Returning Home

A/N: Just a reminder, new chapter here officially means new chapter over on the P atreon now, where my patrons are currently voting on the future direction of this story!

-x-X-x-

The tear in the middle of the air grows and grows, until ultimately, it stabilizes. Jaune hadn't been sure it would, but at this point he was fed up with the situation enough to give it a shot. With Summer's assistance, Raven is able to actually create a portal to Glynda Goodwitch.

Unlike when she did it for Summer, Glynda immediately notices. She's not blind for one, nor reliant on an aura-based form of 'sight' like the other woman is. Blinking rapidly, the bespectacled blonde stares through the portal at all of them, truly taken aback.

"Raven… Summer?"

Sweat rolls across Raven's brow, so Jaune doesn't bother with explanations. He points his finger at the Nikos women and Vernal, growling from underneath his Grimm mask.

"Through the portal. Now!"

Its General Boudicca's final chance to escape. She has no way of knowing what's on the other side of that portal. Likewise, she'd just watched how hard it was for Raven to make it in the first place. They couldn't possibly expect the portal to remain stable for much longer, so if she chose to take Pyrrha and run in this moment, well, there really wouldn't be anything Jaune could do about it.

But no. The General and the Lieutenant both jolt at his attention, before hurrying their way forward. The mother-daughter duo are the FIRST through the portal, to Jaune's mild consternation. Vernal follows quickly after them. Finally, he moves in with both Raven and Summer, making sure neither woman is left behind. He might have been willing to let Boudicca and Pyrrha 'escape' if they chose that moment to make a run for it… but Raven's fate was already sealed at this point. The possibility of her bearing his child was too high for him to just let her run off.

Luckily, she's too busy making the portal to even consider it, as far as he can tell. They all slip through and a moment later the portal closes behind them, leaving them all standing in a hallway in Salem's Palace, deep within the Land of Darkness.

As Glynda stares at them all, nonplussed, Jaune reaches up and removes his mask at long last with a sigh. At seeing his face, Glynda perks up a bit.

"Jaune!"

He gives her a tired smile and a nod. Before this little excursion, he would have put Summer above Glynda in his own personal esteem. He hadn't even KNOWN all the other women currently crowding the hallway. But after Summer forced his hand with the Nikos women, Jaune finds himself appreciating Glynda's unproblematic existence all the more. At least the blonde hadn't screwed him over recently in any particular way.

Of course, Glynda's little outburst does draw Boudicca's attention over, the General going wide-eyed and freezing in place as she gets a look at his true features. Jaune doesn't care though, he knew she was going to find out eventually. Better now than later. Better to rip the bandage off all at once, so to speak. To her credit, the General doesn't scream like a little girl. She does stumble a bit however, with her daughter grabbing her and holding her up.

"… told you he wasn't a robot, mother."

Jaune twitches as he hears Pyrrha mutter that under her breath to the older woman. He didn't know what that was about, but in the end it didn't matter. They were finally home.

"Glynda… you have no idea how good it is to see you."

The blonde blushes and smiles cutely at that, and Jaune just grins. The excursion is over. He can finally relax.

-x-X-x-

The connection is made and two of Remnant's most powerful men appear on each other's monitors, speaking to each other from a Kingdom away apiece.

"Ozpin. I assume you've heard the news."

"Yes… its so much worse than we could have imagined."

General Ironwood frowns at that, looking confused for a moment.

"… I'm not sure we're talking about the same thing. Yes, this does mean war is inevitable now, but it's better than it could be…"

Ozpin blinks, and then blanches. The Headmaster of Beacon punches his desk, an uncharacteristic act for one who's usually so much calmer and more composed than this. But then, just looking at him, anyone could see that he was in shambles. Without Glynda Goodwitch by his side, the Headmaster has been at wits end.

"What?! War cannot be allowed to happen! Things are worse than ever before! Salem has begun making her move! She's collecting the Maidens for some nefarious plot!"

Ironwood opens his mouth at that, and then closes it for a moment. Finally, he speaks.

