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Requested by :

Lea the Rosenwulf

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Fiona didn't even wait to make sure she shut the Ascalade down entirely before she hit the door release and spun her seat, rushing down the rear ramp before it even hit the ground, ignoring the pained whines of engines she'd pushed far harder than she should have, and the shudder of its internals as they finally eased down from a too-long flight. A couple of workmen dressed in treated furs and old, worn work-clothes from Atlas were waiting for her, but she waved them off as she stepped in and climbed the Tower. The older of the workers followed her, huffing to keep up as she climbed the stairs and talked, Minions ducking out of their way as they went.

"They showed up yesterday, an' he was bleedin' all over the place." The man huffed, "Was told to let ya know he's better now, when ya got here, but-"

"I need to see him." She grunted, flicking him a look as they reached the Throne Room and she looked around, hoping for any sign of Jaune. And frowning when all she saw were Minions, three of which were flailing around with a mop by the pool at the end of the room. Turning, she barked, "Where is he? His room?"

"He's-"

"Resting." Fiona spun towards the new voice and raised an eyebrow at the girl standing by the other door, the one that lead upstairs. She was around her size, but younger, dressed in a black dress with a fur cloak wrapped around herself to keep warm. She waved sheepishly, seeing Fiona, and said, "He rested and, uh, Gnarl took a look at him… Now he just needs more."

"I'll see for myself." Fiona growled, wincing a bit when the girl flinched at her tone. Quietly, she said, "Look, I'm sorry, I just… I flew all night to get here, when he didn't show up."

"It's fine." She smiled, turning and waving for her to follow, "Come on, he's fine, I'll show you. Or, well, not fine, but…"

"Alive?"

"Y-Yeah…"

"That'll have to do for now." She sighed, crossing the room and adding, "At least until I kill him later for getting hurt enough to ditch me…"

"Yeah." The girl chuckled, "Fair."

Upstairs, she found a lot of Minions meandering the halls, looking… Almost painfully lost. Like, even with Jaune just hurt, they didn't know what to do with themselves. Except look absolutely morose and beaten. A few stirred as she passed, at least, looking up hopefully. As if her giving them an order would make them feel better. But she didn't have anything to offer them, aside from soft smiles and a few scratched to the tops of their heads.

"It's getting chilly in here." The girl with her muttered quietly, watching the Minions when Fiona turned to her. "And I'm hungry. Someone should get the fires touched up, and… Maybe hunt something to eat?"

A few of the Minions stirred, chittering excitedly, and Fiona smiled, seeing what the girl was doing and adding as boredly as she could manage, "Some seal-meat would be great… It'd make nice stews for the Overlord. And your Mistress could use a new cloak besides, so I'd better not see anyone loitering when they could be working."

They both made space to let the Minions rocket by them. At least, those that didn't have the heavier armor and long pikes of guard-Minions, who glowered after their kin and muttered darkly. But even they looked a bit better for having something to do. An order to follow.

"That was good of you…" She murmured, flicking the girl a look and adding. "I'm Fiona. Fiona Thyme."

"Ruby." She smiled weakly, "Ruby Rose."

"You helped him, too…?"

"As much as I could…" She nodded, "I-I had to. He's… He's important to me."

That made Fiona's shoulders stiffen, but… She had more important things to get to.

The Overlord's room was a mess, when they reached it, with bandages scattered around the bed and firs against the walls. There were a handful of Minions scattered across the room, too, dressed in stained white robes and holding trays of food and supplies for Gnarl to snatch while he paced the room, watching the man in the bed. Who was just as much of a mess, propped up on every side by pillows and furs that held him still. And with a chest swaddled in tightly-wrapped bandages, faintly tinged in pink and stained by sweat from the sleeping man.

"Jaune…" Gnarl's ears flicked before he turned, looking up as Fiona stepped to the edge of the bed, her own ears flicking as she looked him over. Quietly, she asked, "Is he-"

"Recovering." Gnarl spoke quietly, waving for her to be quiet and going on. "Young Ruby there got him here, and onto the Throne. Well, after ruining my robes, at least."

"I said I was sorry…"

"And I said you would be forgiven when you replaced my thousand year old linens." Gnarl snarled quietly, drawing Fiona's attention to the actually somewhat newer grey robes he wore, with a thin layer of fur hanging down his hunched backs. It didn't look much different but, now she looked, it was. Shaking his head, he went on, "He's resting, while the Gauntlet and the Tower use the magic the Throne drew into him to heal his wounds."

