"You know, it's almost a good thing I got my arm destroyed again," Yang pointed out. The blonde was slumped into a wooden chair with a green cushion that was thin and quite worn. Jaune and Corsac were on either side of her in matching pieces of furniture, and neither of them looked any less ragged than she did. "None of us are getting any sleep tonight, and we need this extra day in Mantle. Hopefully we can at least get a nap in later…"

"Yeah," Sun agreed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he kept his eyes closed. The incessant beeping from the monitoring equipment hooked up to his arm was giving him a headache, and his entire body felt heavy from a lack of sleep. "As soon as I get discharge papers, we'll head back and just… collapse. Maybe in one big pile on the couch."

"Honestly, I wouldn't even complain at this point," Blake said flatly from her place lying partially atop Sun in the hospital bed. "Neo goes on the bottom, though. If she dies, she dies."

Neopolitan was sat in a chair on the opposite side of the room as Yang. The girl raised a brow before beginning to pat herself down, making a show of looking for something. After checking each of her pockets, she put on a triumphant look as she produced nothing but a middle finger held out toward Blake. Yang snorted in amusement. Harriet, who was leaning against a nearby wall, merely rolled her eyes. Oddly enough, the Maiden didn't appear tired at all, despite the rest of the team fading more and more by the second.

"Some rest probably is in order. I'm almost tempted to get checked out while we're here, but… things would get complicated if they try to hold me for further analysis. We're just going to have to hope that whatever's going on with my body, I can handle it as it evolves."

"Perhaps we should call on Raven again later?" Corsac suggested. "Is she not also a Maiden? She may be able to give you insight into what you're experiencing…"

Harriet made a contemplative noise as she furrowed her brows.

"…hm. Maybe," the woman considered before cracking her neck. "I'll handle it, one way or another. Not a bad suggestion, though."

"What are you feeling?" Jaune questioned. "Other than the weird temperature stuff, I mean."

"…powerful, in a word," Harriet replied as everyone in the room looked in her direction. "But it's weird. Different. I can tell that the power isn't really mine, that it's someone else lending me strength that could ultimately be taken away. I can feel two distinct auras, and one of them isn't mine."

"…yeah, cool, can we maybe not talk about this?" Sun suggested as he made a face. "Still kinda reeling from the whole Ozpin ordeal."

"Agreed," Harriet said with a nod. "I don't understand it myself, and you don't need the stress. We need to prioritize recovering and getting out of here. It's almost dawn. If we don't hear from your nurse in another half an hour, I'm going to the front desk and throwing some weight around to move things along."

"They're probably bitter about Sun coming in looking like death and then it all amounting to nothing," Yang considered. "Who even knows what resources they burned through only for him to suddenly sit up and be fine."

"A lot," Blake let on as she shifted in the bed. "They did… a lot on the ride here…"

The momentary awkward pause was interrupted by the buzzing of a scroll on Sun's beside table. He reached for the device and connected the call, enabling a small hologram to pop up with a familiar face upon it.

"Weiss?"

"Hey," the huntress answered. She didn't look much better than any of them, and the area behind her was immediately recognizable as her former room in Atlas Academy. "A lot's gone on overnight, but I need to make you aware of something first."

"Sun almost died," Yang called loudly enough that Weiss physically recoiled.

"What? Sun, are y-"

"I'm fine," Sun insisted as he shot a glare at Yang. "We can get to that later. What's up?"

"I… alright, so long as you're okay now," Weiss said uneasily. "But I do want to know, after this. Ironwood has called a meeting- a big one- in an hour and a half. The remaining Aces, everyone from Beacon, Cinnamon, Daisuke… I'll be there, too, and I think it might be a good idea if I wear an earpiece and patch you in. I can probably get something concealable from Dr. Polendina, a-"

"No," Sun cut in, sitting up in bed. "No sneaking us in. No subterfuge."

"What?" Jaune asked, looking aghast. "But we need t-"

"We do," Sun agreed as he looked to Jaune and then turned his attention back to Weiss. "But we're going in legit. Tell him we want in on this and connect to my scroll. We need full transparency between our teams moving forward, no matter how our opinions differ."

Weiss said nothing for a moment before breathing out a sigh and nodding.

"…alright. If you're sure…"

"I am," Sun emphasized. "We need to put our heads together as a collective, and more important than anything else right now… we need to figure out a way to get eyes on Salem. I don't like not knowing what she's doing…"

Salem kept her eyes closed as she waited, the grimm orb floating before her showing absolutely nothing of interest. All that was visible within it was a blank wall of stone, suggesting that she had contacted an empty room… but the witch knew better. There was no chance that her subordinate wouldn't feel the compelling pull to check in on the grimm communication device. The mental tug would start small, and become gradually more painful as time went on until it reached a level that was excruciating… and yet, it wasn't the first time that the contact had decided to leave Salem waiting. It was a game that they were both familiar with over a period of uncounted years, and one that the witch found incredibly obnoxious. Were the other woman's talents anything short of miraculous, Salem would have done away with her long ago.

