Author's Note:

As I always wish, please leave a review and tell me what you thought of everything. Do the follows and the likes and stuff.

God, thirty four chapters? Gotta be honest, didn't think things would get this off the rails.

When Cinder finally did look over her shoulder at her two followers, she could tell that they were starting to lose their nerve. It wasn't like them, and she realized that she must've been fairly heavy on the mysticism and secrecy if they were starting to falter. She looked around the small motel room where they had planned to stay the night, looking for something that she might be able to use to bring them back under her control. Nothing jumped out at her.

She sighed, then said "Roman, what do you think is going on right now?" It was important to know what they thought. She knew that Roman wouldn't lie. He didn't dare lie to her. He knew what she would do if she found out. "Well, we're sitting in a trashy motel, just having escaped from a giant slaughter, and witnessing the emergence of some of the scariest monsters I've ever seen, I'd say we're probably in hiding."

Cinder smirked, not wanting to give him any indication of whether he was right or not. She turned to Neo, and posed the same question. Although Neo couldn't speak, she often found a way to communicate whatever she needed to. That proved to be the case again, and she gave Cinder a look with her eyes that spoke volumes. She was worried about something greatly, far more than she had been before. Not only that, but she was suspicious of Cinder. She could tell that something about the woman was changing, she simply couldn't say what. Cinder smiled again. Maybe she was right to be suspicious. Cinder certainly didn't plan on giving Neo to her new friends, but if things came down to it, she wouldn't hesitate.

But she needed her for now. Cinder shook her head, saying "Both wrong, I'm afraid to say." She sat back on the bed, holding her weight up with her arms. "You both know that I'm not one for wanton violence. It's crude, and is often more costly than is worth. That has changed recently. I'm still against losing, but I think I've found something to help me." She gave Roman a smug look. "Those scary monsters are our new friends, Roman, and they like wanton violence. If we want to let them get anywhere, we need to bring them. So let's start with this little forest-edge town, right? Like practice."

Roman and Neo looked at each other with expressions that were mixtures of trepidation and puzzlement. Cinder got the feeling that Roman spoke for both of them when he said "How could you have made friends with those things? You saw what they did to the White Fang. There was no time, they would've eaten you!"

Cinder gave a small chuckle at this, and then said "Not everyone is as dull as you, Roman. Some of us have abilities beyond being scared. They contacted me, and we made a deal. We've traded one force for a better force, one that no one can fight against. All we have to do is summon them, and we'll have all the power we could want. So, will you help me?"

It was a somewhat loaded question. Roman knew what would happen if he said no. He sighed, then said "I do like power." Cinder gave a knowing smile "Of course you do! And just think of how much power you could have if you help me. Imagine commanding a legion of those monsters you saw, they following your every command. Doesn't that sound sweet? And you, Neo, you could have anything you wanted."

Her attempts to persuade them was obviously working, more on Roman than on Neo, but that was good enough. Cinder knew that Neo wouldn't leave Roman's side, so long as he was still himself. With their help now enlisted, Cinder set about the process of acquiring of items they would need for the summoning. The items were whispered in her ear by her new benefactor. They would need chalk, candles, and, of course, a sacrifice.

The life of another would, apparently, giving the demons enough energy to exist away from their main rift long enough to slaughter the locals, and maybe even open another portal, expanding their reach. It didn't take long for them to accrue the objects needed, but then there was still the sacrifice. They needed to find someone who no one would miss for a day or so, and someone that they could get their hands on discreetly. On top of that, it needed to be someone with a strong soul. Cinder didn't know if there was anyone in the small town like that, but she knew that Neo could find out. Until she found a fitting target, the group would be unable to do anything else. Cinder didn't like being limited in options like this, and found other ways to spend her time. Their Bullhead had run out of fuel a short distance out of town, and they had been forced to hide it. This left them without a reliable means of escape. Cinder always tried to have a backup plan in case something went awry, and a Bullhead was as good of a backup plan as she could ask for. While Neo looked for the one that they would give to the demons, Cinder and Roman went on a hunt for fuel.

Cinder knew that the hunt wouldn't take too long. Not with Neo on the case.

Team RWBY, Jaune, and Pyrrha returned to their dorm building, glad to be back from the hospital. Ruby, Pyrrha, and Yang all spoke to each other about the mysterious person who they had seen. They didn't know who she was or where she had gone, but they all recalled their meetings vividly. "She was really nice, we talked for a while."

