“....apologies, but you’re going to have to repeat that for me one more time.”

  The cold, clinical space of the General’s office had an unusual visitor. The atmosphere wasn’t hostile by any means, but as messy green hair and a bespectacled face stared down the either the first or second most powerful man in Atlas, depending on your thoughts of Jacques Shnee, and the man’s right-hand-woman, it wasn’t exactly friendly either. Perhaps more along the lines of a lukewarm welcome you might give someone who was unexpected, but also not someone you could turn away at the door.

  Bartholemew rolled his eyes, doing his best to maintain his professionality, but struggling given that, well... “General Ironwood, I understand that this may be a difficult pill to swallow, but if you believe having me repeat it ad infinitum will somehow change what I have to say, you are sorely mistaken.”

  The first time had been understandable. Telling a man charged with the safe keeping of a Kingdom, and perhaps all of humanity in this specific situation, that you wanted him to ignore what were thought to be quite important instructions wasn’t anything to scoff at.

  The second time had been slightly annoying, but Bart couldn’t argue that never in his life had he been so shocked by something he heard, or at the very least struggling to properly hear the words in the first place.

  But this was the fourth time he’d had to repeat his request already, and Bartholomew refused to give James a fifth. They really would be here forever if he didn’t put his foot down somewhere, and a highly respected General really should have a better hold of himself than to need all this time to process.

  “Calling it a difficult pill to swallow is perhaps a bit of an understatement, wouldn’t you say?” Winter countered.

  James nodded. “Taking Knowledge out of the vault to ask a question when he was hiding so much from us was one thing, but gathering all the Relics together? That’s… it goes against everything I know about the situation. I can hardly believe that Ozpin is going along with such a plan… If the illusion users weren’t in custody or on our side, I would think this a ploy from Salem’s forces.”

  “I’ve not yet discarded the option of there being a third,” Winter challenged. And wasn’t that a terrifying thought. How Salem’s forces had managed to acquire not one but two illusion based semblances was a statistically extraordinary mystery. A third would be unthinkable, and yet Bart did find himself in a world with magic and Gods and whatnot, so he could not bring himself to dismiss the possibility entirely. “It is rather odd for Oobleck to have been sent here rather than Qrow when so much of our communication is through that drunkard.”

  Bart sighed. “Yes, well, it would seem that Miss Bellflower is quite picky about who she associates with, so he was needed in Vacuo.”

  “And Ozpin couldn’t bring himself to come in person to explain the sudden change in his thinking?” Ironwood prompted.

  “And leave Beacon undefended?” Bartholomew scoffed, a migraine forming as he recalled the many arguments about how things should play out. It was hard enough getting the children to sit back and let the adults do their job, he hadn’t needed the adults acting like children as well. “His thinking was that Salem would not miss an opportunity to strike if he were to present one to her. As he put it, Glynda and himself are best situated to hold that line…. and keep the now fully empowered Fall Maiden from doing anything outrageous.”

  There was little they could say about that one. It’s not like anyone in the room trusted Neo as far as they could throw her. And leaving her with minimal supervision near the vault that was opened with her power specifically….

  “...understandable,” James admitted.

  “While you may have a point there, I don’t think it would be unreasonable to give the Headmaster a call and ensure that you’re being completely truthful,” Winter suggested.

  Bartholomew raised an eyebrow. “And risk alerting Watts to our plan?”

  Ironwood sighed. That bastard’s interference at Second Thought’s big reveal had allowed Cinder to escape from their grasp. He wasn’t someone the General wanted to underestimate. But if this plan was legitimate… “None of Salem’s forces would have time to get involved. Knowing the enemies movements in advance only makes a difference if it’s far enough in advance that you can do something about it. Besides, there’s no need to be brazen about it. I highly doubt Watts would jump to this conclusion if we simply spoke of these matters indirectly.”

  Bart frowned. The trip back to Vale wasn’t that short. “I still think that’s a bit foolhardy, but I suppose I can hardly blame you for being cautious. I was told that the Winter Maiden is in your custody? Perhaps we could make our way to her so as to not delay any longer. It would be quite embarrassing if Qrow of all people managed to beat me back when the Relic I was assigned should be a much simpler task.”

  Ironwood stood from his desk as he opened his scroll to the contacts page. “It’s close to Fria’s normal visiting hours anyway.”

  Oobleck raised a brow. “Fria? The Winter Maiden’s name is Fria? And given that Miss Schnee here wasn’t considered properly for the Fall position…. Is it not odd to you how many of the women involved in this Maiden nonsense have names that relate to not only their season motif, but specifically the season that they’re involved in? I’d thought that Cinder Fall was a bit on the nose, but at this point…”

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  James let out a defeated noise. “I try not to think about it too much.”

  Winter scowled. “You’re seeing patterns that aren’t there. Summer Rose wasn’t the Summer Maiden.”

  “But would she have been if she weren’t born with silver eyes?” Bart countered.

  “I- well….”

  “Honestly I’m curious to see if we can get the names of previous Maidens from this Fria woman,” Bartholomew admitted. “More data points never hurt.”

