AN: Whoo! Back from vacation! Enjoy the new chapter, everyone!

Chapter 53: Gotta Win

As Ozpin navigated Wonderland, he noticed that Alice no longer seemed to be interested in talking to him. He looked back at the two large, rotund men he had just recently beaten up. Last he recalled, they were known as Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Odd names, really, but Ozpin supposed that was the whole point of Wonderland.

They certainly didn't put up much of a fight for all their bluster. He noted inwardly. I suppose I can take comfort that this Alice's world of imagination cannot imagine something powerful enough to best me. Now that would be troublesome.

Then, Ozpin came to a clearing and was stunned by the sight of a vast sandy beach. He then heard Alice's voice once again. "You're doing well so far, Professor Ozpin. So, so, so, so well!" She declared.

"Believe me, this still isn't the most baffling thing I've seen in the universe." Ozpin admitted.

Alice just laughed. "Tell me, what did you think of Dee and Dum's poem? They were supposed to tell you a poem, you know."

"Were they now?" Ozpin seemed confused by this notion. "I'm terribly sorry, but the truth is, they attacked me as soon as they saw me. Perhaps they had meant to tell me the poem while they were fighting me, but I knocked them out rather quickly."

Alice's voice fell silent for a moment before she let out a loud harumph. "Well, that won't do at all. There's an order to these things, you know." She pointed the fact out to the Headmaster.

Alice groaned as she tried to figure out how to salvage this. "Oh, dearie me, I guess I'll just have to send him then. Cheshie! Oh, Cheshie! Please, come out and read an excerpt from Dee and Dum's poem to Professor Ozpin!"

At that moment an orange and brown colored cat with a big smile on its face seemed to materialize out of nowhere in front of Ozpin, almost startling the headmaster. "Next time Beacon Weekly does a puff piece on me and asks if I'm a dog or a cat person, the memory of this may make me say dog person…" Ozpin muttered.

"Hello, hello, I'm the Cheshire Cat, it is oh so nice to meet you!" The Cheshire Cat said in an overly friendly tone of voice. "Lady Alice, please do not worry your pretty little head and allow me to pick up the slack for Tweedledee and Tweedledum."

"Oh, I knew I could count on you, Cheshie! Thank you, darling! I'll be waiting at the tea party!"

Ozpin hummed, knowing that Alice would not be speaking to him again for a while. So, he decided to pose a question to one of these odd constructs of hers. "Is she truly in complete control of this world? Because you and those rotund fellows seemed oddly sentient."

"Oho! You have questions for me! I do so love questions, but the thing is, dear Professor Ozpin, I'm the one who is supposed to be asking the questions today!" The Cheshire Cat said in a mirthful tone of voice.

"I was under the impression you were going to tell me a poem." Ozpin frowned.

"Ah, but the question is in the poem, dear Professor! Patience, patience, patience! Patience and you will see what I mean!" The Cheshire Cat promised before clearing his throat. Ozpin stood in silence as the cat began to recite the poem.

The Walrus and the Carpenter

Were walking close at hand;

They wept like anything to see

Such quantities of sand:

If this were only cleared away,'

They said, it would be grand!'

If seven maids with seven mops

Swept it for half a year,

Do you suppose,' the Walrus said,

That they could get it clear?'

I doubt it,' said the Carpenter,

And shed a bitter tear.

Ozpin could only sweat-drop, completely baffled by what he had just heard from the Cheshire Cat. "There was supposed to be a question in there?" He asked, before realizing that there was indeed a question. It was just buried underneath the fluff, filler and bluster of the rest of the poem.

The Cheshire Cat just laughed. "Well of course there was a question there!" He declared. "You did hear it, right? Yes, yes, of course you did, of course you did! I can tell. You realized there was a question as soon as you asked your next question. Oh dear, dear, dear, dear, dear! How rude of you to ask yet another question without even answering the question I posed to you! You are a very rude man, Professor Ozpin!"

"Is the whole point of this to make me question my sanity until I die? Am I to be gaslit into oblivion by this fantasy world created by a little girl?" Ozpin wondered.

