read on the situation." Cinder hummed as she brushed her hair away from her face. "Try not to look expensive, Schnee. I wouldn't be able to decide whether it'd be an annoyance or a boon if someone stole you away."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Weiss glared in offended outrage, which Cinder casually ignores.

Oscar was moving about with Penny, slightly cautious at the number of shady faces he was seeing, and that were gazing towards the group with suspicion. Particularly, he was rather nervous about the atmosphere that a place like this would give off, which only furthered his insistence on not getting lost within a place like this, which was unlikely to go well. He rarely went to places like this because he ever needed to, but in the end, there are some bits of information within Mistral that one wouldn't be able to find from topside. It was one of those things that required clever navigation of the criminal underworld, and he definitely wasn't the best at that.

So, it did come off to a surprise to Oscar that Cinder was able to find her way through Mistral's underbelly like this, with her taking the lead so that nobody would get lost. It was a bit of a surprise to everyone, honestly, but no one was going to go against it. She seemed to know what she was doing in this instance, so she was allowed to take the lead and go wherever they were going, just a bit lower. The dour atmosphere left some of them, especially Weiss, feeling tense and on guard. But Cinder was feeling confident and in control, so they decided to trust her.

At a certain point, she gestured for everyone to follow her more closely, which meant they were getting closer. They were approaching an establishment, which seemed to have a holographic, neon-light heading to advertise its name for upcomers: Spinderella's Nest. It was similarly surrounded by spider emblems. Cinder blinked at the name, tilting her head curiously, which managed to get Ren's attention.

"Something the matter?"

"Nothing. Let's go inside." Cinder shook her head, being the first to enter. Blake also entered, though stopped in place and swiftly spun her head around, seeing something flickering in the distance, akin to a quickly flashing light that went out as soon as she saw it. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, before turning and following the others inside.

The tavern was somewhat humble in overall size, but it still felt a lot bigger on the inside than it did from outside. many tables were found throughout the tavern, with several set up alongside the bar slightly emitting grill smoke due to something cooking in the back. Bright glowing lanterns decorated the walls and ceilings, along with the walls that separated several lineups of tables within the tavern. Already, Ruby and Cinder's noses were met with several different scents at once. Several scents of well-prepared food and snacks and desserts immediately hit them, such as salted pretzel sticks, skewered meat fresh from the grills, the beef and vegetables mix of beef stew, and cookies and cream brownies. So many various scents for snacks and foods had Ruby and Cinder drooling at it all, with Nora joining in soon afterwards in a higher capacity. Blake was a bit more low-key about it, but she wasn't able to hide how her eyes hyper focused on the sight of grilled fish.

Ruby noticed quite a few patrons casually passing each other by, though something else also began catching her attention once her eyes noticed it, she swore that she could see several portraits of Cinder herself on several of the digital displays. It made the gears in her head turn for several moments, and she began putting the pieces together. Once she figured out what was likely going on, she was about to ask Cinder about it. Though it seemed she didn't need to.

"Oh my, do my eyes deceive me?" Cinder turned towards the source of the voice; a short, heavyset woman currently smoking from her cigar, got up from behind her desk once she caught sight of Cinder. She had a rather casual yet somewhat indifferent atmosphere around her as she kept an eye on things, but she brightened up once she saw the young dragon. "Well look what we have here! My eyes weren't playing tricks on me! Is that you, Cinder Cutie?"

Cinder blushed slightly, though quickly collected herself. "I'm...I'm back, Miss Malachite..."

The woman blew out a puff of smoke before setting her cigar to the side, with one of her workers immediately taking it away. She walks up to Cinder, and the two of them reached out to one another and held each other's hands. "Honey, there's no need for that, and you know it. You know you can call me Miranda."

Cinder softly smiled. "Then I guess it's nice to see you again, Mira."

"It'd better be! I haven't seen you in years! I' expect a bit more enthusiasm outta you!" The woman laughed, as she turned around and called out, "Girls! Guess who's back!"

"We're kind of busy at the moment, mother..."

"Yeah, Ma! Can't it wait until-" Two other woman emerged from the room in the back as they were busy gathering supplies, though they stopped in their tracks once they noticed Cinder, their eyes widening. "No fucking way."

"Cindy Windy..."

Cinder blinked. "Militia? Melanie?" She was soon surprised as both women dropped everything they were doing and quickly hugged Cinder where she stood, briefly taking her off balance.

"It's been an entire decade since we've last seen you in person! What, you thought we'd forget about you so easily, ya bitch?!" Militia exclaimed with a wide and happy smile, before she patted Cinder on her shoulder. "Girl how have you been?! I heard you were up to a lot of chaos once we heard your name come up recently! Didn't think you'd actually come back here!"

"We missed you." Melanie succinctly summarized their current feelings, and yet Cinder felt much more moved by how simple they were. Getting over her shock, she returned the hug they both gave her, her tail curling around them to further close the distance.

"Yes. I've...I've been doing well."

"I can see that!" Melanie exclaimed again as she stood back, looking Cinder up and down. "You look good!"

"Very pretty." Militia nodded affirmatively. She then turned to Ruby and Jaune. "Ah, so these are the two you've sworn yourself with?"

"W-Well..."

"Firstly we have Big Red Howling Hood herself, Ruby Rose. Gotta say not a lot of people gutsy enough to try the batshit insane stuff you tend to do, much less succeed in it."

"'Big' Red?" Ruby tilted her head.

"You cut a Grimm Devil down the middle. Trust me, 'little' would just feel wrong to call you after something like that."

Ruby blinked as Militia appeared behind her, going on to calmly hug her fluffy, fuzzy wolf tail with a gentle nuzzle. "She's a fluffy wolfy..."

"Werewolfy, is much more like it." Melanie chortled, before she gazed up towards Jaune, giving him a once over. "And you must be the man they're sharing. Not too shabby. Cute in the 'dopey but valiant-hearted' kinda way. Cinder was always been a sucker for that type."

"No I wasn't!" Cinder growled at Melanie despite feeling her cheeks heating up even worse than before. This didn't stop Meanie from laughing at her as she clearly didn't believe her, worsening her blush as Cinder turned to glare towards Jaune and half-heartedly punch his chest. "This is all your fault!"

"Me?! What'd I do?!"

"You're only proving her point with that response, damn you!"

Everyone soon paused their antics at the sound of Miranda clapping. "Alright, let's not bother the patrons by standing around here. This isn't the best space for catching up. Follow me to the back." The woman gestured as she leads the way to the back of the bar, with her hand briefly pressing against the wall. Seen only to her, a flowing spiderweb expanded from the center point of her touch, and she slowly phased through the wall of the webs. The others looked towards one another, before they eventually followed suit behind the Malachites and Cinder, vanishing behind the glowing webs.

"What the heck...?" Oscar was surprised by one thing, which also had Penny tilting her head curiously.

Various amounts of holo-magic images, all in the form of ethereal flowing webs. Images of people passing by in one part of Mistral, and bits of traveling in another, as well as common gatherings around the likes of Haven and Sanctum. What was even more surprising and slightly unnerving was the fact that, aside from Miranda's help going around and sharing information with one another...there was also a giant spider sitting right on the centered webbing connecting everything to one another, its multiple eyes glowing softly with a low hum. Then they noticed the bone white plating...

