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Chapter Text

Part 1: Shadows Rise

1

Cinder blinked Awake. She was on the bullhead that would go to Roman's rescue.

She waited a moment for the Ping to wash over her. One, two. Two Loopers; one of which was certainly Ruby.

'Perfect.'

The pieces were set. The Ruby infiltrator's personality matrix had been completed a few Loops ago. The Transference tech which would allow her to store the contained Anchor on the Moon was ready for Unpocketing and launching. The third Looper might be a problem, but with every Loop that passed the risk of exposure grew.

Cinder could afford to wait no longer. She wanted to wait no longer.

She smiled. 'Goodbye, Remnant,' she thought grimly. 'Hello, godhood.'

2

Cinder glided through the halls of Salem's sanctum unseen and unheard. She hated this place, from the crimson sky and the dim purple lighting, to the people who resided here. Everything it represented she despised, the pain, the humiliation, the servitude and most of all, the weakness.

Now, at the beginning of the end, it would serve one final purpose. What came next however, would be dependent on this Salem's past and present behaviour. Everything had to be explainable in character after all.

When you wanted someone to not look your way, then you needed to make them look another. For this event, Salem and WTCH would be the perfect distraction, but it had to fit and not rouse suspicions.

Slipping through the closed door, Cinder smiled as she saw the Salem working in a lab on a black and bone device. The back of the lab did not end in a wall, but rather led out into a vast arena and cave system; it seemed she might have something she could work with already.

Shadow clones filled the lab, carefully taking note of everything Salem was doing. There could not be any mistakes, waiting a few hours to get a better understanding of the situation before acting would be a more than worthwhile objective.

Leaving the clones to their work, Cinder strode out turned to the platform overlooking the arena.

The single vast arena was divided by shifting walls into distinct areas where Grimm fought at the commands of trapped humans and Faunus. Periodically the beasts would break free, sometimes consuming the controllers while tattooed servants wove around the beasts and retrieving the remains, unmolested by the Grimm.

Her tattoo pulsed, something trying to snake into her mind and twist her perceptions and will.

"That explains a lot," Cinder growled under her breath, her voice unheard and unrecorded, as she isolated the mark and pushed it out of her mind. "I wonder what else it does this Loop... oh well. If anything it will be beneficial this time."

In any other circumstance she would have simply killed Salem, more painfully than normal for daring to manipulate her mind, but right now there was no point. 

Still…

She could easily pick out bracelets, rings, gloves or other things of bone, black and red, on the controllers. Every command making their flash red with the control devices failing rather quickly.

Which would explain why Salem was not using these things, rather relying on the tattoos for her servants that would make the Grimm ignore them.

A not uncommon variant type, though Cinder could not recall if she had seen this precise one before.

Well, time to get to work. Let's see how I can make use of you this time Salem.

Cinder smiled coldly as she rummaged through Salem's sleeping mind, effortlessly bypassing the Grimm thing's crude mental defences.

This was very much workable.

A Salem that wanted to see the world burn in person, who hated sulking in the shadows but lacked the control of the Grimm to do anything else or make them quick enough. Even better, there was her research and infrastructure to control an influence the Grimm, crude it may be.

To top it all off, Salem wanted to drown Vale with Grimm, then move on the the other kingdoms. It was her greatest dream, along with, and intertwined with, bringing down Ozpin.

It would take a week to fully rewrite her mind and leave no trace, letting each change settle while updating the infrastructure, devices, forging notes and records, then repeating.

Oh, and increasing the Grimm numbers to match with the new timeline.

Then she needed to deal with the minds of WTCH, but that was easy.

Cinder withdrew from Salem's mind, and strode out of the bed room, red dress fluttering in the drafty rooms. It is always nice to have usable pawns, Cinder mused, the black and purple decor vanishing.

Vampires parted as she walked, bowing or ducking out of the way. Ignoring her frantic and terrified citizens as they rushed around in preparation for the event to come, Cinder walked towards the central hub, where everything was coordinated.

A well-dressed Mercury bowed as she approached the large doors, "Hail Overlord Cinder, what do you desire?"

Cinder smirke coldly at the terrified cyborg. "Godhood; something I will possess by the end of the Loop should everything go according to plan. And that is why I am here: Project Omega is now officially in effect, all forces are to start preparation."

With shaking hands, the cyborg passed the message on and the codes were given, alarms blazing through the Pocket as all her minions made ready. Ignoring the chaos that had now erupted, Cinder strode past the shaking cyborg. "Now, get me the Forgery Department, Salem Industries and the Construction Department. I will meet them in my lounge in 10 minutes."

She began walking away. "Oh, and get me a glass of top quality blood," she added on a lazy whim. "I don't care much about the variety." There was no reason not to indulge herself while waiting.

Cinder cracked open an eye as an unidentified Faunus approached, bowing as he handed her a bottle of shimmering black liquid. "As you requested Overlord, a bottle of rich blood. Black Blood originating from Asura from the Soul Eater Manga Loop, enriched with-"

Cinder glared at him, just barely resisting the urge to burn the idiot. "I am not looking to get drunk. If I was I would have specified that." Still, she was thirsty… it would be a week or so at minimum until she could think about starting….

"I will take a shot glass of that, then you will get me a glass of something that will not affect my reasoning."

The cat Faunus bowed his head, hate and malice wafting off, entwining with its enticing scent as he poured a glass of the black liquid. "My apologies, Overlord Cinder, I will be right on it." With a final bow it left the room.

'Seemed fitting, it's just the same as you, filled with Madness. And yes, I know you can hear me, I just don't care. I hope you fall; I welcome the end. May you burn eternally.'

The whispered words made Cinder snort in amusement. It was not the first time that one of the various beings in her ownership had defied her. Periodic sweeps were needed to keep order among the newest, whether brought in or born among the few mortals. She really should kill it, but she really could not bring herself to care.

None of it mattered any longer.

Swirling the blood in the glass, sipping the liquid after a cursory check to ensure it was not poisoned, Cinder let herself mull over what she needed to do.

She could not kill the unAwake loppers, and as such they could wake up at any time. In that case her Ruby doppelganger could be found out, making it vital that there was an in Loop reason. The excuse of an old Bioweapon from a lost era had worked before and would work now.

Setting up such a base was simple and would mean nothing if lost.

It was also possible that as her Ascension got closer, the Gods might be able to force them to Awaken. If that was the case there were a few options. If the Gods could get a message down then all that mattered was having enough sheer force to hold them back.

If not, well then all they would know was that an invasion was in progress and Ruby was not there. The copy would have to leave before to avoid being found out in combat. Ruby could not ping, a ping with Ruby not turning up and communication of would be sending flags up everywhere.

