The words of headmaster Ozpin still rung close to his mind as Jekyll made his way towards Vale's prisons.

She refuses to answer to anyone. Only willing to hear out Hyde.

Before he did go, Jekyll contacted Winter. Between the two, she was the one who knew how to deal with interrogation. Though, Winter never did much to give an expert's opinion, Jekyll himself had never done this so there was some difference there already. Jekyll had no companion in this one, no good-cop-bad-cop routine for him.

But considering that prisoner, Jekyll just might be able to, as both Jekyll and Hyde. He was escorted and given permission, courtesy of the headmaster himself.

Jekyll took one deep breath as he sat in his chair and waited. A glass window split the two in case anything was to go wrong. Considering the criminal that he was to interrogate, Jekyll wasn't sure if glass had been the right call. There were police and huntsmen nearby. Without those powers, Cinder Fall was of little threat.

The doors opened and Cinder Fall was brought into the room. Her eyes narrowed then widened when she saw that crimson red dots stared back at her.

Cinder almost fought off her armed escort before she was forcibly placed on the other side of the glass barrier between them. There were holes in them, allowing for communication.

Even as she was made to sit down, Cinder's eyes never once left the red of Hyde. Her hands failed to slither through the holes and touch his face.

Bloody hell, she's gone nuts. She hasn't recovered or is she running on that high?

Shortly after, the headmaster himself came in, relieving the ones there. A necessary precaution. Jekyll was safe in assuming that Beacon's professors would be there outside as well. That meant they could freely talk about Salem. Greene must be handling the security footage out of necessity.

Finally, Cinder Fall had a modicum of grace. The same cannot be said about that attempt at a sultry voice. "Hello again, my dear."

Right now, Jekyll wished he had a ring. Hyde's voice came out. "I'm afraid I'm an engaged man."

"Oh I've heard about the engagement of your warden. Jekyll is bound to the Schnee. I wish them both the best. But you?" She shook her head, almost sadly. "You will be trapped in that head. Those two. They'll never let you out. They never would."

She looked behind her and found Ozpin staring back at her. The grip on his cane was tight. Had it been Glynda, it would have worked had Cinder been a student. But Ozpin had a special effect. The headmaster wasn't usually strict, often lax. So when Ozpin himself takes things seriously, one learns not to make him angry. It only works on students though; it clearly wasn't working on Cinder.

"So, they wish to have you speak on their behalf." Cinder turned to face again. "What did they offer? Did they offer hours of freedom? Days? Weeks? Just that time and they would all look away?"

Jekyll made no response. Hyde's air just didn't work on Cinder, not in the same way as it would anyone else. Still, to seep into that state without losing himself was a battle on its own. One that Jekyll had been practicing from his academic years sure, but it wasn't exactly one that he had mastered. Every once in a while, Jekyll could feel himself slipping.

He felt Fran nearby. It wasn't Glynda or any other professor that accompanied them here.

"I'll get straight to the point, lass," Jekyll said. "What be Salem's plans?"

"Is it not obvious? She intends to get all the Relics and summon the Brother gods."

Jekyll turned to Ozpin. One eyebrow raised.

"Oh." Cinder saw it. "I see he hasn't told you yet. I wonder what other things he has kept a secret from those he supposedly trusts."

"The use of the Relics to summon the Brother gods. If humanity is deemed worthy, they would walk among them once more. If otherwise, they would destroy every life on Remnant. Did I miss anything?"

Cinder looked disappointed. Jekyll did his best to hide his smirk. "I suppose he does trust you enough."

She leaned forward. Thanks to the prison garb, she couldn't tempt him even as she tried.

"But not everything, it would seem. It is not mine to tell, so what do you wish to know?"

"She secured the Spring Maiden," Jekyll began.

Cinder's expressions dropped. So, she hadn't made it that far into Salem's plans then.

"So the lion's out of the bag," Cinder replied.

"Lion?"

It was Ozpin who realized it first.

"Leo," he said. Ozpin looked away, cursing at himself. "What happened to you?"

Jekyll caught Cinder's smirk.

