Chapter 79

For The Record

Hoooooly Christ.

That's two. That's two in one day.

I remember when it took months for us just to prepare for an encounter with a Maiden, how we got away by the absolute thinnest skin of our teeth, needed weeks to recover, and even then didn't get what we wanted (albeit that last part was by design.)

And here - we just whacked two of them in a day.

Winter turned out to be some kid, tiny. One of the Masters, Ben - the only old bastard I know of to reference a comic book - and Hazel Rainart, they nabbed her out of Vacuo, didn't even appear to have been winded. That one was as simple as us showing up, Cinder pulling her best Imperfect Cell routine and absorbing her, us chopping off her head to make sure she didn't turn into a z̶o̶m̶b̶i̶e̶ Grimm.

Then we flew off to Atlas, some mountain base they had set up with its own slice of their entire military. Grimm on one side, Arthur Watts and another Master, a German by the name of Helmut, on another, and us walking up the middle. The Maiden had a bodyguard/watchdog, I took him on and promptly figured out he was a Templar: Had my powers terminated with extreme prejudice and promptly got my ass whooped.

I feel like I got a few good hits in, but then he pulled out his Semblance, which essentially turned him into Taskmaster: He knew exactly how I'd fight, what all my moves were, how I'd react to any given situation, and would counter immediately.

So I pulled out a Fat Man and nuked his ass. I'm not about to play that game, so close to the finish line.

Then I tore his head off, used it to distract the Summer Maiden, Cinder and I double-teamed her, took her down, and Cinder absorbed her.
I guess that makes her Semi-Perfect Cinder?
Eh?
Eh?
No?
Fine.

We got the fuck out of dodge after that, but then we ran into a problem: No one knows who the Spring Maiden is.
Well, I do, but that's besides the point.

Tyrian Callows is supposed to be hunting her down, but to be honest? I'm at the point where I just want to move all-ahead-full to the climax of this whole shit show. I don't want to go back to that castle until it's time to flail around angrily and pray I can kill Salem or swipe the Relic of Knowledge and hide it from her.

Oh, yeah - I determined that, worst case scenario, I want to keep that one from her. Think about it: How did Doctor Strange figure out how to defeat Thanos? To undo all the sheer amounts of shit that Thanos fucked up?
He used his own fount of infinite knowledge, looked through however many millions of possible realities for the one single timeline in which they won, and executed that timeline.

I equate the Lamp to that - it can tell Salem anything she needs to know. Past, present, future, if she uses it, nothing is a secret from her. So if I deny her any relic, but not that one, she'll use that one to locate the others and then my efforts to hide them would be for naught.

So, in the incredibly likely event that I can't find a way to defeat Salem in the castle, I'm switching everything to putting forth all efforts to steal and deny her the Relic of Knowledge. Funnily enough, I already have at least one plan on how I'll do that - but it ties into The Big One, and I cannot risk invalidating it by talking about it. It's a gamble and it relies on all the magic fuckery I've learned about up until now, so knowing how finicky Magic can be, I'm not taking any chances.

Anyways, back to topic: The Spring Maiden.

I outright outed Raven Branwen. I don't want to putz around and wait for Tyrian to learn what I can easily excuse knowing: I told Cinder (and Salem through a Seer Grimm) that Ozpin had let me into some of his secrets while I was there. Among them was that the Spring Maiden had done a runner before she'd finished her training and had vanished in the Mistrali wilds. I plugged it into stuff Qrow had said about his old tribe doing astonishingly well as of late - and how they were on the Mistrali fucking Military's radar.

Put two and two together: It's possible that the Branwen tribe is harboring the Spring Maiden.

So, Cinder and I are heading to Mistral's continent to deal with her while Arthur, Helmut, Ben, and Hazel go to the kingdom and hook up with Tyrian to set it up for our grand entrance. Once we nab Raven, we're off to Mistral to start taking Relics.

And then?

Endgame.

