Heart's Embers

by SugarLoaf12

It's been fifteen months hasn't it? Living from day to day, moving from place to place. Looking for the next payday, the next target... the next fight. I thought living outside their war would be easier. But sometimes knowing... is all it takes to leave you wondering "What if" I think back to why I left and I know I made the right choice... Ozpin be damned.

37. Manifestations

Hey, guys! Managed to get this one finished sooner than I expected! I don't know about anyone else, but this website has been giving me a lot of problems when it comes to editing my stories or even going to the main page. Hopefully whatever the issue is will be resolved soon. Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

"Speech"

Thoughts

---

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Manifestations

Ironwood sat at the head of the table, the rest of the Council in their own seats as he finished making his report to them. Each of them had mixed expressions of annoyance, apprehension, and concern. He folded his hands on the table in front of him and let out a deep sigh "I take it you have some concerns"

"To put it lightly" Harris sneered.

"So, Mr. Stroud's apparent defection was a ruse to gain information on Chimera's plans and infrastructure?" Jacques clarified.

"Yes, Councilor. To be clear, he pitched the idea to me himself. I never had any concerns as to his true loyalty or intentions. Despite the unorthodox methods of his plan, our losses were minimal and the operation was largely a success. We're still going over the data he retrieved, but I'm confident there will be something actionable"

"And Slade himself?" Rawlings questioned.

"Currently receiving medical attention from Dr. Polendina. He was injured during exfiltration"

"But the base was destroyed, right?" Harris narrowed her gaze.

"I saw it myself. I'll be sending whatever men I can spare to comb over the remains of the base, hopefully we can uncover something useful"

"Did you at least manage to identify Arthur's attacker?"

"We did, he was formerly one of our own. Sable Wolf"

"Him?!" Rawlings spat "I thought Branwen eliminated him years ago!"

"So did I, Councilor. Unfortunately it seems the organization he represents has advanced technology, capable of forcing the dead to fight for them"

"The dead?" Harris asked.

"Chimera, you've recieved my recent reports on them. They posses technology that forces corpses to fight for them. We only just discovered this during Team RWBY's mission to Corinth, and it seems even their living members are outfitted with the same technology to assure loyalty"

"How?" Rawlings questioned curiously.

"The technology controls the brains impulses, refusing an order from a superior is impossible. Our Knights share similarities with their own technology, inhumane as it is. It also means nearly anyone could have it implanted within them without our knowledge"

"And how're you responding to such a threat?"

"I have Penny searching for a way to locate the signal the chip emits, as well as blocking it. Each of our security checkpoints in Atlas and Mantle are being equipped with the necessary equipment to uncover the signal. Hopefully we turn up nothing, but in the event that we do turn up something..."

"You'll have them apprehended" Harris concluded.

"Exactly. Mr. Wolf however seems to be a unique case"

She frowned "What do you mean?"

"The others controlled by this technology have shown no signs of conscious thought, only acting on the impulses the chip forces on them. They're more zombified than living, but he's spoken on several occasions, planned ahead. He even still possesses his Aura"

"Is that even possible? Are we certain it's the same man?" Rawlings asked.

"Unconfirmed at this time, but his skillset suggests advanced Huntsman training. We've also encountered two other operatives outside of Chimera who were reported deceased and their remains buried just like Sable's. It's possible this is a trick, but Slade has encountered similar abilities once before, while hunting down these particular operatives"

"Who are they?" Jacques inquired.

"Hunter Thombs and Cole Larson, former students from Beacon that went rogue and killed the rest of their team. They resurrected them and used them as puppets in combat against Slade's SHDW Team while on mission to capture the two of them. Slade was the only survivor of the battle, Qrow confirmed their deaths when he arrived on the scene"

Harris rolled her eyes "Is it possible the reports of their deaths were... exaggerated? It seems Mr. Branwen has failed to confirm the kills on two separate occasions"

"With all due respect, Councilwoman, I don't believe he was wrong to suggest Sable was killed when he beheaded him"

She grimaced "I... see..." the fear and repulsion were now evident on her face.

Jacques sighed "Very well, James. Reinstating his Huntsman license seems the obvious choice here"

"I concur" Rawlings nodded "Considering Arthur's testimony in his favor, I'd say we should leave the matter in your capable hands, James"

Ironwood smiled "And what of you, Councilwoman?"

Harris frowned "It seems my opinion is unnecessary, I'd be outvoted if I did hold a differing opinion. Reinstatement it is"

Ironwood's grip loosened, letting out a silent breath of relief "Thank you, Councilors. I appreciate your trust in this matter. I'll inform you as soon as we have something actionable"

"Let's just try not to make this a regular thing" Rawlings implored.

"I'll see to it that we don't" he assured, standing from his place.

He made his way out to find Winter waiting for him "General"

"He'll be reinstated by the end of the day" he replied with a firm nod "How are they?"

"Slade remains unresponsive, but Yang seems to be very active. Pietro theorized he could bring Yang out of it, but without communicating with her directly, he can't be sure whether or not doing so would cause damage to Slade in the process"

"Better to just let it continue naturally for the time being then" he sighed "Inform me if there is any change"

"Of course, General. Did you inform the Council of our recent developments?"

"Most of them, yes. With Chimera's main base destroyed, their threat has been significantly lessened. I didn't see any reason to continue to keep them in the dark"

"I understand, hopefully we'll start making headway against Salem's forces now"

He rubbed his eyes with a sigh of exhaustion "We can only hope. Has Oscar heard anything more from Ozpin?"

"Not that he spoke of, Sir"

He nodded "Thank you, Winter. Why don't you get some rest"

"With your permission, Sir. I'd like to stay with the others, I'm certain to have a restless night so long as they're still unconscious"

His gaze softened "I understand, Winter. Do as you will"

"Thank you, General"

---

Yang's eyes widened "How... how are you even here? This can't be real"

Elise shrugged "Believe it or don't. It doesn't really matter, what does matter is getting Slade out from Salem's grasp"

"How? I don't even really understand what's going on here"

"Salem is conducting a ritual to fully remove her consciousness from her body and place it into Slade's temporarily"

"She wants to control him"

Elise shook her head "Salem isn't looking for control, she's looking for information. She's going through his memories while he's trapped in his own mind. Slade's putting up a good fight, but this is a losing battle without help... and I can only do so much"

"How do I help him?"

"Salem split his very being and trapped each part of him within a memory she didn't need. All of him needs to be brought back together in order to expel her influence over him. To do that, you'll have to find the fragments she scattered"

Yang frowned "How do I managed that?"

"Each fragment was separated based on an emotion, he doesn't know what's happening to him and explaining it to him while he's still fragmented is unlikely to work, not immediately. You'll have to relive some of his memories to find him. Only Slade can force her out, all we can do is help him along"

"But I don't even know where to look!"

"I do" she smiled "But Salem isn't likely to just sit idle while you're working, I'll need to keep her occupied, she's looking for information on the Relic, and anything else she can use to her advantage. If she discovers what she's after, there'll be no stopping her"

"I think I understand... but how do I find him? How will I know I'm looking in the right place?"

"You'll know, they'll be the memories Salem's locked away. You won't be able to enter without mimicking the emotion trapped within. Focus on your own memories that coincide with his, and you'll have access. Once inside, you can find him by reliving his memory through him, then placate the emotion by sharing a memory of your own"

"Sharing? How?"

"I don't really know for sure, Yang. All I know, is that matching one of your own memories with his is the key"

"How... how do you know my name?"

She laughed "I know everything he knows, Yang... and some things he doesn't..." she frowned "But we can talk about that later, right now we need to focus. Time isn't on our side here"

"What emotions am I looking for?"

"Happiness, Sadness, Fear, Anger, Grief, and Love" she listed off "Those are the six most powerful emotions of the Human brain. You will have to search the moments in his life when he experienced these sensations at their strongest. I'll try to help where I can, but I can't make any promises"

"Okay... I'll do what I can. I won't leave Slade to Salem's torture"

Elise nodded with a bright smile "Seems my brother chose well when he decided to trust you"

"Thanks..." she smiled back.

"There is one more thing... though I hope it doesn't come to this"

"What is it?"

"If after Slade's emotions are reassembled, he can't force control back from Salem... the only way to keep her from learning what she wants is... to kill him"

Her eyes flashed red "That's not an option"

Elise's hands rose in a placating manner "Hey, I don't want to hurt Slade either, but if Salem learns what she seeks from him, there won't be anything for you to protect for long"

"I know he'll succeed. I believe in him" Yang argued.

Elise seemed unconvinced, but her eyes held onto a glimmer of hope "I hope you're right, Yang... cause we're only going to have one shot at this"

Yang found herself abruptly alone the pitch black space around her lighting up with blue speckled tiles leading in several different directions. Each path led to a single light in the distance, faint, but undeniable. She walked to the closest one and could feel a warmth radiating from it, but the light itself seemed to be lashing out with miniature tendrils of Darkness flailing on it. She reached her hand out and focused her mind onto a happy memory, the light enveloped her almost immediately, shifting her surroundings to find she was standing in a very familiar setting, Amity Colosseum.

It was packed to the brim with audience members, she tried to look around but found herself stuck. She was standing opposite Cole Larson as the countdown to the match began, that was when it hit her. This must've been what Elise meant by reliving the memories, she was stuck inside Slade's body, watching everything he did from his point of view. She could feel how nervous he was, she remembered that feeling well. The displays around the colosseum counted down.

"Let's try and make this memorable, huh?" Slade called.

"I'm not in this for the memories, and you're not worth my time. This'll be quick" Cole snapped.

Note to self, not friendly

"3...2...1! Begin!" one of the announcers cried.

Cole charged forward at tremendous speed, slamming his fist into Slade as he blocked with his gauntlets. Slade slid back a considerable distance from the strike "The hell kinda strength is that?" he asked aloud.

"Oh! That looks like it did a lot of damage!" the announcer's voice echoed.

"Oh, boy! A couple more hits like that from Cole, and Slade's Aura will be depleted entirely!"

He looked up to the screen to his right gauging his Aura in confusion "60%?! I blocked that hit!" he exclaimed incredulously.

"You won't block this next one!" Cole called rushing toward him.

Crap!

Slade put up his hands on each side of his head, shifting around a swing to his right then left, followed by stepping back to dodge an uppercut. Twisting around Cole as he swung his fist toward his right side once more, he dropped into a back handspring beneath a kick for his chest. Returning to his feet, he slid back away from a barrage of strikes, an unamused grunt from his opponent. Cole spun with a swing toward his abdomen, forcing Slade to flip over him to avoid the strike.

Slade's thoughts raced as he struggled to keep ahead of Cole's onslaught of attacks Okay, okay... focus. Focus... remember what Qrow taught you, focus on his eyes, watch your opponent, not the weapon. Anticipate, don't react. Wait for an opening...

Cole kicked for his head, only to have Slade direct it away with the back of his hand, then spun around a follow up strike with his fist. Using his own momentum, Slade spun with his leg high, dropping Cole onto his back as his heel slammed into his face. Cole growled in annoyance from his place on the ground as Slade blinked in surprise.

"I hit him... I hit him!" he grinned.

"Focus, Slade!" Willow called out from the audience.

Cole stood himself on his hands and slammed his heel down, shattering the tiles from the force of his strike as Slade managed to barely avoid it. Cole stood to his feet and wound up for a punch to his face, Slade ducked beneath it, spinning until his back was to Cole, his arms wrapped around Cole's own, unable to stop himself due to his own momentum. Slade performed a vertical kick over his shoulder into Cole's face, stumbling him back as he stood and followed up with a second kick to his abdomen, throwing him to the edge of the ring.

Cole caught himself on the edge of the ring and swung himself back on, both heels directed right at Slade's chest. Unable to dodge the strike, Slade was thrown onto his back, his Aura dropping down to 20% as he slid to a stop on the opposite edge of the ring. Cole strode over to Slade, groaning in pain on his back as he struggled to get to his feet.

