Note: Not much to say. It's the conclusion of RWBY's latest ploy to win JNPR and CFVY to their side. Next chapter, we see the consequences with Winter, so definitely tune in for that. Enjoy.

"So… why don't we just tell them I'm a Faunus?"

Blake's suggestion sent a shockwave through the room. They had already decided to reveal the depths of Goodwitch's depravity, but a single off-the-cuff detail in the phone call remained troublesome. Several attempts were made to sidestep the issue; audio editing, citing Goodwitch's insanity to prove her unreliability, and Ruby's choice, lying about Blake being adopted. But the calmness of Blake's tone revealed that the simple truth may have been the best path forward.

"That's too risky," Ruby said. "We don't know how they'll react, and if that gets out—"

"Please, they're not racists," Blake stated. "Problematic, sure, but they aren't going to tattle. Especially not if we wait until we prove Ozpin is nuts."

"Blake, are you sure?" Yang asked. "You don't have to do that."

"We have to earn their trust, and if they catch us in more lies, they might not be willing to believe us. I'm not saying we go out of the way to say it. Hopefully, they don't even pick up on it. But if they do, I don't mind taking one for the team."

Yang pouted. "You've taken a lot for the team already…"

"It's fine. I swear," Blake said, hoping to lessen Yang's guilt. "I'm not doing this because I feel like I have to. It's just the easiest solution. I think we deserve some easy solutions after what we've been through."

None could disagree with that sentiment, though Weiss raised her hand in protest. "Just to remind you all, the last time Blake tried to talk to Team CFVY, she admitted she blew up Beacon Academy and instantly ruined our credibility. Now you want to tell them more secrets about yourself?"

Blake just smiled. "Don't worry. I'll be real subtle about it."

Exhibit C: Blake is a Fucking Faunus, What the Actual Fuck

"Oh my god!" Coco gasped, staggering away from Blake's claws. She ripped off her shades, her pupils narrow and hyper-focused on Blake's hand. Fox and Pyrrha both jumped to their feet, the former to grab his team leader and pull her back, the latter ready to disarm any immediate conflict. Blake chuckled and withdrew her claws, crossing her arms over her chest.

"See. Evidence."

"You're a Faunus?" Velvet said in disbelief.

"How? Why? How?" Coco asked, caught between confusion and frustration.

"I know a guy," Blake said casually. "Actually, you know him too now."

She turned to Team JNPR, and they were able to figure out Blake's meaning—some faster than others. Pyrrha stood up straight, the revelation hitting her like a stack of bricks.

"Stilskin."

"Stiltskin?" asked Jaune, taking an extra moment before his jaw fell to the floor. "Oh, Stiltskin. The guy in Atlas."

Nora scratched her head. "Is this the guy who did the thing that I wasn't there for?"

"Yes," said Ren.

Coco turned her outrage to non-RWBY allies. "Hey, want to clue a girl in?"

"There is a man in the City of Atlas capable of manipulating people's flesh," Ren explained. "He is able to cure any physical ailment. I didn't know the extent of his powers, but it seems that he can also transform Faunus into Humans."

"The illusion of Human, anyway" Blake clarified. "And let me tell you: it wasn't fun."

"That's how you knew about him," Pyrrha realized. "You had used his services before."

"But… why would you do that?" Jaune asked. He had the how, even if he barely understood it, but Blake's motives were still a mystery to them. From the outside, it seems as if she only existed to cause others pain and suffering. It maybe shouldn't have been so surprising that her reasoning followed suit.

"Beacon Academy and the Huntsmen had been one of the greatest symbols of oppression against my people," Blake explained. "I wanted to tear it down, and I had some like-minded Faunus friends who wanted to do the same. So, I stripped all of my Faunus traits away, infiltrated Beacon, and then, when the time was right—"

"You blew it up," Coco finished, grabbing onto her head in shock. "Holy shit, you actually exploded Beacon."

"Okay, before you get mad… can you blame me?" Blake said quickly. She noticed that they were, in fact, blaming her, so she added more. "Look, I grew up in a fucking prison colony. Corrupt Huntsmen murdered my dad and a million other Faunus. You all just heard how fucking insane and evil our headmasters are. I didn't go after any of the student body. I didn't try to kill anyone—well, most people. I did try to kill Goodwitch, but you can see why, right? Look, I'm not here trying to defend it. I see now how wrong it was, and I wish I didn't do it. I don't need any of you to think I'm a good person, just… have a little sympathy for a poor and angry Faunus kid, all right?"