"A third question! Oh, you are something else!" The Cheshire Cat laughed. "But, I'll gladly answer that one because I'm truthfully quite fond of madness. After all…"

The Cheshire Cat's permanent smile seemed to grow more sinister. "You...might have noticed...that I'm not all there myself…"

Ozpin was put on guard by the Cheshire Cat's change in demeanor. He almost fell over in disbelief when the Cheshire Cat reverted back to his old personality. "Nobody is trying to gaslight you, dear Professor. This is just who we are. Wonderland is a world of wonder, a world of fantasy, a world of madness! To survive here, you have to be as mad as a hatter!"

"Or perhaps as mad as a Cheshire Cat." Ozpin noted, letting a small smile across his face as he seemed to forget himself and the situation he was currently in. "You yourself acknowledge that you're not really all there, Mr. Cat. I'd say you're surviving quite well here."

The Cheshire Cat just laughed at that statement. "Now you're getting it, Professor! Now you're getting it!" He cheered with glee. "You may just survive here yet! Who knows, you might even become a permanent resident! Now that would be fun!"

"I'm terribly sorry, but I have no interest in becoming a permanent resident here; my responsibilities to my world demand too much, and I answer the call no matter what." Ozpin was no longer amused or patient with the Cheshire Cat. He was now glaring at him. "Now, I believe your question in that silly little poem of yours was: 'If seven maids with seven mops swept it for half a year, do you suppose that they could get it clear?' And by 'it', the Walrus was referring to a very sandy beach like this one."

Ozpin frowned while the Cheshire Cat nodded eagerly. "I fail to see how this question pertains to me in the slightest." Ozpin admitted.

"Oh yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" The Cheshire Cat nodded so fast it looked like a bobblehead. "I'll tell you what, Professor Ozpin. Why don't we ask the Walrus and the Carpenter themselves to clarify?"

"Themselves?" Ozpin was briefly confused before he sensed danger behind him.

Ozpin ducked as a black boxing glove sailed over his head. He looked over his shoulder to see the cartoonish yet grotesque sight of a walrus standing on flippers shaped like human feet. It wore a black tuxedo. Its whiskers were shaped like a mustache. Its tusks shone like a diamond necklace. It even had a monocle over one of its eyes as it stared down at Ozpin from the top of its 10-foot-tall height. "Ah, you must be the Walrus." Ozpin realized.

Sensing danger once more, Ozpin lept away as a large hammer smashed down the spot where he had been. He looked at the attacker and saw a man with a very homely, rocky-like face, wearing a battered hat and blue overalls. A big cigar stuck out of his mouth. "And you must be the Carpenter." Ozpin noted.

"They want your answer, Professor." The Cheshire Cat cackled.

Ozpin smirked. The insistence on questions means that this is some sort of test, and that means if I am to proceed, I must answer the question.

"If seven maids and seven mops swept it for half a year…" The Walrus began in a rumbling tone of voice.

"...Do you suppose that they could get it clear?" The Carpenter finished, drawing out the final world in that sentence.

Ozpin chuckled. "Perhaps these maids cannot, but why not let a wizard try his hand?" He offered as a green aura gathered around his cane.

Ozpin then tapped the beach at his feet, and then a shockwave of green light burst from Ozpin. The Cheshire Cat's mouth opened in shock as a wave of sand was swept up by the shockwave. The Walrus and the Carpenter both gasped as they were swept up as well. The two fell into the ocean and did not resurface. The sand then proceeded to fall into the water as well.

"'If seven maids and seven mops swept it for half a year, do you suppose they could get it clear?'" Ozpin recited. "The answer to your question is that maybe the maids cannot, but I can if I try. You just didn't think I could do it, especially while being attacked by a Walrus and a Carpenter."

The Cheshire Cat was no longer smiling. "I'll play along, but this Wonderland of yours? This dream world. I will not simply allow myself to just dream. This dream will be lucid today."

"Now, do be so kind as to direct me to where I must go next so that I may reach this tea party, wake up from this idiotic 'dream' and help my students."

Meanwhile, Hansel Kobalt and Team RWBY stood face to face with Cinder Fall's two most trusted apprentices: Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai. However, Emerald was seemingly acting as a one-woman army as well, with what appeared to be multiple copies of her running around.