Yang raised an eyebrow at her sister, not sure whether or not to believe her. "She talked? That's surprising. The whole time I was talking to her, all half a minute, she seemed like she was about to run away."

Blake and Weiss exchanged looks at this. They knew why a Priest would do that, but apparently Yang forgot that the Order of the Holy Light would consider her a monster. They didn't say anything, though, and Jaune was the next to speak. "I wish I had met her, she sounds really cool. Why couldn't she have just woke me up?" Silence settled over the group for a brief moment as they ascended the stairs, then they spoke again when reaching the top. Pyrrha said "I wonder if we could learn that kind of stuff, to use the light. Do you think we have it?"

Yang responded, saying "Yeah, at least, that's what they say. Their whole deal is that every person can use the Light if they purify their soul, or something. That pretty much means that I can't use it at all, but you know-" she put her hands up, pointing her thumbs at herself "-I'm so good I don't need it." There were smirks all round, but Pyrrha gave her a strange look. Yang didn't see it, but Pyrrha started to think. What if Yang wasn't quite as she seemed to be? If Amber had shown Yang the light of hope that she had shown Pyrrha, what would happen? Pyrrha couldn't imagine being anything but comforted by it, but Yang would probably be hurt.

They came to their respective rooms, and Pyrrha was shaken out of her thoughts. Jaune pulled his scroll out and unlocked the door, and the two walked into their room together, and were hit immediately by the emptiness of it. Four beds sat next to each other, and the two stared at them for a long while, simply standing there. The door closed behind them, but they hardly noticed. They were too busy thinking about what they had lost. Two friends, potentially. They didn't know where Nora or Ren were, or what they were doing. The whole situation felt wrong. They wished very hard that they could fix it.

Jaune walked slowly into the room, feeling his heart dragging on the floor behind him like an iron ball. He should have done more. But his grief didn't last long, though. Soon his fist clenched, and his teeth ground together. How could Nora have done this? Did a little voice in her head really mean more to her than Pyrrha and him? That notion was insane, but it was the only one that he could come up with. And then there was Ren. How could he just go along with all this? He knew just as well that his leaving would have catastrophic effects of the rest of the team, but he still went with Nora.

Jaune shook his head, berating himself under his breath for misplacing his anger. If he was going to be angry, he should put it at what deserved the anger. That demon inside of Nora forced her to do all of those things, one way or another. They had been so close to pulling it out, and then disaster had struck. Jaune wished that they could've done something, but they never really had stood a chance. At least, he hadn't. Nora's paralyzing look and drug of a scent made it almost impossible for him to really fight her.

He gazed out the window, forlorn in his thought, when he felt a sudden hand on his shoulder, making him jump. Pyrrha stood behind him, looking not out the window, but at his face. There was a sadness in her eyes, and seeing that hurt Jaune even more than his own thoughts. He put his arms around her, pulling her close and holding her tightly. He felt her face dig into his shoulder, and put a hand on the back of her head. "It's going to be alright. We can find them, and get them back. We just have to try."

Pyrrha looked up at him with wet eyes, drawing deep breaths at uneven intervals. He knew exactly how she felt. He wasn't sure that they could do it either. Nora had been so strong, and Ren was so firmly wrapped around Nora's finger, they simply didn't know if it would work. They felt like failures. Complete and utter failures.

Jaune shook his head, and reluctantly withdrew from the hug. He hated to, but he had to go to the bathroom. He walked in, wishing that he could stay by Pyrrha's side, and when he entered, his eyes went to the object in the corner. Magnhild was sitting against the wall, head down on the floor. The small pink segment directly behind the head that contained the dust seemed to glow at him. It was probably his imagination, though.

When he finished, he brought the hammer out for Pyrrha to see. For some reason, the thing felt immensely important. The thing was heavy, and Jaune didn't know how she had ever fought effectively with it. He hefted it up, using both hands, and carried it out. When Pyrrha's eyes fell on it, they grew wide, and zipped back to Jaune's face. He didn't know what to say. "She…" he paused, closing his eyes and organizing his thoughts. "She left it."

He held the thing out so that Pyrrha could see it better, and repeated "She left it." What point he was trying to make, he didn't know. It was simply that his brain dwelled on the fact that she had left her weapon behind. Perhaps he saw some symbol in it that she had left behind everything she once cared for, or maybe that this weapon could be the last remnant of the Nora that he'd known, and loved like a sister. Pyrrha nodded, and looked away back towards the window. Jaune didn't blame her.

