Author's Note:

Things always seem to get worse, don't they?

So leave a review, tell me what you think of all the "fun" that is happening. Do the review, do the follow, do the fave.

Both Jaune and Pyrrha drew in sharp breaths, and by the light of the moon, fractured pieces hanging short distances away from their main mass. Neither one dared to move a muscle for fear of alerting whatever beast was out there, responsible for the inhuman cry.

Neither of them wanted to acknowledge that it could've been Nora. After several tense seconds of remaining still, Jaune started to move again, slowly looking up to the towering and crumbling chimneys. The docks had been a total bust, and they had decided to move on to the old foundries and factories. Dust had been processed out here, once, before more efficient methods had been found, and the facilities had been abandoned. When he was a kid, Jaune had heard stories of people rooting through the rubble and finding forgotten stashes of Dust, making small fortunes off of the treasure. It turned out, however, that the ruins had all been picked clean years before he was born, and the money that had been made off of the finds had been greatly exaggerated anyways.

He shook his head. Now was not the time to reminisce. There was a lot on the line here, and he needed to be as focused as possible. He continued to make his way forward, peaking his head out from around a corner and pulling his shield up in case something decided to leap out at him. As he emerged, everything seemed safe, and he motioned for Pyrrha to follow. She did, sticking close behind him. Stooped over as to avoid detection, the two made their way across the small courtyard before entering into one of the buildings.

Once they were comfortably inside, Jaune turned to Pyrrha and said in a hushed voice "So what do you think? Is she here?" Pyrrha gave him a hesitant look, then glanced back out into the rubble. "I don't think we can ignore whatever that noise was. It sounded like her." Jaune nodded. He had been thinking the same.

"Do you think you can track it? I would, but the buildings make it too hard." Both of them knew that Jaune's senses were the least sharpened of the two, and Pyrrha was glad to help in any way she could. "Alright, but you'll have to stay close behind me. If we get separated, I'm going after you, not Nora." If she had said it in any less of a deathly serious tone, Jaune would've smiled. He appreciated that he was the greater priority, but the prospect of being separated was one that he didn't want to think about. In spite of this, his mind did probe the possibility. Given what Ren had done after extended contact, he guessed that he wouldn't-

Another splitting cry echoed out among the ruins, and Pyrrha held up a hand, indicating that Jaune not do anything. Her eyes gained a hard edge, and she tilted her head to the side as she listened to the sound. Then, with a brief motion for her partner to follow, she exited the building. Jaune was hot on her heels, barely an inch behind her as she made her way towards the source of the noise.

Ash and dirt was kicked up behind them as they went, but they didn't care so long as nothing saw it. If they did find Nora and Ren among these destroyed buildings, they weren't really sure what they would do. They didn't have a plan for fighting her, and both knew that trying to talk Nora down would be near-impossible. They couldn't just attack her, though. She was still their friend, at least in some degree. It was out of the question that they do that.

Another screech echoed out, and Pyrrha stopped dead in her tracks. Jaune almost bumped into her, but planted his hands on the ground to stop himself, ash covering his fingertips and palm. Pyrrha tilted her head again, doing her best to locate the source, and turned slightly before continuing to move. Her bronze armor reflected small slivers of moonlight as she moved, and Jaune considered asking her to do something about it. He resisted though, and knew that there were more important things on both of their minds.

It was a few more crumbling structures that they passed before Pyrrha stopped again, and her gaze went up towards the sky. Jaune followed it, and saw a crouched figure balanced on top of one of the chimneys, eyes burning blue through the night. They weren't pointed at either of them, though, they were out towards the rest of the city. It was difficult to recognize well, but Jaune got the distinct feeling that the silhouette was familiar. It was Nora, it had to be.