"Get up, kid!" Qrow's voice echoed.

Slade's eyes snapped open wide as Cole pulled his fist back to strike. He spun on his hands, avoiding the powerful strike and kicked Cole's hand away from him. Getting to his feet, he slammed his elbow into Cole's abdomen as he spun to a kneeling position, then elevated the back of his fist into his face, stumbling Cole back. He growled in annoyance, pushing Slade's arm away with the back of his hand, he struck for his face.

Slade redirected the strike with his elbow to Cole's forearm, then slid back from a spinning strike for his chest and ducked back beneath a high kick for his head. Slade spun, kicking both legs one after the other across Cole's face, then dropped back into a back handspring away from his own strike. Slade hooked his elbow around Cole's and flipped back into a kick down onto his shoulder, followed by his opposite one in the same place, forcing him down to his knees.

Slade flipped off his shoulder as Cole prepared to block another strike, he spun Defiance in his right hand, elbowing Cole in the face between his arms, then pistol whipping him with it. Before Cole could get to his feet, Slade fired several rounds, two to his chest and one into his knee, three more blocked by Cole's arms in front of his face. Slade flipped back away from him, getting some distance as he checked their Aura's.

17% and 21% "You've gotta be kidding..." he dropped onto one knee, breathing heavily.

"This is a close one! But it's not looking good for Slade, ladies and gentlemen. I believe the match is about to be called" one of the announcers exclaimed.

"He'd have to have something pretty unexpected planned to pull this one off, and after such a good run too!" the other added.

Cole stood back to his feet "You're better than I expected... I should've known after watching your previous matches it wasn't just a fluke thing. But you can't win this tournament"

"That so?" Slade smirked "Unfortunately for you, I still have one trick up my sleeve" he returned Defiance to it's holster.

"It won't do you any good!" Cole charged.

Alright... just like Qrow showed you. Focus, feel the parts that make the whole, big and small. Breathe in... and... out!

Slade thrust his hands forward, Cole was suddenly launched backward, careening over the edge of the ring, unable to recover. He slammed into the ground hard, bouncing until he collided with the wall "What... just... happened!" one of the announcers asked shocked.

"I do believe Slade just activated his Semblance!" he spoke low as he added "Didn't even know he had one yet-" then returned to their usual voice "-and won the match!"

"Cole Larson has been eliminated by ring out and Aura level!" the other called as Cole's dropped to 14%.

"Which means this years Vytal Champion is Slade Stroud! Who'd have thought another Stroud would be winning this tournament so soon after the last one. Congratulations to Team SHDW for the spectacular win!"

"I won..." Slade breathed out in disbelief "I actually... won..."

"You did it!" Hazel called.

"Way to go, Slade!" Dusk added.

"I knew you had it in you!" Willow shouted pumping her fist into the air.

Slade looked out into the crowd at his team, waving with a bright smile on his face. He saw Qrow standing off to the side of the exit with a soft smile, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the wall. Slade rushed over to him, freezing in place a couple of steps away from where he stood. It was then that Yang noticed she was actually watching him run away, not feeling his emotions anymore. She looked around to find the memory was completely frozen, save for a second Slade watching the scene, the only difference between the two were his eyes weren't their natural color. They almost matched her hair color, but were a few shades darker.

"Slade?" she called.

"I remember this like it was yesterday. It was the first time I really felt like I'd accomplished anything, everything else I ever accomplished was tainted by something. Deaths mostly, my brother, parents, even my sister, each milestone in my life was foreshadowed with the death of someone close to me. Unlocking your Semblance is supposed to be a special day in your life, but to me... it was just a reminder of what I had lost. But not this, this was for my team, for me... and it was mine. Is mine"

"Slade..." she frowned.

"That's the thing about happiness isn't it? You don't know what you have until it's gone... but then it's too late. Looking back in comparison to what comes next... that's when you really understand happiness" he turned to her "You know what I mean?"

Yang remembered Elise's words, speaking them aloud "Placate the emotion by sharing a memory of my own" she took a deep breath.

"When I got accepted into Beacon, it was the first time in my life where I knew I was doing what I wanted, not what other people needed. I didn't mind standing in for Mom when she disappeared, I didn't hate taking care of Ruby or having to help around the house more. I knew it was important, I knew Dad and Ruby needed me, and I was more than happy to be there for them. But... it was my choice to become a Huntress, to attend Beacon... when I got that acceptance letter" she laughed "I don't think I ever cheered so loudly in my life. I knew that I was gonna live my life to the fullest... who knew this is where I'd end up" she shrugged.

Slade's happiness started to fade, his smile widening "Thank you..."

Yang was nearly blinded as the light she entered came into view, Amity Colosseum fading from her view. The light was no longer surrounded by the Darkness that had corrupted it before. It flashed off toward the center where she'd started, pathways to the other lights expanding from her current position while her path back to the center faded. She quickly made her way over to the next one, she felt like she'd walked straight out into a blizzard, the cold emanating from this corrupted light made her uneasy. Fear, she concluded a sensation she understood all too well.

She was able to enter easily, her mind drawing back to the first time she'd seen Salem mere hours ago, the fear she felt when she thought she was going to lose Slade to her. She entered to find herself in a castle she didn't recognize, a slight feeling of nausea in the pit of her stomach. Then she felt a sense of dread that was all too familiar to her, the chilling of her very soul, her body pulling and tearing, all of it becoming worse the longer she remained in place. She'd never been to this place before, never seen it, but the crystal throne at the end of the table told her everything, she knew where she was now.

"How interesting..." came Salem's sickly sweet voice.

"I see you've made repairs" Slade forced out as he stood, looking to the windows around the room.

Salem hummed with amusement, his discomfort clearly apparent to her. With a wave of her hand, Slade was suddenly surrounded by Grimm hands as they sprung out of the ground around him from one of her Glyphs, restraining him as he tried to get away, his back arching uncomfortably as he attempted to twist away. His wrist blades emerged, cutting through them hastily, but he remained unable to keep up with them. His arms were forced to a standstill away from his body, each bent at the elbow as another arm constricted around it. He was forced to his knees as Salem rose to her feet.

"Comfortable?" she asked.

"N-not particularly"

She smiled, stepping around the table as she slowly made her way over to him. Slade's desperation to get away from her only increased as she approached "Humor, always humor with you"

"What can I say, I'm a one-trick-pony"

She bent down to his level, her face mere inches from his "It's so good to finally meet you in person"

"I can't say the feeling is mutual. In fact, I've never felt worse-" she covered his mouth with her hand.

"Wondering why you feel like you're dying? You can feel your flesh rending from your bones, yet nothing seems to be truly wrong?" she smiled at the slight nod of his head "You get used to it. Your Aura is reacting to the power of Darkness... my power. It twists you, taints you, purges all that is good from your heart"

Her hand moved to his cheek, caressing it gently "Ma'am" she turned toward the man beside her, one of her Shadow Hands covering Slade's mouth now.

She rose to meet his gaze, looking up at him "The blood on his hands doesn't belong to him... or you"

"No"

"He is here willingly?" she inquired.

"Yes, Ma'am"

She looked back at him, the back of her hand grazing his cheek "Fascinating..."

Slade fell on his hands as the Shadow Hands released their grip on him, gasping for breath, his body still screaming at him to run, to get as far away from her as he could. But he forced himself to remain in his place. The metal hand of his enemy extended out toward him, he reluctantly accepted, getting to his feet.

"Tell me, Slade. Why exactly are you here?" she asked.

Slade looked to the man to his left, his gaze studying him for a moment before answering "It has come to my attention, that making a deal with you would be more beneficial than opposing you"

Salem's smile widened "Now you want to make a deal" she laughed "What exactly are you offering?

"I can give you detailed instructions on how to use the Relic of Knowledge, schematics for the Academy, including the location of the vault, and the identity of the Winter Maiden"

"An interesting proposal... and what do you desire in return?" she inquired.

"Assurance. I want my friends to be safe, I want your word they will not be harmed and I want your word that Atlas will remain untouched. I don't want another Beacon"

Her arms crossed in front of her "I assume that includes Ms. Rose and my former husband's newly acquired host"

"All of them. I want their safety assured and if even one of them is killed or injured irreparably... the deal is off"

She hummed with amusement "Provide me with what you've promised and recover the Relics for me, and I give you my word not a soul will be harmed in Atlas"

"You'll understand if I keep my information to myself until you keep up your end of the deal"

"I'd expect nothing less, Stroud. I'd be remiss to not address the fact you have left your own safety out of our negotiations"

"I don't care what happens to me, I just want them to be safe"

"Hmm... I agree to your terms. Serve me and secure the Relics for my possession, and you'll have nothing to fear from me or mine"

Slade grunted with approval "Then I'd better get washed up" he gestured to himself "I'd hate to walk around looking like this"

"There will be time enough for that later, I require one thing from you before you go"

With a wave of her hand, a corridor of Darkness opened for the briefest of moments, summoning forth three bound civilians. Two humans, a female and a male, and a Goat Faunus with horns on the top of her head.

"What is this?" he asked.

"Your first test. These three unfortunate souls were captured during my Grimm's latest raid on a small village off the eastern coast of Atlas. I had plans for them, but those plans have now changed" she answered "I want you to tell me the real reason you're here"

"And you need hostages to-augh!" he was knocked to his knees when a powerful strike to his abdomen forced the air from his lungs.

"No, Mr. Wolf. We will receive no satisfactory answer through brute force, he is more than accustomed to pain... besides, pain twists the truth. I prefer a more... delicate approach"

"Of course, Ma'am. Apologies"

"Leave us. You have your orders, see to your repairs and then ensure my will is done"

"Yes, Ma'am" he turned on his heel and quickly exited through another corridor forming around him.

What happened next made Yang's nausea worsen as she was forced to watch as the hostages were mercilessly killed, as Slade was beaten, as he tore Salem apart at the seams, how her body seemed to regenerate out of thin air, her skeleton, her muscles and organs, the Grimm fluid seeping through everything as it all came together. The memory suddenly froze, she got to her feet, moving away from the image of Salem, she found another version of Slade hovering over the table, his eyes as green as grass. They were lighter than his usual color, she knew what she'd have to do to help this one.

"I..." she started, but found she couldn't finish.

"I had never been so terrified in my life" Slade started "I had feared for those I loved, for the people I cared for, everytime they were hurt or captured. I was no stranger to fear. I can't even enjoy flying, it always makes me extremely uncomfortable, forces me to focus my mind anywhere else I can. But this... it was like a living nightmare. Terror incarnate"

"I was afraid too... when I lost my arm. I thought I would never be able to fight again, I was afraid Adam would find me and finish the job he started. I was terrified I wouldn't be fast enough, or strong enough. That no matter how hard I trained, I would never be good enough to fight someone like him"

"How did you move past it?" Slade asked.

"I didn't... not alone" she smiled "When Blake and I fought Adam, when you came to help us, when we killed him... I finally faced my fear... and stabbed it through the heart!"

Slade nodded "In this moment, it was not just Salem herself I was afraid of. It was of what she could learn from me, what she would do to those I loved... I can't say I've moved past that fear, not yet... but maybe, just maybe... with the right people by my side, I'll be able to conquer my fear too"

Slade's fear quickly faded in appreciation for her sharing as Salem's castle vanished, the light doing the same as the previous one had. She found the next light erupted like a furnace all around her. She focused on her memory of Mercury, of the lie she fell into when she beat him during their match. Once inside, she watched in horror as Slade's entire team was cutdown by Hunter Thombs and Cole Larson, then watched the memory freeze into place as he started using his Semblance to tear Cole and Hunter apart. Standing above the corpses of his teammates stood another Slade, his crimson eyes staring back at her.

