Hey, everyone, hopefully you're all keeping safe and healthy. I won't say too much besides the fact that this chapter's going to contain some…well, let's say this chapter marks yet another turning point.

I do not own anything.

Chapter 67-Standing on the Edge

8:54 PM…

Skating had never exactly been Yang's thing in spite of her love of social activities. It was just never something that rarely appealed to her as much as things like bike-riding and even skateboarding and snowboarding did. There had been jabs that she lacked the grace for it, which even she had to admit was true. Grace wasn't exactly her forte; Ruby's maybe, but not hers.

That had changed just a tad bit after seeing Izaak and his aunt so effortless skate across the ice as if they were born to it. From what she could tell, they were, or at least Izaak was, being a descendant of the people of Mantle. With the bronze-haired Viking, it was especially startling considering that the memories of his berserker rage were still somewhat fresh in her mind. She remembered the savagery in which he'd swung his axe, tearing through the air and ground and nearly bisecting her at several points during his rampage. Even if she avoided his axe, she found his physical blows were absolutely nothing to scuff at. A week's time of having her arm in a cast was a perfect testament to that.

And yet watching him skate with his aunt, Yang could scarily believe that the person she'd seen before and the person she'd seen on the ice were one in the same. Then, she remembered their private conversation where Izaak admitted "hunting" was his future. She knew then and there that there was still so much more to the Viking than met the eye. It furthered her curiosity of him. And perhaps her competitive side.

"Hey, at least the rink is less packed this time around." Cracked the leader of Team IONC, his arms full of various shopping bags that had been accumulated through the hours-long shopping trip. It was now winding down to a close, and he had a gut feeling it would end with him watching Team RWBY's brawler attempting to ice-skate again. Could a few hours make all that much of a difference?

"Just means I'll have some more room to show off!" Exclaimed the blonde as she got her skates fastened.

"Show off, right." Izaak chuckled only to get elbowed from his aunt. He groaned at the mischievous look in her eyes. Sure, he could try fighting it, but that had rarely ended well for him, just as it'd rarely ended well for his uncle. At the very least he'd get a reprieve from carrying around the loads of shopping bags he'd been saddled with. He could practically hear his teammates laughing in his ear, telling him that it was only a valuable training experience. Likewise, he could hear them egging him on to step out onto the ice with Yang.

"Be sure to treat her right." Manna whispered in his ear as he moved to get his skates on.

"Auntie, she's not some glass doll who needs to be handled with care." Huffed the male student, which only caused his aunt to snicker all the harder. Her bright blue eyes were looking square into his when he sensed a change in her aura. It was then that he realized what he'd just said.

Manna reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. "If you really believe that, then start acting like it." She finished with a wink.

In the back of his head, he heard Garm rumble with amused laughter. Giving his usual response, he stood up and inhaled a breath of cold winter air. He realized there was no getting out of it so he decided to just step onto the ice and accept it. Yang was already there, looking to him with a cocky grin.

"Well, feel like serving as my teacher?" She coyly asked.

His lips twitched into a smirk. "Try to keep up." And like that, he spun on his heel and began to skate away. He didn't need to look back to know that Yang was following him. His inner demon whispered that she'd always be following him, a fact that made him happy…yet highly uncomfortable. Perhaps that was the reason why he didn't look back, he just kept on moving forward. Just as Garm's voice egged him to turn around, another voice, the voice of "reason" told him to keep on going and not look back.

Hey, dumbass, maybe you should try looking ahead. Blondie's a helluva lot smarter than you give her credit for.

Hearing his own heartbeat, Izaak snapped to attention. His hazel-colored eyes widened as he spotted an approaching mass of blonde hair a familiar grin. Again, his heart beat, in excitement and in fear. Yang was coming right at him, moving as fast as her skates could allow her. She was moving pretty fast, too fast. It didn't take much to realize what she had in mind; the only question was if Izaak would allow it. Again, his heartbeat echoed in his ear, tight with fear and excitement.

The fear won out.

"Dammit! Hey, what's the big idea!" Cried the buxom blonde as her target quite literally waltzed out of the way. For a moment, her balance was lost, yet Izaak did nothing to help her. Instead, he watched on, a forced smirk on his face-his way of declaring he trusted her to right herself. She did, and she did so with a huff. "Alright, wise guy, this time for sure!" Yang shouted moving towards him.

Fittingly, Izaak moved back. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Yang." He answered in a completely relaxed tone, the unease forced down where his classmate nor hopefully his aunt could find it. "Still, you've gotten better."

Yang gnashed her teeth through a threatening smile. "Alright, if that's how you're gonna want to play it." Bold as ever, she kicked off, arms stretched out intent on tagging him. His twitchy grin grew, challenging her to try. Never one to back away from a challenge, that's exactly what she did.

Manna laughed as she watched from the edge of the rink, her avian partner sitting beside her shoulder. Though she would have liked it if she could join them, she felt like her place was there on the sidelines. Her nephew's trauma clung to him like a layer of frost that had to be gradually thawed away. The best way to do that was to interact with people, people that could get close to his heart. Manna could see that Yang was trying, and from where she was standing, succeeding. Yet another feminine giggle passed her lips. History seemed to love repeating itself, but every now and then, there were deviations that kept things from getting too boring. Case-in-point, while she could see a great deal of her fiancé's brother in Izaak, she also saw a great deal of Herta, the woman he loved with all of his heart. Izaak had certainly inherited her smile, and her teasing nature; from what she'd heard from Ozpin, in spades apparently.

The differences in experienced showed through as Izaak skillful twirled out of Yang's reach, at times blending into the crowd where Yang dared not venture. She was good, but she wasn't quite that good just yet. Still, she kept pace with the groups, patiently waiting for Izaak to break way so she could take another swipe at him. The second she spied her opportunity, she went for it, only to be meant with failure.

Some of those attempts ended with Yang's arms waving about as she lost her balance and found herself on the verge of falling flat on her face, or her butt.

That was when Izaak stepped in. "Easy does it, you're getting too excited." Laughed the scar-headed teenager. Yang shot him a cross look that quickly melted into a grin.

"Huh-uh, and exactly who's fault is that?" Asked the blonde, her flailing have stopped thanks to her friend. In yet another demonstration of control, he'd reached out and took control of her gravitational field. That was how he'd kept her from falling, but temporarily lowering the pull of gravity on her body allowing her to float just a few inches above the ground. It came just in the nick of time as otherwise she'd have tripped and fallen. "Alright, I'm ready, you can let go now." Usually, when she said that to someone, they were physically touching her. With Izaak, well, he could truly pull off the "hands off approach" much in the same Professor Goodwitch could, literally.

His easy-going smile remained as he pushed back on his skates, gracefully sliding out of Yang's reach. He'd seen her next grab coming, and took ample amusement in making sure it missed just like all the others. Again, Yang was deterred and tried again.

Several took notice of the fact that the Beacon students were playing what amounted to a game of tag on the ice rink. Quite a few were amused, and for those in the age-rage, it was quite a sight to see the beautiful blond chasing the male brunette across the ice only to fail again and again. Though her frustration showed, it never got her; all it seemed to do was encourage her to keep on trying. Such was the spirit of youth, or perhaps even the spirit of life.