The figure straightened up, rising off of its heels, and both the Hunters were surprised to find that even standing what they assumed to be straight up, Nora's legs bowed out at odd angles. She pulled her head back, sucking in air as her chest rose, and then unleashed another haunting howl. Whatever purpose that these noises were meant to accomplish, they seemed to do so, and Nora started to go back down towards the base of the building. The way she did this, though, was what startled them. Jaune felt himself draw in a sharp breath as Nora started to fall off the side of the thing, her feet staying anchored to the column, before her hands met with the stone, and she started to crawl verticals down, almost like a spider skittering along the curved surface.

Both pairs of eyes were transfixed in horror as Nora continued to descent towards the building, disappearing as she neared the base of the pillar. Pyrrha looked back at Jaune, her eyes wide. Jaune continued to look at the spot that his friend had been moments before for several seconds, then shook his head. "Alright, now we know where she is, at least. Let's get in there, and do what we came to do. Are you ready?"

Pyrrha nodded her head, and lifted her weapon a little higher. "Yes, let's go." She didn't let Jaune see her swallow down the hard lump in her throat. Jaune moved to take a place in front of her, and the two approached the building that Nora had gone into. They didn't need to say anything to each other, they both knew that Ren had to be inside of the building. They had to try and get him out, no matter what the risk was. Both of them also knew that they wouldn't stand much of a chance if they came up against her in a fight. They might be able to sneak in, though.

That was obviously Jaune's plan, as his pace slowed as he tried to keep the noise that he made down. Pyrrha did the same, and had to be careful to keep her armor from making any noise. It would be very bad if something like that was going to give them away. As they got closer to what was probably at one point a door, but now was little more than a pile of bricks at the bottom of a hole in the wall. They got closer, and Jaune drew up against the wall of the outside of the building, and his pace slowed significantly. Pyrrha did the same, and both of them started to make their way inside.

Gravel and glass on the ground intermixed with the brick made them slow to an almost glacial pace, and they picked their way as carefully as they could over it. Sweat started to drip from both of their foreheads as the pressure of the situation started to get to them. Each footfall had to be carefully measured in force and placed with the utmost caution. As they did this, both wondered if Nora had done this on purpose, or if it was by coincidence that the entrance to her lair was trapped like this. Both eventually made it over the pile, and started to make their way further into the building. They still stuck close to each other, and picked their way carefully around other spots of the floor covered in glass shards and gravel.

The two of them slowly started to work around the bottom floor, darkness thick in the places that didn't let any moonlight through. They were so on-edge that both of them could've sworn that they saw dark figures moving in the darkness, but they knew that they were just figments of their excited imaginations. Nothing was to be done about it except ignore them, and try to keep an eye out for any real movement that might be somewhere in the shadow.

Neither one dared to say a word, much less suggest that they ignite some light source. Instead, they continued to creep through the dark, inches from each other. Eventually, they traveled through every spot of the first floor, and the only conclusion that they could come to was that Ren was not on the first floor. The stairs up were rather foreboding, and neither one wanted to go up there. Something was off up there. Something didn't feel right. There was no other option, though, and Jaune started to make his way towards it with more careful steps.

The trip up was daunting, as the steps were steep, and some had large shards of glass and small rocks that required they climb carefully. As he got closer to the top, Jaune stopped, even jerking back down once he saw what was up there. Pyrrha gave him a concerned look, trying to divine what was wrong by the look on his face. He put a finger to his mouth, they pointed up again towards the top. She listened, and then heard Nora's voice barely audible over the sound of wind making its way through the buildings outside. "…Ren, let's never be apart again. I want to be with you, always. Don't you want the same?"

Her voice was a soft cooing, and Jaune thought he felt his nerves soften slightly as the smooth, seductive tones made its way through his ears. He did his best to resist the effects though, and continued listening, hoping to hear Ren's voice in response. Nothing came, though, and Nora spoke again. "Aw, don't worry, I'll take care of both of us."