However, everyone was now aware of the truth behind Emerald's powers. She created hallucinations that felt very real to the victims. That was how she had gotten Yang back at the Vytal Festival to attack Mercury. That meant this army of her was only just another one of her hallucinations.

"You must be as stupid as your boss is for coming back to think that your Semblance can actually trick me." Hansel noted. "I already know how your parlor trick works."

All of the Emeralds scowled at Hansel insulting Cinder so brazenly. "You ruined everything." Her voice rang out through the trees.

The entire army of Emeralds repeated the word 'everything' like a broken record. Ruby and Weiss actually winced at how creepy it sounded. "And just what did I ruin?"

"Everything!" Emerald screamed once more. "Everything was fine! Everything was proceeding according to plan! Cinder was happy! But you just came out of nowhere and ruined everything!"

The Emerald army continued their creepy repeat of the word 'everything'. "She has lost face with the rest of Salem's subordinates! Salem is giving her another chance, yeah, but Cinder's afraid of failing her now! Cinder's not supposed to fear anything! She's angry and upset because she could not take the Fall Maiden's full power! She won't even confide in me anymore! Open up to me!"

"And it's all your fault!" Emerald screamed vitriolically at Hansel.

Hansel shrugged. "It's not like I mind that. She has lost face with Salem's subordinates, you say? Good, the more isolated and dysfunctional the enemy is, the better. She's mad because she didn't get what she wanted? Sounds less like a diabolical mastermind and more like a spoiled brat if you ask me."

Hansel's expression then softened. "And as for the fact she won't open up to you anymore, did it ever once occur to you that maybe your precious Cinder doesn't give a shit about you at all? Either of you?"

"I mean, I always knew that." Mercury shrugged.

"Don't talk about shit you don't understand, you freak!" Emerald yelled. "Cinder does care about me! She's told me things that she doesn't tell anyone else! Or at least she used to! She was the one who pulled me from the slums! Gave me a purpose! She saved me!"

Emerald's army of hers repeated the words 'saved me' over and over again. At that point, Ruby could not resist talking. "Is that really why you're doing this, Emerald?" She could not believe it. "Salem wants to destroy everything, and you're okay with that? All because of Cinder?"

"Cinder means everything to me!" Emerald yelled. "She's the first person who actually ever cared! I don't give a damn about Salem. Only her!"

"Only her! Only her! Only her!" The Emerald army echoed.

"But since we're all being so honest," Emerald snarled, "how about I get this off my chest. I hated you from the start, Ruby!"

Ruby flinched at this. "Always so damn happy! Always smiling! Always optimistic! It pissed me off! It made me want to puke! Every stupid friendly smile you gave me back when I was undercover made me want to snap your damn neck! The only reason I restrained myself was because of Cinder's orders. But if I had known what you and that damn swordsman there were going to do to her later, I would've killed you both myself!"

"Okay, Em, if you're done with your bitch-fit, I'd like to take care of these guys. We are technically outnumbered after all." Mercury pointed out.

Hansel scowled. "I've got them trapped here by my Semblance, Merc!" Emerald pointed out. "They know that one false step means I can pick them off!"

Hansel shook his head. "I mean, you might've been right…if you had actually tried to mess with our heads and not try to trap us with a fake army." He noted as flames gathered around his left arm.

"Or perhaps you think that I'll hesitate in burning this entire area to a crisp." Hansel's expression darkened.

Mercury's eyes widened. "Shit, Em, get out of the way now!"

Hansel then let loose a large torrent of black flames that tore right through the army of Emeralds, burning them all out of existence. "Push through!" Hansel ordered.

Hansel led the way as Team RWBY moved through the flaming area around them. Yang, however, immediately broke off from the group and turned her attention to Mercury. "Xiao Long!" Hansel warned.

"Just keep going, Teach!" Yang told him. "You focus on the real threats and evacuating the other students. I can handle an extra like this clown."

Yang threw a haymaker that was matched with a kick from Mercury. "You're quite the walking stereotype if you think this'll be like last time, Blondie." Mercury told her. "I ain't holding back this time."