He looked around again, amazed by how empty the room felt now. Even though the four beds took up the majority of the space, Jaune saw two that looked gravely out of order. With slow steps, he walked over to Nora's bed, and laid Magnhild down on top of the covers, head on the pillow. Once it settled onto its new mound, Jaune stepped back and took in the sight. Nora wasn't dead, he knew that. But the Nora that had slept in that bed so many times could be. HE didn't know for sure, though, and until he did, he wouldn't mourn anything. This was a symbol, a memorial, that he hoped Nora would return.

Next he walked to Ren's bed. He was similarly missing, caught up in Nora's snare, far more entangled than Jaune had ever been. Jaune didn't know if he could come out of that. Worse; he didn't know if Ren would want to come out of that. If he was determined to be Nora's forever, the only thing they could do was go after the demon itself. But they would have to find Nora first, and that would be no easy task.

With slow, careful movements, Jaune opened the drawer next to the bed, and withdrew the pistols that Ren used in battle, StormFlower. Respectfully, he laid them down on Ren's bed flat, barrels crossed, just in front of the pillow. Hopefully, he would return too.

Jaune looked back at Pyrrha, who was standing, still looking out the window. He could tell that she was avoiding looking at him or the beds. He walked over to her, body acting without the slightest direction from his brain. "We have to go after her. We can't leave this to anyone else, and we can't put it off. Damn the classes. Damn the grades. It doesn't mean anything if we lose them."

Pyrrha looked at Jaune, shocked. "What? B-but becoming a Huntsman was your dream! I don't-" Jaune cut her off, a growing drive in his chest. "No, Pyrrha, becoming a hero was my dream, saving people was my dream. I can bring her back, but I need your help to do it." His chest was practically glowing, but his voice was more confident than she had ever heard it. His breathing was quick, and she could see the strain on his face. Coming to these conclusions couldn't have been easy.

Pyrrha looked at him, trying desperately to give him an answer. She wanted to become a Huntress, but would she rather go with Jaune? She only wanted to be a Huntress because fighting was the thing she was best at. There had never been another application of her talents. But now, what Jaune was offering was another way. What if she could become a hero, without being a Huntress?

"Yes, I'm with you!"

After all, what would she be without a leader? What was left of the team had to stick together, else insult the memory of the parts it had lost. Jaune put out a hand, and Pyrrha shook it. They would stick together. They could win.

Jaune gave Pyrrha a smile that she'd never seen before, and took a seat on her bed, pulling out his scroll. She sat next to him, watching what he was doing. "Alright, so-" he tapped the map application, and a layout of Vale sprang to life. "She could have gone anywhere, but Ren can't. He would have to stop and take breaks. They've been traveling about a day now, and with people looking for them, they'd have to lay low. Here's what I'm thinking." he found the warehouse that had housed the Paladins, then drew a large circle around it, encompassing about a third of Vale "They can't have gone further than this, not with the cops looking for them. So, where in here could they hide?"

The two looked at the map a moment before Pyrrha pointed and said "The docks. There's more than enough space to stay hidden, and its close to where they started." Jaune nodded, saying "Alright. We'll try there. Where else? We can't just pick one."

Pyrrha bit her lip, and before she had come to a conclusion, Jaune was pointing. "There, on the outskirts of town. There are hamlets all over out there, and I'm sure there are plenty of hiding places in each one." He looked at Pyrrha for approval, and she nodded. "Alright, we'll go there too. What else?"

Pyrrha was quick to speak this time. The discolored brown and grey area that stood out like a sore on the colorful map. "The old factories. There are tons of places there to hide, and its already hard to navigate for normal people anyways. If I were Nora, that's where I'd go." Jaune smiled, and said "Yeah, alright." He looked back at the map, and nodded again. "So we've got a few places. Where do you want to go first?" It was an odd question, but Pyrrha understood how important it could be. Every second that they weren't looking was a moment Nora was gaining ground. They had to go.

"The docks. It'll be the fastest to search, and we can get there easiest." She looked again at him to see if he approved, and he was nodding again. "Alright, it looks like we've got a plan. We should start this as soon as we can. If there's anything that you need to do, get it out of the way now. I don't know when we will be coming back."

