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T'was in the mood, so started drafting. Don't expect consistent updates, though - as of now, this isn't in standard rotation. Just, ya know, got the vibe.

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The next few weeks passed in a quiet, peaceful sort of chaos. His Minions kept the road secure out to the village and the fish, crabs, lobsters, and clams that came back fed them all and what wealth the richer members of Angler-Town had not had taken by the people under them, he had brought to the Tower. Rich rugs lined the main halls, now, and suits of ornamental armor stood intermittently at corners. A few grandfather clocks were interspersed as well, filling the quieter hours with their gentle 'ticks' and 'tocks' and rolling tolls. The Throne room had been refurbished, too, with a new cushion on the throne itself. A thick, crimson rug wan down the stairs, inlaid just right to mold it to the stairs - though how that worked, he didn't know - with a pair of suits of old, dented brass armor supposedly worn by Knights of Vale decades ago flanking the edges of the raised platform, right by either door out. His room had been restocked as well, with nice, iron-knobbed dressers, a thick, warm fur rug taken from the mayor's personal stock, and a desk he set right beside the door out onto the balcony, where he could watch the forest while he read reports and signed off on ideas.

Even with his standing permission, Fiona still insisted he approve anything she considered 'major'...

Outside, work had continued at a good pace for the whole time, too. Most of the windows that dotted the twisted, gothic tower's exterior had been closed in with glass bought from Atlas - at a price he didn't want to know, honestly - and the outer, curved spines had been repaired. And had long, strong wires that ran to the walls for support, too.

Those were Fiona's idea and, while he wasn't a fan of the big blade thingies, she was.

For some reason…

More stone had been brought in as the Tower's repairs were finished and new, final walls were set up in a wide curve around the base of the Tower, ending at the cliffs to either side with tall watch-towers. There were a few gates, but those were simple, and the wall was mostly enclosed by a low wooden roof to give the Minions walking it cover from the weather. It was still a bit barren, at least by his standards, but Gnarl assured him that it was just fine for the Minions.

Apparently it was a bad idea to make it too nice or they'd take more naps than patrols, which…

Yeah, he could see that.

Inside the walls were cottages, built with stone foundations and log-walls insulated by who knew what Fiona had gotten brought in. They had chimneys that puffed fire-smoke into the air, and thick glass lit warmly from the inside where workers off for a few days or their families were eating dinner. They even had a few fenced in, raised landing pads at the cliff edges, with iron support struts that held it over the edge. One was empty, covered in a thin layer of snow and ice that waited for the Minions who would come to break it up and shove it off. Fiona's Ascalade, though, sat on the other. Where a handful of Minions were offloading the last bit of stuff from Fiona's most recent trip to Atlas.

And, looking down on the village- On his village, sparkling at the edge of the world, he couldn't help but smile. Couldn't help but feel proud, standing there looking down. Leaning one hand on his new balcony's railing while his Gauntlet drummed on his helmet where it sat on the cold, stone barrier.

It should have been enough, but…

Tap… Tap… Tap…

It was like an itch, that drew his gaze away and to the armored hand tapping at his helmet. The gem there glowed dimly, but brightened as his gaze lingered on it.

"Why isn't it enough…?" A knock at his door yanked him out of his thoughts so hard he almost knocked his helmet off the balcony. Grabbing it, he turned, chuckling awkwardly as Fiona cocked her head, ears flicking, and leaned against the balcony door.

"Why do you look like I caught you with your hand in the cookie jar…?"

"I…" He shrugged and held up a hand, chuckling nervously. "I don't?"

"Uh huh, sure." She rolled her eyes and paced over to join him, looking down at their little settlement and humming contentedly. He turned and joined her, wrapping his free hand around her waist to hug her closer and tuck his cloak around them. She chuckled and muttered, quietly, "You know Aura protects us from temperature… Right?"

"I can let go…"

"No." She shook her head, turning a bit to lean it against his armored side. "No, I don't think that's really possible."

"I mean, it is." He smirked, "Just have to move my arm."

"Is that a risk you're really willing to take, though?" He just sighed and she seemed to take that for a 'no', chuckling and going quiet for a moment. Finally, she asked, "What were you brooding about up here all by yourself?"

"I wasn't-"

"Jaune…" She cut him off, pulling just far enough away to look up and give him an unamused glower. "You've been doing it more and more lately. You get up somewhere high and just… Zone out. A-And I know I spooked you, when I came in, so I know you were doing it just now. Talk to me."

"I just…" He pursed his lips and sighed, turning to look out at the dark forest stretching away from them while he tried to gather his thoughts. Finally, he said, "I should be happy, right? I mean, look at all this. How many people can say they own a quarry, a fishing village, and an evil magical tower out in the tundra?"

"Technically no one…" Fiona joked weakly, turning and hopping up to sit on the railing. As if it wasn't hundreds of feet to the ground. She must have seen his face because she smiled, raising a hand, and produced a simple sack with a hand. "Emergency chute. Slows you enough for Aura to take the fall."

"Huh." He blinked, "Your Semblance is bullshit."

"A bit." She shrugged, putting the chute away with another bright flash and frowning. One brow raised, she wagged a finger at him and said, "And you're changing the subject, mister."

"Geez, what are you, my mom?" He snorted, registered the thought, then grimaced and shook his head. "Okay, ew, no, not making that joke at you. Never again."

"Fair." She nodded, smiling thinly. Softly. Quietly, she nudged his leg and said, "You think this is part of your whole… 'Evil gauntlet' thing?"

"Maybe…" He sighed. It was a thought that stayed at the back of his mind, really. Like a dark weight, cast over everything and making him question himself. Even this, holding Fiona, talking to her, looking at his new home, felt like it stood in that shadow sometimes. Pushing past it, he did the most un-evil thing he could think and said, "It's why I'm asking you about it. What do you think I should do now? It feels… Wrong, somehow, to just sit on my laurels. You know?"

"Laurels?" Fiona smiled, shaking her head, "Really?"

"You know what I mean…"

"I do." She sighed, pursing her lips and frowning a bit before she finally said. "Coincidentally…"

"I don't think anything happening to me is coincidence," he sighed, "but go on…"

"I finished translating another book, while I was in Atlas." Fiona said, turning and waving for her to follow him into his quarters.

He did, stopping to close the mostly-glass balcony door while Fiona sat at his desk and picked through the stack of papers she'd left there in the corner. Pulling it out, she opened it and turned so he could lean down to see it. It was a wide sheet of paper, enough to be both sides of a page at one time, with scribbles surrounding an old map. Fiona's notes' judging by the circles she drew around them, along with copies of sentences. But, most importantly, was what the map detailed, which was a span of mountains curving around an unnamed city named 'Vala'. He didn't ecognize that but, after a few moments, the mountains looked…. Familiar.

"Is that-"

"Vale." She nodded, "From… I don't know, over a thousand years ago, easy. But I'd need a proper expert to get a real date, and that risks exposing you."

"Yeah." He nodded, "Let's not do that."

"The age also isn't super relevant beyond, you know… A vague area. For you, a thousand years ago or eleven hundred years ago, it doesn't super matter. A lead is a lead, after all." Fiona nodded her rambling agreement. Tapping the outer mountains, one of the ones closest to Vala, she said, "What interests me is this. You know Valean history well?"

"It looks familiar, somehow, but…" He hummed, brow furrowing as he scratched at his chin and the stubble that had grown in there. Stubble he'd thought to shave, until Fiona suggested he not. Shaking his head, he paid the Faunus a smile and said, "Spell it out for me?"

"You really oughta know your history…"

"Yeah, maybe." He smirked and cocked his head, "But I kinda like hearing your voice, so I'd rather just let you tell me."

"You…" She flushed, ears flicking excitedly as she turned back to the map and tapped anxiously on the desk. Finally, she stammered, "S-Shut up… Flatterer."

"I mean, if you want me to…"

"Don't be a bully." He chuckled and leaned down, pressing a kiss to the side of her forehead that made the Faunus squeak in surprise. She didn't pull away, though, and when he pulled away she was smiling in spite of being bright red. Trying to ignore it, she tapped the map and stammered, "T-This is Mountain Glenn. Or, back then, Mount Glenndala. It was an old valley, back then, from the map."

"But…?"

"But when Vale tried to expand onto it, it was flat land. And," she tapped the map gently, frowning, "the mountain beside it is taller here, or seems to be. On this, the mountain is depicted as the fourth highest of the whole range. But now? Glen is maybe the eighth."

She was right. Even he knew the tallest three peaks by name, more or less, and now that she had explained it a bit more, the weird valley didn't mess with his memory of what Vale should look like. Which had been enough to confuse him, combined with the rough sketch work of what had already been an old, not very great, map of jagged, dark mountains and hand-scribbled names that didn't match to anything he knew about today.

"So the mountain… Got smaller, somehow." He muttered, thinking for a moment before he leaned over it and frowned, turning it just a bit so he could face it more directly. Finally, he said, "A collapse. The mountain had some kind of… Landslide, and fell off into the valley. That's what you;re implying, right?"

"More than implying." She said, pulling another page out of the stack and laying it on the map. This one was just as wide, but was a more simple mirror page. The original, rewritten in Fiona's handwriting, on the left with Fiona's translations on the right. Gesturing at her version, she said, "From what I can gather… There was a battle, there."

"You read the page that fast?"

"No, I…" He just knew it, somehow. Like he knew how to command his Mana. It was natural. Eerily so… Shaking his head, if only to ignore the weird, steadily welling sense of nostalgia rising in the back of his mind, he said, "It's hard to explain, so just… Forget it, I guess. But the journal mentions it?"

"It does." She nodded, turning the page and running down it with a finger until she found what she was looking for and read out. "Met the enemy at Glenndala. Hundreds strong in men - thousands in creatures. Surrounded them. Monster fell back, up the mountain. Oslo brought it down with some manner of power I've never seen. Some kind I never want to see. It killed him too. The nest destroyed, the Overlord fled north, alone. We pursue at dawn."

"Wait, they…" He shook his head, "They were attacking me- The Overlord, I mean? This is one of their journals?"