The reactions were varied. Coco began circling the room, lost in the chaos of her own thoughts. Pyrrha, though no longer indebted to Ozpin, still shifted uncomfortably at the thought of Blake harming her school. The rest of Team JNPR and Team CFVY stared at her in silence. Fox and Nora were still trying to wrap their heads around her motivations, Yatsu and Ren had unreadable expressions per usual, Jaune panicked even further about Blake's repeated threats toward him, and Velvet pursed her lips, too distracted to speak. None of them had tried to leave the room yet or tried to hit them, which Team RWBY took as a good sign. Still, there was a lot of progress to be made.

"And you guys knew about this?" Coco asked Team RWBY. "Like, this whole time?"

"Not the whole time," Weiss stated. "We found out she was a Faunus only after Beacon was destroyed—and believe me, it didn't sit well with all of us."

"Weiss tried to kill me."

"It's true, I saw it," Ruby added. "It was a whole thing."

Coco let out a loud, uncomfortable laugh. "You are very relaxed about this."

"Because Blake has worked very hard to redeem herself," Weiss explained. "I understand your reaction. I felt the same way. No one was as hard on Blake as I was, but if I was willing to stand by her side after all of this, the least you can do is listen to her."

"Okay, but…" Coco stammered. Her arms slunk by her sides. "That's a lot to throw at someone. What am I supposed to do with that?"

"Hopefully, nothing," Blake admitted. "You don't tell a soul. If anyone found out I was a Faunus, the public backlash would be fierce. The world is a long way from tolerating a Faunus as a national hero."

"So, wait, you tried to kill Professor Goodwitch?" Fox asked. "Is that why she hates you so much?"

"Yeah, mostly," Blake confessed, "though let's be clear, she was always this fucking nuts. All I did was focus that craziness toward me."

"I can see why. Yeesh, remind me to never get on your bad side."

"I'm a lot nicer these days, don't worry. Unless you say something racist. Though, since I brought it up…" Blake turned sharply to Velvet. "Yo, Rabbit Ears."

Velvet squirmed under her gaze.

"Take those fucking things off. My traits aren't your cosplay."

Velvet was sheepish as she removed the plastic ears from her head. She held them firmly by her heart, unsure of herself. She had never meant any harm by it—once upon a time, those ears were a symbol of resistance, of allyship, of bravery. Of all the Faunus she worked with, none had ever complained to her. Perhaps they never had the luxury, but she tried her best to make them feel comfortable. Blake was a very different type of Faunus, though. That much was clear. She had turned their Academy to ashes, nearly crippled a professor, and somehow pulled enough strings to get away with it. Velvet doubted she would get a second chance with Blake—a cruel, ironic twist of fate considering their histories.

"I'm… I'm very sorry to hear what you have gone through," Velvet said softly. "The way our Kingdom treats Faunus is abhorrent. I can't blame you for wanting to fight back against that. I can't say I approve of it, of course, but I don't think it would be fair of me to judge you without further understanding what you've been through. I know I don't always do what's right, but I am trying to be better. If you are too, then, of course, I'd be willing to hear you out."

Blake's sarcastic edge dulled. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Yeah, well… keep the ears off and you'll be on the right track."

Velvet nodded softly. Yatsu wrapped an arm around her and gently pulled her into his massive frame. Her sensitive plea struck a chord with the other young Huntsmen, and when Blake asked the rest of them if there would be any more problems, she received nothing but silence. Pyrrha slowly returned to her seat on the floor, sensing the drama fading away. Only Coco remained standing, hovering behind her teammates like some wandering, clueless specter. She shook her head in disbelief.

"So, like… we're all cool with this?" she asked bluntly. "Just… full-on terrorist lurking among us?"

"Are you cool with that?" Blake asked suspiciously. She shifted her feet slightly to put herself between Coco and the door once again, though the act was unneeded.

"Me?" Coco scoffed. "Yeah. I'm always cool."