"I know anger" Yang spoke up "I know what it's like to be so angry, to be so mad you can't think straight. First I was mad at my mom for abandoning me, then I was mad at Blake when she ran away, and now I'm mad at Ozpin, even though he just wants to help... all because he lied to me, to us... told us he had a plan, but he had nothing!" she shouted "I can't understand how anyone can forgive him for that! How?! Why would anyone lie about something that important?!"

He nodded in understanding "The thing about anger, is holding onto it. Holding onto that flame with the intent to burn someone else with it, will only leave you as the one burnt. It is better to direct it toward problems, not people"

"Not really what I expected from anger" she quirked her eyebrow "You sure you're the right emotion" his eyebrows knit together "Alright, now I see it"

"I've hated Salem for so long, hated Hunter and Cole, hated Cinder and Raven. So many people I've hated, and all it got me in the end was more pain. The first time in my life I chose to put my anger aside, was only because I couldn't stand to watch someone else be alone... I couldn't be the reason she didn't find her family, so I let Raven go. I couldn't do that with Hunter or Cole, it was better for everyone that I didn't... but that hole they made inside me didn't get better, it was just empty. No family, no friends, no purpose. Emptiness is a hard thing, makes being pissed at the world much easier"

Yang frowned "That's why you can't bear to see Neo falling into the same trap. Because you've already been where she is now"

"And I got the revenge I craved, but it only made things worse" he turned away from Yang "Don't let yours consume the good in you, enjoy the days you have with everything you've got. In the end, memories are all we have of the ones we lose"

Anger faded away, leaving Yang halfway finished as the light sped off without her. The next one she found made her feel like her chest was constricting, like she couldn't breathe, tears stinging at her eyes. She knew where she was, what she'd have to do. Pressing her hand to the light, she focused on the feeling of sadness she'd felt when she believed Slade had left Mistral, when she thought he'd abandoned her. Pushing through, she immediately recognized the city around them, this had been the rooftop where Slade had been when they were hunting down Cinder. She was shocked to find the door kicking open, knowing that he'd never reported Cinder's presence to her or the rest of the team.

Cinder charged toward Slade, flipping forward as he fired at her, dodging the bullets. She kicked for his head, forcing him to block with both his arms. She performed a backhand spring away from him as he slashed his wrist blades toward her chest. Balancing herself on her hands, she kicked at Slade's shoulder. Slade flipped backward over her. Immediately, Cinder thrusts a blade of fire toward him and Slade spins his heel to meet it, a small shockwave was created between their strikes, pushing him back several feet.

Slade fired his gauntlets at her feet, but she leaps over it impaling her blade into the ground as he rotates around it, avoiding the strike. The two of them trade blows, Slade using his armored boots to block the blade as she deftly avoided each of his strikes. Slade managed to land a blow on Cinder's shoulder at the cost of her also striking him with her blade, pushing him back. Slade twisted down onto one knee, aiming Defiance right at her, using his opposite arm to keep his aim level. Cinder and Slade remained in place, silently waiting for the other to make the first move.

"You're not Cinder" Slade turned his gun up away from her, standing straight up. The image of Cinder in front of him changed to reveal Neo, she held the blade of Hush in her right hand and the umbrella in her left ready to strike.

Suddenly Yang understood, it wasn't because he was lying to them about Cinder... he was keeping Neo safe from Ironwood. She felt a pang of guilt at having believed the worst about him, followed quickly by a bout of jealousy she couldn't shake "Get it together, Yang" she reminded herself, Slade's emotions overriding her own.

Slade sighed, holstering Defiance "I know you blame Ruby for what happened to Roman, rightfully or not... it doesn't change what happened"

Neo's expression never changed watching his gauntlets for any sign of a threat to her "I really don't want to fight you, Neo. I have no intention of stopping you if you plan to escape... so... how do you wanna play this?" his wrist blades retracted.

Neo considered his offer for a moment, she sheathed the blade and placed Hush over her shoulder. Slade breathed a sigh of relief "Ceasefire it is" he smiled "You look good... all things considered"

Neo gave him a small bow from where she stood, followed by a grin "I do, don't I?" she signed.

"Slade, are you there? Where's Cinder?" Jaune's voice called through his earpiece. His hand reached up, pressing two fingers to his earpiece "I hear you, Jaune-" he stopped upon noticing Neo's worried expression "She's not here, but keep your eyes open, she could be hiding"

"Got it, thanks for the heads up. Weiss and I will do another sweep of the bottom floor while Nora and Ren keep to the rooftops, can you handle the rest of the building?"

"Don't worry, I'll let you know if I see her" he turned off the receiver on the earpiece "You can relax, I'm not going to be turning you in. We're friends remember? Least I can do is try and look out for you now that Roman..." he stopped, his expression turning sour at the thought, Neo's matched his own "I can't say I know exactly how you feel, Neo. But I cared about him too, despite the circumstances... I wish he was still here too, even if he would've had to be my enemy"

Neo looked up at him, she seemed to be considering discussing it.

"Do you... want to talk about it? You know I'm a good listener"

Neo sarcastically rolled her eyes, a small smile on her face to his poor choice of words.

"Right... you know what I mean" Slade chuckled.

"I do" she signed "Doesn't mean I want to"

"I understand" Slade sighed "I know Roman was working with Salem, and I know he was scared of her... but what about you? Why're you helping Cinder?"

Neo's expression said it all, she wasn't happy to be working with her either.

"Look, Neo. I know Roman meant a lot to you, and I'm not gonna ask where Cinder is, I know you wouldn't tell me even if I did... but helping her isn't going to do anyone any good. She wants the Relics and the Maidens just like Salem does" Slade approached her placing his hand onto her shoulder "Killing Ruby isn't going to change what happened and it isn't going to make you feel better"

Neo flashed him a look of anger, she pushed his hand away harshly turning away from her.

"You think I don't want Cinder to suffer for what she did to my family? That I don't want to cause Salem the same pain that I felt when she had my friends killed!? That I didn't tear Hunter and Cole apart for what they did!? It took everything I had in me to let Raven go when I found her, after what happened to..." he stopped, his anger threatening to boil over "I wanted to kill Cinder so much when Roman went down, hell I thought you had died with him dammit!" he shouted.

Neo turned her back on Slade, unsure what she should do.

"Killing Ruby isn't going to make it any better for you, Neo. Trust me, I know... it feels good but only for a short while, then it just leaves you feeling empty inside... all over again" his hands clenched into fists "I'm tired of losing people I care about. If you keep pursuing this one of you is going to end up dead, and I don't want to see that happen to either of you"

Slade moved in front of her forcing her to look at him "Roman was afraid of these people for good reason, Neo... He thought he could protect you if he worked with them but now he's gone, what do you think is going to happen to you when Cinder is done with you? You think she's just going to let you go?"

Neo tensed up a bit but didn't push him away this time.

"Ruby didn't kill Roman, blaming her is only going to get you killed one way or the other. Salem wants Ruby alive, if you kill her, she'll kill you. Please..." Slade stopped at the expression on her face "You already know that... don't you?"

He was met with silence, but even more deafening was the tears streaming down her face. She pressed herself into Slade's shoulder, silently sobbing. He caressed her back gently, soothing her with his voice. She fell to her knees and Slade went with her. He just held her, for what seemed like forever, eventually she released her grip on him and wiped away the last of her tears "Thanks" she signed with a small smile.

"Anytime" Slade matched her smile "What're you going to do?"

Neo stood up backing away from him, she never answered his question... but he knew.

"I see" Slade sighed "You know I'm going to stop you if you come after Ruby" she nodded "We'll have to fight you know... and it won't just be a sparring match" Neo looked down at the ground, a small shake of her head "There's no way I can convince you to stop this?"

With a flash she disappeared from sight, Slade's hand clenched into a fist, he punched the ground beneath him "Dammit, Neo"

The scene before her froze just like the others, a Slade with eyes as blue as the ocean staring back at her "You feel like you failed her, don't you?"

He nodded "Neo was about the only friend I had left... Neo and Qrow were all I've got. Sure I had others, Yang, Ruby, Jaune, Oscar. All of them were important to me, and they cared. But it wasn't the same, and yet it was so much more important at the same time. Neo and Roman had been counting on me, and I could've stopped them from getting killed in Salem's crusade. Instead, I'm left to pickup the pieces from my own mistakes, watching Neo hunt one of my closest friends, knowing I could've changed things, could've saved Roman, could've stopped Neo and made Ruby safe... but I wasn't strong enough for that"

"Slade..."

"I failed two friends in a single day, I didn't blame her for leaving. I understood, and I'll remember. I remember everyone who leaves" he frowned "Sometimes you have to stand on your own to make sure you still can, and sometimes you don't get a choice. Sometimes, loneliness is all you have left... I found a new family, new people to love and to protect... and I will never allow myself to be alone again"

Yang smiled "When I sent my mom away, in Haven... it was the hardest thing I'd ever done. I wanted so badly to be with her, to spend time with her, get to know her for so long, that finally finding her, knowing the things she was willing to do out of fear... it broke my heart. It made me wish I couldn't feel anything, just so the pain would stop. Seeing her here in Atlas, knowing she actually wants me now... it's even worse than when she didn't. Why now? Why not then? Why wasn't I... good enough?" tears started to well into her eyes.

"It's questions like those that stay with us for the rest of our lives, but sometimes... we find our answers, in our own ways. Sometimes, those we seek approval from, are the ones we need it from the least"

Once more she found herself standing in this familiar space as the light dashed off without her. She wiped the tears from her eyes, slowly trudging over to the next light, dreading what it might be. When she felt nothing, no sensation whatsoever, she knew "Grief..." she frowned, pressing her hand to the light, memories of Pyrrha surfacing in her mind.

Yang found herself barely paying attention as Slade and Elise argued, being surrounded by her own mother's bandits, watching through Slade as he cut his way through them in a blind rage after she'd thrown herself onto his own blade. She felt the anguish, the emptiness, the numbness, the unbearable rage, she felt it all. Slade's memory froze when he cradled Elise's body in his own hands. She turned from the scene and found Slade standing over her, his indigo eyes staring back at her with the same emptiness she now felt. She stood to her feet and just pulled it into a hug, unable to say anything more at the present moment, her mind thinking back to the night she'd learned Summer wasn't coming home, that she'd never seen her again.

"You can not protect yourself from pain without throwing away love..." Slade spoke "Death is not the source of our greatest pain, it is what we lose inside that causes us so much suffering. Life is beautiful... but it never lasts"

"It's so hard..." she sobbed.

"I know, but as long as we live, so too, will they. They are a part of us, as we remember them, the only truly dead are those we've forgotten. And I will never forget. Because only love can grant us the gift of eternity" he pulled away from her "When I lost Elise, it was the last thing connecting me to my family, the last person I had been born into this world knowing, the only one left who truly knew me for who I am. But now, I have a new family, new connections, and those connections are what keep me sane in this ever changing world"

Yang nodded, wiping her tears away "When Summer died, Ruby was hit the hardest, she didn't understand why she wasn't coming home, why we couldn't just go find her or why waiting wasn't enough. It hurt me, but nothing hurt anywhere close to as much as watching little Ruby realize she'd never see her mother again, she'd never hear her voice again, never feel her touch again" the tears she shed increased as she spoke "No matter how hard I tried, I could never take that pain away from Ruby, she carries it with her even to this day... and I'm just so powerless to help her"

Slade began to fade "Power won't help Ruby move past her pain... you've already done everything she's ever needed from you. You love her, and that's all that matters"

Yang found the great burden on her shoulders feeling lighter now, the light shot across the empty space she found herself in. There was only one more left, and it'd been the one she'd been dreading to find this whole time. She knew it was likely just a memory of his family, but if it was of someone else... someone he wanted more than her... she wasn't sure she could bear to see it, to know what it was he felt. She could feel the butterflies in her stomach, but she wasn't sure if it was from the light or if it was just her. Pressing her hand to the light, she focused on memories of Ruby, she knew those would be safe for him to see if he didn't feel the same way. Stepping through, her eyes widened in shock, tears beginning to fall anew, her eyes snapping shut as she was forced to experience it from Slade's perspective.

