Here we gooo

Chapter 6

The steak was pretty good.

It was a strange and hysterical thought to have as he sat at a stone table with a monster, surrounded by other, more humanoid monsters. Then again, being served steak in such a place was also strange and vaguely hysterical.

Where had they gotten the cows from?

Did they have electricity for a fridge or freezer out here?

Who cooked it...?

Jaune knew he wouldn't be getting any answers, especially since he wasn't going to open up and ask that. Cinder had told him to stay quiet, and while that was usually down to her controlling personality he knew this was one of the few occasions where it was genuinely good advice.

Tyrian stabbed his meal with a knife and tore chunks off with his teeth. The rest, even Salem, used knives and forks like civilised people. The light clink of metal on pottery and the occasional swish of wine being drunk was the only sound to be heard. Every now and then a robed figure would walk by and bring more wine. Jaune chanced a look under the hood and flinched back. They weren't robed people at all but floating Grimm jellyfish with hoods draped over the top. Seers, Cinder had called them.

Servants, they apparently were. Little wonder the kingdoms hadn't found them before. Jaune didn't imagine they were much good in combat. Their tendrils could just about grasp a bottle and slide it up onto the table, and just about take a plate away, spilling crumbs and steak juices onto the stone floor as they did. No one else reacted to them, so Jaune stayed quiet as they swept his empty plate away and refilled his glass.

The urge to say "thank you" was overpowering. He'd always done his best to be polite.

Hopefully, a quiet nod would suffice.

"It is good to have everyone here," Salem said. Her voice was distantly human, but with an uncanny edge to it. As if her vocal chords and throat didn't quite work the same way other people's did. "Our plans are known to all of us, but this marks the moment they begin in earnest. After today, meeting like this again won't be possible for at least two years. Assuming things go as planned."

Salem paused to look at each of them, as if inviting any of them to speak up and argue that things wouldn't go that way. Or to express doubts. No one did. It would be tantamount to admitting they couldn't deal with the responsibilities placed on them.

"Arthur, how goes the integration of your software into Atlas' machines?"

"Well, my lady." The man that Cinder seemed to like the least – though she disliked them all to some degree – bowed his head. "I could be in there today if needed, but I've been focusing on remaining hidden as I do. Atlas is none the wiser. By the time the need for them comes, I'll be so entrenched in their systems I can have all of Atlas dancing at your command."

"Good." Salem turned her head. "Hazel? How goes Mistral?"

"Haven's headmaster has proven useful," the giant rumbled. "I have ambushed and killed numerous huntsmen who have made the mistake of trusting him. Like Watts, I have endeavoured to keep the numbers low enough to be written off as tragic incidents. The evidence left behind incriminates Grimm for the most part. If I continue on the pace I have, Mistral will be down sixty per cent when it comes to active huntsmen."

"Excellent. Continue as you have. I trust the same is true in Vacuo, Tyrian?"

"Oh yes, my goddess. Oh yes, yes, yes. The dunes have become perilous of late." He laughed, as if he'd made some clever pun. "Vacuo won't be in any position to help out Vale or Atlas when the time comes. They'll have too many problems of their own. I've also done as you asked and funded a few groups there. Troublemakers."

"Well done." Finally, Salem turned to Cinder. "And you, Cinder?"

Jaune tensed. Cinder bowed her head. "I have collected my team and we are ready to enter Haven, ma'am. I've been training them up as per your instructions. Each will be useful in their own way."

"Each will be useful?" Watts mocked. "As I understand it, the only one with a Semblance of any use is the one I pointed you in the direction of. The other is a cripple, and your brother is—"

"Watts..." Salem's voice was calm. Cold. "I am speaking."

The man bowed his head. Tyrian snarled silently at him from his seat, clutching his steak knife so hard it shook. Cinder didn't look entirely pleased about it, and that was probably because Watts hadn't been wrong.

"Will they be ready, Cinder?"