There was a brief pause, and Nora's voice said again "Hey, Ren, can we do that thing again? I promise I won't be as rough this time!" Again there was no answer, but apparently to Nora that meant yes, and she let out a high-pitched squeal. "Thank you! I'll make up for last time, I promise!"

Jaune's face turned red as his mind followed what was probably happening above, and he lost track of what the best course of action would be to follow. He looked back at Pyrrha with a desperate expression, and made a motion for her to go ahead of him. Pyrrha shook her head, then motioned for Jaune to come closer. She put a hand around his ear, and whispered "Go up and stop them, now!"

She wasn't too confident that that would be a good thing to do, but it was all that they could do. Jaune nodded, then continued to walk up the stairs, straightening up now. If they were caught in a fight, they would almost certainly lose, but they could still try and get Ren during it before running away. Pyrrha walked behind him, and when her foot fell on a shard of glass, producing a loud crunching noise.

Nora didn't look up. She didn't even seem to be aware of their presence. As Pyrrha's head rose above the floor, she saw that Nora was straddled on to of Ren, looking at him with an expression of hunger. Every inch of her body seemed to be blushed, and she was pinning Ren to the ground. Her tongue was gradually sliding out of her mouth, double pronged appendage making its way towards Ren's.

She looked over to Jaune, and saw that his gaze was transfixed on the scene with a kind of awe that she hadn't seen on his face before. He gave no indication of moving on his own, so Pyrrha gave him a sharp elbow in the ribs. This jolted him back into sense, and he gave her a confused expression first, before seeming to recall what he was here to do and saying loudly "Nora, stop."

This did a much better job of attracting Nora's attention, and her head cracked to the side, looking at them. There was a mixture of expressions in her eyes, but she slowly raised off of Ren, tongue still hanging limply out of her mouth. Jaune saw the sharp teeth that lined her mouth. He had forgotten about the teeth. "Nora, what you're doing is wrong. Let Ren go, and we won't have to hurt you. Please, we don't want to hurt you."

Nora continued to walk towards him, and he suddenly became very aware of the growing feeling of warmth that seemed to emanate from the girl. He had no doubt that if she got too close, he would be paralyzed again. He wanted to tell her to stay back, but Nora's hips swayed so hypnotically, and the look on her face was so soft…

He shook his head, and brought his shield up. "Nora, I'm warning you. We'll fight you if we have to. Please, just let us take Ren, and we can go in peace."

Nora shook her head. "Jaune, why can't you people understand? We love each other! How would you feel if someone tried to take Pyrrha away from you? You love her! It's the same!" She passed over some invisible line, and Jaune started to feel his thoughts cloud thickly. Doing his best to not hesitate, and keep his senses about him, he brought his sword up, and felt a satisfied smile come across his face when she stopped. "Jaune, how could you be so cruel? I just…" her voice trailed off, and she put her hands over her face, falling to her knees and starting to cry. "…I just want to be with Ren! P-please, j-j-just leave us alone!"

The sudden turn of the conversations was unexpected, and he wasn't entirely sure how to respond. He wanted to comfort her. Every part of his being wanted to rush to her side an comfort her, but his mind reminded him that there was no room for pity now. The result of this internal conflict was that he stood still, unable to move.

Pyrrha started to walk past him, hugging the sides of the room in hopes of avoiding Nora's detection. Jaune could see that she was trying to get to Ren, and snapped himself back into lucidity. "Nora, please, you have to let him go. It isn't healthy out here, he'll get hurt! We have to take him somewhere safer!" The distraction seemed to work for the moment, but Nora's crying intensified, clouding his mind even more.

It took all of Jaune's willpower to resist going to her side, but he was able to hold himself off. The effect that Nora had on him was strong, but he had to resist, at least long enough to let Pyrrha finish what she was doing. "Nora, please, don't cry. This is for your good, and for Ren's good. You understand that, don't you?" Nora continued to cry, and Jaune wasn't sure if she'd heard him. He took a small step closer, and continued to speak softly. "We just want to help. If you could work with us, everyone would come out of this safer."