  Winter whimpered.

  Glynda held back a grimace as Ozpin ended the call.

  It was hard to know what the correct course of action was in times like these. Sure, she could very easily default back to her default of putting unruly children, regardless of their actual physical age, in their place during meetings and whatnot, but…

  Well, even if she had been part of Ozpin’s so called “inner circle” for quite some time now, and had served as a huntress for most of her life, that didn’t make dealing with Relics and Maidens and Gods any easier.

  “Do you truly think that there’s a possibility Salem will come for us?” She eventually asked.

  Her boss hummed, taking a long, slow sip of his coffee. “That depends. She does know of the task entrusted to me by the Brother Gods, so if she catches wind that there’s a plan to bring the Relics together… well, I can’t be certain, really. Part of me thinks that the woman I loved is still in there somewhere, that if she saw the possibility of humanity being destroyed before her she would interfere. She lacks even the underwhelming reassurance of Jinn’s answer to assuage her fear in that regard. She might also interfere as simply another ploy to cause chaos and make my life harder. There is part of me, though, that thinks after all these years she might see the looming threat of judgement as a promise instead. An end to her endless suffering.”

  Glynda blinked slowly, not having expected the answer to take that sort of turn. “You think that she’s….”

  He shrugged. “Perhaps. I know I have been at various points, and I know not of just how far she has been corrupted. The Relics are kept sealed to prevent their misuse first and foremost, but they’re kept far away from each other so that neither of us can just end it all on a whim.”

  That was unexpectedly dark, even for a discussion involving the queen of the grimm.

  “Speaking of the Relics…” Glynda not so subtly diverted the conversation, “After hearing the details of how they’re accessed, I can’t help but feel that you have been remarkably relaxed about various women with the Fall Maiden’s power being down in the vault. Amber wasn’t about to open it, but for you to keep the aura transfer machine so close to the door….”

  Cinder and Neo’s involvement had never been planned, but whoever had eventually gotten the power would have done so down in the basement, just a short walk away from the door housing the Relic. Even with people he trusted, Ozpin tended to play his cards close to his chest.

  “Now, Glynda,” she could hear him smiling into his mug, “are you implying that there’s something more to Beacon’s Vault that there is the others?”

  She rolled her eyes. “If I wasn’t before, then I am now. What’s the difference with this one?”

  “Even if I’m the one defending it, I could hardly keep humanity’s last line of defense vulnerable in-”

  His words were interrupted by the elevator doors opening.

  Torchwick walked in with a tight smile on his face. Nervous, but still looking good for any nearby cameras.

  “This is a bit awkward to ask, but… have you two seen any pint sized demons around?”

  Glynda resisted the urge she had to facepalm. “Are you meaning to tell me that you have lost Neopolitan?”

  “Well, lost is a strong word. I’d prefer to use misplaced.”

  Ozpin wasn’t smiling anymore. “The Fall Maiden is missing?” His features stilled after a moment, and then he relaxed once more. “Ah. I see. Mr. Torchwick, I’m not sure what sort of silly little game you think you’re playing at the moment, but I can assure you that I won’t be fooled by a semblance like hers.”

  Roman frowned, though. “Fool you? Look, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I think she may have possibly snapped. She got this real nasty condescending look on her face and looked like she was getting ready to stab someone. It sort of…. Reminded me of Cinder back when we were stuck working for her. Disappeared on me right after that. I tried looking for her, but…”

  “And when was this?” Glynda paled. The girl had seemed fine! With no obvious signs they had assumed that the aura transfer had gone through without any major complications, but if she was behaving like Cinder then it was possible that her personality was…

  “I’d say right after the nerd and the bird were getting out of here, but I wasn’t really paying attention to the time.”

  And this was right as they were sending people out to meet the other Maidens. Being influenced by someone so obsessed with power, would Neo think that just Fall was enough? Glynda wasn’t sure of how it would work if one Maiden tried to kill to gain another’s power on top of their own, but someone who’s already naturally violent like Neopolitan probably wouldn’t care to think about such things, especially if influenced by Cinder.

  The same thoughts seemed to be running through Ozpin’s head. “Torchwick. You had better pray that she is still somewhere on Beacon’s grounds, or I assure you that I will personally ensure that your remaining days are a living nightmare. Glynda, alert the students in the know that they’re to begin searching for her. I’ll make sure that Qrow and Bart are aware of possible tag-alongs.”

  Glynda quickly stepped towards the elevator, dragging Torchwick along with her and leaving Ozpin behind. The bastard had the gall to frown, as if he were upset about their response. The nerve of these criminals…

  Now wasn’t the time for that, though. “I want details, Torchwick. When you say she disappeared, what exactly-”

  “I mean she disappeared!” Roman interrupted. “Crack of glass and then she’s gone! It’s not like I’m a bloodhound or anything, I can’t tell where she’s gone after that any better than the rest of you, not unless she clues me in.”

  She let out a deep sigh. With “allies” like these, who needed enemies?