Sidenote: I have to admit I'm curious. In the show, Cinder secured Raven's alliance, and I suspect that it had something to do with her still recovering from the damage Ruby did to her.
But here?
Here she's fully healthy, completely recovered, soul fixed, and has stolen the powers of two Maidens on top of that. Add on that - in her own words - she's been humbled twice by the deaths of Mercury and Emerald (God I haven't thought about her in a while), it's very likely she won't take any risks with the Spring Maiden and just fight her then and there.

But, considering that we'd also have to tear through her camp and hold off God knows how many thugs with unknown numbers of aura users among them... Maybe she'll pick the smart option and wait for Raven to take us, her little double whose name I forget, and herself to Mistral - separating us from her camp and giving us a much better chance at taking her down.

This is one of the few moments in my new life where I have no idea what's about to happen, but there's also so little risk in the grand scheme of things that it's less existentially terrifying and more just entertaining.

When Aldric woke this morning, he woke up exhausted. Everything was finally finding a way to exact its revenge on him - and as physically refreshed as he would be, waking up each morning, he remained mentally enervated. Slow and sluggish, Aldric made his way to the bathroom and started his usual routine, he started up the shower and brushed his teeth as the water warmed up. Today though, was different - as he was in a more reflective mood than usual, so fresh off slaying and stealing the souls of two demi-goddesses. Today he gave himself a good long look in the mirror - specifically, he eyed the little present Blake had left him what felt like an eternity ago, back when he'd only recently lost hope.

The scar, stretching from his scalp, over his right eye, and down to his jaw, wasn't fresh anymore, but it had begun to fade a little. No longer a deep, grisly groove practically separating one side of his face from the other, it was now a thin, shallow line, appearing ten years older than it had any right to be thanks to his aura and its healing abilities. Though in spite of that, Aldric swore it still itched and prickled every now and then.

Welp... He thought, dragging a finger across the pale groove in his face. At least I'd already lost that eye. Would probably have lost it entirely with that. He sighed, finishing his business and hopping in the shower.

Once he left, he started down the hall towards Cinder's room. She'd had fallen asleep and stayed asleep almost the second they'd gotten back onboard the Aviator, only ever waking to eat and perform basic necessities. Aldric understood why - she was burning off what would perhaps be the mother of all hangovers, absorbing two souls in a single day couldn't have been easy. Once she came down from that high she would have to crash pretty hard, so Aldric let her. Aldric had functionally had the ship to himself for the three day trip to Mistral, and while it was nice while it lasted, as the ship started its final descent, he decided it was time to wake the beast.

He knocked twice on Cinder's door, the cramped corridors of the Aviator's crew quarters ringing with twin metal bangs, before he twisted the doorknob and slowly pushed into Cinder's room. Unfortunately, the first thing that greeted him was the small 'trophy wall' Cinder kept hung over her bed - as she'd explained it, just a few knicknacks from the people she'd deigned to hate over her life. He saw a ring covered in blood that had long since browned with age, a breastplate burned black, and the most recent addition - Crescent Rose.

He pushed his eyes down, breaking contact with the physical embodiment of his failure, and forced himself not to think about it as he looked down to Cinder, who rested in a tangle of sheets and comforters.

"Hey, Hot Stuff." Aldric knocked on the door again.

"Hm?" She murmured, just barely stirring.

"We're getting ready to land in Mistral, lady. Wake the fuck up."

"Hm." She groaned, giving little other indication that she had even heard him. Aldric retreated as her hand came up to rub the sleep out of her eyes, and as she extricated herself from her bed, he was preparing himself a Spartan breakfast.

He sensed her strolling out into the main area of the ship, stifling a yawn behind her hand as she adjusted the shoulder of her dress. Aldric decided to have a little fun, and called out once she rounded the corner, "ever figure that dress may end up tripping you up one day?"