Pyrrha picked Ren up from the ground and threw him over her shoulder in a fireman's carry, starting to make her way back towards Jaune, a nervous look on her face. She needed him to keep distracting Nora, but she didn't want him going too overboard.

Jaune took another step towards Nora, starting to bend his knees to take him down to her level. "Nora, can you look at me?" The redhead's fingers cracked apart slightly, and through them, Jaune saw a piercing blue eye pointed at him. For a few seconds, he didn't move, he didn't speak, he didn't even breathe. Then he took a step back. "Please, you just have to work with us here."

Pyrrha had gotten Ren to about the stairs before Nora's gaze shifted to her, and she rose back to her feet, hands falling to her sides and face contorting into a much more confused expression, rather than the sorrowful one that she had worn moments before. "Pyrrha, what are you doing?"

Before Pyrrha could answer, Nora looked to Ren, and something in her brain seemed to click. Her hands curled into fists, and her lip lifted like a growling animal as she said in a deep voice "I won't let you take him!" Jaune took another step back, placing himself between the two and raising his shield defensively. He looked over his shoulder quickly, saying "Go!" and turning back to Nora, readying himself to do his best at keeping them apart.

Nora let out a guttural sound from her throat as Pyrrha disappeared down the stairs, and leapt after her. Jaune stepped into her path, and braced his arm for her to impact. She did, and he thought for a moment that he wouldn't be able to endure the hit. She thudded against the metal shield with about as much force as a Grimm's claw, and instantly started to try and get past him. Jaune was forced to take a few slow, retreating steps down the stairs, glancing to the side as he did so, seeing Ren's limp legs disappearing out of the hole that they had entered the building through. Pyrrha was fast, but he knew that Nora would be faster.

After trying to simply squeeze in-between the shield and the wall, Nora took control of the situation. She grabbed the sides of his shield and started to yank it from side to side, nearly throwing Jaune down the stairs. He stumbled backwards, one particularly violent motion throwing him off-balance, and Nora made full use of the opportunity. Displaying inhuman speed and dexterity, she leaped not into him, but on him, one foot planted on the bleak wall next to him, the other on his shield. Both hands dug into the fabric on his back, and she flung herself past him, sending him into the hard stairs like a ragdoll. She went dashing off as he did his best to cushion the fall.

It took several seconds to shake off the daze of the blow, but as he picked himself back up, he heard Pyrrha shout somewhere far away. This spurred him to action much faster than anything else, and he pushed himself back up, practically flying down the stairs to protect his partner. When he got out of the building, he looked around as fast as he could, and saw Pyrrha facing off with Nora in much the same way he had, except that she had her spear ready to attack. Ren was on the ground behind her.

Just as they came into his view, Nora jumped at Pyrrha. She launched a flurry of vicious blows with her sharp nails, but Pyrrha was able to block them with her shield. Without missing a beat, in the brief fraction of a second interval between strikes, Pyrrha lashed out with her bronze shield, landing a solid blow against Nora's chest. In spite of Nora's dangerous abilities, she was still light, and the blow knocked her back a considerable distance.

Jaune started to charge, feet hammering against the ground, sending small plumes of dirt away from his feet. As he approached Nora, he brought his blade over his head, ready to strike at her. He wouldn't like it, but there was no other option.

Nora dug her feet into the ground and stopped herself before losing too much ground, or toppling over. Jaune continued to grow closer and closer, until finally he was in striking distance. His sword gleamed in the moonlight as it arced down. With as strong an impact he could manage, the blade struck the back of Nora's head. She toppled forward, face meeting the ground with a solid thud.

Jaune stood over her, now holding his sword with a certain amount of disdain. There was blood on its end, although it hadn't cut her. Her aura had borne the brunt of the damage, and the rest was only from the blunt force of the attack. He hadn't wanted to do that. But she had made him do it.

