28

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Jaune massaged his head as he sat up in the soft bed, silk sheets shifting around him as the headache echoed from before, when they'd come in for a landing. He could barely remember anything,just a splitting headache as they'd descended for a landing. He'd collapsed, Cinder and Emerald following him down as he fell, trying to catch him.

Now? He was in a room decorated like something he'd dreamed of once, years ago as a child, and he was alone in it. A windowless room with two large, dark brown double doors the only way out of the room.

A small note sat on the table beside the bed, both as simple as could be. The note was written on a plain white sheet of paper in bright red ink and flowing, elegant handwriting like he'd seen in a few movies. Never in real life though, and he'd never thought he'd be in a position that would ever warrant it.

'Jaune Arc, I fear an assumption I made proved far more true and relevant than I had thought. An associate in my past had a Semblance with some significance as well, which is why this room was first constructed and why an old artifact I am having brought in was created. Stay in the room, for now. It shouldn't be more than a day until you will have free reign of the grounds.

Three servants were assigned to you, if they fail to meet your demands inform a Beringel, if you can tolerate their presence. If not, leave a note outside your door. They will be removed forthwith. A replacement will be slow, however, but rest assured they will come.'

Killed, he was sure the letter meant. He doubted firing them was good enough for whoever had penned the letter.

'Your travelling companion is with us, for now. We are ensuring her loyalty to you and to us, and doing so without harming her I assure you. Your demands were accepted, and I keep my word. She will join you shortly after reading this no doubt, unharmed and with our well wishes.

You are a valuable asset, as you well know, and I see no reason to beat around that fact rather than just admit to it. Let us know what you desire, and we will endeavor to do as you ask, solong as the requests are reasonable. Your demands will be honored as best as we can manage going forward.

A Scroll has been left with this note. Contact Cinder when you are awake for updates on the situation, and anything you need.

Welcome home, Jaune.

Salem Grimmoire'

Underneath the letter was a small black Scroll, and when he opened it a single icon was on the dark grey screen. 'Contacts'. He opened it, and in it was yet another single icon. A picture of Cinder glowering at the screen and her name stenciled out beside it. He rolled his eyes tiredly, regretted the action when it sent an ache through the front of his head, and pressed the picture.

It rang twice before she picked it up, the woman on the line sounding tired, ggravated, dismissive and distracted all at once. A talent, truly. "Jaune? I only have to numbers on this Scroll, and I was sleeping, so I swear if it's you, Roman..."

"It's, uh, it's me." Jaune said quietly, rubbing at the bridge of his nose at the harsh voice, "Could you not be so loud? I feel like Nora smashed me over the head a few times."

"Are you feeling alright?" She asked after a second, the sound of sheets shifting in the background accompanied by her far quieter voice, "When we were circling to land, you passed out and started… seizing on the floor. We were all very concerned, but my Mistress told us to just lay you in your quarters."

"Her letter said she knew a few things about my Semblance, so it figures. Is Neo with you?" cinder didn't answer right away, and Jaune rubbed the back of his neck in concern, "It's just that we haven't, you know, really separated since you took me from Beacon so I-"

"I'll send a servant along with her shortly then." Cinder said quickly, a strangely brisk tone in her voice for a moment. Jaune almost wished he could be near enough to read her, to guess at how she felt. "We finished our discussions a long time ago, in actuality. We just didn't want to have her in the room with you, for fear of worsening your condition. That, too, was my Mistress' order. Your Mistress too, now, Jaune."

He swallowed nervously and sighed, "I know, Cinder. I know what I agreed to, you don't have to remind me."

"That's not my point. I'd meant to explain before, Jaune, that you need to mind yourself here. My Mistress agreed with your demands, but she won't accept disobedience." Cinder's warning tone surprised him, she almost genuinely seemed concerned for him, "I had to convince her to let you have all of them, and if you throw her generosity in her face, she'll have both our heads."

And there was what he was waiting for.

"I almost thought you were concerned for me, Cinder." He grumbled, shaking his head tiredly and looking down at his clothes. He blushed when he realized he was dressed in black cloth pajamas, lined along the seams in red. "S-Someone changed my clothes?"

"Of course, Jaune. Why would we have you rest in your armor?" She chuckled quietly, "One of your servants changed your clothing, I believe, and put your armor somewhere in your room. I'm unsure where, though." In the background, he heard her bark an order at someone, "One of my own servants will find yours and send them along with Neo in tow."

"Alright. Thanks, Cinder."