"Oh? Oh! We have guests! Howdy Do!" The spider cheerily greeted them with a wave of one of its legs, paired with a spirited echo-like voice. "I've prepared for occasions like this! You all sit tight, I have refreshments at the ready!"

"...It's...is a giant Spider Grimm." Weiss uttered. A giant spider was a distressing enough concept, enough for horror movies to be made of them. A giant Grimm Spider was just dialing that up to levels that shouldn't exist. "Wha...how...?!"

"You see, I was quite afraid of spiders when I was a little lass. Damn well terrified of the things. Ooh, I fainted on the spot whenever I saw one!" Miranda hummed while one of her workers handed her a hand as she began fanning herself. "Though one chance encounter had me thinking about them a bit more, particularly about their necessity. Our world needs spiders. They can get to places that most of us can't. They can find things that most of us can't. Which is a pretty nifty quality to have when part of your business involves info-gathering." Miranda stopped and turned on a dime still fanning herself as the large spider Grimm slowly crawled from its web and stopped next to her. "And that thinking led me to meeting this rascal right here. A few meetings between us, and we're now close friends." She then proceeded to hug the giant spider Grimm without a speck of hesitation. "Isn't that right, Fuzzy Wuzzy?"

"Fuzzy Wuzzy? That's his name?" Yang couldn't help but chuckle.

"Why of course. It's because he's a fuzzy spider." Militia hums as if it were obvious, hugging the spider as well, her face remaining neutral but her tone being sincere.

"Yeah, the big softie that he is." Melanie nudged Fuzzy, who lightly scratched the top of his head with a sheepish laugh. "Get this: The big guy is absolutely not a fighter."

"He simply doesn't have the spirit for it."

"I-I know it's sounds hard to believe, but I've never harmed a soul. I'm capable of siphoning emotions of stress to sustain myself, and that's all I've ever done to get by. B-But never enough to cause anyone serious harm!" Fuzzy shook slightly and hid his face behind his enlarged mandibles. "I-I don't like fighting. Fighting is horrible! I don't like hurting people, either! I-I much prefer info-gathering for Miss Miranda Malachite, where I can he helpful but don't have to put myself in unneeded danger, while still helping my friends." He holds up a heated pot of tea with his multiple legs, pouring a cup. "Would anyone like some tea?"

"How do we know it's not poisoned?" Nora suspiciously eyed up and down.

"It's not. Ruby and I would have smelled it, no matter how subtle it is." Cinder reassured.

"...Works for me!" Nora beamed while taking an immediate chug of her offered tea.

"N-No poison, I promise you! I'm not even a poisonous spider Grimm! Oh, but wouldn't that be venomous? D'oh..." Fuzzy shook his head. "Anyway, I have peppermint tea, raspberry tea, honeydew mint tea. And much more! Would anybody like some? I have plenty."

"A polite, pacifistic, tea-serving spider Grimm. Times have definitely been changing, and now things make even less sense." Weiss deadpanned, though nevertheless takes the offer for tea, cooling it slightly through her hands, before taking a sip.

"P-Please note, that there aren't a lot of Grimm like me. W-We're extremely rare. Achieving our level of sentience takes either age or an abnormal amount of sheer power. And even fewer of us turn out to be nice..." Fuzzy shook his head, lowering his head. "That is very unlikely to ever change...I honestly wouldn't blame anyone who wasn't in on the know, if they ended up killing me because I looked dangerous and scary. It's a sensible response to Grimm, after all..."

"Dude is self-defeating, too. He's completely different from sentient Grimm like Lilith." Yang uttered.

"Hey now, we had a talk about this, Fuzzbutt! Stop talking lowly of yourself!" Melanie urged, which got a quick nod from Fuzzy.

"Y-Yeah! Gotta pull myself together!"

"Attaboy!"

Blake nodded softly, pushing some hair away from her face. "Also, just because he'd rather not fight doesn't mean that he can't." Blake reminded, with Miss Malachite pointing her fan towards her with a confirming nod. "So, you can relieve people's stress by eating it?"

"I-In a sense, yes. Stress initially tastes sour, but by the end of my feeding it becomes super sweet. It's more than enough for me to get by every night."

"You won't believe how much of a godsend that can be for the workers at the bar side of things. Leaves a lot less room for disruptions when you can calm down the commotion quickly and just get to the root of the problem. Fuzzbutt's been an immense help there." Melanie chuckled as she struts up to Cinder with a twinkle in her eye. "Anyway. What have you been up to, Cinder?" She once again looked her over, rubbing her chin. "You've definitely changed quite a bit, you're a far cry from the skin and bones appearance you had when we first met. You've actually got some meat on your bones, and you're even a bit muscly!"

"And you've gotten curvier." Milita hummed while casually leaning closer and observing Cinder's butt, then circling around and seeing the curvature of her hips. "You're beautiful and a bit brawny, Cinder. Very impressive."

Cinder lightly rubbed her shoulder. "Well, as I was growing up, I've had my fair share of battles. I have also been eating a lot more..."

"Understatement doesn't even begin to describe that." Weiss deadpanned.

"Oh, right." Miranda chuckled as she fanned herself again. "I bet you're as gluttonous as ever, Cinder. Still going after the big game and strong monsters, hm?"

"You've seen that for yourself?" Blake hummed as one of the workers offered her a seat...and some grilled fish. It was offered, so she didn't waste any time grabbing a bite of it and purring instantly. It would be rude to disregard such hospitality, after all.

"Cute." Yang snickered.

"Oh honey, we're very much familiar with having a powerful predator on our side." Miss Malachite chuckled while leaning against a table. "Cindy showed up one day, a young teen at that. Wasn't any older than fifteen. She was hungry and alone. And she was clutching a scarf around her neck as if her life depended on it." Miss Malachite looked towards Cinder, seeing her fondly caressing the scarf in question. "I can see that you've still taken care of it."

"I have." Cinder nodded quietly, sitting down in an offered seat.

"Anyway, she was actin' like a hotshot who already owned the place. Declared this entire area her territory, she did. Said she'd relay her protection of this territory in exchange for giving her food." Miss Malachite chuckled at the memory, and Cinder ended up blushing and shyly hiding her face. "I found her quite adorable, but even so, she was a fire breathing dragon. A pretty arrogant one for her age, but she had the power, potential and drive to back up her boasting. And we were getting swarmed by monsters every night during those days, too." She smiled and closed her fan for a bit. "So, I saw a golden opportunity, and decided to entertain her wishes. I gave her a place to stay and food to eat, she returned the favor by driving off all of those monsters that kept attacking us en masse. Grimm can't get to us as easily here, but nearly every other kind of monster can. And for Cinder, that's her cue to chomp on them."

"I can't believe you've been eating other monsters even at that age." Weiss shook her head exasperatedly towards Cinder.

"It all slowly comes together." Miss Malachite hummed with a smile while reopening her fan to fan herself. "We here had something that we could provide for our dear fiery dragon. There are various things that happened that threatened our ability to provide for her. Thus, she goes out to deal with the threats we can't deal with on our own-not that we didn't try, mind you-so that we could keep providing for her. So long as that back and forth is maintained, both parties were happy." She closed the fan again and pointed to everyone with it. "Phrasing it as a simple business relationship should make it easier to understand, am I right?"

