Uninvited Guests Pt. 2

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

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Her sword slips from nerveless fingers, clattering to the ground. Winter Schnee follows shortly after as she collapses to her knees, the fight going out of her. Not that anyone on her supposed team even notices.

"RUBY! NOOOOO!"

Yang Xiao-Long is much too busy raging over her sister. At seeing Ruby drop to the ground, Yang positively freaks out. The purple-eyed blonde howls as she tries to attack Salem, attempting to fight the Queen of the Grimm with everything she has. Of course, everything she has is not enough. It was never going to be enough.

The blonde's first blow catches Salem in the shoulder, ripping through the fabric of the Queen's dress, only to stop as it meets impenetrable flesh just beneath. The second blow never lands as Salem's head whips around, her red eyes narrowing in irritation. A moment later and the Grimm Queen's hand is around Yang's throat, choking her out.

"Foolish child. If you paid attention you would-!"

Before Salem can finish her sentence, Penny Polendina cuts her off. The combat android dashes in, her swords all swinging around to try and skewer the Grimm Queen once more. Winter's eyes widen as she realizes that some of Penny's swords seem to be angled so they'll go THROUGH Yang's body to hit Salem, as though the android doesn't even care if she kills an ally.

Likewise, something is off with the android's eyes. They seem far duller and far more lifeless than Winter has ever seen them before.

"Humanoid Grimm, Designation: Salem, must be destroyed. This is the Prime Directive."

Winter's mouth is dry. Ruby had clearly been Ozpin's gambit. But did that mean General Ironwood's gambit was… Penny? Another small piece of the Atlesian Specialist dies at the thought. She'd even been told not to get attached. Not to start to see Penny as a person. But even if she'd kept herself apart from the rest of the team on the ride over here, it had been hard not to listen in on their conversations and develop… pictures of all of them. Penny in particular had just wanted friends.

Now she was about to skewer through one of them for a chance at their target that Winter knew was less than none. However, before the blows can land, Salem moves again. To Winter's surprise, she takes Yang with her, inadvertently keeping the blonde from harm as she appears in a flash behind Penny and tsks.

"That's quite enough of you."

Winter isn't quite sure what Salem does. Penny's back is currently split open to allow her swords to spill forth. With her free hand, the Grimm Queen reaches in… and Penny collapses, dropping to the floor in a similar heap as Ruby. Similar… but not quite the same, Winter belatedly realizes. The way Penny drops is incredibly lifeless, though Winter knows the android probably isn't dead. Or at least, she can be repaired and turned back on, even if she's been shut off forcibly.

However… glancing over to Ruby's own motionless form, Winter realizes it's not quite as motionless as she thought. Ruby Rose is unconscious, but not dead. She's still breathing.

"Now then, as I was saying… I did not kill the girl, as much as I might have wished to. Cease your struggling."

Yang, choking on Salem's grip, either doesn't hear her or doesn't believe her, continuing to fight to no effect. The Queen of the Grimm is looking increasingly irate, and Winter is shocked to realize she hasn't actually killed ANY of them yet. That could still change at any moment however.

"Xiao-Long! Stand down! She's telling the truth, Ruby is alive!"

Winter almost doesn't recognize her own voice until she's done talking. But at least it works. Yang slowly stops struggling and looks to her sister out of the corner of her eye, confirming Ruby's breathing for herself. Once this happens, Salem waits a moment longer and then nods before almost contemptuously tossing Yang to the floor where the blonde gasps for breath.

… Like that, her team is completely disabled. Not that Winter had even tried to fight back. Not that this team was ever truly hers. Kneeling there on the floor of the Grimm Queen's Throne Room, Winter is forced to confront the results of her convictions. She'd come here with a silver-eyed girl turned into a ticking time bomb, a synthetic lifeform turned into a mindless weapon… and a young woman who should have been in fucking school, not a place like this.

She'd come to kill the Queen of the Grimm with a bunch of children. Was it any wonder then, that they'd been treated like children?

"At least one of you has some intelligence to you. Kneeling suits you, darling."

Winter freezes as inhumanly white fingers come up under her chin, forcing her to raise her head as Salem looms over her. There's a wicked smile on the Grimm Queen's face as she stares down into Winter's eyes.

"Mm… yes, you'll do nicely."