"So we're just… Waiting?"

"For now, yes." Gnarl nodded, "So long as the Tower remains, and does not fall in his absence, he will recover. And stronger than ever, too."

"Stronger…?"

"The Heart of the Dark Tower is a possessive creature." Gnarl answered coyly, giving her a sidelong smirk. As if he already knew what was coming. And Jaune was very much not bleeding and injured in bed. He turned, then, giving Ruby a meaningful nod and adding, "Perhaps you could use this time to figure out what to do with our little guest, hm?"

"I'm not going anywhere, Gnarl." Ruby growled with enough heat that it surprised Fiona, enough that she actually turned to look at her, brows raised. Ruby's gaze was flat and harder than Fiona had ever expected on someone that otherwise looked so young…

It was almost frightening.

"Yes, well…" Gnarl sighed, turning when Jaune groaned, reaching for something with a hand - for Fiona, she realized as she took a step to kneel beside the bed and caught his hand. Ruby was beside her just as fast, leaning over with a cool rag she swapped out for the one on his neck, making him sigh while the Head Minion shook his head. "I suppose it's just a wee bit too late for that, isn't it, Mistress Fiona?"

"I…" She sighed, "Gnarl, make sure the Ascalade gets refuelled - I can go get some better medicine in a few hours. From Atlas."

"As you wish," Gnarl nodded, "Mistress."

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Jaune groaned as he woke up, blinking away crust and shifting his arms and legs stiffly before he felt a dull ache sear across his chest. Sucking in a breath, he pressed his head back into sweat-soaked pillows and groaned, before small hands landed on his arms and legs, holding him still. He turned, blinking against bright lights around his bed, and could just make out a dozen or so little figures huddled around him. And one, taller, who spoke in a distant sounding voice as she leaned down.

"-for the pain." She said, pressing a needle into his neck and sending an icy rush through his veins and down, into his chest, where the pain… Well, it didn't stop by any means, but it eased as she drew back and his vision cleared.

"M-May…?" He croaked, looking up at the blue-haired woman, "W-What are you-"

"I'm our best… Well, medic, I guess." She sighed, shooing away a couple of his Minions so she could sit and press a hand against his neck. "Your fever is gone, and your eyes are clearing up. How's breathing?"

"Fine." Aside from a dull throb, that was. "Where did you…"

"Learn to do this stuff?" She chuckled, shrugging and shaking her head idly, checking the thick bandages across his chest while she spoke. "Atlas. I wanted to serve, once upon a time back when I thought their medical would cover… Well, I wanted to serve, and I enlisted, and I got put onto the medical corps track. I never finished, but it's turned out useful more than once."

"I-I guess it would, yeah…" Whatever she'd thought Atlas would 'cover', she didn't say, and Jaune let it lie. Instead, he asked, "Where is Fiona?"

"Outside, working on her ship." May answered, suddenly sounding a bit more… Stony. "With your other friend."

"My other…?"

"You don't remember?"

"Not much of anything, no." He grunted, "I remember going to Mountain Glenn and then… Anger. And a lot of red."

"Guess that makes sense, considering your dumb ass tried to fight Adam fucking Taurus…" May sighed, leaning back and offering, "You went down there to get some Minions, according to Fi. And did. And then you went back to save a friend. A girl named-"

"R-Ruby." He nodded, starting to remember now. Turning, he looked towards the door and asked, "She got out alright?"

"Enough that being a Huntress has dealt with the rest. At least physically…" His concern must have shown, because May wagged a finger in his face and scowled darkly. "Hey, you need to focus on yourself right now. For all the magic bullshit going on here in the Tower, you nearly died. Even when I got here, there were centimeters of skin holding your intestines in."

"R-Right…"

"And," she grunted, "we need to talk about little Ruby's nickname…"

"Nickname…?"

"The Minions have been calling her 'Mistress'." May's vision darkened, and she crossed her arms, "Just like they do Fi."

"T-That isn't anything I told them to do…"

"We know. Your Head Minion explained it well enough…" May sighed, flicking the door an almost wary look before she turned back to him and went on. "And the fact Fiona isn't upset about it is the only reason one or two of your stitches aren't just a bit more rough, if you understand me."

