"What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate."

- Unknown

The clash between Winter and Taurus raged mere feet from Weiss and the others. The battle-worn White Fang commander lunged, his blade a crimson blur as it clashed with Winter's. Every swing of his sword fell with force enough to send shockwaves through the air around them, Winter dodging or parrying each of them as they came with deft precision.

Abruptly, the fight paused. The White Fang leader leaped back to break contact. They circled each other, searching for an opening.

Weiss gripped Myrtenaster tightly, watching anxiously. She wanted to help but hesitated. Ignoring Percy's instructions, she knew she might hinder Winter more than help. Glancing helplessly at the others, she saw they felt the same way. They were outclassed, and they knew it.

Winter re-engaged, closing the distance in an instant with a flurry of strikes. Her saber was a blur, each strike smoothly transitioning into the next. The Faunus backtracked rapidly, parrying and blocking, but avoiding being struck.

The bout ended as abruptly as it had begun, the two commanders back to circling each other.

"I know things," Taurus suddenly said, his voice loud enough to project across the clearing. "Things that would turn the world upside down. Things that would make you question everything."

"Speak plainly," Winter demanded, her sabers still raised.

The Faunus' lips curled into a cruel smile. "I know how Perseus betrayed you. Betrayed Atlas. He framed the White Fang for the dust robberies in Vale, seized power from Mistral's council, pulled the strings behind Mantle's rebellion, orchestrated the attack on Argus, ordered the attempted assassination of you and your family members to get your father to order more weapons, and then turned around and used the profits to fund the White Fang — he's been both sides like puppets, using us to gain power for himself."

Weiss audibly scoffed. Yeah, right. As if Percy was capable of such — and even if he was, Winter would have known. The words were nothing more than a ploy to stall, even she could see that.

But Winter never rebuffed the obvious lie, just stared at the terrorist with narrowed eyes.

"I can prove it," he offered. "Take me alive, and I'll expose him for the monster he truly is — to the councils of Atlas and Vale."

Weiss hesitated. She didn't believe him, but if he was offering surrender then Winter couldn't exactly just kill him, could she?

Weiss would give anything to know what was going through her sister's head right now — she was hesitating as well, the tip of her sabers visibly trembling. The clearing was tense, the distant sounds of combat muted by the rain.

Before her sister could decide, the decision was made for her. An arrow sprouted from Taurus's neck, blood pouring from the wound. He clutched at his throat, eyes wide in shock, and fell forward into the mud, revealing another arrow in the back of his skull.

Weiss tried to see who it was that had shot them, but whoever had shot him was far away enough that they weren't visible in the storm. Weiss watched in muted shock as team JNPR went chasing into the storm to find the assailant while her sister rushed to the fallen terrorist and cautiously pressed her fingers to his neck.

"He's dead."

Percy returned to Beacon with a single-minded focus; to kill Adam Taurus.

He had never considered himself bloodthirsty, but at the moment it described him perfectly; he was thirsty for the blood.

Launching over Beacon's walls at the same place he'd landed earlier when he briefly spoke to Pyrrha and the others, he rolled into a landing, springing to his feet and unsheathing Riptide only to find the clearing empty.

Spotting a dark, motionless lump in the grass several feet away, he swallowed around the lump in his throat and cautiously made his way to the body.

Excitement and relief slowly overtook the dread he had felt as he neared it, now able to see the short, red hair and black robes. He dug a boot under the corpse and flipped it over, confirming that yep, that was Adam alright.

He knew it was macabre, but Percy couldn't stop himself from grinning as a wave of relief washed over him, much of his anxiety and fear fading into the background, the hurricane overhead slowing noticeably as a result. Winter had won.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Percy turned away from the body. Now that he knew the traitor had been dealt with, he needed to make sure everyone was okay. Coalescing groundwater underneath his feet to get some height, he paused. On second thought…

A spear of lightning split from the clouds, striking the ground a few feet behind him. Half turning, Percy looked to find nothing but a smoldering patch of grass where Adam's body had been.

