Blaize's heart pounded as she stood on top of Beacon Tower, her eyes locking onto the scene that filled her with dread. Pyrrha Nikos lay facedown on the cold floor, her head partially obscured by a fallen chunk of ceiling. This wasn't supposed to happen. This isn't how it went in Jaune Arc's memoir, Blaize thought, panic rising in her chest. Blaize prayed she wasn't too late, she had already failed to save Ozpin.

Her breath caught as her gaze shifted to her mother, Cinder Fall, standing tall and poised, her bow and arrow drawn and aimed at Pyrrha. Blaize's instincts screamed at her to move, and without a second thought, she charged forward, tackling Cinder. The force sent both women hurtling, their momentum carrying them to the base of a nearby tree.

Cinder's fiery orange-gold eyes narrowed as she pushed herself to her feet. Her expression shifted between irritation and intrigue as she demanded, "And who are you?"

Blaize's throat tightened as she stared into the eyes of her mother. Her heart ached to say the words, "I'm your daughter," but she held back. Cinder wasn't ready to know. Blaize knew that revealing the truth now could risk not only her mission but her very existence.

Instead, she straightened and said with forced calm, "I'm a Maiden, just like you. I know exactly who you are, and I have a message for you, Cinder Fall."

Cinder's gaze darkened. "A message? How quaint. Go on then."

Blaize's voice shook as she replied, "If you want to live, you must stop serving Salem."

For a brief moment, Cinder looked genuinely startled, but her face quickly hardened into a smirk. "If you knew anything about me, you'd know that I serve no one."

Blaize's tone sharpened. "Do you really believe that? Open your eyes, Cinder. You're not free. Salem has you right where she wants you, doing her bidding. And thanks to that Grimm parasite she's bound to you, she can kill you anytime she wants. You're a pawn, not a queen."

"Shut up!" Cinder snapped, her voice laced with venom. "Salem may be in charge for now, but soon, all of Remnant will bow to me!"

Blaize pressed on, her voice trembling with urgency. "You're wrong! Salem's promises are empty. She doesn't care about you or anyone else. She only cares about ending her own suffering, even if it means destroying the world—and you won't live long enough to see it. I've seen the future, Cinder. If you keep going down this path, Salem will be the death of you. Your only hope is to let me free you of the grimm parasite- let go of the power she promised you and move on with your life."

"Enough!" Cinder roared, igniting her Maiden powers as flames danced across her hands. "You're the one without a future, because I'm going to extract the Maiden power from your body and leave you here to rot!"

Cinder lunged at Blaize, and the battle erupted. Cinder attacked with precision and ferocity, her mastery of fire and glass creating a deadly storm of blazing shards. Blaize countered with her own Maiden abilities, summoning gusts of wind to deflect the projectiles and waves of ice to block Cinder's advances.

But while Cinder fought without restraint, Blaize held back. She couldn't bring herself to fight her mother with the intent to kill. She had traveled through time to save her, not destroy her. The hesitation made the fight even more dangerous. Unlike her parents, Blaize didn't have a semblance that was useful for combat- her semblance only allowed her to see a person's past by touching an object that belonged to them.

Cinder pressed her advantage, her attacks relentless. Blaize managed to evade a fiery blade but was caught off guard when Cinder summoned a glass arrow and fired it into her stomach. Pain exploded through Blaize as she fell to her knees, clutching the wound. Her vision blurred, and tears streamed down her face.

Cinder approached slowly, an eerie calmness in her steps. She crouched in front of Blaize, placing a cold hand on her cheek. "Tell me, little Maiden," Cinder purred mockingly, "which one were you? Spring or Summer?"

Tears mixed with sweat on Blaize's face as her father's warning echoed in her mind: "Your mother would kill you without a second thought." She thought of all she had fought for, all she had hoped to change, and felt despair creep in. I've failed. I'm going to die here.

Suddenly, movement caught her attention. The masked man—her younger father, Eric Marine—appeared behind Cinder, silent as a shadow. Before Cinder could react, he touched her arm, his semblance activating. His true semblance was the ability to copy the semblance of anyone he'd come in contact with, and right now he was using one that allowed him to make an opponent faint. Cinder's eyes widened in shock before her body went limp, and she crumpled to the ground unconscious.