"I'm afraid that that is as far as I can go," Cinder said. "You said that she found Spring? Then my information is outdated. Had things gone my way, we would have had the Relic of Choice, my being a Maiden and perhaps…" she fluttered her eyebrows at him. "One I could call mine."

Jekyll shook his head. To disappoint her, he made sure that green eyes stared back. It had the expected reaction.

"You tricked him," Cinder accused.

"I was always him, Cinder," Jekyll returned.

"No, you're not." Cinder shook her head. "You're the mask he wears when he's out in public. He is who you're supposed to be."

"Hyde is who I am without the restrictions."

"Who you really are."

"No." Jekyll shook his head. "Just as the face I wear in public isn't who I am, the face I wear in front of my own mirror isn't who I am either."

"Spare me your philosophies, doctor. I've drunk what you've made, and I've seen things that you wouldn't believe."

"You've only tasted Hyde, Cinder," Jekyll replied. "I've drowned in it, grown addicted to it, suffered withdrawal because of it, killed for it, doomed friends for it." Lanyon's reaction came to mind. "Nothing you've felt compares to my own."

"He's still in there, at the back of your mind." Cinder placed her hand on the glass, almost longingly. "Tell me, doctor Jekyll. Do you think Hyde wouldn't want to just run free?"

Jekyll's jaw tightened his hand gripped the threads of his pants. He stood up. "We're done here."

Before Cinder Fall was taken away, she gave out her last words to him: "I'll be here waiting, Hyde. If not, I'll free myself and then you."

There he was outside. Much to his guesses, it was Fran that had accompanied Ozpin. With classes still on-going, Glynda must have stayed behind and ran Beacon. The necessity of the situation also meant that only he could go. There weren't any laboratory classes for Peach today, giving Jekyll more things to do.

Fran was in her Beacon outfit. It was a business suit, unfitting for Beacon's electrician but that was because she went with her usual one once she got to work; the suit was just there for formal appearances. The coat was one-size too big for her.

Headmaster Ozpin came out soon enough. He was shaking his head.

"I had hoped that I could get more answers out of her," Ozpin lamented. "But she would only talk to Hyde."

"She managed to talk to me, at least," Jekyll replied. "Let's consider it progress."

Ozpin disagreed. "I do not believe there is anything more to gleam from her. Salem has her plans and she kept her pieces only as they are needed." His shoulder's slumped. "Leo…"

Leonardo Lionheart. Headmaster of Haven Academy, the same academy that Cinder and her team were supposed to be. Jekyll's involvement those years ago may have exposed a mole in Haven Academy, but no one had expected that it would be the headmaster himself.

Then, there was Raven Branwen. Spring Maiden and the one who summoned Vlad III. Jekyll couldn't guess what his class was.

Given that they weren't in Romania, it should have been expected that he would be a Berserker due to his connection to a certain monster. But Remnant knew not of Count Dracula either. There was the Vampire Count much like how Jekyll himself had the Man with Two Souls, but that one had little to do with Vlad himself.

There was the case with Vacuo. All Jekyll knew, and even Ozpin, was that the Servant was a Caster-class Servant. Jack is accounted for and Fran is a known element.

It must have come because of me, Jekyll thought. That attempt during Jacques' intent of running for office still occupied his mind. Winter hasn't told me about any of that yet and Jack wouldn't hide that from anyone.

Beacon's morning sun was still out. They got out early in the morning with nothing much to do other than return to their duties back in the academy.

"Ozpin," Jekyll asked. "What is it about Leo that we need to know?"

"Leo is one of the bravest huntsmen I knew," Ozpin replied, seemingly relieved to think more positively of the man. "Charismatic and quite the warrior himself, there are rumors about the man that amused even my ears." He chuckled at a memory. "I sometimes bring it up in passing, how his roars were enough to scare away Grimm."

"Sounds like Port's stories," Jekyll commented.

"They do, don't they?" Ozpin nodded, at peace now that his mind had gone to better memories.

Fran placed a hand on Ozpin's shoulders.

"But I suppose even he has fallen to despair."

"Ozpin," Jekyll asked. "Is there something about Salem that we should all know about?"