"It seems so…" Fiona frowned, "Judging from how we found it here, I think it's safe to say they lost the next fight. Or… Something happened to get it here."

"Hmm…"

"I can answer that!"

"Son of a Nerratan whore-" Jaune jumped and spun, Gauntlet curling into a fist as he glared down at the wispy-haired, smirking Head creature was leaning on his staff and had a stool under one arm that he laid on the stone while Fiona shot Jaune a look.

"What's a Nerratan…?"

"Old, old word for people from way east of what you'd call Mistral." Gnarl answered, thumping Jaune on the shoulder with his stick and frowning. "You were channeling and thinking about the past, Master. Dangerous, that."

"I was?" He blinked, "It is?"

"Your Gauntlet transcends you, and is connected straight to the Heart itself. And your wishes." Gnarl answered with a nod, watching it as Jaune turned it to look down at the gleaming gem embedded into it. Quietly, he said, "If you wish to remember, to know, things that you don't but that another Overlord does, it can… Muddy your memories. You get theirs, sure, but eventually it will confuse you."

"Why?" Fiona asked before he could, "That doesn't seem helpful at all."

"The memories our Master drags up bleed into, and wash away, eventually, his own. Those memories have to go somewhere, after all." Gnarl explained with a flippant shrug, "It's not an exact thing, of course, and most can't do much more than bleed in phrases or… Or sensations. But every Overlord can do it to some extent. It's how the Mana imprinting itself works, which lets you command through the Gauntlet."

"That's… Complicated."

"It's simple, really." Gnarl shrugged, trying a different approach and saying. "What you want, the Gauntlet does. Or tries to, if it can't. All you have to do is know about it and you avoid the problem."

"And you didn't think to explain any of this before…?"

"Yes, well…" Gnarl shrugged, "Did you ask?"

Jaune blinked, slowly, and then sighed, "You're an ass."

"No, I'm a Minion." Gnarl corrected him with a toothy smirk, cocking his head and humming. "Hmm… I guess those are the same, no?"

"I will throw you off the balcony-"

"You, behave and stop doing that… Magic memory thingie." Fiona cut him off, thumping him on his armored hand gently - almost like she was talking as much to Jaune himself as to the Gauntlet - before she turned away and sighed, straightening her stack of translated pages and adding, quietly, "I'm not letting you lose yourself like that…"

"I…" He sighed and nodded, "Alright. I promise. And an A- I," he amended, "always keep my word."

"That you do. That you do…" She gave him a smile, turning back to Gnarl and clearing her throat when the Minion was just staring at her, face flat and entirely unamused. "You said you knew how the journal got here?"

"Indeed." He nodded, standing and leaning over the edge of the table to snatch the paper up, reading it with a frown and humming as he did, "That Overlord died in the battle after that one. Too wounded, too weak, too many against him… The journal owner died, too, with most of what was left of the army, left vulnerable without that bastard's leadership."

"That bastard…?"

"Very dead now." Gnarl waved him off, "He doesn't matter any more than this fop does. And I don't know more besides anyhow- I wasn't there."

"It's still a clue." Fiona pressed, earning a scoff from the little creature before he turned to give her a look that was part questioning and part insulting. "Read the page, Gnarl," Fiona pressed, waving a hand at it, "he says they destroyed a nest. Not a tower, or a fort, or a castle- A nest. And to this day, all we know about why Mountain Glenn fell was that something was digging tunnels down there. And Grimm got in through them."

"There are digging Grimm…"

"True." Fiona nodded, "But the connection is there. It's a lead. Isn't it…?"

For a moment, the room was quiet, before she turned a hopeful look on him and, in turn, Jaune turned to the Head Minion and asked, simply, "Gnarl… Are there any Minions that could survive underground?"

"Well…" The old creature hummed, tapping his chin in thought. "Yes. All Minions can burrow, it's in their nature. And I suppose it's a decent enough lead. Better than all this 'prosperous town building' tripe at least."

"Which kind?" Jaune pressed, excitement bubbling up in him in spite of himself.

"Just burrowing tells me nothing. But…" Gnarl hummed, cocking his head to and fro in thought. "What your little sheep here describes sounds like sabotage. And most Hives would have an inclination to avoid, unless they couldn't. Only one Hive would have the inclination to sabotage like that…"

"If I had to guess," Gnarl finished, turning to him, "I would say it's the greens, my master."

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Haloman :

I'm curious - Why do you suggest Saphron as one of the first to meet Jaune in his second life? Genuine curiosity.

Lea :

About its influence, lol…

The Gauntlet in this has some liberties I'm taking to explain some stuff from the games that never gets touched on, like how intuitively the Overlord can always do everything. And, as you see here, it has some effect on his mind, too, directly.

Crusada de Lata :

Ye, I thought just playing Initiation straight would be interesting. Nora DOES knock him over in that, he just recovers. In this, he just… Didn't.

JRC1700 :

Playing Gnarl and Jaune off each other is a thing I'm trying to stay good at doing, yeah. I hope you enjoy the chapters as they come, and forgive the slower update rate!