Jaune could only stare at the heavyset woman with a bit of wariness. She had managed to take advantage of Cinder. Not harmfully or malevolently of course, because Cinder trusted her enough to see her as a friend, and the feeling was sincerely mutual from what he saw so far. But it remains that Miss Malachite found a way to not only cull any competition through Cinder, but similarly protect her territory and her people at the same time. Not only that, but she also managed to appeal to Cinder's desire to lord her superiority over her enemies through gluttonous instinct, appealing to her draconic greedy hunger for food, and draconic pride in proving her innate strength and power. Through this she managed to stabilize her territories to a degree where she could reclaim order and remind of own opponents of who's really calling the shots. So, it was like she managed to hone some of Cinder's habits for her own purposes whilst it still benefited the both of them, leaving them both in better places then they were in previously.

He supposed it would make sense in a way. Someone like Miss Malachite would have to navigate around all kinds of dangerous people, elements, and creatures in order to remain the powerful presence that she was within the confines of Mistral. And she's proven that she could manage it without being heavily on the front lines at all. She likely left any fighting to her daughters, for he sensed that they were much more combat capable than most others in the room. Including the giant spider Grimm. Which was ridiculous now that he thought about it, but he could tell that it was an accurate assessment.

The more Jaune thought about it, the more that he realized that Miss Malachite's relationship with Cinder during that time sounded a lot like how Madame Mara treated her. Except, Miss Malachite still treated Cinder as a living being with her own thoughts and feelings, and respected/honored them. And from the sound of it, she's never harmed her, either.

"You say that this was a purely business-like relationship...but it didn't stay that way for long, did it?" Ruby pointed out as she pulled up a seat for herself, with another one handing her some strawberry milk, with her politely thanking them for it.

Miss Malachite blew out a puff of smoke. "You could definitely make that claim, hon. What we had was a mutually beneficial relationship, where we didn't have to get too close to one another if we didn't want to." She hummed while resting her head in her hand. "I provided her hospitality; she protected my assets and my territory. Didn't need to go further. It was a very easy to understand process we had going on." She soon closed her eyes and sighed. "Then life did what it always does best, and threw us both a curveball..."

Miranda opened her eyes in furious shock at the news, slamming her hands on her desk in a truly infuriated and worried manner, which was still frightful enough for some of her subordinates to step back.

"What do you mean you can't find my daughters?" She hissed the latter half of her demanding question, just lowly enough for everyone in the room to feel their soul's freeze. A mother's fury was never something one wanted to be on the other end of, and unfortunately the one giving her the report was being focused on with it.

"W-We looked everywhere, ma'am! We can't find them!" He sputtered fearfully, taking out two shattered Scrolls. He didn't need to say more. No wonder she couldn't contact them. Not only that, but none of Fuzzy's spiders were able to get a read on the two, either. This must mean that they knew who they were dealing with and what she had, whoever the kidnappers were. Though their identities didn't stay secret for long, as another one of her subordinates brought her a message sent to their Scrolls.

'You've had your chance to be reasonable, Malachite. Your daughters will pay the price for your arrogance, unless you need our demands without question.'

-Wave

Miranda nearly crushed the Scroll in her hands. "The Wave Guild. Tch, those bastards sure have been getting bold these last couple weeks, despite being wannabe upstarts." She turned towards the corner of her room. "Cinder!"

"Mmh?" The sixteen-year-old opened her eyes with a yawn, turning towards Miss Malachite with several flaps of her wings. "I was sleeping, what do you want...?"

"The Wave Guild made off with my daughters. I'm going to need your assistance in making it clear to them why that was a terrible idea in thinking they can get away with that."

Cinder yawned again while turning to the side, closing her eyes. "Tch. You really can't handle that by yourself? What's in it for me?"

"Bacon. If anything happens to my daughters, they can't make you good bacon anymore."

A blast of flames surrounded Cinder, and she stomped forth in her draconic form, her wings flapping as her eyes were wide awake and outrageously furious. "They dare mess with my bacon?! I'll kill them!"

'Way too easy.' Miss Malachite thought with a smirk.

Miss Malachite rode in Cinder's back as the latter flies them to their intended destination, where Miss Malachite's daughters are being held captive. She remained in control of herself, but the motherly side of her heart couldn't help but be concerned about her daughters. They weren't dead, but that didn't mean they were safe. And both of those things could drastically change at any time. Cinder understood this, which is why her pace picked up. Those twins won't be dying on her watch, Cinder's bacon depends on them!

She eventually arrived at the meeting point with a resounding stomp, quakes filling through the area. Miss Malachite hopped off of her back as the dragon changed back, brushing off her skirt, before taking a good look around. In no time, she could see several people beginning to emerge, and a definite symbol of the Wave Guild glowing from their sigils.

"You lot sure have gotten courageous, kidnapping my daughters. I reckon there's a reason you haven't killed them yet. Is it because you know I definitely won't humor your demands if you did?" The possibility truly terrified her, but she didn't let it show on her face. In a world like this, the criminal underworld, it was always best to consider the worst-case scenario. Especially when it came to family. They were always the ones most at risk.

She noticed some of them pulling her thirteen-year-old twins out in the open, with them being restrained by magnetic cuffs that kept their Auras from recovering.

"Ma, we screwed up..."

"We've caused a lot of trouble for you, mother..."

"Hush with that. There's no need." Miranda reassured, before turning her glare towards the captors. She immediately recognized one of them and couldn't help but be furious. "Of all the methods you could have picked to back out of our way of life, you chose to stab me in the back, Murphy." She utters with being veiled venom, which Cinder picked up upon almost instantly. "Don't see why you had to involve our daughters in this. What are they supposed to think now?"

"Listen, Miranda. This isn't personal."

"You've always been a shitty liar."

She was not having it today and he could tell. So, he didn't bother trying any further, whilst holding his hands together. "I put my nose where it doesn't belong, and I made an agreement to get myself out of the fire."

"So, your solution to that is to sell out our daughters?!"

Murphy solemnly sighed at this. "It was either that or they would kill me. And I'd rather not die so soon. It wasn't a difficult decision to make." Murphy tried not to be affected by Militia and Melanie's agonized looks of betrayal, only gazing towards Miranda's increasingly venomous glare. "Come on, Mira. You would do the same if you were in my place!"

"If that's really what you think, then I really must have married a special kind of dumbass." Miranda narrowed her eyes. "You can go run and cower for all I care, but you're not using my daughters as a bargaining chip to save your own sorry hide!"

Cinder quietly looked at the two opposing parties, and then towards Militia and Melanie, who were trying to be strong but we're tearing up due to the circumstances of their situation. Their father was selling them out and leaving them to die. Their FATHER.

Cinder thought back to the one father she saw long ago, who looked happy playing with his daughter and wife. She thought back to Rhodes, who's never turned his back on her even when the only true benefit it would bring him was company, how it might have brought him great fame and fortune if he had turned her in or killed her for someone willing to reward him for it. But instead, he took care of her. He even fed her, taught her how to fight, stayed close to her when she felt vulnerable while sleeping. He never once entertained the idea of abandoning her or leaving her to die to benefit or save himself. He made her feel safe and loved, which were two things she's never experienced before they met one another.

This person didn't make the Malachite Twins feel safe or loved. They're terrified. And he's the one who helped actually bring them into this world.

...

"Miranda...will this be solved if I kill him?" Cinder uttered with a burning ire in her eyes. "Militia and Melanie make great bacon. He's trying to take that from me. I want to kill him."

