Chapter 93. Burning Leaves

Silva POV

A week has gone by since I came to check on Weiss and put Jacques in a magic-induced coma while Willow finally divorces him. I further helped Willow out by taking care of Jacques's illegal and legal deals in Vale while Winter handled the ones in Mistral during her tour of duty on the side. Willow quickly closed Jacques's accounts to break the contracts on his legal teams to eliminate any opposition to the divorce.

So far, in a matter of weeks, Jacques will wake up and find that he has nothing to his name anymore, and he won't be considered a Schnee anymore, legally or otherwise. But back to Weiss, she moved into my castle in Vale under both my and Willow's insistence to keep her in the dark about her father's situation until the divorce goes through. Willow feels that Weiss does not need any more stress caused by Jacques until he is made harmless.

It was not hard to convince her to come to Vale because she wants to leave Atlas and her father's shadow behind to be herself. On that note, her brother Whitney was also sent to me for similar reasons by Willow. While I was hesitant at first, I looked through his mind and found he is not as bad as the canon yet, which worked in his favor. He is still an a*s but not as a big one in the canon.

Blake and Ilia needed a lot of talking to get them to tolerate the Schnee's, but I convinced them not to judge them for their father's actions. Weiss quickly got along with Coco and the rest of Team CFVY, while Whitney kept to himself for the most part. Overall, the castle has become quite lively, and with all the Huntsmen/Huntress in training living here, I have taken to setting up weekly tournaments to train them all.

The tournaments were either team, doubles, or single matches with randomized matching to keep things interesting. The prize is the right to decide what's for dinner that night which made the competition a little fierce. Now for my current situation.

I'm at Junior's club while the twins are off to get a bit of me time and keep an eye out for Yang just in case of butterfly effects causing her to show up sooner. I enjoy a low-alcohol fruit wine to keep a light buzz going while stopping myself from getting too drunk. As I am on my second bottle, I notice someone familiar talking to Junior, Cinder Fall. Well, that sobered me up quickly.

I peeked inside her mind and found out what she is up to; she is about to go after the Fall Maiden. I also learned of the new crew she has put together; first, there is Gray Ash, a Lynx Faunus with her animal feature are feline claws that she likes to coat in poison. She is short and petite with gray hair and eyes with constant heavy bags under her eyes from her insomnia. Her semblance turns her invisible, and anything and anyone she touches. She is close combat-oriented that makes use of her claws along with using poison in various forms to fight against people.

Then there are the twins, Axel and Alex Blanc, a boy and a girl pair, respectively. They both have white hair and pink eyes; Axel mainly wears white and black clothing and uses a sniper rifle that transforms into a spear. Alex wears primarily white, and gray clothing with bronze and iron accessories, and her weapon of choice is an ax that has a pile bunker function that allows her to cut more deeply into Grimm and people.

Their semblances are similar to each other; Axel's semblance makes people think random, illogical thoughts, while Alex's can drive people into a frenzy. With these two semblances working together, they cause a person to act violently and illogically to the point of even killing people near them and themselves. Those two will be a nuance later; I better take care of them during the Vytal Festival because they cause a lot of damage, and they both get a kick out of driving people insane with their semblances.

Cinder asks Junior for information about the Fall Maiden and the prominent forces here in Vale's underworld, like the White Fang and Roman Torchwich. I got a long year ahead of me with Cinder going through with Salem's plans for the Fall of Beacon so she can get the relic. I went back to drinking for the time being, and as I nursed my drink, thinking about how to ensure Pyrrha does not fight Cinder and die, the she-devil herself came up to me and said.

Cinder: I have been informed that you are a man of many talents, and that might be of help to me.

Dang it, Junior, you let your cock think for you it's little wonder Yang managed to sock you when she told you she wanted to kiss and make up. I sighed and dismissed her, hoping I don't have to deal with her.

Silva: You can't afford my services.

Cinder took a seat next to me and replied in a sultry tone.

Cinder: I'm sure we can work something out.

I sneered at her and bluntly told her.

Silva: You aren't my type.

She is power-hungry, treacherous, and a monster that only truly cares about herself. Pretty she may be, but I'm not touching her or her issues with a ten-foot pole, and she will die by my hands at the end of it all. Cinder continuously tried to negotiate for my assistance, and I repeatedly shut her down.

My good buzz is gone along with my mood, and I am seriously debating beating the living daylights out of Cinder as she does not give up and take a hint. I got out of my seat after paying for my drink, and Cinder grabbed my wrist then said with a threatening look on her face.

Cinder: We aren't done here!

I sighed and decided to test a trick with my aura I figured out a while back on her. I pulled out all of my killing intent and malice, then mixed it with my aura and made my aura flood out of my body. The floor beneath my feet cracked, and Cinder had a fearful expression as I threaten her.

Silva: Continue to annoy me, and I will make you suffer a fate worse than death.

As I ramp up my aura and killing intent, Cinder stopped breathing, and I then grabbed her face with my hand then asked her with a low growl.

Silva: Do I make myself clear?

She nodded slightly, and I let her go and head back home.

Cinder POV

What in the name of Remnant was that? As the tiger Faunus left the club, I felt myself breathe, and I rubbed the spot where he grabbed me and wondered just who he is? I never felt anything like that before, but if I have to guess what that trick was, that made me feel fear. It was likely his semblance.