Flinching, Winter tries to be strong. She's still facing down the enemy, even if she no longer quite knows why she's here… or if any of this was ever worth it. But she tries to muster a glare all the same. It doesn't seem to have much effect, so instead she settles for rasping out a question.

"What… what do you mean?"

Humming, Salem moves Winter's head from side to side as if inspecting her for defects. For a heart-stopping moment, all sorts of ideas run through Winter's head. She didn't know how Humanoid Grimm like Salem came to be. Was the Grimm Queen going to experiment on all of them? Was she going to turn them into more of her? Was she doomed to-

"You will be my messenger. Return to Ozma and his flunkies and inform them of the failure of their little schemes. The rest of your… allies shall be staying here with me. Only you may go."

Winter's thoughts stutter to a halt. In her head, she'd been imagining all sorts of horrors being visited upon her, each making her blood turn to ice in her veins even more than the last. All of that falls away now though as Salem offers to… let her go. Unbidden, thoughts of returning to General Ironwood and Headmaster Ozpin by herself in failure rise within her mind instead.

Needless to say, Winter balks at the idea. Not because she failed, but because she can no longer look at either man the same ever again. They sent her on a suicide mission with CHILDREN. It was fine to send her on a mission where the odds were long. It was fine for her to not be expected to come back. When it was something like the fate of all of Remnant on the line, Winter didn't care if it cost her life. She would do her best to see it through. Or at least she'd thought she would.

Now, faced with the consequences of her convictions, Winter Schnee breaks.

"N-No…"

Salem, who had just been about to turn away from her, stops. The Grimm Queen looks back at her, red eyes narrowing as those pale fingers, which had nearly left Winter's chin, remain where they are.

"Excuse me? What did you say?"

It wasn't only that she didn't want to return to Ironwood and Ozpin. It was that she couldn't dare leave her team in the hands of the Grimm Queen while she got to go free. She would never be able to live with herself if she left Ruby, Yang, and even Penny behind. Not at this point.

"I can't… I won't abandon my team."

For a long moment, Salem stares at her. Then, she scoffs.

"Is that what you call this little menagerie? An untrained silver-eyed warrior, her half-sister, a robot… and you, the leader who couldn't even bring herself to fight. This is your team?"

Winter won't deny that her curiosity is piqued by Ruby's description as a silver-eyed warrior, as well as Salem's inexplicable knowledge of Ruby and Yang's relation. They didn't exactly look alike… but Salem somehow knew they were half-sisters. And yet, now was not the time to question such things.

"They are… under my charge. I cannot abandon them."

Something positively ghoulish appears on the Grimm Queen's already inhuman face.

"I offer you the chance to leave unmolested and you spurn my offer. Shall I kill you where you kneel then, you ingrate?"

The fingers under Winter's chin suddenly feel as sharp as knives. Indeed, Salem presses in and Winter feels her flesh start to give way before them, the sharp sting as she begins to bleed. Her eyes close tightly shut, and she prepares for death, only-

"W-Wait!"

Her sister's face appears in Winter's vision and she… cowardly, finds that she cannot bring herself to just let it happen. She calls out, begging the Grimm Queen for a stay of execution. Truth be told, she's a little shocked when Salem grants it, pausing and tilting her head to the side. Waiting.

"I am… more valuable to you alive."

"Oh? How so?"

Admittedly, Winter is having to think fast here. She's suddenly decided she wants to survive for Weiss' sake. But now she has to convince an inhuman monster like the Queen of the Grimm to let her live. How to do that? She's scrambling for a reason and talking completely out her ass at the moment. And yet, as she speaks and Salem inexplicably listens, Winter comes up with a reason for why she should live.

"I am… Winter Schnee. The eldest daughter of the Schnee Dust Corporation."

Salem's eyes take on a note of amusement.

"I am aware."

Winter bites her lower lip at that. If she's aware of who Winter is somehow, then she's almost certainly aware that Winter has been disowned by her father. Taking that into account makes this a bit more challenging, but not impossible to navigate.

"As you are probably also aware, my father loathes me for joining the military instead of following in his footsteps. However… I also have a mother. A mother who misses me greatly. Who turned to the bottle when I left her to get away from my father. A mother… who still technically owns the SDC."

One of the Grimm Queen's sculpted eyebrows lift at that, the only sign that the otherwise still woman is listening. Wetting her lips, Winter continues to explain.