Better not to take any chances.

A burst of water burst from the ground and propelled him into the sky, where he stood half-submerged in the sprout. Willing the rain to calm, he called arcs of lightning to roll across the sky, illuminating Beacon's mostly destroyed campus below. The light revealed that things had calmed down — a few students sluggishly sparred with some Nevermores, but for the most part people were treating the injured and securing prisoners.

Spotting a colorful group making their way along the cliff's edge to his right, Percy sent himself that way with as much force as the water could manage and willed the water in and on the ground to catch him before he could land. Touching down, he wasted no time jogging to catch up with the group.

"Anyone hurt?" Percy asked Jaune.

"Anyone hurt?" he asked Jaune.

"Woah!" Jaune exclaimed, stumbling. Percy grabbed onto the boy's hoodie and hauled him up, steadying him.

The group ahead looked back at the commotion, and Winter quickly dropped back to run next to him. She looked as tired as he felt, her face pale and wet with rain and sweat. Her uniform was littered with cuts, but he couldn't see any blood.

"Anyone hurt?" He repeated his question.

"Not seriously," she told him, her breaths rushed and sharp. "But two are missing. The Belladonna girl, and the red girl's sister. Also, Taurus is dead."

Percy inhaled sharply, some of the adrenaline and fear that had left him when he found Adam dead returning with a vengeance.

"The two missing! Explain!" he urged her.

"They were separated from the others during combat," she explained, pausing momentarily to catch her breath. "We think they're in the library — the building we're running to."

Percy nodded quickly, "Is it a straight shot from here?"

"So I'm told," Winter affirmed. "Just follow the cliff's edge."

"Stay with them," he told her, not waiting for a response before pumping his legs and quickly overtaking the others. His legs felt heavy, but he pushed on.

He did a double take as a red blur shot past him that quickly turned into Ruby. She kept pace with him with the ease of someone on a light morning jog, making it clear she could outpace him whenever she wanted.

He was glad she didn't, and realized at once why she wasn't running out ahead of them — if Yang and Blake were in danger, Percy wanted to make sure either he or Winter was there to protect them. Ruby going alone would just put her in danger too.

But as the storm let up and the night became easier to see through, the orange glow on the horizon shone clearer and clearer.

"Go!" He made a snap decision. She didn't need to be told twice, rocketing forward and quickly disappearing from sight.

When he caught up to her a couple minutes later, it was to find her frantically dashing in and out of the wreckage of the collapsed, burning remains of the library.

Sliding to a halt, Percy caught her before she could dash in again. She kicked at him manically, screaming words at him he couldn't decipher through her tears. Hastily, he grabbed hold of all of the water he could feel for hundreds of feet around, wrenching it towards him and rapidly forming a wave that crashed into the blaze. He forced the steam back into liquid, dousing the flame

He let Ruby go, and she was in the building before he could blink. He fell to a knee, heaving for breath in the mud.

He knew they wouldn't be in there — he couldn't feel with the water, per se, but he could feel when there was resistance in the water's path, and so had a rough idea of what was in there. Something as big as a person would have been large enough to notice.

The only comfort was that he hadn't felt any skeletons either — meaning that if they had died, it wasn't at the library.

Percy mustered his energy and launched himself into the sky with a sprout of water, searching Beacon for any sign of Yang or Blake.

He wasn't sure how long he must have stayed up there looking, but it was long enough to look over every foot of Beacon several times over — desperately hoping that this time they'd be there, to no avail.

Finally allowing himself to fall back to Remnant, Percy addressed the tear-stricken group. "They're alive," he announced. "Or at least, they definitely weren't in the library when it burned down."

Ruby broke free of Weiss' arms, turning towards him and showing him the item she'd been clenching to her chest.

Blake's weapon, Gambol Shroud, charred but recognizable, lay in Ruby's hands.

"You said they're alive?" Ruby asked in a small voice.

Percy hesitated. "We have no reason to think they aren't." he decided to say. "You can help look," he preempted them, Ruby's mouth shutting with a click. "Just go in groups. Never be alone — it's still not safe out there, and you're all exhausted."