Fran looked to Jekyll disapprovingly. Her hammer didn't appear but she was ready to fight. Electrical sparks were faint that it took Jekyll a few seconds to realize that she had been generating electricity.

"If Leo has given in…" Ozpin shook his head. "Then, I can guess why. It is for that reason that I had kept it hidden all these lifetimes."

Ozpin didn't say anything more. Jekyll would have pressed further but it was clear enough to him that the headmaster will reveal it to them in time. Perhaps, he would reveal it to them all when the time is right.

"In the weekend," Ozpin promised. "All teachers should be free by then. If not, then remind me once we start preparing for the Vytal Festival. It pains me having this weigh on them for this long but better that they know from me rather than Leo or, Brothers forbid, Raven."

Ozpin managed to put on his public mask. Almost all of Vale, and especially the huntsmen, recognized the headmaster of Beacon Academy. As a huntsman, he didn't need any escort. All they saw was a man who was burdened with teaching the next generation of huntsmen. There was awe in their eyes as he either sat or stood with stoic silence, occasionally greeting the others as cordially as he did.

A few alumni had met up with the headmaster, each one reminiscing of those days when they were students. There were a few retired huntsmen among them as well, and Ozpin paid them the respect that they were owed.

Everyone saw the headmaster of Beacon Academy as someone who had it together. One who was mysterious and was some tactical genius, capable of making many moves before anyone would realize what was happening.

But for Jekyll? He saw someone else.

Jekyll saw Ozpin as someone accustomed to his misery. Whatever it was that he will reveal to them, it was something that he had revealed many times before, and all of it didn't lead to an ideal outcome.

Keeping a secret even from those you hold dear, Jekyll thought. He chuckled darkly. Really reminds me of someone.

In that, Jekyll could understand and empathize. He placed a hand on Ozpin's shoulders.

"I know," Jekyll said. "I don't know the specifics, but… I know."

Emphasizing his point, red eyes returned. But this time, there was no danger from it. Those red eyes weren't threatening nor did they give out any sign of danger.

Ozpin understood because he nodded. "I may not be her father but I wish you and Winter the best of things to come."

"You know it's a façade, right?"

"Perhaps. But you two still bound yourselves to one another."

"You make it sound like it is a lifetime pact of sorts."

"Who else could care for—Jack, was it? Who else could care for her if not you two? She sees you both as her parents and I doubt either of you would want to see her miserable. Not to mention the scandal it would do should you separate."

Jekyll conceded that point. The public face they wear is one that would always get back at them. They weren't under any obligation to do so. But with the Schnee name, almost every action would come back at them if given the chance, and that's assuming there hasn't been any already.

"If only circumstances were different," Jekyll commented.

"If you would listen to my advice, doctor Jekyll." Ozpin looked at him in the eye. "Communication is very important between couples."

"We already communicate, headmaster."

But Ozpin shook his head. "This also means if the mask is too much for you to bear. Believe me, I've made my mistakes."

"You've spoken as though you've been married once."

"I had... once upon a lifetime."

"Was it because of your reincarnations?"

Ozpin paused. "Yes... yes, you could say that."

Back in Beacon, Jekyll waited for the days to pass. Ozpin still hadn't told him nor anyone else but Jekyll was patient. Even if Ozpin didn't want to, he could understand. That left him time to think about his own plans.

When Remnant's broken moon shone over Vale that night, Jekyll thought back of the other Servants. Fran, Jack, Vlad, that Caster from Vacuo, and whatever Servant that Salem had brought forth. How was he to keep up with them?

A faint howl of a Beowolf was heard in the distance, too far to be concerning even for Beacon's students.

/-/

"So this is the opera house?" Winter asked mister Ball.

"Why yes, yes indeed!" he replied. He had been there apparently back when father announced his intention to run for office. Winter couldn't remember. "You huntsmen and huntresses always served humanity with such valor that it is only the least that we could. Plus, my patron has been quite insistent that we offer this to you."

Winter scanned the area. The opera house had an age to it. Old, used, and with props and costumes in severe need to be replaced.

"You wish for some funding, don't you?" Winter said.

