If there are more mistakes than usual in this chapter, bare with it for the moment.

I did my best to edit while Grammarly is on the fritz and it made my job all the harder on figuring out what need changing.


This didn't take long. They hardly put up a fight.

Watching as the flames of the school lapped his sight, Hei's expression was permanently etched in a scowl. Something wasn't right. He expected a fight. Opposition. Instead, this felt like he torched a helpless school. Sirens echoed faintly in the distance. It wouldn't be long until they arrived. He may have had his men on the inside…

It would be far too costly to deal with the fallout without a shred of evidence of foul play on their behalf. And the public response would be damning if word got out the Xiong torched a school… Not a hideout…

"Boss, we got one!"

With a rigid expression, he turned to his subordinate, walking toward him with two lackeys behind, dragging a woman. They laid her out on her knees before him, tying her arms behind her back. His eyes fixed on the teacher, satisfied with how they apprehended her and knelt before her. Lifting the woman's sleeve, searching for an identification marker, his eyes sharpened further as he looked the woman in the eyes. "Tell me…"

"Where are the rest of your accomplices? This should not have been this easy."


It felt like an eternity since she stepped foot home…

Neo's expression twisted. She nearly gagged at the thought, peering through the window and into the room she once called her own. Why did she still call this place that? She frowned and squinted into the room. Had they not touched anything in all this time? It

"Is this really the best way?" Cammie called through her headpiece in but a whisper, her nerves abundantly apparent no matter how well she tried to hide it. "I mean, with your Semblance, couldn't we just, you know… Walk in through the front door?"

Neo glowered but could understand the woman's concern as she glanced over to see Cammie and Roman repelling down from the roof from their grappling hooks, waiting to make their move. She shook her head. No. Her mother was unnervingly good at spotting her through her illusion. And if somehow, Lady Beat was here, waiting for her…

There was no other way.

She patted the wall beside the mirror before lifting her fingertips under the slightly exposed edge. If they hadn't touched her room in all this time…

Bingo. Neo grinned as the window simply slid open, and she silently snuck into her room. They didn't bother to close her window after all this time despite knowing where she snuck off to? They had to know better…

Neo shook her head, glancing around her room. Her father was ignorant. He didn't want to believe his little malformed angel was disobeying him. He just wanted her to listen and be a good girl… And punished her when she wasn't.

Mama, on the other hand… Hm? Neo's eyes sharpened onto her bed. That wasn't how she left it. Why was it perfectly made and… Snatching a neatly folded letter left on her pillow, Neo's eyes shifted from side to side. Why was there a letter here? Who could… Wasn't that… Mama's seal?

"All clear?" Roman's voice whispered from outside the window as Cammie climbed in, the mastermind shortly following after. His expression darkened as his gaze sharpened onto Neo opening a letter. "What? Did they leave something here for you?"

Neo nodded, carefully unfolding the letter, ignoring the glower from Roman and the increasingly worried expression from Cammie. How did she know she would be here? Could this have been left for if she came…

"Roman, I think we should take a step back and reevaluate the situation." Cammie nervously glanced outside the room, watching their flank for an ambush. "This doesn't feel right. Something's wrong."

"Poppycock." Roman frowned, slightly alarmed at the notion. "There's no way of knowing that. Her mother could have left it here for when she returned from that Oum forsaken…"

Before another word left his lips, Neo rushed to the door. The forsaken locked door that plagued her these past several years. The door she was always hidden behind due to her parent's shame for her being her.

For being so short of stature… For being mute.

With a simple roundhouse, the door split into several pieces when her heeled foot made contact. Wood splinters showered around her as she stepped through the threshold without looking to check her perimeter. She simply leaped off the balcony and down into the luxurious waiting room below, landing in a crouch.

Her eyes sharply focused on the figure sitting on the main couch in the living area. Her eyes sharpened at the shimmers around her, and Neo glowered, seeing through their disguises. But she then stumbled, losing her foot as glass shards rose from Beatrix. With a thunderous crack, the shards shattered, and her parents' house staff were revealed to be standing beside her.

Each with a spider tattoo openly revealed to see.