Xiao Long has gotten stronger since the first day I met her. Hansel acknowledged. After the training and growth she underwent in Atlas, I'd probably put her at C-Class. Conservatively I'd guess mid C-Class. I'd say that guy's peak is probably high C-Class. It's close, but she's right, if Cinder's here, then I've got to be at my peak to fight her.

And besides, the real threat between the two of them is still in the trees somewhere!

Emerald suddenly dropped from the trees. Hansel instinctively slashed her in half, only for her body to dissipate out of existence. Shit! Another hallucination? Where could she… Hansel trailed off as his eyes went wide.

"Kid!" He yelled out a warning to Ruby as the real Emerald Sustrai leapt upon the young leader of Team RWBY.

I'll take you out of the picture first! Emerald had a look of pure murder in her eyes. When Cinder woke up, she told me what you did to her! I won't forgive you!

Weiss, however, quickly leapt to the rescue and drove Myrtenaster right into Emerald's stomach, knocking her away from Ruby with the impact. "Weiss!" Ruby gasped at her best friend, saving her life.

"Like Yang said, Ruby." Weiss smiled reassuringly. "Just keep going. Let the professor handle the big guns. You and Blake can evacuate the others on your own. Leave Emerald to me."

"You don't mind, right Professor?" Weiss asked.

Hansel hummed at this. It's not just Xiao Long. The entirety of Team RWBY's become much stronger. When we first met, I'd say they were all low C-Class. But now they've managed to get up to mid C-Class. And like with Xiao Long, that's probably a convervative estimate. And that illusion making lunatic is probably a high C-Class like her partner. A professional, but chosen specifically for her unique abilities. If I had to guess, I'd say Cinder probably picked these two for their potential and skills in assassination. To be honest, I'd rather leave Belladonna to deal with someone like this…but with the current situation, we need people who can get the wounded out fast. That means, I need both Rose and Belladonna with me.

"Watch yourself, both of you." Hansel warned. "And clear out if it's looking bad."

"Guys, win!" Ruby told Yang and Weiss as the remaining three rescuers ran deeper into the forest.

"No!" Emerald rose to her feet. "You're not getting away from me!"

"Sorry, but no." Weiss immediately stood in between Emerald and her friends. "Ruby and the others have their own duties to attend to. You're just going to have to make due with me."

Emerald scowled. "Fine, I wonder how Ruby will feel when I bring her back her 'bestie's' severed head?"

Weiss scowled back. "You're too full of yourself, Emerald. I'm going to crush you, right here and now." She promised.

Meanwhile, Hansel and company continued to make their way through the forest, leaving the battle behind. "Are you two sure you're okay with this? You've passed the point of no return, you know, your friends might not come back from that fight." Hansel warned. "You should be prepared for the possibility of losing them today."

Ruby smiled. "Yang and Weiss can win, Professor, I believe in them both."

"Yang's been looking for another round with Mercury ever since Vytal." Blake admitted. "And if anyone can take down Emerald and her Semblance, it's Weiss. They've got this. Let's just focus on what we have to do."

With that, Ruby, Hansel and Blake disappeared deeper into Ever After Forest. Emerald yelled in rage at Ruby getting away from her. Knowing that Weiss was not going to let her anywhere near her best friend, however, she had the sensibility to turn her attention to the Schnee heiress instead.

She let out a yell as she began firing machine gun rounds at Weiss. Weiss quickly created a glyph wall to block the bullets.

Meanwhile, Yang threw several hooks at Mercury, who blocked each punch with his metallic legs. "Your partner seems to have gone off the deep end, pal." Yang noted.

"Emerald's been a ticking time bomb ever since Vytal Festival." Mercury admitted in a casual tone of voice. He then glared at Yang. "Do you have any idea how fucking insufferable she's been? It's your bitch of a sister's fault ya know."

Yang increased the force of her next punch with a blast from Ember Celica. "Do not call my baby sister a bitch." She hissed.

Meanwhile, Glynda Goodwitch continued to fly about, avoiding lunges, tail whips and acidic spit from the Jormungandr. Her expression was growing increasingly worried. Presences throughout the forest are gradually losing lifeforce. She noted. However, I can sense five new arrivals…one of them is Hansel! He must have had the airship redirect itself to come to our rescue.