9:19 PM…

Yang whistled. "So, this is where you've been staying the last couple of weeks."

Manna let her proud grin cover her face. "Like I said, I've got quite a bit stored away. Take notes, you two, being a Hunter is a very tough job, and it's going to leave you with some scars that don't always heal. Physically and mentally. Sometimes though, it pays off…quite literally."

On that, Izaak couldn't really complain. Personally, all he needed was a bed and a bathroom as far as living expanses went. Of course, ninety-nine percent of the population of people in the world would like more, the blonde who'd chased him all over the ice rink was one of them. That said, he wasn't exactly opposed to just maybe a little lavish living every now and then. Looking back, he heard his aunt sometimes talk about her wishes, sometimes in an entirely serious manner and at other times joking. Looking up at what he believed to be twenty-two story high rise apartment, he only had one thing to say. "We're taking the elevator, right?"

His aunt looked to him with an audacious grin. "Which one? The built-in one or the gravity express?"

Having been listening closely, Yang looked over at Izaak, who did what he could to avoid her gaze. Even then, he could feel her iliac-colored eyes boring into him. It wasn't all that surprising as she'd seen him pull off various feats using his gravitation Semblance, the least of which was reversing the gravity of himself and those around him allowing them to rise into the skies. With the multitude of shopping bags that his aunt and classmate had gathered, well, that was nothing new.

Manna laughed at the resigned expression that her nephew had. Reaching over, she ruffled his unruly hair, which also reminded her of his father's. "Don't worry, you've done enough for us tonight. Besides, I want you to get a look at where I'll be staying just in case you ever need anything."

Sealing his mouth shut, the Viking hung back and followed as he had done for most of the trip. Yang was right alongside him. While she and Manna had joked about using him as their personal carrier, she'd taken her fair share as well. It helped that some of the items she'd bought weren't even for her, they were for her teammates and friends. That was the kind of consideration that Izaak always found…eye-catching, enticing even. Not that he'd let Yang know that; there were a lot of things regarding how he felt about her that he didn't want her to know. Casting a side glance at her, he caught her brief gaze. Upon seeing his hazel-colored eyes, Yang looked away, scouring the oak-wood lobby that they were walking towards. She seemed to tense up as they came upon the elevator which was going to be a bit of a tight-squeeze between the three of them and their bags. She wasn't alone.

It was a silent trip up. Fittingly, the only one who seemed rather calm during the ride was the adult of the trio. The teenagers shot occasional glances at one another; just as quickly as their eyes found one another, they swiftly moved away as if prolonged contact would result in some sort of technical failure. A ding sounded above their heads and the doors slid open.

"Well, even if it's only for a minute, welcome." Manna said unlocking the door with a key and holding it open. At Izaak's insistence, Yang went first. Yet again, she whistled in amazement.

All of the walls were a light shade of gray which went along well with the gray and black-colored furniture. The same went for the picture frames which hung on the walls. Yang could tell in a heartbeat that the pictures themselves had been drawn by hand, painted by hand, and they were quite stunning to look at. Enthralled, she moved into the apartment, passing the kitchen to her left. Izaak, meanwhile, took a glance at the kitchen and cocked his head to the side. While his classmate explored the quaint living room, he moved about the kitchen.

"A bit of a step-up from the wilderness, eh?" He finally said looking back at the Dust-using witch who smiled at him.

"A nice good cook-out every now and then doesn't hurt. Maybe when it gets warmer, I can treat you guys to something like that." She answered. A clean counter, stainless steel appliances like the sink, stove, and refrigerator, they were all things she'd never grown up with, yet dreamed of one day having. Manna chuckled at the irony of having pursued those things in her youth, yet here she stood as an adult and longing for a return to her more rugged days. A small part of her wondered how well her deceased fiancé would have liked her condo. The balcony was close enough to nearby buildings he could leap from the ledge and get a good grip on the adjacent building so he could start climbing. That was, if the complex she was in allowed for Faunus.

His ears twitching, Izaak looked over from his aunt to his fellow Beacon classmate. Instead of the living room, she was standing out on the balcony, her back turned to the two of them. For what felt like the tenth time tonight, he got a nudge to the side. His ears heard the snickering of the black-haired huntress, her voice silently telling him to go join the blonde. Sucking in a breath, Izaak moved away from the kitchen, leaving the bags on the counter and on the floor. Making his way across the hardwood floor, he heard another voice, the feral laughter of his inner demon, cackling in his ears.

Go on, do it. Wrap those arms around her waist like you want to, and try not to crush her this time! Garm chided.

Izaak told him to shut up, he felt like he was burning up in his snow coat and boots already, the constant goading of his aunt and inner demon were just adding more fuel to the fire. Which he was walking toward like a condemned man towards the noose. At least until he stopped around three feet short of the buxom blonde. With the sliding glass door open, he was hit full force with a blast of wintery air. It provided a much-needed cool down, as well as a hard slap needed to knock some sense back into him. His mouth opened to call out to Yang, but the words died in his throat as she turned her head to face him.

Flush red cheeks made her already beautiful face all the more radiant. She was a warm flame silhouetted against the backdrop of the cold winter sky that he detested so much. He felt an instinctive urge to reach out and take hold of her warmth, allow it to wash over him and lose himself in it. His mistake was deepened as he looked into her iliac eyes, eyes that sparkled like gemstones as she fully turned to face him, her red lips parted. The brawler's golden mane swerved to the side as an icy wind blew, bringing with it cold air directly into the comfy condo.

Garm was sitting on the couch, having made himself at home like he was an ordinary household canine. What's wrong, scared? Mocked the four-eyed beast, amusement evident in its face as it watched him, and Yang. Both teens were waiting for the other to make a move, and watching the two of them was the black-haired shaman. Forget her soaps, this right here was where the real drama was.

Hands that had been flat and semi-relaxed suddenly hardened. Yes, Garm, I am. Answered the male brunette as he slid back on one of his protective masks. "We better get going if we want to make curfew, I mean, that is unless you don't mind being late and getting chewed out for it."

While the black-furred wolf roared with laughter, so much it practically rolled off the sofa, Manna sighed in quiet acceptance of what had just happened. She could see where things were going, or rather, where things were going to end, at least for tonight. Attempting to force the showdown to continue would have only ended badly for all of them, not to mention she didn't want any calls from Beacon about keeping students out over their curfews. Lastly, Yang herself seemed to arrive at the same conclusion as the shaman. The disappointment in her eyes was momentary as she too put on a mask of positivity.

"Right, right, then let's get going. Suppose we should probably try to make sure we can catch at least one decent flight back to Beacon." Stepping in, she slid the doors shut along with the curtains. "Ms. Manna, thank you for the evening."

"Oh, don't mention it. If you ever need anything, feel free to stop by. You can get in contact with me through the receptionist downstairs." Smiled the blue-eyed woman. "Just make sure that you two get back to Beacon safely."

"Oh, it's us. What's the worst that can happen, our airship gets shot down by a sudden blizzard and we have to crawl our way out of some deep dark chasms? Sounds like just the sort of tragedy you'd expect to happen two days before Valentine's Day, huh?" Both women rolled their eyes at the Viking's musings. Contrary to his earlier actions, he remained perfectly calm as Yang moved up beside him, hands on her hips and leaning toward him.