So, when the Loopers looked for Ruby, everything must be explainable by a variant. Ruby's absence, the Distraction, what she was doing.

The latter was simple; rip out her in Loop Maiden Fragment, place it a clone, transfer the tattoo then place her Loop memories into it.

"Hail, Overlord Cinder!"

Cinder opened her eyes, watching as one of her Salems, a Sun and a random vampire, dressed in the uniform of Salem Industries, the Forgery and Construction Departments respectively.

"Good," Cinder stretched, almost purring as she eyed the fanatically loyal servants. They were the best and would do this flawlessly. "This is the Loop. As laid out and discussed before, I need your assistance in making this Loop look just like a normal variant. Now, this is the situation…"

3

"Is the vessel space worthy?"

The Salem in charge of modifying the locker started and looked over at her Mistress. "Milady," she said with a shallow bow. "I didn't expect you so suddenly. Is something wrong?"

Cinder's eyes narrowed. "There will be," she said darkly, "if you don't answer my question."

"The weapon locker's modifications were completed last Loop," the Salem said firmly. "It should be able to contain your Warframe, deploy it after a remote command, and reach the Moon intact from one launch."

"Good," Cinder nodded. "It's time. I'll get to the forest of Forever Fall and pull it out of my Pocket. We'll launch tomorrow night, once I'm in position."

The Salem looked a touch worried. "Are you certain, Milady?" she asked. "I thought you intended to wait until you had a means of cloaking the launch."

"That was your first mistake, then," Cinder said coldly. "Thinking. Cut it out. Be ready for deployment in twenty-four hours."

"Yes Ma'am," the Salem said with a sharp salute.

Cinder left her Pocket and glanced around. No one had entered the little side-room where she'd left physical space in the time she'd been gone, it seemed. Good.

She left the room and entered the warehouse proper. Roman was absent; likely out on reconnaissance, as he should be.

She pulled out a microphone and thumbed the activation button. "Situation report," she ordered lowly.

Roman's voice came across the radio with a crackle. "Everything's about as exciting over here as drying paint," he said, sounding displeased.

"Acknowledged." Cinder glanced over at a map of Vale. If all was as it should be, her Emerald and Neo clones should be nearing Roman's position any moment now. "Standby," she added. "Reinforcements are moving in."

Roman sounded like he didn't believe her. "Yeah, sure," he grumbled. "Whatever."

Cinder closed the channel and considered the map, her face set. The vampiric operatives she was sending had one task ahead of them-kidnap Ruby Rose and replace her with a previously-prepared doppelganger.

Ruby was far too powerful-and far too familiar with Loop mechanics-to be allowed to run free. She needed to be kept out of the fight. So Cinder would see to it that she was; like Odysseus on Calypso's island.

Until the Anchor was stowed away, Cinder could not act freely. But from the moment her operatives successfully took Ruby from her bed, Cinder was set to begin the operation proper, and no amount of lies and pretense could hide the truth then.

She licked her lips. It would be difficult, dangerous. But the hunt was sweet, and the prize all the sweeter. Ruby would, besides being kept out of the fray, make an excellent power source to speed up the Ascension process.

Cinder breathed deeply, once, and then left the warehouse. She needed to be well into Forever Fall by nightfall, because it would be under cover of night that she launched her Warframe into space, and she needed the facility on the moon established by the time her operatives seized Ruby.

4

It began, as these things often did, with a suspicion. It was quiet. To borrow from the cliché, too quiet. Ozpin stood at his office window, staring down at the slumbering campus with a frown. The wind blew softly just outside his reach, rustling the trees' branches with a gentle motion. And yet, something was wrong. He knew this deep in his bones, beyond any form of sense or reason. A sense of unease that had seen him through literally countless battles and trials; both as a Looper and not. He had only Awoken moments before, and yet somehow he knew that dark things stirred upon the horizon. He was certain of this.

If only he could understand why. With a sigh, he finally sent out a Ping and received a single response. At the very least, at least Ruby was Awake. Or if not Ruby, some other Anchor. Even if whatever trouble was brewing was beyond his own not inconsiderable abilities, it wouldn't be beyond salvaging.

Cinder smirked cruelly as she beheld the completed product of years of effort. It wasn't perfect, nothing could ever truly compare to the real thing under sufficient scrutiny, but it would last long enough to do the job.

"Are the implants functioning correctly?"

The trio of Ironwoods overlooking the experiment nodded. "Of course. There should be no problems before the Loop's end. And even if something goes wrong there should be plenty of advance warning on our end so we can send a retrieval unit."

Cinder smirked. "Good. Get the garden on standby. I want the Black Sin ready for transport within the hour."

As one they saluted. "Ma'am."

Ruby was booored! Nobody else except Ozpin was Awake, and he had been too busy being a worrypants worrier to hang out all day. That meant it was just her and whatever ideas she could cook up on her own for fun. She had already read all the good Variant books in the library (but only the fiction ones, all the other ones were just bleuch!), and set up a few time-delayed pranks primed for maximum effect and now she was just lounging on her bed.

"Weiss, I'm bored. Entertain me!"

"Not now Ruby. I'm writing a letter to my father and I don't want to be disturbed," the Unawake heiress replied irritably.

"Yang?"

"Sorry sis. I'm gonna take my bike for a ride," Yang replied, helmet in hand as she opened the door.

Ruby perked up. "Ooh! I'll come with you!"

"Nuh uh! You know the rules. Dad said I'm not allowed to let you on my bike after the last time." Yang answered seriously.

Gripping her sister's shirt, Ruby unleashed her most devastating weapon. Puppy dog pout! "But Yaannng! I was totally fine, my Semblance protected me."

Yang snorted. "Quit it with the eyes Rubes, not gonna work. And sure, your Semblance protected you, but dad nearly had a heart attack when you jumped off the back because you wanted to chase down a Nevermore."

"I was eight!" Ruby countered.

"And now you're fifteen, but if you saw another Nevermore I bet you'd do it all over again," Yang responded.

"But, they're evil! Evil birds! That's almost forty percent as bad as evil bunnies!"

"Bunnies?" Weiss interjected.

"Don't underestimate the bunnies Weiss. They are adorable little balls of death and despair," Ruby said knowingly.

Weiss gave her a bland look. "Right."

"Aaand on that note... bye!" Yang said, as she slipped out the door.

"Wha—Yang! Take me with you!" Ruby shouted down the hall, only for Yang to wave as she turned the corner.

"Noooo! Curse you bunnies! Foiled once again!"

Weiss slammed her head against the desk. "This is supposed to be our team leader. What in the world was Ozpin thinking?"

"Situation report."

Roman scowled but pressed the lapel microphone twice. The White Fang were a bunch of fanatics, but the pay was good at least. "Everything's about as exciting over here as drying paint."