"I'm serious. Because if you're not cool—"

"Look, if you realize doing a terrorism was stupid, then I'm not gonna start shit," Coco promised. "I mean, if you were able to get away with that, don't know what I'm supposed to do about it anyway—but fuck it. I guess it's… fine. It's fine." Blake nodded, ready to move on, but then Coco continued. "I mean, shit, at least you blew up the school because you were protesting racism. Like… that's something. I guess if you're going to blow something up, you might as well have your heart in the right place."

Ruby frowned. "You don't seem like you're taking this well."

"Is that obvious?" Coco grunted and sat back down, resting her hand on her palm. "It's fine. If none of you have a problem with it, I'm not going to be the odd one out. Just… we all recognize how absolutely crazy this is. The emo girl from my history class is an attempted murderer. If we all can exist with that cognitive dissonance, whatever."

Ruby smiled awkwardly. "If that's what you think, I guess I'm okay with that. Are you, Blake?"

Blake shrugged. "She'll get more used to it over time. I won Weiss over, didn't I?"

Weiss grinned. "You are my favorite teammate."

"You bet your pale ass I am."

"Still better than yours."

"Bitch."

"Bitch."

"Anyway," Ruby said loudly, trying to drag the conversation back on track. "If no one else has any questions about Blake, then we can move on to some more important things."

Coco spoke worriedly. "Are these things going to be any crazier than what we just heard?"

"Well, I guess that depends on how you define crazy…"

Exhibit D: Every Single Religion Is Real

"And… that about sums it up. Any questions?"

In hindsight, maybe giving Nora the responsibility of explaining the Fables was a poor choice. It made sense at the time—the Fables and their impact on Human history was the biggest, wildest truth to reveal, and as such, it came with a large degree of risk. One wrong word and the fragile trust they built would have been shattered. If Nora explained, however, they would be more willing to lend credence to the theory, especially if she had Ironwood's testimony to fall back on. The consequence was that Nora, who had not stopped twitching in about three days, was talking about the Fables.

It was a lot.

She tried her best to explain what Ruby had confirmed in private, and she even constructed a diagram to help guide her confused teammates and allies. The posterboard she used was covered in scribbles and doodles and cute little chibi versions of the Aspects of Decum Luna, It was also incredibly poorly laid out and was clearly written over several times. Nora did her best to explain it, which was sort of like watching an easily distracted five-year-old describe the nuances of why their parents divorced. It involved a lot of pointing, gasping, and cries of disbelief and frustration. It also, occasionally, was informative. Nora tried to hit the main points, though they were filtered through her Nora-isms. She expressed such wisdom as "The world was controlled by gigantic people who could summon animals," and "Your religions are all dumb and wrong,"—and naturally, "Ruby's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-you-get-the-point-great grandma Fable got eaten to save the world and is now haunting us like a ghost."

Somehow—somehow—Ruby was able to steer Nora back on track whenever she strayed too far from a sensible explanation. She filled in the details that Nora skipped over and added the appropriate gravitas to their connections. The Grimm and the Anti-Fable, the Mistran myths of the Y'llari and the fall of Fable civilization; even Rosaline, to the degree she understood her. If Blake was going to reveal her past, it was only fair to stand shoulder-to-shoulder. She wasn't entirely sure it registered, however, and the reaction was about what she expected from people whose minds she just shattered beyond all comprehension.

In fairness, Ruby didn't actually know what religions any member of Teams CFVY or JNPR worshipped. She was pretty sure Coco was an atheist, and Pyrrha seemed like the quest religious type. Regardless of what they were, they were currently sitting on the floor, eyes wide, mouths agape, positively dumbfounded at the influx of information they had just received. In fact, all seven students of history had similar expressions of overwhelmed disbelief. To answer Nora… yes. They had many questions.

So many fucking questions.

"That's… that's real?" Coco asked, trying to keep her hand from shaking. "That's actually true?"

"Ironwood confirmed it directly to us," Ruby stated. "And you've seen the evidence yourself. Grimm, the God's Arm, Weiss's powers… it fits."

"But… you're sure everything ties back to these Fables?" Velvet stammered. "Like, the True Faith of Vale… that doesn't have to be descended from… from this. It could take place before?"

"Velvet, think about it," Ruby said calmly. "If the True Faith of Vale was true, it would probably mention the things we just said."

"I know, but—"

Fox suddenly screamed, as if the revelation hit him in full force. "Holy shit! Holy shit, oh my god, oh shit!"

Yang softly shook her head. "I feel ya, brother."