Pyrrha felt nervous, but also inspired. To see Jaune so utterly driven was something special. She'd never seen him quite like that before. She would follow him, no matter what end they came to. She would become a hero, or she would die trying.

She looked around the room, and confirmed to herself that there was nothing that she still needed, other she had her weapons, and for what they were going to do, that was all she needed. She nodded at Jaune with a determined look, and he started towards the door.

Pyrrha grabbed his hand, pulling him towards her. "Actually, there is one thing I can think of." Jaune raised an eyebrow, then said "Well, hurry up! I think we should really get out there and-" He was cut off when Pyrrha pulled his lips into contact with her own. He kept trying to speak for a brief moment, making a series of muffled noises before putting his arms around her. She pulled her mouth away and whispered softly in his ear "I love you."

What they would do now beyond search, they didn't know, but they would hit it with all the force they could muster.

Naze looked down at the generators being prepared. They were bulky things, but also sleek and bright. While not yet active, they would soon pour divine energy out from their complex workings in huge quantities.

They didn't have any pre-prepared generators of the sort not only because they didn't have any use for them, but also because the level of maintenance that would be required to keep them operational was an illogical level of work to maintain. The cores of the generators would only last for around one hundred years, and once activated, could not be turned off. The core would steadily decay before becoming completely inert.

They didn't know yet what decision the living would make, whether they would choose to use the generators or resurrect a god, or even create their own, but building the generators would still have a point. If they did decide to go to a god, and that god became hostile towards the undead, divine energy would assist them to kill the thing. It would be a fight that Naze would try to avoid, but he had killed gods in the past, and he knew that being prepared for such events was very important.

At some point along their production, they would have to be installed with some heavy shielding. The undead themselves didn't need too much protection, but to them, divine energy was like a weaker form of holy energy. It was capable of inflicting damage, but most would be able to resist its effects, so long as their exposure was limited.

Naze began to think as he watched the great machines be assembled. He was prepared to offer the living his own services in keeping their kingdoms safe from the Grimm, allowing their forces to focus on the demons. The process of doing this would be fairly easy, but his forces would be stretched in doing so. He had built them to protect himself, and the interests of learning, not civilizations. He weighed alternatives to stretching his forces that thin.

One option was clear enough, and seemed to be the choice he was most leaning towards. He could not bolster his forces of Death Knights, he didn't have the time to train one, and he doubted that there would be any easily found candidates anyways, but there were other, more vicious creatures that he could create. A Death Knight could cut the strongest of Grimm down without so much as a scratch, but a wraith would be able to strip the flesh from their bones in seconds. Controlling such monstrosities would be difficult, as they had to be infused with a certain hatred of all life to reach the potency that made them so dangerous, and if they lacked that burning rage, they simply wouldn't perform to the levels that Naze would need. Dispatching necromancers with them could potentially work, but that would still bring his numbers to lows that he wasn't comfortable with.

He didn't need to use any of his own forces, however, with a little ingenuity. He was a necromancer, but death was not the only thing he had extensive experience with. He had done similar things in the past, and knew that it would work well with most Grimm. If he were to engineer a plague, infusing it with certain magical properties, including the reanimation of victims that fell to it, that could be used to great effect. He knew that there were several strains of similar pestilences stored away elsewhere in the ziggurat, but those were fitted to affect humans specifically. While it would likely solve the political side of the troubles he had been having, he didn't think that it was quite time for genocide. There was still hope for other avenues of coexistence.

The question would be if those diseases could be modified to only affect the Grimm. As much as it bothered him, there was still much they didn't know about the Grimm. Creating a virus or bacterial agent that would act reliably on every subspecies of Grimm without deviating from its intended effects could be a difficult task. On the upside though, all Grimm did seem to poses very particular amounts of energy given off by their souls. That could be used to provide a target for the disease, but beyond that…

He shook his head. Now wasn't the time for going in-depth for every option, it was the time for overviewing options and eliminating bad ones.

Fields of death could be constructed around populated centers that would simply kill anything that passed through them. He knew that this would send a very bad message, though, entrapping the living in what would appear like prisons to them. The fields would also require large amounts of maintenance to keep operating at levels high enough to provide sufficient protection. It would also degrade relations between kingdoms rapidly, all but cutting off trade and isolating them from one another.