Murphy lowered his eyes. "Fortunately for me, I accounted for you bringing along your fire breathing friend."

Cinder immediately thought about what this meant, turning around and using her wings to block against a sudden torrent of water. She was slammed into the wall and landed on all fours, coughing slightly when the pressure of the blast felt harsh on her lungs. She growled and lifted her head to see the attacker for herself. Hissing, what appeared before her was a serpentine monster with red and purple scales, a spiked tail, and multiple glowing bubbles glowing red with a black aura. The arms extended outwards to control the flow of water. Cinder immediately figures out that she was blasted by water empowered by malevolent energy, which happened again as a sphere of water slammed into her chest and sent her through the wall.

"It looks like grabbing this opportunity was the right call after all." The malevolent naga hissed, the darkened water spiraling around her. "I never had a chance to kill a dragon."

Miss Malachite kept to her side whilst a serpent chased down the irritated Cinder. Multiples of Murphy's subordinates brought out their guns and fired directly at Miss Malachite. Almost instantly, several violet glowing spiderweb threads manifested around her and effortlessly blocked the bullets. The woman kept her glare singled towards Murphy, whilst the twins looked towards the two of them anxiously.

"...Sorry it has to end this way, Mira."

"Not sorry enough, apparently." Miss Malachite didn't twitch at the barb; she's already made her decision, they both have. Nothing he says or does will ever make this okay. This was no longer her husband; he was just another enemy. And Miranda Malachite never tolerates enemies targeting her family, no matter who they were. "Ya ought to know that's the one thing I can't stand, a backstabber."

"You've always done that to other people!"

"Not to anybody I've given my true loyalty to. Honesty is a very crucial element in the criminal underworld, no matter what anyone else says. It gives a unique kind of credibility that allows you to know who's worth listening to and who isn't." Miranda calmly stretched her fingers. "In your case, you've just thrown that worth away. Along with your life."

The spiderwebs spread and extended, with several of them shooting towards Murphy like barbs. He panicked at the sudden attack and jumped out of the way. Several more of his subordinates took this as their chance to attack, firing off more shots Miranda's way. Though they were deflected by the spider threads surrounding Miranda, a hand on her hip as her other hand manipulated the threads around her with such skill and grace to feel effortless. She narrowed her eyes towards Murphy and immediately chased after him when he tried to retreat and leave her to his subordinates. Several threads connected to each of them, which attached themselves to his men and pulled them along during her run, and she pulled them forward; this caused them all to fly forward due to the momentum and be thrown towards Murphy. He manages to dodge most of them, only for one to crash right into his back, causing him to crumble and fall from the force, and he ended up breaking his leg.

"Agh, damn it!"

"The last thing that you ought to do in a spider's web is struggle." Miranda utters coldly.

Cinder blasts a wave of fire towards the torrent of water, then two of them canceling out in a massive cloud of steam. She clicks her tongue as she realizes that the serpent's water was demonic, and it was having a slightly more damaging effect on her than normal water magic would. Just having droplets landing on her would cause excruciating pain that anyone with a weaker will would have been unable to stay conscious under, if not outright die from it. And Cinder was currently drenched in that demonic water, from head to tail. Cinder had no idea that water of all things could hurt this fiercely, even when superheated to the point of boiling.

Doesn't matter. She's felt worse.

Powering through, she managed to jump over the serpent's tail with ease, but she found herself slammed to the ground by several whips of water slapping her back int the ground at once, and continuously whipping at her from all sides. She attempted to guard via her arms and wings in front of herself, and it proved to be a mistake not too soon afterwards. Her eyes managed to catch another water sphere heading her way, and it detonated right before her, causing her to crash along the ground in a heap, spitting some of the agonizing water out of her throat, the sensation similarly harming her lungs to an extent.

"You're not putting in the best performance, miss dragon. It looks like the golden age of your kind has long since passed." The serpent hissed tauntingly as a torrent of water tore through the ground and blasted Cinder from below, slamming her into the wall. "You'd be better off flickering away with the rest of your kind."

Cinder spits out more of the painful water, shaking her head slightly, before she lifts herself up onto one knee. "I am... the superior creature here...you...you're nothing compared to me."

"Oh, is that right? Then why are you the one on your knees? You're really giving the term 'dragon' a pathetic name. The time of your kind has been over for centuries, you as a species have nothing left to offer this world."

"You really think you're that cool, scales?! You're actually the biggest loser here!" Melanie exclaimed, with Militia hurriedly attempting to hush her. Though it was too late for that, for the beast turned its glare towards the twins.

"Mind your own business." Several water bombs manifested and launched towards the two now panicking girls.

"Girls!" Miss Malachite immediately hurt this and turned around instantly, though she was immediately struck from the back via an Aura powered tackle from Murphy, knocking her to the ground. "Fuck! Get offa me you sonuva-!"

Her protest was silenced as the orbs of water exploded near the Malachite Twins. Miranda's heart briefly stopped, her soul turned cold, and all was deathly silent for a minute, which felt like it lasted an eternity. Her breathing hitched, her eyes widened with surely concealed terror, her mind begging reality to remove this image from her mind so that she could confirm that it wasn't real. The sheer visuals of the event almost managed to convince her of what she was horrified of possibly happening...then she actually used her senses. And once she did, most of the other feelings welling in her chest went away, skin to be replaced with shock.

Melanie and Militia were stunned into silence, with fearful tears running down their faces, as Cinder had shifted into her dragon self and placed herself in front of the bombs, shielded the girls with herself. The blasts have left her viciously blooded all over, with a majority of it mostly caused by the demonic water. Not a single drop managed to touch either of the twins, with the most intense bits of her head evaporating them before they got the chance. Though the burning ferocity within her eyes never ceased for a moment. The sight took a few more moments for Miss Malachite to process, before she sighed with sheer relief, then turning around to violently kick Murphy upside the head to knock him down.

"Ha. So, you've shown your true face." The naga utters with a hiss. "At least you have the dignity to be killed in your real form."

"Oh, you should consider yourself honored." Cinder, despite being bloodied and in pain, slowly smirked. "Since you were so curious, I just wanted you to glimpse for yourself what kind of superior creature stands before you!" She claims while breathing a plume of fire towards the Naga, who deflects it easily with a torrent of water shaping into a defensive wall. She went on to surprise the negs by actually bearing through the pain and charging right through the water wall, tackling her headfirst with a headbutt. "Where did that grin go? It seems to have washed away pretty quickly!"

The naga hissed as numerous blades of water formed around it and launched towards Cinder, while swung her tail towards the blades and evaporated them into steam. The Naga's tail slapped Cinder across the face with a water empowered hammer, though she turned about with a blooded maw, immediately striking back with a claw full of flames. The intensity of the flames managed to burn the naga across the face, sending it reeling back and hissing/screaming in agony, which was music to Cinder's ears. She soon grabbed the serpentine beast by the tail and slammed its head right into the wall, laughing at the impact. Though she was distracted and ended up with the spiked tail slamming into her face again and sending her crashing into the ground.

"You speak arrogantly, dragon! You surely have realized that water always comes out victorious over fire when it comes to elemental clashes!"

"Too bad you don't have nearly enough water for something like that that!"