Nora's otherworldly scent started to waft into his nostrils, and he quickly stumbled back. A brick lodged firmly into the ground caught the back of his foot, and he keeled over, arms flailing briefly in search of anything that they could use to save him. They found nothing, and he hit the ground with the full force of his fall. Another brick in the ground provided the only cushion for his fall, making his eyes tear and his ears ring.

Pyrrha watched Jaune fall, and was about to go and help when Nora started to move again. She worked her arms under herself slowly at first, then, in a hurricane of movement, launched herself at Pyrrha with all the force she could muster. She didn't have time to raise her shield again, and instead was forced to roll out of the way to avoid being slammed. The subtle "whoosh" of air in her ears as Nora zipped past her made her hairs stand on end, and she quickly turned to face her again. Nora was closer to Ren now than she was, and that made her very nervous. She wasn't in control of the situation at all, and it looked like Jaune wouldn't be able to lend a hand anymore. She hated to think it, but she knew that it was time to think about withdrawing. It had been a longshot anyways. Neither one of them had really expected it to work. Still, though, defeat was a bitter pill to swallow.

If Nora sensed her surrender, she showed no sign of it. She leapt at Pyrrha again, claws ready to rend anything in their path. She was an impressive distance off the ground, and Pyrrha knew that she could use that to her advantage if she were fast. She coiled her legs beneath her, readying herself for the critical maneuver. As Nora flew towards her, she rolled again, just barely making it under the girl. She felt one of Nora's feet graze her back before she righted herself again, and struck out with her spear at Nora's back.

Nora landed, cursing for having missed her mark, then felt a dull, piercing pain in her lower abdomen. Her whole body shook as the feeling seemed to roll through her nervous system, then she steadied herself. Her gaze drifted down, and she was somewhat taken aback to find the sharp, now bloodied point of Miló poking through her shirt. A red stain was working its way across the fabric, steaming and hissing in the cool night air. The pain faded, and she smiled as she felt the spear move slightly as Pyrrha tried to pull it back out. She tensed the muscles around it, as well as the ones that were already starting to knit back together around it. That spear wasn't going anywhere.

She turned back to face Pyrrha, and felt some mild surprise when she found tears starting to roll down Pyrrha's face. She smiled, tongue flicking out, practically tasting Pyrrha's tears. "I thought we were friends!" Her voice was a mocking drawl, and she felt a rush of pleasure as she saw the grief in Pyrrha's eyes multiply. She hated to hurt her friend, just like Jaune. It was a shame that she did not share their reservations.

Laughter filled her ears, but its source was a mystery. It sounded like Tiny's laughter, and it was something that he would laugh at, but she also felt the spear still moving, telling her that it was her laughter. She didn't care. The desire to hurt filled her again, and she lunged out at her.

Pyrrha wasn't ready this time, and Nora was able to grapple on to her easily, wrapping her legs around her midriff in a vicelike trap, and set about destroying the one who had tried to take her love from her.

Sharp nails tore through flesh easily, and Pyrrha's screams were soon the only sounds that were louder than her own laughter. Beautiful red blood flowed from the divots that she carved from her face. The cuts were shallow at first, but as Nora continued to mutilate Pyrrha's soft face, her smile grew and grew. It felt so good to do this. How had she never done it before?

One of Pyrrha's eyelids disappeared, and the orb of fluid beneath was easily ruptured by her vicious onslaught. She was just about to target the next eye when something punctured her again, this time much more smoothly than Miló had. Her body stopped responding to her attempts to manipulate it, and she fell limply to the ground, fighting to regain movement. Jaune's sword was pulled from her spine, and every part of her body below the point that had been stabbed gave a great spasm. A shoe was planted firmly in her shoulder, and Miló was pulled out as well, snapping the tendons that had already formed around it.