---

Sable sat off to the side of the main practice chamber. The skylight allowing the moon to illuminate the room, dimly lit candles lined the entire room, save for the four pathways leading out. Salem's emblem was emblazoned in the center of the ground, faint red light glowing from it now. There were candles on each of the outcroppings of the main diamond shape in the center, purple flames burned on each candle. Between these four candles, Salem laid firmly on her back, her arms extended to each side, black nails embedded into the palm of each hand, energy passing through them, vibrating slightly. He worked away with his remaining hand on reconnecting his old hand to his arm, the tool in his hand dropping sparks to the floor from his place there.

Tyrian watched over Salem dutifully as Emerald strode into the room with Mercury at her side "You-" she stopped upon seeing Salem's position on the floor "What's she doing?" she asked confused.

Before Tyrian could answer, Sable stood to his feet, his newly repaired hand flexing as he walked "She said she needed absolute concentration" he motioned for them to follow "But we will need to talk"

Mercury raised his eyebrow at Emerald, who swallowed nervously "Yeah... right..."

"Something wrong?" Mercury whispered.

"No... nothing" she quickly turned away, following behind Sable as he walked.

"Salem knows you've been helping Cinder, that you warned her I was coming" he told her once they'd entered the entry corridor.

Emerald froze, she knew this was coming, she'd been surprised it didn't come sooner but held her tongue "Em?" Mercury asked surprised.

Sable chuckled "Don't worry so much, Emerald. This was always part of the plan"

Her eyes widened "It... was?"

"Why else would she send you and not someone with no loyalty to Cinder? She wanted reports on her movements, that is true. But she also hoped to test Cinder's loyalty, to see just what her goal was in Atlas. Considering her association with Neopolitan, it's obvious she thinks she can take Ruby's life and still pin it on someone else. How better to test her, than for you to squeal the moment she seemed in trouble?"

Emerald was shaken, but thought better to comment on the subject "W-what is Salem gonna d-do to her?" she stuttered out.

Sable shrugged "Couldn't say, she rarely tells me the full plan. All I know, is Cinder would be better off focusing on the Relic she was charged with securing"

"But-"

"He's right" Mercury cut in "If Cinder is trying to play games with Salem, who's to say where those lies will stop? We can't trust her if she doesn't play ball"

Hunter's voice echoed through the hall "Finally! Someone who gets the damn picture! Ugh! You would not believe-ow!" he yelped when Cole struck him across the face "What the hell was that for?!"

"What part of absolute silence did you not understand?"

"Hey, hey! We're not even in the same room with her!"

"Shut up, you idiot. We're only a wall away, didn't you get enough punishment from her the first time?"

Hunter stiffened "Yeah, okay... I get your point" he chuckled nervously.

"You two are obnoxious as ever" Sable called "Don't you have anything better to do than hang around here? I've got enough corpses following me around as it is"

Cole scoffed "Says the man who's been brought back from the dead"

"That's kinda been going around..." Mercury mumbled to himself.

Sable growled "I don't have time for this" he looked to Emerald "Make sure you're ready when Salem calls on you both" his head shifted between her and Mercury "She's got an assignment for you"

Hunter laughed as he walked past "Oh, yes! The fun is about to begin, and I'm raring to go!"

"You go into battle like that, and you'll die" Cole warned.

"Ah, hell! Cole! You gotta take the fun outta everything? Besides, I'm already a walking corpse, the hell are they gonna do to me?"

"We're immortal, Hunter. Not invulnerable, don't forget that. Raven already almost sent us back on her own, you really want to give that another run?"

Hunter balked "That was only because she was a Maiden and you know it!"

"Whatever soothes your ego"

"The hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"What do you think it means? Idiot"

Sable could hear their arguing as he continued down the hall, reaching Salem's personal quarters, he took a moment to take everything in. He looked himself up and down in the mirror she had before looking down to the nearby nightstand, with a book on it. It was leather-bound, adorned with a a red diamond on the front. He opened it carefully, flipping through the pages until he found what he wanted. Closing it, he gingerly placed it back onto the table before exiting the room, heading back to his own quarters. Or the ones she'd set aside for him for the moment, anyway. The room was bare, save for a small table with replacement parts for his body atop it. In the corner sat a Seer, hovering over a locked chest, the only other item in his room.

"Get away from there" he shoved the thing away, earning a low growl, or his approximation of what growling must've sounded like from such a creature "We have more pressing matters to attend to"

The Seer seemed to understand, a low hissing emanating from it before the red smoke filled it's head. After a moment of silence, the head of Willow Schnee appeared within "What is it? I'm very-" she stopped when she noticed it wasn't Salem "Who is this?"

"Salem is currently preoccupied at the moment, but this cannot wait. We're prepared to fulfill our end of the bargain"

She smiled "Good! After all the work I did to get a location on Mr. Sutton, I would have hoped she'd have something more substantial for me than empty words"

"I would keep those thoughts to yourself, Mrs. Schnee. I doubt she would take kindly to hearing them. Wouldn't you agree?"

Willow paled and nodded in understanding "What is the plan? You wouldn't be calling if you didn't need something from me"

"Indeed, we do. Salem is sending two of her operatives, but we're going to need our... mutual friend to play their part"

Willow laughed "Oh, I doubt that'll be hard to manage. It didn't take much pressure for me to ensure cooperation"

"Good. We've had too many-" he was interrupted by the walls of the castle shaking, a familiar roar of frustration echoing down the halls "-setbacks" he finished.

"What was that?"

"Nothing you need concern yourself with. We'll be in touch" the Seer turned to leave as the smoke vanished from it's visage.

Sable turned away from it, opening the chest before him. Inside it sat red, orange, and yellow painted Atlesian armor. It had a small red single-shouldered cloak mounted on it, an emblem similar to the White Fang's original symbol on it, a side facing wolf head inside the Atlas symbol. The armor looked like it had been painted by a child, colors mixing together in various places inconsistently. He traced his metal fingers over the poorly drawn replica of the wolf head on the breastplate of the armor. Sable reached into his pocket and pulled a silver locket from it's place, opening it. Inside was a badly burnt photograph of his old self wearing the armor, and a little girl in his arms.

He possessed a dark complexion with bright golden eyes and fangs showing over his close-lipped smile. The girl in his arms couldn't be much older than four or five years old, her skin contrasted greatly with his, ghostly white with deep blue eyes and no discernable Faunus features in the picture. Sable's hand hovered over the picture a moment, his metallic fingers grazing the burnt edges. He snapped it closed and placed it inside the chest, before shutting it roughly, hoisting it onto his shoulder. He walked outside the castle, ignoring the voices all around him as he walked the halls, the Grimm watching his every step as he made his way down to the Grimm pools beneath the castle.

He took one last look at the chest as he placed it beside the pool, he placed his heel onto the edge of it "Sable" Salem's voice called from above.

He looked back, her form slowly lowering from the sky. His gaze darted to her palms, the wounds from the nails impacted there having completely healed over "Ma'am"

She looked to the chest beneath his boot "Finally letting go?" she asked.

"This is the end of the line for me, one way or another" he answered, pushing it right into the Grimm substance "My life as a Huntsman is over... as a father"

She offered him a sympathetic frown "I understand" her hands folded behind her "We have a problem"

"What kind of problem?"

"A blonde problem"

---

Yang's forced herself to open her eyes, she couldn't believe it, she knew exactly what was happening here. She was watching herself walk into the vault of Haven and taking the Relic for herself as Raven left them both behind. She saw tears streaming down her own face as she crashed to the ground, Slade approached her from behind, kneeling down to her level and placed his hand onto her shoulder. She watched as she grabbed him into a hug, sobbing into his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her protectively. She remembered never feeling more safe with anyone than she did in that moment, with his arms keeping her steady, she knew she would be alright, that he would be there to catch her when she fell, and she hoped he knew she'd be there for him when he needed her to be too.

She almost didn't notice the Slade beside her as the scene froze before her, his cotton candy colored eyes staring back at her "Love, huh?" she asked.

He smiled at her "This... this was the first time I truly understood why I came back, why I chose to oppose Salem directly, to work with Ozpin and fight with Huntsmen, all the things I'd abandoned. It was because it was the first time I had someone see right through the walls I hid behind, the first time someone learned all the ugliness I had in my life, learned what I could be, was warned what I could do... and yet still she wanted me to fight by her side, still... wanted me. To be honest... I think it scared me, more than I understood"

"You were afraid of losing someone close to you again"

"I was... I was afraid of lowering my walls, I was afraid of opening my heart... but most of all, I was afraid to be loved again. In some ways, I still am, but there's nothing that can stop love, nothing that can truly break that connection. It binds us together across endless space, regardless of circumstance. That connection may stretch and tangle, but it can never be broken"

"That's... weirdly beautiful" she gave a soft laugh.

"In this moment, I felt trusted, more than that, I felt wanted, and it is a feeling I never grow tired of chasing. One I hold onto so tightly, sometimes I worry I'll crush it"

Yang understood "When you promised me everything would be alright, I believed you. I felt safe, protected, loved... wanted" she wiped a single tear from her cheek "It was the first time in my life when I knew without a doubt that I'd made the right decision, that I could trust you and that you wouldn't turn your back on me. I had my team, my sister, my family... but that was all chosen for me, and even then, some of them left me all on their own"

"You just wanted something that was yours, something you found, not something that was found for you"

Yang nodded "I know that sounds selfish, like I don't appreciate my friends and family, I do, I really, really do! But it was just so different here, I couldn't explain it. Hell, I didn't even know it back then" she laughed at herself "Always the last one to know, I guess"

Slade's smile widened as he faded, his hand clasping on her shoulder "Everything will work out in the end, just follow your heart. It'll guide you to where you want to be"

Yang wiped her arm over her eyes, trying to get the last of her tears cleared up as she heard the last of the memories soar to the center. She looked up expecting to only find one path back, but she could still see a light off in the distance to her left, one she didn't have a path to reach "What is that?"

She ran to the center of the walkway and leapt across the chasm sliding into a landing on the back of her heels, stopping in front of it. She expected to feel something, anything, but she was met with uncomfortable silence. Not even the emptiness she felt with Slade's grief had been like this, this was truly devoid of all emotion. She inspected the light to find it was blocked, pushing her back as her hand touched it, landing on her back from the force.

"What the hell?"

Leaning up to look at it, the light was now covered with dark green gears of varied size surrounding it on all sides, each layered with two to three more gears inside depending on the size. Yang got to her feet and pulled her metal fist back, winding up for a powerful strike as she leapt forward. She cried out as she slammed her fist into it, finding herself stopped by a hand on her wrist, following it her eyes narrowed.

"This isn't why you're here, Yang" Elise said sternly.

"What is this?"

"It doesn't matter, Slade-"

"This is one of his memories! Why is it here if Salem isn't after it?" she asked annoyed by her dismissive tone.

Elise took a deep breath, letting it out with a shake of her head "She is after it, Yang. That's why it's so important you don't access this memory"

"Because she'll see it if I do?"

"No, not unless Slade fails to remove her from his mind. If she stays behind, she'll find this eventually, and if that happens... not even Ozpin would be able to stop her"

"Why? What does Slade know that could tip the scales like that?"

"It's not what Slade knows that's the problem... it's what Slade is that's the problem"

"What he is?" she asked confused "What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

"Look, we don't have time to argue over this. We need to put Slade's emotions back together before Salem finds what she's looking for"

"No! I am sick and tired of all the secrets and the lies! What the hell do you mean?! What is in there that is so bad?!"