"Many times." She responded, as she grabbed enough food for two people and collapsed into her seat at the breakfast table. "In the end, I decided I liked the dress." She gave him a sly look from beneath her eyebrows, "just as I'm certain you liked your old coat."

"That wound's still raw, lady." Aldric sniped back, not even trying to suppress a grin, as he sat down across from her. "You have no idea how sad I was when I woke up and realized that my last one got buried underneath the rubble of Ozpin's office." Well, perhaps that wasn't entirely true, as he suspected there could be one more in GEMS' dorm, but that meant little, as he doubted he'd be going there again for a long time, if he ever did; "besides, I'm kinda liking the chainmail look." He said, patting the mithril shirt hanging from his shoulders.

Cinder smiled, and dug into her food - a pile of leftover pancakes and bacon that she hadn't even bothered to reheat. "I must admit I missed this, while you were at Beacon." She said, indicating the two of them. "Us, sitting here at this table."

"Oh?"

"Battling wits, trading lies, establishing dominance." She supplied.

"I was going to say with the benefit of hindsight, building sexual tension." Aldric scoffed, before letting out a long sigh. "I did too. Things felt simpler back then... I knew way fewer secrets to the universe."

"Looking back, things always seem simpler." Cinder responded, "and in ways, they were." She took another bite of food, and after swallowing, she said, "do you still intend to retire, as you said?"

Aldric snorted, "fuck yeah, I do!" He said, "the simple idea that I'll be able to sleep without a hit list, or a treasure hunt, hanging over my head, the mere concept of being able to sleep until noon because I can... Fuck, sometimes that's all that keeps me going."

"We're close, Aldric." Cinder soothed, "and... There was something else I wanted to ask."

"Oh yeah?" Aldric felt more and more energy leaving him the longer this conversation went - an exhausted man with a full night's sleep.

"You'd said, back then..." She hummed, choosing her words carefully. "That you'd consider finding a girl, after all this."

Well he wasn't tired anymore - and despite it all, he felt his heart skip a beat, though whether it was out of surprise or apprehension, he didn't know. "I suppose I did, didn't I?"

Cinder snorted, nodding. "It is funny... Ever since you brought me Ruby, and we've been sleeping together... I've been examining our partnership, from the day Mercury, Emerald and I kept you from dying until now, and that sentence has hung over my head the entire time."

This is not what I expected when I put my shoes on this morning. Aldric nodded, "and now you're about to ask me something important." He grunted, prodding her to continue.

And she did, "have you considered me?" Cinder asked, dropping the pretenses. "We would make a very powerful couple." She added, "and we each could service the other's goals - my independent life... Your quiet one. We would want for nothing, together."

Meanwhile, the pipe dream that had once run through Aldric's head of getting Cinder emotionally attached to him so he could be her weakness came rushing back to him, as did his amusement and eventual disregard of the idea.

Oh how the times change. "Would we work?" Aldric asked, "and that's a genuine question, Hot Stuff - sure, things are fine now, but neither of us are even twenty yet. Do you think we could last past the honeymoon phase?" And the whole 'literally stabbing her in the back' phase? "A relationship is more than sex, violence, and world domination, you know." Although the benefits of doing this were laying themselves bare to him - if he took this opportunity and played his cards right, his chances of actually pulling everything off would go up significantly; even though 'significantly' more than 'practically impossible' was still 'incredibly unlikely,' it was better than his odds when he'd woken up this morning.

Cinder actually seemed to genuinely think about his words, even though her response was, "you speak from experience, do you?"

And Aldric rolled his eyes, "oh yeah. Tons of it. You've just never met them. 'Cause they live far away from here. On another planet. In another universe. In France." He chuckled, "I'll think about it."

She nodded, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

When the ship landed several hours later, it did so just a few miles from the Branwen camp. Aldric had seen it on descent - and no doubt they'd seen them too, so both he and Cinder prepared themselves as they approached, ready for them to attack. Fortunately, as they approached the tall wooden gates, an attack never came, instead the guards stopped them in their tracks, and asked point-blank if they were the ones flying the airship. When Aldric and Cinder confirmed they were, the grungy-looking bandits stepped aside, saying that their leader was expecting them.

