Attack on Titan: A New Path

by The Court of Talons

Ozma and Salem have been at war for millennia. The fight has taken many lives and many years. The champion of the Brother of Light has failed to complete his task. Now, more than ever, Remnant needs a new protector. It needs a man who knows the cruelty of life. A man who doesn't falter in doing the unthinkable. A dark guardian. Remnant needs... Eren Yeager. (Cover by predator1701)

50. Chapter 50

"I would prefer even to fail with honor than win by cheating."

Sophocles

Chapter 50: Jaunedice

"So! There we were, in the middle of the night..."

"It was day."

"We were surrounded by Ursai..."

"They were Beowolves."

"Dozens of them!"

"Two of them."

"But they were no match... And in the end, Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa skin rugs!"

Ren couldn't help but sigh as Nora finished recounting a fabricated story she had just told Team RWBY and the rest of Team JNPR. "She's had this recurring dream for as long as I can remember," he said, recalling the times he heard it during his childhood.

It was lunchtime at Beacon Academy, and Teams RWBY and JNPR were eating together once again. One thing led to another, and Nora found herself sharing the dream she had since childhood. She felt it rather relevant, given what happened days earlier.

After Cinder had shared her story of Kuroyuri's invasion in class, some of the other students were curious as to what other stories the Inquisitors from Mistral had. Yang, for example, had been listening to Nora's story with wide-eyed curiosity and awe, even though it wasn't exactly true. But she hoped to hear more as time went on.

Ruby and Pyrrha were also listening, but they were mostly being polite rather than curious. The moral of Cinder's story, how values such as honesty and dependability could be forsaken in the name of survival, had given them a lot to think about. But Ruby easily came to the conclusion that the next four years at school could teach her more about being a proper Huntress.

And if she could, Ruby was willing to share what she learned to Cinder and her friends. To show them that none of them had to be distrustful of the system after all.

The only ones who weren't paying attention to the story were Weiss, Blake, and Jaune. Blake and Jaune were more aloof than their friends, since Blake was reading a book and Jaune was poking at his food. Weiss was busy filing her nails, and unlike Blake and Jaune, was trying to distract herself from listening to Nora.

Because the last time she heard one of the Inquisitors' stories, Weiss paid the price.

While she told her story in Professor Port's class, Cinder made sure to mention that the Grimm were attracted to negativity resulting from the SDC attempting to take over the land. Given that she was the heiress to the company, Weiss was questioned by her entire team about this fact. Weiss defended herself by claiming ignorance of the events, which was true, but students outside Team RWBY were beginning to draw their own conclusions.

A few were even saying that Weiss' family were responsible for Cinder giving Huntsmen and Huntresses a bad name.

Weiss was used to criticism of her grandfather's company, given her father's business decisions, but she didn't take the claim lying down. Rather than speak to Cinder, Weiss decided to visit the CCT tower at Beacon and call home personally. Weiss had to cut the call short, given that her father was preparing for an important meeting, but she was able to ask about what happened at Kuroyuri.

Jacques Schnee's response was denial, but Weiss had known her father long enough to know when he was lying.

Weiss confessed to her teammates that Cinder's story had elements of the truth. She didn't believe the whole thing, but Weiss could confirm her father's knowledge of certain events in Kuroyuri. Ruby was the most supportive after the revelation, citing that Weiss' father apparently had his own secrets. And whatever consequences occurred because of those secrets weren't Weiss' responsibility.

Blake and Yang didn't say too much, but they agreed with Ruby.

Hardly anyone had ever told Weiss that she wasn't bearing the sins of her father, so hearing it meant a lot to Weiss. She didn't fully express it, but Weiss began to feel closer to Ruby because of what she said. While she had skepticism of support on the battlefield, Weiss felt comfortable knowing that Ruby was the perfect emotional support.

While Team RWBY started to grow closer, they were mostly hesitant to connect with Cinder and Team CMME. Though they couldn't help it when Team CMME approached the table after hearing Nora talk.

"What's going on, guys?" Emerald casually asked the eight students. "Trading war stories?"

"More like war dreams," Ren replied. "Nora's having the Ursa dream again."

"Again?" asked Mercury, who was also familiar with Nora's dream. "Come on, Nora. We got real stories that are totally better."

"Oh, I don't know," said Yang. "I kinda liked that one."

"Yeah, me too," said Nora. "Besides, we already get enough 'real stories' from Professor Port every day. I gotta shake it up a bit!"

"She's got you there, Mercury," said Midori.

"Yeah, I didn't even fall asleep this time!" said Ruby, who turned to Cinder. "You know, Cinder, I think you and Nora could teach everyone a few things about telling stories. You two are really good at it."

"Thanks, Ruby," said Cinder. "You know, I'm actually going to be starting a podcast about the stories my friends and I have."

"Oh, really?" Pyrrha asked, growing curious by the idea. "I bet the people in Mistral would like to hear that. Podcasts are gaining popularity among the people." Pyrrha had received offers to appear on TV reports and podcasts. She couldn't accept all the invitations, due to her busy schedule, but Pyrrha knew that people liked podcasts.

"Don't encourage her, Pyrrha," said Weiss, who stopped filing her nails. "I bet my allowance that the first episode will be criticizing Huntsmen and Huntresses like she did in class."

Cinder had definitely wanted to discuss her time at Beacon in her podcast, but she wasn't planning to make her first episode about school. And also, she knew she had to shut Weiss down before another conflict started.

"Oh, I'm not planning on anything like that," she said before something caught her eye. Once she got a better look, Cinder's attitude made a complete change from friendly to bitter. "Actually, maybe I am."

Everyone at the table, save for Jaune, turned to see what Cinder was looking at. Once they did, they saw Team CRDL sitting at a table with a girl. But rather than eating or talking, all four boys were laughing and mocking the girl, who was a Faunus. And judging by the girl's body language, she didn't like the mockery one bit.

And neither did the people looking upon it.

"Fucking hell," said Mercury. "Those guys again?"

"Why is it always something different every day?" Emerald lamented.

"Please tell me they're not picking on her just because she's a Faunus," Midori implored.

Teams RWBY and JNPR also despised the harassment they were witnessing. Pyrrha's sympathies were also with the Faunus, but she held a bit more for Jaune. Like the girl, Jaune had found himself an unfortunate victim of Cardin's bullying. Nobody knew the reason, but Cardin had found Jaune to be the perfect prey, both during and outside of class. And the recent training under Professor Goodwitch's eye was no different, given that Cardin nearly went too far.

And judging by his quiet nature, which was unlike him at all, Jaune was still upset by what happened.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, getting everyone's attention away from Team CRDL. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Jaune asked after a moment of silence. When he saw that all the attention was on him, Jaune changed his attitude in an attempt to move it away from him. "Oh, yeah! Why?"

"It's just that you seem a little... not okay," said Ruby, who had the same feeling as Pyrrha.

Guys, I'm fine," Jaune replied. "Seriously! Look!" He then grinned as he gave everyone a thumbs-up, which was then followed by a nervous laugh.

"..."

Needless to say, nobody at the table was convinced. While Team CMME wasn't very close to Jaune in particular, they easily noticed how Cardin treated him. It had gotten to the point where Cinder even wondered how someone like Cardin could have gotten accepted into Beacon in the first place.

Perhaps making her podcast about the flaws of Beacon and the Huntsmen was a good idea after all.

"Jaune, Cardin's been picking on you since the first week of school!" Pyrrha protested.

"Who, Cardin Winchester?" Jaune asked, attempting to deflect the question.

"No, Cardin Dickgoesinya," Mercury replied with sarcasm. "Yeah, of course we mean Cardin Winchester, dude! Who else?"

"Okay, really," said Weiss, who was looking at Mercury. "What is it with you and such profanity?"

"Hey, at least I'm not making people feel shitty about themselves," Mercury defended. "It'll be a cold day in Hell before I'm like that guy."

"Come on, guys," Jaune said sheepishly. "He just likes to mess around! You know, practical jokes!"

"He's a bully," Ruby disagreed.

"Oh, please! Name one time he's 'bullied' me."

"Jaune," said Cinder, who accepted the challenge. "I see him knock your books all over the ground at least once a day."

"I've seen him turn on your shield whenever you're in a doorway," said Emerald.

"I heard he pushed you into one of those rocket lockers and made it fly to who-knows-where," said Midori, who was sympathetic as she spoke. "But can someone please tell me that was just a rumor?"

"..."

Nobody replied to Midori, which only seemed to confirm the story.

"I didn't land far from the school!" said Jaune.

"Jaune, you know if you ever need help, you can just ask," Pyrrha insisted.

"Ooooh!" said Nora, getting everyone's attention. She was standing up and grinning while flexing her muscles excitedly. "We'll break his legs!"

Mercury playfully slapped Jaune's arm to get his attention. "She'll do it, man," he said. "Trust me."

Jaune appreciated the support, but continued to refuse any assistance. "Guys, really, it's fine!" he insisted. "Besides, it's not like he's only a jerk to me; he's a jerk to everyone."

As if on cue, a pained yell that was followed by laughter and mockery was heard. And both served to prove Jaune's point.

"Ow, that hurts!" said the Faunus girl, who was being grabbed by her rabbit ear by a carefree Cardin. "Please, stop..."

Cardin refused to do so, and instead turned to his friends while laughing. "I told you it was real!" he said.

"What a freak!" said Russel, one of Cardin's teammates.

Cardin continued to laugh, but his cruel antics had left his guard down. And suddenly, he felt a hot sensation on his wrist, which started to burn. His first instinct was to recoil his hand, which made him let go of the poor girl's ear. And his second was to look at what had burned him.

Or in this case, who.

The source of the burning was Cinder, who had come to the girl's aid by using her Semblance on Cardin. Scorching Caress didn't have too many advantages on the battlefield, but Cinder knew it was useful in close range. And the only thing hotter than her hand was the anger she unleashed upon the bully.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Cinder yelled. "What's wrong with you?"

Cardin would normally be angry that Cinder had ruined his "fun," but he found a new opportunity to enjoy himself. "Check it out, guys," he said to his team. "Looks like Fritz is a furry."

The boys across from Cardin laughed at the comment, as well as Cinder. "Should've pegged her for one from the start," said Sky, who was looking at his friends.

Cinder slammed her palms on the table to make everyone look at her. "If you're gonna insult me, at least have the courage to say it to my face," she said, observing how none of the boys were treating her as if she was there.

Cardin decided to grant this request after his ego was bruised. Standing up in a bid to intimidate her, due to the fact that he was taller than most people, Cardin looked down on Cinder with a raised fist. "I'll do more to your face than just say things to it," he threatened.

Given the fact that she killed Grimm bigger than Cardin, Cinder was hardly afraid of the boy. "I bet you would. Picking on Faunus was bad enough, but now we've all seen how you treat women, you misogynist pig."

Cardin cracked his knuckles before he laughed again. "Well, technically, I've never hit a girl. Good thing you're no girl."

Cinder was beyond infuriated now, and she waa going to show Cardin that. "Listen, you-!"

"Ms. Fritz, Mr. Winchester."

Cinder and Cardin turned to see Glynda Goodwitch in the cafeteria. "Our last class ended twenty minutes ago," she said firmly, referring to the combat class she taught. "Whatever brought about this altercation, I would advise you to resolve it without resorting to violence."