Elise frowned "I don't know, Yang... not truly. All I know, is that whatever it is, is the only reason we're even able to have this conversation. Why Ozpin locked-... it doesn't matter anyway"

"Ozpin? This is Ozpin's doing?!" she gestured to the memory "I thought Jinn showed us everything he was hiding from us?!"

"She did. Ozpin wasn't hiding this from you, or Slade, or anyone else... just Salem"

"I... but why didn't she show us what this was?"

Elise gave a short laugh "The beings within the Relics are very literal, Yang. Ruby asked what Ozpin was hiding from all of you, not what he was hiding in general. Jinn showed you everything Ozpin didn't want you to know, not everything he hasn't told you" she explained.

Yang frowned "Well that's... inconvenient"

She snorted "Tell me about it"

"Wait a minute... Ozpin asked how he can destroy Salem! Does that mean Jinn's answer was only about him?!"

Elise grimaced "Well... yes, and no. She answered Ozpin's question literally, but the answer wouldn't have changed no matter how the question was worded. The only way Salem can be destroyed is if the Gods return and remove her immortality themselves. Otherwise... she'll just keep coming back. The better question, is how can Salem be contained"

"If he had asked that, Salem wouldn't be around anymore?!" she asked incredulously.

"It's impossible to say for sure... all I know, is Ozpin's tried containing her before, and it's never worked. I don't know if there truly is a way to stop her, conventionally or otherwise. I just know, if she isn't stopped... she'll win eventually"

"But how can we stop her, if we don't even know how to stop her!?"

Elise sighed "I don't know, Yang. I wish I had all the answers for you, but there wasn't a whole lot they were willing to tell me"

"They? They who?"

"The Gods, Yang"

"Oh... right... cause you... died" she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"Well... technically that's not entirely true either"

Yang blinked in surprise "Uh... what?"

"Well, you see, Yang... I'm not dead, not really. My body died, sure... but my soul never actually left Remnant. If I truly died..." she activated her Maiden abilities, her eyes emblazoned in green flames "I wouldn't still have these. I'd be part of someone else now"

"Does that mean... all the Maidens are merged together into a single soul? Is that what's gonna happen to my mom?"

"Well... technically, yes. But it's not quite what you're thinking" she answered as her power deactivated.

"Huh?"

"The Gods explained it all to me when I questioned them. Ozpin's soul merges with the host's soul after a time together. The Maidens do the same, but when Ozpin's curse is finally released, our souls will be separated once again and all of us will be brought to... well, wherever we go after we pass"

"You mean you don't know?"

"Like I said, I'm not actually dead, Yang. But we have to go somewhere, or Salem wouldn't be able to bring us back so easily. Neither would the Gods have been able to resurrect Ozpin"

"Then what happened when you died? How are you even here right now?"

"It's Slade's Semblance... it activated when I... when I made him kill me" she grimaced "He was so desperate to keep me alive, his Semblance kicked in and well... now here I am, stuck up here. Watching everything from his brain... though I do have some key advantages. Being indirectly tied to his body, I can sense more than he can, my Semblance has a much greater range than it used to when I was still alive"

"Semblance? What was your Semblance?"

She grinned "Impressions!"

"Impressions... what?"

"Well, not like you're thinking. Here, I'll show you" she took Yang's hand from her and closed her eyes.

"What're you... doing, exactly?"

Yang stopped when she could almost physically see Ruby standing in front of her, the area around her shifting to the woods around their home. Ruby was flat on her back while she saw herself standing over her "Ow..." she groaned out.

"Come on. You totally could've dodged that" she offered her hand to Ruby.

She quickly accepted it "Yang! I've already told you, I'm just not cut out for hand-to-hand. Why can't I just use my beautiful Crescent Rose?" she brought her hands to her cheeks, a dreamy look in her eye as she pictured the weapon in her head.

"That's exactly why I wouldn't let you bring it"

"Ugh" Ruby frowned.

"I'm gonna be leaving for Beacon soon" she placed a comforting hand on her arm "I wanna make sure my little sis can hold her own while I'm gone"

Ruby crossed her arms "Fine" she pouted.

The memory froze just as Yang's past self pulled her fist back to strike, the current Yang turned to look at Elise as the memory faded with a look of shock on her face "See?"

"How did you do that?"

"Impressions, like I said" she smiled "Everything is connected by invisible threads, markers left behind. People, things, places" she shrugged "Sometimes it's not always something that has happened but something that can happen"

"Wait a minute, wait a minute!" she waved her hands in front of her face "Then the visions Slade's been experiencing, they're..."

"Me? Yeah, it's uh... hard to explain. But when I feel an impression, I don't seem to have as much control over it as I used to. My Semblance just kinda... does it, all on it's own. Since I'm stuck in here, Slade's kinda... an unexpected passenger"

"But... how can something from the future have an impression on the past?"

Elise shrugged "Yeah, I asked that question too. All I got was 'impressions of events can lead to possible outcomes' I'm guessing it's like throwing two rocks into a pond. The ripples will both go out from the center, but they may not both end up in the same place"

"That's... weird"

"Tell me about it! I'm just making an educated guess as it is!"

"But if that's your Semblance, Slade would've known about it right?"

She shook her head "Ozpin specifically requested I keep my Semblance secret, he believed someone like Salem would try to use it to learn things he kept from her. Like how to use the Relics, or how to open the Beacon vault"

Yang pondered her words "So... was it you who was taking control of him before?"

"What?"

"Slade, when the Faunus were attacked by Chimera's goons disguised as guards? His eyes changed, and his Aura seemed to change color too"

"Ah... that"

"Yeah, that. Was it you?"

"No, that's one of the dangers of having someone like Salem occupying his subconscious all the time. Just like with Ozpin, her being was melding together with Slade's. Only problem is, neither of them knew what was happening because neither of them were directly in control"

"Then it wasn't Salem directly, but she was influencing him?"

"More or less. The longer she hosts a fragment of herself within him, the worse it'll get. I'm hoping our work here today will change that"

"But why didn't you tell him you were here? Explain to him the visions weren't from Salem?" Yang asked "Why let him think he was going crazy?"

"I tried, but it's harder than it looks"

"Harder than it looks? What, you think he wouldn't believe you?"

"Because believe it or not, Ozpin makes this look a lot easier than it is! Do you have any idea just how long it took me to understand what was happening? To understand I wasn't going crazy, or dead, or... something else entirely?! I tried talking to Slade, I tried explaining to him what happened! But everytime I did, all I could show him was my death... over and over again... I was torturing him with nightmares, not helping him!" she explained, tears in her eyes "What would you have done?!"

Yang was taken aback "I... I'm sorry, I... I didn't know..."

Elise took a deep breath "No, you didn't" she exhaled "And none of this matters. We've wasted enough time as it is"

"Elise... don't you think Slade deserves to know the truth Ozpin's keeping from him? It may not be intentional, but Slade's being lied to again if there's something being kept from him-"

"Ozpin locked this memory away for good reason. When I talked to the Gods, they made sure I understood just how important it was that Salem never learn what he's hiding in there. If you know what's in there, if Slade knows what's in there... it'll put you all at risk"

"But-"

"Yang, please. Don't ask me to do this. If Salem finds this..."

"She won't"

"There's no way we can know for sure Slade will succeed in expelling her. We-"

"I believe in him, Elise. He's your younger brother... don't you have any faith in him"

"Of course I do... it's just..."

"You're not sure" Yang wore a look of determination "I am. I trust Slade, and I know he can do this. We need him to do this"

Elise looked away, a deep frown setting onto her features "They... didn't explicitly say no one could know about this... and you already know the truth about his Semblance" she placed her chin between her thumb and index finger, deep in thought.

"Elise?" Yang called.

She nodded her head "Okay, Yang... I'm gonna go make sure Slade comes back together. Give him a fighting chance against Salem" her Maiden power reactivated a concentrated blast of lightning expelled from her hand crashed into the shield blocking the memory, shattering it like glass after a moment of focus on her part "You... do what you have to do"

Yang smiled "Thank you, Elise"

Her frown deepened "Don't make me regret doing this" she launched herself toward the center of the area, the fire she generated from her hands propelling her forward.

Yang watched as the lights forming his now uncorrupted memories coalesced into a single bright light before shooting off into the air. She pressed her hand to the one remaining memory. She felt serene, it had been a long time since she'd felt this calm. She briefly wondered if Slade had been sleeping in this memory, but was interrupted when she heard the sound of a door sliding open. She couldn't see anything no matter how hard she tried but she recognized the voices, they were undeniably familiar.

"As you can see, Professor. She did far more than simple study" Pietro's voice called.

"Such a waste of life..." came Ozpin's sorrowful reply.

Pietro sighed "I agree... she judged all the others as failures... terminated them"

"And this is the only survivor?"

"The only one I was fast enough to save, yes" he replied "I'm thankful I was able to stop her before she succeeded... but the child..."

"Needs a home" Ozpin finished "Have you never wished to be a parent, Doctor?"

"I... I have... I do!" his voice was full of regret "But this boy... he deserves better than what I can offer him. If James knew about this, that it was even possible..."

"James isn't the one I'm worried about"

"Professor? What do you mean?"

Ozpin sighed "I am confident James would be able to see the danger a project like this could pose to us if it fell into the wrong hands. All the same, we should keep it just between us, without Dr. Knowles to repeat the experiments, hopefully we can keep anything like this from being replicated"

"I don't disagree, but this is his project, Professor. What am I supposed to tell him?"

"Tell him the project isn't viable, search for other avenues to research. I believe your project is important, same as James. But this... this cannot happen again"

"I... I understand, Professor. I will destroy all records of her research and only keep what I need to convince James of it's failure. What will happen to the boy?"

There was a moment of silence between the two of them before he asked "What color eyes did you say he had?"

"Why... green, Sir"

"Darker or a lighter shade?"

"Darker, I'd say. Like an emerald. Why?"

Ozpin exhaled "I know the perfect place for him, no one will know where he came from. Only that he needs a home, I know they'll be happy to provide one"

"Who, Professor?"

"For his sake... it's better you don't know"

"I... you're right. After what I've done here... I don't deserve to know"

"This was not your doing, Doctor. It was hers. I know you would never have done this"

"But it was my fault it happened, and my responsibility to destroy"

Ozpin sighed "I understand. Thank you for alerting me to this, Doctor"

"No, Professor. Thank you, without you, who knows how far Jasmine would've gotten. And thank you, for helping the boy"

Suddenly Yang felt herself being pulled away, the sound of their voices becoming fainter until she heard nothing. She suddenly felt herself crash to the ground, her eyes snapping open to find Elise kneeling over her "Slade... he... he's..." she muttered out.

"Hey, hey, hey" Elise grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to sit up "Whatever you saw in there, doesn't matter right now. Slade needs help, right now!"

"Help? How? You're the one with all the magic" Yang got to her feet, joined by Elise.

"Magic isn't what Slade needs right now, he needs support. That's something you've given him unconditionally"

"But I don't understand this... stuff" she gestured widely around them "Not like you do, he needs your help, not mine"

Elise smiled "I don't need you to understand any of this, Yang. The only thing I need you to know how to do, is hit stuff"

Yang blinked in surprise, then smiled eagerly "That, I can do!" she punched her fists together in front of her.

---

Slade's eyes snapped, he sat up abruptly, panting as he took in his surroundings. He was in his dorm room within the Atlas Academy. The sun was high in the sky, alerting him that he'd slept in past when he was supposed to be training the others. Looking to his left, he found Qrow's bed to be empty as he had expected. He figured he must've had a lot to drink last night, he couldn't quite remember what he'd been doing. He stood from his bed and quickly got dressed, there was a firm knock at the door, it propped open a moment later.

"Hey, sleepyhead" Yang called as she poked her head in "I'm not bothering you, am I?"

"No, no. Come in" Slade called "Sorry about training, I can't believe I slept in this late" he said as he holstered Defiance.

"Well we did have one crazy night last night. But we earned it, especially you"

"Huh?" he quirked his eyebrow.