She hung up without answering, and Jaune started to wander about his 'quarters'. Though it felt greatly like he'd simply traded one prison cell for another, slightly bigger and more well lit one. He found it rather quickly, tucked into a large chest at the base of his bed. The different color and decoration told him it was a new addition, and given that it was only his armor in it, he figured that was why it had been moved in.

Having seven sisters did teach a few things about decorating, after all.

He hefted the trunk,carrying it over to the large table in the room and setting it next to a chair. Pulling out the armor's pieces, he grimaced. They were dirty, pock marked pieces of metal. Burns, scratches, stains from oil and other damages from the fight adorned it. The chest unfortunately didn't have anything in it for armor maintenance, so he started searching the room in hopes of finding something himself.

Halfway through the fruitless search, his door opened and he smiled at the familiar mischievous sense Neo gave off, before he noted the more nervous one with her. Turning, he felt her slam into his chest and throw her arms around him, nuzzling against him contently and look at the blonde woman in the maid outfit who had been with her.

"Who are you?" The blonde reminded him in a lot of ways of Yang. Long blonde hair, bright eyes even if they were blue rather than lavender, and fairly tall. After that, and her… 'assets', though? The comparisons ended rather abruptly.

"M-My name is Linda." She said timidly, hands clasped over her belly button uncomfortably and avoiding his face. He could tell she was nervous, and frightened for probably very real reasons he didn't want to look into for his sanity's sake, "I-I'm, um, one of your servants now, Sir. Do you prefer to be called Sir, or something else, or-" "Oh Oum, I'm ruining this, he's going to have me killed." "I-I'm sorry, I'm just…"

"Terrified." Jaune grunted with a sigh, trying to work an arm between himself and Neo to use as leverage to wedge her off of his chest where she'd wrapped her arms and legs around him like a koala climbed a tree, "I can tell, and I get it, but just… breathe. You're fine, okay? I'm not like everyone else here, okay?"

"You're trying to get me off you." Neo complained at him, wriggling to try to get a better grip on him slightly, "Stop doing that, it's annoying."

"You hanging off of me like some sort of tick is annoying too." He grouched angrily, giving up and reaching up to pat her head affectionately, "Are you okay? They didn't hurt you or anything, did they? Because not doing that was kind of a large part of me agreeing to come here in the end. After the, you know, kidnapping and… stuff."

"Nope, Cinder just asked me questions and stuff, then told me to wait in a room until you said for me to come. Then you did, and I did, and now I'm catching up on valuable annoying time." She grinned and he rolled his eyes again, smiling at the other woman in the room apologetically, "I thought about playing with her, but figured you wouldn't like it and left her alone."

"You wanted to…?" He gave her a look and sighed, "Well, glad you didn't, Neo. It would have upset me a good bit if you'd done anything mean."

"S-Sir?" Linda interrupted nervously, reaching a hand up to toy with her hair, "I, um, well…" "He never answered my question…" "Do you, um, need anything else, Sir?"

"My name is Jaune, call me that. Unless, you know, it'll get you in trouble." He smiled in another attempt to calm her down, and sighed for the fifteenth time when it didn't work. "Alright, sir is fine, just… Can you get me some oils and cloth so I can clean my armor? It's filthy from the fight the other day, and...Well, I didn't get to clean it."

She nodded, turning and walking away quickly enough that even someone other than Jaune could tell she was still terrified, and he sighed aggravatedly, "Is this going to be my life now? Terrifying everyone around me by association with other people around me?"

"Probably, yeah." Neo said dismissively, dropping off his torso and bouncing to the fridge, raiding for sweets he could tell. "Just kind of part of how things go in our world, Jaune. Whether you want to or not, people are going to start reacting when you enter a room now."

He nodded sadly, smiling when she pulled a tub of ice cream the size of her head out of the fridge before moving to join her.

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"I-I'm not so sure that we should do this, guys." Pyrrha murmured as they approached the main elevator of Beacon Tower, the lights dim given in the midnight hour and still dressed in their sleep clothes. "Headmaster Ozpin is a very busy man, we shouldn't-"

"We deserve to know what he has done that's causing you to wake up screaming, and alter your Semblance." Ren cut in smoothly, arms crossed over his chest and walking in front of the two girls - as much to lead them to their destination, as to ward off anyone's eyes looking at the underdressed women and to avoid his own wandering eyes - while Nora kept an arm around the redhead. "Whatever has happened, it's affecting our entire team, and we all deserve to know the truth so we can help you through it."

"Yeah, Pyrrha," Nora agreed, squeezing her shoulders warmly, "We want to help, and we can't do that without knowing what to help with."