"Acknowledged. Standby, reinforcements are moving in."

Reinforcements? Giving the mic a dubious look he sighed. "Yeah sure. Whatever."

A soft pattering of footsteps sounded from behind him and he jumped, whirling around with Melodic Cudgel at the ready. Only to drop it in stunned disbelief.

"Wha?"

Two of the figures glanced over him dismissively before, with a gesture from one of the lead figure in the Nevermore mask, leapt over the edge and promptly vanished into a swirling gash in the air. Stumbling over to the side of the building he looked down at where his partner stood silent vigil, before turning back to the spot where the five-woman squadron of raiders, or White Fang, or whatever had disappeared. "Right. You know what. I'm not getting paid enough to deal with this shit. Hey! Neo! Grab whatever you're keeping and let's go. We're bailing."

Neo blinked curiously up at him, before shrugging and heading inside.

"The hell have I gotten us into?"

Sighing, Ruby stepped out of the bathroom with a towel draped across her shoulder. "All yours Blake."

The secret Faunus looked up from her book with a nod. "Thanks."

All told it had been a pretty standard day. Nothing really interesting besides the fact that she had had to disable her Cardin Pie Trap after it turned out this version of him was a pretty decent guy. Stretching her arms over her head, she yawned loudly. "Alright. That's enough for today. I'm hitting the hay."

"Aren't you going to do your homework?" Weiss asked curiously, much more subdued after her talk with Professor Port.

"Nah, I already took care of it," she answered. Technically true, even if only because she had copies.

"What? Really? When did you have time to do it?" Weiss asked skeptically.

"Oh you know, here and there."

"Ruby," Weiss demanded with narrowed eyes.

Reaching behind her she pulled one of the copies out of her Pocket and handed it to Weiss. "No really. See!"

Looking over it briefly, Weiss sighed and handed it back. "So you have. I apologize for doubting you."

Ruby rubbed her head sheepishly. "Heh, no. It's fine."

Weiss hesitated, before smiling. "For what it's worth, I think you'll make a good leader."

"Uh, thanks, you too." Crud. Stupid sleep brain, why you not think words good!

Weiss chuckled. "Good night Ruby."

"Ni—" a large yawn interrupted her. "Night Weiss."

Five figures hidden from as close to all forms of perception as possible, even those not native to Remnant, moved quickly through the halls. The lead figure directed them with hand signals just in case. Entering the assigned corridor without a sound three of them moved to stand guard while the last slipped into their target's room. Hefting a small pouch from a pocket they flung the contents into the air. The room's inhabitants, already asleep, fell into a deeper slumber; the magical dust stolen from santa's elves working quickly. Not one to take chances however, she pulled out a small rifle and fired a two second round of twenty Mercy Needles into the target.

Only then did she dare approach.

Removing the satchel on her back, she reached in and withdrew a writhing mass of thorns and vines. The plant's efforts to sink into her skin proved futile, blocked by the dragonskin gloves she wore. The same could not be said of her target, the plant growing quickly and encompassing it's victim in hundreds of pencil thin roots.

Nodding in satisfaction, she withdrew to the doorway and signaled the others. The green haired girls quickly approached and moved past her to secure the sleeping Huntress. One of the remaining women handed her a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt and she hurried into the bathroom to change. Moments later she stepped back out, her former uniform balled up and shoved into the bottom of the hamper for later disposal.

Surveying the room, empty of the three slumbering girls in their bunks, she gave a nod and climbed into the still warm bed which she claimed as her own. Satisfied at a job well done, she closed her silver eyes and willed herself to sleep.

5

Cinder watched as several of her variant Pennies operated makeshift consoles and made the last pre-flight checks. In the center of the glade was a Warframe cryopod, brought in from her Loop as one of the Lotus' Tenno, and inside the pod her vicarious body slept.

"How much longer?" she asked her lead Velvet imperiously.

"Not much, Ma'am," said the lagomorph vampire nervously. "Give it just a few more minutes. We're making the last equipment checks now; don't want to lose the Warframe."

Cinder nodded. "Let me know when you finish," she ordered. "We're low on time." Her agents would be kidnapping Ruby any moment, and while they had the equipment to keep her in suspended animation temporarily, Cinder wasn't sure she trusted Ruby not to have a countermeasure prepared. She expected she had an hour or two before the suspension failed on at least one of the Chibi-Rubies, and then it was all over.

She studied the gold-trimmed frills of her Warframe's neuroptics, her eyes darting from one Orokin ornament to another. Her fingers twitched and tapped at her thigh in a vain release of tension.

"We're cleared for launch!" the lead Velvet said.

"Begin sequence," Cinder ordered immediately.

The thrusters below the cryopod began to exude ions, powered by the jury-rigged antimatter reactor on the 'vessel's' underside. Cinder stepped back as the blast shields around the clearing rose, staring through the transparent cylinder as the cryopod began to rise, the energy of its thrust kicking up dust and flame and licking against the shield.

Her communicator rang. She thumbed it. "Cinder here," she said shortly.

"Emerald-271 reporting," said her lead infiltrator. "Target acquired and placed in suspension."

Cinder swallowed. "And the substitute?" she demanded.

"In position."

"Good," Cinder said, watching as the rocket rose above the blast shields and the canopy, the soft hum of the ion thrusters growing louder until it dominated the air. "Get the Anchor to the rendezvous and prepare to receive teleporter signal."

"Confirmed, Ma'am. En route."

"And where are Torchwick and Neopolitan?" Cinder asked. "I haven't heard from them since I deployed you."

"Haven't seen them, Ma'am," said Emerald-271, all business. "Might've bailed."

Cinder rolled her eyes. "Very well. They aren't a significant threat in any case. Carry on."

"Ma'am."

Cinder hung up and turned to the lead Velvet. "Is the Warframe on course?" she demanded.

"Yes, Ma'am," the vampiric Faunus squeaked. "It should arrive on the lunar surface in under ten minutes. It just left atmosphere and is still accelerating."

Cinder looked up at the shattered moon, high above, and smiled.

6

"Hey guys?" Yang called out, the other three members of Team RWBY turning to see her holding a piece of notepaper with a confused look. "Does anybody know some chick named Marianne?"

Ruby quickly shot over to her sister and yanked the note out of her hands. "NOPE!"

Yang pulled back, startled, "Wha? Hey! The heck Ruby?"

"Nothing. You didn't see anything." Ruby said, waving her hands and making woo noises before disappearing in a flash of rose petals.

"What in the world was that all about?" Weiss demanded, swinging her legs over the side of her bed so she could sit up straight.

Yang shrugged. "No idea. I just found that letter from this Marianne person, and Ruby apparently flipped the heck out."

Blake hmmed. "Well what did it say?"