Entering the camp, Aldric felt like he was stepping into some kind of Mad Max Viking movie - there were tents everywhere, and fires with animals spitted over them, fights fought and great mugs of alcohol being tossed back, yet all this by people wearing hand-washed modern clothes and with guns strapped to their hips. Interestingly, he also saw loads of boxes - inside of which he saw clothes, packed up tents, supplies, it looked like they were preparing to leave. It was bizarre, but Aldric didn't focus on that.

Instead, he focused on, "so... Any idea how she was actually expecting us?" He asked, his voice just barely reaching past his mask and making it to Cinder's ears.

"Besides us flying our ship right over her camp?"

"I mean, if it were me doing that, I wouldn't let whoever showed up in." He offered as explanation, which Cinder accepted with a shrug, as they ventured deeper into the camp.

"Consider what we've done." She said, "it may be that she is aware of it in a metaphysical way... She may be wishing to parley with us."

"Or - and here me out here - we don't immediately default to space magic as an explanation for something without an immediate answer. Took my people fifteen hundred fucking years to break that habit." Chuckled Aldric, who actually thought it may have something to do with the Justice League or the Watchmen - or both, really - passing through.

I guess I'll be seeing them, soon. He realized, with a light hum, as they were led through the deeper parts of the camp and brought before the biggest tent of them all. This one loomed over them, almost appearing as big as a house, with deep brown, aged cloth and thick supports keeping it up right.

And standing in the flap just in front of it, with the darkness of the tent's innards at her back and the Master and multi-Maiden at her front, was the leader of the camp, her face encased in her Grimm mask, her arms crossed, and gaze directed solely at them.

"Awfully bold of you to fly right over my home and then just walk up to me." Raven called out, as Aldric pushed his radar out past the immediate area, searching for familiar faces. "I'm almost impressed."

Cinder cocked a grin and gave the bandit leader a long, showy bow, before coming back up and saying, "I am certain you already know why we are here?"

Bingo. Aldric thought, as he saw the kid Raven had chosen to act as her double hanging out near the wall, within eyesight of the proceedings, but hidden enough that she could stay away if she wasn't needed.

Raven nodded, "you only just missed your enemies." She said, as dozens of tribesmen slowly began to congregate around them, watching the proceedings. "I sent them on their way just three days ago." A beat, "just as I'll do to you."

"Yup." Aldric murmured just loud enough for Cinder to hear, "they gave her a heads up."

Cinder didn't react but to look disappointed, "Miss Branwen -"

"Drop it. Call me Raven or leave, I don't have the time or patience for theatrics." She waved her hand dismissively, briefly breaking eye contact with Cinder before looking back in time for the multi-Maiden to speak.

"Raven." Cinder acquiesced, "it would be a terrible idea to refuse us so boldly. Ozpin's side isn't winning this war -"

Raven scoffed, "and you're implying you are?" She asked, "kid - I hear things, I'm not stupid. I know that the little army you raised to sack Beacon turned on you the moment they could. That you only 'won' by the absolute skin of your teeth, and even then you lost that big Grimm that did the heavy lifting for you. And even if my brother hadn't told me, it's not hard to figure out you're hunting Maidens -" Aldric noticed Vernal stiffen at this, tensing, as though ready to enter on a moment's notice. "- and the things their very lives protect. Someone savvy enough - like that guy from the Fang - would be able to put the pieces together and draw a line in the sand somewhere, keep you away from what it is you're looking for.

"All you've really succeeded at doing is ganging up on a poorly trained teenager, a literal little girl, and a soldier and her watchdog. Beyond that, all you've done is start a war that was already going to start anyways, and kill a fifteen year old." Raven finished, causing a stir of mocking laughter from her camp.

