Ignore the troll spamming offensive guest reviews

Cover Art: Jack Wayne

Chapter 128

Cinder wasn't sure why she'd received a message from Jaune Ashari requesting a meeting at his home. It came out the blue and was actually a text from Vernal, which would also provide her the cover of visiting a teammate should any curious people look her way. Anyone that knew Vernal personally would know that was nonsense, however. The girl didn't care for anyone but her not-father and Emerald, and the latter only in the sense of one-upmanship.

She was sure she'd been subtle enough in watching him. He hadn't seen her, had he? No, her ego wouldn't allow her to think it. While he was undeniably stronger than her in many ways, she was confident in her ability to stalk him. Her lips pursed. That word had far too many ill connotations. This was ridiculous. If she had her way then she'd be spending this school holiday actually relaxing for once, but no, Salem was paranoid and being demanding, and far away from the woman's gaze, Cinder felt brave enough to admit that.

If I had been allowed to recruit underlings like I suggested, I could have had them shadow Ashari for me. I also wouldn't need to watch every other word in Beacon if I had a whole team loyal to me.

But no. Salem wanted her alone. Why, Cinder wasn't sure. It couldn't be fear of disloyalty with the brand on her back, nor did she think there was any advantage to her being underequipped. It was probably just impatience. The original plan had been to stay in Mistral and pose as a transfer from Lionheart's school before she'd run into the ASH Gym at the tournament and reported the flash of light in Vernal's eyes, something she now knew to have been bait from Ashari all along.

He'd played Salem. The average onlooker would have said he'd played her since she was the one who threw away her plans and went to Beacon, but since that was on Salem's orders, it didn't count. Clearly, it was the one who made the decisions that had been tricked.

That was incredible in a way. Salem, for all her flaws, was an immortal woman of thousands of years' experience. To fool someone like that was beyond what even she could manage, though to be fair she'd never tried. Salem had what she wanted – power – and Cinder was prepared to put up with pain, mockery and hard work to get it. Idly, she paused outside Jaune Ashari's home and questioned if she shouldn't have informed Salem of this meeting.

And run the risk of it being something simple and wasting her time? Not likely.

Cinder rang the doorbell.

The door opened quickly – so quickly that she assumed he'd been waiting for her. Jaune Ashari ushered her in and closed it behind, smiling awkwardly and saying, "Emerald and Vernal are training. This is a good chance for us to speak without them getting curious."

He wasn't wasting any time. "Is something wrong?"

"Less things gone wrong and more an opportunity. School holidays will be over soon, and you'll all be going back to Beacon. I, meanwhile, will be going to Vacuo on Ozpin's orders."

This wasn't about him spotting her spying on him then. Cinder didn't so much feel relieved as vindicated. Her skills remained unquestioned and she revelled in the fact. More confident now, she questioned him further. "Why Vacuo?"

"Why, to find the Summer Maiden of course."

Cinder's heart beat a little faster. "Ozpin is making his move?"

"In a sense. He wants to locate and convince her to join with him. Between you and me, I don't think that'll work. I happen to have met her before and I know for a fact she won't agree to serve anyone."

"You… You've met the Summer Maiden…!?"

"Yes. I was in Vacuo for a while before coming to Vale. The point is, he's sending Qrow and I to try and talk to her and I know for a fact that's going to end poorly. There's a good chance she'll end up dead."

Or you might, she wanted to say, but couldn't. And in all honesty, she wasn't convinced he would die even against a maiden. He'd killed the Fall Maiden and she was no amateur, and he'd also beaten back Tyrian, foiled Watts' plans and single-handedly ended the White Fang.

Cinder was confident he would expunge the maiden if she tried anything, and that thought was more than a little frightening. Even if she gained the power of Fall as she'd been promised, would it mean anything if he was still stronger? If Ashari could kill two maidens, he could surely kill her if he ever had reason to.

If. It might be worth making sure that never came to fruition.

"Shall I inform Salem? Is that why you called me here?"

"Partly. This might be just as much a test from Ozpin as a chance to get the maiden, so I really need Salem to not interfere."

"Because if Tyrian or Watts show up, Ozpin will know you reported this," she finished. It was a tough situation he found himself in, and she could understand his concern. While she would not intentionally sabotage an ally, the same could not be said for their colleagues. Cinder was also surprised how pleased she was that he dared inform her, because it spoke of some degree of respect toward her. "I'll speak to her privately and impress the importance of not telling Watts or Tyrian. Is that all?"