Just as the waiting period began to grate on her nerves, Salem opened her eyes to find that the lighting in the other room had changed. Slowly but surely, sounds of shuffling and groans of effort echoed through the floating orb before her, and she narrowed her eyes. There was yet more waiting- unnecessary waiting- as the one who had been summoned took her time coming into view. Finally, after much sighing and delay, a figure manifested within the cloudy 'eye' of the spherical grimm. The woman looked to be in her mid-thirties, with piercing eyes of deep purple and long, greasy hair of a burnt orange color. Much to Salem's annoyance, the woman looked almost bored, as though the summons was nothing but a momentary interruption from something else more important.

"…yeah?"

Salem drew in a long, sharp breath through her nose, once again closing her eyes as she grappled with what she knew was coming.

"…things did not go as planned in Solitas, and Ironwood managed to escape with both Relics."

"Shocker," the other woman remarked, her tone completely flat. "Almost like it was a big waste of time, when we should've been focusing on the Relic close to where you have an inside contact… but no, you just had to do it your way, oh wise and powerful immortal. Had to pick Watts to go first, because you can't stand the fact that I won't just sing your praises and kiss the ring. How's that working out for you?"

Salem drew in another breath, narrowing her eyes as she tried to keep her tone as neutral as possible.

"Watts is dead," she said coldly.

"Oh. Shame," the woman replied, though her tone of voice suggested she thought it was anything but. She took a moment to brush a long strand of hair back behind her ear. "Should I send flowers?"

"Astrid, I am in no mood…" Salem warned, clenching her teeth.

"And neither am I. Stranded out in Vacuo for years on this project, doing all of the boring work while the rest of your lapdogs get to have fun… but it seems like they just don't measure up. How's Hazel? Tyrian? Still breathing, I hope? Or do I need to make a bigger order with the local florist…"

"Hazel has broken off contact," Salem seethed as she sat up a bit straighter in her chair of black rock and sinew. "Tyrian is essentially alone in Sanus, working to destabilize the region."

"Well, he is unstable," Astrid mused. "But why call on me? If you're going to tell me to report in on what Ozpin's little child soldiers do once they get here looking for the Sword of Destruction, you're wasting your breath. I know how to do my job, unlike some other people."

"I'm calling on you because the plan has changed," Salem said icily. "No more games. No more soft approach. You want your 'fun'? Then you'll have it, and soon. I'm pulling you out of Vacuo."

Astrid blinked, her facial expression remaining otherwise unchanged. There was a hint of excitement in her voice, though she kept it somewhat muted.

"Is that so?" the woman asked. "You're just giving up on getting to the sword?"

"For now," Salem admitted. "Gumo will never let you into the Vault, regardless of who you pretend to be. The man is too paranoid, and with the recent situation in Atlas… it's a lost cause. Security will tighten, and an all-out assault on Vacuo would drain our resources to unacceptable levels. Set the Academy on edge, but only on edge, and then head for Sanus. Tyrian will follow your directives from here on."

"I'm sure he will, once you realizes who I am," Astrid mused. "But… is it really such a good idea to give up Vacuo entirely? If we go long enough without making a move, they're going to go looking for you while you're doing… whatever you're planning to do, now. What exactly is it, by the way? Surely, you're not admitting th-"

"I have a more disposable subordinate who will be taking your place in Vacuo," Salem interrupted. "They will wreak havoc well enough alone, and eventually, expire. Whether they are killed by this Sun Wukong and his merry band of imbeciles or their modifications simply turn out to be too much in the end, I care little. They will have served their purpose and bought time for me to do what I need to do to end this attempted coup."

"I see. And how do you know that this Sun kid is headed toward Vacuo?"

"He was seen leaving Atlas, along with several others. They'll be rushing to protect the sword from me," Salem answered. "Focus only on your mission, and getting out of Vacuo before your replacement arrives."

"Interesting. Do I know them?" Astrid asked, appearing more bored than actually inquisitive as she checked over her nails.

"In name only," Salem answered. "They are irrelevant, in the grand scheme of things."

"Naturally. What is relevant, though, is what you're going to get up to," Astrid pressed. "You can't just leave me hanging, especially when your idea to seize two Relics at once went so poorly."

Salem took another deep breath and closed her eyes. Simply looking at the leering figure manifesting within the grimm filled her with rage, and giving her an inch would only make the woman more insufferable.

"… we're doing it your way," Salem relented. "Moving this war to its conclusion, one way or another, before Ozpin's little army even realizes that the final battle has begun. The moment it's ready, we make our move."

For the first time since the conversation had begun, Astrid allowed herself to drop the mask. The woman's violet eyes alit to a piercing yellow for only a second as her pupils became catlike and unnatural. A violent ripple worked its way across the skin of her face, and the woman smiled. Her lips opened just a bit too widely to either side, showing off not teeth, but pointed fangs in what should have been a human mouth. She leaned a bit closer to the spherical grimm before her and let out a shuddering sigh full of pleasure.

"Excellent. It's about time…"

Author's Note:

What does any of it mean? Who's going to Vacuo? What's Salem's plan? Subscribe to What You Stole First so I put out a shitty 5 minute animatic that explains nothing and then cancel the rest of this story! Weeeeeeee!

-RD