"Don't you remember?" she asked surprised.

"I... uh..." Slade tried to remember, but all he got were vague images of a fight with Salem. He remembered Qrow had engaged her, but not much else. In fact, he couldn't quite seem to remember anything substantial from the past few days.

"We won, Slade! We actually won! Somehow, you used your connection to Salem to convince her turn away from her hatred. She's gone to Vale to help them rebuild the city, and Beacon. We don't have to fight Salem anymore!" she explained to him excitedly.

"We... won?" he asked surprised "I don't... I can't believe it. How can I not remember that?"

She laughed "Probably all those drinks you had to celebrate, you better not have forgotten about our date tonight"

"D-d-date?!" he blinked in shock "Just how many drinks did I have?!"

"Oh, I don't know. I stopped counting after ten, and that was only in the first twenty minutes. You and Qrow were trying to outdrink each other"

Slade's eyes narrowed "Qrow was drinking?"

"Yeah, shocker, right? I mean, he's always been-" Yang was thrown into the wall by a powerful kick to her abdomen "Slade! What the hell was that for?!"

"You're not Yang. She'd have known Qrow quit drinking when we got to Atlas. What the hell are you? Where am I?" he demanded.

Yang's enraged expression shifted, her skin becoming colorless, the walls around them crumbling as the sun faded behind him. Slowly, her appearance changed to match that of Salem's own "Always so perceptive" she growled out.

"Trying to take control again?" Slade asked.

"I've never had control, Slade" she hissed.

"Then what the hell do you want with me, huh? What makes you stick around after all these years? There's nothing for you to gain from me!"

"There is everything to gain from you!" she shouted back "You possess knowledge on how to use the Relic, you know the weaknesses of my enemies and you possess far more than that, things you don't even know you have"

"You're never getting your hands on the Relics, and I will never allow you to harm one of them again. Not so long as I'm still breathing. Atlas will not fall to you, and humanity will not be destroyed by you!"

"Humanity?" she laughed "Humanity has been destroying itself long before my war with Ozma began" she gestured widely around her "Just look around! They hate anything they don't understand, anything that's different from them, they're blinded by the glorious fairytales of heroes and villains, stories where the heroes always win, not because they're strong, but because they're doing the 'right thing'. And yet all they can do is wage endless wars against each other. And the Faunus are no better, only look to the White Fang to see that I'm right"

"Maybe we're not perfect, but who is? You don't have to rule them with fear to keep them in line, you can teach them. Show them to learn from past mistakes"

"Humans will never learn" she spat "I've been on Remnant for generations, blame me for all humanity's problems if you like, but they did not improve when I was gone. Decades I was locked away beneath a damned mountain, I spent a lifetime away from humanity until Ozma returned to me. And in all that time, the humans of this world have never done anything differently. Even at peace they hate, they scheme, they reach for more, for what they haven't earned. There is no future for this world, not the way it is now"

"So we should just kill everyone? How does that solve anything?"

"Death is not a solution, it is an end" She held out her hand "But we could build something different, something new"

"No... I'll never join you, Salem. I'll never give you what you want. You're powerful, immortal, but you're not infallible. Even you can be tricked, contained, defeated. I will not submit to you"

Salem growled "If you will not submit willingly... then you will die, painfully"

"No, you're gonna get the hell out of my head" he removed Defiance from it's holster "I get rid of you, and I'm free of this nightmare"

"How convenient for you, Slade. Stop me and all the hurt and pain fade away. Imagine that, you're still not capable of listening to your heart. You're still so afraid, you can't run from the pain forever!"

"I'm not running anymore!" he fired several rounds toward her.

"No, you're not" she stopped each round with her hand outstretched toward them "You're ignoring it, burying it deep inside. Letting it fester, letting it rot your heart"

Slade used his Semblance to force each round forward, Salem deflected each of them with a blade coming out of thin air. She closed the distance with Slade as he fired more rounds toward her, each one changing course as they came into contact with the blade. Slade dropped into a back handspring away from two horizontal strikes, then redirected a thrust towards his chest with his right heel, kicking it away. Salem spun with the strike, forcing him to lean back away from it as the blade passed over him. Her opposite hand outstretched, lifting him into the air, flipping him horizontal.

"The cracks are showing, Slade. The veil between us is wearing thin! You cannot keep me out forever!"

"Watch me!" Slade used his Semblance to throw her backward.

Salem soared through the air as he slammed onto his back painfully, she flipped backward, slowing to a stop midflight. She reached her hand out, forming a volley of blades above him "I gave you every opportunity to stand with me, but you've thrown all of it away... for them"

The blades descended, stopping a few feet over him as he caught them with his Semblance "They... are all that matters to me"

"You held it all inside for so long, never betraying your pain, the guilt you feel, the dark thoughts you keep... How many times you begged me to end it all!" she grinned "But then they come along, and suddenly all that pain, all that suffering, you just push it all away and latch onto them, leeching off their happiness, their love. You are alone in this world! Just... like... me!"

Salem started to force the blades down with her magic, his Semblance being overpowered. They suddenly vanished she was struck by a blast of fire from behind, stumbling over as she cried out in agony. Salem turned just in time for Yang's fist to slam into her face, sending her flying a large distance, she flipped backward as she soared, hovering in the air. Yang landed beside Slade, her hand extended out to him.

"Get up!"

"Yang?" he asked confused.

"You..." Salem growled.

"How are you even here? Where is here-?" he asked as she helped him to his feet.

"Not now!" Yang pushed him away as Salem launched a powerful blast of lightning for them, rolling out of the way the opposite direction.

Slade rolled back to his feet as he fell, firing Defiance toward Salem, he took notice of her condition, her right shoulder was still burned from the strike Yang had gotten her with. Before he had time to think, Salem launched a blast of energy toward him, knocking his weapon from his hand. Yang moved in to strike, but Salem caught her with her magic, lifting her from the ground and launching her backward. Slade fired from his gauntlets, hoping to distract her. Two rounds struck Salem, forcing her to block the rest with a blackened blade she forged from nothing.

Seeing an opening, Yang fired Ember Celica behind her and pulled her fist back to strike. Salem spun toward her attacker and smacked her away, the blade in a reverse grip in her hand. Salem turned toward Slade as he recovered Defiance, freezing him in place with her magic, encasing him in ice. She pulled him toward her, smashing through it with the pommel of her blade, knocking him onto his back. Yang cried out as she slammed her metal fist into the back of her head. Salem stumbled with an angry growl as she turned back, receiving a second strike to her face, followed by an uppercut. She slammed her head into Yang's, stumbling her back as she struck her across the chest with her blade, causing Yang to cry out in pain.

Salem then used her magic to hold her in place, several rounds fired into her injured shoulder, enraging the Grimm witch. She spun the blade as she twisted, blocking the remaining rounds and slammed her heel onto Slade's chest, holding him in place painfully as she applied increasing pressure. Slade used his Semblance to launch her skyward, losing her focus on keeping Yang trapped. Salem formed miniature blackened daggers, launching them downward at Slade from his place on the ground. Rolling out of the way, he reversed some of them back at Salem with his Semblance.

Salem dissolved them as they soared through the air "Did you really think that would-augh!" she groaned as Yang landed another powerful strike to her face, throwing her to the ground, rolling painfully to a stop.

Yang landed beside Slade "Did you notice, Slade?"

"Yeah, the wounds we're inflicting on her don't go away, she isn't immortal here"

"Yeah, she's not as strong either"

"I noticed, it's like she can't use all her power here"

Salem growled "Do you think any of this matters? Do you think they'll forgive you? All those you failed to save, all the people who were counting on you to keep them safe. It was a shame what happened to them, but that's what happens when you fight against me!"

"Maybe I did fail them, but I know they'd never blame me for what happened to them, they wouldn't want me to give up. They're sacrifices mean something to me! And I'm not gonna let them be in vain!"

"You never found your parents bodies, Slade. Were they destroyed in the blast? Or did I make them into one of mine?" she grinned.

Slade froze his hands shaking at the prospect "I... no... they couldn't..."

Yang growled "Shut up! You leave him alone!" her eyes flashed red.

Salem laughed "So defensive! Do you care for him so much? You really shouldn't, he'll never be able to keep you safe" he grin widened "Slade only knows how to watch others die"

"I said, shut UP!" Yang launched herself toward her.

"Yang, don't!" Salem formed a long blackened pike, primed to strike, a malicious grin on her face.

Don't play by her rules, Slade. This is your mind, not hers! You make the rules! Elise voice echoed to him.

Salem's grin vanished when she found her weapon embedded into a wall of ice, trapping her arm there as Yang was pulled back by Slade's Semblance "What is this?!" she bellowed in confusion.

Slade smirked "My brain, my rules"

Salem suddenly found herself standing on a stone floor, she shattered the ice as she started sinking into the floor, the stone creeping it's way up her legs. She struck it with a powerful burst of energy, then another, and again. She continued to unleash a barrage of attacks onto the stone, shattering it apart, but it was faster. The stone immobilized her arms as she sank down, she roared in anger, purple flames erupting from her mouth, the stone cracking all around her. She thrashed and struggled the whole way down until her entire body was encased in the stone below. The room erupted with a bright red light, blinding them. As the light began to fade, it changed to a more serene blueish hue. Both of them found themselves unable to see past their own hands, quickly being enveloped by the cool light.

Yang's eyes snapped open, sitting up in the chair with a gasp, panting heavily "Yang!" Ruby was at her side before the others could move, rose petals flowing behind her "You're awake!" she wrapped her arms around her sister.

Yang returned the hug with a smile "Hey, Ruby"

"Hey, Firecracker" Qrow smiled from his place against the wall.

Blake, Weiss, Jaune and Nora all surrounded her moments later "We were so worried about you" Jaune explained.

"Yeah, what happened in there? Penny was just thrown back out" Weiss asked.

"She was?" Yang asked surprised.

Penny nodded "Whatever you did severed my connection to you and Slade. I'm so glad you're alright"

"We were starting to worry you weren't going to wake up" Winter added.

"Really? Had it been that long?"

"Only a few hours" Nora supplied "I told them there was nothing to worry about, just taking a little nap"

"It was almost twice the time as when Penny woke Oscar" Ren added.

"Hey, what's it matter? She's awake now, right?" Oscar said relieved.

"Delighted as I am to see you've awakened, tell us what transpired. Surely you've accomplished something to awaken all on your own" Pietro prodded.

"I don't really know if I understood everything that happened to me in there. But I do know that Slade-" her eyes widened "Slade!" she forced herself out of the chair and rushed to his side.

"Woah, easy, kiddo" Qrow called as he approached.

"Yang?" Blake asked concerned.

Yang shook him "Come on, come on, wake up, Slade. Slade!"

He groaned "Five more minutes..." he rolled onto his side away from her.

The others all laughed in response, even Winter's barely stifled laughter was clear through her hand. Yang rolled him off the table "You jerk!" she laughed.

Slade caught himself on his hands and sprung up "What? I couldn't resist" he laughed.

"Come here!" Yang nearly tackled him to the ground as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Woah, hey!" he tipped back as he watched Ruby and Nora following behind the blonde knocking him to the ground as they piled on "Ow..." the others couldn't help but laugh at his predicament.

"Good to have you back, kid" Qrow smiled.

"Good to be had" Slade smiled as the others got to their feet, helping him up.

"I'm glad you're okay" Blake pulled him into another hug.

Weiss joined her "Don't you ever do anything like that again"

He returned the hugs to each of them "Sounds like a plan" he couldn't help but smile.

Jaune, Ren and Oscar approached as well as they separated "You had us worried" Jaune nudged him.

"Please try to be more careful from now on" Ren added with a nod.

"We would hate to lose you" Oscar smiled up at him.