"Oh, no, no," mister Ball replied. "Well, not from Atlas Academy. See, Jacques Schnee has already graciously offered to cover the cost for these repairs. Atlas isn't just a soldier's kingdom, after all. We have our own expression of the arts."

"I see." Winter nodded. Theatre was more Mistral's, though. Argus specifically. Jacques had plans for this place. But he wasn't going to investigate it himself considering that mister Ball was the one doing all the overseeing. Jacques just wanted his name on it.

The stage itself needed some moving about. The seats could be adjusted but there was a section at the opera house where one could have the Vytal dance. Winter was doubtful that the stage itself would be used but she wasn't the one planning on it anyway.

"Very well." Winter offered a hand. "I shall inform the general of this agreement and put a good word for you."

"Oh thank you! Thank you!" Ball sounded so relieved, that Winter couldn't help but be a little suspicious in that moment. Then again, given the current state of the opera house, she supposed that the relief is warranted. Poor thing.

Outside the opera house, Winter was greeted with Atlas' morning sun. It was still the weekdays and Jekyll would be at work at this time. She figured out his schedule and knew that he couldn't contact them every day; he too needed his rest, after all, despite being a Servant, no matter what he said about being more human than Servant.

Returning to work in Atlas Academy meant more administrative work for Winter Schnee. She gave the report to the general and received the subsequent approval. With the venue of the Vytal dance secured, the next thing that they needed was funding for Amity Arena. With the SDC around, it was expected though Jacques had yet to make any public statements in regards to that.

Robyn Hill was still in the lead at the moment, with Jekyll's little side-business around here, Dust's monopoly on much of Atlas' infrastructures, trades, and the like were no longer as certain as it used to be. There had been skeptics and even a few who sought to prove that Dust was better but those who wished to go against the SDC were making their investments there. Small time business owners who saw opportunity took it.

As a Schnee, Winter shouldn't be supportive of this. It was bad for business. But she wasn't that concerned with the company in the slightest. Under Robyn, and especially guided by Jekyll, workers on that side were treated differently from those of the SDC.

Winter couldn't resist but smirk at a thought. With business landscape changing, Whitley couldn't let things go on as they did. Winter wouldn't admit it, but if things kept going as they are, Whitley was serving to be a better heir to the SDC than Weiss would be. She's seeing Whitley change right before her own eyes, without her own influence.

Weiss was a capable huntress with much more room to grow. But those duties wouldn't let her run a company outside of maybe the security. Whitley has been raised by Jacques and had been tutored by Jekyll.

If only we could break free from that, Winter thought. She'll never understand why Jekyll himself chose to enter the social elite again since he had the freedom. Winter joined the military to get away from it, and that had only been partially successful. No one in that family could get away from the Schnee name, and Jacques wouldn't allow them if they did find a way.

The dull printing of paper was the only thing breaking the monotonous silence of her current office work. Classes were all ongoing and Winter wouldn't have to teach a class. Life in the huntsman academy, even Combat Classes, weren't always going to be exciting.

Atlas especially couldn't be all excitement. It was partly a military academy as much as it was a huntsman academy. Often, topics between the two would overlap which was why Atlas graduates often have a soldier's disposition when out in the field.

Occasional talk was had among the other workers, mostly relating to work itself. A photocopy here, a fax there, a received copy of a document from some other place, it wasn't the most glamourous job in the world but somebody had to do it. For Winter, it wasn't what she had signed up for when she became a specialist. She still was but had to take lighten that load and compensate it with this for Jack's sake.

Was she really warming into her new role now? She was looking forward to getting back home, if only because Jack's energy could recharge her even as her body would ache after a day's work.

Her work ethic also made it that she didn't have much left to do once she was done. One would normally pace themselves as finishing early was rewarded with more work. But given how much of time allotted was for certain things, Winter couldn't actually proceed with the next. Approvals had to wait and she couldn't proceed with anything else unless she had that, forcing her to have nothing to do but be idle in her current work place.

She never thought it would come to this. She pulled out a scroll and looked through it. The news was usually a good start, being updated with current events was usually a good place. Most of it covered the political cycle which Winter already knew firsthand. The Vytal preparations were delayed considering the opera house being used.