"Yes, ma'am. They will be ready when the time comes."

"Good." Salem leaned back. "I have a few small tasks for you. You and your brother." The red eyes slid to him for but a moment, narrowing. Jaune tensed, unsure what he'd done to deserve it. "He's a quiet one."

"I advised him to let me do the talking, ma'am."

"Is that so?" Salem leaned back, seemingly satisfied that his silence wasn't for any nefarious purpose. "Hmph. Hardly a surprise coming from you. Tell me, boy. Will you be ready when the time comes? Will you follow out my orders?"

Cinder tensed.

But Jaune wasn't stupid.

"I'll be ready, ma'am." He mirrored the method of address Cinder had used, not really liking the idea of calling this creature a goddess. "Cinder has been training me hard."

"Has she now? Good. You're to be commended, Cinder. In fact, I dare say your commendation could come in the form of a small reward. You're always so hungry for power. Arthur has managed to locate the Fall Maiden."

Cinder gasped, head shooting up.

Fall Maiden? The term obviously meant something to Cinder given her reaction, but it was gibberish to him. He'd have to ask her later. It wasn't like her to keep secrets from him – Cinder was controlling, but she knew he'd never reveal anything.

"Where?" Cinder demanded. Jaune kicked her foot under the table. "Ma'am," she added, helplessly. "If I may ask, where has she been seen?"

"Mistral. You're not to go after her just yet. Soon," she assured Cinder, who looked distraught at the news. "The Fall Maiden's power will be yours to wield, Cinder, but there won't be a second chance if you fail on the first assault. The maiden is unawares for now. She will remain as such. Take the time to train in Haven and improve yourselves. You will strike halfway through the first year."

"Yes ma'am..."

"In the meantime, I want you to meet with a contact Arthur has opened up in the White Fang. I assume you're aware of them."

"Faunus supremacists. Terrorists." Cinder glanced at Tyrian. "Not to question your orders, but wouldn't a fellow faunus be a better candidate to deal with them?"

"Normally, yes, but Tyrian is busy with important work from me." The man in questioned preened at the attention. "Besides, they will be working closely with you in Vale when the time comes. If they cannot work beside a human, it is better to know that now than find out at a critical moment later. Arthur, tell her what you know of them."

"Ahem. You'll be meeting a more violent subset of an already violent organisation, a splinter group led by a rather itinerant faunus known as Adam Taurus. He's a fanatic, but he's also clinical enough to know when to hold back. He's popular within the more extreme factions in the White Fang and keen to make an example that no one will forget anytime soon. He hates humans, but he hates certain humans more, which might provide an opening for you. The SDC is a major sponsor for the Vytal Festival in two years' time, and Weiss Schnee will be attending Beacon from what my sources have found out. That should be angle enough for you to work with."

"He and his men will prove useful." Salem took over once more. "They can perform tasks in Vale that my Grimm cannot, and they shall also provide a useful smokescreen for you. Any accidents that risk exposure can be blamed on the White Fang. They are by no means integral to our plans," she said, waving a pale hand in the air. "Which is why I've no interest in bringing Taurus or any of his people into the know, or into my employ. You shall be acting as if you are in charge. Convince them to serve our interests even as they think they serve their own, but do not offer too much in return. While it would be useful to have them, we do not need them."

"It'll be as you say. I trust Watts will forward any pertinent details and arrange a meeting if required."

"He shall. As for your brother..." Jaune tensed up, as did Cinder. "I have a small task for him as well. There is a group of petty bandits in Mistral led by a woman. Raven Branwen. That woman was once a huntress loyal to Ozma, but she chose to betray him and flee his service. I believe she's aware of my presence."

"Ma'am..." Cinder dared to interrupt. "A huntress who served him will be too much for Jaune. It would be too much for me."

"Hence why I am not asking him to assassinate her," Salem chided. "And I am speaking to your brother, Cinder. Do not interrupt."

