I'm taking a few liberties on ages. At least for non-main cast characters. This is currently when Ruby is 14 and Yang is 16. Jaune is also 16 but pretending to be 17 with a fake ID to match his big sister's age.

But I'm going to say some Haven characters from the show are a year older than they probably are in order to not have to use all OCs.

Chapter 9

.

Dear Ruby,

Haven has been fun so far. I've included some pictures in this envelope – some of the school and one of our team. I've told you about them all in other letters, but here's a picture of us all in uniforms. We're now officially Team CJME – which is apparently short for "carmine" and not "came". I'm not sure what anyone is thinking with these names. Haven has been eventful so far at any rate, with guys lining up to ask my sister out.

I don't think they realise how much danger they are placing themselves in.

Speaking of danger, but definitely not my sister, someone died during initiation. It's a reminder this is dangerous, so make sure your sister knows that next year when she goes to Beacon.

Anyway, we have our own dorm, and that's cool, but it's smaller than home and all the beds are cramped together. Sharing one shower is awful. Cinder always takes a lot of time but had her own before, and Mercury takes a lot of time because of his disability. Somehow, Cinder finds that to be time wasting when she uses it for longer. Emerald just sort of keeps quiet and does her best not to draw attention. I wonder if she's feeling left out. I'm going to try and spend more time with her, though she tends to get panicky whenever I try. We're teammates now, though, so I'm going to force the issue.

I've got to go. Mercury wants me to go outside and play catch with him. He's obsessed with it for some reason.

Your friend,

Jaune.

P.S. I don't know why you didn't like my name idea of "The Pruninator" for your weapon. It's a perfectly good name for a scythe.

P.P.S You could go for a whole theme and call yourself The Grim Gardener.

.

Jaune finished penning his letter in Haven's cafeteria and slipped it into an envelope. Team CJME's dorm really was too small for this kind of thing. There were four beds but only two desks, with teams expected to share the limited space. Naturally, one of those desks belonged to Cinder and woe betide anyone who dared to use it. Just as naturally, she'd declared the other desk belonged to him – but he was willing to let Emerald and Mercury use it, unlike Cinder.

That didn't make the room any less cramped.

Cinder demanded they not cause a fuss, so they had orders to be middle of the pack in combat class and not fall behind on any homework assignments. The latter was easy enough since Cinder fully encouraged them to cheat if they wanted to. She sure as hell did, handing off her homework to Emerald with orders to make it score well but not look copied. Jaune did his normally, while Mercury kept asking him for study sessions and tutoring – a fact that Cinder hated for reasons beyond his understanding.

It made sense Mercury would have a spotty education given his father's cruelty. It didn't bother Jaune if he needed a little more help, and it made sense he'd come to a fellow guy for that help instead of Cinder or Emerald. He'd explained that to his sister enough times but she would only grit her teeth and accuse Mercury of trying to monopolise Jaune's time, whatever that meant.

Combat class wasn't any easier. Jaune wasn't weak by any means, not after training with Cinder for so long, but he wasn't good enough to control exactly where he landed. Aiming for middle of the pack was a lot easier said than done, at least without being obvious with it. He'd thrown one fight to not end up too highly placed, but apparently did it so poorly that his opponent called him out on it – and that only had people paying more attention to him.

"Hey man. Out on your lonesome again?"

Jaune glanced up with a tired smile. "Sun. Neptune. Hey. I'm just writing my friend."

The two boys took seats on either side of him. They were an odd team of four boys who were some of the friendliest he'd ever met. Sun came from Vacuo while Neptune was a local. Cinder disliked them both on account of how friendly they were, but she paradoxically encouraged him to befriend them.

"Just because I find them irritating doesn't mean they won't be useful to you. At the very least they may take a bullet for you."

His big sister really could be a monster sometimes.

"The one in Vale, yeah? The girl?"

"Don't be like that," Jaune said, laughing. "She's just a friend."

"I'd hope so at her age." Neptune chuckled and nudged his arm. "Still, that sister of hers is fire. I might try my chances if I get to go to Vale for the Vytal."

Jaune hadn't so much shared pictures of Ruby and Yang as had them peeked at over his shoulder. Neptune and Sun were like that, always chummy and friendly and involving themselves with the easy confidence that they'd be accepted. It was kind of nice.

"Better you try with Ruby's sister than mine."

"Tell me about it." Sun whistled. "Your sister is fine, Jaune, but I saw how she cut down that second year."

"The worst she can say is no?" Neptune said. "So much for that! He didn't show his face for two days. I'll be honest, Jaune, I was thinking of a way to ask her to the dance later in the year but I think I'll pass."

"I don't blame you at all. Cinder is… Cinder isn't really interested in that."

Jaune shrugged helplessly. He'd given that answer to every guy who asked, and there had been a lot. New school, new opportunities. A lot of guys were looking to make a splash and find a girlfriend. For some, it might be their first, and for others it was bouncing back after the old ones had broken due to each member moving to new schools far away. There'd been a lot of hormones in the first week or so.

A lot of those hormones had been men getting aggressive at Jaune up until they realised he was Cinder's brother and not competition, and then they'd started trying to win favour with him in the hopes he'd help them with her. One boy had even asked Emerald out, and though she'd turned him down with a blunt "no thanks", at least she hadn't tortured him in front of the whole cafeteria like Cinder had her paramour.

"It's called sending a message. Cutting him off at the knees will stop these idiots asking me."

It sure had done that. There hadn't been a confession this week.

"Yeah, I think I'll admire her from a distance as well," Sun said. "That's okay, right? She isn't going to bite my face off if I admire her ass?"

"Sis won't care. And I won't either. You're free to do what you want as long as you don't try anything on her." Jaune said the last with a warning glare. "If you or anyone tries to peek on her changing, I'll save her the trouble and kick your ass myself."

"I'm not like that."

"Same." Neptune agreed. "Besides, I want a girlfriend. Not to be even more horny." He grinned and elbowed Jaune. "What about you, eh? I know that Ruby girl is too young but is there anyone here who's caught your eye?"

"Eh." Jaune blushed a little. "Not really."

"None?"

"I've been focused on other things to be honest."

It was hard to want to find a girlfriend when he was worried about Cinder strangling Mercury, or them planning to kill loads of people in Vale, or how heartbroken Ruby would be if something happened to her sister, or how Salem was a monster they were for some reasons sworn to, or how the headmaster of this very academy was working with Salem and might try and kill innocent students here to weaken the kingdom.

How the hell was he meant to find girls cute when all that was going on?

"That's no good, man," Sun said. "You can't be all work and no play. You're not bad looking and you're friendly. I bet there are plenty of girls here who would go out with you. We could set you up—"

"Aren't you both single?"

Sun flinched.

Neptune did not. "Not anymore, baby! This man got himself a hot girlfriend!"

"Really?" Jaune smiled. "Congratulations."

Neptune preened and flipped out his scroll to share pictures of him and his new girlfriend – all tame, thankfully. Selfies of them together, out shopping, and of her kissing his cheek. Jaune thought she was a second year because he didn't recognise her from class. Haven's classes were relatively small. All academy's class sizes were, apparently. There just weren't enough teachers to go around.

"Sun has his share of fans too," Neptune added, "He could totally have a girlfriend if he wanted."

"I want something more than just a girl who likes the way I look," Sun said. For a man who flaunted his chest on the regular, he was oddly shy about things like this. "There's got to be a connection. A spark."

"And I've told you the best way to find that spark is to cultivate it," Neptune countered. "Give any one of them a chance, go on some dates like I am, see if you hit it off."

Not this argument again. Sun and Neptune may have been partners and good friends but they had a huge debate going on about love. Sun was of the opinion you should only go out with someone you felt a connection to, and Neptune argued you should go out with as many as possible to try and find that connection. Neither felt wrong in Jaune's mind, the two just being different roads to the same objective, but the two of them could go on about it for ages if he let them.

Luckily, an interruption came in the form of Cinder stalking forward. "Jaune," she said. "I need you." She gave a curt look, not rude but not friendly either, to the two boys, along with a brusque greeting. "Wukong. Vasilias. I hope I'm not interrupting."

"Fall," they returned, nodding back awkwardly. They always referred to her as Cinder when talking to Jaune but fell back on a nervous surname when she had her sights on them. That proved they were smarter than a lot of boys in Haven. "Not at all," Sun added. "We were just chatting. Talk to you later, Jaune."

Jaune smiled back to try and ease the tension. "Sure thing. I'll see you guys in class."

Cinder waited for him to finish and nodded to them once more before pulling Jaune away. He was grateful she at least gave them that respect, and, after a moment, decided to say as much to her. Maybe the road to helping her become a better person was to praise her when she did nice things.

"I'm not going to get in the way of you building a powerbase for yourself."

"They're friends, Cinder. Not a powerbase."

"It's the same thing. Sometimes strength is individual ability, but sometimes it's the ability to surround yourself with strong people who are loyal to you. Team SSSN are a promising start." She turned a dour look on him. "So maybe don't hand these ones to Salem on a silver platter."

"Are you still upset about that? It was over a month ago."

"You handed Salem several hundred loyal agents. Some of them have already been inserted into Mistral."

"Will that be a problem for us?"

"Not yet. We're loyal." The for now went unsaid. "But they could have been answering to us."

"I'm sorry. I've apologised before. You don't have to keep drilling it in."

"Then I'll let it go for now." Cinder huffed under her breath. "And that's not why I interrupted your networking."

"Network—? We were chatting about girls."

"That was the method but I'm referring to the objective." Of course, Cinder couldn't actually believe he might be talking to Neptune and Sun because he liked them. In her mind, there was always an ulterior motive. "And that's not important. Watts has located the Fall Maiden. We're planning an ambush one month from now when she reaches Mistral."

"So soon…? I'm not sure I'm ready."

"You are." Cinder smiled and grasped his shoulder. It wasn't comforting. "You're stronger than you know. We'll best her, then I'll kill her, and the power of the fall maiden will be ours."

"Yours, you mean."

"What's mine is yours, Jaune. We're in this together."

That worked the other way around too, didn't it? If she murdered this woman, it was the same as him murdering her. And he would be responsible for every evil act and crime Cinder committed. It shouldn't have mattered seeing as how he was already an accomplice in the murder of their adoptive family, but they'd deserved it. That had been just, even if it wasn't lawful. This…? This Fall Maiden hadn't wronged them. This was calculated murder.

The only question was whether he was brave enough to stop it.

/-/

The month sped by like it was conspiring with Cinder to blindside him. Jaune kept trying to think up ways to convince her not to do this but drew nothing but blanks. Cinder wanted this power. Needed it. There wasn't even some convenient side-effect or downside he could use to convince her against it. This was just some stupid, arbitrary power-up that was being dangled in front of her.

Emerald and Mercury were no use. Mercury was sociopath enough to shrug and agree to kill, and Emerald didn't want to rock the boat. Her role was one of the most important, so he'd thought that if he could convince her to back out, Cinder would have no choice.

"You want me to say no to Cinder?" Emerald looked at him like he was some alien creature. "Uh. No? I like living."

"Cinder wouldn't kill you for saying no."

Emerald raised her eyebrows.

"Not if I told her not to…"

"At which point she'd think I manipulated you to undermine her. She wouldn't kill me if you told her not to… but that doesn't mean I wouldn't mysteriously die for what she'd see as me turning you against her." Emerald shrugged. "I like living. And this maiden woman. I don't know her. Why should I care what happens to her?"

"Because you're a good person."

Emerald's expression was more confused as anything, and she brushed past him with a comment of needing the bathroom. That avenue was closed. He didn't think Cinder would actually hurt or kill her, but it didn't matter what he thought. It was what Emerald believed.

His next attempt was Mercury, and at least he listened.

"I don't know what to say. I want to help you. I do." Jaune believed it. Mercury knew who it was who convinced Cinder to take him in, and he always preferred spending his time with Jaune. "But you know she won't listen to me. Me, of all people."

"But you know why this is wrong?"

"Sure. It's illegal."

"And immoral…"

"I guess." Mercury rubbed his thumb under his nose. "Never really understood that morality stuff, but then I grew up locked in a house by an assassin who abused me. Shouldn't come as a surprise. But I get the idea of it. There's good and evil or something."

"Or something? No. Yes. Well, there's shades of grey but this isn't one of them. Killing someone who hasn't wronged us is evil."

"I'm okay to kill someone who has, then…?"

Jaune groaned. "Are you trying to mess with me?"

"No. No!" Mercury stressed the denial, and he looked very serious. "I want to understand. I don't want you to be… you know…" He glanced away. "Disappointed in me. I just don't know how it works. My old man never explained it. He always said you kill who you're told to kill. Who you're paid to kill."

The fact he was so serious about it, and about wanting to know what morality was about, had Jaune struggling to explain it all the way up to them leaving Haven and Mistral on what Headmaster Leonardo disguised as a training exercise for them. Mercury listened avidly, determined to make him proud by learning about morality and ethics.

That didn't make it easy.

"Wait, so who holds you responsible for bad actions?"

"The police. The law. Other people."

"Right. So immoral actions are punished to make people not want to do them."

"Exactly."

"Then who rewards good actions?"

"Well... uhhh…" Jaune floundered for an answer. Religious people might have said a deity did, but Jaune had always found that a rather selfish answer. It always came across like they were saying the only reason you'd do good things is because some god would reward you for it later. "In many ways, the good deed is the reward."

"Really? Then would we benefit from stopping Cinder killing this woman?"

"Not exactly."

"Then what's the reward?"

It was physically painful how certain Mercury sounded that there would be an answer and a reward. How much trust he put in Jaune. The constant questions might have come across mocking to someone else, but Mercury was asking them because he was paying full attention and wanted answers. Mercury wanted to know. But Jaune didn't have great answers.

Sadly, Cinder did.

"The reward is a lie that authorities put out there to trick people into being obedient," she said. "It's a fantasy held in place to instil obedience."

"That's not entirely true," Jaune argued. "Sometimes people will thank you and reward you for helping them."

"That's payment for services rendered."

"Not if it's a gift."

"According to the law, accepting a gift is as good as making it a payment. You would have learned that in class had you been paying attention and not reading comics under your textbook with Mercury. Huntsmen are not allowed to accept gifts from people they save. It becomes tax fraud if you do."

Jaune winced. He may have been a little bored but come on, law classes in Haven? Sure, huntsmen had laws to contend with, but it felt a little silly for him to be learning them when Cinder wanted to systematically break them all.

"Wait, so the law punishes you for doing a good deed?" asked Mercury. "That's fucked up."

"That's what the law is. The law isn't always justice, nor is it just. It exists to maintain order. Good people are constantly squashed under it, and bad people thrive. What determines whether you are a victim or a survivor is how strong you are. Strong enough to silence your opponents or strong enough to control a courtroom."

"Sis, please. You're misrepresenting this."

"Am I lying, Jaune?"

"No. But you're shining a lens on a specifically cynical part of society. The legal system is full of corrupt people. Also, they're specifically told to ignore their feelings and morality in favour of following the letter of the law."

"Stills sounds to me like I should take the reward and lie," Mercury said.

"No!"

"Yes," Cinder said. "Or better yet, take it and tell no one. The world won't reward you for doing good, so you ought to reward yourself." Cinder chuckled at Jaune's indignant expression. "All of this is pointless, Jaune. You know I won't change my mind on this. But if you're so bothered by it then the three of us can do this while you wait in the inn."

"No." He couldn't do that. "It wouldn't make me any less guilty and it would mean leaving you all in danger. If she's going to die…" He swallowed. "Then let it only be her. Not any of you as well."