Aldric frowned, did Raven always know who the other Maidens were? Or had she gotten the information from Qrow and was just putting on a facade?

Either way, he stepped forward, putting his hand in front of Cinder and signalling to her he was taking the reigns for now. "Let's try it this way, Dormammu - I've come to bargain." He called out, crossing his own arms. "What we want is twofold: To avoid having to kill you and everyone in this camp until we find Spring, and to break into Haven's vault. We can take care of the logistical stuff - distracting the whole kingdom, fighting whoever's savvy enough to stay behind, the works. All we want from you is to show up, turn a couple keys, and let us take the buried treasure. Everyone has a price, so let's hear yours."

Raven snorted, "hold on, did you actually say kill everyone in this camp?" Even if Aldric couldn't see it with his radar, he could hear her grin from the tone of her voice. "I see a cripple wearing a mask, a replaced limb, and two layers of chainmail hanging from his shoulders..." She pointed to Cinder, "and an egomaniac Maiden with a last name so blindingly obvious it's a wonder no one calls her out on it. The both of you are surrounded by bandits who've spent the last year terrorizing a continent, and my Maiden -" And at those words, Aldric sensed Vernal literally leap into action, the power of her legs propelling her high into the air, where she flipped with a flourish and landed right next to her leader, slowly straightening up and eyeing them carefully. "- who's only grown in power under my tutelage. The supreme arrogance of every Huntsman is thinking they're invincible. I don't care how many Grimm you've slaughtered, souls you've stolen, or people you've killed, you couldn't kill this camp if you tried." She boasted, resting a hand on her blade, as the bandits around them all similarly readied themselves for battle.

Aldric was genuinely wondering why Cinder was entertaining this still, was this amusing to her, or had she picked up a couple of his habits, and had decided to pick and choose where and when to fight her battles?

Either way, Aldric continued, giving Vernal an exaggerated look, "oh so there she is!" He gave her a salute with two fingers, "nice to meet you, Spring Chicken."

"Vernal." She growled back.

"Whatever you say, Easter Bunny."

Cinder stepped in, "Raven, your supreme arrogance is in thinking yourself stronger than the woman we fight for." She said, "certainly, we've had setbacks, but our progress has only been forward. Even if we fail today to take her power, all that will mean is that we'll sweep through Shade and Atlas academies with the souls we've already collected, obtain their Relics... And then all of our focus would be placed upon you." She said, "you know very well that you wouldn't last forever under that kind of pressure... Especially after the damage we will do to you today." She folded her hands behind her back, "and forgive me for saying, but you similarly are arrogant if you think that we've lost any standing with the betrayals of the White Fang and Roman Torchwick. All we lost from them were bodies - the main brunt of our power comes from the Masters we have on our side." Cinder gave Aldric a look.

Aldric bit back a sigh and held up his organic hand, above which a pyre of spinning fire sprang to life, before freezing solid, and eventually flaking away to dust.

"There are two more, just like him, in Mistral right now, readying to attack Haven Academy. You refusing to acquiesce to us today will instead turn their attentions to you... These men who found two Maidens in almost as many months, when working alone. Together, there is nowhere you could run where they could not find you. And while he and I work elsewhere, they would move heaven and earth to find you." Cinder finished, leering at the bandit leader.

"In other words - we're not here to make our lives easier, we're here to give you the barest chance of keeping yours." Aldric finished.

There was a lot of murmuring now, as Raven stayed silent. Even Vernal shifted her footing and glanced nervously to her boss.

Raven shook her head with a huff, "leave us!" She waved her hand at the bandits surrounding her, "no more drinks. I want this camp broken up tonight."

Surprising Aldric, despite the fact that they'd just thoroughly challenged her authority in front of them, they didn't even hesitate to follow her orders, and in seconds, all that remained were Cinder, Aldric, Vernal, and Raven - the latter of whom approached the former.