The Mistralian Maiden nodded, chewing her lower lip nervously as Ren punched the elevator call button. After a few seconds of nothing happening, Ren hit it again. The again, and after a minute had passed fully, he hit it again and scowled, "The elevator's light isn't even coming on to say I pushed the button."

"That would be because the office is vacant, and therefore the elevator to it is locked for now. For security purposes, of course." Ozpin said brightly, stepping past the startled group and flipping open a panel on the other side of the elevator from the door before sliding his Scroll into the small slot inside. After a few seconds, a quiet 'ding' sounded and he withdrew the Scroll, smiling at the, "You may now press the button again, Mister Lie. Assuming, of course, you want to have our meeting?"

"How did you know we wanted to see you, sir?" Nora asked quietly, blinking owlishly at the old man.

"My dear, I know absolutely everything that occurs within my Academy, whether I can intervene or not. From the smallest party thrown by students, to intruders on the grounds, all things are known to me in time." He smiled widely and warmly, leaning on the cane in front of him and nodding his head behind them, "This elevator is also the one to my office rather than that one, which leads to the armory, store rooms, and the like. So you'd be pressing this button if you wanted to speak to me."

"We did want to speak to you, sir." Ren said calmly, eyes narrowed at the man in a way Nora knew conveyed his irritation and anger, "It's about Pyrrha. She said you did something but wouldn't explain it to us, and we need to-"

"Then by all means." Ozpin said, waving a hand at the door as it swung open, and watching them awkwardly board the elevator before boarding himself and pressing the 'up' arrow. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Ozpin spoke, "It is very good of you to show such concern for your team mate, you know. I am very proud of my Academy for having students that do so. It is among my greatest achievements, in my opinion."

"She's our friend, sir." Nora said, wrapping another arm around the still-frightened Nikos comfortably. "We'd do anything for our friends."

"Including Jaune, when you find out who took him and where." Ren added quietly, stepping up beside the older man and turning his head to look at him in the eyes, "When you find out where he is, we want to help save him, sir."

"And should I refuse?" he asked coyly, a small,amused smile playing across his face.

"We'll sneak aboard a Bullhead, and I'll have Nora threaten to break the pilot's legs unless he takes us and follows you." Ozpin chuckled quietly, shaking his head from side to side, and Ren opened his mouth to continue. "We will, sir, if we have to."

"Oh, I believe you quite fully, Mister Lie." Ozpin said as the door swung open and he stepped forward, "I have complete faith that you three would do anything to help your team, especially you two given your… pasts." The two stiffened slightly, and he waved their concerns away as he eased into his chair, "Be calm, I hold no student's pat against them. Least of all ones such as yours."

Pyrrha pulled away from Nora slightly, looking at the duo with concern, and Nora sighed, "We were orphaned at a young age, when the Grimm wiped out our villages. First mine, and then Ren's." She sighed sadly, playing with Pyrrha's hair idly with a hand for a second before stopping and continuing, "For a while, we had to steal to get by. I would distract them, and Ren would grab what we needed… We were criminals."

"We did what we had to, to get by. To survive." Ren argued quickly and defensively, walking forward and sitting in one of the two chairs across from the other man. Pyrrha took the other when Nora insisted, standing between her two teammates and resting a reassuring hand on the Maiden's shoulder.

"Indeed. You did as you had to." Ozpin said quietly, resting his elbows on the desk and clasping his hands so he could rest his chin on the interlaced fingers, "Which is why I was forced to ask Miss Nikos here for her assistance with a personal project, to help protect the Kingdoms and save Jaune as well."

"What do you mean?" Ren asked quietly, eyes narrowing suspiciously at the man.

"I mean that everyone does the best they can, to make a good effect on the world. As I have many times, and will do many times more." Ozpin answered cryptically, looking to Pyrrha with a raised eyebrow, "The decision is yours, my dear. I will tell them, if you wish it. But you know what that will cause."

"We can protect ourselves, sir." Nora interrupted, stepping forward slightly. "We survived for years on our own without any help. Now we're trained, and equipped, and we can do that better if we have to."

"I believe you, Miss Valkyrie." He said, surprising the old vagrants slightly. The two exchanged glances, but stayed silent, and Ozpin continued, "You're both brave, loyal teammates and friends. And strong fighters if inexperienced, besides that. However, getting involved in this… It will mean that you can never, ever lead normal lives."

"We're training to be Huntsmen and Huntresses, sir." Ren said dismissively, shrugging lightly, "Those things come with the territory, don't they?"

"Huntsmen and Huntresses can retire. At some point, at the very least."' Ozpin said quickly, sighing and leaning back in his chair, "This, though? If you step into my world, the only way you ever truly leave is in a casket."