They nodded quickly. Ruby grabbed Weiss' arm and yanked her along, while Pyrrha did the same for Jaune. Percy nodded at Nora and Ren — still wanting to help but somewhat less personally invested — as they passed him and Winter at a less frantic pace.

Internally, Percy was worried. That they had found Blake's weapon but not the girl was… odd. While he was an exception, losing your weapon was a death sentence for most — not just huntsmen, but soldiers of any kind. He struggled to imagine the circumstances that would lead to her dropping it.

He was fairly certain it meant she had been knocked unconscious, and then someone had moved her before the building could collapse. The only question was, who — Yang, or White Fang?

"The Dragon?" Winter snapped Percy out of his thoughts. He looked around, confirming the two were alone.

"Dead."

Winter shook her head, a wry smile fighting its way onto her lips. "I shouldn't be surprised. You really need to tell me what exactly it is you can do one of these days."

Percy grinned, "Family secret."

She rolled her eyes. "Anyways, Adam is dead," she told him, watching carefully for his reaction. "You already knew."

His smile only widened, "I saw the body when I arrived. Good job, and thank you for protecting the kids." His smile strained. "I assume Yang and Blake were already separated when you got here?"

Winter nodded. "By the time I got here, it was just those six. But it wasn't me that killed Adam — I fought him until he surrendered, but someone else took his life. Two glass arrows, from behind. They disappeared quickly, and we never got a glimpse of the killer."

Percy's eyes narrowed. Cinder. What was she doing here? He owed her for killing Adam, but her presence at Beacon alone was suspicious. Had she come to kill Adam, was it coordinated with him, or had she just been taking advantage of the chaos at Beacon?

"You know who it was," Winter accused. "Did you send someone else to kill him?"

Percy shook his head sluggishly, rubbing his eyes. His exhaustion and lack of sleep were beginning to catch up with him — his mind refused to work properly. "I think I know who it was, but I didn't send them — you know I haven't had time. I'm surprised they were even here. I'll explain more later, just… keep it quiet for now."

Winter hummed. "Very well," she said hesitantly. "But it will have to come later, I must return to Atlas — I'm long overdue. Look after Weiss for me."

"Will do." Percy nodded. "And no worries, I understand completely."

Quickly looking both ways to make sure they were alone, Winter hesitantly stepped forward and hugged him.

He smiled warmly and returned her hug. Percy felt her warmth, and felt the temptation to let his weary muscles collapse against her.

"Get some rest," she told him, pulling back and holding him at arm's length. "You're running yourself ragged — you're only one person, it's not all up to you."

"I won't be able to for a bit still — the fallout of this isn't something that can wait. But what about you? You have to be just as tired as I am."

Winter swatted his arm lightly. "I'll sleep on the bullhead to Atlas. Just promise me you'll get rest whenever you can."

"I'll try," he promised. "Be safe — don't let your guard down."

"Same to you." she let go of him reluctantly. "Whatever comes from this — Atlas backs you. I was here to witness it firsthand, and I'll testify as much."

Percy smiled gratefully, a smile that she returned. They stood awkwardly, waiting for something though neither of them knew what. Winter opened her mouth, but no words came out. She hesitated.

"Be safe," she repeated.

"You too." Percy smiled awkwardly. "Goodbye, Winter. I'll talk to you soon."

"Yeah," the general nodded uncomfortably. "See you later."

She turned, waving shortly and beginning her trek to the bullhead docks.

The small, fond smile on his face slowly faded as he made his way to the nearest sign of fire.

His day wasn't over yet — far from it.

Noises of exertion filled the courtyard as many did their best to rescue any survivors one stone at a time. Percy was manipulating a stream of water to lift a boulder from a dorm wing, the normally effortless task taking monumental effort.

Though there was no sign of either Blake or Yang, he had found two people. One had survived, the other had not.

Goodwitch and Qrow found him removing wreckage with his bare hands, covered in soot, blood, and mud.

"Where were you?" Percy demanded, eyes locked on Qrow as he dusted his hands off. Qrow had been fighting in the south but disappeared before Percy and Winter evacuated.

"Busy," Qrow grunted. Sure enough, Percy could spot some new tears in the man's clothing.

"Yang and her partner went missing during the battle." Percy fought to keep a neutral tone, knowing Qrow would be hard enough on himself without his help. "We're still looking for them."

"How?!" The older man quickly demanded. "Where!?"

"Ruby has the details," Percy replied, jerking his chin towards where said girl was helping clear rubble across the courtyard.

Before he could move, Percy grabbed Qrow's arm, forcing him to meet Percy's eyes. "Don't do anything stupid."

Qrow nodded impatiently, and Percy let him go. The veteran huntsman wasted no time disappearing, dashing towards Ruby.

Goodwitch cleared her throat from behind him,

"Let's talk."

Considering the invitation for a moment, Percy nodded reluctantly and joined the teacher in walking to one of Beacon's more intact structures.

"What happened to the Wyvern?" she asked him, breaking the awkward silence that had set over them while they walked.

Percy stared at her blankly.

"The dragon," she clarified.

"Dead," he answered simply. "At the bottom of the ocean."

She stumbled. "You killed it? Alone?"

Percy nodded once.

They walked the rest of the way in silence, making their way through a maze of half-collapsed hallways until they reached a door labeled 'teacher's lounge'.

She locked the door, and they both took seats at a small table towards the back of the brightly lit room. Percy kicked his legs up and leaned back in his chair, balancing it on two legs.

"Where's Ozpin?" he asked, looking around curiously.

Ozpin's assistant took a deep breath. "Ozpin was killed."

Percy's chair fell out from under him, and he awkwardly caught his fall with one hand on the table and the other propping him up on the floor.

Slowly pushing himself to his feet, Percy found his seat and sat back down, feet firmly on the floor.

"Was it the Dragon?" he asked, vaguely recalling when the Grimm's wing had clipped Ozpin's tower.

Goodwitch shook her head. "Assassins, agents of Salem which targeted him in the chaos."

Percy hummed curiously. "How do you know?" he asked carefully.

"Qrow was there," she told him. "He arrived just in time to see his assailants attempting to leave. He engaged them, but they ultimately managed to escape. You'll have to ask him for more details — I've only just learned minutes ago myself."

Percy tapped absently on the table, lost in thought. Cinder, or friends of hers? That answered one of his questions, at least — either she had participated in this somehow, or had taken advantage of it. As much as the thought of her organizing this with Adam filled him with rage, it wouldn't mean she had betrayed him — she had been crystal clear with her intent to oppose Ozpin however she could, after all, and he hadn't told her not to attack Beacon. That would only have drawn questions. No, it was the headquarters of her enemy, of course she would want to see it destroyed. He had told Adam not to touch Beacon, but if Adam had no reason to reveal that information to Cinder…

"What now?" he asked. "I know Ozpin isn't actually dead — or rather, won't stay dead — but I'm a bit short on details."

"He will contact Qrow and I from his new host," she answered curtly. "Until then, I am the acting Headmistress of Beacon. As such I'd like to hear any information you have about the situation here at Beacon and to the south."

Percy filled her in, telling her everything from when he'd received her call to the bullhead ride and the White Fang attack, how Winter had gone ahead while he'd dealt with the Dragon.

"And the Grimm?" she asked. "Are there more on the way?"

"Probably, but they'll have a harder time. There's a gulf south of Vale now, running inland. They'll have to go around through the mountains."

Goodwitch didn't respond for several seconds, staring at him blankly.

"To be clear, there is now a gulf — a permanent body of water — south of Vale, running several hundred miles inland."

"Yes," Percy confirmed.

"I see," she muttered, unfocused eyes staring ahead.

She sluggishly shook herself from her stupor, rubbing her eyes with an exhaustion that Percy felt in his bones.