Both Cinder and Cardin were aware that it was against the academy's rules to fight outside Professor Goodwitch's class or training hours. And neither of them were stupid enough to break that rule in front of a teacher.

However, Cinder wasn't ready to put this issue to rest just yet.

"Hey, he's the one harassing women," Cinder said as she pointed to Cardin. "If you don't want any fighting, maybe you can help?"

"That's why I'm here, Ms. Fritz," Glynda assured Cinder. "And unless you wish to see how we handle discipline at Beacon, I'd suggest you watch your tone."

"..."

Despite being at Beacon, Cinder was still critical of the Huntsmen and Huntresses. However, she got the hint rather quickly and chose silence rather than further provocation. Ren even helped her by guiding her away from Goodwitch and towards the rest of their friends.

"As for you, Mr. Winchester," Goodwitch said to the snickering Team CRDL. "Do I need to add yet another detention to you and your team? Or can I finally start trusting you to act like an adult?"

"..."

Cardin also sat back down, ignoring the snickering and giggling around him.

Content with the warnings she gave to the students, Professor Goodwitch took her leave. In her mind, she had restored order among the students and had reminded everyone to obey the rules of Beacon Academy. And with the settlement resolved, Professor Goodwitch was free to return to her duties.

Cinder understood what Professor Goodwitch was doing, but she didn't feel that it was enough. She had resolved the matter, but it was only a temporary setback. Cardin would go right back to his old ways, while being more careful not to get caught.

Cinder saw another example between her mother's school and Beacon, given the similar warning Dina would give to a disruptive student or a class bully. But the only difference here was that none of the students at Beacon were children. Unlike the immature children in Kuroyuri, the students of Beacon would be given free reign after graduation with powerful weapons and even powerful Semblances.

And in Cinder's mind, there were quite a few people who didn't deserve that power. The only problem was that nobody seemed to agree with her.

"You did the right thing, Cinder," said Ren, reminding her of the small victory she had tasted.

"Indeed," said Pyrrha. "I can't stand people like Cardin."

"He's not the only one," said Blake, who had seen everything after putting down her book.

"It must be hard to be a Faunus," said Yang, silently pitying the poor girl Cardin had physically assaulted.

"It might be easier without Cardin around," Cinder noted. "I mean, seriously. How did people like him get to enroll at Beacon in the first place?"

"..."

Teams RWBY, JNPR, and CMME all shared shrugs and looks of uncertainty with Cinder. "That's what I thought," she said with a sigh. Having lost her appetite, Cinder left the table in order to get some fresh air.

"I guess it's just something the teachers would know," Ruby meekly suggested. "I mean, about enrollment and all." Ruby hadn't enrolled at Beacon, since Ozpin invited her personally. But she was sure that the staff at Beacon knew what they were doing.

"Incredibly, she's not entirely wrong," said Weiss, surprising everyone at the table. "Cardin's broken quite a few rules since the school year began. If he was a Schnee Dust Company employee, he would have been fired on the first day."

"Hey, look at that!" said Nora. "We finally got through to the Ice Queen!"

"I said 'not entirely,'" Weiss said to drown out the laughter around her. "And what did I say about calling me that?!"

"It's always funny," Yang said after she finished laughing.

Weiss stood up and spoke with clear authority, even though she had no real authority to give. "Well, if Fritz wants to see some rules enforced, then I'll be glad to meet her challenge. If I had my way, any rule-breakers at Beacon will be put on the first airship back home!"

Yang stuck a finger towards Weiss and spoke to the table again. "And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why we call her the Ice Queen."

"You don't have to tell me twice," said Mercury, right before the table laughed once more.

However, the only one who didn't laugh was Jaune. Pyrrha was the only one who noticed it, along with the fact that he seemed different. Not so much as depressed from Cardin's bullying, but something about Cinder and Weiss had made him act different. It was almost as if the conversation had made him... uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, Jaune left the table before Pyrrha had the chance to ask what was wrong. Cardin also noticed that Jaune was leaving, and silently decided that the weaker boy would once again be his next target.

---

Days later, Team CMME found themselves receiving two unique surprises.

The first came to Mercury, who was alone in the dorm room. His teammates were all in the library studying, though Cinder was also discussing ideas for her first episode of The Iconoclast with Emerald and Midori. As it turned out, her time at Beacon had given Cinder a lot of ideas.

But rather than study or talk about Cinder's ambitious project, Mercury retired to the dorms so he could do work of his own. The desk against the wall was the perfect workbench for Mercury to rebuild and improve on his weapons. Professor Mulberry's assignments or lectures weren't very challenging for the young mechanic, though he did take one piece of advice into account. The teacher was very impressed to hear that Mercury designed most of his friends' weapons, but he believed that the owners should know how to properly maintain them as well.

Cinder and everyone else had taken good care of the weapons Mercury created, but Mercury believed that having some tips and practices on hand for them was wise. So rather than work at the library, Mercury was recreating his blueprints for his friends. Soon, with a little luck, he wouldn't be the only mechanic on the team.

After an hour of working, Mercury received quite the surprise.

*TAP*

*TAP*

*TAP*

"Hm?" Mercury hummed as he turned around. The noise sounded like something hitting against glass, specifically the only window in the room. But it was rather dark outside, so Mercury couldn't see anything. Rather than investigate, Mercury dismissed the noise as his imagination and continued his work.

*TAP*

*TAP*

*TAP*

"Huh?" Mercury asked as he turned around once more. He knew that he wasn't hearing things now, and he knew that he had to investigate.

As he approached the window, Mercury began to see more clearly now. The dark of the night had obscured it at first, but Mercury could see what looked like wings flapping close to the glass. It seemed that there was some kind of bird at the window, and it was trying to get inside.

Mercury opened the window to see if there was a bird outside, but this proved to be a mistake. Because once he did, the bird revealed itself to be a small Nevermore that poked his head several times.

"Ow!" Mercury yelled as he waved his arms around. "Ow, ow! Wh-What the hell?!"

After a few seconds of fighting, the Nevermore flew towards one of the beds and stayed still. Seeing his chance, Mercury turned around and grabbed a heavy wrench off the desk. It was just the right size to squash a Grimm of the Nevermore's size, which was exactly what Mercury planned to do.

The plan changed, however, when a voice told him to stop.

"Hey, dummy! Put that down before you kill someone."

With a small gasp, Mercury turned around to see that the only ones in the room were himself and the Nevermore. But he knew the voice all too well, and he knew that he wasn't hearing things. Mercury would have looked out the window for the source, but his instincts made him look at the Nevermore instead. Once he did, Mercury began to put the pieces together and determine what was going on.

"...Vernal?" he asked the Grimm.

*WHOOSH*

Suddenly, the Nevermore took the form of Vernal laying on the bed. She looked upon Mercury with a cocky and victorious grin before she answered the question. "Gotcha," she said with a laugh.

When he realized the attack was a joke and his girlfriend was actually in the room with him, Mercury joined in on the laughter out of joy. "Holy shit, it's you!" he said as he rushed over to the bed. There, he met Vernal with a hug that she reciprocated before pulling him on the bed.

"I knew you'd miss me," Vernal said after giving Mercury a kiss.

"You kidding? I've had to share this room with three girls that all got nothing on you."

"Oh, yeah? Looks like I came to your rescue, then."

"Hell, yeah. But wait a minute." Mercury sat up and recalled the series of events that led him to the bed. "How did you get here?"

Vernal pointed to the window. "Duh, I flew."

"You took an airship here?"

"Nope. Guess again."

As soon as his second guess came to mind, Mercury's jaw dropped. There was only one way that Vernal could fly from Mistral to Beacon. And there was only one way that she could stay a Nevermore for so long, in order to travel so far. But the last time Mercury saw Vernal, he knew that it was impossible. She wasn't in the right shape to pull off an impressive feat.

Clearly, things had changed. And they seemed to change for the better.

"Babe, you... you can control your transformations?" Mercury asked hopefully.

"Ding ding," Vernal said with a smile. She then got off the bed and stood in the center of the room. "Watch this."

*WHOOSH*

*GROWL*

Vernal had changed from her human form into a Beowolf, which growled at Mercury. And between the apparent lack of pain or sounds of bone cracking, the transformation was smooth and controllable.

"Whoa-ho!" Mercury said in amazement. "That's awesome! Can you do anything else?"

*WHOOSH*

On command and fully controlled, Vernal changed from a Beowolf to a Creep.

*WHOOSH*

And the Creep turned into a Sabyr.

*WHOOSH*

And the Sabyr turned into a Centinel.

*WHOOSH*

And finally, the Centinel turned into an Ursa. Mercury was still impressed, but he erred on the side of caution when he saw the giant Grimm. "Whoa, take it easy, babe," he said. "That's cool and all, but I don't think this wooden floor can hold the weight."

*WHOOSH*

The Grimm turned back into Vernal, but she looked more annoyed than she did a few seconds ago. "You wanna try mentioning my weight again?" she said with crossed arms.

Mercury's face became completely red when he realized what he said. "Ah, shit! Sorry!"

Vernal laughed again and playfully hit Mercury's arm. "Nah, I'm just messing with you." She then sat back on the bed. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"Hell, yeah! So, you're in full control, now?"

"Yep. No more of that random and painful bullshit. It's all me now."

Mercury knew how hard it was for Vernal to get her condition under control, and how it made her feel isolated. He knew how important this moment was for her, so it was important to him too. "That's great, babe," he said as he sat down beside her. "I'm proud of you."

Vernal couldn't help but blush at the words of affection. "Thanks," she said with reddened cheeks. "But it wasn't just me. Eren really came through and helped me see the root of the problem. He cured me."

"He did? Man, what a guy." Mercury's feelings of gratitude for the man he considered a brother were just as strong as his earlier pride. He wanted to know exactly what happened, but he had another idea. "Hold on, let me text Cinder and everyone else. They're gonna want to hear this too."

Mercury had taken his Scroll out of his pocket to text his friends, but Vernal swiped it out of his hands in an instant.

"Oh, no, you don't," Vernal playfully said as she gently tossed the Scroll aside. "I've been waiting to get you alone long enough, babe. You're all mine now."

A grin came across Mercury's face when he saw the opportunity before him. And he would be damned before he wasted it. "Yes, ma'am," he said before meeting Vernal with another kiss.

Later that night, Mercury told all his friends about Vernal's presence at Beacon. The rest of Team CMME came to see her first, and they too were happy to see that Vernal had been cured. Though Ren and Nora hadn't replied to Mercury's message, Vernal told everyone that Eren helped her discover that there was still a remnant of the Chill that originally possessed her. While they were uncertain if it was also a remnant of Rod Reiss, the undead man who could create and control Chill, Eren and Vernal knew that it was responsible for her uncontrolled nature.

Fortunately, a swift removal had rectified that problem. And Vernal discovered that while the Grimm was removed, her ability to transform had remained. Eren saw to the disposal of the Grimm within the Coordinate, though it was no easy task. Vernal mentioned that Eren had returned from the Coordinate tired and in noticeable pain, but he had returned stronger than ever.

It was the mere mention of a victorious Eren that made Cinder forget about everything involving Beacon and the Huntsmen. And while she was proud of Vernal, all of Cinder's thoughts were about Eren. And as soon as Vernal was done with her story, Cinder wasted no time in asking about him.