Cinder slams her tail against the ground as clouds of steam built up around her. The naga hissed at this as the demonic water glowed around it and spiraled outwards in an attempt to strike at Cinder. The latter scoffed and slammed her superheated tail through the spiral, before she slammed her paw into the ground. Her superheated paw caused the ground to glow with heat, and a trail of it extended and surrounded the naga in a flaming ring. She grinned and raised her paw, with the flaming ring erupting in a fiery explosion. The burns torched the naga, causing them to flail in agony, only for them to regain enough composure to spin about and slam a whirlpool of demonic water right into Cinder, slamming her into the ground. Even through this, she didn't stop increasing the heat around the area, which was steadily leaving the naga out of breath, and the intensity leaving less opportunities to use its water.

Not quite done, Cinder grabbed a claw full of rocks, superheating them all as they began to glow from the sheer that surrounding them. Then she grinned and threw them towards the naga. It flinched from the incoming heat and attempted to protect itself with another wall of water but couldn't maintain it due to the increased heat around them wrecking its ability to focus its power. This left its water wall significantly less powerful, thus the superheated rocks easily pierced through the water wall and slammed into the naga, all of them detonating on contact. The naga was slammed into the walls at the forces of the detonations, groaning as it hung its head in an exhausted daze, the heat around it is growing even more intense. It could barely stand or stay conscious. Cinder approached the naga whilst stomping on all fours, flashing her fangs all the while. She watched as it tried to conjure more demonic water, only for it to evaporate from both the intense heat and the loss of concentration, causing it to once more collapse to the ground.

"This accursed heat...I can't concentrate my water..."

"Aww, what's the matter? Can't handle the heat?" Cinder grinned as her tail slammed a rock hard enough to shatter it into pieces. "You're far away from any bodies of water, serpent. Doesn't leave you a lot of room to cool off, does it?"

"What? But I came out from-" The serpent paused as it realized that the nearby empty lake it emerged from had completely evaporated from the sheer heat. A heavy weight fell upon its mind as it realized that it had nowhere to refresh itself from this unmerciful wave of heat. "You vaporized the entire lake...?! B-But that's...!"

"Such an accomplishment is easy for a superior creature such as me. It makes the confusion and disbelief on your face all the more worth the display." Cinder grinned, her tail swaying from side to side as her front paw slammed atop the naga's skull, eliciting a pained hiss from them. "Get it now? Have you finally realized that you're out of your league!? Your demonic water can't hold a prayer of lasting against the sheer intensity of the heat of my flames." She slammed her paw down on them again, flashing her fangs with predatory intent. "You must pay a high price for trying to mess with my bacon!"

The naga was briefly confused by the statement. "Wait, what the hell does bacon have to d-"

Murphy grunted as Miranda had kicked him back into the ground, rolling across until he landed on his back. She brushed off her skirt while approaching him, seeing how he was trying to pull himself back up. Though once he got to his knees, he was staring down the barrel of a pistol. His eyes widened in sheer panic as he saw the frigid stare Miranda was giving him. And in the background, he saw the naga he had partnered up with, the powerful creature that he gained in exchange for his services of selling out his daughters and luring out his wife...he saw it's tail wiggling helplessly and angrily before vanishing behind a dragon's jaws.

"Looks like your friend isn't doing too well. And neither are you." Miranda deadpanned. "Was it worth it?"

"W-Wait! Miranda! Let's talk this out!" Murphy pleaded with her, holding up his hands. "I already told you; I had no choice!"

"Ya sure folded pretty quickly when it came to choosin' between your own life and the lives of your daughters." Miranda rolled her eyes. "You truly are a shining example of what men should strive not to be. Can't respect a man who'll throw his own children to the wayside to save his own ass, and I certainly wouldn't want to be associated with them." Miranda clicked her pistol with a cold stare. "Ya went and left my daughters to die, and you made a mockery out of me. My rep is going to take a hit. I'll have to wipe my hands clean of you to begin rectifying that."

Murphy desperately shook his head, realizing that Miranda was completely serious. "B-But you can't! You can't, Mira! I'm your husband!"

"Consider this an annulment."

The conversation, as well as their marriage, ended with a bang.

Mirana pocketed her pistol and immediately went to tend to her daughters, who were both still shaken and slightly teary-eyed at having nearly died. She immediately sliced through their restraints with her sharpened threads, then embraced them both with a cushiony hug. Something she did appreciate about her weighty appearance from time to time. She hugged them both tightly, waiting for them both to calm down as they cried into her shoulders. She smiled with relief, hugging her daughters closer to her while quickly wiping away a few tears of her own.

"Goodness gracious, girls. You can't go scaring your Mama like that..."

"We're sorry, mother..." Militia sniffled softly while nuzzling Miranda's bosom.

"Sorry, Ma. We seriously messed up..." Melania muffled, furiously trying to wipe her tears away so her mother wouldn't see her tears longer than necessary. The attempted avoidance of showing weakness only made Miranda kiss and hug her closer.

"I toldja there ain't no need for that." She whispers soothingly, hugging her daughters with a relieved sigh.

"Oooof..."

The trio were interrupted by the sounds of slight groaning as the dragoness behind them suddenly collapsed on her back, her tail lazily thumping to the ground with pride and satisfaction. Her usually rotund belly as a dragon was even rounded and taut, with pleased rumbling sounding throughout. The Malachites soon approached her after they've managed to calm each other down for the moment.

"She really just treated that naga monster as if it were a giant noodle." Militia hummed while tilting her head. "You helped save us, Cindy."

"Yeah, you really came through for us. We owe you." Melanie nodded while adjusting her wrists slightly from the bruising.

"Oough...d-don't get the wrong idea. I-I needed to defend my...my rightful territory! Yes, that's it!" She hurriedly nodded. "And besides! You two make, uh, acceptable platters of bacon for me! I can't, ooh, let anything happen to yooooohh..." Cinder futilely tried to sound dismissive, only for a pleased growl to leave her maw; she was too busy basking in the aftermath of her gluttony and self-indulgence. Yet another monster was completely at her mercy, and she happily luxuriated in this feeling of superiority, both her draconic pride and greed currently sated. "I-If you really wish to repay me for my, oooh, generous assistance, provide me with bacon! And maybe some jelly donut cake..."

"Pfft, Cinder Fall. More like Cinder Fatty." Melanie teased as she moved up closer to the dragon and getting a closer look at the belly filled with naga, smacking it and causing the struck spot to wobble like gelatin. She ended up smirking once she heard the infuriated and protesting hiss from the naga within. As far as she's concerned, serves the beast right. "Snakey here thought it was going to suddenly be a big shot by killing a dragon. I think it's giving these arrangements some second thoughts."

"MANY second thoughts." Militia agreed, curiously placing her hands against the swollen dragon belly, which got a pleased growl from its owner. She soon gave it a hug, feeling warmer than before due to the heat it gently gave off in response to her approach. Rumbling sounded from within alongside this warm heat, akin to the bubbling and broiling inside a large cauldron. It was bound to be a significantly less pleasant experience inside than outside. "This one seems a bit rowdy. Can you handle it, Cindy?"

"Brrph...of...of C-COURSE I c-can! I am a s-superior creature!" Cinder attempted to scoff off their concern, her confident composure on the verge of fading away and leaving behind ravenous delight.