As awful as that sounded.

/-/

Nothing had changed.

The team arrived at the small village they were told the maiden would be heading towards, spent the night, then headed out the next morning to find a spot where they could plan their ambush. Cinder had again given him the option to stay behind, assuring him they would be perfectly capable of bringing the woman down without him.

It was kind of her to offer, but that was all it was. He knew he couldn't leave them to it alone; he'd be terrified the whole time, biting his nails as he waited for them to come back. And if they were caught, well, he'd be caught as well. Staying at the inn was just extra risk for no reason.

"Will it be quick at least?" Jaune asked Cinder.

"I don't know. This parasite she placed within me isn't something I've used before. It might be quick—"

"Parasite? What!?"

"Oh, this thing." Cinder showed her right hand, palm upward. There was a dark shape that wriggled under her skin. Jaune snatched her hand and pinched it to keep the horrific thing in place. Cinder hissed. "That hurts! Let go."

"No. I'm cutting this thing out of you."

"Not yet you're not," she said, shoving him off with her other hand. "I need it to ensure the power doesn't go to anyone else. You can help me burn it out of me later."

Jaune couldn't believe her. He really couldn't. She wanted power, he knew, but letting a monstrous woman who controlled Grimm inject one into your own body? What was she thinking? He had half a mind to pick her up and carry her home so he could rant at her. The only reason he wasn't was for fear of ruining their ambush.

"We will be talking about this, sis. You let that woman put a monster in you."

"You act like I'm pregnant," she complained. "And I didn't let her. I was told this would be happening. My only choices were to agree and feign loyalty or have her question why I'm not obeying her."

"Could she kill you with it?"

"Possibly…"

"Cinder!"

"I know. I know. I'm worried too, especially if it means I'd end up leaving you behind in her clutches." Cinder stroked his face gently with her other hand. Her eyes were close to his. "But once I have the maiden's power, I'll be too valuable for her to dispose of. We'll cut it out of me then. Blame it on the maiden getting a lucky shot off."

"You better." He reluctantly let go of her infected hand. "I don't like the idea of that thing wriggling around inside you."

"It's not exactly an orgasmic experience for me either."

"Hey…" Mercury spoke up. "Someone's coming."

Cinder pulled away and crept to the bushes, while Jaune gulped and loosened his sword in its scabbard. He didn't get that many chances to draw it and didn't want it to get stuck at a critical moment. Emerald was already out in the path, looking perfectly normal to them but apparently using her Semblance on anyone who came near to look like a child.

There hadn't been any instances of mistaken identity yet with the wrong people coming down the road. This was territory between villages, which made it a dangerous route. You'd have to be desperate, foolish, or a huntsman to travel alone in such a place. The woman in a green cloak riding a horse was almost certainly the latter.

"It's her," Cinder hissed.

"Are you sure? This is awful enough without us killing the wrong person."

"The parasite reacts to her power. It's burning under my skin. Wriggling around going wild. It's honestly making me feel sick," she admitted, face pinched. "This is definitely the fall maiden. Prepare yourself. Don't hesitate."

He wouldn't. Not when Cinder's life was on the line.

But this won't be a repeat occurrence. I'll find a way to stop this, to make Cinder stop. Maybe once she has this power, once she's the next Fall Maiden, she'll be satisfied and we can stop. Power is all she wants. Once she has it, there won't be any need to continue with this plan to attack Vale.

Surely not…

The woman climbed down off her horse and approached Emerald. Cinder stood as Emerald lashed out, drawing and releasing her bow at the exact same moment. It would have been ideal if both attacks hit and the woman perished before she was aware of the fact, but that didn't happen. The woman caught Emerald's arm, threw her away, twirled and blew Cinder's arrow out the air with a gust of wind. Her eyes burst into golden flame and she began to levitate off the ground, her cloak flapping angrily about her.

"This is one of those no bad deed goes unpunished moments, isn't it?" Mercury asked.

"Yes! Now get in there!"

Next Chapter: 18th March

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