Her wounds instantly started to heal, but the complex structure of the spinal cord that had been severed would take time to heal. She started to regain control of her arms, and used them to drag herself to face her opponents. All she saw was Jaune running away, Pyrrha in his arms, holding her face and crying. Nora wanted to chase them, but her legs were still completely inoperable. It was probably just as well. They had left Ren, and he was her priority. She had to remind herself of that fact. No matter how fun that had been, Ren was her focus.

She clawed her way over to him, wounds popping and hissing as they healed, and looked him over. He seemed unharmed, and stared up at the sky with a blank expression. A deep, loving feeling came over her, and she aligned herself on the ground next to him, looking up at the stars as well. It was nice. It wasn't long before she was pointing out shapes in the stars, and naming new constellations with her favorite person. She wished that they could do this all the time, but soon she would have to go out and get food for him, and even before that it would get too cold outside, and she would have to take him back inside. Her arms went gently around him, and she snuggled up to his arm, smearing some of Pyrrha's blood on his green sleeve. She didn't want the moment to end.

Cinder grinned as she looked down at the people who had assembled at the small hall that served as the village's center. It was the majority of the population, and she could tell that they were all curious about what the meeting was about. They had no idea that she was about give them pleasures beyond their wildest dreams. She certainly liked the idea that the voice in her head had proposed. She had never started a cult, but It couldn't be too different from the things that she had already done. She just needed to remain confident, and make use of the powers that had been granted to her.

The room was dark, every possible distractor removed. There weren't even chairs in the room, something that was causing a fair amount of grumbling among her guests. Neo and Roman were waiting outside, and would lock the doors as soon as the action started. Then she would "convince" all of these wonderful people that to follow the demons was the only real way to be happy. After the "demonstration" she had planned, nothing that they could do with their own bodies would compare to the delights demons could give. It was a wonderful plan.

The murmuring increased slightly, and Cinder knew that she would have to speed the plan along. Even if everyone was not quite present, people would start leaving soon. She wanted to get as many as she could in the initial wave, and simply gather converts later.

She signaled for the lights to dim further, and they did, leaving the room in nearly complete darkness. The murmuring increased again, but this time was full of curiosity, and some trepidation. If these people knew what they were about to feel, they would be shouting for her to start already. They didn't, though, and continued to puzzle over what was going on.

Cinder walked out from behind the curtain that separated the majority of the main stage from the rest of the hall, and conjured a flame in her hand to provide illumination. "Hello, ladies and gentlemen. I'm sure that all of you are curious about what you're doing here. Let me not tell you, but show you."

The flame in her hand sputtered, flickering for a few brief seconds before dying altogether, leaving them all bathed in darkness. A new energy filled Cinder's palm, and started to cast a red glow away from her skin. Eyes reflecting the light gazed back up at her, faces slowly turning from skeptical to awestruck. This wasn't the main event, but rather a kind of appetizer; readying their minds for the ecstasy to come. It was simply something to make them more malleable. They could close their minds to the loosening influence, but they didn't have any reason to yet.

She spoke as this phase progressed, knowing that what she said now would act as guidance during the conversion process. If they didn't have this, they wouldn't know what to do, and would likely go wild, like animals. While it would be amusing, it wasn't what they needed to do. "There are beings that you've never seen, and that you could not possibly imagine. Lucky for you, though, I can show you them. They only want one small thing in return…" her voice came to a small peak, emphasizing the word "small". She looked around at them, and intensified the loosening energy, enjoying the looks of reverence. "If you give them yourselves, they will give you anything you wish, provided you serve them well enough. It's a small thing to ask, really, in comparison to what wonders they could give you. I would like to give you a small sampling of what you could feel from them."