Miranda checked the remaining ammo in her pistol for a moment, before pocketing it once more and turning towards Melanie and Militia. She also looked about as she took a moment to look over the aftermath of Cinder's battle with the naga. "She'll be fine. She's got amazing resistance to damage, inside and out." Cinder has eaten so many different kinds of powerful monsters that her draconic stomach grew even more remarkably resilient and powerful like the rest of her. It was almost comforting that Cinder solely sought out malevolent and wicked enemies for such a fate, if mostly because people were more likely to reward the traveling dragon with food and shelter for ridding them of walking terrors. "Cindy here proves she indeed has a literal strong stomach."

"Sheesh, then the rumors probably weren't kiddin' when they say that dragons could become capable of eating damn near anything." Melanie whistled with a chuckle.

"Apparently being a superior creature also makes them superior eaters, too." Militia hummed.

Miranda focused more on Cinder, her eyes warming up at the sight of her. "Cinder, darlin'. I really do owe you a great debt, for helpin' me save my daughters, and protecting them way you did. You're an extraordinary young lady. Thank ya kindly."

Cinder briefly found herself at a loss at the words of praise, smiling at them as redness reached her cheeks. Her eyes widened when she realized this, turning to the side and scoffing drowsily. "Tch. All I did was earn my k-keep. L-Like I said! If you really want to r-repay me, t-then along with bacon, get me something sweet! And then I'll...I'll...ohhh..." Cinder couldn't keep focused on the subject anymore, the dragon slumping further back with another roaring belch, lazily tapping her tail on the ground as she was slowly sliding into a jubilant food coma. "I-I'll show my s-superiority...over all m-my foes...t-they'll all know...to fear m-my strength and power...I-I'mma eat em' all up to prove it! ...But first I'm going to...nap...so sleepy..."

Miranda rolled her eyes as she herself hopped atop the dragoness's stuffed tummy, which she gave a warm pat. "Yeah, we hear ya loud and clear. You're a mighty beast we all ought to respect." She softly complimented/teased. Militia and Melanie joined her and simply laid atop the dragon to destress after such a harrowing experience. Cinder was in too much bliss to tell them off, so she simply allowed it.

It's times like this that Miranda confirms to herself that taking in such an arrogant and unruly, juvenile creature was worth the trouble after all.

Miranda was sitting in her chair whilst recalling her take, as she and her daughters gazed fondly towards Cinder, who folded her arms and turned to the side with a huff. It didn't bother them in the slightest, in fact it caused them to laugh a little bit. Which in turn, got Cinder to turn towards them with an annoyed eye twitch, before she sighed and ended up smiling herself. Weiss, in the meantime, wasn't surprised in the slightest that Cinder had even less restraint when she was younger. And she barely had any in the present.

"We ended up calling her 'Big Sis' Cindy after that. There's no way we couldn't feel that about her." Melanie grinned while brushing her hair to the side.

"We were having a fun time with you, we were grateful." Militia hummed with her hands clasped. "It was sad when you decided to leave, but that just meant that we had to become strong so you wouldn't have to rescue us like that again. We would be able to save ourselves."

"We decided to toughen ourselves up after we saw how serious you were about leaving. We didn't want you to worry about us by the time you left. If you were going to go out again, we wanted you to do so with a clear conscience." Melanie elated with a smile, whilst Cinder rubbed her shoulder.

"When I left so suddenly, I didn't actually think about how it might have affected you all. But I didn't want to bring more trouble to any of you just through me being there. So, I decided to make myself scarce."

"Sweetie, I've been through that kind of song and dance many times. Too dangerous for you to stay in one place for too long, so you hafta move." Miranda shrugged. "I get why ya did it, and the girls understand too. It was time for you to continue on, and that desire was respected."

"Is that why...the name of your bar..."

"Yup. We renamed it after you, in a mix with our spider themed motif. Keeps a little bit of you here with us, in a way. Subtle confidence boosts to match the self-confidence you displayed and wanted to prove was warranted." Cinder couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed by that, furiously blinking away and pretending something got in her eye, trying to push away any hint that she was tearing up from the warmth of their declarations. Miranda wasn't fooled for a second, smiling knowingly. "You are getting emotional over there, Cinnie?"

"N-No. You saw nothing. Shut up."

"All this time since then, and somehow you've only become an even greedier glutton." Melanie chuckled behind her hand. "We saw a lotta images, Cin-Cin. Your scales are white now?"

"Can we see up close?" Militia asked somewhat hopefully.

Cinder sighed briefly at the request, before she swiped her hand across as she was engulfed in a cocoon of blue flames. This brought some impressed looks from the Malachites, before the dragon emerged from the flames, her brilliant white scales shimmering at their emergence.

"Well, I'll be damned." Melanie blinked in slight surprise.

"So pretty..." Militia's eyes sparkled in admiration.

"Oh my. Now only are you wider, you've become even shinier." Miranda smiled after getting used to the shine of Cinder's white scales. "Never mind the fact that some of your flames are also blue. A beautiful blue, at that."

"I had an awakening. All this time, I've forgotten that my scales were never actually red, but white. I've managed to wake up and emerge as my true self. In a way, I've always been more powerful than I thought." Cinder's deeper yet still feminine voice rumbled throughout the complex to an extent, but the sound didn't reach outside in the slightest. She gingerly sits down, her tail curling about slightly. "And even throughout all of this, I still feel like I can further prove what a supreme creature I am!"

Melanie folded her arms with a tilt of her head and a smile. "Well, look at that. So shiny and so bright. And yet still, you're a big fatty!" Melanie laughed while taking another gander over Cinder, seeing how her spherical belly, thickened tail, and hefty rear were the plumpest parts of her in this form. All in a rather curvy and endearing way. "You somehow managed to make it look great, though." Melanie grinned as she turned about and hopped onto her belly, chuckling at the bounce, before kicking one foot over the other with her hands behind her head. "Heh, it's like a giant belly beanbag."

"Jelly bellies!" Nora smiled and exclaimed.

"Yeah, like that!"

Militia hummed as she too was casually lying against Cinder, but more so against the side of her rear whilst she was sitting. She looked like she was lying against a sofa with her own feet kicked up. "You're so comfortably cushiony like this, Cinder."

"I didn't say either of you could use me as a pillow." Cinder rumbled in annoyance whilst she folded her arms but made no real move to actually remove the twins from their spots, letting them get cozy.

Miranda chuckled at this as she briefly got out of her seat to circle around. "Due to that particular incident, Cinder had really burned fear into my competitors for a while. Many were thinking twice, and then a third time when they realized she was affiliated with me. Whispers around had said that if anyone crossed me or they get caught in my webs, I'd take them and throw them into a fierce, fiery furnace, flames hungering for more victims to fuel it so it can further empower its blaze." Miranda soon approached the dragon and tapped her chubby belly with a laugh. "The furnace in question."

"Many had begun to panic when they saw that you were still around, and that you were stronger than ever." Militia held up her Scroll, and indeed, Cinder could be seen flying through the air and obliterating the dreaded vampire matriarch, Madame Mara. "They were terrified that a 'WitchDragon' would return and reclaim the territory she initially inhabited."

"The 'witch' part comes from gossip and rumors that you carry around a boiling cauldron around to stew enemies in and siphon their magic energy to absorb and add to your own." Melanie chuckled, as she was relaxing atop the rotund 'cauldron' in question. "Pretty close, but it's a lot hotter than they think it us, not to mention much more 'personal'."