"Uh, give me a minute. Um, sorry about the wait, something, something, uh, pulled in some favors, 'hard mode Loop', something, something, tell Glynda let's go drinking again? Then it was signed Marianne."

"Well that tells us all of nothing, now doesn't it." Weiss summed up succinctly. "Did that make any sense to anyone?"

A round of head shaking occurred, followed by a moment of silence, before Weiss spoke up again. "Do you think... maybe Ruby found herself... a girlfriend?"

"What!? Oh hell no! Did you not hear the part about drinking? No way in heck is my baby sister involved with some old lady!"

Blake clicked her tongue. "It would explain her rush to hide the evidence."

Yang turned a betrayed look at her partner. "Yeah, but, the... Oh! What the heck did it mean by 'hard mode' then huh? Explain that."

Weiss coughed delicately. "The art of eh-hm shibari is a well documented, if discreet practice among certain classes."

"Shi-what now?" Yang demanded.

"It means tying someone up in intricate knots as a form of foreplay." Blake stated bluntly. "And considering Miss Goodwitch's specific weapon is, essentially, a riding crop, Weiss may not be far off here."

Yang flushed and held a hand to her face. "I... I think I need to sit down."

Out in the hall, a certain red-haired girl snickered to herself as she listened to the conversation in the room she had just left. Idly crumpling the note she had written, she skipped off to find something sweet to eat as a reward for a job well done.

7

There was nothing quite like Unpocketing a prefabricated structure.

Cinder knew, consciously, that the building had been built—built over several Loops by her Pennies, Salems, and the other denizens of her Pocket—but watching it bloom, fully formed and staffed, out of the gold-trimmed fingertips of her Warframe, right before her eyes, was a sight to behold. Had the Orokin machine been possessed of a mouth, it would have been smiling.

And then it was done and her ferrite-rubedo palm was resting on the cool alloy of the wall. She craned her neck upward to watch as the defensive turrets rose, mass drivers extending in preparation.

She had no illusions that the other Loopers would Wake Up at some point. Marianne could not afford to lose the Remnant branch. She was fairly sure they would find this place eventually, and that these defenses would be insufficient to keep them out.

But it was all about buying time. No one roadblock could stop them, but all of them together might be just enough to slow them down until they were too late to stop her.

She circumnavigated the walls and entered the moonbase's airlock. She nodded at the Salems staffing the entry and then passed into the inner sanctum.

At her feet when she opened the door was a teleporter pad, prepared to receive the suspended form of the Anchor. In the center of the room, attached to a vast array of cords and wires, was a somatic pod based on the Tenno design.

She called it the Lotus Simulacrum—not for the Lotus who had given her a Warframe, but for an older story.

She tapped out a code on the console beside the teleporter, then cut the Transference. Her physical, human body stepped out of the shell that was her Warframe. Amber eyes scanned the room before she tapped her communicator.

"This is Cinder," she said. "Emerald-247, do you copy?"

"Copy and read," Emerald-247 responded. "Transporter has activated, Ma'am. That's you?"

"Yes," Cinder said. "You may transmit the package."

"Yes, Ma'am," the Emerald agreed, and the teleporter flared blue.

There was Ruby Rose, lying still, a strange, alien plant growth bound to the nape of her neck. The Black Sin, a hybrid plant derived from the Sinning Tree of the Yu Yu Hakusho Loops and the Black Mercy of one of the DC superhero Loops, which Cinder had herself designed and grown for this purpose.

The plant used the Sinning Tree's mechanism of spiritual power-siphoning in combination with the Black Mercy's dream production. The latter allowed it to keep Ruby in a dream from which she would not want to wake; a dream based on her own desires. It was nearly the best in the Loops when it came to lotus-eating. The former would siphon off Ruby's aura and magic as she dreamt, powering Cinder's ascension.

Cinder leaned down and plucked up the sleeping girl, holding her as gently as a mother would her babe, careful not to touch the plant at work. She crossed the room to the somatic pod and gently laid Ruby to rest in the reclining chair within.

For a moment, the Anchor seemed to be stirring, but the pod was sealing already and as it shut, the girl lay back and stilled again, a faint smile upon her lips.

"Sleep well, Ruby Rose," Cinder cooed, a sneer crossing her features.. "Eat your lotuses and let me feed on your soul."

The lights of the energy-transmission equipment hooked up to the Lotus Simulacrum, derived from the Halo Loops' means of energy-transfer, began to glow as Ruby's latent energy, Aura, and magic were slowly siphoned away by the Black Sin. A faint ethereal glow filled the pod as the plant released the power into the compartment where it could be harvested.

Cinder turned away. The Simulacrum would hold Ruby for the entire Loop, if need be; and for every moment it did, her Ascension would take several hundred moments less. The machine would feed her pleasant dreams which simulated wakefulness, well enough that she would be unable to tell the difference.

For a moment Cinder wondered if she would feature in those dreams; if Ruby would want to spend some of her time in the Land of the Lotus-Eaters with her adoptive sister. Then she snorted and shook the thought off.

It was time to get Salem moving. Within a few hours, Vale would be under attack and she would be taking her first small steps toward godhood.

8

Cinder stretched, lounging on 'her' bed, eyes burning with a golden light as they watched orbs of power play around her fingers.

It felt glorious to finally have the full power of the Fall Maiden. The best part? Ozpin did not know that the former Maiden was dead. Salem's infiltrators masquerading as White Fang had done a superb job.

Now, after years of planning, it was almost time.

The black haired woman, rose to her feet, walking over to the window. The cool breeze of spring playing across her skin, as she watched the sun start to set, painting the sky with blood and flames.

"It is a pity I cannot tear it apart from the inside," Cinder murmured with a faint, distant regret. Her original plans had been adaptable, focusing on eroding the confidence of the populace, instilling doubt and fear. Then a final strike with the White Fang as darkness started to eclipse the light of Vale.

It would have been wonderful, watching as everything fell down around her, every plan coming to fruition.

But it was not to be, Salem had given her almost free reign to act while she worked towards more arcane goals. But Salem's plans had come to a head first, and as such, took precedence.

Pushing a lock of hair out of her eyes, Cinder felt anticipation race through her veins, a cold smirk crossing her face.

She could not wait to see Vale fall, to kill Ozpin, to dance among the flames and ashes.

Salem's victory was hers, and hers, Salem's.

In the end, the how was not important.

Cinder turned away from the window, striding through the rented hotel room, Mercury and Emerald falling into step as they stepped out into the evening streets.

"So, how much longer are we going to wait?" Mercury groused, getting a cold smile from Cinder as they headed out into the final night of Vale.

"Patience, Mercury." Amber eyes flashed in the twilight with a dark amusement. "It will be soon. Just remember, we have our target."