She took a few small steps back towards the curtain. "And, luckily enough, I've a very willing volunteer here to help me." She made a gesture, and the curtain slid back, revealing a somewhat medieval looking bed, tilted at an angle to show the man who was strapped down, a gag firmly placed in his mouth to prevent any unwarranted noises. Tears were streaming down his face as he fought against his bonds, and he tried to prompt his audience to help with his restricted actions. Cinder knew that now was a crucial point in the process, and started to change the energy she projected. Instead of opening her watchers' minds, she now projected her own deep contentment at the sight of the bound man, ensuring that they would not do anything to interfere, and actually watch what was coming with some enjoyment. The glow grew brighter, and all looked on, smiles growing across their faces.

Cinder walked to the side of the bed, and leaned close to the man. He pulled away from her, bonds stretching but keeping him stationary. Cinder produced a ceremonial-looking knife from her side and took a few sashaying steps towards him. His eyes widened, and he fought harder against his bonds. She traced it along the side of his face, relishing in the sheer terror she saw his mind start to drown in.

She leaned in close, and in a sultry whisper, said "Don't worry now. You'll love it, I promise." His continued fighting seemed to suggest that he didn't believe her, but this didn't bother her. He would, soon enough, find that she wasn't lying. He would spend his last few moments writhing in pleasure, she would make sure of it.

The knife's edge glinted in the light from her opposite hand as she brought in to rest, point down, in the middle of the man's chest. The cold metal drained the heat from his skin, making it prickle around it, and Cinder drew it in a small circle playfully, not yet slicing the flesh.

The man tried harder and harder to free himself, and Cinder started to return her attention to her watchers. "Now, as you can see, this fine specimen of a man is eager to join us. Soon, he will feel what we can do, and he will share that feeling with all of you. Don't you want that?" Voices rose from the crowd, all in the affirmative. All were very excited, and Cinder smiled when she saw that they were even somewhat hungry to know.

Without further hesitation, she called fourth the power of the demons that she had been given, making the rune that Neo had so expertly drawn on the stage glow. She felt her own strength start to waver, and knew that she would have to complete the ritual faster if she wanted it to succeed. The blade plunged into the man's chest, and a geyser of blood erupted from the incision, spraying out with a force that Cinder hadn't quite expected, showering down over the faces of those watching. She pulled the curved blade back out, and the fluid shot readily out onto those watching. Cinder saw the man's face, and knew that his eyes rolling back in his head wasn't from pain. His hands worked eagerly, and his limbs strained against his bonds in vein attempts to touch the wound. She could feel his pleasure funneling through her, and out to the watching eyes. And she could feel their pleasure funneling back, and into the rune, bringing the two separate worlds closer and closer together. Voices cried out again from the crowd, and people started to react. They acted as if some euphoric haze had settled over the room, scenes of great debauchery soon broke out, people doing things very inappropriate for a public place like this. She knew that it was working.

The feeling of pleasure didn't start to fade, instead only growing as the depravity in the crowd intensified. Cinder couldn't quite see what was happening among the churning crowd, but she could certainly see clothes flying away from bodies.

The power in the rune started to grow beyond what seemed tolerable, and a strange, whispering voice seemed to permeate the air. Cinder wasn't sure if the others could hear it, but she could, just on the fringes of her mind, and she wanted to hear more. Thankfully, that didn't seem to be a concern, as the pleasure that went into the rune intensified with every passing second. The voice grew louder and louder, until it was almost roaring in her ears. In spite of this, she couldn't tell exactly what it was saying. It almost sounded like it was a different language.

Just as the sound started to peak at the point where it couldn't get any louder, it was covered by a tremendous ripping sound. Cinder looked back at the rune, and found a vertical slit in the air above it, something indescribably odd between the two points of reality that had simply ceased to be. Her eyes didn't find anything to focus on within it, but they soon didn't have to time, as a blast of energy from the tear knocked her off of her feet.