Glynda's fist instinctively tightened. Damn it all, I didn't want to have to rely on you to help me…to save me. I'm supposed to be the one protecting you, you know? Not the other way around. You better at least save the children first.

Glynda thought back to a one-on-one interview she had with Lisa Lavender shortly after becoming the tenth strongest Legend in all of Remnant, several years back. "Glynda, your star has certainly been rising these past few years. People always spoke of your potential before, as a prodigy Huntress. However, compare now to before, and it's like the prodigy is even more…well, prodigy-like."

"So it may seem," Glynda had been casually sipping the tea she had been provided.

"All our viewers–especially the good people of Beacon–are just dying to know your secret." Lisa had said. "Just what has changed in your life that has led you to reach a new plateau of strength."

Admittedly, Glynda had found herself smiling at Lisa's question, because she knew the answer. "There's just…someone in my life now that I need to protect, no matter what."

"A mystery man?"

"Nothing like that, but someone who means the world to me all the same. When he came into my life, I suppose a part of me realized then and there that my current level just wasn't enough. After that, things just…changed. It's as simple as that."

Glynda then thought back to one of the last things one Summer Rose ever said to her, when she had asked if she was truly alright with balancing Ozpin's secret missions and her two children. "There is nothing more powerful in this world than a mother, Glynda. I'll be fine."

When I took the role as that boy's mother, I wasn't exaggerating when I said things changed for me. I reached a plateau of strength beyond that of the prodigious Glynda Goodwitch of the once great Goodwitch Family.

Hansel…I owe that to you, my beloved son.

Chunks of the ground suddenly started to rip from the earth and float in the air. Elsewhere, Hazel Rainhart froze in place as he felt the ground shake around him. "Hmph, it appears she's no longer holding back." He mused.

Pieces of nature floated around Glynda as she moved her riding crop about. The students haven't evacuated yet…I don't want them to get caught up in my Semblance, so I'll still have to hold back just a bit. I'll probably have to settle for half, otherwise this whole damn forest won't exist anymore. Either I force this thing away to allow myself to fight harder, or see if 50% is enough. I just need to make sure I can allow enough strength to stop Cinder.

Either way, I'm that boy's mother, and he's out there risking his life. Not just today, but every day. And as his mother, I owe it to him to give twice the effort he does!

The pieces of nature then formed into what appeared to be a giant sword. Plenty young Huntsmen and Huntresses make the rookie mistake of believing that their Semblance is just a single technique. Super speed, polarity manipulation, shadow clones, fire, telekinesis. But true professionals know that mastery of the Semblance means knowing how to use it in ways that rookies can only dream of!

For example, why settle for merely telekinesis when you can allow your imagination to run wild and use that same ability to create mighty weapons? Glynda let an uncharacteristic smirk fall on her lips.

I call this technique: Witch Crafting!

Glynda then directed the giant sword to swing right into the massive body of the Jormungandr. The great snake hissed in pain and what appeared to be disbelief as it was actually lifted off the ground, showing its incredibly long body. The impact sent it flying several feet away from Beacon Academy's resident witch and disciplinarian. More importantly, it also sent it further away from the students in desperate need of evacuation.

Glynda immediately started to breathe heavily from the exertion. Between flying and using Witch Crafting, I'm using up a lot of energy today. But that's fine, it's fine…

Glynda adjusted her glasses and glared down at Jormungandr. "It really doesn't matter, in the end. Gotta win, right Hansel?" She muttered to herself, thinking about how her son would approach the situation.

With that, Glynda flew towards the Jormungandr in a bid to finish it off.

Meanwhile, Ruby, Hansel and Blake continued their trek to help the students and were shocked upon coming into a clearing just as Glynda had sent the Jormungandr flying. "Whoa," Blake muttered breathlessly.

Ruby smiled in awe and admiration towards Glynda's incredible power. "You know something, Professor?" She said to Hansel. "I honestly can't believe I never noticed it before."

"But the thing is, Professor Goodwitch is super amazing."

Hansel forgot himself for a moment and smiled in awe of his foster mother. "Yeah," he said as the trio continued to run, "yeah she is."