Her eyes shimmered with disbelief. Shock coursed through her veins. Lady Beat… Possessed… Her Semblance? How? Wasn't her mother…

"I never wished for it to come to this… I love you. Your mother loves you… But this was the life we were born into. There is no changing that." Beatrix pitifully exhaled, her kempt honeycomb of hair jostling. Beatrix's gaze then sharpened. Her expression remained neutral, but her eyes were stern as she held Neo's gaze. "I understand your frustrations. I can't help but empathize with your plight. Young love… Is a novel thing. But it doesn't last… Believe me, I am well aware. Your mother went through a similar phase… Until Little Miss broke her, just like she does with everyone that doesn't stay under her heel."

A cold shiver traveled down her spine. The revelation of this lady, who she thought was her adoptive grandmother, was her actual grandmother. That was a startling revelation on its own merits. One she wanted more answers to!

But to then hear… Mama was just as rebellious as she was?

And was broken?

That was unnerving. But it made sense. Mama always felt… Empty. Almost as if she was a husk… A shell of her former self. Neo, for the longest time, had thought that was from living with Papa… Now…

She gnashed her teeth and shook her head. She needed to focus. This was not the time to deal with these emotions. He needed her for once…

And she was in a position to help.

With a deep breath, the nerves that held her on the edge began to cede. A familiar, calm presence washed over her being. Her eyes wavered momentarily, but a soft smile found its way onto her lips. She knew that sensation from anywhere…

She was not alone.

She relaxed and scanned the surroundings. A faint smirk graced her lips as she wordlessly blitzed toward Lady Beat. Her grandmother was surprised by the foolhardy action. She wanted to laugh as her staff moved to stop her. She was always full of bad ideas… But this time, they fell right for her ploy.

Using her natural balance maneuverability honed with years of practice and training, she flipped over the first wave, using them as platforms to reach her true destination. And with one last leap of the staff, she snatched the fencing saber on the display over the fireplace. It was one of the few places where her mother's effects were displayed instead of her father's useless trinkets. One of the few things of pride she kept on display.

And now… Brandishing it toward Beatrix, pink shards of glass began to flutter around Neo. She confidently smirked. The time was now to act… If she or any member of Spider thought they could reign her in… Control her.

It was time to learn a brutal lesson. Neo's heart belonged to someone else. There was nothing they could do to break that bond she clung to. And now, with a chance to return to him with his sisters at her side, Neo could not fail here. For if she returned with them, it was time.

Their bond would finally be consummated.

Beatrix, for once, displayed her remorse. Rising from her seat, she solemnly grasped the rapier lying on the cushion beside her with her right, her left hand held up, her thumb pressing against her middle finger. "I genuinely wish it did not come to this… But you are far more like your mother than you can possibly know. Don't make me…"

"What is going on down here?!"


"What the hell?" Roman snarled as he covered his face from the shards of wood after Neo broke the door and jumped off the balcony ledge. "Well, that's great! Stealth is no longer an option! Gonna have to go to Plan B way too quickly…" Roman squinted, glaring at the letter and picking it up to read it. "What was written on this stupid thing? …Oh. That'd do it. Hmph, Little Miss doesn't screw around."

"Roman," Cammie shushed Roman, motioning for him to stay down while activating her stealth kit before her Semblance kicked in. Roman scowled but watched as the shimmer of Cammie walked to the railing, gazing down to survey the scene before sneaking back toward him. "It's the headmistress from the school. I almost didn't see anyone at first… But all the staff is downstairs with her. …It was like they were hidden in an illusion."

"The same thing she used to get us here without being seen," Roman growled, slinking outside the room's threshold. He combed the room carefully, glancing down at the chaos below. He smirked at watching how the girl managed to arm herself. She was far more helpful than he thought… This could still work.

His eyes snapped down the hallway as a door slammed open almost directly across from the other side of the mansion. Roman ducked back into Neo's room before he was seen and took stock of the situation. Heavy footsteps rumbled closer, and Roman slunk into the closet, gently clasping it closed. Cammie stilled herself as a man walked into the threshold of the room.

With a furrowed brow and a fuming expression, the man, who had to be Neo's father, growled. "Who dares break into my house… Through my daughter's room, no less?"

"And where's my staff?" Jimmy Vanille stomped onto the floor in vain, looking wildly around. His eyes narrowed as he looked down the balcony. Without hesitation, he bolted toward the stairs, his voice at full throat. "What is going on down here?!"