"That was the only way I was ever going to leave anyways." Ren said dismissively with a shrug, "The Grimm took my family already. I'll gladly spend my life and give it to combat the threat they pose to doing others."

"Yeah." Nora agreed, though she sounded… a bit off, at least to Ozpin's ears.

"Then you are more than welcome on every mission, outing and fight that we undergo." Ozpin said simply, smiling sadly and shaking his head, "I can't, however, tell you what was done to Pyrrha. Except that she willingly underwent it, and that help is on the way here for her. A specialist in the fields related to how she is now and why."

"You're going to tell us what you did." Nora said sharply, taking a step forward and slamming a fist against the table hard enough to crack it and leaning forward so that her head was level to Ozpin's. "Something is wrong and we want to know what. We're not asking."

"If you think you can force me to tell you anything at all, you are sorely mistaken." Ozpin said simply, rising slowly and face hard and serious. Ren stood and opened his mouth to speak, and Ozpin held up a hand, "No, mister Lie, if she wishes to go down this road then let her. I'll teach her some manners, as well as why I am the Headmaster of Beacon Academy."

After a moment, Nora looked at Ren and the young man shook his head, so she leaned back with a grimace and working her jaw, "We deserve to know, Headmaster."

"Yes, you do. Truly." Ozpin said, sighing and walking to the close doors that led out to his balcony, staring at the distant city lights, "But it is beyond my choosing, and yours, and Pyrrha's as well. I will speak on your behalf to my colleagues, but I doubt they will accept even more additions to the information's holders." Turning to the three and smiling apologetically, he continued, "Now, it is very late and past curfew. Go to bed. The nurse will be by in the morning with sleeping medication, to help Miss Nikos."

A few minutes after they were gone, Ozpin fished a Scroll from his pocket and sighed as he dialed the number on the top of his list, "James, we have a few problems. And I need a report, has Belladonna's 'rescue' gone through successfully?"

"It went over smoothly enough, as much as it pains me to say it." James returned quickly, sounding aggravated at the mention of the White Fang's raid. "It'll be weeks before that base is back to functional capacities."

"Yes, and I understand your frustration with it, but it's necessary in order to ascertain Jaune's location and facilitate his rescue" Ozpin said sadly, shrugging in spite of the fact the other man couldn't see him, "Any indication of how long it will take until Miss Belladonna can make contact with one of your informants?"

"None whatsoever, unfortunately. Even my contacts close to their leadership didn't know where Arc was, presumably because he was kept hidden. Belladonna, however, is 'one of theirs' so I doubt they'll lock her away." James answered crisply, "Give me a few days, I'll have Winter work more closely with our agents to ensure they understand the importance of this operation. You mentioned problems?"

"Yes, I did." Ozpin said quietly, turning to return to his desk, "Our new Maiden's team members are concerned over the… side effects of the procedure she underwent."

"Is it handled, or do you need my assistance?" Ozpin sighed, taking his seat once again, and he heard James mirror the sound across the line, "I'm just offering a containment cell. We could inform them of everything, then put them in there. They'd be safe and sound, and know what's going on."

"And they'd be prisoners." Ozpin added nonchalantly, shaking his head, "No, I somehow doubt that they would take to the idea of being thrown in a cell, especially if they knew what we do."

"A sound point." James conceded after a second, the sound of shifting sheets in the background drawing a smirk from Ozpin, "Is that all? I've got important matters that need tending to."

"Yes, tell Miss Goodwitch I said hello." He chuckled brightly when the other man grunted and ended the call, sliding the Scrollback into a pocket and standing once again, this time heading towards the elevator, "I think I can finally catch some sleep myself, as well."

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James sighed, letting the scroll drop on the table beside his bed and sitting up on the hotel's bed, rubbing his eyes tiredly and cracking his neck. Across the sparsely decorated room, the bathroom door was open and light came from it, "Who was that, James?"

"Ozpin. Just wanting a quick update on Belladonna, and to inform me of a few potential snags. Nothing too serious, and nothing that requires my attention right now." He stood, feeling the cool air blowing across his chest from a fan mounted on the ceiling wherever the metal hadn't replaced his flesh.

"But didn't you just tell Ozpin that you had something important to deal with?" Glynda asked coyly, poking her head around the corner of the bathroom's door and smiling at him, "I'd hate to keep you away from any important military concerns, after all."

He smiled, stepping into the bathroom behind her and resting his hands on her hips while she messed with her hair, as she always did before bed, even though he'd told her a thousand times that she looked fine. "You know what concerns I meant, Glynda. Ozpin says hello, by the way."