"I-I do, yeah…"

"Good." May nodded, "Because if you were trying to hurt her…"

"I'm not." He promised, sighing, "I'm not doing anything. I've been unconscious the whole time, remember?"

"Yeah, well…" May shrugged, sounding a bit… Distant, as she went on. "Sometimes, we fuck up without meaning to. And hurt people. Even when we're just doing our best. And having an army doesn't mean we won't kick your teeth in for it, either - we go up against Atlas every other week. Remember that."

"I will…" And Gods, he couldn't believe he was getting the shovel talk in his own Tower, surrounded by half a dozen or so of his own Minions - some of which were nodding along like what she was saying was obvious!

It was treason, damn it!

"That said-" A knock at the door at the door cut May off and she looked up as Ruby peered around the edge of the door, almost out of sight past his pillows. He tried to sit up, to wave, but both just made him groan until may pushed him back down and sighed. "Yes, Ruby, he's finally awake."

"So I can-"

"And he needs his rest, not a visit. Not yet.." May cut her off, earning a muted little 'eep' as Ruby ducked back beyond the doorway a bit. What the hell May had done that had her that scared, Jaune didn't know.

But something about it made him angry, somehow, and drew a growl, "May…"

"Yeah…?"

"Help me sit up." It came out like a command and, for a moment, may actually seemed to consider it. Why, he didn't know - but she did. Before she shook her head, sighed, and opened her mouth to argue. Then he added, "Please. Or I'll do it myself."

"For the love of- Agh!" She swore, leaning down to pull some pillows up while she ranted. "I'd call you a stubborn ass, but trying to fight Adam fucking Taurus kind of did that, didn't it? So fine. Sit up three damn days early. But don't ask me for painkillers later when the aches start."

"R-Right…" In spite of her words, she was gentle as she helped him slide up the bed a bit, adjusting his pillows and furs until he could lay back in a more upright position.

"And you," she snapped, straightening, "only a few minutes. He needs to rest. You have maybe fifteen minutes, while I get his sleeping medicine kicked up."

"Sleeping meds…?"

"To help you rest." She explained, "Sleep is important, right now. It helps you heal."

"Right…"

"Anyway," she turned, marching for the door, "fifteen minutes! At best!"

She left them, not quite alone - there were still Minions milling about anxiously, muttering to each other about him - but as close as they were liable to get while he was recovering. Easing into his pillows, he grunted and tried to ignore them, waving weakly as Ruby came over.

"H-Hey…"

"Hey." He smiled, looking at the furs she'd wrapped around herself and asking. "Are you cold? I can have more braziers set out."

"I'm okay." She waved him off, sitting at the end of his bed and chewing on her lip anxiously, flicking his bandages looks and wincing every time she did. Finally, she said, "Thank you… For saving me."

"Of cour-"

"But you're such a dummy!"

"C-Come again…?"

"Why would you stay?" She asked, tugging her fur around herself like it would protect her. He started to answer, but she cut him off, "I know why you fought- To save me. And I am grateful, I am. But why stay? You should have run!"

"I thought I could take him…"

"Really?"

"I… Kind of?" He sighed, then grimaced when Ruby looked incredibly unimpressed with the answer. Quietly, he went on, "I just… I was so angry. And the Gauntlet, it… Drove me, somehow. I could hear it, whispering in my ear to fight. To kill the bastard that hurt what was…"

"What was what…?"

"...Mine." He murmured, the word bringing a small bit of that fire back into him even now, when he thought about the bastard and what he'd done. What he'd wanted to do. Taking a breath to set the anger aside, he went on, "I don't even- I didn't even know what it meant, if the whispers meant anything at all, but it made me angry."

For a while, Ruby was quiet, watching a couple of Minions squabbling in a corner. WHen they started to scrap, other Minions coming over to watch, she turned to stare at the floor instead. But, finally, she sighed and nodded.

"I guess you're… Kinda like Yang?"

"Yang…?" He blinked, "Ah, right. Your sister, right?"

"Yeah." She smiled, turning to him and nodding, "You, uh- You met her at Intiation. A bit before you, uh…"

"Died?"

"I guess?" She grimaced, and Jaune could tell the word hurt her. She flicked him a look and asked, quietly, "Did you… Actually? Or, um, how did that work?"