"How is Eren?" Cinder quickly asked. "Is he doing okay? Has he mentioned me? Is Darkness still in his head? Is he okay?"

"Whoa, whoa, easy there, tiger," Vernal joked. "Don't worry, Eren's fine. Like I said, he's better now."

Cinder's feelings immediately became mixed. While she was glad that Eren seemed to be doing better, Vernal's choice of words gave her the wrong idea. "Better... right after we left?" Cinder asked, thinking that she was part of the problem.

"Nah," Vernal replied. "He's been talking with his mom a bit more, that's all he told me. I don't know what else he's doing, but it's working. I wish it worked a little sooner, but that's just me."

Cinder felt a large weight come off her as she sighed in relief. The last thing she wanted was to be a part of Eren's problems.

"Well, as long as he's getting better, that's good enough for me," said Midori.

"Me too," said Emerald. "So what's Eren up to now?"

"He's still working on his mom's farm," Vernal explained. "But he's still in touch with the Council. Before I left Mistral, he said that he had a new Inquisitor mission lined up. That was right around the same time he asked me to come see you."

"Oh, he asked you to come here?"

"Yeah, he still misses you. We actually had the same idea. When we saw that I could turn into a Nevermore, Eren asked if I could maybe fly here and check up on you." Vernal turned to her boyfriend with a smile. "I wanted to see Merc, so I decided now was a good time to test my limits."

Mercury smiled back at Vernal. "Well, be sure to tell him we're still kicking ass up here," he said.

"You got it, babe." Vernal decided to address the fact that two of their friends were missing. "Does the same go for Ren and Nora?"

"You bet it does," said Cinder. "Oh, and get this; they're on a team with Pyrrha Nikos!"

Vernal had heard about this, but she still didn't believe it. "You mean the Pyrrha Nikos, right? The girl from the Mistral Region Tournaments?"

Mercury gently tapped Vernal's arm to get her attention. "She's also on Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes box," he reminded her.

"Oh, yeah," Vernal said with a smile. "Gods, I love that stuff." She suddenly remembered what Cinder had told her and became skeptical. "But come on; there's no way Ren and Nora got lucky enough to meet her."

*KNOCK*

*KNOCK*

*KNOCK*

Everyone turned to the door when they heard three knocks. "That's probably them now," said Cinder, who stood up to answer the door. "You can ask them yourself."

Ren and Nora were indeed at the door. Nora rished inside to see Vernal for herself, but Ren stayed outside so he could share the second surprise of the evening.

"Cinder, can I talk to you for a moment?" Ren asked.

"Just me?" Cinder asked. "Sure, what's going on?"

"It's probably nothing, but Nora and I could use your opinion about something."

It was rather normal for Ren to err on the side of caution in certain matters, so Cinder knew that he was serious about the need to talk. And Cinder felt that she had no reason to refuse such a request, so she stepped outside with Ren and closed the door.

"What's up?" she asked after making sure they were alone.

"Nora and I think something strange is going on," Ren explained. "Between our team, I mean."

The idea sounded simple, but it began to make Cinder grow paranoid. Given their status as Titans, Cinder knew better than anyone how precarious their position at Beacon was. If the secret was out, they would all be in serious trouble.

"Wait, it's not about us, is it?" Cinder asked. "I mean, about our... you know."

"Oh, no," Ren immediately denied. "Nothing like that."

"Oh, good." Cinder sighed in relief before she regained focus on Ren. "So, what's the problem?"

"It's about Jaune and Pyrrha. Something's... changed with them."

When she heard the boy's name, Cinder realized that she hadn't seen Jaune in a while; not even among his own team at class or meals. "Huh," she said after a moment of thought. "Now that you mention it... I can't remember the last time I've seen Jaune with you guys."

"That might be because he's been fraternizing with Cardin," Ren explained.

"What? You've seen them together?"

"Today was the first day I did, yes. They were inseparable for most of our classes."

Cinder didn't know what new stunt Cardin was going to pull after their last meeting, but she couldn't have predicted that he would be hanging out with Jaune willingly. And based on his experiences, there was no way Jaune would do the same.

"Why would he do something like that?" Cinder asked rhetorically. She suddenly put rhetoric feelings aside to ask Ren another question. "What did Pyrrha say? You told her, right?"

"Her and Nora, yes," Ren confirmed. "Nora thought it was strange too, but Pyrrha was... dismissive about it."

"Dismissive?"

"Her exact words were 'I'm sure our leader knows exactly what he's doing.' I haven't known Pyrrha for long, but she wouldn't be this dismissive under normal circumstances."

"..."

No, she wouldn't.

Cinder also hadn't known Pyrrha for long, and she didn't know her as well as Ren and Nora did. But a complete change of heart in the manner Ren described didn't seem to fit Pyrrha at all. Especially when she was the first to offer Jaune help in dealing with Cardin.

"I'm sorry to drop all of this on your plate," said Ren. "But Nora and I both think something's not right here. And we wanted to hear your thoughts before jumping to any conclusions."

"No, you're definitely right," said Cinder. "You didn't happen to see anything else, did you? Maybe with your Semblance?"

Ren was aware that Cinder was referring to his ability to see emotions, but he didn't use it on either of his teammates. "No, sorry," he said. "The idea came to mind, but it sounded like an invasion of their privacy."

Cinder nodded in understanding, so she put the pieces together on her own. Along with the facts Ren presented, Cinder's feminine intuition helped her see that a rift had grown specifically between Jaune and Pyrrha. "Did Jaune and Pyrrha have a fight or something?" she asked. "Some kind of falling out?"

"Not that I know of," Ren replied.

"Well, Pyrrha definitely sounds angry at Jaune. I think I might be able to help her open up. I mean, if you're okay with me talking to her alone."

"Sure. But you don't have to do it now" Ren pointed back to Cinder's door. "Weren't you still talking to Vernal?"

"Yeah, but I heard all I needed to hear." Cinder formed a smile as she reflected on Vernal's news. "Eren's doing a lot better, by the way. It sounds like he's working things out."

"Oh, good." Ren pointed in the direction of his dorm room. "Well, Jaune's been coming home later than usual, no doubt because of Cardin. So Pyrrha should be alone now if you want to talk to her."

"Great." Cinder began to walk in the direction of the room. "I'll let you know how it goes."

---

Cinder didn't have much time to think of what she would say to Pyrrha. Despite the walk it was taking, Team JNPR's dorm room wasn't too far away from her own. So instead of thinking what to say, Cinder thought about what she was going to do to help.

Her first step was obviously getting to the bottom of the apparent rift between Jaune and Pyrrha. Once that was done, Cinder planned to confront Cardin personally. She would restrain herself from physical violence, but Cinder swore to put an end to Cardin's schemes.

One way or another.

Cinder actually had a plan for this, which was inspired by her earlier idea of The Iconoclast. She learned that she would have to record everything she prepared to say, and then publish the recordings online. Her Scroll and the CCT tower would make these steps easy, and she could record herself in a reserved spot within Beacon's library. But Cinder learned that some podcasts have recordings of other people and events, which were then played back by the host. And the fans of podcasts liked that just as much as everything the host said.

And so, Cinder planned to record everything Cardin would reveal about himself and Jaune. It wouldn't be easy, and it was definitely more akin to craftiness than intelligence, but Cinder believed making Cardin spill the truth would accomplish two things. She would not only get more material for The Iconoclast, but Cinder would also have the proof that people like Cardin were no good for Beacon.

Cinder would take that recording straight to Ozpin and Goodwitch so they could understand. They were currently focused on making sure that Cinder could learn from Beacon, but now it was time for them to learn from her.

But first, Cinder needed to learn about Jaune from Pyrrha. At least, that was the plan before she noticed Jaune himself running across the halls.

"Come on, come on!" he said as he looked to a bag in his hand. "Please don't sting me, please don't sting me!"

"..."

Jaune was completely oblivious to Cinder's presence in the halls, just how Cinder was unaware of the bag's contents. Not only did she hear Jaune's pleas for its contents to "sting him," but Cinder also believed that she heard buzzing from the bag. Curiosity and a bad feeling came over her quickly, so Cinder decided to see what Jaune was up to in the middle of the night.

Following Jaune proved rather easy, given that the bag had his undivided attention. And the choice to follow him proved to be an opportunity for Cinder, since Jaune's hurried travel had apparently lead him to Team CRDL's room.

"Jauney-boy!" said Cardin, who answered the door after Jaune quickly knocked. "About time you showed up."

"Shit!" Cinder said to herself as she ducked out of sight. Since she needed to get to the bottom of this new mystery, the young girl could hardly afford being seen by either boy. Luckily, Team CRDL's room was on the other side of an intersection within the hall, so Cinder was able to hide behind the wall at that intersection.

"Uh, s-sorry I'm late!" Jaune stammered, feeling nervous about being in the presence of Cardin.

"I guess there's no harm done," said Cardin, who immediately took a more hostile stance towards Jaune. "As long as you got what I asked for."

"Ye-Yeah! Yeah, I did!" Jaune held out the bag to Cardin. "O-One bag of Rapier Wasps! Just like you said!"

"Rapier Wasps?" Cinder asked herself as her concerns grew larger. This was, to her knowledge, the first time Cardin's antics involved live animals. Realizing that she could catch him red-handed, Cinder immediately took out her Scroll and began recording the conversation. She had tested the new recording software she installed for her podcast, so Cinder knew that she was going to capture everything that was said.

Starting now.

"Holy shit, you actually did it!" Cardin said with a laugh. "I was starting to think those pests stung you to death."

"Nope, everything's fine!" Jaune insisted as he held the bag out. "Can you take them now, please?"

"Hold on, I'll get a box for them." Cardin stepped inside his room, but he was talking loud enough for Jaune to hear. "Why don't you come on in? Take a load off?"

"Me? Uh, I can't. I'm already running late, my team might wonder-"

"Come on! You know this is where all the cool kids hang out."

Cinder could hear laughter coming from Team CRDL's room, which indicated that Cardin wasn't alone. His whole team was most likely there as well, so they too were familiar with the Rapier Wasps.

Wanting to get a better recording, Cinder took a calculated risk by peering her head around the corner. She could see that Jaune was standing in the doorway now, not fully inside the room. But his attention was on the room inside rather than the hall, so Cinder took another calculated risk by moving closer without anyone seeing her.

"Cardin, I really should be getting back," Jaune said once again. "I still have that Dust project you wanted me to work on, and-"

"Oh, that's right!" said Cardin. "Thanks for reminding me." Cinder couldn't see him, but she was sure that he couldn't see her either. "You hear that, guys? Our Dust project is in the bag."

Cinder's ears and her Scroll picked up a few cheers from the rest of Team CRDL, as well as a question from one of the other boys. "Oh, wait a sec," said Sky. "Cardin, you said you'd ask him about my report for Professor Port."

"Oh, yeah," said Cardin. "Jaune, Sky's gonna need a report for Port's class by next week. And Russel's got some readings from Goodwitch you'll need to summarize, and Dove wants-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" said Jaune. "H-Hold on a second, Cardin. I thought you said you just wanted your homework done."