"Let's say I'm willing to bargain with you then." Raven said, her voice lower and less proud than it had been a moment ago. "Let's say..." She said, as she pried her mask off and held it under one of her arms. "That I'm willing to hear you out..." She gave the two of them a scathing look, before directing her focus on Cinder. "A deal like this would have to be built on trust, and I don't trust either of you."

"I mean, we were literally just threatening to kill you and everyone you love." Aldric shrugged.

She ignored him, "I want to speak to you. The both of you. In private, separately. No time to maneuver or plan. I want to hear what you have to say, what promises you're willing to make and what you're willing to give up as collateral so I'll trust you."

Cinder raised an eyebrow, "we're here to bargain, not play tribal politics." She said, "we already gave you the deal. Take it or leave it."

"That's what this plays into. I want to know who I'm working with, and you two feeding off each other doesn't play into that." Raven scowled, "you want my help? You want my Maiden?" She nodded over her shoulder to Vernal, "you answer my questions. You convince me, or I'll take my chances."

Aldric gave Cinder a look, and he could see some small level of annoyance bubbling up in her eyes before she closed them, and took a deep, steadying breath. He grinned, able to tell that she was considering just shoving her hand in Vernal's gut and getting it over with, but having to wrestle with the understanding that doing so here and now wouldn't be beneficial. As much as she and Aldric vastly outmatched the Branwen tribe, they still outnumbered them - and that quantity was a quality all of its own. They'd probably get a lucky shot in and hurt one of them, perhaps just enough that Raven and Vernal would go to ground and they'd have to wait who-knows-how long before they were found.

"Fine." Cinder sighed, "shall we meet in your tent?" She nodded towards it.

At this, Raven grinned. "Oh, as fun as you are, I've never met a Terran before... Let alone a 'Master'..." She chuckled. "I'll pick his brain first... Or does that make you feel inadequate?" Vernal mirrored her expression, all eyes falling on Cinder for a moment, before the tribe leader about-faced and retreated inside her tent.

Cinder gave Aldric a look.

Aldric returned it and, after a moment, shrugged, "I'll do it if you want, but I slept funny yesterday, so my neck's been killing me all day."

Cinder rolled her eyes, "don't be brash." She said, retreating towards the camp's wall and finding a place to sit, as the Spring Maiden's double retreated to the tent, standing sentry just outside.

Aldric, after a moment to steel himself, followed the real Maiden inside.

He found her sitting on her knees in front of a low table, eyes glaring at a map, but unfocused, glazed over, as though she were deep in thought.

"Take off the mask." She said, as Aldric dropped to his rear on the other side of the table.

Aldric did so, removing the helmet and depositing it next to him. Raven gave him a long look, her eyes going over every inch of his face.

"Hm..." She grunted, trailing a finger down her right eye. "That's new from the last time... Who gave you that?"

Aldric frowned, last time? "Your niece's friend. She was the only one to manage to resist the Apathy and try to stop me. She tried to cut my face off, so I threw her off an airship."

Raven cracked a brief grin, "yeah, she looked like she wasn't too fond of heights. Wouldn't so much as step on a stool while she was here."

She's alive? Jesus fuck, cats really do have nine lives. "So what do -"

"Our deal is still on." Raven snapped, causing Aldric's jaw to snap shut.

What? Aldric bit his tongue, "yeah?"

Raven's expression was slowly twisting into one of anger, "yeah." She said, "But I wasn't kidding, out there, in case you missed it. Relationship like this is built on trust, and you've made a habit of stabbing backs and breaking promises. If Qrow hadn't corroborated your story, I honestly would've stopped believing it."

What the fuck is she babbling about? Aldric wondered if she wasn't trying to get something out of him - try to make him slip up so she could bring it up to Cinder and drive a wedge between them. "And now?"

"Now my fucking niece is dead and I'm reasonably confident I'm the only Maiden left alive - so if you want me to keep up my end of the bargain, you have to give me something. You have to sell me, better than you did last time, and right now, or I'm out."