"I don't know how to respond to that, and frankly I think I need some time to process this. That aside, you're right that I — we — owe you an explanation. It…" she paused. "They came from Mountain Glenn, a failed project to found a second city in Vale. It fell to Grimm years ago, but I'm afraid I don't have much more detail than that. If you're curious, I'd encourage you to ask Bart. Dr. Oobleck, that is."

"You knew? And you decided not to warn me?" he demanded, angry but too exhausted to raise his voice.

She hesitated. "I… yes. I hate to place responsibility on the absent, but Ozpin decided not to tell you for reasons I don't entirely understand. We can ask him when he's back, I suppose."

He still felt frustration simmering beneath the surface, but let it go. He could pry after he got some sleep.

Glynda cleared her throat. "There is the matter of the White Fang."

"What about them?" Percy snapped. "Adam is dead. They're done — I'll make sure of that."

"They're an organization which is closely associated with Mistral, and you in particular," she reminded him. "And their damage isn't limited to what they did today — their actions for the last several months directly led to the chaos that attracted the Grimm."

"The White Fang betrayed me," he stressed. "I fought the Grimm off for you — I killed the Dragon!"

"I know that," Glynda raised her hands. "But the people don't. All they know is that they were attacked by the White Fang, Beacon is destroyed, and a lot of Valeans are dead."

"People I cared about were in danger as much as everyone else!" he retorted. "Of course I don't want Beacon to fall!"

"I believe you," she told him, hesitantly. "But it doesn't look good. The people won't believe you — not without any proof. They'll believe this was an attack by Mistral. They'll want war."

"The council won't give it to them," Percy muttered.

"No, but they won't do nothing. Your support in the council will wane if the populace believes you tried to invade Vale."

Percy bit his lip. He didn't like it, but she was right — campaign contributions and corruption only went so far. If this was seen as an attempted invasion, supporting Mistral wasn't just political suicide, it was probably actual suicide as well.

"What do you want from me, then?" he asked, shoulders slouching. He knew he could work to fix this, but right now he could barely think.

"You should leave," she said bluntly

Percy laughed sharply. "Exiling me?"

"I can do no such thing," she replied calmly. "Nor would I want to. But if you stay, the council will have no choice. I'm sure your people would not appreciate the gesture, and relations between Vale and Mistral will strain more than they already are. If you leave voluntarily you can buy me some time to manage the council and return in time for the Vytal festival."

"Is the festival even happening still?" he asked, quickly getting sidetracked.

"Times like these are when the festival is needed the most — we need Remnant to come together now more than ever," she told him, rising from her seat. "I will do my best to ensure the festival takes place as scheduled. I can only do that, however, if the leader of Mistral hasn't been banned from Vale."

"Fine," he huffed. "I'll go, but I'm taking team RWBY and team JNPR."

"What-"

"Winter asked me to look after Weiss," he cut her off. "I'm Pyrrha's guardian, and the rest can make up their own minds. Beacon isn't operational, it's reasonable for a guardian to take their student home."

Goodwitch stared at him with narrowed eyes, and he met her gaze.

Percy let out a deep breath, the tension draining from his body. "Look, I'm not trying to undermine you — they'll be back for the tournament. I'm just trying to make sure they're safe."

"Very well," Glynda said softly after several tense moments, letting out her own deep breath. "Please ensure you have the permission of the other student's guardians as well."

Sharing a nod, the two left the room and began heading their separate ways.

"Hey," Percy called.

She turned expectantly.

"Good luck."

The headmistress smiled faintly. "You as well."

Percy woke with a start as a gentle but insistent hand shook his shoulder. He blinked, disoriented, the familiar rocking of the sea and the smell of salt water grounding him. Familiar red hair flashed across his vision before Pyrrha's face came into focus. Her eyes were no longer red and puffy, and her face no longer streaked with tears.

He rubbed his eyes and sat up, stretching his stiff muscles. "What time is it?"

"It's been ten hours since we boarded," Pyrrha replied, "but we only set off a couple of hours ago."