Cinder's fingers dug into Jaune's thigh under the table, both possessively and also as a warning for him not to say anything to upset Salem. Not that he was going to. Jaune inclined his head and waited for his instructions.

"You shall meet with this bandit as an emissary from myself – make that known, and make sure she knows I will be displeased if you come to harm. You may wear a mask to conceal your identity, lest she try and forewarn Ozma. When you are there, I want you to question her as to why she left his employ. Get a feel for her. See if she can't be... persuaded to join our side." Salem smiled. "Do you have any questions?"

He didn't want to have any, but he did, and he had a feeling staying quiet on them would just sabotage him later.

"Is there anything I should be offering her in exchange for her loyalty, ma'am? And is this an offer she can't refuse...?"

"Hm. Good questions both. Refusal is acceptable. In fact, pose her three options. The woman can stand against me and be crushed, join me and be rewarded, or I will accept her decision to remain neutral and not interfere. If she does that, tell her that she and her little group will be spared our attentions. Should she join me, she and her group will be rewarded based on their contribution. Money, power, safety and security. All are within my ability to provide, but make sure she knows I reward results, not promises. Should she threaten you or become aggressive, retreat and inform me or one of my agents. I can always send Hazel and Tyrian later to show her the error of her ways. Does that sound like something you can accomplish?"

Jaune knew better than to disagree. He nodded. "It does, ma'am. I'll see it done. Should I contact you once I have their answer, or should I inform Cinder and she will tell you...?"

"Hazel shall give you his contact details after dinner. He is active in Mistral for me and can take a report on my behalf." The giant of a man nodded in Jaune's direction. Despite being the most intimidating physically, he somehow came across less threatening than Tyrian.

Then again, Tyrian came off like a psychopath.

"To our impending success," Salem said, raising a goblet. "Cheers."

Jaune raised his along with Cinder. "Cheers."

/-/

"That wasn't supposed to happen," Cinder hissed, once the dinner was over and they'd all been excused. Cinder had dragged him outside, shaking with fury. "No one ever mentioned a job for you – and sending you after a former huntress, one loyal to Ozpin no less. What is she thinking? This is too dangerous. I'll go with you."

"Cinder, no." He grasped her shoulders. "You'll get in trouble. This is probably a test."

"They won't kill me for failing it. And if they want to test whether we can work apart, I say we show them we can't."

"You'll be punished."

"What of it?" Cinder scoffed. "We were both punished numerous times in the Glass Unicorn. This won't be any different. Salem won't cripple us because she needs us for Beacon, so any punishment I receive will be transient. I can deal with pain."

"I don't want you to have to deal with it. I can do this, sis. It's okay."

Her hand clapped to his cheek, not quite a slap but not quite a caress either. Her fingers pinched his ear and pulled him down. Jaune yelped. "And what if you can't?" she hissed. "What if this bitch takes you prisoner? Or kills you? There's no point to any of this if you're dead, Jaune. All the power in the world won't bring you back."

The warm and fuzzy feelings were nice, but not when placed against the mental image of Cinder screaming under whatever torture a literal Grimm-controlling monster could inflict on her. This felt like a test, one which he was supposed to do on his own.

"Cinder, look. We can't disobey this." He opted not to point out it was her fault he was even here. "And I'll be diplomatic. You know I'm not one to jump to aggression. I'll talk to her, see what she's like, and back out if she's a threat."

"Jaune, she's a bandit! She will be a threat!"

"Cinder, we're... I don't even know what we are. Terrorists? Can you be terrorists against not just a government but the whole world? Villains feels way too small a title." And bad guys felt too childish for how awful they were. "We're the big bad evil," he settled on, It sounded no better. "We're the worst of humanity. This woman is probably half as evil as us at most."

"I'm evil," Cinder hissed. "You're not."

"I'm here, aren't I?"