"Hey, if that were to happen, I'd say things might turn out for the best since there'd be a guy who can turn gravity on and off at the drop of a hat aboard. Sounds like the kind of awesome story that'll land a guy tons and tons of fangirls. Maybe enough to rival his brother's."

"Were I so unfortunate." Chuckled back the male student loosening his arms up in preparation for the luggage he was going to be carrying with him.

"You never know, your noble deeds may have already gotten you some fans already." Manna added with a smirk that mirrored Yang's. Seeing it, Izaak couldn't help but groan; he knew he was sandwiched between two women who seemed to love running around him. He moved to take hold of the bags that belonged to Yang and himself.

The two women stepped closer to together. "Watch over him, if it's not too much trouble." Whispered the Mistral-borne woman to the teenage blonde. She knew full well that her nephew could hear her, even if he was trying to tune the two of them out.

"I always watch out for my friends." Replied the blonde, her eyes flickering over to the topic of their discussion. He had his back turned to them, which she knew was intentional.

As she stood beside him, he turned back to face her. His formerly tense face softened, a smile spreading across his face. In a heartbeat, he closed the distance between the two of them and threw his arms around the black-haired huntress. All too quickly, she returned the embrace.

Watching the exchange, Yang almost felt the urge to ask if they could just stay for the night, or rather, if Izaak could stay the night. She knew he could be affectionate, but this side of him…this warm and tender side, it was so surprising, yet so enticing for her to witness. What happened at Fort Lennox, it's happened before and it makes you think you're a horrible person. Realized the brawler. But you're not. Izaak…you're a pretty good guy, someone else that I want to look out for. Even if you don't want me to.

Beacon Air docks, 9:44 PM…

It was a relatively quiet trip on the way back to Beacon. The first leg or two after they left the apartment complex had been filled with light chatter. Izaak asked her point-blank if she wanted to live in something similar when she was older. Yang answered that she would have liked to, but she doubted it'd ultimately matter. She had a gut feeling her adventurous spirit would see her moving from place to place, never really settling down anywhere thus making a home like what they'd previously been in mute, not to mention a waste of hard-earned money. At that, Izaak coolly replied that she could learn a thing or two from his aunt, whose family had led a somewhat similar lifestyle until recent times. The statement caused Yang's curiosity regarding Izaak and his family, but she held her tongue knowing that she probably wouldn't be able to get much out of him.

As they walked, Izaak's demeanor grew increasingly silent and withdrawn. Yang could tell that his mind was wondering elsewhere; the fact that he occasionally glanced up at the snowy sky only furthered the idea.

"You really don't like snow…do you?" She finally said.

He looked to her with a sad smile, like he was confessing to some mortal sin. "Not really my favorite kind of weather. Bad memories."

She took his admission in silence for another block before finally working up the courage to speak again. "Would you…ever mind…ya' know, just to make yourself feel better?" Internally, she braced for some sort of blowback.

It came, just not in the way she was expecting. "One day." He answered in a flat tone with a flat face. Once more, he wasn't looking at her but something else, something beyond the snowy streets and traffic of cars and people. "One day after…well, maybe if we're still on speaking terms when that day comes. Can't quite say if it'll be of any help though."

"But talking about your problems with you friends is always a plus." The blonde brawler gently pushed back. At the very least she finally got him to look at her. His hazel-colored eyes were shrouded with intrigue, like he was questioning the validity of her statement. Izaak, you're a lot like Blake…and even my uncle Qrow. I love them, but damn can they be frustrating as hell to talk to. You don't even wear nearly as much black as either of them, then again…looks can always be deceiving. When they first met, Izaak didn't look anything like what she now knew him to be; he looked like just another goofball. While Izaak could be a tad goofy and airheaded, Yang now knew those things were only surface level aspects of him, or at least just one part of him. There were other parts, parts that she wanted to get to know, thus get to know him in his entirety.

Sadly, Yang had a feeling that wasn't going to be happening tonight, or even for the next few days. She supposed she could settle for his sheer presence, such as the fact that they were able to sit together side by side on the flight back to Beacon. For better or for worse, they weren't alone. More of their classmates had joined them on the flight back, the last flight back to Beacon before the ten o'clock curfew took effect. Several looked to the two of them, though no one dared to say a word to either of them. Izaak more so than Yang as the students, even the seniors, could sense something amiss in the axe-wielder.

Yang wanted to dispel the cloud that hung over him, but she was…scared, scared that she would say the wrong thing and set him off. It wasn't like she was expecting some sort of violent eruption. But that's what scared her.

Usually, Yang could read people, it was practically one of her specialties. Still, she had a long way to go, and there were some people whom it was hard to get a beat on; Izaak was turning out to be one of them. She honestly wondered how long it'd take for to decipher what kind of person

"I'm sorry." He spoke in a quiet tone.

She came to a complete halt as she looked back at him, eyes wide and mouth agape. "H-H-Huh?"

"For acting like an ass for most of this trip." Continued the Viking, his eyes downcast and ringed with what was undoubtedly genuine sorrow. Yang was at a loss for what she was seeing. A moment ago, he'd been a shadow lurking along the ground, pitch-black and unreadable, now…there was some life there, tortured life almost.

Quickly, her natural instincts kicked in. "H-Hey, I'm the one who should be apologizing! I-I mean I…I barged in on a family moment and a family trip. That was actually…kind of selfish of me." Snow crunching beneath her boots, she darting her eyes around the courtyard. Surprisingly, she didn't care if anyone saw the two of them, or what rumors sprung up from the sight. What she cared about was clearing the air between her and the Viking, and maybe warming it just a little bit. "I followed you because…well…I've been worried about you. A lot."

Placing one set of bags down, he touched his left side forehead, running his hands over the scar that her fist had left. "Yang," Izaak started before finally removing his snow cap. White flakes fell against his messy brown nap. He pushed his bronze brown strands up fully revealing the scar to the blonde. "This isn't your fault, and I don't ever want you to think that it is, alright? This is on me, for being a blood-thirsty lunatic who'll attack anything or anyone he sees."

"Only because he inhaled some wacko fear gas." Softly pushed back the brawler. Boldly, she took a step forward. Izaak's body tensed, but she didn't let that stop her. Pulling off her gloves, she reached for the scar. "Izaak, if something's ever on your mind, I want you to come talk to me. If you can't or don't want to talk to your teammates, I want you to find me. I promise, no matter what, I'll make time for you."

"Yang." He started.

Her eyebrows knitted. Throwing caution to the wind, she reached out and pressed her naked palm against his head. Izaak's heart skipped a beat, his knees temporarily wobbled like he'd just taken a direct hit that had knocked the air out of him. He let go of the other set of bags causing them to topple onto the snow-covered ground. All of his attention was now on Yang, who was looking at him with the full force of his gaze.

"Don't try to pull off this lone wolf act, alright? I may not be your teammate, but I'm still your classmate and your friend." She firmly stated. A minute later and the seriousness crumbled a little. "On top of that I…kind of owe you for blowing a hole in your head."

"Except I think I owe you first for breaking your hand." He laughed. Yang smiled, happy to hear the jubilant sound that she'd come to recognize from him. "Seems like we can't stop racking up tabs on each other, huh?"