The sounds of the crowd died down briefly, and as Cinder picked herself up, she saw spindly limbs and twisted figures start to crawl from the hole, working their way into the crowd among the people, and joining in the "fun". She took the moment of relative quiet to announce to her new followers exactly what she wanted them to do. "Now, go! Do you want to keep this feeling to yourselves? It would be greedy to do so! You must go, and share it with everyone you can find!" Her arms had gone over her head at some point, likely for emphasis, and they slowly fell back down. Her words took effect instantly, and the numbers of people surged towards the doors, throwing their whole force against them. She recalled with some amusement that they were locked, and wondered if the people would be able to break them down. It seemed for a small moment that they wouldn't be able to, but then the doors exploded off of their hinges, and they spilled out into the streets of the town, demons following eagerly behind or pushing them out of the way.

Cinder was about to follow when she felt something that made her draw in a sharp breath. Her legs gave out from under her, and her body filled with the energy that she had found herself coming to adore. Her nerves seemed to blaze into a fiery life, and she felt herself be flooded by the power. The initial shock of the thing wore off, but the feeling of empowerment didn't. Cinder stood back up, now feeling every muscle in her body as she moved. A smile came across her face as she started to walk away from the portal, knowing that it would stay open. Shouts, screams, and praises from the streets started to sound out, and she knew what was happening. Those who had not shown up to the meeting were being converted, their souls being filled with the demonic longing for more than their flesh could give. Cinder could feel her own power growing with every person that fell to the feeling. If this was how things were going to work, she could get used to it.

As she exited out into the streets, she looked to the darkened sky. They were dim, but the telltale lights of an airship keeping distance with the village hovered in the sky among the stars. She smiled at it, almost daring its occupants to come to them. They would feel the burning lust, and would succumb to the feeling, bolstering their ranks. In fact, she almost hoped that they would come. If it allowed her to expand her power, she hoped that all the forces in the world would come at her.

The leaders of the world gazed at their respective screens, horrified at what was happening. It was clear that it was bad, but beyond that, it was obvious that whatever was happening was contagious. It spread from person to person with alarming speed, and they had no reason to believe that it could be cured.

Ozpin spoke, breaking the silence that had settled over the people. "As you can see, this is a matter that requires our utmost attention. If we allow this to continue, we may very well lose what little ability to contain the situation that we have now. As you already know, losses in attacking the initial portal are expected to be high. I do not think that we can let it spread. This would result in even greater losses and, given what we've seen here, poses a massive threat to not just Menagerie, but the world at large. My recommendation is an immediate quarantine in this village, and immediate research into an effective means of combating the spread of this."

General Ironwood nodded, saying "I agree. If this continues to spread unchecked, as I have no doubt that it will if we remain idle, it will do damage that will in the long term be irreparable, and possibly even lead to our downfall. Something has to be done."

The leaders considered for a moment in silence, before the women speaking for Menagerie said "But how? What could be done that would make it agreeable that they stay? If they truly will spread it as much as you say…" her voice trailed off, hanging in the air and leaving an uneasy sensation in the stomachs of those who listened. Slowly, and obviously hesitantly, Ironwood said "I think that making it agreeable is already out of the question. Speaking not as a military commander, but as a teacher, I think that the time for an amicable solution has passed. They must be forced."

Ozpin appreciated that his friend had said it instead of him. No doubt it had not been easy. Another few moments of heavy silence passed as they all simply stared at the data feed from the airship, watching as ordinary people were turned into raving lunatics.

Then, finally, the woman said "Fine, given the circumstances, I believe that this is our only option. This site must be quarantined, and the artifact must be destroyed as soon as possible. I'll make the arrangements immediately."

Ozpin and Ironwood both let out a sigh, and nodded. They were relieved that she had seen fit to treat the situation with the seriousness that it commanded, but knew that there was going to be plenty of work ahead of them in getting the forces for a full-scale assault on the artifact. They had to do it, though. Naze had made it very clear that nothing good would come if the demons were allowed to carry out whatever devious plans they had laid out.

The leaders disconnected, and so did Ozpin and Ironwood. It was one victory, but they would need many more to make a larger impact.