I see what you're doing, Glynda. Hansel promised inwardly. You're trying to make it safe for us to evacuate the other students so that you can go all out on that thing. Don't you worry, we'll make it count.

I'm going to save every single one of these kids and they're all going back to Beacon alive! Hansel vowed with determination.

Meanwhile, Yang Xiao Long and Mercury Black continued to duel, fists vs legs. Yang took a surprisingly conservative approach at the start as she focused on blocking Mercury's kicks with her fists. What do I actually know about this guy? Yang wondered to herself. I mean, besides the fact that he's a colossal douche who makes Teach look like a cuddly teddy bear.

Mercury Black…this guy had infiltrated our ranks. During that time, I probably saw him fight three times and lived one of those three. The other two were that sparring match against Pyrrha and the Breach Incident.

He uses a kick-based martial art incorporated with shotgun boots. During our fight, he was crazy acrobatic and agile, and he even had enough speed and force to kick up a freaking twister. But honestly, there's one thing that does seriously bother me about this guy.

During the fight against Pyrrha, the Breach Incident, and our battle, I never caught the slightest hint of him using his Semblance. Does that mean he was seriously holding back to maintain his cover? Or is there something else going on with him?

Mercury then backflipped and threw a few airborne kicks at Yang, firing off a few shells. Yang also took note of a cloud of steam and smoke that built up between her and Mercury from the gunfire.

Shit! A smokescreen? Yang cursed as she countered Mercury's shotgun shells. Then what I have to worry about most is a sneak attack!

But still, speed generates force which can dissipate a cloud or smokescreen. Yang remembered. I'll know where he's coming from as soon as he makes a move!

No sooner had Yang thought that, her instincts flared up. She instinctively threw up both arms and blocked a kick from Mercury that had suddenly come from the side, away from the smokescreen he had thrown up.

Gah! That asshole! He didn't use the smokescreen to hide his next move, he made the smokescreen as a freaking distraction! Yang realized. Crafty dick…

Mercury, for his part, scowled at Yang for managing to block his attack. So, her sensory abilities have improved. Huh, if her instincts had been that good during Vytal, she might have seen through Em's little ploy.

Mercury then kicked off of Yang, pushing her back a bit. He landed gracefully and began to spin on his hands like a breakdancer. More shotgun shells were fired off, seemingly haphazard. Yang then gasped when the shells curved back towards her. She braced herself for impact as the shells collided with her body.

That should stun her enough. Now, for the neck breaking kick! Mercury declared as he propelled himself towards Yang once more. With each leap though, he fired more shotgun shells for good measure. Press the assault until the enemy is dead!

Mercury was then upon Yang, aiming one last kick right at her throat. Snap your neck, crush your throat, I'll smash right through your Aura.

With a roar, Yang knocked Mercury's kick off course with a single punch. Her hair suddenly lit up in golden fire. Her eyes turned red. "Nice try, asshat." She snarled. "That won't slow me down!"

Shit! Mercury's eyes widened, instinctively firing a shell from the errant leg and pushing away from her to avoid punishment.

Mercury landed on the ground and glared at Yang. That damn Semblance of hers…I had hoped that knocking her around a little with errant shotgun shells would prevent her from activating it, but she actually managed to shrug it off?

Yang then fired two shells from Ember Celica to rocket towards Mercury. She was now going on the offensive. Hmph, she's still so predictable though, like Cinder told us. A direct fighter who just keeps pounding things until they don't move anymore.

Then, Yang aimed Ember Celica at the ground. Mercury threw a roundhouse kick at Yang's head. Yang fired two more shells from Ember Celica and propelled herself right over Mercury. Mercury's eyes widened as Yang maneuvered herself to aim her right arm at her foe. She then shot a fiery shotgun shell right into Mercury's back.

Mercury gasped in shock and pain as he lost his balance and stumbled about from the strike. A trick? She actually drew me into a fucking trap?

As Mercury desperately tried to regain his balance, Yang landed and pressed her assault. Mercury turned his head just in time to get a powerful right hook from the blonde brawler. Mercury continued to stumble, barely able to comprehend that Yang of all people had actually managed to get him with a clever ruse.