The room was dimly lit, glowing purple crystals providing the only illumination, revealing black wood and bone white.

Salem smiled, eyes locked onto the glowing red orb of her newest Seer breed, the senses of every Grimm in the world now open for her to peruse. It was unfortunate that the senses of most were rather poor for reconnaissance, but really that was what Seers and Controllers were for.

From a million and more eyes, a city filled with light and enticing darkness glowed. The wizard's fortress, resplendent in colours and rotting underneath.

Victory would be sweet; Ozpin would not escape this time. Dear Cinder should be enough to kill the body and her newest advancements would be enough to trap the soul.

If not well, even he could not endure the endless legions himself.

Salem felt something stirring in the depths of her mind, something that was as close to joy as she had felt in ages.

Her armies were advancing, pawns in place, knights standing by.

Soon Ruin would fall across Remnant once more, and once Oscar was dead? His toys and Guardians shattered, then, she would walk unopposed through the ruins of Vale.

"Checkmate." Salem raised a glass of crimson liquid in a mocking salute, not seeing the liquid that shone black in the dim light. "In the end, I was always going to prove you wrong, my dearest husband. You stated my experiments would destroy me, that I could not control them, and then you would destroy me."

Dark laughter filled the room as the sun set on Vale and blood ran through the streets. "And now I stand victorious at the last. And I can't wait to see you burn Ozpin."

Through the ash which filled the air and the smoke that stung his eyes, huntsman Diamond Coal bellowed his fury. The sound was lost in the cacophony as he drove his glaive into the mouth of a toad-like Grimm, the monster's tongue already dissolving behind him.

It was madness. Diamond ignored the smoking corpse, cleaving though the form of a Beowolf as he looked around the fire-lit streets.

I don't understand…

Why would the White Fang be doing this?

Walking alongside the Creatures of Grimm were the masked Faunus, slaughtering all those that they came across.

Vale falling gives them nothing.

The nightmarish memories of children, human and Faunus danced in his mind, helplessness and rage threatening to drag him under.

I can still taste the burning flesh; why won't they stop screaming?

The White Fang did not care, the words of one of the beasts ringing through his head, saying they were all traitors.

Animals, that was all Faunus were.

Maniacal laughter filled the air as one scorpion-man jumped around like a demented monkey, tearing though Grimm as they approached the main intersection. Soon they would be up with a larger group of Huntsmen to make a push to dislodge the White Fang from one of the communication studios and weapon deposits.

Diamond inwardly corrected his thoughts, rather reluctantly. They might be animals, but not all were stupid or rabid.

That said, he would be glad to be away from this madman, the sooner they split up the better.

Tyrian…

Diamond shuddered, at least he knew this Faunus was not White Fang. Plastic soldiers and pawns indeed... Thought that did beg the question, pawns of who?

9

Ozpin sipped from his coffee as he stared out the window of his office towards the forest to the north of Beacon. Out there, a massive horde of Grimm approached the school on land, flocks of Nevermore and Griffons filling the air. This was a surprisingly unusual sight for a school built as essentially part of the Kingdom of Vale's outer defenses, as most of the young Grimm in the area were killed by students in training exercises and on field trips, and most of the older Grimm were too smart to approach without a compelling reason. That was what made this invasion so odd; the Vytal Festival hadn't even started yet, and Ozpin had heard nothing of any widespread traumatic events in Vale that would have attracted this many Grimm. Perhaps this was where his feeling of disquiet upon Waking up had come from?

Ozpin sighed. It wouldn't be the first time there was a more proactive Salem who could control her Grimm more directly.

He tabled his ponderings as the elevator dinged, the professors coming to get their marching orders. When Vale was invaded in Baseline, Ozpin immediately sent Qrow and Glynda to defend the city, leaving few defenders behind in Beacon. Partly this was out of his concern for civilians, but it was partly out of practicality: Beacon was more exposed than the city, with its north and south sides bordering wild territory. (To the west was the city, and to the east the mountain range that kept Vale safe also helped keep the Grimm away from Beacon.) However, it was also a hard target, its smaller size allowing for more concentrated defenses. In Baseline, until Kevin arrived, Beacon was only directly in danger from the Grimm brought into the school by the White Fang, from the hacked Atlesian robots, and from Cinder, of course.

Here and now, none of those factors were likely to be in play, so there was even less of a reason for Ozpin to worry overmuch about Beacon's safety. He sent Glynda and the other teachers to help defend the city, leaving the defense of Beacon to its normal defenders. If worst came to worst, he could always mobilize the students in defense of the school, but for now, he saw no reason to disturb their evening. He couldn't shake the feeling that more was wrong than the obvious, but Ruby had been chiding him for worrying too much this Loop. He decided he would send a quick update on the situation to Ruby's scroll and remain observant, but otherwise he let it go for now.

Two hours later, and the foreboding feeling had only gotten worse, but he still wasn't sure why. A couple minutes ago, Qrow—who had returned to Vale, his fact-finding mission irrelevant when Ozpin's memories told him whom Amber's attacker was—had called with some surprising good news. It seemed that this Loop, the White Fang had decided to contribute to Vale's defense. Oobleck thought it might be a PR move, while Qrow more cynically suggested that their encampments outside of Vale had been overrun by the onrushing Grimm horde, so they had no choice but to help. Whatever the reason, masked Faunus of the White Fang were now standing alongside police and Huntsmen from Vale in their fight against the Grimm. Things seemed to be going well—so why was he still so unnerved?

Giving in to the temptation that had plagued him this whole Loop, Ozpin descended to the Vault to use the Relic of Knowledge stored there. Almost everything about the Relics was Loop variable—everything but their existence, their location at the four Huntsman Academies, and the fact that they contained some power. This Loop, the Relic of Knowledge worked like a Magic 8 Ball. Ozpin had tried using it to narrow down the reasons for his ominous feeling, but while the feeling "without a doubt" involved the Grimm somehow, "Yes, definitely" involved an attack on Vale, and "most likely" involved the White Fang, he hadn't been able to pin it down any further. He was sick and tired of "reply hazy try again," "ask again later," and "cannot predict now." Hopefully now that a Grimm invasion had actually started, it was later enough to get some clear answers.

Mere minutes later, a horrified Ozpin was running back to the elevator, cursing that the Vault was shielded from scroll signal this Loop.

Qrow fought against the Grimm, side-by-side with a massive White Fang Lieutenant with a chainsword as large as Qrow's sword. He knew the White Fang were supposed to be fighting the good fight now, but he still didn't trust them, so he'd made sure to position himself squarely within their ranks. This meant he could keep an eye on them, but it also meant his Semblance wouldn't act on any real allies. Qrow hooked the point of his scythe under a Boarbatusk's snout, flung it into an approaching Beowulf, and stepped back to answer his scroll. "Hey Oz, what's up? There's more Grimm than usual, but everything's going fine here."