"My mother, Willow Schnee… is the original Schnee. My father married her to join the family. Everything is in her name. She just… hasn't ever cared enough to dethrone my father or rein in his worst excesses. But she could be made to care… with the right leverage."

Winter is fibbing a little bit here. The truth was, Willow Schnee had been an alcoholic long before Winter left. However, she did like to think her mother loved her. Weiss was always talking about how much worse Willow got after Winter departed. It didn't make Winter feel good, but she'd had to get away. Nor did it make her feel good to be throwing her mother under the bus now… but better that then deprive Weiss of a sister, or Ruby, Yang and Penny of what little protection Winter might be able to give them by staying alive.

Still, it was now in Salem's hands. Oddly enough, the Grimm Queen had been downright gentle with them, compared to what she could have done. That they're all still alive… or in Penny's case, reparable… it beggared the imagination. Of course, Winter shouldn't be counting her chickens before they hatched. She still wasn't sure if she'd be allowed to live.

"… You've convinced me, Winter Schnee. Congratulations, you will no longer be allowed to leave."

Winter flushes at the amused, mocking tone of Salem's words. She's well aware that she just gave up an opportunity to flee in order to remain in this place where she would have who knew what done to her. She didn't know what sort of torture a Humanoid Grimm could come up with, but she was sure it was more than anything she personally could even conceive of.

The horrors that were likely to be visited upon her and her team were bound to be legendary. The least Winter could do for her cowardice was suffer alongside the others though.

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Jaune lets out an almost contented sigh as he slowly wakes up. Sun streaming across his face through opened curtains. He smiles for a moment, before remembering exactly what happened last before he passed out. Shooting up in bed, he awakens to the realization that… he has aura now. Honest aura. He can feel it, the light of his soul extending out from his Grimm flesh.

How the hell does that work? Jaune isn't sure, all he knows is that it took not one, not two, but three very brave women to awaken his aura. None of whom are in the room with him right now.

"Welcome back, beloved."

Jaune's eyes flicker over to the only other person in the room. Salem gives him a soft smile, though he can see the worry behind that smile. He can see the tightening around her eyes that lets him know all is not well. He immediately feels guilty over how he must have made her fret. Tch, he didn't regret having them awaken his aura, but he DID regret not consulting Salem first. The thought hadn't even crossed his mind until now. Utterly shameful.

"Salem, I'm sorry for not letting you know what we were going to attempt. But… the others?"

Salem bows her head.

"They are fine, my King. Merely exhausted. Deeply exhausted. But nothing in the form of true wounds. I imagine they will all awaken soon, just as you now have."

Jaune's breath expels from his lung as he feels a surge of relief pass through him. Salem, meanwhile, approaches somewhat cautiously. He looks at her curiously as she reaches out and touches him almost… hesitantly. Then, with greater strength. When she sees his questioning look, Salem flushes just a little bit.

"Ah… I suppose part of me was afraid I would not be able to touch you anymore. A foolish fear I suppose, I've never had any difficulties interacting with individuals with aura before."

Jaune blinks slowly at that, before furrowing his brow at his Queen.

"Wait… is your aura not awakened, Salem?"

The Grimm Queen lets out a small laugh at that.

"Aura is a more modern invention, my King. I've never had any use for it. I have my magic after all."

He sees through her immediately. She's not lying, not entirely. Aura IS a more modern invention, at least from Salem's point of view. Back in her day, when she was still human, they didn't have aura, they had magic as she still uses now. And of course… he knew for a fact awakening one's aura was an incredibly intimate affair. Salem probably hadn't ever had anyone she dared trust to do it for her… until now.

"Come here."

The Grimm Queen doesn't immediately realize what he intends as she immediately obeys and gets closer to him. When Jaune grabs her and pulls her into his lap, she lets out a startled laugh before gasping as he begins to delve into her as Boudicca Nikos did and start looking for her soul. He doesn't care how long she's been Grimm. It's there. He knows it is.

"W-Wait… Jaune… there are more pressing matters to attend to."

Jaune scoffs at Salem's deflection and keeps going. She's clearly just afraid, but he won't let her fear rule her. Not anymore.

"My King! I'm serious!"

He frowns at that, considering her for a moment. He was loath to stop without seeing this through. What could possibly be more pressing than this?

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