Cinder restrained herself from gasping, but her mouth lowered by an inch in surprise. Not only did she have proof of Cardin continuing to bully students, but now Cinder had a confession of Jaune helping Cardin and his team cheat in class. This was obviously against whatever standards Professor Ozpin had for his students, and now Cinder was confident that Cardin's time at Beacon was over.

But there was more to the story that Cinder needed to uncover. Such as how Cardin was able to use Jaune in such a manner. It seemed obvious that Cardin was threatening Jaune, but Cinder needed to know how before she could leave in satisfaction.

Fortunately, Team CRDL was about to share that reason.

"Come on, Jauney-boy," said Cardin. "We're all friends here, aren't we? And remember what I said before? As long as you're there for me when I need you, we'll be friends for a long time."

"Y-Yeah, I remember," said Jaune. "But..."

Cinder heard a growl and footsteps towards Jaune. "But what?"

"I... I just thought that it applied to... You know, just... you and I."

Cardin seemed to calm down after hearing the explanation, since his voice sounded less hostile. "Well... it did at first," he explained. "But the guys got a little curious when they heard about all the ways you were helping me."

"Yeah, we did," said Russel, who also stepped closer. "In fact, we didn't believe it."

"Yeah," said Sky, who also stepped closer. "Think you can tell the story for yourself? Otherwise, I'd never believe it."

"Wh-What story?" Jaune asked nervously. He already knew the answer, but he couldn't resist the urge to ask.

"Oh, you know. How you cheated your way into Beacon!"

This time, Cinder couldn't stop herself from gasping. Her jaw was wide open now, and the shock she received almost caused her to drop her Scroll. Cinder was extremely dumbfounded and taken aback by what she just heard, but her senses and wits hadn't exactly dulled. Upon realizing that someone may have heard her, Cinder ducked back to her original hiding place behind her corner and prayed nobody heard or saw her.

"Huh?" Jaune asked as he looked down the hall. He didn't see anyone, but Cinder's gasp had caught his attention. "Did you guys hear-?"

"Hey, don't change the subject!" said Sky. "We asked you a question, Jaune."

"Yeah," said Russel. "So you really did it, huh?"

Jaune was growing concerned at the volume everyone was talking at, so he tried to shush them. "Guys, please!" he begged in a whisper. "Please don't tell anyone!"

Sky, Dove, and Russel all laughed at the statement with Cardin. "See?" the team leader asked. "I told you he did it."

"Wow," said Sky. "I didn't think he had it in him."

"Hold on," said Dove, who was the last to speak. "Can we at least know why you did it?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Russel asked. "For the money, man!"

"No, it's not like that!" Jaune insisted. "It's just..."

"Just what?" Cardin asked. "You might as well tell us, Jaune. We already know most of the story, don't we, guys?" All of Cardin's friends acknowledged the statement with nods, and Jaune found himself unable to change their minds. He knew that he was going to have to tell the whole story.

And Cinder knew she was going to have to record everything.

"There's... not much to say," Jaune began. "The truth is... this is always what I've wanted to be. My father, my grandfather, and his father before him were all warriors. They were all heroes. I just... wanted to be one, too."

"Oh, a glory-hog, huh?" Dove asked. "I guess I can relate."

"Me too," said Sky. "All the girls love Huntsmen!"

Cinder certainly didn't.

"Heh, heh, yeah," said Russel. "But I don't know about you, Jaune. No offense, but Cardin's been kicking your ass since day one. Seems more damsel in distress than hero material, if you ask me."

"Maybe you need a little 'help?'" Cardin asked as he cracked his knuckles. "I don't see the harm in beating some more sense in you every once in a while."

Between the laughter that followed Cardin's "offer" and the idea of being a "damsel in distress," Jaune couldn't take it anymore. "I don't want help!" he said, forgetting that Team CRDL was with him. "I don't want to be the damsel in distress! I want to be the hero!"

"..."

With each word she heard, Cinder found herself losing more and more sympathy for Jaune. He was indeed a victim of Cardin's, that was true, but Jaune was as much of a cheater as Cardin was proven to be. The only difference was that Jaune didn't have the courage or strength to defend himself. And yet, just like the other Huntsmen Cinder met, Jaune was only focused on himself and "being a hero." In her mind, all five boys Cinder recorded were completely undeserving of being at Beacon.

Let alone being Huntsmen.

"Okay, okay, take it easy," Cardin said with a hint of mockery. "It was just a suggestion." Cardin suddenly grabbed Jaune and pulled him closer. "And speaking of 'suggestions,' I suggest that you remember we're all friends here. And friends look out for each other... right?"

"..."

After he gulped and relaxed, while cursing himself for sounding like a fool, Jaune remembered who he was talking to. Between preventing a beating and keeping his secret safe, Jaune knew exactly what he needed to do. "...Right," he said after taking a breath. "I remember."

"There we go." Believing Jaune would stay compliant, Cardin released him and brushed dust off his chest. "That's all I needed to hear. Come on, I'll walk you back to your dorm."

*SLAM*

The door closing snapped Cinder back to reality. While she knew that her mission was a success, Cinder also knew that Cardin would see her the moment he walked back the way Jaune came. Not ready to confront either of them just yet, Cinder decided to hide so she could share what she discovered with her own friends later.

Luckily, one of the doors was opening just as Cardin and Jaune were making their way down the hall. Not thinking or caring about the student exiting the room, Cinder pushed the student back inside and made her way into the room.

"Hey!" the student yelled as he unwillingly moved back into his room.

Cinder ignored the protest and kept her eyes solely on the door. Rather than close it all the way, Cinder formed a tiny crack so she could see Cardin and Jaune leave. Once she saw two shapes pass without a word, Cinder closed the door and sighed in relief.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing?!"

Cinder looked back to see four random people staring back at her, all of which had a mixture of surprise and anger on their faces. The boy she pushed into the room was definitely angry, and rightfully so. But Cinder couldn't afford a proper explanation; not when she had to show her friends what she found.

"S-Sorry!" Cinder said as she fumbled with the door handle. "Wrong room!"

*SLAM*

---

"Yeah, he said that the Grimm 'evolved' in the Coordinate, or something like that. Damn thing nearly killed both of us."

"Oh, wow. Glad you two are okay."

"Thanks. But I think that left a bad taste in my mouth with the Coordinate. From now on, I'm staying as close to Remnant as I can."

"That's okay. We've had enough encounters with Darkness there to never want to go back anytime-"

*SLAM*

Vernal and the rest of her friends all looked to the door when they heard it open and slam shut. Vernal hadn't left yet, since she and everyone else were comparing notes. So everyone in the room saw Cinder standing at the door, and they could see that she was mad.

"You are not going to believe what I just heard," she said to everyone.

"..."

It was true that everyone became midly scared when they saw the look on Cinder's face and heard the anger in her voice. But once she showed everyone what was on her Scroll, they all knew thet Cinder's anger was justified.

"Oh, you know. How you cheated your way into Beacon!"

"Guys, please!" Please don't tell anyone!"

"Can we at least know why you did it?"

"I don't want help! I don't want to be the damsel in distress! I want to be the hero!"

"I suggest that you remember we're all friends here. And friends look out for each other... right?"

Just as she hoped, Cinder's Scroll had managed to capture the entire conversation between Jaune and Team CRDL. And just as she expected, all of her friends shared her feelings of disbelief and animosity.

"I don't believe it," said Ren, despite the evidence Cinder had brought.

"He... He cheated?" Nora asked. She didn't think Jaune was capable of something like this. But clearly, she was wrong.

"I thought... I thought he'd know better than that," said Midori, who had the same feelings as Nora.

"And Team CRDL is blackmailing him?" Emerald asked. "They're just making it worse!"

"Team CRDL," said Vernal, who turned to her boyfriend. "Are those the assholes you were talking about, Merc?"

"That's them," Mercury confirmed. "They've always been dicks, but this... this is all bullshit!"

Cinder had been quiet as her friends listened to her recordings, but her silence wasn't entirely out of patience. Inside, she was fuming. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt this livid. Team CRDL weren't even proper Huntsmen yet, but the corruption of the system was strong within them. And Jaune, while not necessarily corrupt, was just as bad. She had seen Huntsmen and Huntresses live solely for themselves in a bid for glory, and it was always her opinion that it needed to be snuffed out.

It seemed that opinion was mostly shared within the room.

"So," Cinder began to get everyone's attention. "We're all on the same page, then?"

"Of course," said Emerald.

"Hell, yeah," said Mercury.

Vernal knew this had become the business of Inquisitors, so she remained silent. Ren and Nora also remained silent, but they looked at each other with uncertainty. They knew this situation had to be resolved, but their time with Jaune had left them unsure what they could exactly do.

Midori was also uncertain, but she trusted Cinder to make the right choice.

"What do you need from us?" the medic asked her leader. "What are we going to do?"

"We're going to finish this," Cinder said as he reclaimed her Scroll. "I just needed you all to hear it for yourselves first."

"And now?"

Cinder turned to the door again. "And now, we're going to do our job. We're going to take all five of them down."

"Cinder, wait!"

The team leader was stopped in her tracks when a hand caught the door handle. Cinder turned to see Nora blocking access to the door, which was very unexpected. Everyone was surprised, and also surprised as Nora continued to hold her ground.

"What do you mean 'wait?'" Cinder asked. Her voice remained civil, but her anger remained. "Nora, we have all we need to make our case!"

"But shouldn't we talk about this first?" Nora asked. "With Jaune, I mean?"

"Jaune? What's there to talk about? He cheated his way here! You all heard it!"

"I know but..." Nora let go of the door with a sigh. "Cinder, this doesn't feel right."

Save for Ren, everyone was confused as to why Nora had her reservations against this course of action. But she was willinng to defend herself, especially after the questions everyone asked her.

"Doesn't feel right?" Mercury repeated. "Nora, nothing is right with Team CRDL. Have you met those guys?"

"No, I get that," Nora insisted. "I just mean this doesn't feel right with Jaune."

"Why not?" Emerald asked. "Cinder's right, he's not entirely innocent in this."

"I know he's not!" Nora said as she turned to Emerald. "But he trusts me and Ren! If we're going to go through with Cinder's plan, we should at least tell him. Maybe we can help!"

Midori felt that she understood Nora's feelings the best, so she tried to reason with her. "Nora, I'm sure you've gotten to know Jaune better than we have," she began. "But this is a really big deal. Protecting him could get you in trouble."

Nora understood what Midori was saying, but her feelings remained the same. However, it was hard for her to put them into words. "No, I get that," she insisted. "But... it's just that..."

"No, Midori's right," said Cinder, taking control of the situation once again. "Protecting him will get us nowhere."

"Cinder-"

"Think, Nora! Ozpin put Jaune in charge of you, Ren, and Pyrrha! But he has no idea what he's doing! You've seen him in class, he hasn't even won a single fight! How can you trust him to lead you into battle or make the right calls?! Him being here is dangerous for all three of you! He's even a danger to himself! He could get himself killed if we don't do anything!"

When he realized that Nora wasn't able to defend herself anymore, Ren stepped in for her. "Cinder, take it easy!" he said as he stood in front of Nora. "We're with you, we want to put a stop to all this too." Ren gestured towards his partner. "Nora's just trying to say that Jaune is our responsibility. Hers and mine, I mean."

"..."