Slade shook his head "I get it, I get it" he chuckled "I promise, no more solo missions for me"

"I certainly hope so" Winter smiled "Next time, I'll pull your ass out myself"

Slade quirked his eyebrow, his lips upturning slightly "Well, well, well. Have I finally thawed through that icy exterior?"

She groaned "I hate you"

Pietro leaned onto his desk "I'm pleased you're well, Mr. Stroud" he smiled "You gave us quite a scare"

"But you're back! That's all that matters!" Ruby bounced on the balls of her feet happily.

"Well, it was a near thing" Slade replied, rubbing the back of his neck "If not for Yang's help, I don't know what I would've done"

"What do you mean? What even happened?" Weiss asked.

"I'm not really sure. I remember fighting Salem in the Chimera base, then I woke up in my dorm here at the Academy. Salem tried to trick me, made me see things that weren't true, tried to convince me she'd been defeated for good and was working to help us rebuild"

"Pft! Nah! Who would fall for such an obvious trick?" Ruby cut in.

"Well I managed to figure it out on my own, thanks" he smiled in amusement.

"So you saw through her trick, what then?" Jaune asked.

"She tried to convince me to her side, again. Then we fought, she was much stronger than I was, then Yang came out of nowhere-"

"And we kicked butt!" she grinned, pumping her fist into the air.

"More or less" Slade laughed.

"How did you defeat her?" Ren asked.

"I thought she couldn't be killed" Penny tilted her head questioningly.

"Well apparently the Salem we fought didn't regenerate like she does in the real world. Any damage we did stuck, but being able to hit her at all was still a challenge"

"Then Slade just completely wiped the floor with her! I don't even know how you did that!" Yang bounced with excitement as she spoke.

"How'd you pull that off? Your Semblance?" Blake asked.

Slade shook his head "Elise told me it was all in my head, and that meant, I controlled what happened there. So I changed the rules a bit, encased her in stone and buried her" he shrugged "She likes the dark so much, so I figured she could stay there" he chuckled.

"Quick thinking" Winter nodded "Well done, both of you"

Yang hoisted him into the air excitedly "I still can't believe we actually did it! We actually beat Salem!" she shouted as she squeezed.

"Yang... air" he forced out as she tightened her embrace.

"Does that mean she's gone for good?" Oscar questioned as Yang put him down with an apologetic look.

Slade straightened his clothes with his hands "No more nightmares? No more interruptions from a crusty old witch? I could get used to that" he smiled.

"You won't have to worry about any of that anymore" Yang grinned "If there is one thing I understood in there, it's that"

"How did you find me in there? I mean..." he gestured to Pietro's machine "Obviously, but I'm still a little unclear on the whole rescuing me thing you did"

"As am I" Ironwood's voice called from the doorway.

"General" Slade smiled "Did we get the data?" he asked hopefully.

He smiled back "We did, you've outdone yourself. All of you" he gestured to the others "I couldn't be anymore proud than I am of all of you at this moment"

"Then the base was destroyed?"

"It's toast!" Ruby answered excitedly.

"I wouldn't like to cut our escape so close next time, though" Ren chimed in.

"Nor would I" Ironwood shook his head "Now, tell us what actually happened in there" he looked to Yang "I'm curious how you managed to find your way around without Penny"

Yang frowned "Well, I was back home, mom was cooking in the kitchen with dad and Ruby... but when I tried to hug her, all I could touch was her gravestone" she wiped a tear from her eye as Ruby hugged her.

"Yang..."

She returned the hug before continuing "On her grave was a black Queen chess piece... I threw it away but it just came right back and it was much bigger that time. Almost crushed me! I fell and was trapped with Salem, she dunked my head into the Grimm sludge and all I could see was another face of hers looking back at me, but there was no eyes, no mouth, no nose. It was horrible... that's when she saved me"

"Who saved you?" Qrow asked confused.

Yang looked to Slade "Your sister"

His eyes widened "Elise...?" Yang nodded.

"How is that possible? She's been dead for years" Winter pointed out.

"No, she's not dead" Yang replied "She explained it all to me. Somehow, Slade's Semblance removed her Aura from her body when she was dying and saved her life. But now she's stuck in his body too"

"What?!" they cried in shock.

"I... I saved her?" Slade asked confused.

Yang nodded "She told me how to help you fight Salem, she was looking for information, not control. She wanted to know how to use the Relic"

Slade frowned "So that's why I've been hearing her voice... she's really here... why didn't she ever try and talk to me before?"

Yang shrugged "She told me Ozpin makes it look easier than it is, said she was only giving you nightmares when she tried to talk to you"

"Oh..."

Yang took his hand reassuringly "She doesn't blame you, Slade. But she's been trying to help you for a long time now" after a moment of silence, she gave a light squeeze to enforce her point.

Slade's lips upturned slightly "Thanks, Yang"

She smiled back, releasing his hand "Now I know this all sounds pretty weird, but it's about to get weirder" she grinned.

---

Ironwood sat quietly at his desk, the others all standing scattered across the room "You confirmed his identity?" he asked, quirking his eyebrow.

Slade shrugged "Well, I didn't exactly get a DNA test. But he called himself Sable Wolf, couldn't learn much about him... but what I saw in that base..."

"We know" Weiss sighed "We found their handiwork ourselves while you were gone"

Slade furrowed his brow "What do you mean?"

"While you were gathering information from the source, I sent Qrow with Team RWBY to Corinth, a town north of Atlas. They'd been successful in repelling all attacks from the Grimm without requesting reinforcements, in fact, the Grimm themselves seemed to be avoiding the settlement intentionally"

"And you wanted to know why" he nodded in understanding "What did you find? Any connection to Chimera?"

"None, I'm afraid" Winter answered with a shake of her head.

Qrow stepped forward "We found the locals were twitchy on the subject, they didn't seem to trust us. During a raid by the Grimm we encountered some of Chimera's soldiers, most of them were just... walking corpses" he grimaced.

Slade's expression matched his "Just like in their base"

"We brought one of their bodies back for analysis and found they were being controlled by a chip in their brain" Blake explained.

"It wasn't just the corpses being controlled by them, there were... people. They were awake, it was horrible to watch" he shuddered "But that's not all, I saw plenty of Grimm being operated on as well"

Ironwood nodded, standing from his desk and stepping out in front of it "Ruby's team encountered one of those as well. It possessed higher brain functions, was capable of rudimentary speech, seemed to be able to strategize on it's own. Pietro's been studying the device used along with the control chips in hopes of developing a countermeasure. My more immediate concern is the men Salem's returned from the dead, your report indicated they healed from their wounds in a similar manner to Salem"

"From what I could tell, there is one key difference between them. They don't heal as fast as Salem, it's possible hitting them hard enough would put them down for good. On the other hand, we couldn't contain them with their ability to teleport at will. Incarceration would be impossible" Slade explained.

"If we could recover any of that substance from their bodies, we might be able to learn how to separate it from them, make them vulnerable" Ren suggested.

"Easier said than done" Jaune sighed "We couldn't even touch the stuff back at Embermane"

"All the more reason we need to be careful moving forward" Winter added.

Slade nodded "What exactly did you find in Corinth? What was keeping the Grimm from attacking the place?"

"My mom" Yang answered.

"Raven?" he asked surprised "What was she doing there?"

"She was taking from them, blackmailing them into it with threats of burning the place down. In return for what they gave her, she stopped all the Grimm that attacked the place" Ruby explained.

"We managed to recover the stolen supplies and return it to the town, but Raven got away from us. I wasn't able to stop her" Qrow frowned "We have no clue where she is now"

"What could she possibly want from those people? Why steal from them?" Slade wondered.

"She wanted... me" Yang crossed her arms and looked away as he turned toward her.

"You? I don't understand"

"She was trying to convince Yang to her side" Nora supplied "When that didn't work, she ran"

Slade rubbed his chin thoughtfully "I take it she's no longer 'protecting' Corinth"

"She is not. We dispatched reinforcements to their position, thus far, they've been holding strong" Winter replied.

"Were you able to learn anything else? Anything that could help us prepare for Salem's assault?" Ironwood asked hopefully.

"Nothing directly, no. Sable was only able to tell me so much"

"Sable?" Qrow asked surprised.

He nodded "I got the impression he's not a willing participant in all this, not anymore. He warned me that he'd done all he could to help before I sabotaged the base. Then he gave me his Scroll, told me I had one message to send before Salem would catch on, that I had to make it count"

"The encoded message?" Ironwood asked.

"No. I had sent that directly from their relay, I did however use his Scroll to copy and transfer all the datafiles he had to the Scroll I'd stolen and downloaded what I could from their mainframe. I wasn't sure I could trust him yet, couldn't risk sending you a message and blowing the mission. But when I returned it to him, he vaguely warned me about Qrow's capture. I have to assume Salem ordered him not to disclose that information to me"

"He's got one of those chips in his brain?" Ironwood asked.

"The original, according to him. I don't know much about what happened, but... I'm not sure he's human anymore"

Qrow frowned "Well, considering I cut his head from his shoulders years ago, I'm amazed he's back at all. But it doesn't seem like he was brought back the same way Hunter and Cole were"

"Who exactly is he? What did he do?" Ruby asked.

Ironwood sighed deeply "Sable was a Huntsman, one of the best Atlas had. After he graduated at the top of his class, he enlisted with our Military as most Huntsman do, then left to work locally in Mantle after two years. Wanted to be closer to his daughter" his gaze grew distant "He was a Faunus, with everything the White Fang had been doing on the news, it was making things harder for those back home. His daughter wasn't really his, you see... he found her during a mission and took her in as his own... and she wasn't a Faunus"

"He took in a human?" Blake asked surprised.

Qrow nodded "No one ever knew why, but he insisted he needed to keep her safe. The people who didn't know treated her like a Faunus because of her dad, and those who did treated her worse for it. One day... someone tried to kill them. He was returning home from a mission briefing, ready to set out, he went back home to let her know he'd be gone... but he returned to a house in flames"

Ruby gasped "No..."

Ironwood leaned back into his desk, hands resting on it's edge "We never determined the culprit, and his daughter... didn't survive her burns. We couldn't recover much of his belongings from the house, so after her burial, he left the kingdom for Vacuo. Started working as an assassin for hire, killing anybody who'd pay for his services. Over the course of the next two years, several powerful families across the four kingdoms turned up dead"

Slade frowned "Sounds familiar"

Winter shook her head "No, you may have gone for hire, but you never turned to assassination. You obeyed the rule of law... most of the time" she smiled.

He chuckled, offering a grateful smile "Fair enough"

Qrow slid his hands into his pockets "Oz sent me in after a member of the Vacuo council went missing. There had been an attack in the city and no one could figure out who it was. Didn't take me long to find the Councilor, and Sable... you know the rest" he finished with a sigh "Most people don't know what really happened, just that the Councilor was assassinated and Sable was the one responsible, but that's not the whole truth"

"You knew him pretty well?" Ruby asked.

"I knew of him more than I knew him. Met in passing during the Vytal Festival when I was still at Beacon, he was two years ahead of my team. I'd always heard he was a model Huntsman, though he got in trouble with his teachers more often than not"

"And when you were sent after him?" Ren asked.

"He was a different person then, paranoid, hateful. When he lost his daughter, it must've broke him... he talked about things that just couldn't have been true"

"Like what?" Jaune asked.

Qrow snorted "He said the Grimm were being controlled by someone else" he sighed "Guess he wasn't all that crazy after all"

"If he knew about Salem, then he must've been working for her" Weiss concluded.

Qrow shook his head "Nah, wasn't like that. He believed the Councilor was involved with his daughter's death, but he also believed he knew something about Salem, even if I didn't understand it back then"

"Chimera... the Councilor must've been involved with Chimera, then... right?" Blake asked.