Moments like these made Winter wish that she had a hobby. She didn't have anything else on her workplace beyond that which was essential for work. Winter didn't even personalize it that much, not even a picture of her family. She never really gave herself much of a free time like this and now she was unsure of what to do.

Would Jack want a hobby? Something that they could bond over? Winter wasn't sure. What even was Jack's interests? Whitley probably had a better shot at knowing what those were. Already, she was feeling rather jealous that Whitley, and even Klein, would know more about Jack than she would.

She had no companions there. Most of those she would call acquaintance, or distant friend at best, were fellow specialists, namely the Ace Ops. Dare she say it, she would include the Happy Huntresses, mainly Robyn and Fiona, among that number.

The other elites wouldn't be included in that number. Winter wouldn't even call them acquaintance and more opportunists. Even when Jekyll came along, she couldn't enjoy that peace from them. The number of warnings and reminders that she received from them weren't numerous but they weren't unique from each other either.

Jekyll didn't have her best interests at heart. Jekyll couldn't give her what she wanted. Jekyll was just a parasite clinging to her status. How many of those things had she heard variations of those by now? There was too many to count.

None of those things mattered anyway, Winter had greater responsibilities. While most of them centered around her being an apparent mother now, even if they had been a genuine family, those responsibilities would be greater than what she experienced among the elites.

Her workday ended, Winter hardly left anything out of place in her cubicle. She always clocked out at the same time every time. Returning home without any deviation for anything, unless she had reason otherwise, she is a regular sight in certain routes. Her weapon was publically displayed for anyone thinking that they could rob her.

The sight of the bowl of Pumpkin Pete put a sour look on Winter's face when she returned home. The Vytal Festival could arrive and they'd still have more of those boxes to go through. All of that for a sweater. Winter checked, they could have had a second-hand one. The only thing stopping them was the odd elitist viewpoint of the Schnees having anything second-hand.

Jack was the first to greet her, having already grown accustomed to her schedule. Winter didn't even need to look to know where Jack would come from, straight ahead.

Winter kept her things light for this reason. Even when her workload became too heavy, she refused to bring it home. First thing she ever did was separate her work from home. It was close enough to her separating her identity as a Schnee to that of the SDC.

Jack still wore some of Weiss' old clothes but that was slowly being replaced, the ones that she would have to wear in public anyway. Though Jack preferred those hand-me-downs, Jacques Schnee refused to let Jack be seen in anything but brand new. Jack wanted to be part of a family.

Those public events when Jacques would parade Jack around as though she were some trophy still brought disdain to Winter's eyes, biological mother or otherwise.

But at home? Jack was free to do as she wishes so long as no one from the outside came in. Already, Jack learned one important thing about Jacques Schnee: he only cares about public appearances, and Jack adapted greatly to that. Where Jack got that experience, Winter didn't know. Neither Whitley nor Klein could have taught her those and Willow Schnee didn't so much as exist near them at all.

Jack absolutely adored wearing Weiss' old clothes. She would have worn Winter's own had they still have them but they didn't.

When asked one time about it, Jack simply said: "because it's family!"

Nothing more to it than that. Winter couldn't help but be warmed by it, any and all aches of the workday were washed away. Though her body continued to ache physically, she could always endure it for more hours.

Innocent little Jack. Winter had to remind herself for a while that Jack was a Servant. Not just any Servant, according to Jekyll, but a notorious serial killer. She couldn't see that. Jack was a sweet, innocent little girl and nothing more.

Winter wasn't sure what she was doing or if she was doing anything right. But Klein did assure her that she was doing well enough as Jack's mother. Those nights when Winter would see Jack's sleepy form take over was enough to assure her of it.

/-/

Salem stared at the gift that had been sent to her. "It's been a while. I wonder if I still know how to dance?"


AN: Before Starr, I had considered just having the Summer Maiden killed just to justify bringing Cinder back. But I have no idea what to do with her so she stays here for now.

"Masquerade! Paper faces on a parade! Masquerade! Hide your face so the world will never find you!"

I'm not hinting anything, what you talking 'bout? Nope. Nothing to see here.