She smiled coyly, nodding her head to the side and leaning back against his chest, knowing that he loved the feeling of her silk nightshirt against his chest. Even if he was too manly to get himself a silk sleeping shirt. "I do, yes, but it's fun to tease you a bit. And it adds a certain… romance to it, too, I suppose."

"We're in a hotel, hiding out together." James said, resting his chin on her shoulder and watching her try and do her hair in the mirror with an amused expression, "Is that not 'romantic' by itself?"

"Are you asking for conversation, or because romance still eludes you?" She teased, smiling lightly when he pouted and looked confused.

"Yes?"

"You can't answer a question like that with 'yes', James." She laughed, turning her head to kiss his cheek lightly, pouting cutely the entire time. "Cheater. You always ruin my games when I try to play them."

"I'm a soldier, we don't play many games." He said, shrugging and wrapping his human arm around her stomach to hold her against him,appreciating the warmth. His metal bits always left him chilly, so a warm anything was appreciated. "We're a lot more straightforward, unfortunately, so we don't do games very well."

"Oh believe me, I have figured that out." She laughed, setting the brush down and leaning fully against him, "I'm tired, James. Carry me to bed?"

"I suppose I could be convinced." She tugged on the black ribbon holding her bust in, letting it open slightly, and he smiled and picked her up, "Consider me convinced."

Glynda giggled brightly until they reached the bed, where very different sounds started echoing across the room.

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"I'm sorry, guys, I thought he might tell you if you asked him…" Pyrrha muttered, going back to her bed and sitting at the head of it, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. Nora ignored her, going to her own bed and grabbing her pillows aggressively, and Pyrrha swallowed anxiously, "Nora, I'm sorry that-"

"Not mad at you." She interrupted lightly, bundling her pillows together, "I'm steamed at Ozpin, for not just telling us what we want to know because 'ooooh, it's a secret and we're so mysterious' or something."

"At least he promised to include us wherever he can." Ren argued, sitting cross-legged on his own bed and looking aggravated. For Ren, at least, which mostly meant that he frowned slightly and looked otherwise impassive. "Assuming, of course, that he meant it when he said that, then we can relax."

"Scooch." Nora ordered, tossing her pillows behind Pyrrha and climbing across the bed, "You're sharing for tonight."

"W-Why?" She asked in surprise, a single strong arm reaching up and roping across her chest to pull her down for cuddling.

"Your nightmares. Mine always go away when I sleep with Ren, so yours should leave when I cuddle with you." Nora pulled her head against her chest and used her other hand to pull the blankets up, her other arm holding the Mistralian until she stopped trying to wriggle away and settled onto Nora's shoulder,an arm laying across the Valkyrie's stomach, "See? Comfy, right? You'll sleep better like this."

"Speaking of, we should probably try to get some sleep ourselves." Ren said quietly, and Pyrrha had to agree as she fought down a yawn. Nora's warmth was proving to be quite relaxing, along with the slight vanilla of her shampoo, and she was already nodding off. Ren flicked off the light with a small, worried smile and laid down quietly.

He and Nora took longer to fall asleep than the redhead, Nora playing with her hair idly and Ren staring at the ceiling in thought. Both were concerned and curious about her, of course, and Jaune as had done all these things to their friends? Why? What secrets could possibly mean they couldn't explain what they'd done to Pyrrha?

So may questions to keep the two of them up for hours into the night.

Pyrrha on the other hand fell asleep quickly and easily, and wouldn't wake up again for the rest of the night, cuddling against Nora's warm side, and entirely oblivious to her friend's musings and worries.

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"I hope you're certain of his obedience to our cause, given the… nature of his recruitment to it." Salem said quietly, standing in front of one of the large windows in her Hall with Cinder behind her in the pale moonlight. "It would be quite unfortunate were you to have not secured his loyalties properly before bringing him here."

"The girl, Neo. He cares for her, and there's enough evidence to suggest they've begun a relationship of some sort. Whether it's emotional or just physical, I can't hazard a guess, but he doesn't seem the type to sleep with someone like her for purely physical reasons." Cinder answered quietly, peering out the window and watching the avian Grimm circling at a distance, "He knows what we'll do to her and her friend Roman if he should betray us, or fail us."

"Is she not the one who harmed his friend and kidnapped him? What was her name?" the Queen turned to regard her servant with a raise eyebrow, having forgotten the girl's name and curious to see if Cinder remembered.

"Nikos. And yes, she was." Cinder answered quickly, eager to allay her Mistress' fears, "I doubted it at first as well, and made multiple offers of both myself and Emerald to him to see if he would take the bait and we could secure his loyalty through us. However, he went for Neo instead, and has taken great pains to include her under his demands for protection. Roman as well, presumably for her sake."