Qrow shrugged "Who knows? What I don't understand is why Salem would choose him? She hasn't brought back anyone else who hasn't worked for her in the past"

"Perhaps there was more going on than you knew" Winter proposed "Sable could've been working for Salem whether he knew it or not, and Ozpin could've known more than he let on"

Yang snorted, her tone full of resentment "Wouldn't be the first time he kept things from us"

"Maybe..." Qrow frowned "He wanted to send Raven originally, but... well, I still felt like I was in her shadow, had something to prove. So I volunteered, wanted to show Oz I could be the Huntsmen I wanted to be. Sometimes I wonder just what Sable knew back then, if he was going after people even we didn't know were against us, or if he was already a puppet for her damned game"

"You didn't make Sable turn traitor, Qrow. He made that choice all on his own" Winter assured.

"Yeah... and now he's trying to get to Ruby" he sighed "Makes you wonder just what else Oz could've had wrong"

Ironwood sighed, standing straight from his desk "Was Salem able to learn anything from you?" he asked looking to Slade.

"I can't say for certain if she learned anything while I was unconscious, but from Yang's report it sounds like she didn't learn anything substantial. She tried to use the Apathy to force me to talk when I first arrived in her castle... that was... unpleasant to say the least"

Ironwood nodded "That will be all for tonight, then" he rubbed his eyelids tiredly "I think all of you have earned some time off-"

Penny gasped, stopping him midsentence "Penny? What's wrong?" Winter asked concerned.

She stepped forward "I just finished combing through the data Slade recovered from the Chimera mainframe. I was able to piece together what exactly Chimera is. Cross referencing the data with what Sable possessed and the files I could reconstruct, I think I know their next move"

Ironwood sighed in relief "Finally, some good news" he nodded to her "Tell me everything"

"Apparently Chimera was founded by members of the four kingdoms after the king of Vale was assassinated at the end of the Great War eighty years ago. It sounds like they were hoping to keep another war from happening by secretly watching for corruption or laws that restricted individuality. It's not clear when, but at some point the people in charge became paranoid about another secret organization that was working against them from the shadows, they abruptly turned into a secret order of assassins that went after anyone they suspected of supporting the unidentified organization"

"Salem..." Qrow surmised.

"That seems the most likely culprit, yes" Penny agreed. "It seems Chimera's leadership was eventually removed due to increased paranoia. In all likelihood, Chimera hasn't been aware of Salem or her followers until recently. Sable apparently was hunting down members without even knowing about Chimera. He just followed the trail from one culprit to the next after they killed his daughter trying to remove him... and then they rebuilt him"

"They? Chimera? How?" Ironwood asked.

"Those files I wasn't able to reconstruct, that's all I know for the moment. However, I did manage to find recent communication logs with an unidentified source within the Schnee Dust Company, as well as several references to a region northeast of Corinth"

"Ugh" Winter shook her head "Someone else working in the company is helping Salem?"

"You said it was unidentified, you couldn't trace it?" Slade asked.

Penny shook her head "Whoever this is must have someone helping them to be able to cover their tracks this well. Someone with intimate knowledge of Atlas security protocols"

"What's their plan? Are they planning an attack?" Ironwood urged.

"No, Sir. They're planning an assassination"

"They want to assassinate Ironwood?" Oscar asked.

"No... Councilor Jacques Schnee"

The room went silent, Weiss and Winter staring in shock "Dad...?"

Winter's expression hardened "Over my dead body" she spat "How? What are they planning? Do we know-"

Ironwood placed his hand onto her shoulder "Easy, Winter. We'll make sure your father is safe. Trust me"

She took a deep breath before replying "Of course, Sir"

He nodded "Penny, what more do you know?"

"Nothing concrete, Sir. I can't find anything indicating a name or location. But I am more than willing to provide protection for him at all hours of the day. No assassin would be able to sneak past me, and I can taste all his food for poison without endangering myself" she smiled widely.

Winter snorted "Father is just going to love hearing that"

"Arthur has a failsafe in our Knights to keep them from being used against us as well. I'll post a token guard of Knights around him at all times, no chance of Chimera infiltrating them" Ironwood added.

"Are we sure no one can hack into them?" Jaune asked "We all remember what happened at Beacon"

"Arthur has it under control, I trust him. If he says it'll work, it'll work"

Yang groaned "How're we supposed to catch an assassin if we don't even know when they'll be attacking him"

Oscar stepped forward "I think I might have an idea for that"

"You do?" Ruby asked surprised.

"Well, we know Salem is sending someone, but we don't know when or how she plans to get at him. We already know she has someone in the Academy, so keeping him here is no good, and outside the academy isn't any safer. So what if we made it easy on them"

Nora wore a confused expression "Huh?!"

"You want to use Weiss' dad as... bait?" Blake asked.

"Drawing in the assassin for us to strike" Slade shrugged "I've heard worse ideas"

Ironwood ran his hand through his beard "Hmm... it's promising... but how would we draw them in without making it obvious?"

"Or endangering my father?" Weiss asked.

"What about a fundraiser?" Yang asked "If he hosts it at his place, we can all post up as guards" she offered.

Qrow scoffed "Heh, all these high society types love giving money away at places like that. Wouldn't be hard to pack the place, make an assassin feel real comfortable sneaking in the crowd"

"We couldn't all be guards, though. It'd make any real assassin suspicious, but that works both ways" Slade added "The less heavily guarded the place is, the more likely they'll go for it. It'll also give us the perfect cover to blend in as guests"

"But we can't keep no guards at all, or they'll suspect it's a trap" Ren added.

"Then we keep security within the company. No one will be surprised to see them keeping a company VIP... company" Weiss finished hesitantly at her choice of words.

Nora gasped "And we could use the funds raised to help the refugees in Mantle!" she suggested excitedly.

"That's brilliant!" Ruby agreed.

Ironwood smiled "Yeah... that could work. We lure them in with a false sense of security, then take them down the minute they make their move. If we can capture them, we can learn more about Salem's plans"

"Considering how our last meeting went with Winter's old lady, I'd be willing to bet she's got something in that house worth finding too" Qrow added.

"You think my mother is working with Salem?" Winter asked surprised.

He shrugged "Maybe, maybe not. She just knew too much to not have a connection somewhere"

"At the very least, it's worth a look" Oscar agreed.

"She did seem rather resentful of her husband when we questioned her" Ren reminded them.

"They almost went through a divorce, of course she'd be resentful" Weiss replied "That doesn't make my mother a killer or a criminal. She-"

"Then let's hope we don't find anything" Ironwood interjected "There's more than enough of us to search the place and keep Jacques protected"

"Then we'll need to tell him what we're up against" she sighed "The political environment in Atlas is already unstable enough as it is with all the settlements we've lost to the Grimm. An assassinated Councilor is only going to make things more complicated"

"Everything complicates matters when it comes to politics" Ironwood shook his head "Sometimes I think they do it on purpose just to be difficult"

"If father is convinced to host this banquet, the funds raised for the refugees in Mantle would go a long way to keeping the people on our side. The unrest has only gotten worse over the last few months"

"A banquet?" Slade asked with a smirk "We'll need to go shopping"

"Slade's right. We won't be able to blend in like this" Qrow gestured to his outfit "We'll need suits, dresses, serving uniforms, anything"

Ironwood nodded "I'll allocate some funds for you to acquire the necessities for the mission" he folded his arms behind his back "Winter and I will take some time to draw up a few ideas and talk with Jacques first thing in the morning. In the meantime, get some rest. All of you. Who knows what we'll wake up to tomorrow"

"Sounds good to me" Qrow rolled his shoulders "You heard the man, kids" he gestured to the door "Let's leave 'em to their work"

"Qrow" Winter called as they all filed out of the room.

"Yeah?" he asked as he turned back to him.

She smiled, taking a few steps toward him "We didn't really have a chance to talk after everything that happened, with Slade comatose and... well, you know" she frowned "I just wanted to say, it's good to have you back"

He smiled back "Yeah, it's good to be back" his hand rested on the edge of Harbinger "Thanks for hanging onto this for me while I was gone"

She nodded, her smile widening "Wouldn't make a very good Huntsman without your weapon" after a moment of silence, she noticed how long she'd been smiling at him and cleared her throat, looking back to Ironwood "Anyway, I should, uh..." she cleared her throat again "Get to work"

"Yeah, later, Winter" he gave a quick wave, turning to leave with a smile on his face. Nora watched him with a mischievous grin on her face as the door closed behind him "What?"

"Winter, eh?" she jabbed him with her elbow playfully.

"Oh for the love of-no. Nora, please. Stay out of it"

Nora snickered "Aw, you're getting all shy. What's the matter? Don't know what you're doing? I would've figured an old timer like you would know"

"No, Nora, that's not what I-"

"Well, what's the problem then? Just dive right in!"

Qrow groaned "How do I make this stop?"

Slade couldn't contain his laughter "Leave the poor man alone, Nora. You don't want him poking fun at your relationship do you?"

"Our relationship?" Ren asked surprised.

"How did you know we were together?" Nora asked suspiciously "Have you been spying on us?"

Slade blinked, pointing between them "Then... you two weren't... before?"

"You and Ren are dating?!" Ruby practically shouted.

"And you didn't tell me?!" Jaune matched her volume.

Weiss covered her ears "Could you not?"

"Guess you jumped the gun on their announcement" Blake laughed.

Slade rubbed his eyelids "Evidently"

"Well I think it's wonderful!" Penny grinned.

Ruby grumbled "It also means I owe Yang money"

Oscar eyed her with amusement "You bet on them dating?"

"You bet on us dating?" Ren parroted

"Yeah, and now I have to pay her back" she whined "Go on, Yang. You can stop holding it-" she turned to find her sister was missing "-in..." she finished after a short pause.

"When did she leave?" Nora asked surprised.

"Guess she must be really tired" Jaune shrugged.

"Who can blame her after what she had to go through to find Slade. Reliving some of those memories couldn't have been easy" Blake replied.

Slade frowned, eyes downcast "Right..."

Nora elbowed Blake "Way to go, now he feels guilty" she whispered.

"I didn't mean-" Blake started.

Jaune slid between them, waving his hand in front of him as he nervously spoke "I'm sure she just needs some time to process everything, then she'll be right back in it with the rest of us"

Slade didn't look back at them "Yeah..."

Ruby placed a comforting hand on his arm "Hey" she tilted her head "Don't blame yourself, Salem was the reason she even had to go in at all"

Penny zipped beside them "Ruby is correct! Yang was quite adamant she be the one to connect with your consciousness! I am certain she will be right back to her old self first thing in the morning"

Slade smiled, looking up at them "Yeah, you're probably right" he exhaled "Thank you, both of you"

"Happy to be of service" Penny replied.

Ruby giggled "What she said"

Yang marched down the hall, stopping only when she reached the office of Pietro Polendina. She knocked firmly on the door, seconds later she knocked impatiently when it didn't budge. With a huff of annoyance, she moved to knock a third time, only to have him answer the door with her fist raising to his face. Both of them paused in silence for a moment, then collected themselves. Yang lowered her arm as he cleared his throat.

"Ms. Xiao Long" he smiled "Did you need something?"

"Inside" she answered urgently.

He nodded "Of course" he led her inside and she quickly locked the door behind them "Ms. Xiao Long, is something the matter-?"

"Are there cameras in here?" she asked, cutting him off.

He shook his head "No, my patients deserve their privacy"

"Can you check for bugs? Anything to make sure no one is eavesdropping?"

He handed her a small remote with a single button on the center "What is this about?" he asked becoming more concerned as she quickly snatched it up, scanning the room.

The results came back in a small holographic display "What's this mean?" she asked pointing to the blinking lights.

Pietro placed his Scroll on the desk "You have your Scroll with you?" she nodded "That means there are two recording devices in the room" he gestured to the Scroll "Now, will you please answer my question?"

Her hands slammed on the desk as her eyes flashed red "We need to talk"

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That's all for now, guys! Hope you all enjoyed it, next chapter is already in the works as it is. Thanks for reading, I love hearing from all you guys about how you're liking it.