Waiting until his footsteps faded, the closet opened, and Roman quietly stepped out and back out to the main hall. Cammie wearily trailed behind him as he glimpsed downward. A sly grin wormed its way onto her features as he tilted his head forward. "I was right. She is gonna be quite useful… Just not in the way I intended."

"Let's get to it. We have to capitalize on this distraction."


When those words rolled off Qrow's tongue, various emotions coursed through everyone. Horror that something like this could happen to Ruby and Yang. Fear that their actions in some way could have led to this. To someone wanting to harm them personally that they would stoop to such depraved depths.

Naruto's jaw clenched. His hand balled into a fist. His eyes shone brilliantly. And without another moment of hesitation, he moved toward stunned Raven. "What are you waiting for? We need to move now!"

"Naruto, I know how you feel, but we need a second to plan what we will do." Qrow stepped forward, visibly shaken, but spoke with calming authority. "From the looks of the crime scene, if I had to bet, Spider agents snagged them. They'll know we are coming, so we need to have a plan for an incursion…"

"The hell we do." His eyes shimmered as Raven snapped out of her stupor and held her hand out. Her eyes were concentrated ahead, searching for the feeling within as she found her bond with her daughter. "They may suspect a frontal assault, but no matter how prepared they are for you… Or you boy… They cannot be prepared for an attack from directly within."

"There is no need for an attack. If someone stays behind, we can quickly extract Ruby and Yang. That was my plan…" Qrow attempted to reveal his plan when Tai interrupted him.

"They kidnapped my daughters. Endangered my family. I'm not staying behind this time." Tai snapped as he stood beside Naruto and Raven, his fist tightly clenched. His gaze fell onto his brother, and with a fierce stare, he shook his head. "If they have escalated to kidnapping, whatever the reason may be, we now have a reason to apprehend them and ask questions later…"

"I'll stay behind." Raven quietly whispered. Tai and Qrow staggered back a step while Naruto raised an eyebrow. Despite the rage building within, she sighed, exhausted, as her head lowered shamefully. "I may be Yang's mother, but I'm not her mom… Or Ruby's. …I never was…"

"Raven…" Tai muttered with a grimace.

"Save it, Tai… It's too late for me to start acting motherly now." Raven's eyes darkened, and she focused on her bond, preparing to open it. "What I can do is save them and punish those that started this. …I'll rush in ahead to grab them and bring them home. Keep them safe. I will need one of you to come with me and remain on that side to reopen the bond after I bring them back safely."

"Tai is right… It's time to end this farce. If Spider wants a war, they're going to have one."


This was genuinely unexpected. And heartbreaking.

A school burned to the ground left Ozpin in agony. Despite all the rumors about this preparatory school, ones he had looked into many times but could not substantiate, this was a horrible scene. This was a place of learning, not violence. For all those who attended and the teachers that taught them. No one should have their livelihood taken from them in such a manner. This was against everything he stood for…

Ozpin exhaled. Humanity was still too far away… Could they even unite?

"This was a mob hit," Glynda stepped beside Ozpin, her face etched with unyielding rage that was barely contained.

Ozpin nodded in confirmation. The telltale signs were plain for those who knew what to look for. He let out another deep sigh before noticing the vibration of his scroll in his pocket. "Indeed. The Xiong were sending a message… Perhaps they found something to substantiate the rumors of Lady Browning's…"

"Burning down a school, whether or not Spider runs this school, was not an appropriate response!" Glynda snarled, her eyes narrowing to slits watching as Ozpin read something off his scroll. "Even for the Xiong, this is too far. They have some sort of pride, and doing this is unacceptable. We have to have a measured response to this, Oz…"

"And I have one." Ozpin's gaze lifted from his scroll and met Glynda's. "This may be connected to a case Qrow has been working on. We need to move now if we want to catch those responsible for this heinous crime."

"The Spider and the Xiong's turf dispute has spread there and is about to explode."


I hope you enjoyed.

This was a little shorter than I would have liked, as this was the set-up for the pay off coming soon. However, I hit every note I wanted to in this chapter and there's nothing more I wanted out of this chapter that wouldn't come to expense of next chapter!

So like always, if you enjoy, I'd love to hear from you. It means everything to me and I'll eventually get back to ya! Life and work, ya know? It just helps so much when you've been writing as long as I have! Hell, it's come full circle to where I have authors who wrote stories I loved back in the day following some of my stuff! How time changes.

Anyways, until next time my friends, Peace.