Cinder tilted her head at this, a smile spreading across her features. "So, foes from here have begun fearing me and the implications of my presence." Cinder blinked, her wings flapping happily. "Hmph, as they should! Finally, they begin to see the truth of my terror!" Miranda chuckled at this and gave her belly another pat.

"Yeah yeah. Definite terror of the flames, honey."

"You all sound pretty close." Ruby smiled as she soon stepped up to Miranda Malachite, adjusting her seat. "It looks like you took pretty good care of Cinder while she was with you all."

"And now you're doing the same. Probably even better than we did, since it seems she came out of her shell in a rather impressive way." Miranda smiled while gesturing to Cinder's shining scales once more, before returning to her seat. "Now then, looks like you in particular came in for a bit of business, so let's officially move on from the catching up portion of this visit. How can I help ya, Great Red Howling Hood?"

Ruby blinked. "Have people begun calling me that? Oh, cause I'm a werewolf?"

"That, and this began circulating after you went ahead and slayed a Grimm Devil. Not to mention leading the attack on the Glass Unicorn and wiping them out. There isn't no use in calling you 'Little' Red, anymore. Leaving a wave of destruction wherever your little band goes. Destroying whoever crosses you or disrespects you." Miranda smiles. "I respect that in an aspiring young woman. Now then, what can I help ya with?"

Ruby sighed as she scratched her ears, trying to gather her thoughts and focus on what she was currently thinking. "I'm sure you've heard about the stuff happening over at Shion. About what happened with that witch that took it over for several weeks while managing to keep most people out." She narrowed her eyes as her fuzzy tail waved about behind her, her ears twitching attentively. "I'm wondering if there have been other instances of things like that happening in other areas throughout Mistral."

"I figured somebody would ask me about that eventually. It always helps to prepare for these occasions." Miranda snaps her fingers. Fuzzy dropped a Scroll in her hands and she laid it across the table before then as several holographic projections displayed at once. "Ya see, we've been getting little inklings of these kinds of incidents ever since you went and cut down Lilith. It wasn't too long ago, but long enough to know that the fiasco you saw over at Shion wasn't an issue isolated incident. Oh no, little lady. That was a calculated event, even if she wasn't in on the ploy."

"She was part of a scheme, yet she didn't know about it?" And even then, Ruby doubted that Sansa would have cared, she was lost in her own little world, and that world was hurting everyone around her. Ruby felt no guilt in cutting her down to put a stop to that.

"A fall guy play. I know enough about those and even instigated some of them myself to know what it looks like. That witch was used to test the waters without her knowledge." Miranda swiped right, displaying more images of locations across Mistral. "I'm sure you've heard a bit of the chatter. Everyone going all in a panic about evil returning, the rise of darkness, sinister forces at work. Ya sees, it's that kind of bullshit they spout, and the way that they spout it, that sounded alarms in me. So, when I began looking into similar happenings, turns out I was right about my suspicions." Miranda expanded one of the images, which had the display of various people struggling and fighting in what appeared to be a closed area, clashing with Grimm as well as each other. "They're fighting for their lives, mostly to turn out to be the last ones standing. Some of their murmurings have inferred that they're trying to win somebody's favor."

"Someone's favor? Who?"

"That's what I'm still looking into. Ya sees, if I don't stay on top of this, it could easily get out of control. Lack of information during a time like this is a massive disadvantage that quickly becomes self-destructive, and I've got people to look after." Miranda chose a different image again, expanding it for better visibility. "What we know for sure is that, in a simple sense, what's currently happening is for the sake of getting somebody's attention. And accumulating that attention will benefit them in a way that they're desperate enough to sink to any lengths to gain it."

Ruby narrowed her eyes at all of this, folding her arms. "You think something big is going to happen from this?"

"Worse than that, honey. Whatever's going on has already started. It's the slow and steady kind of process that never becomes overtly noticeable until it's too late to stop the beginning stages. However, that doesn't mean that I don't have a few more hints thanks to someone being on the inside." She whistled for someone, and a women descended next to Miranda while hanging from a spiderweb. Blake immediately recognized her and stepped forth.

"Trifa?"

The fellow Faunus blinked when she noticed Blake, before smiling while the two embraced each other. "Hey! Didn't think I'd see you all the way out here, Blake."

"You're with Spider, too?" Blake chose not to point out just how fitting that was.

"It helps to have ties with a vast information broker. Knowledge goes a long way, and I'm willing to work with them if it means the White Fang can benefit from it as well. I've been working with her in exchange for this." Trifa nodded before turning to Miranda. "Anyway, did you need me for something?"

"Why yes, Miss Aranea, you can." Miranda clasped her hands while nodding to Ruby. "You've another person who's got a firsthand experience on what's going on from touchdown. Fill them in on what you discovered."

Trifa stepped forth and placed her own Scroll down, which displayed a projection. "It was dicey trying to get info on these things while on the field, but I managed to find something crucial to what might be going on. There's a guideline that's being followed." Trifa allowed for some of them to play out, several images coming together. "There's one connection between all of these different kinds of events going down: They claim to be followers of the God of Light."

"Wait, really...?"

"That's not all. Several of them have been cropping up and becoming proactive ever since you killed Lilith. The aftermath of her rampage left them feeling that it was 'their time' to take action and reclaim Remnant in the name of light. People are led in with promises of purpose and paradise if they follow their mission, and of course they're promise power and potential. But like what you had to deal with back in Shion, we've already seen the truth." Trifa narrowed her eyes, turning to the side. "People are being killed for not being true believers, children from poor neighborhoods are disappearing from their homes in broad daylight, and others are led astray by what they perceive as divine miracles by the ones who caused the disasters that came before. They're all increasingly committing these acts in order to come out on top, possibly to wanting to be seen as the most devout to their god, and to be among the ones saved from the growing chaos in the world. No matter the reason or goal, bystanders caught in the crossfire are suffering terribly for it."

Ruby clenched and unclenched her fists at this, her fur rising slightly due to the increased intensity of her frustration. This was Lilith's fault. The cult's actions were their own, but she's the one who gave them a spark of inspiration, an excuse, to begin this kind of campaign in the first place by masquerading as her grandmother and igniting that spark. It was just one of the many long-term consequences of her actions that Ruby was going to have to deal with, because she simply could just let something like that to unopposed. Not when it was a response to the slander of her grandmother's name.

"Where is their closest location that they're operating from?"

Miranda smiled. "Funny you should ask, cause that particular info involves how you're going to repay me for my services. And since both of us aren't a fan of this situation, we both get something out of it in the end."

"I'm listening." Ruby declared resolutely.

"What a reasonable young woman you are. They're over at Wind Path, which many also call Boreas." Miranda nodded as she swiped through another display on her Scroll. "I think we can both benefit from gettin' rid of whoever these folk are, right? Maybe make sure you can get that done, and we can call things even for now."

"Will do." Ruby nodded, stepping out of her seat and moving towards the exist, with Miranda pulling on a thread to open the door for her. "We're heading out, everyone. There's still enough time."

"Oh, leaving so soon? We barely got to cuddle you all that much." Militia hummed while still leaning against Cinder, with Melanie relaxed on her belly. Alas, it couldn't last the entire time, with them noticing this as they got off of her whilst she changed back into her usual humanlike form in a spiral of embers, brushing down her dress. "At least tell us we'll see you sooner than last time."