"According to Gnarl," he shrugged, "I died, and the Tower brought me back. I'm… Connected to it, now." He raised his Gauntlet a bit, for emphasis, and Ruby nodded. "It keeps me alive, and strong, but who knows what else it does? Or how it works? Fiona is working on that, in the library, but neither she or Gnarl are really sure about a lot."

"That sucks…"

"It does." He nodded, sighing, "But for now, we have work to do."

"Work…?"

"We need to get you back to Beacon," he nodded, "without them knowing about me."

"Why…?"

"The Overlord has enemies, Ruby." Jaune explained simply, paranoia that he knew was not his own mingling with his own unsurety to form a heavy, toxic mix that weighed down in his stomach. Ruby's brows furrowed, though, and he went on, "Our enemies aren't people, necessarily. Gnarl is worried there will be groups out there who will want to destroy us on the chance we mean harm."

"They'll… Kill you?"

"They will try." He nodded, gesturing at his Minions as one knocked the other out. "My army will try to stop them. But, as you can probably guess…"

"You'd lose."

"Most likely." And Evil's sake, it made him angry to admit that. He didn't remember being so prideful, and chalked it up to the Gauntlet, but… Strangely, he couldn't find it in him to be angry about that. Which somehow did manage to bother him.

He took comfort in that, at least.

"Okay, so…" Ruby hummed, "We need a way to get me home that doesn't get you in trouble."

"Ideally." He nodded, "But if you want, Fiona can-"

"Nope."

"...Nope?"

"Nope." Ruby nodded, smiling weakly, "You don't get to save my life, almost die again, and then risk it a third time just to get me home quicker. How would that even be fair?"

"But-"

"What kind of Huntress, or friend, would do that?" She added sharply, shaking her head and sighing, "No. We… Need another plan. I need to keep you safe."

"Says the fifteen year old to the dark Overlord, leader of an army…"

"Shut." She chuckled, slapping the bed beside his leg and sighing, "I… Dunno what to do, really."

"We have time." Jaune shrugged, "Where's the-"

"Time's up!" May's voice cut him off, making him flinch and wince at the same time as she came in, carrying a little bag that he could hear clink as she came over. Waving Ruby away, she said, "Time's up, so shoo. The big idiot needs his rest and his medicine."

"I'm not-"

"Okay."

"You aren't even going to argue against the 'idiot' part?!"

"Maybe when your innards aren't trying to become outards." Ruby chuckled, waving as she left, "Get your rest! We'll… Figure something out later!"

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Ruby watched as a dozen men and women, dressed in fur and thick red shirts and cargo pants, hauled a tree up through a muddy sort of ditch worn into the ground just outside the settlement. A handful of Minions were there, too, watching the woods with spears in hand - but they didn't move to help, and the workers didn't seem to expect them to. A few yards past the treeline, they turned and worked on turning the tree on its side, and then broke out axes and started using them to clear what branches were left while others emerged from the forest with more branches, and more went back to pick up ones fallen in the snow as it had been dragged in.

"Charcoal." She jumped a bit, turning as Fiona dropped to sit beside her, washing her oil-stained hands with a rag and sighing. "The smallest branches for kindling, the larger for charcoal, and the actual log for fires or selling."

"A-Ah…"

"How was he?"

"Jaune?"

"Mhm." Fiona nodded, jerking a thumb up towards the peak of the still very much 'in progress' Tower. "May barely let me see him earlier, and I hear you only got a few minutes after he woke up."

"Yeah…" She sighed, flicking the Faunus a look, humming, and finally answering, "He's alright, I guess. Hurt, still, obviously. But not, like, in a ton of pain or anything. Your friend gave him some medicine to help him sleep and kicked me out a bit ago."

"That tracks, yeah." A few long, quiet moments passed before she asked, "So… What are your plans?"

"Figure out a way home that doesn't get Jaune caught by whoever he's worried about." She shrugged, picking up a stick and twiddling it between her fingers while she watched them work on the tree. "Until then? Iunno. But… He's my first friend, at least that didn't just want me to help them hang out with Yang, so I'm fine to wait."

"Uh huh…"

"Why?" She asked, flicking her a look, "What did you think my plans were?"

"Just the first bit, really." She answered evasively enough even Ruby caught it and frowned. Which Fiona must have caught, too, because she chuckled and sighed, "What? I've seen the way you look at him. Why would I be excited to have you here?"