I recalled what the information broker said about him, that he is strong, wealthy, and has a wide variety of skills. Plus, he has a reputation in Mistral for gathering information that nobody else can, and he likely has a high kill count to complementing it. I decided to seek him out because he could become a valuable pawn in Salem's and my plans.

However, after meeting him coincidentally at the info broker's club, I will not likely get him to do what I want without the Maiden's power backing me up. For now, I will see the White Fang before going after the Fall Maiden to get them to work for me. I better hurry before Ozpin picks up any movement against the Fall Maiden, and once I have the power, let's see if Silva Cloud will refuse me again.

Silva POV

Another week goes by, and I am checking Summer's vitals and mental state. She is almost to the point that I can forcibly wake her from her comatose state with magic. As I finished my last check-ups, I receive a call from Qrow, finally about time. As I was about to give him a piece of my mind, he shouted through my scroll in a hurry as I answer.

Qrow: TIGER, I NEED HELP! OPEN A PORTAL NOW!

I put aside my rant for now and ask him.

Silva: What kind of help?

I quickly left my secret lab head towards the medical bay in the castle just in case. He then hurriedly told me.

Qrow: GOT SOMEONE HURT BADLY AND THEY NEED HELP, HURRY!

Silva: Stand by for portal.

I opened a portal in the medical bay, and Qrow comes through carrying a tan woman with mid-length brown hair with unusual scarring on her face. I pointed to the nearest bed for him to lay her down on and demanded.

Silva: QROW, WHAT IN THE HECK IS GOING ON!?

Qrow quickly replied, taking out his scroll to make a call.

Qrow: Later! I need to make a couple of calls.

I groaned in annoyance, then focused on the girl Qrow brought in, and it took me a few moments to recognize her; it's Amber, the current Fall Maiden. I sighed and started healing her enough to keep her stable with magic. After a few moments, her breathing steadied, and her wounds closed. I then took a peek at her soul and saw that it was damaged, likely from Cinder draining her power, and my own experience in souls tells me even if I physically heal her, she will slowly die from her soul collapsing on itself from the damage done to it.

I am not going to put any serious effort into healing because, in the end, Cinder will not until she gets the Full Maiden power. I won't pity her because she was likely trained in the role of being the Fall Maiden, and she should know that Salem would target her and whoever else knows about magic and wants it for themselves.

Plus, I have no genuine interest in her, so there's that. I went to find the drunken uncle of mine to introduce him to Morgana then smack him around for not using protection or not getting neutered to prevent any surprise pregnancies. I found him just outside the medic bay talking on his scroll.

Qrow: Listen, Oz, Amber was attacked, and she is in critical condition.

I interjected, telling him some good news.

Silva: I stabilized her condition, so she should be fine and tell Ozpin that you are at the castle outside of Vale; he will know what it means.

Qrow looked at wanting to ask several questions but put it aside for now and repeated what I said to Ozpin, then hung up after informing him of what he knows about the attack. He looked at me and asked.

Qrow: You know Oz?

I nodded and then told him.

Silva: While we wait for Ozpin to show up, I need to introduce you to someone.

Qrow: Who?

Silva: Just follow me.

He shrugged and followed me to the foyer, where I told Morgana to meet us with a quick text. I had Qrow take a seat across from me as we waited for Morgana to show up, and after a few minutes, she entered the foyer and said.

Morgana: You wanted to see me, big brother?

I smiled at her, and Qrow then asked.

Qrow: Who's the kid, Tiger?

I looked at him a bit annoyed, then replied with a sly smile.

Silva: She's your kid Qrow.

Qrow just looked at me wide-eyed, trying to process the information, and Morgana then commented.

Morgana: He's too old, ugly, and smelly to be my old man, Big Brother. After all, I am far too good-looking to be related to him.

Her statement made me roar with laughter while Qrow tried to sputter a reply unsuccessfully. After I calmed my laughter, wiping tears from my eyes, and told the father, daughter pair.

Silva: I assure both of you that you are related, but if you have any doubts, we can run some DNA tests.

Qrow quietly asked Morgana.

Qrow: Kid, do you know your mother's name?

Morgana nodded and told him.

Morgana: It is, or was Fay.

Qrow grimaced and then asked her.

Qrow: Did she have black hair and eyes and own a bar?

Morgana nodded in reply, and Qrow took out his flask, then drinked from it and directed his next question at me.

Qrow: Silva, how sure are you that she is my daughter?

I sighed and told him the most significant piece of evidence about Morgana being related to him.

Silva: Morgana has the same semblance that you have, and she looks far too much like you to be a coincidence. And with her mother dead, you are her closes relative.

Qrow looked at me in shock at Morgana's semblance, then gave Morgana an apologetic and pitying look. He then told her in the fragile voice I ever heard from him.

Qrow: Kid, I'm sorry for all you had to go through.

Morgana gave him a sad smile and told him.

Morgana: It's alright, after all, I met Big Brother, and he's great.

I messed with her hair, and she quickly swatted my hand away with an annoyed look that made me chuckle. Qrow also snickered at our interaction and told me.

Qrow: Thanks Tiger, and I hate to ask this of you, but can you continue to look after Kid here.

I shrugged like it's not a big deal and told him.

Silva: Sure, but Qrow, you WILL make time to visit her or so help me; I will tar and feather you to match your namesake.

I threaten him to ensure he does remember to visit her, and I soon heard my doorbell ring.

It looks like the wizard is here—time to meet him.