Yang then began firing off punch after punch at rapid-fire speeds, leaving Mercury unable to defend. No…I can't break out of this! Mercury thought, uncharacteristically fearful now.

Yang finished her combo with another haymaker to the jaw that sent Mercury sailing off of his feet. Her fiery golden hair returned to normal, as did her eyes. I'll turn off my Semblance, and leave some power for later.

Mercury sailed through three trees and came to a stop at the fourth. What the actual fuck? Mercury thought to himself, regaining his vision and allowing himself to see Yang approaching him. Is this the same chick from Vytal?

Meanwhile, Emerald Sustrai moved through the trees, dodging attacks from Weiss' Myrtenaster while attempting to plan her next move against Weiss Schnee, an opponent she was not exactly familiar with. However, she was familiar with a warning Cinder had given her during their undercover days in Beacon.

"If worst comes to worst, the one you in particular should worry about, Emerald, is the Schnee Heiress."

"The spoiled rich girl? Not to question your wisdom, Cinder, but why her? She doesn't seem like a threat in the slightest. Not to any of us, anyway."

"The Schnee Family Semblance is called Glyphs." Cinder had reminded her. "At its weakest, it allows the user to act as something of a magic knight, like from a comic book or video game."

Emerald was no fool, if Cinder was specifically noting a Semblance's potential at its weakness, there was more to it. "At its strongest, the power of Glyphs can turn a user into a one-man army."

"But my Semblance messes with the head of my enemies." Emerald had pointed out. "One man army or not, I can still use Hallucinations to get inside Weiss Schnee's head, right?"

"True, but that power is also dangerous in the hands of someone who lashes out, knowing they are experiencing Hallucinations. You can certainly place them under your Semblance's power, but that won't save you from them lashing out at everything in hopes they can hit you. Your greatest weakness, Emerald, is awareness. If an enemy is aware of your Semblance, that means they know that most of what they will experience is false."

"So what should I do then, Cinder?"

"Your Semblance, as of now, can cause two people to hallucinate, this is why you work closely with Mercury. If a two-on-two battle is forced, you can affect both your opponent and Mercury's at the same time."

"But if even that is no longer an option, you need to use your Semblance as a weapon of terror, a weapon that will frighten the enemy out of fighting at their best."

The idea is for Merc and I to fight as a team though, Emerald noted to herself, but that bitch, Yang…she's pushed him a ways away, one of the big weaknesses of Hallucinations, besides the two-person limit is concentration. The further two subjects under its effect are apart, the tougher it is to use.

For example, let's say the two subjects were…five feet apart. Placing them both under the effect of Hallucinations is a simple task at that point. But fifty feet is tougher, and it only gets exponentially more difficult the further apart they get. Damn you, Merc, you know my Semblance's weaknesses and limits too, so why the hell are you letting that blonde bimbo push you back, huh?

Emerald then avoided a few fireballs from Weiss' Myrtenaster. Damn it, I guess if I'm being fair, she's forcing me to retreat from Mercury as well. Never mind, I'll just focus on her instead. I can at least see why Cinder warned me about the Schnee Family Semblance. She's creating projectiles formed by Glyphs in midair, and building up speed by skating across Glyphs she creates on the ground.

Weiss suddenly overtook Emerald, passing her. She then almost immediately turned around like a pro speed-skater in the midst of a race. Shit, why would she do something like that if she can catch up to me that easily?

No, wait, even if she can outpace me leaping from tree to tree, it's still not that simple. She still has the distance created by our height to cover. She must be trying to slow me down by forcing me to change directions. There's typically a brief period of deceleration when one has to change directions. Huh, that's actually quite clever of her.

Yeah, I can see why Cinder took note of this one, her only limit to her Semblance is her own imagination and cunning.

The revolver cartridge around Myrtenaster suddenly spun. Another Glyph was suddenly created that then fired a bolt of lightning that forced Emerald to leave the tree she was on. As long as she keeps her eyes on me, Hallucinations is limited in what it can do. After all, she knows that I'm the source of its power, that means all she has to do is go after me and the effects stop!

Emerald fired more machine gun rounds from her weapons, Thief's Respite. Weiss quickly erected a wall that blocked the bullets. That's probably why she's increasing her speed with those Glyphs on the ground, to not lose sight of me. Can't believe she already figured out how to fight me after deducing what my Semblance is.