"Because I'm his friend…?"

"I know." Fiona nodded, "I'm not about to fight you, I just…. There is a lot going on."

"I know."

"We need to prepare for anything, I guess." She went on, cocking her head, "So… What can you do?"

"Kill Grimm?"

"We have a small army, and several Huntresses, that can handle Grimm."

"Oh." Ruby blinked, thinking for a moment, and then said, "I made my weapon myself…"

"Blacksmith?"

"My baby was a mecha-shifting, high-caliber sniper-scythe, capable of firing standard, anti-armor, concussive and elemental Dust variant shells. I also designed its scope myself, so it would stay zeroed better even with heavy, repeated fire, and fitted the head with a blade with a broad enough base it wouldn't cut my boots when I stand on it." Ruby said by way of answer, smirking when Fiona actually blinked, surprised. "I'm a bit more than a blacksmith."

"We… Might be able to work with that."

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Ozpin paced along the rubble and bodies in the deep and dark of Mountain Glenn, his shadow following along behind him as his staff clinked on old stone and ruined concrete alike. It was rare that he left Beacon - it was so much to risk, after all, in terms of time and influence - but this had called for it. And not just because of the Breach, or the potential loss of another Silver Eyed Warrior, but because his most trusted and skilled asset had very much demanded it.

And skulked along behind him now, kicking over sheets of metal, rocks and more as if Ruby might be curled up under them.

"She isn't here, Oz…"

"No, she is not." He agreed, drawn further along by… Something vaguely familiar. Quietly, he went on, "But that is, in a sense, good."

"How the hell-"

"If she were here," Ozpin cut him off, "in Mountain Glenn, alone and unarmed, she would likely be dead. However, she is neither here, nor was she found in the tunnels when we had them cleared. So she must have escaped, somehow."

"You believe Torchwick, then?"

"I believe evidence." Ozpin nodded, "And as of now, there clearly was an attack - you even reported as such. But by whom remains to be seen…"

"I didn't see much."

"I know." Ozpin knelt, lifting up and rolling over a third or so of a dead Faunus and reaching down to drag what he at first took for a sword out of her abdomen. But turned out to be a short, roughly made spear only a little longer than his own forearm. Holding it, he frowned, "What could possibly use something so small…"

"Why does that-"

"We need to go." He stood suddenly, finally recognizing the darkness he'd felt. The weight of it. As he turned, Qrow scowled and Ozpin growled, "Now, Qrow. I need to confirm something. Something bigger than this."

"Bigger than my niece…?"

"Yes." He answered frankly, watching the man's eyes widen first in shock and anger - and then in worry. Stepping past him, Ozpin went back the way they'd come, hand so tight around the spear that his fingers throbbed.

He had to be wrong…

He needed to be.

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Game Lover :

The Minions in this have taken on a nature of sort of… Knowing, when the Heart has chosen a Mistress, I think. That or they're just deciding and letting Jaune catch up.

Guess that's up to interpretation. XD

Red Demon Eye :

To be fair-

EVERYTHING escalates quickly when Adam Taurus gets involved.

Jack Redhawke :

He got the poleaxe from the ruined armory. It's just a thing he was able to find, already made. It's neither his final weapon, or his best - just the current one because it was easy to get.

He tends to wear his helmet whenever he meets important people, or leaves the Tower. IN the Tower, he typically has it off.

It has been hinted at as to WHY he lacks Aura in this but the mechanics of it are tied into a deeper understanding of magic in this story - which will come later, as the story progresses. I'm trying to manage a lot at once, lol, and NOT having entire chapters of just 'Here is how X works mechanically'.

Vastoisshin :

Adam and Roman are intended to feature more, so I can't super comment on them lmao.

Qrow having bad luck is a mix of just bad luck and his Semblance, yeah.

A harem, as I typically define it, doesn't NEED everyone to be with the MC to be a harem. I'm using the anime definition, so the first game where you have several LIs and settle with one counts for me. Apologies if the definitions conflict. As to the romance itself - I intend to approach it as I have done, with the characters understandably making time to be with each other where they can AROUND the conflict and business of the story.

JRC :

Yeah, any early conflict with Taurus that you walk away from is a good one lmao. He's a NIGHTMARE of a fighter.