"Yep, and I can think of a good way for you to pay it back." Giving into a silent urge, she lightly ran her hand across his head and hair. His hair was surprisingly loose in spite of its somewhat wild and rough appearance. "Talk to me. No matter what it is or how complicated, come talk to me about it so I can help, after all, that's what friends are far, aren't they? I mean…you consider me a friend…don't you?"

Even if he wanted to lie, he couldn't, not with the way she was looking at him. "I do, Yang. It's just…I'm…not exactly the kind of person I think you want to be around."

"And I'll keep on telling you, I'm always there for my friends, no matter how bad things are." Retorted the brawler. "If I'm ever in trouble…would you be there for me?"

His left hand twitched. Go on, do it, make that promise count for something.

Breathing in through his nose, he looked into the brawler's eyes, always clear and direct like the punches she threw in battle. It reminded him quite a bit of his mother, which only further weakened his defenses against her. "I will, I promise."

For the two freshmen, this wasn't how they planned on ending the evening, it certainly wasn't how Izaak planned on things ending. It wasn't too bad though. He allowed Yang to keep her hand pressed down on his forehead, and the blonde shut her eyes and smiled in silent joy at the return of physical contact with her friend. While not quite what she'd been hoping for, it was a start, or rather, a restart. From there, well, she didn't pretend to know what the future held, but she knew that she wanted certain people to be a part of it. As she basked in the moment, she believed once more, that was going to include Izaak Egilson.

Likewise, somewhere inside the Viking a sigh of relief rolled over his soul. He'd kept his distance from the girl whom he'd merely murdered in cold blood, and here she was embracing him. Her gentle, warm touch shielded him from the remorseless cold winds that blew across the courtyard.

February 14th, 10:10 PM…

"Ah, look who's finally back." Chuckled the gray-haired kick boxer flipping shut the novel he'd been reading, or at least pretending to read.

Emerald wasn't impressed. "Look who's talking, here I was thinking that you'd still be out, probably drowning in admiring fans. Or maybe you just got in early because you were scared of getting caught." Their partnership had built up a strong enough backbone between the both of them, strong enough they could poke pot shots at one another and not instantly lunge at each other's throats. That said, there were still times the urge was strong.

This wasn't one of them. "Heh, like I had any need to worry about that. That loser's had other things on his mind, plus, it's not like even if he caught me, he'd be able to take me."

Rolling her eyes, the green-haired former thief began to take off her coat and boats.

"Did you have fun?"

"Sounding a bit jealous, are we?"

"Like hell." Mercury snorted laying the book down. There was a slim chance he may have actually been reading it before Emerald walked in. It wouldn't have been too unusual since while undercover, they'd picked up some…habits, habits that Emerald wondered if they would ever shake. "I just curious. Kind of surprised that blondie chose to spend the day with her teammates instead of Egilson. Last I heard, on Friday they had a…moment. Heh, maybe they talked her out of it so she realized what she was getting into."

Emerald kept quiet about that. In fact, she kept silent about her experience with Team RWBY. Unless it was important to the mission, Emerald found herself keeping quiet on the time spent with them, including outings such as the one she was returning from. It all felt…well, she didn't want to say it, jinx it.

Even without her talking about it, Mercury could see what was going through her head. A talkative annoyance he may have been, he was still quite perspective, he'd been raised to be one by a man who would accept nothing less. Thankfully, there were times he kept his opinions to himself, and focused on their mission objective. Hopping up from the bed, he crouched down and began pulling away floor boards. He came back up with a sealed box that he opened to reveal a set of blueprints.

"I think I have an idea of where they're keeping the Fall Maiden." Mercury said with a smirk building on his face.

Emerald's eyebrows rose. So apparently, he has been doing something useful other than goofing off. Just as the excitement inside of her began to swell, her common sense put a stop to it. Hard reality crashed into her causing her face to darken. "What's the catch?"

"Other than the fact that we'll to go through Ozpin to get to her? Or the fact that getting to her itself will be nothing short of absolute hell for us?"

"Yeah, stuff like that. You know, things that makes me reconsider exactly why we took this job in the first place." Drily remarked the former thief. Their mistress already had one half of the power of the Fall Maiden, because of that, Cinder could almost instinctively sense out the other half. It, or rather she, Amber, was still somewhere at Beacon Academy. Emerald's personal case was she was somewhere below them, deep below. "We can't just bust our way in, can we?"

"Things would be so much easier if we could, but from what I can understand, the thing could withstand the whole academy collapsing atop of it." The triumph he'd felt in his weeks' long search bearing fruit had dried up as he looked at the next obstacle they had to overcome. As much as Mercury was reluctant to admit it, odds were, they couldn't not without Cinder's help, and that would lead to a bigger mess than what they were already in.

It'd started off investigating the academy's power lines, a search that he hoped would bear fruit. Eventually, it did when he came across power lines that stretched far beneath Beacon, power lines that all converged on one place, directly below the Headmaster's tower. From there, he'd sought corresponding evidence, socially mingling with who he thought he needed to, and seducing. Turns out quite a few of the school's seniors had noticed an odd thing or two over the years, including Ozpin taking an interest in certain female students who showed some real promise. There were of course the obvious reasons as to why, or the reasons everyone was quick to jump to, but Mercury knew to dive deeper than that. Ultimately, weeks upon weeks of crisscrossing leads all came together leading him to finding the set of faded blueprints that lay before him and his partner. They'd been stolen of course, freshly stolen. Mercury guessed they had maybe three to four days before someone in Ozpin's inner circle realized they were missing, probably when inventory was done.

He honestly didn't want to be around when that happened, albeit he wouldn't let Emerald or Mercury and certainly not Roman know that. Acting as cool and nonchalant was his role in the set-up, and he'd maintain it until otherwise.

Emerald held the blueprints up to the light. She could tell that they were likely over a decade old, the images and writing having faded from years spent locked away somewhere. They were of modifications, defenses to be made to the underground vault. None of them had any idea rather or not those modifications had been made, not to mention they had no idea how to even get down there in the first place. She'd run some tough jobs, but this, this was proving to be a in a league of its own…which was entirely to be expected given what they were doing, what they were caught up in.

How the hell did I even end up here in the first place? That was a question that occasionally crossed her mind, particularly when she stopped and took stock of exactly where it was her life was going. Emerald was born in the darkness, she'd grown up in it, and sought an escape from it. She'd followed a candle-like light that she believed would lift her out of that dark pit. It'd uplifted her alright, but right into the middle of an ever-brewing storm. If we get caught, what are our odds of escape? Sure, I can use my Semblance to dupe the student body…but what about those who can see through my illusions? Will we have enough time to get away? How far will we get? If we steal an airship will we be- "Ow! What the hell, Mercury!"

The kickboxer smirked as she glared daggers at him. He looked like he wanted to reach over and flick her on the forehead again, but he held himself back, chuckling all the way. "I had to, it looked like your brain was about to explode and I really didn't want to end this Valentine's Day wiping the remains off the floor." Rising up, he dropped himself onto his bed, legs kicked up and hands behind his head. Emerald secretly envied how carefree he was, or at least how he looked to be. "We'll just have to tail Nikos in other to get in."