"Can our new 'allies' hear me?" Qrow could practically hear the air quotes on "allies," and he approved.

"Nope, why?"

"The White Fang is only pretending to defend Vale!"

"That's what I've been saying, but why?"

"How better to access the kingdom's defenses than to be the ones defending them?"

Qrow looked around at the Dust-powered automated cannons and shield systems lining the massive city walls behind him. In their efforts to "protect" the city, the White Fang were swarming all over them, outnumbering the legitimate defenders by more than 2:1. "Oh, fuck."

"You must act immediately if you are to prevent a terrible tragedy!"

Flipping his scroll to speaker and sliding it in a pocket, Qrow spun suddenly, swinging his scythe into the White Fang Lieutenant's legs before he could react. As the Lieutenant was on his way down, Qrow switched his scythe the sword form, disarmed the Lieutenant with a quick swing, switched to gun form, and started firing at his prone body on the ground. The Lieutenant growled and leapt for Qrow's legs, so Qrow stabbed down at his neck, using his sword to vault over him and out of the way. He landed and, with another quick shot, finished taking down the Lieutenant's Aura. A kick to the head knocked him unconscious.

Qrow warily faced the White Fang members pointing guns at him and planned his next move. Then, the shockwave of a massive explosion knocked them all to the ground, Qrow himself barely keeping his balance. When he turned to look, he saw a massive breach in the walls. The Huntsmen, Huntresses, and less powerful defenders were clashing with the White Fang. Turning back away from the city, he could see a horde of Grimm larger than anything he'd seen before. Ozpin's frantic voice emanated from his scroll. "Qrow, what was that?"

Qrow extended his weapon back into scythe form. "You'd better get down here, Oz. What we've seen so far was just the warm-up."

You have no idea how right you are, Ozpin thought. From what Glynda had told him, they were mostly fighting common, weak variants of Grimm down by the city, but with the panic from the White Fang's betrayal drawing them in, Ozpin could see legendary Ancient Grimm approaching Beacon. The situation must have been truly dire if Qrow was calling for him to leave the Beacon students, including Qrow's nieces, to go defend Vale proper. Still, there were a few things he needed to do before leaving.

First, he tried contacting Ruby again, but again couldn't get ahold of her. Knowing Ruby, she's probably already fighting, but I'd feel much more comfortable leaving Beacon if I knew the Anchor was still here. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to look into it further. Instead, he sent out an alert explaining the situation to all the Huntsmen and Huntresses in Beacon, providing more detail than the general summons of Vale's alarms. Then, he turned his gaze back out towards the approaching Grimm horde. Yes, he was needed in the city, but with his Looping abilities, he'd have time to handle some of the larger Grimm first.

10

Weiss ran down the pandemonium filled halls of Beacon, using glyphs to propel herself above and over the panicking masses; all the while, panic and desperation clawed at her mind. Sirens blared throughout the evening sky, calling all Huntsmen and Huntresses to action. Ash and smoke covered the Beacon like a blanket, a grey haze enveloping the Kingdom as hundreds of fires raged out of control.

Glancing towards the setting sun, Weiss could not help feeling an ill omen had shown itself. Through the smog, the dying light seemed to stain the heavens with blood and fire as twilight closed in.

A single message repeating ad nauseam on her scroll: The White Fang had breached Vale's walls, torn down critical infrastructure and had the Grimm by their side. A vast sacrilege of Ancient Grimm and mythological beasts, monstrous forms from Humanity's deepest, darkest nightmares.

Blake was in the library to work on an assignment, Yang in one of the training halls sparring with another boxer. Both were heading to the courtyard to meet up with her and confront the Grimm descending upon Beacon, the same thing being done by everyone else.

But there was one major problem.

Ruby was missing and had not been seen since the morning.

Weiss could only hope she had gone hunting and would be on the way back. They simply could not afford to look for her or stay back. There was not enough time.

Weiss panted, blood running down her face and hands, making her grip slick and unsteady. The sightless eyes of a reptilian Faunus in a broken bone mask dug into her mind, her blade coming free from its chest with a sickening sucking noise.

She felt ill.

A quick glance showed the rest of the team was not much better. Yang's burnt and tattered hair lay limp with blood and ash, her right arm a mess of crudely bandaged, lacerated tissue. Red eyes burned with hate and fear. Blake was not much better, tears leaking from her eyes that burned with the same fury.

She had taken it as a personal attack upon seeing what the White Fang had been doing. Yet each beast she had felled seemed to hurt her.

"Why are they doing this?!" Weiss didn't respond to Blake's cry, peering into the smoke and darkness to try and find what would attack them the next. "What is the point?"

"I am surprised you need to ask that question, Blake."

Weiss spun on the spot, facing the direction the calm, angry voice had come from, a tall silhouette emerging from the smoke. "It is justice; the price humanity shall pay for our freedom and their crimes."

A red haired bull Faunus strode out of the haze and destruction, uncaring of the bodies strew across the pavement. Blood, drenching the roads and pavements, shone darkly with the reflected light of the flames that burnt freely across the capital.

Weiss flinched as Blake snarled, spitting a word like a curse as the figure sheathed its blood stained blade. "Adam!"

The masked figure seemed to smile, the movement sending a cold chill down Weiss's spine. It held nothing kind or warm, merely bloodlust and cruel satisfaction. "Hello my dear."

Yang grabbed Blake preventing her from running forwards in a blind charge, her bow pulled back flat on her head, like ears. Weiss shoved aside the fact Blake was a Faunus acquainted with one of, if not the, most wanted Faunus on Remnant. It was really not relevant beyond the combat considerations.

"Tell me Blake, what now? Vale has fallen and even now the other Kingdoms lie under siege. Humanity's days are numbered, as are those who stand with them."

Grimm prowled around the edges of the streets, locking them in with this… thing. With her glyphs they could likely escape, but that would leave the children in the orphanage unprotected. Yet if they stayed, they would die.

A dozen or so silhouettes came into view through the smoke, mere shadows against the flames, familiar wolf like creatures at their side.

"Soon, Menagerie will be the only place left. And we will be…"

They had no choice.

Weiss ignited the all the Dust she had, glyph hurling her, Blake and Yang into the air and away from the White Fang leader. Weiss watched as the ground fell away, the wind howling in her ears, and as her teammates spiraled off in different directions living them alone

She had lost focus.

A new feeling for dread filled her body as the ground quickly rushed to meet her, filled with prowling Grimm prowled, their horrible howls echoing in her mind.

She had messed up.

Weiss stumbled as she Awoke to pandemonium, the memories of just falling out of the sky and being set upon by a pack of Grimm flitting through her mind. The world seemed to be spinning and her Loop memories sideways from purple. A beowolf fell as she danced out of reach, the smoking body falling in two.