Percy's eyebrows shot up. "They let me sleep for that long?"

She smiled teasingly. "Everyone else was too afraid to come wake up the big bad Perseus. I decided to let you rest."

Percy rolled his eyes fondly. "Thanks, Pyr. What's the problem?"

"I don't know the specifics," she admitted, "but the Vice Admiral wanted to see you. It seemed important."

Percy swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood, grabbing his jacket. "Alright. Thanks again, Pyr, I'll go see what he needs."

Percy made his way through the dimly lit corridors of the ship, his footsteps echoing lightly against the metal floor. The ship was quiet, the crew focused on their tasks or taking the opportunity to rest.

The same was true on the command deck, light tapping on terminals and soft conversations shared between the skeleton crew on duty.

Vice Admiral Saturn was waiting when he arrived, his stern expression lightening slightly when he saw Percy.

"Admiral," Saturn greeted him with a sharp salute, "General Shiro requested to speak with you. We'll be leaving the range of Vale's CCT shortly, so this will be our last chance before we reach Mistral."

Percy quickly returned the salute. "Thank you, Vice Admiral. Lead the way."

Saturn led them to the communications room, which the officers present quickly vacated with an array of salutes. Saturn tapped some buttons on the terminal, and a moment later a holographic projection of Shiro appeared. Shiro was clearly stressed, but looked to be holding up well despite it.

"Percy," Shiro greeted, his voice steady, "it's good to see you."

"You too," Percy nodded to his friend. "How are things there?"

Shiro took a deep breath. "Stable, but… messy. I've been in constant contact with Vale to keep tensions at a minimum, but things aren't going too well. Mistral itself hasn't seen unrest like Vale or Mantle, but people have questions. I've briefed the council privately, but I didn't have much to tell them — I'm in the dark. The only thing I've told them is that we weren't behind it. I hope my assumption wasn't incorrect."

Percy's jaw tightened. "We had nothing to do with it. The White Fang acted independently."

"Is there any proof?" Shiro asked. "I believe you, of course, and nobody in Mistral will say so openly, but there will be a lot of people that think we orchestrated this no matter what we say — including on our own council."

Percy massaged his eyes, still waking up. "I didn't exactly think to pull out my scroll and record, but I was caught in the crossfire — so was Pyrrha. I wouldn't put her at risk, and I wouldn't help fight the Grimm if I orchestrated this."

Shiro hummed. "Do anything flashy that someone on the ground might have caught?"

Saturn coughed, speaking up when Shiro looked at him expectantly. "The Admiral made quite the spectacle. Half of my men are still recovering."

Despite himself, Percy's face gained a faint red tint. "Sorry about that,"

Shiro's hologram leaned forward slightly. "Someone care to fill me in?"

"Towards the end of the battle, a massive wave — tsunami, more accurately — swallowed our ships. We would have been dead, but the water avoided our decks, forming a bubble around our ships until we broke the surface minutes later."

"That might be helpful," Shiro said, unphased. "For now, Percy, you should focus on returning safely and quickly. Once here, you need to address the council, the public, and Vale's council. You were there — your word directly should help placate some of them, at least."

Percy took a deep breath, feeling the familiar weight of responsibility settle on his shoulders. "I'll do what needs to be done. We'll be in Mistral in a couple weeks."

"See you then, Percy."

The connection ended, leaving Percy and Saturn in the quiet of the communications room. Percy turned to the Vice Admiral. "Is there anything else you need from me?"

"Not in the immediate term, no," he said. "I wish to brief you on the state of the fleet, but it can wait."

Percy nodded gratefully, casually returning Saturn's salute and leaving the room. He walked through the mostly-abandoned corridors, his mind racing. He had a lot to do, but at least he had time to think it through.

Hope you enjoyed! Good news is we should be back on the 2 chapters a month schedule starting next month, as I catch back up and get back into the swing. Thanks to my pat rons for making that possible.

Don't have anything to yap about today on account of being too tired, so that's all from me. Have a good one!

Next chapter August 31