"You think it's her? That she's the one they want to replace Amber?" Emerald questioned. She had heard from Ruby and Weiss how Pyrrha had been a tad…off over the last couple of days. In fact, from what she gathered, she seemed almost exuberant when she was able to help with the Valentine's Day preparations alongside her, Weiss, Ren, and Nora. Something like that could only point towards her having focused her mind elsewhere, likely towards a more serious and even dreadful topic. Assuming the other half of the Fall Maiden powers certainly fit the bill.

"Not like there's a lot of other people who could do it." Mercury affirmed. "Besides being able to match Cinder, there's also the little issue of making sure she's obedient to Ozpin. Nikos is a soldier, one of those cute little do-whatever-they're-ordered types, which is just what the Kingdom of Vale wants. Heh, it's also what'll make her easy pickings." Sitting up, he looked back down at Emerald. Her red eyes were flashing with intrigue. "Let me guess, Rose was running her mouth about him?"

"She did mention he's been training with Ren…and Neil. He might not be as easy pickings as we thought." The gun-user offered. Just as he'd gotten a rise out of her, she got a rise out of him by mentioning Team IONC's resident storm knight. It was brief, but no less enjoyable. "All that said, he's still the same deuce he's always been, which means we can use him."

"You think Nikos would be willing to betray Ozpin and the rest to save him?"

"And the rest of her team." Added the male rogue. "She's the type who's never had friends before, but once she gets them, she'll go through hell and highwater to save them. Even if it means betraying everything she's ever stood for. It's actually…kind of admirable."

Emerald smirked. "Sounds like I'm not the only one who's started to like it here."

At first, Mercury looked annoyed, but quickly it faded. His head hit the pillow again, mechanical legs crossed and hands back behind his head. "Watching them all going along with this idyllic life-style…it's disgusting…but…fun to watch. Even after Fort Lennox, you can tell everyone's trying to bounce back. How's Rose holding up? Does she even know how close she really came to dying?"

At that, Emerald sat quietly against the bed. Her silence was practically an answer itself; Mercury said nothing in regards to it.

"They want us to kill her, don't they?"

"If by 'they', you mean Salem, then yeah. Heard her Silver Eyes can blow Grimm away like they're nothing, though with PESTILENCE, that isn't too much of an issue. It leaves us in a bad spot." If his old man were still alive, he'd probably bring up something about jumping ship to the bioterrorists. For better or for worse, Mercury couldn't see himself doing that, partially because something told him he wouldn't survive the jump. "Speaking of which…maybe we can…get some help from their inside men and women. They helped me get some of these blueprints."

Neither of the rogues were fools. While their group, "Salem's Lot" as they'd sometimes been called, were allied with PESTILENCE, it was a tense alliance. They were targeting all of Remnant while the mercenary company was specifically gunning for the Kingdom of Vale…and their resources and weaponry were unsettling to be the least. It was interesting how between the two groups, it was the ones who toiled away at creating plagues and viruses and biological weapons that came out as being the creepier faction compared to the one in service of a dark goddess. Then again, neither Mercury of Emerald had truly seen what their superior's superior was capable of. They hoped that they didn't find out in the near future.

At heart, however, both knew the odds of avoiding that fate were slim to none, just like the odds of them walking out of this alive and better than when they'd came in.

Mercury and Emerald were under no delusions about how their association, their allegiance to Cinder and by extent Salem, was going to end. All they could do was hope that they had enough tricks and smarts to keep that ending from being the canon one.

The former got up off the bed and walked over to the window. "Feel like scouting it out?"

"Huh? I just got in?"

"Yeah, but maybe the cold air will help clear your head. Or remind you that we can't go back, only forward." Replied the kickboxer, his flat expression reflected in the frost-covered window.

She wasn't sure why she said yes, especially since she'd just gotten comfortable. Maybe it was her telling herself to keep an eye on Mercury, keep him from stirring up too much trouble. Or, she believed what he'd said about needing to be reminded of what their options were.

They could never be like the multitude of students who'd returned back to the academy, yet still chose to continue their Valentine's Day festivities. Enjoying the city was nice, but so too was enjoying the school grounds covered in powdery white snow. The entire place was lit up, primarily with varying shades of red and pink in accordance with the holiday. Nowhere was that more evident than from the rooftops, which offered an absolutely dazzling view of the academy grounds and its residents. They were certainly making the best of what reminded of the night, in fact, looking at the faces of some, it was clear that the night was just beginning.

It was all but certain that inside the dorms and perhaps even some of the classrooms, intimate activities were being carried out. If there was ever a day, or night, for those sorts of interactions, it was then and there. Alternatively, there might also have been some nasty break-ups and cheating going on. Emerald had kept her ear to the ground and kept up to that on that, there was always some of that going on in every institution, especially one containing a healthy dose of teenagers. It made for good gossip, especially when she needed something else to focus on.

At the moment, her focus was on the massive green-lit tower that cast a shadow over Beacon Academy. Many had called it and its ruler the "Silent Sentential". Against it, Mercury and Emerald were no more than ants crawling along; they hated the massive difference in power, but it was the cold hard truth.

Mercury hungered for a way to change that. Emerald longed for a way to remove the calculating gaze. Their superior wanted to challenge that truth, challenge it and prove her supremacy over Beacon's Headmaster, the same man who was so deeply loathed by the "Goddess of Grim" they ultimately answered to.

"Think it'd take an army of Grimm to bring it down?" Proposed the kickboxer, his eyes staring at the tower as it stood tall amidst the gently falling snow.

The green-haired girl laughed. "As much as I can't believe I'm saying this, an army of Grimm probably wouldn't be able to make it past the second gate. Not to mention I'm half betting that tower is actually some sort of superweapon, just like Conely's Torch."

"I wouldn't be surprised at something like that either." Mercury added. He never much liked the cold, partially because it could interfere with the cybernetics in his legs. Not to mention running over snow and ice could be rather difficult, and if worse came to worse, he believed that's what he'd be doing. Still, if push came to shove, he'd find someway to make do, as would Emerald. That's what they always did. "So, you think we could do it? I mean, catching Arc will be a cakewalk, same thing with the hammer girl."

"If we can catch them, then Lie Ren will go down easy." Waved off the dark-skinned girl with a flick of her hand. "Bag those three and we'll bag Pyrrha…but going after them will bring everyone else down on top of us. Mercury, even we can't fight off all of them, not all at once, and definitely not in the heart of Beacon."

A cloud of cold air came out, containing all of the irritation that the kickboxer felt. "I know, dammit, I know." Even this plan they were formulating now was full of holes. They knew very little about the so-called Vault; Mercury was willing to guess that Pyrrha knew little of it as well meaning her serving as their guide probably wasn't a good bet to make. And this wasn't even accounting for any defenses there might have been in getting to their target. Worse…what if by some chance, some slim margin, Pyrrha managed to escape, or they ended up having to fight Headmaster Ozpin himself? The more he thought about it, the more his bravado crumbled. He looked up to Beacon Tower, its shadow now grander and more intimidating than it'd ever been before. "If we're with Cinder, think we'll have a shot? I mean, she can take at least a quarter of the losers here, can't she?"

"Of-course she can." Responded the gunmen almost automatically, her red eyes sharp. The intensity quickly faded as she glanced at the green light whose color was her namesake. Sorrow and unease quickly enveloped her mind as she began to follow Mercury in running through the scenarios that could play out. None of them left her feeling particularly optimistic.

"My, my, aren't you two looking quite dreary, got your hearts broken?"

The voice was all too familiar to the both of them. It filled them with confidence and dread at once, sometimes one more so than the other. With it came a sudden but needed sense of warmth that washed over the two of them like rays of sunlight. But with it also came a hint of danger, should they have made the wrong move, the warm rays would turn harsh and incinerate the flesh from their bones.

As usual, it was Mercury who turned to face Cinder and give her a straight response. "Yeah, by the harsh mistress of reality."

Chuckling in amusement, she used her powers to push away the cold breath of winter. All too quickly did the two rogues begin to feel sweat collecting on their brows because of the sudden temperature change. Neither one of them said anything about it. "Then a dangerous gamble, one that we must ensure backfires on him. Entrusting such power to one so young…just as Salem said, he enjoys sending others off to their deaths."

"So, do you…have a plan to get inside?" Emerald spoke up, nervousness ringing her voice. "I mean, it's not like we can bust right on in."

"No, we can't. If we did, we'd lose access to Amber and the Vault and its contents inside. Brute force won't win us this…so we'll let Ozpin deliver victory to us." She knew her words would leave her two subordinates speechless, and she was right. Cinder took great joy in the stunned silence that followed. "Eventually, Ozpin will call for the remainder of Amber's powers to be transferred into Pyrrha Nikos. We'll strike at that moment."

"Which will be when?" Mercury inquired, clearly eager to know as to what she'd thought up.

Chuckling, the seductive woman lifted up a hand and lit a flame. It further illuminated the sinister glow of her eyes, eyes that shined with cruel ambition. "In due time. Ozpin has had to move things up due to Fort Lennox and the recent outbreaks of fighting and chaos going on around the kingdom. He knows the longer he waits, the more he's risks everything, not to mention the kingdom's top brass will be egging him on to transfer Amber's powers. What good are they in a half-dead corpse? At some point, he will call her down and attempt to transfer Amber's powers into her, to do that…"

"He'll need to show her the way down, past all the defenses." Emerald realized. Cinder's approving smile put her heart at ease. "So, that's the plan? What do we do in the meantime?"

"Continue playing school days, as boring and stifling it may be at times." Answered the black-haired woman. Her gaze fell upon Emerald, whose good mood evaporated as she realized where the conversation was going. "Or…perhaps not." She added with a chuckle.

Mercury joined her, but Emerald felt a cold bead of sweat run down her cheek. More came as she found herself the target of their combined gazes. Suddenly the students mulling about down on the ground she'd pitied seemed to have it better. A small part of her brain screamed for her to jump off of the rooftop and join them, follow the old tactic she'd used of blending into the crowd to lose pursuers.

Another chuckle dragged Emerald's mind back to the black-haired woman whom she'd sworn an oath of loyalty towards. "Don't worry, you're still going to have some time to play with all those little friends you've made, but don't forget your original purpose."

"I won't, and I never will." Yet, again, the response was near automatic, which was exactly what Cinder had wanted.

"Good." She chimed. "You both have your orders, now, let's get inside, unless either of you would like to stay out here."

"I'm all for heading back in." Chimed in the gun-user. It was partially out of a desire for her mistress to drop her "heat" field. Burning up in her coat might have been worse than enduring the cold winds whipping at them. That said, she never much liked the cold, in fact, she practically hated it. Slowly, her eyes shifted over to Mercury. She was at least able to take small comfort in the fact that should worse come to worse, the student with the ability to harness this cold weather would go after him instead of her. Mercury would more than willing return the animosity taking the heat off of Emerald.

The kickboxer had his own thoughts swirling in his head as he crossed his arms and looked to the tower. He couldn't deny that a part of him wanted to see the tower fall, watch the light get extinguished and see how the residents of Beacon reacted. Admitting it was off the table, but he couldn't deny a small part of him grown amused watching the students of Beacon this last few months. Many were so bright and optimistic…and he hated some of them for it, especially Ruby Rose. Fort Lennox had left her dented like everyone else, but not broken. Mercury was both impressed and annoyed by that; maybe more of the former than the latter considering while he found her annoying, he didn't quite hate her. Not even with her rather useful Semblance. Would she be able to run fast enough to stop them? He laughed at the question; it didn't matter if she could run fast, there were only so many problems one could run from.

Ozpin, Mused the "black sorceress", her flame-colored eyes focused on the green luminescent. The first time she'd seen it, she'd been…impressed, but also enticed. Her soul screamed for her to rise up and create a light of her own strong enough to outshine it. No, she wanted to not just outshine it, but reduce everything around it to rubble. She could do so now…but not without some risks, risks that she wasn't quite willing to take. Once she had the other half of the Fall Maiden's power, those risks would be gone. She'd have power comparable to a god's, and she would show the populace of Beacon that she deserved to be feared as such. Those who resisted, she'd burn them away just like the snowflakes that steamed out of existence upon contact with her, the power she now held within her.

She'll hold their lives in the palm of her hands…and crush them as she wished. It would only be a matter before it all became a reality. All she and her cohorts had to do was wait.

The snow would melt, and when it did, it would be the spring of her reign.

February 15th, 8:22 AM…

"Seriously?"

"Yes, I'm serious. Thinking about doing it?"

Weiss' face tightened as she digested her fellow heiress' words. Olivia's lips curled into a grin as she waited to see if she'd take the bait or not. The odds were eight to three.

Puffing her cheeks and crossing her arms, the Schnee heiress looked away to the far right classroom wall. "If this were Mistral and I actually felt something for Neil. We're not like you and Chicahua."

Still smirking, the weapons heiress raised an eyebrow. Seeing her expression only infuriated Weiss even more.

"Oh, come on! You two are together, aren't you?!"

"He's my partner, and I trust him to have my back in a fight…and off it." Answered the green-haired girl, casually taking a seat. Her ever-cool demeanor was growing on the white-haired teen, which was exactly what Olivia wanted. To Weiss' credit, she kept herself calm, or tried to. With another huff, she decided to get back to cleaning, turning her back to the tonfa-user. Even then, Weiss could feel the green-grey eyes of Team IONC's tactician on her, watching her like a wolf would its prey.

She hated the feeling with a passion, but kept herself constrained in handling it. It didn't entirely work. "This White Day…in all the time that you've known Neil, did he ever…you know?"

"Same thing with Valentine's Day. Never anything more than gentlemanly curtsy." Answered the taller girl. "Like he always says, he has a bad history with romance, it's why he spent all of yesterday holed up in the garage."

"…Will he ever explain what that bad history is? How much of it do you know?" It was a stupid question to ask, but Weiss had grown used to asking stupid questions, especially when Olivia was the one setting her up to ask them. She fully believed she got a kick out of it. On top of that, a part of her was desperate to fill up their morning activities with some form of small talk. It'd been one thing she'd been hoping for when she volunteered to clean the classrooms the day after Valentine's Day. It'd come as quite a shock to everyone else, but those who knew Olivia had offered to do the same quickly caught onto her.

Her fingers lightly drumming across the table, Olivia responded, "That depends how close to you he feels. Do you know the truth about Gráinne?"