"Maybe sooner than either of us think." Cinder noted, somewhat annoyed when Militia and Melanie got close to her on either side and gave her a hug. She didn't object to it, simply sighing and hugging them back. "We might need your help again soon."

"You lemme know ahead of time, sweetie. I'm more than happy to assist...for a price. And I do accept payment through work." Miranda smiled while lightly patting Cinder's hand.

"Hey." Melanie singled out Jaune, who turned to her while pointing to himself. She strolled up to him with an inquisitive glare, before shrugging and leaning up to give his cheek a kiss. "Keep taking good care of Cindy, will ya? That arrogant streak of hers could get her into more trouble than she can stomach."

"I can hear you."

"I know."

Jaune nodded resolutely. "I will."

Militia turned towards Ruby, tilting her head. "Mmh. You should take care of her too, okay?" She says while walking up next to her and giving her cheek a kiss as well, which ended up startling a few inside the room, aside from a smiling Melanie.

"Well, Militia."

"They're both taking care of Cinder for us, Melanie. It wouldn't be fair to only give him a kiss, so I gave her a kiss myself." Militia explained as if it were simple.

"That and redheads are your weakness."

Militia briefly turned to Ruby (who technically counts due to the natural red highlights in her hair and fur), then to Nora, Pyrrha, and Penny. She cupped her cheek with a hum. "Only a little bit..."

Ruby rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, before waving. "Can do. We're off now! Buh-Bye!"

"Be safe!" Fuzzy Wuzzy cheerily waves as everyone began departing. The Grimm Spider watched Ruby in particular leave and felt a sense of heaviness leave him as well. It took a lot of composure to keep himself together as he stood in the same room as someone who could literally blink him out of existence with a powerful enough blast of light, but he imagined he did rather well. Besides...

The Princess matures nicely. Her power will suit her future repute.

Something within his Grimm instincts whispered this to him, and he realized that he almost bowed specifically to her when she came in. He wondered why that was...

As the gang were on their way, managing a pretty good distance in under ten minutes, Ruby and Jaune were relaying their thoughts on the whole encounter. "Well, it was nice to meet up with the people who took care of Cinder before us. When we get a chance, we should find some time to thank them more appropriately, ya know?"

"True." Ruby agreed, whilst rubbing her chin. "Now, we've got a place to start with in regard to fighting off these cults. We have to head over to Boreas as soon as we can. It'll help to relay Miss Malachite for helping us out with her information, and for helping Cinder all that time ago." She closed her eyes as she began walking ahead a little bit. "What kind of plan will suit this...?"

As they were discussing, Jaune felt something on his back, and he stopped and turned around to see a woman smiling towards him, with a serene yet hauntingly far-off look in her eyes. "Um, can I help you? You seem lost."

"Lost? Oh no, quite the opposite." The woman smiled in an eerily serene manner. "I've found exactly what I've been sent for."

There was a crash of lightning, which startled everyone present, and nearly some of them to fall on their heads. Ruby and Cinder were the quickest to recover, though, once they realized something urgent.

"JAUNE!"

A flash of lighting, a clap of thunder. With these two things, Jaune had been swiped from them.

Juno opened her eyes as she felt a flash of lightning crashing around the cathedral. With this, she slowly stands up and descends down the stairs of the building, lightning gently flicking off of her being with her eyes glowing a soft silver. Floating around her, a multicolored feline was levitating and swirling about, before stopping to float beside her with a tilted head and a flick of its tail.

"Tell me again why you had one of your apostles capture this guy?" They asked while grooming themselves for several moments, licking the back of their paw. "Is he really needed at all for any of this? Kinda looks dumb to me."

"He is not inherently necessary, but his uses will benefit us greatly, no matter how shortly we have him." Juno held up her hand as lightning crackled in between her fingers. "Having him in our grasp means the rogue Celestian will come to us directly. She can't help herself. This will create a fine opportunity on educating her in how the path she's taken is wrong."

"You're going for reeducation?"

"No. I already see the look in her eyes. She will never truly submit." Juno reasoned while she reached the last step and continued moving onwards. "It would be simpler to just take apart her perspective on things and demonstrate to her why she's wrong. Then we can do away with her as soon as possible." Juno narrowed her eyes as she clenched her fist, similarly, crackling with electricity. "I know exactly what she's about, and I cannot allow such blasphemy to go unpunished and unsolved."

"Wow, you barely met her and yet you already hate her guts." The feline tilted its head with a hum. "That's pretty unlike you. Is it something about her that's specifically causing such a reaction?"

"Something along those lines."

Orella was seen focusing her power, levitating in midair while channeling power into a silver glowing orb of energy. Several images pass by in the orb, and she gently opened her silver glowing eyes so she could see them properly. "Oh, they are most certainly making their way here. Hastily so. Seems like she's really attached to this one, her and the dragon." Orella smiles while observing the passing events. "At that speed they'll be here in about four minutes. She's quite the speedy individual." She clasped her hands as the orb shifted over, towards an image of Pyrrha. "Well, what do we have here..."

Celimene smiled, as several men helped her out of her chair, each of them kissing her hand and making sure her beginning steps were even and steady. She calmly waved them away once she was able to get moving on her own. "I'll be sure that our guest is content and calm. Though it might prove to me more difficult than I initially thought. " Her eyes fluttered with glitters of silver as she turned towards the direction of the soon to be invaders. "He won't be as cooperative as the others, I'm sure. But I can find some ways around that, with your help."

Themis levitated as several glowing chains circled around her, several people having chains attached to their bodies, energy flowing from them and into her. She sighed as she opened her eyes with a narrow glare. Especially since one of Orella's orbs showed a visual of Penny. "This one is likely to be a nuisance to me, isn't she? I would like to know ahead of time, so that I can the time to be rid of them sooner rather than later. Especially from this abomination right here." Themis narrowed her eyes further towards the image of Penny. "If my hunch is correct...then Atlas truly has gone too far in its arrogance."

"It won't matter. We won't give them the opportunity to capitalize on it." The woman pushed forward as the images of Ruby shattered with surges of lightning. "We shall be their guiding light, and the destination is towards their demise."

That was a solemn swear on Juno's part, and she's fully prepared to do what she could to see it through. And as she made said swear, she passed by a bright gold, flowing statue of a long serpentine-like creature with antler/horns on its head. Closer inspection would see that it is a golden statue of the God of Light situated within the cathedral.

For a brief moment, without anyone's notice, it's eyes glowed much brighter than usual.

Cinder has a close history with the Malachite Family, here. While she hasn't been with them super long, they both left enough of an impression of one another to not forget one another. Particularly on Cinder's side, when she's been emotionally starved from a young age, not to mention being starved in general during her first decade of life.

Also say hi to Fuzzy the Giant Spider Grimm! Isn't he a big huggable sweetheart? Another example of a Grimm of high enough sentience willingly turning away from their inner natures and choosing to be benevolent.

Meanwhile Jaune's once again been whisked away by the enemy, only this one seems significantly more dangerous than before. Getting the feeling that things are going to be rather rough for the gang once again, much quicker this time. And of course, obviously Ruby and Cinder are significantly less likely to be alright with that and are prepared to rampage.

The Red Riding Guild are once again about to be faced with lots of trouble...

Ah well, I'm sure they can handle it.