A throat was cleared nearby. Cinder froze, then glared at Hazel's abs, chest, and finally his face once she'd craned her neck back enough. The man was huge. Not just tall, but wide too. His biceps were probably bigger than both of Jaune's side by side.

"Salem instructed me to exchange numbers with your brother," he said, holding up his scroll by way of explanation.

"Fine. We'll finish this discussion later. I'm going to take a rest. Come find our room once you're done with him." Cinder scowled, turned, and flounced away before Jaune could point out he had no idea where he was in this tower, or how he was meant to find her room. Hazel rumbled and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll show you to your quarters once we're done. Your scroll?"

"Um. Yes." Jaune handed it over. "Thanks."

"Hmm." Hazel entered his details in. "Raven Branwen," he said, surprising Jaune by offering more. He'd only been ordered to share his number. "The woman is known to be skilled. You shouldn't make any efforts to threaten her. Their group roams around the northern half of Mistral, preying on small, undefended villages. They steal, as you might expect, but they also kidnap and ransom."

Ugh. Really bad people, then. It was obviously ironic for him to be saying it given the dinner he'd just had with the source of all Grimm on Remnant, but at least they hadn't taken people away from their families to come here.

"Branwen would be a fool to imprison you if you make sure she knows who you serve, but her people might not realise. You would be best to make yourself loud and clear with your allegiance, lest she fear her bandits have made a mistake she'd best clean up via murder."

"Y... Yeah... Um. Thank you. For the advice." Jaune took the scroll back. "I appreciate it."

Hazel's lips curled up faintly. "Few take advice here. Too much ego. You're welcome."

"I like to keep mine in check. Mostly because I don't think it'd survive in a competition against my sister's." The man didn't laugh, making Jaune's nerve shrivel. "Anyway, thanks again and please do share any more you might have with me. I'll listen."

"Don't die." Simple advice. Hazel turned away. "Or what little is left of your sister's humanity will die with her." He paused. "Follow me. Memorise the route. Watts would sooner leave you lost in the wastelands if you asked him for directions, and Tyrian would show you to your room only after a tour of the tower and a two-hour seminar on why you should follow his religion. If in doubt, command the Seers, but beware of them as well. They will not betray you intentionally but they can be... forgetful at times. Useless at others. Keep reminding them of what you want until they provide it."

The tower's corridors were as cold and uninviting as the rest of the place. Given only a single person lived there most of the time, it made sense they wouldn't bother to decorate. Jaune silently ascended staircase after staircase, doing his best to commit the path to memory. It would have been so much easier if they'd been given rooms on the ground floor close to the hall they'd met Salem in.

Eventually, they reached a door. Hazel knocked on it and then walked away, leaving Jaune stood there until Cinder opened it and yanked him inside.

"What did he say?"

"He gave me advice on Raven." Jaune recounted it word for word, leaving out the part on how Cinder would react if he were to die. He was well aware of that. "I'll be careful. I'll have to be. It'll be okay." Jaune sat on the spare bed in the room. "All those stairs have killed my legs. Why not keep us on the ground floor?"

"Risk of Grimm killing us."

"Really? I thought she controlled them."

"She does, but there's a difference been active and passive control." Cinder must have noticed that on her own, because Jaune doubted Salem would admit such a weakness. "I've seen she can command and control them, but those she doesn't give specific orders to act like normal Grimm. That's why Grimm in Mistral and Vale will still try to kill us."

"And she can't give them all orders and turn them into an army?"

"No. Because she'd need to get them all in one place first to receive said orders, and how would she do that if they can't respond to a summons from her in the first place?" It was a good point. "Salem would have to travel the world seeking out each and every Grimm. That would take time and effort. Instead, she stays here and commands the Grimm that spawn here – which still gives her a lot of control. Other Grimm in the world are just wild ones. They're unlikely to be under her sway. Nevermore might be different as they can fly great distances. If you ever see a Nevermore acting strangely, there's a chance it was sent by her with a letter. That's about the only Grimm she can use to reach us. It's also why she needs human agents like us. This power of hers is vast, but it's specific, and it has limitations."