"And given how much time they spend together, and his immediate calling for her when he woke up, you feel justified in this decision?" Cinder nodded mutely, and Salem returned her gaze to the window, "A sound enough judgement, I suppose. Even if he is lying and protecting her for some other reason, we have his other friends' lives as well."

"Yes. The servants we have provided for him will assist with that further, he's the kind of man to want to protect everyone." Cinder chuckled darkly, putting a hand on her hip and cocking it slightly, "His naivete is to our benefit, in this case."

"It could be against it in others." Salem said quietly, reaching a hand out to touch the window, "But the benefits of having im in our service are immeasurable… It has been quite a long time since someone with his abilities served me. This stalemate will end now, with his help."

"Do you truly think we needed him so badly? Enough to compromise my ability to capture the Maiden's power fully?" Cinder crossed her arms across her chest, grimacing, "They've given what was left to another, I can… feel it, like an echo, every time they use the powers of the Maiden."

"Then you shall kill her,and reclaim the power for yourself, with the young man's assistance." Salem said uncaringly, turning to give the young woman a mildly concerned look. "Are you alright? I can send for Watts if you wish it,as much as he likes to antagonize you he is an accomplished doctor."

"No, my Mistress, I...I do not think this is something that can be treated." She sighed, smiling slightly at the Queen of the Grimm's rare show of concern for her wellbeing. "As for killing the Maiden… If Ozpin is as clever as you say, he may realize what could convince Jaune to stand with us."

"And if he does, or has already done so, then you fear he will use one of his friends as the recipient of the Maiden's neutered powers?" Salem asked, frowning heavily at the suggestion, "You are quite correct. If that should be the case, then capturing her is paramount."

"Of course." Cinder nodded once again, "I am already laying plans to take each of his friends, one after the other, to force his obedience. But will the Maiden not be more of a burden to have under our roof?"

"Possibly, but we've little choice." Salem sighed, shaking her head and making the decorations in her hair tinkle slightly.

"I could always arrange an accident in transit. An unfortunate event leading to her death." Cinder suggested, smiling coyly and raising an eyebrow, "It would be very easy to do, given that I have the majority of the real power behind the Maiden's abilities."

"No. I have given our new guest my word to protect his friends, even if that was through you and even if it should hamper us." Salem turned her head, smiling thinly, "And besides, the very ability we are seeking to secure with him would jeopardize that attempt."

"You're right, of course, Mistress."Cinder said submissively,bowing her head slightly and frowning, "I am sorry not to have lived up to your hopes of having the Maiden's power. If I may ask, why is Jaune's Semblance so important? You never said why you wanted it so desperately."

"And you never questioned my orders, like a good child." She said, smiling at the woman's expression, "The people of Remnant often think, foolishly, that every Semblance is unique, somehow special. This isn't true, of course, merely a colloquial statement on the nature of Semblances."

"The Schnee leap to my mind as an example." Cinder offered, "Their Semblance is hereditary, with most children in each generation manifesting the same one. Those with different abilities usually are related to the hereditary one as well."

"Exactly." Salem said, smiling and looking out the window, "His is an ability I have had the pleasure of having under me multiple times over the centuries. Useful in more ways than one, might I add. I know very well how to use a man like the helmet is delivered, we can begin training him in other aspects of his abilities and how he will serve our cause. And me personally, as well. Now go, make ready for when the helmet arrives and we can begin Jaune's… orientation, so to speak."

"Of course, Mistress."

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It didn't take long for the blonde woman, Linda, to return with the oils Jaune had asked for. Neo had accepted them for him, and had spent the last hour laying on her stomach on the table he was working on, watching him work quietly. Buffing, polishing, even restitching the padding beneath, all while humming quietly.

"I'm bored." Neo thought at him,the young man turning to see her kicking her feet lazily behind her in the air, "Let's do something fun instead of just cleaning your clothes."

"Like what?" He asked quietly, turning back and picking up a shoulder piece, "There's plenty of games over at the t.v., go play a game if you're bored." He turned the shoulder piece in his hand, working the rag along its grooves to get out the dirt and oil that had collected there, and he could sense Neo's frustration with him over something.

"I don't like video games." She complained, sighing almost audibly - a feat for her, really - and rolled off the table, standing up with a slight bounce in her step that did interesting things to her… assets, though Jaune tried to ignore it as best he could. From her amused sense that he got, she'd notice when he failed, "I wonder if there's any cards here. We could play Poker or something."