"Not all." He looked around and motioned for her to lower her voice. Cinder nodded quickly. "It's going to be Qrow and I against the Summer Maiden if it comes down to it. In the deserts of Vacuo, there's a good chance we'll be separated or get lost, especially if a maiden starts whipping up elemental powers in a desert. You know what that means."

Sandstorms. The Summer Maiden might have any degree of elemental properties, but even the slightest breeze in a still desert would have the place a biting nightmare of flying, blinding sand. It was a battlefield she didn't envy him fighting in.

"If it comes to it, I'll strike the final blow. There's no way to know where the power will go, but… I think you have a way of controlling that, don't you…?"

Cinder's eyes widened. "I… Yes…" she stammered, caught completely on the wrong foot. "My sigil… I mean… it can draw out… Are you saying what I think you are?" Embarrassed at her pathetic performance, she settled on defiance. "Speak clearly! Are you mocking me?"

"Why would I?" he asked, sounding so unlike Watts or Tyrian in that moment. "Raven can open a portal to get to Vernal. From there, she can open a portal to me all the way in Vacuo that you could pass through."

Her breath quickened. Her heart raced.

"If the Summer Maiden still has any life in her, you would be able to use your sigil to draw the power out and claim it as your own, wouldn't you? Is that how it works?"

"Yes," she breathed out hoarsely. Dizzily. "I-I can do that…"

He was going to give her the power of the Summer Maiden. He was going to just hand over that kind of power. He couldn't use it obviously, but to just throw it to her like it was nothing was… it was madness. It was foolish. Except… Except they'd agreed to work together, hadn't they? Be allies. The concept was still confusing to her, but it made sense he'd prefer his ally be on a similar level to himself, and there was no denying that right now he was the strongest in their arrangement.

Just to be sure, she had to ask, "You want me to take the power of the Summer Maiden…?"

He nodded.

Cinder gripped onto the kitchen counter as her knees threatened to give way. "I accept!" she gasped. "Of course I accept. I… I will be available at any moment, however you should need me. I should inform Salem-"

"No. Don't tell Salem."

His quick response startled her. Made her suspicious. "Why not?"

"There's no guarantee this will work and every chance the maiden will die long before Raven can get you to her. I don't think it's worth getting Salem sold on this plan only to fail." He touched his hand to his chest, to where she had marked him. The threat was clear. "I'd rather she be pleasantly surprised if this works than disappointed if it doesn't. If you know what I mean."

Yes. Yes, that sounded like quite the idea. Cinder swallowed, still haunted by the memory of the pain rocking through her body. If she could avoid that then she would gladly do so, and like he said, there was so much that could go wrong. If the Summer Maiden fought to the death, there would be no time for her to take the power.

Salem would be displeased if she ever found out Cinder had kept this from her, but there was no reason for Jaune to ever reveal it, and she certainly wouldn't. All too often had she seen Tyrian punished for his failures, and she didn't fancy becoming as broken in the mind as he. If this worked then Salem would lavish them with praise, and if it didn't, well, she would never know.

"I agree with this plan," she said.

"Good." He smiled handsomely and winked at her. "I know I'm asking a lot, making you withhold the truth from Salem and all, but I don't want to see you punished like that again and there's just no way I can forcefully keep this woman alive if she decides to kill herself. There's also the chance Salem specifically wants you to only be the Fall Maiden."

That was something she'd thought about, too. Why send her after Fall first? The Fall Maiden opened the Vault beneath Beacon, which was guarded by Ozpin – the immortal who knew the truth and could fight them. She'd always wondered why they didn't focus on Spring first since they had Lionheart in their pocket. They could have taken the Relic of Knowledge without Ozpin ever knowing, then tried for Creation and Destruction, all the while leaving the one person who could stop them in the dark.

Salem never answered when she asked. Cinder hadn't dared ask twice. Perhaps she wanted Ozpin to see his works crumble down, or perhaps Salem was afraid that if she didn't take away his support base early, he would be a problem. Whatever the case, he was now completely aware of their involvement, and Cinder was left wondering if Salem didn't want to cap her potential at a single maiden. It made some sense to do so, too many eggs in one basket and all that, but `common sense` didn't often fit with what she wanted.

Why settle for the power of one maiden when I could have all of them?

If Salem didn't intend to let her then she wasn't sure what she could or would do. The brand prevented her ever changing loyalties, and maiden or not she couldn't ever defeat Salem, but the thought of watching some other woman be granted the power that was so rightfully hers stung.

"What do you think of that?" she asked Ashari. "Of Salem having multiple maidens."

"I think it's logical from a strategic point of view. Consolidating too much power in one person means a single stray bullet ruins all her plans."

Yes. That was the most reasonable idea. Cinder scowled angrily.