"Ahhh!" Fox screamed. He lay down on the ground, arms and legs splayed out, as the weight of the universe crushed him. "What the fuck!"

"Just let it all out."

As Fox let it all out—for about ten minutes—Pyrrha processed the revelation in silence. Ren was stoic, a student of history, and Jaune was so clueless as to go along with anything. They would both be fine in their own way. Pyrrha's thoughts were more complicated. She was a believer in Arillystos, but her connection to the faith was more spiritual than apologetic. The guiding principles of destiny, purpose, and loyalty had struck true even as a child. While those hadn't been debunked per se, she felt their grasp on her weakening, another guiding light in her life snuffed out. These Fables, in whatever form they took, weren't omnipresent, couldn't be pleased or angered, couldn't craft her fate in their hands. They were long dead. Victims of their own hubris. Did they believe in some higher power before they fell, she wondered. Was she closer to walking their path than she ever could have known, over-confident, foolish, incapable of seeing the path ahead?

She had no reason to doubt Team RWBY's story. And Nora—god, poor Nora, who despite attestations to the controversy, was very much not okay with these revelations. It was another thing they had in common, she supposed.

Fox eventually stopped screaming, and he sat upright, his expression dull. He took a deep breath. "Okay, I think I'm good."

"You sure?" asked Yang.

"Yeah," he said with a subtle nod. "Just had to process that."

"Sorry if we ruined your religion," Yang said sheepishly.

"Nah… it's fine," Fox said politely. "I wasn't too religious anyway. I'm more freaked out about the dead ancient civilization of giant people than I am about god not being real."

Yatsu spoke in turn. "Excuse me, but I don't understand that at all. This isn't proving religions wrong. Technically, if anything, we have evidence of them being real."

Blake snickered. "Oh, don't get us started on that. Weiss and I have gone back and forth over whether or not this counts as theism."

"And while I would love to restart that debate," Weiss added, "that's not the focus here. The important thing is that even if most religions are based on true events, they've been distorted and can't be trusted to give accurate information. The Aspects of Decum Luna might exist, but they aren't gods. Worshipping them doesn't make sense anymore."

"Wait," said Coco, "you actually gave up Decum Luna because of this?"

"No," Weiss admitted. "I gave up Decum Luna because it conflicted with my values. This just proved me right in doing so."

Coco breathed a sigh of relief. "I mean, that's some good news that comes out of this. If we can use this to de-convert people away from that bullshit fascism—"

"Coco, we can't tell anyone this," Ruby said as if it was obvious.

"We have to! I mean, how can we not?" Coco asked genuinely. "Like… you're saying you've uncovered the origins of Humanity. This is world-shattering news. People have to be told."

"I know it's world-shattering news. That's exactly why we have to keep this a secret," Ruby explained. "If people found out about this, there would be mass chaos. A lot of people wouldn't be able to handle it."

"I mean, we're handling it," Coco said defensively.

"Fox literally just screamed for ten minutes straight," Yang pointed out.

"And he's fine now. Right, Fox?"

"Yes."

"See, he's fine. Guys, people are smart. They can handle the truth, especially if the lies they are being fed are actively toxic. Isn't that why you wanted us here in the first place? Because we needed to know the truth."

"You needed to know the truth," Ruby said. "Because if we're working together, we can't keep secrets from one another."

Coco pursed her lips. "So, what? People only deserve to know what's real if it helps you?"

"That's not what I meant."

"It sounds like what you meant," Coco said accusingly. "You can't ding Ozpin for lying and keeping secrets, then dump the most shocking revelation ever in front of us and expect us to keep quiet. How are we any better than him?"

Ruby felt that one. She couldn't even muster up her prepared counterarguments. Coco's eyes burned through her from underneath her shades. Luckily, Blake stepped up, ready to have her leader's back.

"Look, it's not like I'm comfortable with that either."

"You? Not comfortable with keeping secrets?"

"With religion? Fuck, no," Blake said proudly. "I love telling people that their religions are bullshit. If it were up to me, I'd go on live TV and debunk Decum Luna tomorrow. The problem is that I can't. People deserve to know the truth, but how they find out is important. Weiss, be honest: if I just told you all of this, and you had no prior knowledge or experience, would you believe a word that I said?"

Weiss shook her head. "Of course not."

"Why?"