"We're definitely not talking about the same thing, Ozpin. Have you not heard? Mistral's top General has been removed from play. One of their most decorated armies is in shambles, scattered to the wind and turned craven. Mistral is weak… Atlas cannot afford to pass this opportunity up."

For a long moment, Ozpin is still. When he finally speaks, it's in a deceptively quiet tone.

"… Don't be ridiculous, James. Don't you get it? This is HER doing! Glynda is DEAD, Salem has at least one of the Maidens… and you're talking about attacking Mistral! You're playing right into her hands!"

Even as stalwart and solid a man as she is, James Ironwood can't help but flinch a little when Ozpin says Glynda is dead. It was certainly assumed at this point, but it was the first time Beacon's Headmaster had said it out loud. Now though…

"Ozpin, make sense. What is Salem's plan? How would Atlas putting down Mistral's aspirations of conquest play right into Salem's hands? We can keep the war contained if we start it on our terms. And if you have Vale join us, we can make sure to limit the worst excesses of the Councilmen here in Atlas. This is a golden opportunity!"

"… The Spring Maiden was among the members of the Branwen Tribe. I suspect that the young short-haired woman in the reports is the Maiden. She's either agreed to work with Salem already, or will soon be dead, her powers transferred to someone else."

General Ironwood's eyes narrow at that.

"You believe General Boudicca's disappearance is tied to Salem then?"

"OF COURSE I DO! We've read the same reports, have we not?! A masked figure, clad from head to toe in cloth so that not a single person could see their features! Fighting someone as strong as Boudicca toe to toe… stopping her sword in its tracks! It was Salem, James! There in the flesh, moving through the Kingdoms of her own accord for the first time in CENTURIES!"

Ironwood takes this in, soaking up the pertinent facts through Ozpin's wildly uncharacteristic panic. He frowns as he tilts his head to the side.

"The masked figure was identified as a man though. And besides, why would she take Boudicca and her daughter alive like that?

"Don't be ridiculous. Salem's magics will let her disguise herself however she likes. It was her. I know it. She's on the prowl. She's hunting down the Maidens one by one. When she has all four, I don't know what she'll do… but I can promise you, it won't be good for the people of Remnant, whether they're Mistralian, Valeian, or Atlesian!"

As Ozpin has to stop to catch his breath, General Ironwood grimaces, considering what the Headmaster has told him. Finally, he hangs his head, shaking it in dismay.

"… I can't stop it, Ozpin. Look at it from the Councilors' perspective. We read them in on the existence of Salem, a bonafide Queen of the Grimm, months ago. But in all that time, she hasn't made a single move against Vale or Atlas, has she? Only our sterling reputations even get us the benefit of the doubt on this. But now? If I go to the Council of Atlas now and tell them that Salem is currently hunting down a set of four magical women who can control powers beyond their reckoning, they'll laugh me out of my rank and position… and then attack Mistral anyways."

Lifting his gaze, Ironwood looks to Ozpin imploringly.

"You have to see that after this much saber-rattling from Mistral, Atlas can't just let them back down. They won't stop just because they lost Boudicca either. They still have armies. They still have soldiers, all freshly trained and ready to be thrown into the meatgrinder. Either we attack them now when they're at their weakest, or they attack us in the next year whenever they've rallied and recouped their losses. This is it, Ozpin. This is when we must act."

"… There must be something we can do. What… what about your projects, James? Have there been any developments since last we spoke?"

The Atlesian General suddenly looks uncomfortable, fidgeting in place as he thins out his lips. For a long moment, he doesn't look like he wants to answer. But eventually, he sighs.

"There have."

Ozpin perks up, but James is quick to shut him down.

"She's not ready, Ozpin. She's barely a prototype. We've managed to make one aura-capable android. That doesn't mean she's ready to go toe to toe with Salem, or even your average Grimm for that matter, if they were still around."

Not to be deterred, Ozpin latches onto the possibility, like a dog with a bone.

"But could she be MADE ready? Could you speed up the process? Make her stronger faster?"

Ironwood looks more and more uncomfortable by the moment.

"Potentially, but-!"

"James! This is for the sake of Remnant! If we don't act soon, if we don't act NOW, then we won't have an opportunity to act later, I guarantee it!"

When the General falls silent, Ozpin, sensing weakness, presses the attack.

"Let the Council have their wars. I can even push for Vale to join Atlas in their attack. You're right. If we want to keep the casualties to a minimum, if we want to rein in the worst excesses of your Kingdom's military… Vale will need to be along for the ride. Together, Atlas and Vale will pacify Mistral, remove their ability to make war upon their neighbors, and pull out the corruption in their government at its root!"

For a moment, the old Ozpin shines through… then, he's replaced by the manic, positively frantic man once more.

"But NONE OF THAT MATTERS, James! In the long run, all that matters is stopping Salem's plans. A war between three of the four major Kingdoms will be the perfect cover! You… you get our secret weapon ready. Don't worry. We won't send her in alone."

Ironwood frowns at that, tilting his head to the side.

"What do you mean?"

Smiling thinly, a dark chuckle erupts from Ozpin's lips.

"She'll need a team, won't she? I've got two girls here in Vale in mind for the task. I'll expect you to supply the fourth on your end. We'll make a proper Hunter's Team… and send them to deal with this threat to Remnant, once and for all."

General Ironwood hesitates for a moment longer… but in the end, they have no choice. Ozpin is right, a war between Mistral, Atlas, and Vale will be the perfect cover for a strike on the heart of the Land of Darkness itself. And if it works… if they can remove the Grimm Queen from the board… then it will all have been worth it. Any sacrifice would be worth it, to remove her dark influence from their world.

"Very well, Ozpin. We'll speak again soon."

"Yes, we will."

The connection shots off. In one Kingdom, the Headmaster of Beacon Academy smiles as he calls Yang Xiao-Long up to his office, intent on inquiring about how her younger sister Ruby is doing these days. In another Kingdom, the General of Atlas' armies lets out a low sigh as he considers how exactly he's going to tell an old friend that his android daughter needs to be pushed along far further than they originally intended.

As well, he would need to find a fourth member for this little Team they were putting together. Who that would be, General Ironwood had not a clue just yet. He'd figure it out. Eventually.

-x-X-x-

In the Land of Darkness, completely unaware of the machinations of a certain immortal Headmaster and his Atlesian General stooge, Jaune snarls and rends a Beowulf limb from limb.

He's not exactly built to use the Gym that Summer liked to use whenever she worked out. He's a bit beyond a simple set of workout equipment at this point in time. Instead, his way of blowing off steam so to speak, was to go out, call a bunch of Grimm to him… and have them attack him.

It's fine. It's not like they can feel anything. The Grimm, save for him and Salem, are creatures of pure instinct. He has their memories, but they don't really have any emotions besides hate and anger to go along with them. It's why he's always had such an easier time still identifying with the human side of himself, despite the human side being so small in comparison.

Regardless, as Jaune finishes off the Beowulf, he ducks out of the way of a grab from a Beringel, the ape-like Grimm swinging one of its massive paw-like hands at him. With a sneer on his face, Jaune retaliates, his own hand smaller but moving much faster as he reaches out and rips the Beringel's face clean off of its shadowed body. Destroying the Grimm mask that constitutes its 'face' kills the Grimm itself quite easily.

Grimm after Grimm fall at his hands, and slowly but surely, he finds himself relaxing. He thinks he might even understand why Summer did what she did back in Mistral. He might not fully agree with it, but he understands. He doesn't hate her. He doesn't hate any of them. He's not even really all that angry. He's just… not sure why it should be his problem, at the end of the day. Why should it be his responsibility?

He'd gone undercover in Mistral to try and… what? Figure out the ramifications of his actions? But in doing so, he'd done even more damage, hadn't he? You didn't have to be a genius to know what would happen, now that he'd taken the Nikos women. The question was, did he do something about it? Was he going to keep on interfering? Was he-

Jaune stiffens, becoming aware of the presence of another on his Killing Field. Lips thinning out, he sends the still-standing Grimm away, clearing them from the field in an instant as he turns to regard just who's approaching him.

-x-X-x-

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