As expected, there was a pregnant pause filled with Weiss doing nothing but spraying and wiping. Not even the distant chatter of the hallways seemed to penetrate into the now silent classroom.

"You know…I never figured him to be one of those guys into cars to the point of treating his like a living thing. Heh, of course, I never really had a high view of people like that…or just a lot of people in general." Started the rapier-user, her back still turned to Olivia. "Then again…I learned how to escape into my training to deal with the lack of, well, lack of love from my family…or anyone else. Neil may have had Izaak the rest of his foster family, but I know how some of those things never really go away, especially when everyone's looking at you to be an exact replica of your parents." A thin smile spread across the Dust heiress' face as an image formed in her mind. "Cars don't really talk back, or criticize you, so I suppose they can make for good companions, just like a weapon can."

There was a laugh from the weapons master. "Ruby?"

"Can you sympathize?"

Weiss was little surprised when Olivia walked right past her, having teleported from her place three levels up. "Yep. I grew up around tons of weapons, some of them modern, others archaic, but still capable of shedding blood, which was all that they were needed to do. Steel and wood are good listeners…but not as good as people." Stopping, she turned and gave the W of Team RWBY a sideways smile. "Guess we both had to get put on oddball teams to learn that lesson, huh?"

"I guess we did, better late than never, I guess."

Olivia fully turned around and approached Weiss. Though both were in-line to inherit major companies, they were still opposite of each other on so many levels. One of them was their height as Olivia cut quite an impressive figure at five-nine, being able to stand on even level with her male teammates, it also allowed her to somewhat tower over Weiss. In spite of that, the way she looked at her, Weiss could see that her weapons-based counterpart saw her as an equal, or at least was beginning to.

"Come meet me by the training hall at six o'clock, that is, if you want to keep on getting close to him."

Immediately, her face screwed up. "You're never going to drop this, are you?"

"Depends," Smirked the samurai. "I can tell that you're smitten with Neil…and…you've piqued his curiosity. There's a spark there, but if I have to, I'll snuff it out."

She did her best to not let her surprise, and relief, show. "Awfully smothering, aren't you?"

Proudly putting her hands on her hips, she puffed out her chest. "Izaak, Neil, and Chicahua are all good fighters, and fairly component off the battlefield. But they're still idiots, my idiots. If anyone or anything is a threat to them…it answers to me."

Weiss looked at the olive-haired girl with slightly widen eyes. I wonder…if things had been a little different…would Winter have viewed me and Whitely like that? Does she view us like that now? Could I ever end up becoming like that? Quickly regaining a foothold, Weiss stood up straight and met Olivia's hard gaze. "I won't ever hurt Neil, not unless he gives me reason to. If he does…"

"I'll set him straight for not treating a lady right, provided that's what it comes down to." Boasted the Mistral-native, running a hand through her shoulder-length hair.

Like a mirror, Weiss' smile grew to match Olivia's. It wasn't long before both girls were laughing. Somewhere half-way across campus, the subject of their conversation got a chill down his spine, one that he was sure could be attributed in some way to the women in his life.

Their clean-up duty ended, the heiresses went their separate ways. Weiss knew they'd meet up again at the end of the day, when they reunited and the conversation kicked back up again. It'd be backdropped against the two of them sparring against each other, or more accurately, Weiss attempting to spruce up her hand-to-hand combat skills. She just barely beat out Ruby, who herself could use the training. Weiss would have asked Ruby to join her in the training session, if not for the fact that the talks held would have been private. Tagging along that, a part of her didn't want to deal with the series of questions that would come with discussing…crushes. Ruby herself was already crushing, even if she didn't exactly know it.

Couple that together with how Yang had been acting around Izaak…on the way to the training hall, Weiss chuckled. It seemed practically all of her teammates were falling for someone or in the midst of doing so, even Blake, who seemed quite secretive of a particular package that had arrived yesterday. She and Yang had caught sight of a monkey-like insignia on the tag and that was all they needed to know.

"Ah, seems the Ice Queen decided to join us!" Boomed her blonde brawler teammate. It was the last thing she said before turning her focus back to her sparring partner, who preferred kicks to punches. It actually made him a rather nice fit for Yang.

Mercury gave Yang a sideways smirk as well, one that almost cost him as Yang threw a left hook that nearly hit him in the cheek. The two melee-based fighters continued on with their morning spar. Weiss' crystalline-blue eyes scoured the stands, finding her oppositely clad teammate watching close at hand. She quietly joined her.

"She's not letting the loss hold her back, is she?" Weiss started.

"It's Yang, so what do you expect?" Blake chuckled. She'd come to enjoy watching her partner spar, especially when it was used as a way to raise her out of whatever funk she'd fallen into. That's partially how she'd forced Blake out of her shell as well. "To be honest, I'm a little surprised she hasn't asked Ruby to repair Ember Celica. I'm honestly surprised she hasn't done it already."

"You know how she is, not to mention Yang hasn't made a big fuss over it." Pointed out the swordswoman. Her eyes watched the exchange of blows closely. Though it wasn't a school day, that didn't mean that she should stop learning, she especially had to be learning since she and the rest of her friends had scars proving how unprepared they were for the outside world. All that said, they still needed time to recover from that revelation. "She's been more concerned about Jaune, especially after…you know."

"He's another one that's going to need a weapon upgrade. I mean, I hear he's gotten past the shock of losing his family heirloom."

"He still has his life, and that's ultimately what counts." Feeling a familiar set of eyes on her, Weiss shot a single silencing glare in the Faunus' direction. Blake wasn't at all detoured. "I think everyone could use some upgrades. Granted, we'll need the training to be able to use them so they're not just for show."

"Weiss," Began the former terrorist, suddenly standing up and her amber eyes focused on the sparring grounds before them. "Do you wonder when that time will come?"

The Schnee kept her eyes facing forward, just like her teammate. "I don't know when it'll be…but I know we'll have to be ready for it." Finally, her eyes met Blake's. They were in agreement with one another.

Both girls were on their feet, and both were soaring across the air, landing graceful on the ground right behind the two sparring combatants. The boxers were aware they were being watched and chose to indulge themselves for a little while longer before stopping. Their faces were coated with sweat as they looked back at the two monochrome girls.

"Guess you ladies just can't keep your hands off me, huh?" Chuckled the dark-garbed kickboxer before swerving his eyes toward their teammate. "Or maybe blondie's way more popular than we all think."

"Hey, it's me. Everyone wants a piece of me at some point." Slamming her bandaged fists together, she faced toward her two teammates. "Alright, guys, don't hold back in coming at me."

"Still rearing to go after all of that, huh?" Weiss chided. Almost immediately her words were receded as she saw a fiery glow encase Yang's fists. She had the largest amount of Aura out of anyone on the team, by a wide margin at that. If there was anyone who could go barehanded, fighting with nothing but her Aura coating her fists, for an extended period of time, it was Yang.

Blake concurred, especially since Yang had used her physical stamina to her advantage several times. "This week, I think we should see about getting Amber Celica repaired."

"Heh, yeah, I figured you were going to bring that up eventually." Admitted the blonde. "A huntress isn't exactly much good without her weapons, is she? But I don't want to be defined by those, not to mention I've still got my Semblance."