But no way, no way have I run out of options yet! It's like you said, Cinder, I'll just use terror to win!

Weiss was suddenly cut from her defenses by a chilling voice. "Die, Weiss Schnee!"

Cinder Fall suddenly came charging towards her. Emerald smirked. "Did you think our boss wouldn't be fighting alongside us? Don't be stupid!"

Weiss reacted on instinct, knowing how dangerous Cinder was. She swung Myrtenaster and seemingly bifurcated Cinder, only for her body to dissipate into mist. She scowled. She knew this was a rookie mistake…but she, and everyone else in Team RWBY, knew that Cinder was dangerous. If there was even a small chance it was the real her, she had to take it.

"I've got you now, Weiss!" Emerald declared from the trees.

"I can sense for you, you know." Weiss pointed out. "Your Semblance tricks people with visual illusions, right? That means you can't trick our Aura sensory abilities."

"Well, it's a good thing I can conceal my Aura!" Emerald declared as she came out of the trees. Weiss instinctively shot her with Myrtenaster, only for Emerald to dissipate into mist like Cinder had done.

Weiss narrowed her eyes. "A little trick a thief who lives in the shadows picks up." Emerald revealed.

"So, what happens next?" Weiss inquired, pointing Myrtenaster downwards. "I mean, you could certainly run after Ruby and the others. Or perhaps you know that doing so will give away your position, since we both know the direction they went in?"

Emerald fell silent for a moment. She then responded. "I'll kill you first, and quickly." She promised.

"Well, well," Weiss then smirked, "so you're aware enough to prioritize that which is the biggest threat to you, good for you, Emerald."

The revolver cartridge of Myrtenaster spun once more. Weiss then stabbed a Glyph right underneath her feet. It immediately turned a fiery orange. Then, the Glyph right next to it turned that same fiery orange. Then the next, and the next, and the next, and the next; they all followed the same pattern as the first Glyph. What the hell? Is that a new trick? Emerald gasped inwardly.

She looked around frantically, noting the orange light now seemed to be surrounding her. Her eyes went wide. No, did I misread her intentions? Was the real reason she was speeding around me…to lure me into some kind of trap?!

Then, the Glyphs all exploded, bursting into flames and taking a portion of the forest with it. Emerald yelled in surprise as she was enveloped by fire. "If I can't rely on my eyes," Weiss pulled Myrtenaster back from the ground, "then I'll just trap you in one big area and hit the whole damn place in one fell swoop. I got the idea for this little trick from watching Professor Kobalt set fire to everything under the sun."

Shit! Emerald thought, writhing in pain as she desperately tried to put out the fire. Cinder told me she was dangerous, but if I had known she was this powerful, I'd have taken care of her before going after Ruby! I messed up in trying to make this girl's closest friend my first target!

Upon recovering from his beatdown, Mercury took note of the explosion. "Em!" He yelled in concern while Yang just looked on in surprise at Weiss doing something that was not like Weiss in the slightest.

"If you want to win this, you're going to need to stop slinking about in the shadows like a common thief." Weiss taunted. She then pointed at the burning forest around her. "Come out and fight me like a Huntress, Emerald!"

Meanwhile, Team JNPR found themselves freezing in utter terror as an overwhelming presence bore down on all four of them. An eight foot tall, musclebound behemoth of a man came stomping out of the woods with what seemed to be a perpetually unamused expression on his face. "No…" Jaune Arc moaned in fear.

Hazel immediately recognized Pyrrha Nikos, whose eyes were wide as the implications of his presence washed over her. "Finally," he mused, "at least all the violence will have been for a reason."

Hazel held out his hand to Pyrrha. "I'm going to make this easy," he promised, "come with me. Only one person has to die today."

A.N: And just like that, the worst case scenario is close at hand. Can I just get two things off my chest though? First, that Walrus and the Carpenter poem was taken verbatim. That is word for word the actual poem from Alice in Wonderland. Second, can I just say Witch Crafting is one of the more clever names I've come up with? I think so, any way.

Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. See you next time, when things get REALLY serious.