"I'm literally a psychic, Neo, and you want to play Poker of all things?" He turned and raised an eyebrow at the grinning girl, "I don't even know how to play Poker, but I know I'd win. I could just read your mind, and I'd know what cards you had. I wouldn't even have to try to do it either, it happens on its own."

Poker is a lot like fighting, Jaune. I win both by distracting my opponent." She said, using one leg to loop under a chair next to him and turn it to face him, sitting down and crossing her legs comfortably. "Distracting you wouldn't be too hard, really."

"But I'd know you were doing it." Jaune argued, setting the shoulder piece down with a clank, "How would it possibly work if I knew you were doing it?"

"If I stab a man, he knows he's being stabbed. But does that mean he can actually do anything about it?" She raised a thin eyebrow at him,shaking her head at her own question, "Knowing someone is doing something doesn't mean anything if it still works on you. I can think of a thousand examples to prove it."

"And how exactly would you distract me enough, in a way I couldn't stop it from working, to win a game about deception with a psychic?" She tilted her head to the side, smiling like a cheshire cat, and started unbuttoning her jacket fully, setting it on the table and sitting in just her leotard. Jaune blushed slightly in spite of himself, it barely covered any of her stomach or chest above her breasts and was only held on by a couple of spaghetti straps, and felt her amusement.

"See? Now you can't look at me, so all I have to do is talk to you and I'll distract you enough to win." She laughed in his head quietly, an odd feeling that sounded like memories of laughter without the context a memory had. "See? You know what I'm doing, and can't prevent me doing it."

He made a point of looking at her, and she raised an eyebrow, "I-I can ignore it, if I want to." he smirked lightly, crossing his arms at her and leaning back in his chair, "You're not that hot, to fluster me so much I can't even stand to look you in the face."

She tilted her head the other way, smile gone and looking surprised before a grin cracked across her face and a curious kind of amused feeling echoed through her mind and into his she reached up, flicking off one of the shoulders of her leotard, "Don't make it a challenge, Jaune, or I'll take you up on it. You know I will. I like to play games, and challenging ones are the best."

He was torn between calling her bluff and giving up for a few seconds, until her other hand looped under her left shoulder strap and he gave up, throwing his hands in the air, "Okay, okay, you win. Sheesh…"

"That was too easy." She complained, fixing her shoulder straps and pouting with her arms crossed, "You're boring, you know that right?"

"Sorry to hear that." He said with a chuckle, the smaller woman's pouting only intensifying, "I'm almost done, then we'll play a game or watch a movie or something. If you'll take the cleaned pieces and put them back in the trunk, I'd appreciate it."

"Sure." She answered quickly, standing up and reaching across the table in front of him to pick up his breastplate, in an obvious attempt to fluster him that he tried -and summarily failed - to ignore.

Sure enough, after about twenty minutes, the last piece was cleaned, polished, buffed and repaired as he could get it. All the armor still had some scratches where the metal itself had been torn, but at least now they were smoother and less jagged. No sooner had Jaune laid the last piece in the trunk and clipped it closed did Neo grab his arm and start pulling him to the sitting area.

"You don't have to pull me, I was coming anyways." He sighed, letting her drag him to a couch and push him down before she turned around and started looking through the movies on a shelf beside the television, "I don't care what we watch, just pick something, okay?"

She gave a thumbs up over her bare shoulder, "Yeah, sure, I was kind of going to anyways." He rolled his eyes, letting his head rest on the back of the couch behind him and staring at the ceiling. He sensed her approaching and looked up just in time to feel her drop onto his lap, leaning partially on the arm of the couch and his chest and holding the two remotes. Sh crossed her legs and laid them on the couch, looking at him innocently, "Which of these works the t.v. and which works the player, you think?"

"Um, you're in my lap." She nodded, wriggling her hips against him, and he stared at her owlishly for a few seconds with his arms raised slightly, one in the air over her legs and the other behind her."Uh, why?"

"It's comfortable." She smiled,raising an eyebrow and titling her head to the side, "Are you going to tell me you don't like a cute girl in your lap? If you want me off,just push me." She nodded after a few seconds when he didn't, and went back to staring at the remotes, irritation and… something else, an intent or a feeling he couldn't quite place echoing out of her. It tasted of frustration, but… not quite. "Now help me work the damn player."

"It's, uh, the small one. The big one controls the t.v., which is why it has the input options." He forced himself to relax, and tried to ignore the particular parts of her touching particular parts of him, and let his arms rest, one against her back and the other across her waist experimentally. When she 'felt' satisfied slightly, and when she didn't produce some sharp implement to impale him with, he assumed he was doing alright, "What did you pick?"

"Grimm Shipping Lanes." She answered,turning the television on and cycling until she saw the menu screen for the movie, "Old scary movie about Were-Beos, and the captain of a major shipping vessel is one. They're lost at sea, and every night, someone dies."

"Huh. Sounds like an interesting concept, at least." She nodded, starting the movie and snuggling against him with her head beside his, close enough he could smell the ice cream she'd eaten on her breath whenever she breathed and a kind of mix of perfume and sweat. He swallowed nervously, which his Semblance told him she noticed with a spark of amusement, and settled in to watch the movie.

About fifteen minutes in at a lull in the story, he spoke. More in an effort to distract himself than anything, "I, uh, didn't know you were into horror movies. Or old ones? Whichever it is."

"Oh, I'm not." She answered quickly, "I'm the kind of person they make into the villain of these kinds of movies, I don't much like them. And my imagination can come up with worse things, and I'll do them to, then the movies ever have."

"I know." He said quietly, thumb rubbing small circles on her back idly and unconsciously, "You're… not a very good person, Neo."

"I know. I've never pretended otherwise, Jaune. I live my life completely honestly, and always will. I tried once, pretending to be normal, and I was miserable." She answered, sighing heavily and cuddling against him a minute, she spoke to him again, "Does it… bother you? Like, does it make you uncomfortable around me?"

"Not really." He answered after a few seconds, and honestly too, "I would sense if you tried to hurt me, and as much as I am angry about what you did to Pyrrha… I get it. You enjoyed what you were doing, and that is not okay, but you had to do it. Cinder wouldn't have taken 'no' for an answer."

"No usually means she kills the person when she hears it." Neo agreed, sighing again, "For what it is worth, I'm sorry for what I did to her. I don't feel bad for it, because I'm not the kind of person who can feel that way for things, but I am sorry it upset you."

"I know." He said quietly, looking down at her and smilig thinly, "I also know you're willing to at least try and be a good person, because you're protecting Roman."

"I'm protecting you too." She returned quietly, looking back at the screen, "What would your friends think if they found out you were friends with a thing like me? And if I was hurting people all the while?"

"They'd be very upset, definitely." Jaune said with a sigh, looking back to the screen as well, "And they'd try to stop you. Probably wouldn't trust me either, which is… bad. In a lot of ways."

"Don't worry, I'll I won't start anything with your friends unless it'd be really funny, I promise." He rolled his eyes and accepted it, it was probably the best offer he'd get out of the girl.

"But I still don't understand something." He said quietly, honestly curious and unable to glean anything from her feelings to guess, "If you don't like horror movies, why'd you pick one out for us to watch?"

"So I wouldn't miss anything when we got started." She said, turning to face him again and smiling impishly, more feelings he couldn't place.

"Uh, started what, exactly?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her. She turned her head and pecked him on the jaw, and he blinked in surprise, "Um…"

Rolling her eyes, she kicked her boots off and turned more fully, sliding her legs up so she was straddling him, "I know you're dense, but come on, Jaune. I think you know what I want, you're literally a mind reader."

"W-Well,uh, I, um, I have trouble recognizing feelings I don't have a lot. Your are particularly hard to read sometimes, because you're-" She rolled her eyes, leaning in and kissing him, pulling back with a smirk, "W-Why?"

"Cuz it's fun." She answered, grabbing his hands where they were sitting on the couch and putting them on her hips, the smooth skin and her weight pressing into his lap making his heart pound in his ears. "I'm bored, this is fun for both of us if you relax and just go with it, and literally everyone is assuming we're doing this kind of stuff anyways."

"But we're not actually, you know… together." He muttered quietly, swallowing nervously and licking his lips. He could taste the damned ice cream now, not just smell it.

"And we don't have to be, if you don't want to. This is just some nice, less than innocent fun." She paused for a second and laughed, which did interesting things to her chest that didn't help Jaune's current southern problems, "Dust, this is the opposite of how this kind of thing usually goes. It's usually the guy trying to get the girl into bed. This is so… strange."

"My entire life has been strange from the moment Pyrrha activated my Aura and my Semblance manifested itself." He said with a nervous sigh, staring at her lips in spite of himself and chuckling slightly. "Sorry I'm so strange."

She leaned in and kissed him again, the taste of ice cream rushing through his head as she pushed him back, "It's fine." She thought at him, grabbing the sides of his head to hold him there, "Just relax and do what you want. I won't say no."

After a few seconds, buffeted by Neo's feelings and everything else, he gave in and pushed her onto her back, her legs wrapping around his waist and her arms his shoulders.

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