"Because Decum Luna defined my life," Weiss explained. "And you wouldn't just be attacking my faith… you'd be attacking everything I stood for."

"Exactly," Blake stated. "You literally stabbed one of your own gods in the face, and you still wore those stupid necklaces for another month. My point is that no one is going to listen to us. You are barely listening to us. We have to be tactful—and that's not even getting into the fact that governments are actively trying to cover this shit up. If we just went out and started saying things we weren't supposed to… I mean, I have family to protect. I'm not risking my mom's life just to say things no one will hear."

Coco planned to counter, but Velvet reached over and placed her hand on her thigh, silencing her.

"I think we should do what they say."

"Seriously?"

"They've been fighting Ironwood firsthand for months," Velvet said coldly. Through her wavering eyes, Coco saw as she tried to keep her emotions in check. "We don't know what he's threatened them with if they go public. I think they're just trying to keep us safe."

"Keep everyone safe," Blake added. "At least for now."

"I want to trust their judgment," Velvet sighed. "We owe them that much, don't we?"

Coco didn't have a rebuttal, and she depressingly rested her chin back onto her palm. She supposed her distrustfulness of Team RWBY hadn't fully disappeared, despite all their attempts to appease her. Hell, they had no reason to bring her team into this at all. Nora could have signed away the truth to the exclusive care of Team JNPR, and she'd be none the wiser. They gave her the secrets of the universe on a silver platter, and they trusted her to use them responsibly. She thought of her family, her mother, her father, her three brothers, and how much they depended on her to make it when she couldn't. She thought of Blake, stupidly blowing up Beacon Academy in pursuit of a just cause, incapable of seeing the collateral damage. How much was she willing to risk for a goal she could barely comprehend?

The unfortunate answer: less than she would have hoped.

Pyrrha had finished mulling over her thoughts, and stood up, approaching Team RWBY and Nora. She looked carefully at her teammate's crude drawings and mumbled the question that had weighed on all of their minds since the very beginning.

"Ruby, you said that you want us to work together. I hate to say that I've been making assumptions, but… what exactly do you want us to do? Why tell us any of this in the first place? We're just students."

Ruby spoke unsurely. "To be honest? Hopefully, you won't have to do anything. Maybe nothing will go wrong, and we can just co-exist in peace."

"But… if something does go wrong?"

"We train together," Ruby explained. "We study together. We research the Fables together. We share ideas. We look out for one another. And, if it comes to it… we fight together."

"Fight who?" Coco asked. "The Grimm… or our headmasters?"

Ruby looked her dead in the eye. "Probably both." The room became deathly quiet again, and Ruby was once more forced to take charge. "Ironwood isn't going to rest on his laurels. We know things we shouldn't. He's already threatened our loved ones, threatened our careers. He's going to do everything in his power to hurt us, and that means he might choose to go after you."

"But we didn't do anything."

"And he doesn't care," Nora said seriously. "If he thinks he can get away with it, he's going to take everything you care about. He tried to expel me just to get to Team RWBY. But if we put up a united front, there's nothing he can do."

"What makes you so sure?" Velvet asked.

"Yeah, because it does sound like he's only going to fuck with us because of you guys, to be honest," Coco said, frustrated.

"We have influence," said Weiss. "We have power in the media, in the press, and… if everything goes right in a week or two, we'll have power over Ironwood. He won't be able to lay a finger on us, and we can extend that protection to you."

"For what it's worth…" said Ruby. "I am genuinely sorry that you were all dragged into this. This semester has been hell for us, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. But we are all stronger if we work together. That's a fact."

"Yeah, totally," said Nora. She walked over to Jaune and Ren, who had been very quiet while the more outspoken members of the group had their say. She kneeled in front of them, grabbing Ren's hands into hers. "Guys, Ironwood and Ozpin and Goodwitch are all nuts. We can't rely on them. Come on, let's smash this patriarchy together! Topple it all down with Team RWBY! What do you say?"

Ren sighed. "Nora, that's a terrible pitch. Theirs was much better."

"Admit it, you love it."

"Not really."

"Is this really the best idea though?" Jaune asked worriedly. "Challenging the headmasters sounds pretty… rough."