"On the other hand, it would mean trusting more people, and more chances of someone messing up or being caught out of position. And I'd have to make alliances with them as well," he added with a subtle nod her way. "And who's to say they won't end up being people like Tyrian or Watts."

Ugh. Yes. The last thing they needed was more idiots like those, but Salem seemed to prefer that kind of person. Or maybe it was that kind of person more perfectly fit with the idea of fighting against humanity. She would be the first to admit you had to be a little `different` to sign up with Salem.

"I think it would be best if it were just me," she said, aware of how selfish and entitled that sounded but not caring either way. "There's no reason I can't have the power of all four maidens."

"Then let's not tell Salem at all. We'll try and get you Summer, and if that works then we'll keep it between us. See what happens after. I'm not against you having it all, Cinder. I can't use the power and if anyone is going to have it, I'd rather it be someone I'm allied with." He extended his hand. "Do we have a deal?"

He was asking her to lie to Salem. To, in no small way, betray Salem and align herself with him for this little affair. If their mistress ever found out then they would be sure to suffer for it, but at the same time, Salem could not say they weren't working to her advantage. They had that as an excuse if they were ever found out.

And if they weren't then she could grasp that power after so much time spent waiting. Finally, it would be hers, and not even from the one she had sworn herself to, but the ally she had made with her own two hands. In a sense, that made it feel even better. She had earned this.

Cinder's hand clapped with his, gripping tight. "We have ourselves a deal."

/-/

By the time the school holidays started to come to a close, Vernal and Emerald's competition for his time had reached an all-time high. It had gone from simple things like asking him for help on one-on-one training to fighting for the spot on the sofa beside him on movie night, up to the point that he'd started sitting on the three-seater just to avoid fights. He wanted to say it was petty, but it was hard when he finally understood just why Vernal felt she had to do this, how he'd missed her silent requests and abandoned her with the tribe when she wanted to travel with him.

The fighting had to stop, though. He'd asked everyone he could for advice – Summer, Taiyang, Qrow, even Ozpin and Glynda, which had flustered Glynda something fierce, and earned a soft laugh from the immortal before he politely reminded Jaune his experience in parenting was not something to aspire to.

Summer and Taiyang seemed to think it was cute and kept saying siblings fought, but they didn't understand that Vernal and Emerald weren't Ruby and Yang. They were much more violent, much more dangerous and – in both cases – twisted enough in their early upbringing to fully believe they had to fight tooth and nail for what they wanted.

"Hear me out," Qrow said, already more than a little into his cups. "But have you tried sitting them down and just, you know, hitting them with it? The old one-two punch."

"If I do that then Emerald is going to be hurt and Vernal refuses to admit she wants me to look after her at all. She's fine cuddling up, demanding my time and going to the waterpark with me, but if I actually try to say something endearing to her, she clams up instantly."

"Pft. Same with Yang. That's the teenage years talking. One moment it's `Uncle Qrow, I love you` and the next it's `Ugh, Qrow, you're damping my street cred`." The drunk wiped a tear away from his eyes. "I miss the adorable and cute Yang with pigtails who used to ride on my shoulders. Why did she have to grow up?"

To be fair, he missed the cute Emerald who used to hide behind his legs too, but that was neither here nor there. "Present world please, Qrow. Vernal was raised by your sister. You know what that means."

"Strength!" Qrow slammed his bottle against the table, making a few other people at the bar look over. They took one look at Qrow and Jaune's weapons and decided against challenging them. "Man, the tribe was always so messed up. You never realise it when you grow up there, but it's just dumb. Law of the wild. More like law of the lazy. You just need to hit Vernal with it. Don't let up. Make her realise things are different now. It worked for me."

Jaune raised an eyebrow. "Did it?"

"I'm here, aren't I? I'm normal. What's that look for? Bah. I'm normal enough," he said, laughing loudly. "I wasn't always. I was like Raven when we first joined Beacon. We both grew up in that place and I was all for the same values, much like Vernal is now."

"You changed."

"Sure, but not immediately. It was my surroundings that changed first – and Summer was a big part of that."

"Not Taiyang?"

"Pft. Tai was too busy chasing Ray's skirt to go against anything she said. Summer was team leader, and she had to put up with all our shit. Some of which we didn't even realise we were doing wrong, like when some girls decided to try bully Ray and she beat them down and shaved their heads bald." Jaune winced. Qrow saw it. "Yeah, that's your reaction now, but back then me and Raven thought that was fair. They challenged her, she beat them, and she punished them by taking away what they were proud of. Hell, I thought it was generous! To us, Ray wasn't being mean. She was being nice!"