Another option occurred to him as he thought. Perhaps he didn't really need to do anything himself. There were generations upon generations of warriors who had lived and died to protect their people, and who likely had the skills to do that more. If he could gain permission to bring those people back, it could be possible to get the job done without any usage of his own forces. In addition to this, he might stand to gain more soldiers in the long term. Perhaps that would be the best option to him, but it would be the most difficult to get the living to agree with, undoubtedly. They were very protective of those that had passed, and paid a certain respect to them that Naze had never understood. It would make them guard the remains of their ancestors, both corpses and souls, with a ferocity that Naze knew would be difficult to best without violence.

Perhaps those that he had already made acquaintance with would be able to smooth the proposition that he would have to make. If they could somehow, miraculously, be able to get them to accept, then things would be made blissfully simple. He would send out his gravediggers and necromancers to every graveyard where heroes had been entombed, bodies stowed in boxes, and every battlefield where heroes had fallen, left to rot. They would, soul willing, be returned to service, and protect what they had already spent their lives protecting. And, of course, Naze would have his full reserve of forces. Everyone would be appeased. He knew how difficult that would be to do.

He thought that he had found the best of his options. If he could act through heroes of the past, resistance to anything that needed to happen would be minimal. What he needed was a better way to say it that would be less likely to upset any who heard. He wouldn't exhume the corpses, he would breathe souls back into them, and allow their owners to rise from even the depths of death to resume their duties they held in life.

Yes, there was work to be done by both sides, but he felt that he had quite an excellent start on his. Now the contrast of that was the living. He looked to his orb of control, and the vision of shades watching the proceedings of their meetings became his. Ozpin and Ironwood were both talking to various people, and looked like they were not quite making the progress that they were hoping for. The leaders that they spoke to, those at the top of each kingdom, were scared of what they spoke of, but also doubtful. Ironwood was able to provide some degree of proof through records from his airship, but they were still hesitant to believe. They didn't want to. What the two were saying would mean very, very bad things for the future.

Not all of them were as resilient, though. The kingdom of Menagerie was ready to believe their words quickly. They had already felt the surges of demonic energy, and knew that it couldn't be good. Already, some places near the artifact had already gone dark, and they were now afraid to go and check in on them. If they would lose those that they sent, they didn't particularly want to send anyone at all. Not until they were prepared, at least.

That was the main discussion among the leaders. What could they do to give their people more of a fighting chance against these monsters? Ozpin presented them with the options that they had been presented to him, and they discussed among themselves what they could come together to do. Things were looking very much like they would take the option of being given generators, and combating the demons themselves. One thing that they all agreed on was that something would have to be done about the Grimm. The manpower could simply not be spared that would allow the combating of the demons. Doing so would leave them wide open to Grimm attacks, and they would be torn apart.

Naze knew that he had already reached a conclusion about what the best way to deal with that issue would be, and all he had to do was propose it. He could not do that yet, though. Not while Ozpin and Ironwood were discussing with them. They would lose significant trust in him if they were to learn that he was eavesdropping on their highest priority communications.

At an offhand reference Ironwood made to the "Atlesian Paladin" Naze was reminded of the real Paladins. They would no doubt have quite a fit if he were to propose this plan. They and their closed-mindedness about the use of necromancy could spell the death of their entire race if they held to it too hard. How much easier it would be were they to simply disappear, but no, Naze couldn't just kill them. Such would be an irrevocable crime, a stain that generations would remember. There had to be some way to align them with his own purposes. If they could see that he was not the horrible monster that they thought him to be, or the numerous benefits that necromancy and the power to manipulate death itself brought with it, perhaps they wouldn't be so devoutly opposed. He wondered if there was any way he might show them this, but soon dismissed the thought. It was an organization built solely on the hatred of the undead. Useful at one point, perhaps, but a clear detriment now.

Perhaps meeting could be called with Solace, and they could discuss this further. It seemed to be the only way that the two would make any progress with one another. That was for another time that demanded less immediate action, though. If the demons were allowed to gain a solid foothold from which to increase their power, then all hope was already lost. And, of course, Cinder was now a pet of the demons.

It was a development that he should have seen coming, but the woman who lusted after power with every fiber of her being had found herself on the side of the battle that had the most to offer her. It was true, the demons could give her power beyond her wildest dreams, but they would spit her out as soon as they found that they didn't need her. She would lose everything that she had worked for, and then she would know the deviousness of demons. On the other side of the coin, it was possible that she prove to be an indispensable asset, and she be made a demon herself. That would complicate the matter significantly, and essentially grant Cinder immortality. It would be a somewhat unfair result for some, that Cinder be granted such power for taking what was to some people was a betrayal to her kind was unfortunate. She would benefit like a predator off the deaths of those she shared a species with.