"We can handle it," Ruby insisted. "As long as we're together—"

Pyrrha suddenly spoke up, turning her full attention to Team RWBY's leader. "No, Ruby. You're wrong." Ruby didn't flinch as Pyrrha approached her, towering over her, strong, determined, unshakable. Pyrrha had never been one to mince words, but Ruby was ready to fight tooth and nail to change her mind.

"Pyrrha, I'm telling the truth."

"Not that," Pyrrha said pointedly. "You said you dragged us into this. You didn't drag us into anything. They did when they made us into their tools." She clenched her fist. The old Pyrrha would have wilted in front of a challenge to her destiny. Now, she welcomed it. "You have done nothing but reveal the truth to us. I may not understand everything, but it's clear that if I am ever going to, it won't be serving under Ozpin's thumb. If you need my sword, I'll be willing to lend it to you."

Ruby breathed a sigh of relief. Her whole team did. Somehow, they actually managed to sway Pyrrha Nikos to their cause. They were waiting for the other shoe to drop, for the typical RWBY-screwing universe to have its fun, but it never came. The only destructive element was Nora hopping up to her feet, hooting and hollering in joy as she picked Pyrrha up into a massive bearhug.

"Hell yeah, Pyrrha!" she shouted. "That's my girl."

Pyrrha blushed. "Oh, please put me down."

Nora kept hugging her, turning toward Ren and Jaune. "Come on, Team JNPR! What do you say?"

Ren casually stood up and joined his teammates. He wasn't smiling, but the softness of his features was close enough. "Nora, you know I am not going to turn my back on you."

"Obviously! And you, Jaune?"

Jaune laughed, embarrassed. "I'll be honest, I've barely been following along with half of this."

Blake muttered under her breath. "Astonishing."

"But I don't make the calls for my team," he admitted. "So, sure, I guess. I'll help out the best I can."

"Hooray!" Nora stated. "Let's go, Team JNPRRWBY. RWBYJNPR… JNRRYPBW… JWR… PNWRY… Okay, we'll think of a team name later! But yay! Teamwork!"

"That's, like, our fiftieth priority," Yang stated. "So, Team CFVY? What about you?"

Velvet was about to speak, but Coco quickly grabbed her hand and dragged them to their feet. "We need to have a team meeting about this."

Velvet, Fox, and Yatsu seemed surprised, but Ruby gave them no pushback. "That's understandable. You have a lot to think about."

"Just try not to take too long," Blake suggested. "We need to know if you're in before we print the matching t-shirts."

"Of course. Come on, team, let's go," Coco ordered. Though there were some murmurs of protest, Coco's word was still law. Fox and Yatsu joined her as she headed toward the door, dragging a very shy Velvet on her heels. As Yang opened the door for them, she stopped and smirked at Ruby.

"Thank you for the offer, and for being honest with us. Un-thank you for smashing my clothing though."

"We'll help replace them," Ruby said, flustered. "R-Right, Weiss?"

"Don't look at me. I don't do our Fund's accounting."

"Well… bye." Coco gave one final nod before pulling her team out of RWBY's dorm. It only made sense their exit would be as abrupt as their entrance. CFVY was nothing if not consistent. Yang shut the door behind her and scratched the back of her head.

"Do you think they'll agree to help?"

"We gave them all we could," Ruby stated. "Even if they don't, at least they know the truth about Ozpin."

"Which puts them in harm's way," Blake pointed out. "Fuck, they better not do anything stupid, or—"

"Hey!" Nora shouted suddenly, dropping Pyrrha like a stone and picking up Ruby in her place. "Screw all that negativity! We got a new alliance to celebrate! Should we get snacks? I think we should get snacks."

Despite having all of the oxygen forced out of her lungs, Ruby was still happy. She never thought she would see the day when Team JNPR would listen to them, let alone dedicate themselves to their cause. Even a few weeks ago, it seemed like an impossible bridge to cross. Team RWBY had suffered so long, setback after setback, struggling just to stay afloat in the crashing waves. With Team JNPR by their side and Team CFVY in waiting, they had finally notched a crucial victory. Normally, this would be the part where something terrible happened. This would be the cruel, ironic twist in their story, where their successes would be for naught and their failures would come to haunt them. But Team RWBY had different plans. They had seized the momentum, and they weren't going to let it go. They were going to push their luck even further, make up lost ground, and claim the string of good luck they rightfully deserved.

If the universe thought it would screw them over again, it was sorely mistaken.