Grimm were tearing Vale apart. Ancient Grimm that normally stayed away from civilization rampaged across the city, while flights of Griffons and Grimm Wyverns the size of jets and encased in bone, with only hints of black showing, tore throughout the sky.

New Grimm variants mixed amongst familiar monsters...

The dying light playing across the horde of bone and black, casting a bloody light as the sky was painted with flames.

Where were Ruby, Blake and Yang?

Ice encased hundreds of the Grimm that now were swarming Vale, a single glyph flashing in the sky. White figures of ice and power rose like statues of diamonds with numbers beyond counting, meeting the Grimm head on.

Weiss's face darkened as her Loop memories slowly and painfully fell into place.

"I hate Loops like this."

Black and bone blurred together, glowing crimsons stars burning in the dark as Weiss ran. She twisted out of the way of a Deathstalker's blow, gesturing with her free hand as she slid under its body on a bed of ice, ripping its underside apart. Hundreds of spinning glyphs glowed with a cold light as she flipped to her feet burying her blade into an Ursa's neck, the smoking head falling to the ground.

Thousands of spears of dust enriched ice fell from the heavens, detonating with a freezing blast forming vast columns of ice, which shattered. Shards of ice glittered like millions of diamonds, hurtling through the sky and tearing through the hordes.

I need to find the others. I need to find Ruby.

Weiss ignored the statues and plains of ice that now littered Vale, narrowing in on the Greater Grimm who had yet to perish in her attack, now exposed as their lesser kin's frozen bodies crumbled to snow and miasma. She flicked a crystal of Earth Dust behind her at a White Fang trooper as they raised their weapon at her, before racing towards the towering steel encased Geist without a backward glance.

A stone statue of a female Faunus stood unmoving as tears of muddy blood leaked from its blue eyes, its sword falling to the ground from frozen hand. The tears stopping as its eyes became granite.

Overhead, the moon glowed with bloody light, smoke filled and ash filling the air as Remnant burned and the dark closed in.

11

Zwei stared at his food bowl as he Awoke. Well he guessed it was his bowl, anyway. I can't recall any Loop where I have had corrupted memories, Zwei thought as he he let out a ping.

There was something vile in the air, an almost eerie quiet seemed to fill the world and his was drenched in the wafting scent of blood, ash and Grimm. Something was wrong and he had to find out what, had to help.

Three pings were missing.

The War Corgi ran from his house, following the road to Patch's docks. Words drifted on the air, reports on Vale and madness as he reached the docks, his eyes fixed on the distant Kingdom. It was dark, the normal lights that signaled Vale were missing, but the moon seemed hazy in the sky, like it was covered in smoke and dark shapes were just visible.

No, there are lights... but they're fires, and those are Nevermore.

He had to get to Vale.

12

Yang woke up in confusion, the ground racing up to meet her as the world was covered in Grimm, flames and smoke filling the air.

"What is going on?!"

She hit the ground hard, flames consuming the lesser Grimm around her. Lilac eyes took in the carnage. The streets were literally running red, mutilated scraps of meat, bone and viscera everywhere. And through the streets and in the skies Grimm prowled, greater and lesser, baseline and variant.

I can't remember, where is everyone? Where are my memories?

Deep crashing footsteps made Yang turn, taking up a fighting stance as a titanic Beringel stalked down the streets towards her.

"Well, aren't you a big guy?"

Her arms blurred, Ember Celica being replaced with a more advanced version from her Pocket. A frown crossed her face as her memories slowly and disjointedly fell into place.

"Sorry I can't play with you, Kong, but I need to find my team."

A dark skeleton rose up into the sky from a few kilometres away, a smile gracing her lips as the skinless face leered down across Vale. "Well, there's one."

Yang bolted towards it, tearing across the gore soaked streets as the ape-like Grimm bellowed and met her charge. The ground abruptly shattered, sending the monster stumbling before its head dissolved into a mass of miasma with a single hit, and Yang leapt into the air.

Not giving the monster a backwards glance, she soared into the air eyes locked onto the tide of death invading her city. Hundreds of lesser Grimm dissolved under her barrage of dust shells and flames.

A pulsating, serpentine mass of glowing eyes, embedded in black, tar-like flesh and bleached bone feasted on dormitory, blood stained fangs flashing in the fire lit night.

I need to get rid of that.

The sky exploded with a frigid power as Yang redirected herself to the monstrous Grimm. Spears of ice tore down from the sky, filled with a familiar power. The monster turned to ice before shattering, hordes of ice monsters appearing from spinning glyphs.

Okay, Yang, there's number three and I now need a new target.

Hitting the ground Yang wove around the icy monsters, leaping onto the towering pillars of ice to get a better vantage point. Weiss could deal with the lesser hordes, Blake would deal with the soldiers, she would deal with the Titans.

13

Spinning red eyes gazed down from the talons of an Ancient Nevermore, watching as Vale ripped itself apart.

Blake's mouth twisted into a scowl. Of all the times and places to Awaken, just about to be eaten by a Nevermore was not one of her preferred ones.

Flames burned across Vale's darkened skyline, small pockets of illumination amidst a sea of darkness and glowing points of crimsons.

And she had no idea what was happening, beyond the obvious, or why. The jumbled and fragmented Loop memories were almost nauseating to search through, slowing untangling themselves but not quick enough.

Three black tomoes spun together and a vast skeletal form rose up into the sky, shredding flocks of Griffins and Nevermore. Black flames consumed hundreds of monsters as she fell to the ground, black hair streaming into the air as the wind rushed past.

The one figure split into hundreds, each one falling from the sky in a rain of black and white, vanishing in the darkness upon landing.

It was a rhythm she knew well, dancing among the darkness and shadows as form after form fell. The head of a white masked crocodile man collapsed to the ground, and she moved on without a backwards glance.

Another disaster in Vale. I wonder if one of those mad versions of Cinder is responsible.

A kunai flickered through the air, sparking with lightning as it multiplied and filled the air with shadows.

A wave of thunder and lights lit up the darkness, Blake's form shattering like spun glass as masked hunters pounced.

Hundreds of Grimm dissolved, obscuring the bisected bodies that fell to the ground.

Wind buffeted Blake as she hurtled across the rooftops, raining down a steady stream of fire down upon the monsters that roamed the streets. Ice rained down of hordes of white and blue beasts clashed with bone and darkness.

Standing against the freezing horde, covered in blood and surrounded corpses was a pair of White Fang Huntsmen, ones that bore horrible resemblance to ones she knew well.

Two feline Faunus.

Blood splattered on the ground as the two figures fell, black silhouettes against the flames, their blades still lodged in the bodies of unmoving children, grins going slack in death.