Aldric carefully guarded his expression behind the veneer of a thin frown; why the hell would she just drop the whole facade and tell him she was the Spring Maiden? "And yet you haven't told me what that something is." She was acting like they'd spoken before, like -

Oh.

As Raven leaned forward, Aldric had the epiphany that made him realize this wasn't her pulling a fast one - this was him stepping into the work of his phantom. Raven was acting like they'd spoken before, was giving him her most closely guarded secret, and was referencing deals and conversations they'd had, because the two of them had spoken before. Venom Aldric had made contact with Raven and had cut a deal with her.

But Nebo Aldric had no idea what that deal was.

"I want you to tell me exactly how you expect to kill Salem. No more excuses, you owe me this."

"I..." Aldric spoke slowly, "don't owe you anything." He had to word this carefully, he couldn't speak declaratively, for fear that he'd fuck up and get the facts wrong, but he couldn't just kowtow to her - that wouldn't get him anything by way of information on what Venom was up to, bringing her into the game. "What I did, was done under duress. I literally had no choice, unless I wanted to ruin the entire game... And I'll have you know that no one has a body yet. If Qrow told you I was breaking promises, going back on my word, that would imply that he thought I'd actually done it, and I don't buy that. He knows too well to think that I operate without a plan." He said, "my deals - all of them - are still on." He pushed, "unless you really want to risk changing that." How many Batman Gambits had he started with just that alone? He was relying on whatever deal Raven and Venom set up not having something to with Ruby, because as far as he knew Raven barely cared about her, he was relying on Qrow falsely assuming that Aldric was infallible, largely because Aldric let Qrow believe it, and as such he was banking on Qrow having imparted this idea onto Raven, and Raven lying through her teeth in an effort to get Aldric to slip up and put her in a position over him.

Raven scoffed, head briefly recoiling, "Be that as it may, until we see her again, we don't know if she's alive or dead. Thus - promise, broken, and you need to sell me again. I know you have plans, I know you have backup plans. I want to know them - I want you to sell me on how you'll do in a couple years what Ozpin hasn't done in several thousand."

Aldric leaned back, closing his eyes and letting out a long sigh through his nose.

"Fine." He said, leaning forward. "Fine..." He opened his eyes, but didn't meet Raven's - instead they were locked to the map in front of them. "You want to know how I'll kill God? You want to know how I'll work the Big One?" He sighed, "fine... Listen closely."

Aldric was in the tent just long enough for Cinder to get worried, but not long enough that she considered exit strategies. Just as she felt the chill settle into her spine, she looked up from her scroll and saw him casually strolling out, one arm on his back, practically bent over backwards as he stretched it out. She could almost hear it pop from here.

When Aldric made it to her, she commented, "that took a while."

To which Aldric shrugged, "she's like a police interrogator. Asked the same question eighty different ways before she was satisfied my answer wouldn't change." He explained, nodding over his shoulder to the tent. "You're up, Hot Stuff."

"Anything I should worry about?"

Aldric shook his head, "I told her I wasn't as high up the chain as you, so really she didn't get much. Work your magic and you'll be fine." He stifled a yawn behind his metal hand.

She sighed, "just be ready. If I can't convince her..." She met his eyes, and he nodded, not needing her to speak further.

And as she left, Aldric plopped down on the tree stump she had occupied, leaning back until he hit a wall made of his semblance, letting out a long sigh.

So what is Venom up to? He wondered, and since it was obvious that whatever he was working didn't apply to the new status quo, Aldric asked, What was his plan originally?

He knew thanks to the entry in The Record made after Venom came back from the future what Venom was doing in broad strokes, he was setting up the board for the Big Finale. His double was giving Earth and the Watchmen Salem's location and presumably whatever information from the future that could still apply or be applied now, but that was just that: Earth and the Watchmen. Raven didn't factor into that side of the equation, Raven was specifically within Aldric's purview, so what was going through Venom's mind? Under the auspices of the original plan, before Ruby had died, what would he be trying to accomplish, bringing Raven into it? What could be accomplished, when her death was an absolute necessity, even before Aldric had deemed obtaining all four Relics similarly necessary.

He frowned behind his mask, was Venom trying to secure more numbers for the final fight? The Branwen tribe was big, sure, but Aldric was sitting right in the middle of it - stretching his Radar out, he saw enough people that he stopped trying to count after the third dozen, but of those people barely a fraction of them were open-carrying, the rest of them had small guns or knives concealed on their person. So unless Venom's plan was to arm everyone here with a shotgun and throw them at Salem, the number of fighters here would be insignificant in the grand scheme.

Beyond that, though, Aldric had no idea what Venom could have been trying to bargain for. Did Raven have something he didn't know about? Did she know something?

Wait... Venom arguably has access to my own resources. Aldric hummed, he could get his hands on some senzu beans, weapons, the works... Maybe I'm looking at this the wrong way? Maybe he bargained for Raven herself? Offered her some kind of way to survive all this, such that when the time came to attack Salem, we'd have the collective resources of Earth, the League, and the Watchmen, and Raven herself as a Maiden? He frowned, It would basically be securing the Hulk in a battle against Orc hordes. Something like that would be invaluable, and would explain why he'd give her information on what was planned for her: Knowing her time was coming would make her amenable to dealing. He leads with 'you're going to die,' keeps up the momentum with, 'there's nothing you can do,' and then goes for the kill with 'but I can prevent it, for a price.'

Aldric leaned back forward, jaw stretched in a silent yawn, eyes lazily floating over to Raven's tent, where inside she and Cinder were having a lively discussion.

The only hiccup there would be Raven not being stupid. She said it herself, she's got her finger on the pulse. There's no way she wouldn't be able to predict everything falling apart with Ruby's death. Even if Qrow has reasonable doubt that it happened in the first place, the others wouldn't see it that way. They'd doubt my loyalty, and doubt would turn to suspicion, and I've already thought this one through to death. So she has to know the status quo has changed, so why would she still be willing to go forward with that deal, knowing that? She'd essentially be one-man-armying half the Grimm in the universe, completely alone. It'd just be me in the tower and her outside causing a ruckus... That's a death sentence for both of us. So there's no goddamn way she'd go with that.

Aldric groaned, rubbing at his face - until his hand hit his mask, and he was suddenly reminded of the fact that he was wearing it.

Well, at least no one saw that. He snorted. Back to square one. A beat, scary square.

In the end, thinking about it so much would leave him nowhere. Without asking Raven directly, he couldn't get her end of the story - and by asking her directly, he'd clue her in to the fact that he's operating partially in the blind, and if he was actually in the running to get an extra pair of hands for Salem, as remote as the chance was, he didn't want to mess it up. So he'd have to continue operating, business as usual, with his current plan, and if Raven actually ended up helping him, great. If not, it wasn't like he was relying on the prospect.

Just as Aldric was going to pull out his scroll, he sensed, and soon after saw, Cinder exiting the tent. Considering the thin-lipped sneer, he figured things went well.

He stood up and met her halfway, "well?"

She nodded, "she'll help us." She said, looking over her shoulder and seeing Raven and Vernal exiting the tent as well, the latter darting further into the tent city and barking out orders, while Raven approached the two of them. "I'm going to stay here, she has a semblance that allows her to open portals to people she shares a bond with." She said, turning back to Aldric. "I want you to take the ship to Mistral, meet with the others and coordinate a distraction."

Raven picked up, "It should be an eight hour flight from here, so I'll wait twenty four before we head over. Sound good?" She asked, securing her own mask to her face.

Aldric nodded, "is that twenty four hours from right now, or from when I leave the tribe?" He asked, with a grin.

Cinder rolled her eyes, "go, Aldric."