"Shaving some girls bald is nice…?"

"It is when a challenge like that in the tribe might have seen someone banished, crippled or killed. I know now she went overboard, but we didn't at the time. That was why we didn't understand it when we got in so much trouble. I still remember Raven looking at the parents of those girls and saying, they're alive, aren't they? I could have killed 'em." He leaned in to whisper, "Yeah, it wasn't the best response at the time. Ozpin wasn't headmaster back then, and it's only because of his assurances to the last head that we didn't get expelled instantly."

Hell. He'd known Team STRQ was a thing and that Raven hadn't adapted as well as Qrow had, but he'd never actually put thought into just how two bandits from a tribe that espoused murder and brutal assault as virtuous would adapt in normal society. In a school, no less.

Put like that, it was a miracle Vernal hadn't been called up on anything, though maybe her experience in the ASH Gym helped. She was crude and insulting there as well, but since she was top dog and no one challenged her, she could afford to be merciful. Or just didn't see the need to lash out. It could have been much worse.

"There are more cases like that, I'm afraid. Ray and I were messed up, and it showed. I stole things and thought it was normal; Ray solved every problem with violence, uncaring of whether it was on student, civilian or even another teacher! The only reason she showed up to class at all was if the teacher looked strong enough to be respected."

"There were fights with Summer, too. The idea of someone being given leadership over her – over both of us – was just not normal to us. I'm a little ashamed to admit we spent the first few weeks beating Summer down. Not violently. It's just…" He sighed and rubbed his head. "Dunno why I'm so guilty still. Summer knows and forgave us, and we're all close now. Guess it's just embarrassing."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want."

"Nah, it's old memories now and maybe it'll help you understand Vernal. And to be honest, I'd count it a win to help turn someone else away from that hellhole. Basically, we bullied Summer. Badly. I guess you'd call it hazing, but what you do in the tribe if you want to challenge someone's leadership without a full blown fight is that you cause trouble. You act out, mess around and basically challenge them to sort you out. A good leader does. They come down, smack heads together and instil discipline. Summer didn't. To be fair to her, leadership was new to her so what was she meant to do? We didn't see it that way, though. Summer putting up with our hazing was a sign of weakness. It was a sign that she wasn't strong enough to lead." He sneered theatrically. "She was weak!"

The sneer fell, replaced with a worn grin. "Or so we thought. Long story short, Ray challenged her formally, mocked her, taunted her, pissed her off, and Summer snapped. Then," he made a crunching sound. "Raven snapped. Literally. Broken arm, shoulder and two ribs to go along with a punctured lung. Summer was horrified and almost quit Beacon."

Summer did that-? Wow. Maybe Yang's temper hadn't come just from Raven after all. "It all worked out, though?"

"Sure did!" he said cheerily. "Not because we were fixed, though. We called Summer weak and she assblasted Ray into the next century. Raven was pleased because it meant her leader wasn't a pussy. I accepted it because that was what a good leader did. They broke you if you stepped out of line. Took us a lot longer to go native as it were, and Raven never did. I think part of the reason I did was that I was crushing on Summer pretty bad for a while. Nah, don't look like that. I grew out of it and I'm not jealous over Tai. I think the only reason I wanted her so bad was because she beat Raven. All of a sudden, I had this super strong, super awesome leader in front of us that I admired." He shrugged. "That and hormones had me thinking I was in love. On the bright side, that opened me up to trying to please her, which is probably why I am who I am today and not just another member of the tribe."

"And this helps with Vernal how?"

"Because love is what won me over, and love is what'll win her over."

Jaune groaned. "Qrow, seriously…?"

"Okay. Different kinds of love, but still, it works. Sorta. I'm not saying the power of love and friendship is all you need, but you can only change if you want to change, and maybe she wants to change to please you. It sounds manipulative, but Vernal obviously wants what Emerald has over what Raven can offer her. Lean on that. Use it."

"Use it how!?"

"Oh come on," the drunk complained. "Do I have to do everything? Legalise it. Go official. Sit her down, smack the facts on the table and hit her head on."

"She'll freak out."

"Then beat her down."

"Qrow!" he hissed.

"Nah. Nah. Think about it. You're not dealing with a normal girl. This is someone raised in the tribe. How did you first catch her attention? I bet it was through fighting."

It was. Jaune nodded slowly.

"You're trying to be nice, and that's sweet and all, but you need to knock your way through all Raven's teachings. Best way to do that isn't to pussyfoot around the issue. Go in hard, lay it out and challenge her to disagree. The girl will respect strength more than anything, but strength doesn't always mean raw power. Sometimes confidence is a strength of its own, as is being willing to stand up for what you believe in. You know what else got us happy in the tribe, though?"