"You can't always rely on that either." Chimed in her sparring partner. "Especially yours, which requires you to put yourself at risk." Without a shred of fear, he reached over and poked his finger against the boxer's flaming fists. "Then again, you already do that with your weapon."

"My fists have as much power as metal." Yang boasted.

Mercury looked ready to comment, but his eyes went to the brawler's pocket as her Scroll began to ring. Dousing her flaming Aura, Yang grabbed for her Scroll and immediately picked up the call.

"Yeah, uh-huh. Really? Well, it just so happens he's right here." Her eyes swerved to Mercury, who caught her gaze and raised an eyebrow. "Yep, we'll be right down." Shutting her Scroll, she looked around at her classmates. "Whelp, looks like we're heading down to the armory."

"We?" Mercury questioned.

"Yeah, Ruby wants to get a look at your greaves, they're actually pretty cool." Laughed the blonde lightly tapping the taller boy's chest. "Come on, maybe you can get some upgrades snagged in."

I can't believe I'm really going to do this. It wasn't like he went around with nothing but his pants covering his cybernetics. As a precaution, there was a layer of artificial skin over them that could fool anyone who passing close enough attention. Given Ruby's eye for detail…could he take that risk?

Why had he chosen to take that risk in saying yes?

"Don't worry, you're still going to have some time to play with all those little friends you've made, but don't forget your original purpose."

Had those words been directed toward him as well as Emerald? Was that even possible? Was he really getting attached to these sheltered kids?

Rather answered by a being above or below, a reprieve came to Mercury.

They were walking straight ahead out of the training hall when they saw an approaching group. By his count, there were about six of them, two leading the pack. Ren…and Neil. Mercury felt his heart skip a beat.

Neil's did as well.

Time slowed to a crawl between the two of them as their eyes locked onto one another. A multitude of memories rushed through their respective heads, the climax coming as they found themselves back at Haven, in the courtyard in the middle of class. There'd been a splash of red followed by screaming. Mercury had looked back on the memory with annoyance, for Neil, it was one of horror and shame.

And it was about to be recreated.

"She's crushing on Neil, just like practically every other girl does." His partner had said with a smirk. "Not that she'll admit it. Guess it's only fitting since she is the 'Ice Queen'; who better for her than the 'Cloud Man'?

Guess it's time to make it rain again. Thought the son of the infamous "Silencer". Luck was with him as Weiss was right beside him, in striking range. The revolvers in his legs clicked, loading the anti-Aura bullets he always came stored up. A malicious grin spreading on his face, he let his leg fly.

Neil's eyes widened as he launched his body forward, "NO!"

A gunshot filled the hallway, as well as the rest of the training room halting all of the students dead in their tracks. Blood splattered against the hallway as an ear-piercing scream tore through the silence.

Forgery Class-B, 8:59 AM…

"MOVE!"

That one word, that one word left Emerald feeling like she'd just been blindsided by one of the many, many, forging hammers that hung upon the walls in the academy's forgery. Words had power, words could bend and break and mend, all of which she'd experienced. She'd been forced to learn the art to survive; she had and it'd gotten her this far.

Now she had to decide rather or not she should go the rest of the way.

What the hell are you talking about? Go the rest of the way? What else can you do? Turn back, keep on playing how school days with this motormouth? Chided the voice of cold logic in her head.

Her train of thought was interrupted by a sudden pop that shock the air followed next by the smell of smoke. Blinking in surprise, she looked over and saw Ruby. "Found a nice little way to warm yourself up, huh?"

She coughed, belching out a cloud of smoke. "H-Hey, w-w-we're trying o design a weapon for my sister." Ruby whipped her head back and forth, pushing away some of the smoke that had gathered on her hair. "Maybe we should wait until the others show up, especially Izaak since he seems to know a thing or two about explosives."

As she turned her back to the former thief, Ruby blinded herself to the way that the dark-skinned girl's body froze. This was the first she was hearing of the Viking's arrival. She believed at best it'd just be them and the rest of Team RWBY. This…solidified things. Emerald's eyes swerved to the door, which remained closed shut. Any second, it would open, and when it did…she doubted even her illusion Semblance would be able to save her, and certainly not if Mercury had already made his move.

So Emerald decided to make hers.

"Emerald, if it's not too much trouble, could you look over the blueprints I drew up. I really, really would like your opinion on them." Spoke the redhead as she dried her face off. As the moisture was wiped away from her eyes, her vision cleared allowing her to see that her classmate was standing right in front of her, a look of sorrow on her face. "Emerald, what's wrong? Look, um, sorry if I dragged you here against your will. I just wanted to-"

"Help." Continued the gunwoman with a smile filled with pity…for her. "I know, Ruby, I know. Yang's…lucky to have a sister like you." Maybe there was a part of her that wished in some distant world, they were siblings, or at least friends. Real friends. It would have been nice if this could have been that world…but it wasn't.

With her guard down, it was painfully easy to close the distance between the two of them, and deliver a direct chop to the side of her neck. The air flew from Ruby's lips as she began to fall to her right, eyes growing hazy then finally shutting as she hit the floor. In a second, Emerald looked her over to see that she was out cold. She was.

"I'm…look, I'm sorry." The emotion within the words surged into her body, causing her to move. Fingers finding a pen, she began to write down her last message across the blueprints she'd drawn up. It was the least she could do; even if they were enemies, Emerald would rather give the young reaper an idea of what was coming, of who was coming after her.

Feet on the edge of the window, she looked back at the unconscious freshman student. "Ruby…this is the real world, you either get tough, or die."

By the time her feet hit the ground, she could see the storm clouds gathering. A minute ago, the skies had been overcast but relatively benign, the snow having stopped some time last night. Emerald ran, knowing that a new storm was brewing, one that would hit Beacon harder than anyone was expecting. It'd leave some dead in its wake, and many others, very, very angry…and very scared.

To be continued…

With this chapter, things move onto their next stage, namely the struggle for the power of the Fall Maiden, or the other half of it. It's all part of everyone "rearming" themselves for the next clash with Salem's faction and PESTILENCE. As it's been stated again and again, they're woefully unprepared. Well, this helps kick all their butts into gear, and validating Izaak's hatred of winter. I like writing drama and conflict amidst a backdrop of snowfall and cold weather, probably because winter isn't exactly my favorite season. Admittedly, this chapter was bittersweet to write considering this Memorial's Day been, well, rather grim, especially here in the US as we're about to pass a grim milestone in the fight against Covid-19. I'll be honest and say that was one reason why I changed this chapter somewhat from my original draft of it which had things ending on a more…violent note.

On a lighter note, I tried to add some fluff, namely between Izaak and Yang. The motif between them is obviously them tip-toeing around their growing feelings, the reasons primarily falling on Izaak's side as I'm subtly hinting at what kind of person he is. He doesn't view himself as boyfriend for a number of reasons that's going to keep being revealed. Next chapter is going to feature another big one, along with several other things like Mercury and Emerald's…well, maybe you can call it a "great escape". Will two strong but ultimately small time villains like them be enough to trigger something on the scale of the Fall of Beacon? Will Salem step in to save her two underlings? Will she make a run for the Vault? I'm sure those are the questions this chapter might have left you asking…but you all will have to wait until the next chapter! Until then, once again, everyone, please stay safe and healthy, and if you do go out, please practice safety measures such as social distancing.