Nora mentally thanked Ren for stepping in as the voice of reason. Not only that, but he knew just how she was feeling. Ren simply found the proper words to express her feelings, which was one of the reasons why she loved him. And Ren's words not only expressed Nora's feelings, but they also helped Cinder seem more reasonable.

"We can handle Jaune while you handle Team CRDL," Ren promised. "You can handle them all if need be, but let us just talk to him first. Remember what we all said when Eren couldn't come? We're all here to help. Nora and I are here to help."

"..."

Cinder didn't like the mention of Eren being unable to come with her to Beacon, but Ren's explanation had made a lot of sense. It was easy to see how Jaune could be Ren and Nora's responsibility, and they were indeed willing to help. And though Cinder wished to resolve the conflict here and now, she knew that giving Ren and Nora a chance was the right thing to do.

After all, they risked just as much as she did by coming to Beacon.

"...Fine," Cinder relented. Her first response was a quiet one, so she spoke louder for all to hear. "Okay, fine. I'll follow your lead."

"Yes!" Nora said. "We won't let you down!"

Cinder had no doubt of that, but she still wanted the matter resolved. "But this ends tomorrow," she decided. "One way or another."

Nora fell silent as her confidence took a small but noticeable hit. Ren, however, understood that Cinder wanted to solve the problem as quickly as possible. His feelings were mutual, so he agreed with the decision.

"One way or another," he repeated as he led Nora out of the room.

*CLICK*

Ren and Nora found themselves alone in the hall, reflecting on what had just happened. Their own thoughts were unique, but some of them were the same. Like Cinder, they couldn't believe what they had just heard about Jaune. He certainly didn't seem like the person to cheat into Beacon, but the evidence was brought before them. And it was up to them to try and find a resolution.

Nora understood that perfectly, but she had one more issue on her mind.

"Hey, Ren," Nora said to her partner. "Is it just me... or is Cinder kinda scary when she gets all worked up and serious?"

Ren knew Cinder long enough to have no reason for being afraid of her, but he could see Nora's point. "She definitely has a problem restraining her temper whenever she's passionate about something," he replied. "I wouldn't hold it against her, though. She and Eren have that in common."

The mention of Cinder and Eren made Nora crack a smile. "Oh, yeah. I guess they're made for each other, huh?"

"Of that, I have no doubt." Ren chuckled at the idea, but didn't get a laugh from Nora. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. It's just... really crazy, you know? I have, like, a million questions right now."

"Me too. But you were right. Our best chance is defintely talking to Jaune."

"Should we talk to Pyrrha too? Do you think she knows?"

"Possibly. It could be why she's been distant from him. But if she doesn't know, telling her might add more fuel to the fire. Let's just talk to Jaune when he's alone first."

"Yeah, okay. But what are we going to say? Is Jaune... going to have to leave?"

"..."

The question was enough to make Ren pause, since it was a very good one. Like Nora, Ren had grown to see Jaune as a friend. Not as close as he did with Cinder and everyone else, but Ren could consider Jaune a friend. He understood how Nora felt about betraying someone's trust, but the issue needed resolution.

"I... don't exactly know," Ren confessed. "But Cinder's right. Jaune's putting himself and other people at risk. At the very least, we need to help him understand that. And we will." Ren took Nora's hand in his and smiled. "Together."

Nora smiled and leaned against Ren's arm in a loving manner. "Together," she repeated. "Together together."

Ren laughed again as he led the way back to their room. "Come on, let's get some rest. We'll figure it out first thing in the morning."

---

The next morning, Ren and Nora decided that a special activity would serve as the ideal setting for a private talk with Jaune. Professor Goodwitch had taken her students to the Forever Fall, the second most-notable forest that Beacon Academy knew of. While its red treets and red ground were both beautiful, Professor Goodwitch hadn't taken her students sightseeing. But rather, she was tasking each student to collect one jar of sap from the trees as samples requested by Professor Peach.

After warning the students to be careful of the Grimm and return with the sap by four o'clock, Professor Goodwitch allowed the students to separate amongst themselves and conduct their work.

Before they got started, Ren and Nora took a moment to reflect on the Forever Fall with Team CMME. They had been to the forest before, back when Hazel took Midori with him to rendezvous with a hidden White Fang camp. The battle was long and arduous, but the group of friends escaped with their lives while landing a powerful blow against Salem.

Cinder couldn't help but observe Blake in the area, given that the Forever Fall was where they first met. Blake was carrying out her task with Team RWBY, but she couldn't help but look beyond the trees from time to time. It was almost as if she was expecting something to happen, for something to appear from the forest.

Cinder was convinced that Blake was expecting the White Fang to come for her. And though she wanted to put the girl's paranoia at ease, Cinder knew she couldn't mention anything about meeting Blake before. If she did anything like that, then Eren's work would have been for nothing.

And so, Cinder stayed close to her team while collecting sap. Team JNPR also remained close, but Cardin had taken Jaune away to reconvene with the rest of Team CRDL. Pyrrha noticed this and let out a sigh of disappointment, while Ren and Nora looked to each other in concern.

But their plan remained the same. They would do everything within their power to resolve the issue before the field trip was over.

As they waited for their opportunity with Jaune, Ren and Nora carried out their task of collecting sap. Ren believed it was a rather easy task, since he had filled one jar of sap after removing bark from a tree.

The task soon became harder, however, when he turned around to see that Nora had drunk the whole jar with a sheepish grin.

Ren was mildly annoyed, given that he should have expected Nora's sweet tooth to arise. Drinking sap was actually something she performed the first time they had come to the Forever Fall. But his annoyance disappeared when he saw an opportunity before him.

"Nora, look," he whispered as he pointed towards the other trees. "Jaune's collecting sap by himself."

After wiping off the remaining sap from her face, Nora looked where Ren was pointing and saw Jaune as well. Rather than a single jar, he was collecting several by himself; it seemed Team CRDL had left him to do all the work again.

"Now's our chance," said Nora.

"Yeah," said Ren. "How about you warm him up? I'll join you once I finish the jars."

"Wait, me?" Nora looked back to Ren. "Are you sure?"

Despite Nora making his work a bit harder, Ren smiled and expressed confidence. "If you can help me convince Cinder like you did last night, you can convince anyone to change their mind. And I'll be right behind you."

"..."

Nora felt that Ren was giving her a little too much credit, given that he was the one who put her feelings into words. But she appreciated his support, and she wanted to help Jaune in any way she could.

"Okay," Nora said after a breath. "I'll warm him up for you. Wish me luck."

"Good luck," Ren said with the same smile.

Nora walked towards Jaune and prepared herself for what came next. "You can do it," she said to herself. "You can do it. You can do it."

Eventually, Nora reached Jaune. He was distracted by the task of filling several jars with sap, so he didn't hear her approach. So after making sure they were alone, and making doubly sure that Team CRDL was nowhere in sight, Nora got Jaune's attention and began her efforts to get through to him.

"Uh, hi, Jaune!" Nora said to get the boy's attention. "Having fun?"

"I think I'm allergic to this stuff," said Jaune, who sounded strange due to his stuffed nose.

Nora held back a laugh as she moved closer. "Ooh, I think you're right. Here, let me help."

"No, that's okay! I'm almost done."

Nora looked to see that Jaune had filled five jars of sap; one was for himself and the other four were for Team CRDL. However, Jaune was filling up a sixth jar as well. "Jaune, how come you're filling six jars?" she asked. "Don't you need five?"

"That's one of the many questions I have asked myself today," Jaune asked. "That's just what..." Jaune stopped himself when he remembered one part about the task. But Nora could guess the rest herself.

"That's what Cardin told you to do?"

"..."

Jaune turned back to the jars, hiding the look of shame on his face. Nora was sure that Jaune felt ashamed, but she was still ready to help. And now she saw that there wasn't any point in sugarcoating the problem. So instead, Nora got straight to business.

"Jaune, being around those jerks isn't going to help you," she said. "And it's not going to solve your problems."

"...I know," Jaune admitted. "But this isn't about solving problems, Nora. You... You wouldn't understand."

"Actually, I do. I..." Nora took another look around to make sure they were alone before she said anything else. "I know Cardin's blackmailing you about cheating into Beacon."

Jaune turned around with a small yelp. He nearly broke a jar while turning around, but he didn't care about that. "Who told you?" he asked with worry.

"That doesn't matter," Nora insisted. "Jaune, we both know what Cardin's doing isn't right. And neither... neither is lying about whether or not you're ready to be here."

Nora felt a bit hypocritical about that last part, given that she didn't want to be a Huntress. And being a Titan-shifter on top of that didn't help either. But Nora agreed with Ren and Cinder that Jaune was putting himself and others at risk, and he needed to know that.

Unfortunately, Nora hadn't broken through Jaune's stubbornness just yet.

"Look, Nora, I know this looks bad," Jaune replied as he stood upright. "But you know me! I'm not like Cardin or those other jerks you and Cinder talk about! And I'm not gonna be an evil Huntsman, or whatever!"

Nora could see that her team leader was getting the wrong idea, and that she needed to correct it. "Jaune, I never said you were a bad guy," Nora insisted. "Good people make mistakes too, nobody's perfect! What's important is that we realize when we've made a mistake and try to fix it!"

Before Jaune could reply, Ren joined Nora and supported her. "She's right, Jaune," he said calmly. "Making mistakes is a part of life. Trust me, I know."

"..."

Jaune and Nora were both surprised by the statement. Jaune was surprised to hear that Ren also knew, and Nora was wondering what Ren meant about him making mistakes. However, she realized that Ren may have been talking about how he lost his father. So now, Nora knew that Ren was being genuine in his attempt to get through to Jaune.

"And I know you might not see it," Ren continued. "But coming to Beacon unprepared was a mistake. Nora's right, Jaune. It's not too late to fix it."

Nora silently appreciated Ren's support. Building up on the point of fixing mistakes showed her that she was on the right track, and that she was doing the right thing by talking it out. Nora also knew that Jaune was a smart person, and that someone like him could see reason after a nudge in the right direction.

However, Jaune's intelligence and common sense were second to only one part about him: his pride.

"That's it?" Jaune asked. "You think I should quit? Just go back home?" Jaune had asked a similar question to Pyrrha several nights ago. Just like that night, his feelings had been hurt by what Ren and Nora were saying.

"I know it sounds hard," said Ren. "But if you keep this up, you'll only get hurt in the process."

"And you're getting hurt now!" said Nora. "Think about all the times Cardin-!"

"You think Cardin is the only one?!" Jaune barked at Ren and Nora. "Do you know how many times I've been looked down upon?! How many people think I've never been good enough?! My own parents told me 'not to worry' if I ended up having to move back home!"

"..."

Ren and Nora didn't know about Jaune's parents. Not only did they pity their leader, but they could see that this would take more than just words to fix.

"I know I'm not like everyone else here!" Jaune continued. "And I know I'm not like your friend Derek Jeter from Mistral!"

The name confused Ren and Nora, which made them look to each other with perplexion. "Um... do you mean 'Eren Yeager?'" Ren asked, seeing that the names sounded similar.

"Whatever!" Jaune replied. "My point is that I can't just give up! Not when people like Ruby think I can be a good leader! And I can be a good leader!"

"..."

Jaune began to calm down and attempted to reason with his teammates. "Look, don't worry about Cardin," he said. "I think I have a way to get myself away from him. After that, I'll prove myself to both of you. And Pyrrha too."

"Jaune, listen to us," Nora pleaded. "It's not about proving yourself. It's about knowing you're not ready."

"But that doesn't mean I can't do it! Please, just don't tell anyone I faked my transcripts."

"..."

Ren and Nora started to see that no amount of talking would change Jaune's mind. He was tired of being seen as inferior, and tired of being put down by others. That was why he was doing this, after all.

But Ren and Nora knew that they had to put a stop to it. Jaune may not have been like the Huntsmen and Huntresses they fought, but he had no idea what he was getting himself into. In order to save him, Ren and Nora saw that they would have to let Cinder share her proof with the right people.

But first, they had to save themselves.

"Check it out, guys!"

The trio saw that Team CRDL had joined them. They had gotten tired of waiting for Jaune to bring them their sap, so they decided to see what was taking so long. And unfortunately for Ren and Nora, they came just in time to hear Jaune's final plea.

"Looks like someone else knows our dirty little secret," Cardin said as he walked towards Ren and Nora. "Don't worry, Jaune. It's still safe with us."

Between her grudge against Cardin and her frustration over the lack of progress with Jaune, Nora took charge and moved quickly towards Cardin. "Oh, no, you don't," she said as she jabbed a finger at Cardin, unafraid of him or anyone else. "You're done here, Cardin. Go away and we won't hurt you."

*CRUNCH*

"Ah!" Nora yelped as Cardin grabbed her hand. Despite his size, Cardin was able to move quickly and apply pressure to the hand caught in his grasp.

"You?" Cardin asked as he applied more pressure to Nora's hand. "Hurt me?" He and his friends began to laugh as Nora fell to her knees in pain. "What a joke."

"Nora!" Ren yelled as he charged towards Cardin. He was stopped, however, when Sky and Russel grabbed him by the arms.

Jaune also feared for Nora's safety, but Dove also grabbed Jaune and prevented him from moving. "Cardin, wait!" Jaune begged. "Don't hurt her!"

"Don't worry, Jaune," Cardin said as he continued to squeeze Nora's hand. "I'll make sure nobody shares our little secret."

The sight of Cardin laughing and Nora beginning to cry from the pain made Jaune and Ren angry. But unlike Jaune, Ren was able to free himself through his own combat prowess. After kicking Sky in the knee as hard as he could, Ren freed his arm and swatted Sky away like a bug. He then delivered multiple strikes to Russel, which caused the boy to crash into a tree.

Satisfied with seeing Sky and Russel put into their place, Ren turned towards Cardin once again to help Nora. However, upon seeing Ren handle his friends, Cardin took advantage of Ren's distraction and threw one of the jars of sap at his head.

And as soon as Ren turned around, the heavy jar made direct contact with his face.

*SMASH*

"Ren!" Nora called out as she watched her boyfriend fall to the ground.

"I was gonna save that jar for Pyrrha," said Cardin. "Or maybe Cinder. But I guess your boyfriend will have to do." Cardin kicked a cardboard box that had a "W" on it closer to him, which started to buzz uncontrollably.

*BUZZ*

*BUZZ*

*BUZZ*

Cardin had let go of Nora's hand, but he grabbed her shoulders instead and pinned her to a tree. "What was that you said you would do?" Cardin mockingly asked. "Break my legs?" He pushed Nora tighter as he laughed. "Go on, then! Break them!"

Nora felt like her body was about to break, given the pressure from Cardin and force against the tree. Tears had begun to fall down her cheeks as her mind took her back to a similar time when she felt helpless. It was back when she was a child, when Marcus Black had kidnapped her and the parents of her friends.

At that time, Nora had been beaten and tied up like a wild animal. All while Marcus Black laughed and scared her beyond belief. She was lucky that day, when Ren came with Eren and Cinder to rescue her. Today was different, however, since Ren was unconscious.

But it was also different because of how Nora had grown. She wasn't a little girl anymore, and she had grown much stronger. Ren had done nothing but believe in her and show her how strong she truly was. And Eren helped her turn that strength into an advantage, into the warrior she was today.

Now it was time to show Cardin just how strong she was.

"Let... me... go!" Nora yelled as she moved her legs up and kicked Cardin right in the chest. Not only did she put a dent in his armor, but Nora had also made Cardin let go and fell backwards.

*CRASH*

Along with the jars of sap, Cardin had fallen right on top of the box with the "W" on it. Multiple Rapier Wasps surrounded the area and became attracted to the sap on the ground and Cardin's back. The sight not only made Cardin angry, but it also made the rest of his team run away. Dove had thrown Jaune aside as he ran to avoid the insects, which had given Jaune the chance to check on Ren.

"I... I'm sorry, Ren," Jaune said as he tried to get Ren to wake up. The entire ordeal had shown him just how powerless he was against Cardin. He was fine with Cardin picking on only him, but Jaune felt enormous guilt for getting his teammates, his friends, hurt along the way.

"Get away from him!" Nora demanded as she slid to Ren and pushed Jaune away. "Ren! Ren, wake up!"

"Uh..." Ren groaned as he opened his eyes and sat up. The jar had left a cut on his forehead, but he was okay. "What happened?"

"You're okay," Nora said after she sighed in relief. "Don't worry; Cardin just got a lucky shot while you had your back turned."

Jaune suddenly remembered Cardin and turned around fast. As he expected, Cardin was standing up with curled fists and an angry look that could kill someone. Jaune had a feeling that someone was indeed going to be killed if they got in Cardin's way, but Jaune wasn't going to let it be Ren or Nora.

Ruby had believed his team deserved a good leader. For now, Jaune would have to do.

"Go," Jaune said as he stood up. "Take Ren, and get help." Jaune took out his sword and extended his shield. "I'll make sure Cardin won't go anywhere."

"..."

Nora was about to make the same offer when she saw Cardin stand back up. She even wanted to make it now, since she could Magnhild off her back and use it. But whether it was her earlier conversation or Ren's mild injury, Jaune didn't allow his mind to be changed.

That was because he charged towards Cardin once again, doing everything he could to make up for his mistake.

"Go!"

---

Nora couldn't remember a time when she moved as fast as she did through the forest. Due to this speed, she and Ren were able to find their friends and the other students in record time. Nora explained what had happened between them and Team CRDL, all while Midori healed the cut on Ren's head.

Even though it was a cowardly shot, Ren cursed himself for being vulnerable to Cardin. A scratch like his was bleeding the blood of a Titan, which was a big deal. But luckily, the blood was mixed with the crimson sap, so nobody could tell the difference between the two.

When she heard Nora's story, Cinder realized that she needed to take matters into her own hands. Ren and Nora had tried their best, there was no denying that. But now, it was time to finish the fight.

That was the plan, however, before Team CRDL came out of the forest screaming bloody murder.

As it turned out, the fight had drawn the attention of a large Ursa. Russel mentioned that the Grimm had Cardin, and everyone now knew Jaune was with them.

"Yang!" Ruby said to her sister. "You and Blake, go get Professor Goodwitch!"

Ren and Nora, now properly ready for a fight, drew their weapons. But Pyrrha stopped them with a command like Ruby's. "You two, go with them!" she said. "There could be more!"

Cinder watched Pyrrha take off with Ruby and Weiss, but she was ready to get involved too. "Stay here!" she said. "I'll go and help!"

Dancing Midnight allowed Cinder to catch up with the other girls in time. And once she landed, Cinder saw that Cardin's teammates were telling the truth. An Ursa Major had gotten the better of a defenseless Cardin, who had lost his mace during the fight. And the only reason Cardin wasn't dead yet was because Jaune had engaged the Grimm in a duel.

Weiss, knowing that a first-year student couldn't defeat such a Grimm alone, held Myrtenaster in hand and prepared to charge.

"Wait!" said Pyrrha, who stopped Weiss from charging.

"Wait?" Cinder asked herself as she drew her bow. Pyrrha was one of the smartest students at Beacon, so she knew a fight like this wasn't going to be easy. And only a fool would sit around and do nothing. "What are we waiting for?"

Apparently, all they were waiting for was for the Ursa to finish off Jaune.

While Jaune had managed to block some of the attacks and land a strike against the Grimm's stomach, it was easy to see that the Ursa had the upper hand. That became clear when the Ursa launched a claw at him in midair, after Jaune had jumped over a decoy attack. After landing far away, Jaune tried to perform a leaping attack. However, the Grimm simply knocked Jaune behind it with a powerful blow.

The second strike and Jaune's fading Aura proved to be the final straw for Cinder. Rather than wait for a third attack, which had the potential to severely injure Jaune, Cinder fired an arrow at the beast.

*SHICK*

*ROAR*

The arrow struck the Ursa's eye, and it caught the attention of everyone in the field. "Cinder, what are you doing?!" Pyrrha asked, apparently upset that the fight had been interrupted.

"Not waiting for strike three!" Cinder replied as she readied another arrow. "Ruby, Weiss! While it's distracted!"

Ruby and Weiss accepted this strategy and made their own plan of attack. "Ice Flower!" Ruby shouted as she readied Crescent Rose.

"Get out of the way, Jaune!" Weiss yelled as she created several Glyphs of decreasing size in front of Crescent Rose.

"No, wait!" Pyrrha pleaded. "Let Jaune-!"

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

Ruby fired three bullets at the Grimm, which were all encased in ice due to the Glyphs. The ice not only enhanced the bullets, but they also made the Ursa freeze upon impact. With nowhere to go, the Grimm was vulnerable to any kind of attack.

More specifically, an arrow that Cinder fired right at the Grimm's temple.

*SHICK*

*THUD*

The weight of the Grimm caused the ice to break, and the dead Ursa fell to the ground. Satisfied with their work, Ruby and Weiss went to check on Jaune.

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked as she helped the fellow leader up.

"Uh... yeah," Jaune replied. "Thanks."

*THWIP*

Cinder used Dancing Midnight to meet with Ruby and Weiss, in order to make an observation. "Nice attack, you two," she said, glad to see Ruby and Weiss working together. "That's one way to take down a Grimm."

Weiss let out a sarcastic gasp as the triumph of killing a Grimm took over. "Finally," she said with a smirk. "Some proper recognition!"

Ruby laughed at the joke before she continued. "Yeah, we've been practicing it for a few days," she explained. "Today's actually the first time we-"

"Jaune!"

Jaune and the three girls turned to see Pyrrha running towards them. "Are you alright?" she asked as she looked him over.

Jaune's pride and humility had been greatly damaged today, and all he felt while looking at Cinder was guilt. Nevertheless, he put on a brave face and nodded to Pyrrha. "Yeah," he said. "Thanks, guys."

Cinder was still angry over the ordeal with Jaune, and she planned to deal with it today. But first, she needed to address another concern of hers. "Pyrrha, what was all that about earlier?" she asked the fellow Mistralian. "Why did you stop Weiss from helping?"

Weiss didn't agree with Cinder on much, but she too was curious about Pyrrha's decision. "Yes, why did you want me to wait?" she asked. "Wait for what, exactly?"

Pyrrha suddenly became shy and meek as she explained herself. "I... I wanted to see how Jaune would fare against it," she explained, which gave a ray of hope to Jaune. But everyone else disagreed.

"Uh, are you sure that was a good idea?" Ruby asked. "We all saw how Cardin's teammates were running."

"And Professor Port warned us about highly evolved Grimm like an Ursa Major," Weiss reminded everyone. "Only more experienced Huntsmen and Huntresses could deal with them alone."

"Yeah, they're right," said Cinder. "Why would you want someone to fight it alone? Just to prove themselves?"

Pyrrha once again became meek, and she was at a loss for words. "I... Um... I..."

"..."

Ruby and Weiss were equally confused about Pyrrha's stutters, and they looked to each other in uncertainty. However, Cinder could see that Pyrrha was looking at Jaune while stuttering. And Jaune was itching the back of his head awkwardly while looking away in various directions.

Once Cinder put two and two together, Cinder was just as dumbfounded as she was last night.

"Wait," she said as she came to realize the truth. "Pyrrha... you knew about Jaune? You knew about all of this?"

Pyrrha and Jaune had equally surprised reactions, which only served as the confirmation Cinder needed. Ruby and Weiss, however, were still hopelessly confused.

"All of this?" Weiss repeated. "All of what?"

Ruby turned to Jaune for answers, but the look of apprehension on his face only raised more questions. "Jaune?" she asked her friend. "What's she talking about?"

"..."

Jaune was still ashamed about everything, and his shame kept him silent.

"Pyrrha, please," Cinder begged, despite knowing the answer for herself. "Please tell me you didn't know about it." Cinder didn't want to see Pyrrha influenced by the corruption of the system, but she could see her wish was in vain.

A cruel laughter in the air showed her that.

"Oh, she knew," said Cardin, who had reclaimed his mace and his fighting spirit. "You better believe she knew, Fritz."

"..."

Cinder stared daggers at Cardin, but she didn't stop him from talking. Pyrrha was frozen in disbelief, since she had no idea that Cardin had learned Jaune's secret. Ruby and Weiss simply looked at each other again, wondering just what was going on.

The answer to that question was that Cardin knew he had lost. He knew that all of his plans had become undone, and that the day had been a complete failure. But Cardin knew that if he was going down, then he was going to take Jaune with him.

"Will somebody please tell me what in the world is going on?!" Weiss yelled.

Cardin laughed as he took advantage of the question. "Hate to burst your bubble, ladies... but your friend Jaune isn't supposed to be here with us. He's been lying to you for weeks!"

"...What?" Ruby asked.

Cinder stepped in and readied another arrow in her bow. "There'll be time for that later," she promised. "I know what you did to my friends, Cardin! I'm not going to let you get away with it!"

"I'd like to see you try," Cardin challenged.

Cinder raised her bow and aimed it directly at Cardin's face. "Fine."

*WHOOSH*

An abnormal gust of wind caught everyone off guard. But rather than a force of nature, the wind was actually caused by Professor Goodwitch. Her telekinetic Semblance was mostly useful for defense and rebuilding broken infrastructure, and now it proved useful in preventing a fight between Cinder and Cardin.

"Everyone back to the airship now!" she ordered furiously. "You will hand over your weapons upon arrival if you can't restrain yourselves." Goodwitch was insistent on the rules against fighting outside of class, and now she didn't trust Cinder or Cardin to follow them.

But Cinder lowered her weapon in a sign of compliance, hoping to explain herself later. Cardin also lowered his weapon, and decided not to wait for a later time to talk.

"Sure thing," he said confidently. "But there's something you might want to hear about Jaune."

"You'll all have plenty of time to talk back at the academy, Mr. Winchester," Goodwitch assured Cardin. "With Professor Ozpin."

"..."

Seeing that he would simply have to wait, Cardin flashed a smug grin at Cinder before he followed Professor Goodwitch back to the airship they originally arrived in. And one by one, each student in the open field followed suit and prepared for a difficult conversation.

Ruby and Weiss were the only ones who weren't involved, but they were still unaware of the whole story.

"Uh... Weiss?" Ruby said to her teammate. Despite not exactly being friends just yet, Ruby knew her teammate was intelligent. So she hoped that Weiss could shed some light on the subject that made her anxious. "What's going on?"

"I... I don't know," said Weiss, who was also feeling uneasy. "But I have a bad feeling about this."

Given the fight between Cinder and Pyrrha, as well as the accusations, Ruby knew where Weiss was coming from. "Yeah... me too."

---

The journey back to Beacon was hardly a pleasant one. It was mostly awkward silence and lingering glances at one another, especially with Teams JNPR, CRDL, and CMME. Team RWBY realized that they were caught in the middle of something big and dire, even though they had no idea what it was. They decided to remain silent until they got back to Beacon, even though it would take time to get the whole story.

Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch, however, got the whole story in Ozpin's office.

All three teams were expected to explain themselves. After Nora took it upon herself to explain what Team CRDL, specifically Cardin, had done to her and Ren in the Forever Fall, Cinder took it upon herself to explain why it happened to begin with. She still had her recording of Jaune's conversation and confession to Team CRDL, so she played it for everyone to hear.

Naturally, this was a blow to Cardin. He hoped to share the story first to gain an incentive, but now he was just as culpable as Jaune.

Both teachers were surprised to hear such a story, hardly caring about Cinder spying on fellow students. In an odd turn of events, Pyrrha was also surprised by what she had heard. But Cinder was already aware of Pyrrha's knowledge of Jaune's secret, so she didn't know why Pyrrha should be surprised.

That question was put on hold, however, when Ozpin broke the silence with a question of his own.

"Ms. Fritz," he began calmly, yet sternly. "Not that we don't appreciate you sharing this with us... but why didn't you come to us sooner? Surely, you realize how serious of a matter this is."

"I do," Cinder began. "Of course I do. But-"

"Professor Ozpin, it's not Cinder's fault," Nora blurted out. "It's mine. Cinder shared that recording with me and Ren last night. She was going to come forward, but I wanted to talk to Jaune first. To see if I could help."

Jaune was completely unaware of how many people were aware of his secret. But now he understood that Ren and Nora were simply trying to look out for him, to help him. He already felt guilty for getting Ren hurt, but now he felt even more guilty for not acknowledging that fact. He deserved no such loyalty, after all. All Jaune could hope for now was that his efforts in standing up to Cardin had made up for that.

Just how Jaune tried to stand up for Ren and Nora, it was easy for Cinder to do the same now.

"No, Nora," she said. "It's nobody's fault." Cinder turned back to Ozpin and explained further. "What Nora means to say, Professor, is that she and Ren deemed themselves appropriate to resolve the matter. Given their status as members of Team JNPR, Ren and Nora believed Jaune was their responsibility. I agreed, and gave them the chance to help as best as they could." Cinder turned to Team CRDL with a dirty glare. "But because of them... things got out of control."

While Ren and Nora silently thanked Cinder for her help, Professor Ozpin took a sip from his mug as he analyzed the response. "So it would seem," he said in agreement.

On the matter of responsibility, Professor Goodwitch knew she was responsible for anything that happened to the students while they were in the forest. And so, she took her chance to speak next.

"Let me see if I understand this correctly," Goodwitch said with clear authority. "Mr. Winchester; upon discovering that a fellow student had cheated on the entrance exam and transcripts, you believed it best to blackmail him into doing your bidding instead of reporting him to us. Is that correct?"

"..."

Cardin knew there was no point in denying the truth now. He was still as mad as ever, at just about everyone in the room. He was angry at Jaune for standing up to him, angry at Ren and Nora for attacking him and his team, and he was especially angry at Cinder for having the necessary evidence of his exploits. He didn't know what was going to happen to him, but in his mind, it was all their fault.

"Mr. Winchester!" Goodwitch barked. "Is that correct?"

"...Yeah," Cardin admitted with a chip on his shoulder. "Yeah, it is."

While she could do without his attitude, Goodwitch was satisfied with the answer. "And Mr. Arc," she said to Jaune. "You falsified official transcripts to gain admittance into this school; a school of which you had neither the training nor the knowledge to succeed in."

"Wow," Cinder said to herself in mild surprise. "Now she's talking my language."

"And on top of that, you willingly put yourself and others in danger by pretending to be competent enough to fight the Grimm," Glynda continued. "Is that correct?"

Unlike Cardin, Jaune didn't look at anyone in resentment. Instead, he looked down to the floor in shame and humiliation. And while he didn't answer the question at first, Jaune still had something to say.

"I... I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt," he said.

Compared to the wounds he received from the likes of Salem and Darkness, Ren was hardly injured. Midori and his Aura had already seen to that, along with his Titan powers. But he understood what Goodwitch was saying, and it was similar to what Cinder said last night. So he too remained silent.

Professor Goodwitch knew the answer Jaune gave wasn't a "Yes" or a "No," but she accepted it as confirmation. "Well, then," she said. "Ms. Nikos, Ms. Fritz, please escort your teams downstairs. We'll handle Mr. Arc and Team CRDL from here."

Pyrrha understood that she would be in charge of Ren and Nora now, so she and Cinder prepared to comply with the request. However, they were stopped by Professor Ozpin.

"Just a moment," he said calmly. "I believe Ms. Fritz's answer is obvious, but I have one more question that you all may be able to answer." Ozpin took another sip from his drink and asked his question. "How did Mr. Arc's actions first come to light?"

"..."

It was a rather easy question, but nobody seemed willing to answer. Whether it was out of shame or collective ignorance, nobody came forward. But Cinder knew that nobody coming forward was a mistake. And though she didn't have too much proof, Cinder believed she had an idea who first discovered Jaune's deception.

Her next step was a bit radical, and it certainly wouldn't be seen as admirable. But if it meant resolving corruption within the Huntsmen system, then Cinder believed her conscience was clear when she spoke.

"Pyrrha," she said as she turned to the Invincible Girl. "It was you, wasn't it?"

Most of the people in the room, specifically the adults, were surprised to hear what they deemed to be a baseless accusation. It sounded rather petty, and almost like Cinder was pulling at loose strings. Ozpin was about to put a stop to it, but Cinder provided her own insights first.

"The night I got that recording, I was actually on my way to see you," Cinder explained while looking at a surprised Pyrrha. "Ren said that he noticed something off between you two. He told you, didn't he? And he asked you to keep quiet, didn't he?"

Pyrrha was used to being the center of attention, given her celebrity status. However, all of this attention and the accusation made her feel incredibly small. And the worst part of it was... Pyrrha couldn't deny it.

"I... I can explain," she insisted.

"No, wait!" said Jaune, who finally looked up from the floor. "Cinder, that's not what happened!"

Ozpin and Goodwitch looked to each other as they listened, and soon found themselves willing to believe such a story. And things only became more believable when Cinder made her next accusation.

"That's why you didn't want Ruby or Weiss to attack the Ursa," Cinder continued. "That's why you were worried back in the Forever Fall. You were afraid of what might happen if you broke your word."

"Cinder, stop!" Jaune said as he stood up, finding more courage by the second. "This has nothing to do with her! It's about me!"

"Mr. Arc!" Goodwitch said loudly. "Sit down."

"..."

Jaune complied, which led Goodwitch to look at Pyrrha next. "Ms. Nikos... is this true?" she asked.

Seeing no other alternative, and realizing she had a chance to set the record straight, Pyrrha took a breath and made her confession.

"It's true..." she began before she found the right words. "It's true that Jaune told me that he faked his transcripts. I was the first to know, like Cinder said." Pyrrha turned to Cinder as she made her next point. "But Jaune's telling the truth; he didn't tell me to keep quiet or say not to tell anyone. My silence was my own."

"..."

Normally, Cinder would believe that Pyrrha was simply covering for Jaune. She would have believed that she was still trying to protect him. But something about the way she made her confession and looked her in the eye made Cinder believe that Pyrrha was telling the truth. Cinder now believed that Pyrrha's silence was indeed her own. Although why she did that, Cinder couldn't say for certain.

She would later recollect on how Pyrrha looked upon Jaune from time to time. And later see that she looked at him the way Cinder always looked at Eren.

"But what I can't understand..." Pyrrha said as she turned back to Ozpin Goodwitch. "Is how Team CRDL found out as well. Cardin blackmailing Jaune is all news to me, I swear."

Like Cinder, Ozpin and Goodwitch believed Pyrrha was telling the truth. They both looked at Cardin for an answer, but Cardin looked away in silence.

"Mr. Winchester," Goodwitch said to get the boy's attention. "If you wish to continue attending Beacon Academy, I strongly urge you to tell us the truth."

Cinder didn't believe that Cardin had a future at Beacon anymore, so she took Goodwitch's statement as a bluff. And it seemed to have worked, given what Cardin said next.

"I... overheard Jaune telling Pyrrha," Cardin confessed. "They were talking outside my window."

Pyrrha looked at Jaune, who nodded in confirmation. This caused Pyrrha to look upon him with the same sense of shame Jaune felt; it was almost as if Pyrrha felt she hadn't done enough to help him.

"Ms. Nikos," Ozpin addressed the student. "I understand why you may have felt compelled to protect your teammate. But in a case such as this, there is a difference between helping a friend... and instilling someone with false confidence." Ozpin gestured towards Cinder. "And if what Ms. Fritz said about your interaction with Team RWBY is true... I'm afraid that your choices fall into the latter."

"..."

"I believe you understand that now, don't you?"

Pyrrha sadly nodded as she understood the consequences of her choice. "Yes, sir," she said. "I understand."

"Very good." Ozpin turned back to Cinder. "Ms. Fritz, you and your team can leave now. Thank you for your time." As Team CMME began to leave, Ozpin turned back to Pyrrha. "Ms. Nikos, you can leave with Ms. Valkyrie and Mr. Ren as well. Thank you for your time."

"..."

---

The elevator ride from Ozpin's office was just as silent and awkward as the ride from the Forever Fall. Unfortunately, it only got even more awkward when everyone saw Team RWBY waiting for them outside. Ruby and Weiss had told Blake and Yang what they heard, and everyone wanted to hear the whole story for themselves.

Team CMME took it upon themselves to tell that story, and Cinder still had her recording. She still planned on using it for her podcast, once she finished writing her first episode. The remains of Team JNPR, however, found themselves separated from everyone else.

That was because Pyrrha was still upset about what happened.

"Come on, Pyrrha!" Nora begged as she followed Pyrrha with Ren. "Just talk to us!"

"Talk to you?" Pyrrha asked as she finally turned around. "You didn't even talk to me!"

"..."

Ren and Nora looked at each other, apparently confused by what Pyrrha had said. Pyrrha easily noticed this, so she decided to explain herself after taking a moment to calm down. "Look, I'm sorry about what happened in the Forever Fall," she said. "But you didn't have to bring Cinder into all of this."

"Is that what this is about?" Ren asked. "I'm sorry, but we didn't know what else to do. After we noticed what was going on with Jaune, I mean."

"You could have talked to me! Why didn't you try talking to me first?"

"Pyrrha... we did," Nora insisted. "Last night, remember? We tried to ask you about Jaune."

"And you said you were sure about what Jaune was doing," Ren included. "We wanted to talk more, but... you just brushed it off."

"..."

Pyrrha was able to recall that conversation with ease. And just like her teammates described, she shut down an attempt to open up about Jaune. Rather than discuss the problem, as she should have, Pyrrha kept quiet and let a series of unfortunate events occur.

Pyrrha felt ashamed once more. Her ignorance of Cardin overhearing her and Jaune was bad enough, but Pyrrha felt that there was nobody else to blame but herself.

After apologizing to her teammates for what she said, Pyrrha found a quiet place by herself for reflection and lamentation. More than shame, Pyrrha felt confused and conflicted about what happened. Ozpin and everyone else made it clear that she should have come forward long ago, but all she did was make things worse by staying quiet.

Is that why Cinder was here to begin with? Was she right about Huntsmen and Huntresses somehow making things worse before they got better? These were questions that Pyrrha desperately wanted an answer to, and she soon found an opportunity when Cinder herself found Pyrrha later.

"Pyrrha!" Cinder called out as she moved closer.

"Not now, Cinder," Pyrrha requested as she dried her eyes. "I just want to be alone."

Cinder had heard that from Ren and Nora, but there was just one thing she needed to say first. "I just... I wanted to say that I'm sorry," she said as she stopped walking. "About accusing you like that."

Pyrrha didn't see it until now, but the accusations definitely hurt. Though there was some truth behind them, the pasts that were false had left their impact on her. But the apology had given her some comfort, as well as confirmation that Cinder definitely wasn't as bad as how people had said she was.

"Oh..." she said as she stood up. "Thank you, Cinder." After Cinder nodded, Pyrrha decided to stop remaining quiet and talk more. "Has there... been any news? About Jaune?"

"No, not yet," Cinder replied. "Looks like they're still talking up there."

"And Team RWBY?"

"They were definitely surprised. I mean, can you blame them?"

"No, I suppose not." Pyrrha looked back towards Beacon Tower. "What... What do you think is going to happen to them?"

Cinder looked back to the tower with Pyrrha. "Expulsion, I hope. I mean, with the way those bastards hurt Ren and Nora, they don't deserve to be Huntsmen."

Pyrrha couldn't entirely disagree with Cinder. Team CRDL definitely didn't deserve to be Huntsmen, but she was still conflicted about Jaune. "Cinder... you're not wrong about Cardin," she said. "But Jaune's not a bad person, he just... made a mistake."

"..."

Cinder was finally starting to see that Jaune and Pyrrha definitely bonded during their time together, and a part of her felt bad for breaking that bond. Even though her conscience was clear about what she did, Cinder felt she could at least let Pyrrha vent about her frustrations.

"I'm... sure you feel that way," she began. "I'm sorry, but I had to tell Ozpin. You understand, right?"

"Of course. I definitely understand why you had to. But... I just wish you hadn't."

"..."

Pyrrha groaned as she sat down against the wall. "I'm sorry, does that... make sense?" she asked, hoping her conflicted feelings didn't sound unfair.

Cinder joined Pyrrha against the wall. "A little," she said. "This is definitely a gray area for you, huh?"

"That sounds about right. I had no idea just how gray all this really is."

"All this?"

"You know, Huntsmen and Huntresses. The system, like you say."

"Ah. I've heard that before."

Pyrrha had definitely left the office a little wiser than before, as well as more understanding about Cinder's cause. She now believed that she had much more to learn about all of it, and she still needed time to come to terms with matters such as Jaune's.

But the way Cinder had no hesitation and had much more resilience... it was interesting. And a bit inspiring.

"Is that why you're here?" Pyrrha asked Cinder. "You and all your friends? To help with the gray areas?"

Cinder chuckled as she listened. "Well, you know how Ozpin wanted me to come," she said. "To see how Beacon challenges my point of view. But yeah... I think helping with the gray areas is something I'm good at."

Pyrrha smiled for the first time since the Forever Fall. "I agree."

"Ren and Nora are good at it too. You can trust me on that. I know there was a misunderstanding between you three, but they're good people. And even better friends." Cinder stood up and looked at Pyrrha. "I'm sorry about Jaune, but you can trust Ren and Nora with your life. I can promise you that."

Pyrrha nodded as she accepted the idea. "I'll take your word on that," she said as she stood up. "And I look forward to keep working with them. Thank you, Cinder."

---

After what felt like an eternity, Professor Ozpin dismissed Jaune and Team CRDL from his office. None of it was easy, but discipline and punishment was carried out to what he deemed was the best of his ability. It was definitely a stressful time, and it was going to be even more stressful once the fallout commenced.

And while she didn't mean to add salt to the wounds, Professor Goodwith felt that she needed to deliberate with Ozpin.

"It won't be easy to handle all this," she began. "Several suspensions and an expulsion will spread like wildfire."

"Yes, it will," Ozpin replied as he refilled his mug. He offered another one to Glynda, which she accepted as she drank.

"But I'll make sure they all leave quietly. I can't promise complete silence, but it'll be quiet."

"That will suffice. Thank you, Glynda."

Glynda took a rather large drink from her cup, given her stress, but she wasn't finished just yet. "I hate to admit it, but we just gave Fritz a field day. Everyone will know she's responsible for bringing this to light."

"Her heart is in the right place."

"..."

"But yes, she will become emboldened from all this."

Glynda sighed as she began to pace. "I just don't understand how this happened. I knew there was something off about the transcripts, but I never expected them to be forged! We must have missed something!"

"Perhaps. Or perhaps our transcripts and documents are easier to forge than we anticipated."

"Fritz mentioned people creating fake licenses before. It was easy to pass them off as isolated incidents, but after today..." Glynda paced in the other direction. "Who knows how many more we may have missed? If she goes to the press with this, they'll have our heads!"

"We cannot guarantee her silence, no. But I believe we can appease her."

"Appease her?" Glynda finally stopped walking. "With all due respect, Professor, but Fritz is a zealot. We both heard how she humiliated Peter in his own classroom. How can we expect to appease her?"

"We already have." Ozpin lowered his cup and analyzed the situation. "She came to us with vital information, and we heard her out. Along with that, we took proper action. She saw that we can be reasonable. That we can be firm, but fair."

Glynda began to calm down as she saw reason once again. And yet, there was still doubt in her mind. "She may not take Team CRDL's suspension very well."

"No, she won't. But the Winchester family has always been one of Beacon's strongest financial supporters." Ozpin hated to admit it, but the politics of the Kingdom were a strong factor in Beacon Academy.

"Well, let's hope Bishop can discipline his son," Glynda said as she relaxed once again. "And yes, we can address whatever concerns Fritz may have with that decision. Speaking of which... how do you believe my participation was?"

"Remarkable as always, Glynda." Ozpin raised his mug with a small smile. "I will be watching your career as Haven's Headmistress with great interest."

---

Author's notes: hey everyone, hope you're doing good. AT and I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it was defintely a doozy. The last part will defintely be expanded on more, but with a little help from Eren. So stay tuned!

A couple of things before we go. First off, our story is four years old now! Thank you all for staying with us for this long, you've all been a terrific audience. AT and I appreciate every one of you. Also, as you may have noticed, our story officially has a cover page, courtesy of our good friend predator1701. Special shoutout to him for giving us permission to include it, as well as depicting what a new path actually looks like. You can see more of his work on DeviantArt, we highly recommend it.

And speaking of art, AT and I have been getting quite a few measages regarding commissions for the story. We just want to say that we're not interested in that sort of thing. This story is not for earning or spending money, so we hope you understand.

Thank you all once again for reading. We hope you enjoyed the chapter, don't forget to leave a comment before you go. See you next time!