"Not enough to make her dangerous to us," Jaune whispered. "If we plan to betray her..."

"Not here. Not now." Cinder shook her head in caution. "Not for a while yet, so don't think on it. I'm going to send Emerald with you to Raven. Salem made no mention of using them or not, and I don't need the two of them to meet with some jumped-up terrorists."

"Are you sure? I know you're worried about me, but I'm not happy knowing you're dealing with human-hating whack jobs either."

"The difference is I can kill them if they make a move on me. You can't kill a huntress."

Jaune hummed. "And this maiden thing? How come I never heard about that?"

Cinder had the grace to look a little guilty. "I never got around to it," she admitted. "It's not a secret I kept from you on purpose. We were just focused more on recruiting Emerald and Mercury, and then this came up. There was never any time. It's a power," she explained. "Something that can only pass between women..."

He sat through the fantastical explanation, one he wouldn't have believed real if not for Salem proving that unbelievable things very much were. The idea of four women with nature-controlling powers who could act as keys for vaults was bizarre, but no more bizarre than a tower in the Grimmlands with a Grimm queen living in it.

"And we have to kill this person? Why?"

"The power transfers on death."

"We can't wait for someone older to just... croak...?"

"There is actually a winter maiden on death's door in Atlas, but our enemies are aware of them and she lives in seclusions. The Fall Maiden is unique in that she roams free. Others are tightly controlled and kept secret, at least as far as we've been able to find out. The Spring Maiden escaped a few years back. Either way, if we wait for them to grow old then they'll be kept locked in a room with their next host to force a connection. The power goes to the last woman they picture, and Ozpin and Ironwood know how to force that."

"That almost sounds like torture itself," Jaune said. "Being locked in a room as your life ends, with someone demanding you picture the right person so the power can pass on. I'm guessing they're not allowed to die surrounded by family either, in case it goes the wrong way."

"Probably." Cinder shrugged, already beginning to get changed. Jaune picked up his pyjamas and started the same. They both undressed with their back to one another, used to it. "I only found out these people existed a few months ago, so it's not like I know much more than you. One of the reasons I was recruited at all is because I'm a young woman, so I can both inherit the power and keep it for a good length of time."

"You'd think Salem would have three other women as well then."

"You'd think. It makes me wonder if she tried and they failed to meet her standards, or if she only needs the one. We'll probably find out later. Either way, once I have that power I'll be indispensable to her. Even if she later plots to betray and replace us, we'll see it coming a mile away because she'll have to recruit a new woman to serve as a future maiden."

"Couldn't that be what Raven is for?"

"No. Too old. Not to mention she abandoned one master in Ozpin, so I doubt Salem will trust her not to do it again. I think she's just curious as to whether there was a weakness in Ozpin that caused Raven's flight. Something that can be exploited."

"Do you think there is?"

"Who can say." Cinder turned and walked to her bed. "I'm more concerned at this test of hers for you. Salem promised me she wouldn't risk your life unnecessarily."

"Did you expect a monster to keep to her promise?"

"No. But I expected it would take her longer to show her true colours and break it. And that she'd wait until I was so guilty of crimes against Remnant that I couldn't back out."

Jaune paused. "Are we? Backing out?"

"Not yet. We can't afford to. I need to be powerful and you... you do as well. We both need to be strong enough to kill anyone Salem might send against us. Ozpin, too. Everyone is our enemy, Jaune. Everyone. The only ones we can rely on is one another."

From his bed, he snorted. "No different than usual, then."

"No," she agreed, turning the small, dust powered lamp in the room off. "No different. Goodnight." Cinder then mumbled something barely audible under her breath. "Mrbgnblou."

Jaune smiled. "I love you too."

Next Chapter: 4th February

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