Naze knew better than to be offended, though. Humanity certainly deserved it, in some way or another. The very fact that a person like Cinder existed was justification enough for her actions. It was not, however, an excuse. She would be crushed underneath his own heel, if he got the opportunity. He hadn't liked her from the start.

He let his gaze fall from the orb, content with the fact that he had already addressed the main issue that they were facing to himself, and would have an answer ready for them when they asked him. Now the next issue would be to ensure that demonic corruption was not spreading. Already, Nora had fallen to the creature that made a cocoon of her soul, and she would soon become a demon herself if something was not done. Naze still didn't know if it was his place to deal with the girl, or if Ozpin still wanted to handle the situation. He was reaching the end of his patience with the matter, though, and it wouldn't be long before he sent for the girl to be brought before him, and tear the demon out himself. It would be difficult to disentangle the two, but with enough time and a little force, he could do it. The time where it would be something like brain surgery had passed, and it would now be more like an amputation; she would without a doubt lose something, but it was going to be far simpler.

She could not be allowed to spread the demon's influence. Luckily enough, though, her goals seemed entirely focused on Ren. The boy was serving as an excellent distraction, if nothing else. There were far worse things that Nora could be spending her time doing. That didn't mean, of course, that she wouldn't still spread it. Even if she only infected Ren with a demon, he could go on and potentially infect others.

It was a cycle that Naze had seen before, and he was sure would happen again if he didn't do anything about it. He would inform Ozpin that he would take action soon the next time that they spoke, and observe his reaction. If he put more focus on the issue, he would let him handle it, and if this stretched him too thin, then something else would have to be done. Until that time, Nora would be free to act as she pleased.

Naze allowed his thoughts to wander on other topics. For him, there were always plenty of things to think about.

Yang practically kicked the door in, struggling to balance the mountain of food that she carried in her arms. She was met with the cheers of her teammates, who rushed towards her, hands reaching for specific things from the pile. She let them, hoping that they would lighten her load. They did, and after a moment she was able to stagger inside, and dump the food onto a table inside of the room.

As soon as her arms were free, Ruby wrapped her arms around Yang's waist, saying "Thanks sis!" before turning her attention to the pile and practically diving into it. Yang watched as Ruby and Blake started to devour the food, a smile creeping across her face as they did so. Both of them looked very happy as they shoved various items into their mouths. Yang felt like she should join in, but she hadn't eaten anything in a long time. She didn't need to, and she doubted that she would taste it anyways.

Ruby looked over at her, and said with a mouthful of food "Come on, have something!" She patted the seat next to her, and Yang couldn't refuse. She sat next to her sister, but said "Really, I wouldn't want to waste the food. You eat it, but save some for Weiss. She's still showering, right?" Blake nodded, and immediately went back to eating. Yang smiled, glad to see that they were all still holding together. Something was bothering her, though, and she voiced it with some worry. "Hey, guys, how do you think Jaune and Pyrrha are doing? I mean, I hope they're taking everything well, but I kind of doubt that they are. I walked past their room and didn't hear anything. I know that Pyrrha and Jaune are pretty tough and all, and I don't think that they are really "built" for this, you know? I mean, they lost Ren and Nora. That's half of their team. How could you…"

She looked to find Ruby and Blake giving her strange looks, their mouths full of food. Yang's voice trailed off, and she shook her head "Never mind. Just ignore me, keep on eating." Ruby, through another mouthful of food, said "If you're worried about them, why not go and check on them?"

Yang sighed, looked towards the door, and stood. She didn't want to leave her friends, but Jaune and Pyrrha were her friends too, weren't they? After a brief moment of pause, she nodded and said "Alright, I'm going over there. If anyone feels like it, you're welcome to join." She didn't mean this to guilt them, but the looks that flitted across her friends faces told her that the damage had already been done. When both Ruby and Blake got up to follow, she held up her hands and said "No, sorry, that came out a little wrong. You don't have to if you don't want to."

Still, Ruby and Blake moved towards her, so she shrugged and continued on her way. The door opened, and she took a few steps across the hall, knocking on the door to team JNPR's room several times before taking a step back. The trio waited for several seconds before starting to become suspicious. A few more seconds of waiting had Yang knocking again, louder this time, then stepping back again. "Maybe they went out." Blake suggested. "I mean, you did go and buy a ton of food, maybe they're doing the same."

Yang nodded, and said "Yeah, maybe." Before dropping to the floor and putting an eye to the crack between the floor and the door. She could practically hear the looks that Blake and Ruby were giving each other, but she ignored them. She could just feel something wrong with the whole situation. She didn't think that there was anyone in that room. The lights were off, and it was far too quiet.

"Yang, come on, you're acting weird. Let's just go back inside." At this, Yang got back to her feet. She didn't think that she was being strange, but if Ruby said so, she would stop. They were probably right anyways, they had probably just gone out to get food. She turned and scratched the back of her head, saying awkwardly "Alright, sorry. Yeah, let's go back."

They all filed back into the room, and found Weiss now sitting at the table, helping herself to the enormous quantity of food that had appeared while she was taking a shower. She looked up from the small feast with an odd expression in her face, saying "What were you doing out there?"

Yang shrugged and said "Checking on JNPR. At least, what's left of it." Her grim comment significantly darkened the mood in the room, and the rest of her friends sat down to eat without another word. She regretted saying it as soon as the words were out of her mouth. It was rather insensitive, but she hadn't meant any disrespect. Everyone was feeling bad that Nora had gotten away, and taken Ren with her, no less. She didn't want to apologize for it, though. That would just draw attention to it, and make it worse.

When they had all had their fill, they had pulled out their scrolls and were browsing various media, finishing the last scraps of their meal in their beds. Yang stood again, and started to walk towards the door again. "Sorry, but I'm going to check on them again. It's been like an hour, they've got to be back by now."

She exited into the hall, and again found herself in front of the door that lead into team JNPR's room. She brought a fist up, wrapped her knuckles against it roughly, and waited. She waited for what felt like a long time, then finally let her head tilt towards the floor. She knew that they were gone. She couldn't explain how, but he knew. It seemed almost unfair that they leave like that. She didn't know how she knew, but it was clear as crystal what had happened. She thought that she heard Naze's cold voice in her thoughts, but she couldn't be sure. It was possible that Naze had, wittingly or not, passed some information to her through their mental link. She wondered if that was something that happened often. She had certainly not experienced it much. Maybe it was just her natural intuition, nothing more than what she had been born with.

But how she had come to learn this didn't matter. What mattered was that she knew it now, and everything she could see pointed to it being true. No one was answering, and there were no lights on. Did the others catch on, though? She definitely didn't want to be the one to break the news. And she doubted that they had even left any trace of where they went. If they had, she would've thought that it would be on the exterior of the locked door, not the interior.

She turned back to her own room, spirits falling. Wherever they were, she hoped that they were safe. If they were going after Nora, as she suspected, they would need every blessing that they could get. Yang seriously hoped that they hadn't. She herself had stood little chance against the demon possessed girl, so she doubted that there was anything that they would be able to do. If they did have one thing that they might be able to use to their advantage, it was appealing to what little of Nora remained. She didn't know if Nora would respond to things from her past life, other than Ren. If they were going after Ren, she felt doubly worried for them. Nothing good would come if they tried to take Ren from her.

As she sat back down at the table, Ruby must've noticed the new, somewhat dejected look on her face, and said "Hey, what's wrong? Is something the matter with them?" Yang heaved a heavy sigh, and shook her head, saying "I guess not, but…" she didn't know exactly how to tell them, so she decided to simply outright say it. "Jaune and Pyrrha are gone. I think they went out after Nora, and I really doubt that they're coming back."

Shocked expressions were what met her when she looked back up. Even Weiss looked worried. "What? Why didn't they tell us?" Ruby sounded both worried and indignant, and all of the others looked like they felt the same way. Yang shrugged before saying "I don't know, maybe they didn't want to worry us? Maybe they didn't want us trying to tag along? I know how I'd feel if one of my teammates beat the rest of my team and stole another teammate." She looked around at all of them, and knew that they could imagine the feeling as well. "I'd feel like it was my job to get them back."

Weiss shook her head and said "Still, they should have gotten help from someone. If not us, then the teachers, or someone even higher. Going it alone is not the way to go." They all found themselves agreeing with the girl. They nodded, and Blake said "Maybe we can talk to someone and get help for them. If we told Ozpin, maybe…" her voice trailed off, and her idea hung limply in the air.

Yang was about to suggest that she go and speak to him, but Ruby beat her to it, standing and looking at her assorted friends. "Guys, we have to tell Ozpin about this. I know that he already knows and whatever, but we need to give him a firsthand account of what happened. If we do, he'll see just how bad Nora has gotten, and he'll have to send help."

Yang, Blake, and Weiss all nodded in unison, and made to get up as well. Ruby held her hands out, indicating that they stay. "No, I want to go alone. At least at first. You guys have got to still be tired from the fight, and I'm the team leader anyways. Just stay back here and rest. If I need you, I'll message you, alright?" She held her scroll up and shook it slightly, indicating that she had a method of communicating. It was obvious that they wanted to go with her, but she didn't want them to. She wanted them to get all the rest they needed.

She started to walk towards the door, pulling her cape around her and pocketing her scroll. The darkened bloody marks that constantly churned and spiraled ceaselessly inside of the fabric moved a little faster as she moved, and she pulled it around herself. The others felt their skin prickle slightly as they watched this. While they never would have said it to her face, the cloak she wore was somewhat disturbing, and her attachment to it was a bit unnerving. They knew that it was very important to her, first because it reminded her of her mother, then because it was Yang's blood on there, the last thing that she had had of her sister for a long time. None of them questioned the value that it held, but it still was mildly creepy.

Ruby made her way out of the dorm building, observing that night was just starting to fall, and started towards Beacon Tower. She didn't have an appointment or anything, but she was sure that she would be let up, as her business was very important. As she walked across the darkening campus, she thought to herself about things that had happened recently. Nora had escaped with Ren, and that was bad, but she didn't let the sadness get to her. Not again. She wouldn't do that again. Good things had happened too, and she knew that she had to focus on those. She had met someone that she wanted to be friends with in the future, Amber.

Good things were happening all over the world, she was sure. Yes, the business with Nora was bad, but it wasn't the end of the world, right?

She reached the tower and walked in, announcing herself to the secretary and saying that she would like to go and talk with Ozpin. The woman gave her an odd look, obviously puzzled by the time of this visit, but nodded and gestured towards the elevator. The doors slid open, and Ruby thanked her before walking inside. She hit the button, and the doors slid smoothly shut before the small box started to ascend the shaft.

When the doors opened again, Ruby was surprised to find Naze already in the office, speaking to Ozpin in a grave tone. She got the feeling that it would be unwise to interrupt, but she couldn't stay in the elevator or the doors would close again. Hesitantly, she stepped out and to the side, holding her hands in front of her and shifting her weight on her boots. As she waited, she started to listen to the conversation already in progress.

"…are very bad. If she is able to start this, I can guarantee you that they will open a portal as well. I know that should I be found responsible for massacring an entire village like that, chances for trust on every other matter will plummet, and I may find my solutions rejected. On the other hand, should this portal be allowed open, it will provide a much clearer example of the threat the demons pose. So tell me, Ozpin, what do you say I do?"

Professor Ozpin put his head in his hands, wiping off whatever imaginary mask he had on before, and took a deep breath, saying "You cannot put this weight on my shoulders. You must know that I cannot, in good conscience, allow either one of these outcomes. The damage in either case is unacceptable."

Naze gave him an odd snorting sound, then followed up by saying "It does not matter whether you allow it or not, one of these will occur. If you do not answer, I will handle the situation myself, just as I will the other one." At this, Naze stood. "Now, I have presented the options, and now leave you to consult who you may to come to an answer. Good evening."

As he turned to leave, Ozpin stood, anger that Ruby had never seen from the normally wise and reserved man plastered across his face. "Wait! You cannot-" Naze cut him off by saying "I assure you, Sir, you have my every sympathy, but I refuse to be the one to take this fall. Whomever makes this decision had better make it quickly, though, that little village is running out of time. And besides, you have another visitor."

He walked past Ruby, nodding his head to acknowledge her presence before stepping into the elevator and allowing the doors to slide shut. Ruby was now left alone with Ozpin, whose temper seemed to be boiling already. She couldn't back down though, and walked towards his desk. "Excuse me sir, I was wondering if I could ask you something…"

Jaune crouched in the darkness next to Pyrrha. The docks had been a bust, but this place seemed far more likely to contain what they were looking for. Both of them crept along the soot-covered ground as quietly as they could. Then, suddenly, somewhere in the darkness of the crumbling buildings and scattered bricks, something screeched.