Eric knelt beside Blaize, his mask hiding his expression, but his voice was firm. "Hang in there," he said, quickly removing the arrow from her stomach. Blaize cried out in pain but felt warmth spread through her as Eric's semblance mended her wound.

Through tears of relief and pain, Blaize whispered, "Thank you."

Eric didn't respond, but his presence was steady and reassuring. Blaize closed her eyes, her resolve reignited. The fight wasn't over—not for Pyrrha, not for her mission, and not for her mother.

Jaune left the hospital, his steps heavy and his heart heavier. He had just left Pyrrha's room, where she lay in a coma, pale and unmoving. The sight haunted him—the strongest person he had ever known, reduced to this fragile state. He couldn't shake the image from his mind as he wandered aimlessly, eventually finding himself in a quiet courtyard.

Sitting on a bench, Jaune buried his face in his hands. His mind raced, replaying the moments leading up to this disaster. He thought of the locker, the hurried kiss, and the tear-filled goodbye Pyrrha had given him before sending him away. He wished he had been there by her side, to fight with her, to protect her.

"What if I had been a better fighter?" he thought bitterly. "Could I have made a difference?"

The sound of footsteps broke through his thoughts. Ren and Nora approached, their faces somber. "We've got a meeting," Ren said quietly. "Ruby and her uncle are calling everyone together. There's something we all need to hear."

Jaune nodded silently and followed them, his thoughts still clouded as they made their way to the meeting room. When they arrived, he saw Team RWBY, Qrow, and a mysterious girl who introduced herself as Blaize, claiming to be from the future.

Jaune's initial skepticism faded when Qrow began to speak. "Listen up, kids," Qrow said gruffly, raising his flask before setting it down on the table. "This is going to be a lot to take in, so bear with me. Ozpin left us a message. A message you all need to hear."

He pulled out a letter, unfolding it with care. The room fell silent as Qrow began to read.

The letter revealed truths Jaune could barely comprehend. Ozpin detailed his long, tragic history with Salem, a woman he had once loved and tried to save. He spoke of their children, whose deaths were caused by their own mother. He explained how Salem had been cursed with immortality and transformed into a being of destruction, wielding control over the Grimm.

Jaune felt his chest tighten as the message continued, describing how Salem's ultimate goal was to unite the relics, summon the gods, and bring about the end of the world. Despite the grim revelation, Ozpin's words carried a spark of hope: the possibility that they could be the key to a future where Salem was stopped, a future that Blaize came from.

At the end of the letter, Ozpin left a personal message: "Ruby Rose, your silver eyes are more important than you realize. They are a light in the darkness. Qrow, please explain it to her when the time is right."

Ruby, wide-eyed and visibly overwhelmed, asked, "What did he mean by telling me about my silver eyes?"

Qrow sighed, his face lined with exhaustion. "I'll explain it to you later, Ruby. Right now, I need to process all of this myself." He stood and raised his flask. "What you do need to know is that the enemy's next target is Haven Academy. Keep your focus on that."

Before anyone could respond, Blaize stepped forward. "There's more you need to know," she said, her voice steady but urgent. She detailed Adam Taurus's plans in Menagerie and Mistral, warned them about Haven's compromised headmaster, Lionheart, and introduced the name of someone called Oscar. The group listened intently, though the weight of the revelations seemed to press down on them.

When Blaize finished, Weiss spoke up, her voice tinged with disbelief. "An immortal enemy who controls Grimm and manipulates entire kingdoms... How are we supposed to fight something like that?"

Ruby clenched her fists, her voice filled with determination. "I know it's overwhelming, but if Blaize is here from a future where Salem failed, it means we can win. It's not impossible. I'm going to Mistral. Who's with me?"

One by one, everyone voiced their agreement—except for Blake. She looked away, her expression a mixture of fear and guilt. "I need to think about this," she said quietly before leaving the room. Yang stared after her, her hands tightening into fists.

Blaize broke the silence. "I'll be heading to Mistral too," she said, "but I'll be traveling separately with my team. There's work we need to do along the way."

Jaune, still reeling from everything he'd heard, looked down at his hands. He thought of Pyrrha, lying in that hospital bed, and felt a flicker of resolve ignite within him. If there was even a chance to stop Salem, he would take it—for Pyrrha, for Beacon, and for Remnant.