"What?"

"Discipline. Weird, I know. When you think of the tribe you think of a mass of fucking wild ass drunk idiots ravaging and pillaging their way across Mistral, but order was an important thing for us. We all knew what kind of people we were. If discipline was allowed to fall then we'd have torn ourselves apart with infighting. We liked having a strong leader because a strong leader kept us in line. It let us sleep easy knowing no one would dare attack us because the boss would rip that person's spine out for breaking the rules. It's fucked up, but we liked being told what to do. Having someone tough as nails to look up to. It gave us stability in a world with little to offer." Qrow nudged his arm and grinned. "So, if she starts acting out, consider bending her over your knee and spanking her." He wriggled his eyebrows. "She may even like it."

Jaune groaned. "I fucking hate you, Qrow."

"Yeah. I know. So, will you do it…?"

"Maybe…" Jaune picked up the bottle and took another long drink, sighing as the bitter taste of lager took hold. "I'll have to talk to Emerald first. I've a feeling she might jump to the wrong conclusion if I wanted to adopt Vernal."

"Don't forget Winter, too. That's another daughter added for her as well."

Good point. He hadn't even thought of that.

"We've got Vacuo, too…"

"Quiet." Jaune looked around but no one as listening in. Qrow's choice of bar was as moody as he could be, silent but for an old fashioned jukebox playing in the corner. "Should we be talking about this?"

"Why not? It's just a boy's night out in the city of endless night. We could make it a stag do."

Disguise it. Jaune nodded, relenting. "I guess we could."

"You've been there before, haven't you? It's where you saved Summer."

"Hm." And before that, too, back with Ruby and the rest on their journey to collect the Relics. They hadn't had as much time to savour Vacuo at that point, however. "I spent more time in the desert than the city, though. I only stopped there long enough to book transport to Mistral." He snorted. "And make an impression on a certain monkey faunus."

"The Wukong brat? He's good."

"He is. How about you? Been to Vacuo before?"

"Once with the old team. Our Vytal Festival was held there floating over the Shimmering Desert. Beautiful place – something about mineral pigment in the sand there, so it sparkles in the moonlight. Dry place, though. Very dry. We thought it'd be hotter than it was, but they held the tournament in the evening when it was cold. Apparently, they did it once midday and whole teams were passing out from dehydration. All except the locals who knew what to watch out for. Got accused of cheating and it's been in the colder temps ever since. I did get a chance to check out the city, though. It's a funny place."

"Funny? How?"

"Well, the laws seem really lax over there. Drugs, drink and sex, it's all for sale. Why I called it a stag night and it's where a lot of people go. It's all legalised and that makes it safer, or so I'm told."

"We're not getting involved in that."

"Not the drugs and the sex, no, but I'm definitely sampling some local wine. I hear they make stuff with ingredients that only grow in oasis deep in the desert. It's potent stuff." Lowering his voice, he added, "And besides, we'll need to do a little information gathering to find the one we're looking for. If she's anything like Amber was, she'll not appreciate our presence."

That was putting it lightly. Qrow had no idea just how far apart the Summer Maiden was from any of the others. Sadly, as much as he knew about her, he didn't know where she would be. History changed and they'd only found her the last time because luck was on their side. There was no saying she'd be in the same place.

"I might have some people I can ask for help on that front," Jaune said.

"Those tribes people Summer mentioned? She never did get a chance to thank them, but Shade Academy told her how they dropped her off. I wouldn't mind the chance to show some gratitude myself. If it weren't for them and you, we'd have lost her."

The Del'Ashari might have something useful for him, but they weren't the only ones. Rashem, the one he'd unwittingly made a billionaire after selling a scroll twenty years ahead of its time to, might have ways of finding someone in the city he called his home.

"I'll see if I can't find them but they're not exactly the easiest to spot and I've a feeling birds won't do so well in the desert," he added as a subtle nod to the man's other form. Qrow nodded back, confirming it. Hot air, blistering heat and powerful gales would down him far too easily. "We'll head off once Beacon is back in term, though. That gives me another two days to figure out how to handle Vernal and Emerald. Preferably before they tear each other apart."

Qrow made a swish and a spank motion with his hand. Jaune ignored him and took another long drink. Vacuo promised to be a problem, though if they could get hold of the Relic without anyone noticing, it might just be the solution to a whole lot more.

There wasn't much the Relic of Destruction couldn't destroy.

Next Chapter: 24th October

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur