6

Coin

Author's Note:

Ugh. Glad this chapter is out of the way and actual stuff can start happening now. I reshuffled the planning meeting around a lot, so if there are any inconsistencies or the same paragraph copy pasted, let me know. I don't think there is, but I just want this to be over.

Speaking of letting me know, at time of writing I only have 3 reviews. Which is fine, but they are all from chapter one. How am I to become a better writer if people don't tell me what I'm doing wrong?

Also, I feel like I'm missing out on the 'Authentic Self Insert Fic Experience'. No harassment?

I mean, I do only have like 600 visitors, and most of them died off by the first chapter. Ah, it's horrible writing quality.

Not going to fix it though, instead I integrated it into the story. Go dazed delusional state!

Partial Maiden Yuki Tenno

The skill difference between Yang and I is very vast and very, very painful.

I have a tablet sized scroll in my hand and video playing. It's only being half watched because that's what I am thinking about.

Even channelling my Aura (but not Amber's Semblance, I need to know the difference) into the injuries, the bruises are still covering my body. Covering and poking at my mind with throbs of pain as I try to distract myself. I've never been good with pain, constant throbbing was the only kind I was good with, but Amber's body seems to be much better suited to it.

It still hurts though.

Which brings me to what else I've learned from the -ow- from the 'fight'. I'm weak. Unskilled obviously, but physically weak. During the Fall of Beacon (which needs a new name, Beacon didn't fall this timeline), I didn't do much physically, fighting mostly by magic and imagination.

Atlas medical technology is good, Aura is amazing, but Amber did spend months in a coma. My body's muscles have decayed over the months. Not enough to make me useless, thanks to bullshit soul magic, but I am effectively out of shape. I sigh, I won't need physical therapy but I will need a lot of work to bring myself up back up to Amber's peak.

The video is almost over, Ozma stepping down as headmaster and I'm just finishing up watching the recording as we sit in his office. The circle of chairs is up again, electronic devices are on but they are ready to be turned off, and privacy screens renewed. Half the chairs are full, we are waiting on Ruby and Weiss, as well as the rest of JNPR. Raven sulks in a corner, which is impressive seeing as this is a circular room, her mask off and red eyes warily watching.

Ow! I turn just as video ends and glare at Qrow. "Having fun?" He asks.

"Why'd you poke me?" He knows I'm hurt.

"Just testing." An excuse, a glance from his eyes towards Yang tells me what this is about. Yang is distracted. "Thanks." She's looking better, no longer the unsure and unstable person she was before.

She has chosen. That was the easy part. Now comes the hard part.

"Thank Blake." I know she is listening, her ears, uncovered now, are facing our way. One of them anyway. "And thank her. It's her fight, all we can do is support her."

Tai is listening and comes up to me. I put down the scroll. "You really care about them."

Hint's of a question, or a partial realisation. Is he still unsure? Or still doesn't believe the whole 'Alien watching his daughter's lives' thing? Doesn't matter.

"It was just a show." The words are dismissive. The tone is not. Yes. I do care about them. These meaningless characters from this meaningless show. I have seen them fall before, I will not see them fall again. "So do you still teach at Signal? I need to learn how to do the most basic of basics. Get a good foundation."

A change of topic, and one that he thankfully takes. A gesture, and I pass over the scroll, tablet, thing, and he pokes it. Websites... are they even called that here? Sites are brought up and bookmarked and he says that he and Qrow will take turns beating the basics into me while they are here.

He's stuck in Vale, actually. Raven's Semblance has limits, she doesn't have any people in Patch, and what remaining airships are busy shipping people out of Vale. Patch is a low priority destination, which means all rides across are put on hold.

He doesn't mind though, not with Yang hurt as she is, and Ruby still unsteady. The Grimm could attack any moment too, with how tense things are. Or more accurately, there could be another major attack. Small attacks have been happening constantly since the 'wake-party' ended, the Huntsmen stretched thin.

Beacon is half empty, the other half recovering. Students linked up with veteran Huntsmen and on missions. Everyone on full alert. Some Paladins have even purged of the Black Queen virus and sent out, manual controls only and disconnected from the network, though they are few. They're still a symbol of betrayal after all, the firepower advantages are countered by the negativity they generate.

An almost entirely new aspect of warfare. Moral, but over-exaggerated. Not just if the soldiers will break and lose disciple, but a system far more sensitive to the feeling of the people.

Taiyang passes the scroll back to me. "Thanks. I'll give these are read over. Any homework?"

Qrow chuckles at that as the elevator dings and opens up. Ruby and Weiss walk out with Team JNPR. A blur of red and I'm being hugged.

I drop the scroll. What?

I think Ruby is babbling something, but I'm too busy trying to suppress my rage at the violation, the threat to my personhood. Hugs are nice, but they are emotional triggers. They make me feel good, so I don't deserve them. They are a symbol of care, and nobody cares about me. So for someone to hug me... The only conclusion is that they are trying to manipulate me. They are hostile.

The shock of how sudden it was is helping a lot, so much so that the rage doesn't even form on my face before I push it down. I am tense though.

And then she is gone, sitting next to Yang babbling at a rate I can't keep up with. "You alright, Yuki?"

Weiss stomps out after Ruby,"She looks how I feel." only to stop and point at me, very grumpy."You owe me, understand?"

I don't argue, just nod. Still in shock from the hug, emotions still warring with me.

By the time she reaches her seat I finally manage to get out a. "What happened?"

Weiss sighs as if I'm an idiot and sits down. True, but you don't need to make it so hostile. "You gave Ruby the recipe to an entirely new form of bullet propellent. I have spent the nine hours trying out hundreds of different experiments comparing 'Whoosh' to Dust in every conceivable way, attempting to stop her long enough to eat and drink before she rushes off to do something or the other."

Oooohhhh. Weiss has been playing baby sitter so Ruby doesn't hur- "Whoosh? That's what we are calling it? That's a terrible name."

"Thank you, I'm glad-"

"IT'S NOT A TERRIBLE NAME!" Ruby yells over Weiss agreeing me. She holds up her hands and mimics a mini explosion of unrestricted burning Nitrocellulose "WHOOSH!"

"Whoosh is a great name." No fighting the hugger. She grins in victory at Weiss and goes back to telling Yang and Blake how amazing Whoosh is. I can't believe we are actually calling it that.

I frown, why was she experimenting with Whoosh and not staying and helping Yang? Unless...

Unless Yang sent her away. She didn't want Ruby to see her hurt. She couldn't stay faking her smiles and pretending everything was fine while Ruby was there, and Ruby would have spotted it anyway. So she sent her away, and probably asked Weiss to help, to distract her. Long enough for her to get herself together.

I concentrate on Ruby for a moment, and yes. There is worry under the enthusiasm, as well as relief. A faint smile takes my lips without my command, Ruby was worried, and even subconsciously she knows, she feels, something has changed. That Yang is going to be okay, that she isn't just pretending for Ruby's sake.

I turn to Weiss and mouth 'thank you' to her. A huff and expression of 'of course' is quickly covered up with 'you still owe me.'.

I chuckle and nod. Yes Weiss. I do owe you. Thank you anyway.

Well, everyone is here. Still, I wait, allow Ruby to get the majority of her excitement and worry out, let the good mood spread. I wonder what JNPR was doing. I hope Ren and Nora have come to an understanding.

Jaune looks a bit unsteady holding Pyrrha's hand. Pyrrha on the other hand (Well the same hand. Was that a pun, have I been infected?) is all soft and happy. Glowing, that's the word. Relaxed and contented with this simple action. This simple joy.

Another thing to protect.

Time to start.

I glance at Ozma and let him take control, call everyone to order. I'm not a leader, well, not a good one. So don't look to me, look to eachother and build off eachother.

Also, Ozma is an asshole, the group agrees, so he can be the one to break up the mood and start. He's on everyone's shitlist anyway.

Not mine. He attempted to kill me and I let that go. I understand Ozma, how broken and desperate he was. Idiot, you can't carry the world on your own. You're not meant to.

He clears his throat and Ruby hushes suddenly. That teacher-student relationship still in effect, I suppose. Or his centuries of skill.

We turn off our devices.

There is a sad hint to his expression though. Ruby is too young for this. 'Do you really think your children can win a war?' James said, once. Lyrics too. Too bad the world doesn't care. "Now that we are all recovered, shall we continue?"

Ruby nods and sits down, her energy reserves must come from her soul. Or sugar. Sugar Rush, that sounds like a Semblance. Eating sugar gives you super speed and endless energy, to the point that you don't need sleep or other food.

Weiss starts. "I have been talking to Blake, about making a statement."

"If it helps, I'm willing to do it. We are." Blake finishes.

Okay. First problem. "You'll have to come clean, about your heritage, about your past, about Adam, you understand." I make sure she does understand. "If it comes out that you were White-near-Red after flowery words-"

"It will be seen as disingenuous. I know." She nods in understanding and commitment. She is set. "I need to show people that there is a better way. That they can leave, peacefully."

"I... We will arrange a press conference." Ozma states, realise just how little political power he has now. As well as if he arranged it, it would be tainted by his reputation.

"Thanks for throwing yourself under the bus." I offer. No-one else will, not with what was revealed here.

He doesn't say anything, but the sentiment of self sacrifice is there. Guilt and trying to earn back his standing. Long road there, Oz. Oh, was that another pun? Yellow brick road to Oz?

"Well, I need to be there too, and Pyrrha is famous, if she wants to join. Should we make it a group thing, Heroes of Beacon?" I ask.

"No. That will send the wrong message to everyone else who isn't present." James shoots down the idea. Everyone who-

Ah. Right. That's one of my weaknesses, that I can only see 'main characters' and 'background characters'. The battle was city wide, a lot of 'nameless background NPCs' fighting, every member contributing.

I nod in acceptance of that, the path shut down. Glynda returns to the idea though. "That said, a public holiday, opening the school to the general public and display of our confidence would greatly help boost public perception." 'Especially after Ozpin.', goes unsaid.

He took credit/blame for the whole incident. Played up a negligent headmaster that allowed the Breach to happen, allowed the Virus to infect the CCTS and from there spread to the General and his ships.

Even turned it into a bit of lesson on overconfidence and staying on guard, even in times of relative peace. Not too much though, that would drive paranoia up and pull in more Grimm. Still, it has freed him from the Headmaster position, and his council seats, so he is able to head to other schools and check on their defences. Or whatever else we plan for him.

Since when did Ozma become my piece? No. Don't think like that. That is chessmaster thinking.

I have no intention of playing Chess. That said. "Ozma, what would you do? If everything were as it was. What would Salem expect?"

I don't need to be the one playing Chess with Salem. Let her focus on the board and get distracted by it.

"After stepping down." Like we have, the move already made. "To investigate the other schools, especially Haven, and look for signs of follow up attacks personally."

Do nothing, you mean. "Nothing you mean." Qrow just flat out says it.

"I..." His posture slackens. "Yes. Defensive. Nothing."

"So what are we going to do about her?" Qrow asks. "Half the 'solutions' Yuki offered didn't make sense, the other half were damm near impossible."

I snort. "A civilisation dedicated to saturation bombing Salem's position so much that she literally can't do anything is hardly 'near impossible', Qrow."

"Lot of Dust needed for that, and it couldn't last forever." True.

"One thing I have already solved, but yeah. People will ask a couple of generation down the line why they are meaninglessly bombing a place over and over for some story, nevermind a natural disaster or any other disruption. It is a solution though, unlike what we had before."

"What even is a 'Finite Thought Curve'?" I wince at Jaune's question.

"You... Don't really want to know." They do. "It's a violation of free will, on an incredibly deep level. Simply being able to consider it as a valid option shows how little free will exists."

It's so fundamentally non-Remnant that speaking it, explaining it, will hurt them. "I think we need to know." Raven pins on me. Shit.

"Okay." I take a breath and apologise in advance. There is trust issues about me, still. "Sorry about this."

"It is rooted in Determinism, the philosophical idea that the world is a machine, a complex machine, but a predictable one at that. That things like the soul, brain chemistry, memories, everything that makes a person a person, if you know the rules and the data, you can create a simulation, a perfect prediction of what choices they will make given certain inputs."

"Think of it like Math. If you know the equation, if you know the variables, you can calculate the answer in advance. And then with that answer, calculate the next and the next until you have a perfect map of everything a person is going to do."

A few seconds of silence as they try to come to terms with the idea that free will doesn't exist. Then flickers of horror. Some reject it entirely, some don't quite understand, some are beginning to have a crisis. Shit, damage control. "It's unproven! It's just a philosophy, a tool for looking at the world. I mean, Terra doesn't even have souls, so the simple existence of them here throws that all off." I lie.

No. No lying. "No. Sorry. It doesn't. I lied. The existence of a soul is just another variable to take into calculation." Stupid truth telling. Horror remains, the idea that free will, that everything you are is a machine... Well Remnant doesn't have that much time for philosophy, and something like this is so opposed to Colour and Individuality that coming up with it in the current culture that what I am saying is a 'brown note', an input that is causing harm for them to hear.

I need something else. The biggest argument against Determinism. "Terra doesn't know for sure that's how the universe works, and Quantum Mechanics has thrown Determinism into a lot of doubt. Um, Quantum Mechanics is a layer of understanding how the universe works that... It's science beyond you."

Back on task, while the idea is fresh. "A Finite Thought Curve is a trap. Understand enough of your target's mind, and assuming the universe works on or close enough on Deterministic principles, you can set up an environment where the person does the same thing over and over again in a loop. Or at least stays in their isolated box. The more you know, the deeper your understanding, the closer to an action loop you can create."

"I need a minute." Tai holds his head.

"Terra doesn't have souls?" Pyrrha is shocked.

"Not that we can tell, and we have been trying to find them for a while." Dust. "We don't have Dust, a substance that reacts to souls, to Aura. Your Aura sensors are Dust based, so how could we detect it otherwise?"

"There are... Has no one unlocked their Aura?" Ren asks.

"If there were people running around with soul forcefields and glowing when hit, I would know about it. Everyone would know about it. Our society would have developed very differently. No." With very high confidence, there might be some conspiracy or something, nothing is every absolute. No matter how much the human mind tries to oversimplify.

"I'm sorry. When I said you didn't want to know, I meant it. Please, don't ask me again if I ask you not to." I tap my head. My head, thank you Amber. "I have a head full of cognitive hazards, ideas that can hurt. Try not to think about that one, please. Like I said, it's unproven and Quantum Mechanics screws with it, fairly hard too."

"What are Quantum Mechanics?" James asks. "If that is not a hazard."

"It's more hard to explain and I don't have that good of an understanding of it. Simply put, it's not Deterministic. On the smallest scales, 'Action A' does not always create 'Result B', but rather may end up as 'Result B'. Or Results A through to Z. The universe is Probability based, not Absolute based."

I call up a sphere of ice in my hand. "If I drop this, there is a slight chance it will float upwards, or pass though the ground and fall forever until it reaches the center of the planet. Not a very high chance, in fact the odds of something like that are so low they might as well be zero, but a Non-Zero chance."

I drop it. It does not phase through the ground or float into the sky. Nor does it explode or undergo fusion or any number of things that could happen. It falls to the ground and breaks. "The smaller you get, the less 'stuff' that needs to be affected, the greater the odds are. It's also why I'm not freaking out about the existence of Magic and Souls, my best guess is that they are deeply rooted in Quantum Mechanics, or lower, and somehow affect probability in some way."

Now to try heal the damage. "Your souls. Ours, I guess seeing as I seem to have one now, are safe. Your free will is safe. I can't see how else it can be, even with the soul being another variable to account for. I don't think a Finite Thought Curve will work, not here. Terra, maybe. Not Remnant."

Okay. It's working. Give and then fight off an existential crisis, just another day for Yuki Tenno, Magical Pony Princess.

Uhg. I don't like my name. Too bad, it's fixed now. But Yuki Tenno? That means like, Snow Heavenly Ruler. How pretentious.

"My head hurts." Nora moans. "Can we talk about something else?"

"Maybe we should just send you to talk to Salem." Winter half jokes.

"Were it so easy." Need to cut Ozma some more, sorry. "She has made her choice, a little philosophy would get thrown back in my face. Ignored as she pushes on."

"She is Grimm." He tries to justify. I look to Ozma. He knows, he just doesn't want to admit it.

"You know she isn't." Sorry Ruby, as well. "As much as her body is infected, as partial as her mind is, you know she isn't. She has chosen genocide, anger and hatred over... Well everything."

"She..." He knows.

"It's why you still love her, Ozma. You know she isn't. But she does need to go." To go, AKA brutally murder the woman he still loves.

"Can we convince her to stop?" Ruby asks. I'm sorry, Ruby. Even with her world full of Grimm, even with Summer killed by her, with every loss and death this world has, she would forgive Salem. Volume 8 Ruby wouldn't.

I turn to her with a sad look. I'm sorry Ruby. "Can we? Maybe. Should we? No." Take a breath and explain. "She controls the Grimm, to a certain extent. She has been trying to kill everyone longer than recorded history. She chose to burn every civilisation she could. How easy would it be for her to order the Grimm back? To do something, anything else."

Hit her. "Every death, every broken family, every crippled injury, every war, every moment of paranoia rather than love. It's her. Either directly, or made worse by her calculated play. Could we convince her to stop? The possibility exists. Should we? Well... What kind of a person forgives a monster? Do we even have the right to do so, on behalf of every person living and dead she has hurt? Would she even try to change, or would she simply wait a generation, play the role of a remorseful person until we all died of old age?"

"It's called 'Unforgivable' for a reason." I'm sorry Ruby.

Silence hangs.

I have to kill a little bit of that niceness in you. The world isn't some show where you can walk up to a omnicidal maniac and utter a single line to make everything better. 'What's your excuse?'

Sunk cost fallacy alone will drive even a truly regretful person into stupid action. The mind-state needed to even get to the point where genocide or omnicide is possible... People don't just wake up one day and on a whim decide to kill everything, and even if they did, it takes work to get there. How many lines had to be crossed to get to the point where you are able to hold a civilisation hostage? How many lives have to be put out manually before you can automate death?

Salem jumped into the Grimmpools, sure, and got a connection to the Grimm, but she still decided to use that connection. To hone her skill to the point she can command a wave of black to wash away kingdoms. That is not a light choice.

"Ozma. How long were you dead for?" How long was Salem inert, living a broken life in the woods while people and civilisation around her grew?

"About 4000 years." That isn't an evolutionary timescale, I note.

"So, for 4000 years, a 'Grimm' Salem sat in her cottage and did nothing. Didn't go out and kill people. Correct?" This is hurting him. Hurting Ruby, still, but she needs to understand.

"Yes."

"And after that, when you two played gods, were the Grimm a problem to you?" A simple strategy, command the Grimm to attack your foes and not your allies. Simply redirect the forces, as feral as they were, at the foe. No need for fine coordination, just 'stay away' and 'go here'.

"No."

"Then suddenly they were. What changed?" I have to drive the point home.

"She did." Short simple responses. He is in pain. But we need this information, we need to commit to end her.

"How long has it been since she chose?" Though this one is more personal curiosity, but it will drive the point too.

"Over 8000 years." 4000 plus 8000, so Salem is about 12000 years old, plus however long they were together. Which probably wasn't that long.

I look around, it seems that the inner circle never got hard numbers before. Just a vague 'longer than any living memory' and 'longer than recorded history'.

Tai speaks. "How long since you found the Lamp and asked?" I guess everyone has questions.

"1400 years." A long time. A very long time. I frown.

Too long. The story of Jesus, real or not, was about 2000 years and it was deep religious text. Protected and maintained. Maidens, how old are they?

"Maidens?"

"1200 years." A fairytale that has lasted that long. Too long. And the other stories, like 'The Girl in the Tower' and 'The Witch in the Woods', how did they last so long?

Something is wrong. The fairytales shouldn't have lasted that long, especially with how fragile civilisations are on Remnant.

Unless..."Have you been telling stories, Ozma?"

"I have. It is important to keep the lessons learned, and serves as a valuable basis in case I need to bring someone in." Ah.

I relax. "Nevermind then."

"You noticed." A move in the Immortal Game. Culture bent towards weaponisation against Salem. Though, she could use that too.

I nod. I got side tracked. "Do we all agree that Salem needs to go?" I ask everyone. Mostly I ask Ruby, she still- no. She is ready to kill her.

The hero beats the villain, that's how stories go. "How?"

"Pick one from my rant, I'll try to explain what that means. If none of them work, then by then you should be thinking down the same lines. Or I start actually getting creative." Ha. How long has it been since I've had to solve a problem like this?

"Launch her into the sun." James puts forward, pulling on my rant before.

"Rocketry and technology, a simple solution." Raven snorts in disagreement from her corner. "I have a few techs, and enough understanding to kickstart the space race. We build a rocket and use it to either trap Salem in there and launch it at the sun, or" I look to Raven. "We load Raven or someone she can open a portal to and build a small station near the sun. Beat the shit out of Salem until she needs to regenerate, open the portal, and then load her into a gun on the station and shoot her at the sun."

Blinks. "Okay, how many of you even know what the sun is?"

"A big ball of light in the sky?" Nora is playing the fool, she must be. Then again, isn't that what is needed?

"A big ball... Well, I suppose you're not wrong. I don't know about here, but if it's anything like Terra it's a ball of burning gas that is over one million times the size of the planet, and very far away. Gravity, the more mass, that is 'stuff', an object has, the stronger the pull." I look to Ozma. "How fast can Salem fly? Over 1000 times the speed of falling?"

"No, no way near that fast."

"If I can open a portal, so can she."

"Big gun then. The hard bit of space flight is actually getting out of the planet's gravity well. Even the hostile environment of space is solvable, but only really a major problem because getting all the equipment up there is so difficult. If we can get a single person into space, and your portal has a long enough range, we can easily solve that."

I take a breath. "We are going to want to do this anyway to get a satellite network for communications and planetary surveying running. The CCTS is a weakness, especially with how much the world is growing to depend on it."

"You want to give it to Menagerie." Winter states. Ah, did I mention that? Well, yes.

"Yes. Jacques" I smirk. "Gele, has only gotten away with what he has because of how necessary Dust is, correct?" Yeah, thought as much. "And the Faunus have suffered for it. The idea of a Dustless alternative is potent, more so with how bloody Dust is." I nod to Blake. "It will also show there is another path. Not to destroy, but to build."

"Agreed." Thanks Ozma.

"You will share some technologies with the rest of us?" James asks.

"I'm sure the people of Menagerie will sell their tech at a discount, provided certain laws are enforced in your borders." He is taken aback by that, my sudden hostility. "I doubt Adam branded SDC across his own face." A little detail I left out in my sleep depravation and rush to tell the story. I only said 'lost his mask' rather than the ugly truth of things.

Blake winces. She knew, and didn't say anything. It wasn't tactical and I was telling my story. Hmm, one of her questions might have been a coded ask actually. "He didn't."

"My father would Never do some..." Weiss is losing steam, how much of that is habit, how much training, how much of it is her realising that yes. He would.

"My assessment of Jacques is that he cares about only one thing. Lien. Everything else he is apathetic to. Who cares if his under managers abuse and brand their workers, so long as the Dust and Lien flows."

"I know. I'm sorry." A programmed reaction then, maybe.

"We will do a full audit of the SDC." James runs his hand though his hair. "I didn't want to believe it."

Winter is falling back on military discipline too, remaining silent. She isn't as shocked. SDC... It's just a show megacorp. No wonder I don't feel the impact of their sins. Some things, like the people, I care about. Others I view with an almost clinical detachment.

The letters SDC branded across Adam's face is the worst I have seen the SDC do, Volumes 7 and 8 were more personal failing of Jacques.

Thanks Rooster Teeth for fucking up your racism analogy and plotline for me. Oh, systemic abuse and an actual valid cause for people to resort to almost terrorism? No, kill those guys. At least the people we were fighting were Red Fang, those who crossed the moral line.

I can get behind hitting SDC convoys and taking down camps to free slaves, that's freedom fighting. Bombing civilian targets? No. That's terrorism.

"So that's throwing her into the sun. I'm also all for understanding magic through science, if we can create an anti-magic spell, well that is a major advantage." I don't mention how it might be able to kill Salem and Ozma. His belief in 'divinity' is one of the few things keeping him together. It's probably the only reason he kept fighting even when the war seemed hopeless.

"What's an infinity prison?" Ruby asks next.

"A region of looped space so that no matter what direction you go, you end up in the same place. That is a high science or high magic solution though, using the Staff might work, but then Salem has portals so it might not."

"I will work on my time dilation, see if I can reverse it." Winter offers.

"We will need to do more than just, we will need to replicate it. I don't fancy condemning the entire Schnee bloodline to forever be wardens over a monster." Nods.

Hmm. "If we can accelerate her to a significant portion of the speed of light, we can use natural time dilation to freeze her." I grin. "And shoot her far away. Say, a gravitational singularity." Which they don't know what that is, probably. Why look up at the stars when there are monsters at your feet? "That's science based and space based as well."

"You said your first option was to torture her." Ren.

"Yes. It's not my first option, but is the first thing that comes to mind. I would prefer science and space than breaking who she is, even if she deserves it. And she does deserve it." I sigh. "She is immortal, but not immutable. Otherwise she would have acted the same no matter what happens. She would have never left her cabin in the woods, or never gone full Grimm Queen. Who she is, it is variable. That is technically a weakness to exploit, the same that convincing her to stop would, just on a different level and in a different direction."

"The first thing you think is to torture her." That's what he is really asking.

"Yes." Breath. Explain. Understand myself. "It's what I have been though." Weiss doesn't react, in a way that shows she is stopping her reaction. "I have been nothing but a machine. It's why I consider Penny a person, because she is more human than me."

"What happened to you?" Weiss asks. That is a bit personal, but then again, I know too much about them.

"Just bullying. Name calling and social isolation, coupled with emotional neglect. Nothing special." My smile is fake. "Then I asked why. Then I thought, 'if I didn't laugh then, then maybe they wouldn't have laughed and mocked me.'. Then I thought, 'next time, I won't laugh.'."

My fake smile falls off and nothing remains. "At age 5 a clever, maybe genius, little boy entered primary school and was attacked for behaving different. At 6, he started to die as his mind turned inwards and began to attack itself. By 12, there wasn't a little boy anymore, just a flickering spark of a soul inside a machine. At 14 that too went out."

I look at Weiss. "How would you be different if your abuser was inside your head, could feel all your thoughts, trace every emotion so it could hunt it down and snuff it out." I look to Yang and Ren. "I really am sorry."

Put the mask back on, be a 'person' again. Get back on task.

"So!" I clap. "We hit Jacques in the only place he cares about. His pocket book. I'll head over to Menagerie, if they accept me, and start a Dustless revolution. Uplift and help as much as I can, cut Adam's support out from under him."

"I'm coming with you." Thank you Blake.

"So am I. People are going to be targeting you." Yang? "And I need to pull myself together."

"Adam will be there." I clarify and Yang nods. If that is what you have chosen. It might take months or seconds once we arrive in Menagerie for him to find us, or us to find him.

Months. The team is splitting up again.

Oh. That's what this feeling is. Things are falling apart again, this time under our control but still...

The days of Beacon are over. Too soon. Again

'What did you expect, hmm? That things would go back to Volume 1?' I chastise myself. I just hoped that I would... Go on and save the world by myself, leave them here and protected.

What a strange conflict my mind has. I want them to stay and be happy and safe, play their little adventures and train. Yet I know that can't last. Beacon isn't safe. There is no going back. Nor should I carry the world by myself.

James tried to carry the world, and he broke. Ozma is already broken under it. Ruby... 'Whatever you'- She broke too. The world is just too heavy.

I know I can carry it alone, but I shouldn't.

So the peaceful and safe days of Beacon comes to an end.

Tai, he is feeling the same thing. His girls pulled into the war he wish they didn't have to be part of. Too soon. Too young. Too inexperienced.

"Ozma, play chess with Salem. Keep her distracted." I all but order. "Our biggest advantages is how singular she is, and how long you two have been playing. She might be skilled and deeply experienced, but she is only a single mind. She can't keep track of everything all at once. That, and she is expecting you to be the only player."

"She will adapt, she has done so in the past. Watts and Cinder are already valid possible opponents." So, this move has been done before. Damm. Still worth a shot.

"Cinder will be too busy trying to kill me." I just flat out say it. "My announcement I am going to Menagerie will pull her after me. Unfortunately that puts Menagerie in some level of danger." I look to Blake. "But Salem's end goal is is the death of all sentient life anyway."

She nods. "We'll try to keep the damage to a minimum."

"I will require everyone's cooperation for my moves against Salem." Ozma states. The group doesn't like it, but they have to anyway. "And we will need to present a unified front."

Present. Pretend. Pretend that nothing is wrong. The more Salem is distracted, the more time we have, the better. It won't work, not for long, but every day will count.

"James, how hardened is your software against Semblance and hacking? We are going to need to coordinate across the planet." I don't understand anything about Remnant's computer technology, which has been bugging me for the past day.

I like computers, I've studied computers. I know how to build a computer from logic gates and program a few bits of software. Though I've never done more than a the basics of logic gate to computer, I understand the principles. As well as how much work it will be.

Something I prided myself in understanding. The gap between 1's and 0's to logic. Here though? I know nothing.

Do Remnant computers even work on binary? How does Dust affect software? Hollywood hacking is nothing like real hacking, (mostly) and I am in a show. Is software really that insecure and weird here?

It's one of the things on my list called 'Learn Remnant'. A very long list. I should write it down, it's getting too long.

James speaks. "We are already going over everything we can and starting our codebase from scratch. The excuse is that the Black Queen virus infected our systems, but the truth is that many parts of the code are based on Watts' work."

"That's what made it so effective, isn't it?" I have to ask, because I don't know.

"Yes." He sighs. "I feel it will take months before we are secure again."

Hmm. Maybe I can help? No, I'll be pulled too thin as it is, and by the time I learn Remnant's computers, I'll be too late. I'll have to build in an emphasis on digital security for Menagerie though.

"What should we do?" Jaune speaks for JNPR. I want to say, stay at Beacon and train, but they won't accept that. Not while their friends are out risking their lives, not while the world is in danger.

"What do you want to do? What do you think will help? This plan, it can't just be mine. I may die or not wake up on Remnant the next time I go to sleep." 'I wish I could stay.'

"Like I said, our biggest advantage is our numbers and complexity of plans." Not that I am going to plan out things, I am far more suited to fast adaption.

"People are going to need someone to look up to." Pyrrha starts and- oh no. She hates her fame. "Heroes to inspire hope."

"Pyrrha, are you sure?" Ren notices her sacrifice as well.

She nods, and I notice she has green eyes. Green eyes and red hair, she mimics some of my RPG characters. "I'm sure. If this helps people."

A Huntress, fighting a different kind of fight, but still helping people.

Oh. That might work.

"How popular are Huntsmen and Huntresses here?" Tai laughs for a moment before remembering I'm a fucking Alien.

"Fairly." Ozma starts to explain. "There is a significant cultural understanding and following around Huntsmen."

"What about shows, games, multimedia?" I can't just be explained 'they're important'. There is so much to a culture than just the words.

"You are thinking of recreated the show's success, here?" Winter asks.

"To an extent. Everyone is, from my perspective, already primed for that. How expensive and effective would it be to have camera drones and a remote editing team, working on live streaming missions?"

"Like a news broadcast?" Ren asks.

"Like a gaming stream. Members of team JNPR will have headsets and a remote management crew. The crew will take the video streams from the drones, edit them as much as possible, and then stream it live."

"Then, audience members can send questions, have live discussions and otherwise be part of a community event during said streams. An alternate part of the crew will take prime comments or questions, and during lulls in combat or other low stress moments, dependant on skill" I nod at Pyrrha. "respond to the audience to drive engagement."

My hands come together as I lean forward and steeple my fingers. "Merch, engagement, commentators, all the things that happen during a controlled tournament in a less controlled environment." My eyes are glancing left to right rapidly again as I think. "Build a fanbase, have regular missions, "

I look to Weiss. She's thinking and starts speaking. "If I manage the business side of things, I can use my 'manager' position to convince my father to fund it." That's just the start. She and I are thinking along the same lines now. "As well as give me the necessary experience to take over the SDC."

"We tear down Father with Dustless tech and his own nature, leverage JNPR's popularity to the board, couple that with 'good ties' to Menagerie and the Blake Belladonna as a former teammate."

She smirk. "I 'rescue' the SDC from the pit it falls into and build back up as a moral and upstanding company." She turns to James, who nods. Support to overthrow the SDC empire.

Not that Dust is useless, I should make that clear. "Dust will likely always be needed, for the more exotic functions. Terra doesn't have things like hardlight or AI, at least not AI as you would understand it as. The SDC would be downsized, not destroyed. Importantly, it would no longer be the untouchable critical necessity it currently is."

Blake gives a wry laugh. "For years we have been trying to take down the SDC. Make them see." A hollow scoff at how 'easy' it is. "And you two just walk in and tear it down."

"It's hardly going to be that simple." Weiss tries to comfort Blake.

"And we are leveraging unique circumstances. Weiss and yourself, my Outsider nature, future knowledge. Although, with how simple some of my Dustless techs are, I feel like there should be some around. Has Jacques been suppressing them?"

"We will look into that." James states. "There have been rumours, rare, but still present." He turns to Winter, who nods. She will look into that into more detail along with her Semblance training.

"Later we may have JNPR making runs in different kingdoms." I look to Weiss and Blake.

Blake is the one who realises. "Have them discover and live stream the conditions of some of the mines." She grins. "That will ruin him."

"Gele. Not Schnee. He married in, subverted your grandfather's dream, sacrificed people for profit. The same tactic as Red Fang and White Fang." Titles are important. Turn them into weapons.

Ozma speaks. "This is risky, if anything were to happen to JNPR, and she will try, public moral in Huntsmen everywhere will plummet."

I speak directly to Jaune. "Then I guess JNPR will have to get very good." I look to Pyrrha and the rest of the team. "Or we find another way. And there are other ways. This is risky, as well as invasive. Ask Pyrrha how bad some fans can get, I'm sure that isn't any different from Terra."

"I'm more worried about Jaune." She speaks. Ah, the blowback from 'a weakling dating The Invincible Girl' and all that noise.

"Don't be. Yes, there will be some blowback, but." I grin at Jaune. "You haven't seen how good he gets."

He points to himself as if to ask 'me?'. I roll my eyes. "Jaune. Yes you. And that was a timeline without true proper training and only half support. With stretched resources and always moving from place to place."

The meeting ends with Ruby giving James a wad of papers, data on Whoosh (okay, that's fun to say, I admit it) on them. I remember and give advice on storage. Nitro- Whoosh. Whoosh decays over time, so tests will need to be done, but I remember that colder environments help with storage.

Weiss asks me to stay after the meeting, the others heading down.

"Conflict?" I ask. We are targeting her father, as messy as those emotions are.

"No." Weiss speaks. Winter agrees. "Just... Thank you."

"One, I haven't done anything yet. And two, if people keep stopping me to thank me then I might decide not to help." I take a breath. "But that's not why you stopped me."

"No, it's not." Weiss admits, little nervous, a little tense.

She remains silent. "Then speak, brutal and clear. Poor communication kills, and I will not see you die again."

Winter screams her sister's name in my head as Weiss falls into the hole in reality.

"How long have you been alone?" Oh. That's what this is about.

"You don't nee-" I stop at her glance. I stop, and remind myself I need to open up.

"I've had friends before. Twice. One was another outcast who betrayed me to join the social group of those who tormented us, so he might not feel the pain. I don't blame him, but it hurts. The other... Well, we drifted apart. I was too needy, to broken at that point. Others got called friends, but they were friends with the machine, the mask. Not me."

"Because there wasn't a you by then." Again we stare at eachother, the mask and the mask-less.

"Yes." I wait, and she waits for me to find the next words. "I'm not a person, Weiss. I have spent the last decade trying to scrape together what parts of my soul there are and be... something. Anything. The past two years I have gotten... something. I like writing, I think." I frown. Try another approach, use an example. "Ask me what drink I like."

"What kind of drinks do you like?" Weiss parrots back.

"Maybe I like hot chocolate? Or do I just 'like' hot chocolate because coffee and tea contain caffeine, which is a tool to be used. Do I dislike alcohol? Or do I reject it because it is a weakness, something that will dull my mind."

I hold out my hand to the side, as if to survey an array of drinks. "I may only like hot chocolate because of it's mood boosting chemicals. Is it just the process of elimination, calculation of the most optimal selection for the highest effect? So what does that leave? Water, fruit juice, soda?"

"Is water my drink of choice because it's plentiful, cheap, and has the highest rehydration ratio? Or is it because I know there is in instinctual reaction, a preference for sugar, and in some small act of rebellion decide that no, I don't like sugar drinks."

"That's just to have an opinion on something trivial. But, you notice the problem, don't you."

"Not once did you ask, 'What do I want?'" Bingo.

I tap my chest twice. "There's nothing there." Well. "Well, there was nothing there. Like I said, I've been working on me, trying to be something. A little show called RWBY helped. Then one day, I fell asleep and dreamed I was in it. I don't want to wake up, Weiss. I don't want to see you, or anyone else I almost care about get hurt."

Almost care about. Just another truth. Because if they died, then I would feel sad.

But not devastated.

She nods. Weiss has made a decision. "Well then. I guess we'll have to be friends, won't we?"

"Nice of you to offer, but I'm not sure that's even possible. I'll try though." I read her face. I read it. Like a bit of software reads a data from a drive. I like computers, I understand them. Because I am one.

Plans made. Mind set. Time to go to work. JNPR, RWBY, Qrow, Winter and I are heading to a free sparring ring, room thing. I don't know Beacon terminology. Mostly because I asked them too, but I can start now.

"Pyrrha, you know you can fly, right?" I have to ask, this is so stupid.

"I can?" She didn't know? How can she not know? She lifted the elevat- She lifted the elevator carriage in the OT, not herself. Even though herself is much less mass and therefore faster and less energy intensive to accelerate.

"Metal armor." Two words cause Pyrrha Nikos, 'The Invincible Girl', to stumble and drop her weapon.

The rest of the group stops with her for a moment as she recovers, almost all of them laughing. I'm pretty sure Yang, Qrow and Nora are laughing the loudest. I can do Nora. "Nora," She stops laughing suddenly and turns to me. "Why don't you wear a harness with some lightning Dust, ready at a button push?"

"Expensive." She replies. Almost valid, exceeepppt.

"Weiss." I call.

"Gladly." She smack Nora on the head. "Do you have any idea, any at all, who I am?" A few more smacks. Then some more. "And how cheap something as simple as a crystal is, in case of emergencies! Like, say, Beacon coming under attack from Grimm!"

Yang is laughing louder now, harder. "Weiss!" Ruby whines. Err, tries to assert her leadership. A good leader wouldn't whine, right?

We enter the room, and it is empty, like it is suppose to be. Good. "Oh, and Pyrrha. Just in case you didn't know," Someone sniggers. "with control you can enhance your strikes and each limb's manoeuvrability, as well as that of your teammates. Get good and I'll teach you how to make lightning."

That ignites a spark in her.

I clap. "Testing time. I'll do Qrow first, then the Schnees second. Winter, you will be helping me with Qrow. Weiss, can you record Ruby entering and exiting her Semblance please, as well as everyone else. Ruby, enter and exit as well as try to stay still while it's active. Maybe try vibrating."

"Blake, your clones give you impulse power, a second jump. See if you can either wrap yourself in a persistent clone that will constantly give you more speed, or separate the push from the clone and use it independently."

"Yang, two things. One, get Burn to trigger out of points other than your fists, as many as you can. And Two, get Weiss to freeze the environment around you, create a cold box. Call out how much your Semblance charges."

"Jaune, everyone here is going to be using up Aura, and testing out their Semblances, practice with yours. Oh, and please give it a better name than Aura Amp, that just sounds boring." I smirk.

"Nora, see if you can absorb and channel lightning through the ground at specific targets, like how you pump it into your weapon."

I pull out a deck of cards I snatched on the way here. "Hey Qrow, feeling lucky?"

"You missed Ren!" Nora complains.

I roll my eyes. "I trust Ren to manage himself, but if he needs 'help' then maybe get a blindfold and track everyone's movements as best as you can. Predict them too." He nods.

"We really going to be playing cards while they train?" Qrow complains.

"Cards? Qrow, this is a valuable training exercise. Now, both of you, please pull out 250 Lien and put it in the pot."

"Oh, Training exercise, Right." He sits down on the bench and pulls out his wallet. Winter is smirking. "This better be worth it."

I pull out my brand new scroll and start the list. "Rules are simple. I am writing down how much the winner of each game gets from the pot. 20 quick games, and then we divvy it up."

I call up a glass coin and flip it. Heads. Note down heads.

20 games later, and Winter is most definitely not grinning. A military person does not Grin, they smirk or smile or hold a firm but neutral expression.

"And that makes 20 to 0." Nor do they have a smug tone in their voice. Winter, through the luck of the draw, won every game.

"This is an attempt to rob me, isn't it." Qrow mutters. "Stupid Semblance."

I look over the data. 20 isn't that big a pool, but it's enough to see if the idea even has merit. Not going to plot out a thousand in depth experiments only to find the fundamental basis is flawed in a quick, ten minute one.

I pass the scroll over to Qrow. "Sorry Qrow, looks like you won't be consigned to lottery duty."

He rolls his eyes and sees how much he won. "500 to Winter."

"Those aren't dashes." I lean back and, because I'm not a military person or a Schnee, can have a smug smile. "They're minus signs."

"Minus 25 Lien to the winner. Or in other words, 25 to me." His eyes narrow. "That's a cheap trick."

I stare at him, let him come to the realisation. "A trick." His world begins to shift. "You tricked me. No, you tricked my Semblance." His voice wavers, just a bit, at the last word.

I start my explanation. "Bad Luck? Good Luck? It's all perspective." Qrow starts shaking as his world starts to collapse. "In science, it's called a Paradigm Shift, a discovery that fundamentally changes the way the community perceives the world."

"You... You think I?" Hope.

I hold up the coin I have been flipping as a distraction. "Call it."

"Heads." I flip. It's tails.

"Now. Call it, but know that I hurt Ruby if you call it correctly." I stare at him, lean down and whisper my weapon. The thing I will use to her Ruby. "She stopped smiling in the end." I will hurt her. I will tell the truth.

He nods, swallows. "Heads." I flip it.

It lands heads.

Qrow pushes himself back off the bench, stands and sways as everything he knows breaks down. "No. No. It can't be that simple."

"Oh, it gets better." I'm grinning savagely now. A problem to solve, a life to save, hurt to heal. I can help him. "Your weapon, Harbinger, it's quite complex. Very complex. Bastardising a little Terran law of engineering, 'The more complex something is, the more prone it is to failure.' Yet here you are, holding a device that should fail exceptionally often. When was the last time it did, Qrow?"

He's breathing heavily now, pulling out and staring at his weapon. It malfunctions in his hand, half mecha shifting and jamming into a bent sword. "You drink alcohol to dull your Semblance? No, it dulls your perception of the world, your focus. Then, when combat comes, you flush your body of booze with your Aura, and suddenly it seems like it's in full effect again."

Qrow falls down. Ruby takes notice. "My... You..."

"Control yourself, your perceptions. Choose and create a special false delusion in your head. Then, once you have some control, dig deeper. Find the actual mechanics of how your Semblance works, the real levers, and shed the delusional training wheels. Bend probability. Learn to control your Semblance, Qrow. Do not let it control you."

I gently toss the coin to him, and his instincts catch is while his mind reels. "Call it. Toss it. Control it."

I turn to Winter. "Sorry about your loss. Guess he just got lucky."

Qrow starts laughing, hard, in an almost deranged way. His Semblance has defined him for so long, to have even the slightest glimmer of hope. It must feel very strange. The rest of the others stop their tests and take notice as Qrow lays on his back, staring up at the glass coin in his hand.

The coin was a distraction. Something more probabilistic for Qrow to focus on, and my controlled expressions on 'how well he was doing'. Half his mind was on me and the coin, the other half on Winter and the game. Enough for his Semblance to affect the game but not enough for his focus to.

A shame that he didn't win every game, an Absolute Probability Manipulation Semblance is much better than a Relative one. Especially coupled with something like camera drones and the internet, I could do so much with that. Mine information right out of the universe.

Oh well.

What's important is that Qrow, who has Yang and Ruby coming up to him now, is finally healing. His Semblance will define him no long. "Uncle Qrow?"

She sounds worried. "Hey Qrow, remember what I said? Want another shot?" He sits up. "Call it right, and I won't."

Qrow takes a breath, Ruby is on the line now. A bit of her happiness. Something to fight for. Can he force himself this soon?

"Heads." He flips it and the glass coin turns in the air. Heads. Tails. Heads. Tails. How does probability manipulation work on a macroscopic scale? I don't know.

The coin falls. Heads. Tails. Heads. Tails.

It lands. Heads.

Qrow suddenly relaxes, his entire body tense under the sheer stress and determination of this single coin flip. Yang blinks. "You got it right?"

He jumps up and hugs them. The real stakes of this coin flip wasn't Ruby learning how she stopped smiling.

It was that he felt he could be around his nieces.