Blake moved on, a fist clenching around her heart; she knew it was not her parents but it still filled her with dread. It was one of her newest fears to truly face her parents across the battlefield, and in a variant like this, nothing could be taken for granted.

~W here and Loop Operational, status?~ Weiss' voice rang clear in her mind as she ran.

Yang's voice was swift and precise, lacking her normal levity ~Y, Loop Operational. Target: Titans.~

~B, Loop operational, shadows deployed. Target: greater and Fang.~

Blake forced back the tears, pushing all thoughts away and turned grief to cold wrath, leaving everything else behind. Those where not her parents, just strangers with familiar faces and if her parents did turn up on that side? Well, they would be the same.

~Has R been located?~ Weiss's mental tone took on an urgent tone when no one responded, ~Focus on locating R. Meet up in 10 min, location TBD. Will confirm Awake Loopers soon. Summons deployed, target: Lesser. Objections, info or questions?~

Blake sent back a negative as she ended a goliath, her gun barking as lesser Grimm fell like chaff. She could not think of any… ~Correction, Loop memories corrupted, same? Event cause, known?~

14

Nora stumbled as she awoke, a brief bout of disorientation sweeping over her as she missed a swing. A Death Stalker's claw slammed into her and sending her flying. She hit the ground, rolling to her feet as she pulverized a Beowolf.

"Nora!"

Okay, that's Ren… Jaune is over to my left and Pyrrha is bleeding out… wait now she's not. Wow this Loop sucks already.

Letting out a ping, she turned her attention to what she could see around her, trying to work out what was going on. Faunus bodied littered the ground, the grey masks glinting in the firelight, and there were Grimm everywhere she looked.

Nora locked eyes with a horned White Fang member approaching from down the street, Grimm stalking alongside it. She glanced at her teammates as they turned their attention to the White Fang, cold expressions on all of their faces. At least it seemed everyone was okay now, but… she could not remember anything. Her Loop memories were… twisted and made no sense.

But one thing was obvious, Vale was in danger, people were in danger and this woman was an enemy with possible information.

"Well, well, well," the woman laughed mockingly as the rest of the nearby Grimm rallied around her or backed off leaving a clear 'arena'. "The Invincible Girl is apparently not so, but the Arc disappointment apparently has an interesting semblance. Healing is it? Not very useful if it distracts your team like that."

By the light of the nearby fires, Nora could see her opponent; black hair partially concealed bovine horns, with cold purple eyes. Her body was covered in ash, dirt and blood. Human and Faunus still dripped from the twin blades.

The murderer casually sauntered into the clearing as the Grimm closed ranks, the monster's aura drenched in bloodlust and darkness. A flash of pink and silver glinted in the air and a new scream joining with the cacophony as the woman fell to the ground, her legs a pulverized mass of blood and bone.

"Question, whose memories are like twisting orange pancakes?" Nora asked as she turned away the downed 'Fang' to her family as they finished clearing out the Grimm, none of them paying attention to the woman's screams and curses.

Ren coldly looked down at the crippled Faunus, ripping the mask off to reveal her pale face. "Mine are corrupted as well, I can barely make out anything without getting stabs of pain. They do seem to be slowly falling into place though."

Pyrrha nodded distractedly, covered in blood and ash with her armor and weapons rent. "Same, Jaune?"

"Same."

Ren grabbed the downed woman and forced her to meet his eyes. A deluge of sickly, tainted memories swirled through his mind.

He saw the White Fang in the early days and felt the disgust, they were too weak.

He felt the glee as the Fang took a new direction, blood would finally be spilt.

He saw Adam talking to a woman dressed in a red dress and woven dust. They turned to the removal of the Humans' ability to power their civilisation.

He heard a plan, to end the Kingdoms of Man using the monsters of shadow. Vengeance would be theirs.

Ren snapped the monster's neck, turning back to his team as he seethed with rage.

They dared to do this?

"Cinder is responsible," Ren ignored how Pyrrha's armor seemed to flash in the dancing light of Vales pyre, "This is only the start, the Fang has got airships approaching Vale now and have stolen most of the local fleets. We should be seeing them arrive in less than 10 minutes, long before Ironwood gets here. Through Atlas is on its way."

Ren turned his gaze to the sky as she spoke, watching as it filled with a skeleton wreathed in black flames and ice fell like rods from God. He could just see a faint glimmer on the horizon, the airships likely.

This was not looking like a good Loop.

15

Weiss frowned, plunging her blade into a lone Grimm's neck as her army of summoned minions marched ever onwards eradicating all the enemies in the immediate area. Only pillars of ice and frozen dissolving carcasses remained.

Three pings were missing, Blake and Yang both Woke Up at the same time as her with corrupted memories, and Ruby was nowhere to be found.

At least her memories were slowly sorting themselves out. At this rate it was likely she would have full access in 20 minutes or so. Another issue to bring up with Marianne, along with whatever had been attacking Cinder's mind, the insane variants and the various miscellaneous things Ruby had a list of somewhere.

Speaking of, hopefully her searching summons could find Ruby soon.

Racing through the frozen landscape, Weiss pulled out her scroll, imputing familiar numbers by reflex, sending a coded message to all Loopers who had their scrolls with them.

She was broken from her thoughts by a cry.

"Help, please!"

Blood coated the frozen pavement, group of civilians were cowering behind one of her summons in the remains of a building, shivering in the arctic chill that pervaded the air. Entrails split onto the ground, mangled limbs and gaping wounds wrapped with clothes.

A single Faunus was keeping the group of twelve alive with a couple children as aides, using water dust and semblance to keep the blood circulating and in the injured bodies. Cursing, Weiss ran over, her summons could fight for now, the ten thousand white and blue Grimm would be a massive reinforcement and allow the huntresses to focus on the bigger threats.

In the end, saving the city meant saving the people.

The insectoid man looked up gratefully as Weiss bent down, dust falling from her fingers as she knitted flesh and restored blood flow, moving from one casualty to the next. He slumped in relief and exhaustion, letting his semblance go and sinking to the ground. "I never thought I would be thankful for a Schnee..." The man's voice was hoarse, shaking from fear, shock and the bitter cold. "But… if it had not been for those summons and the ice then we would all be goners. I could not keep it up for much longer."

Weiss stood up, acknowledging the man's comments with a nod, her scroll pinging with confirmations from everyone bar Cinder, Glynda, and Ruby.

Weiss turned her eyes to the sky, watching as the ancient Nevermores and Griffins clashed with her summons and burned with sporadic black flames. She could also see and hear the booming of thunder and lightning lashing down from the night sky showing Nora was in play.

Where are you Ruby?

"None of this should be possible," the Faunus spoke up, Weiss's attention flickered to him, ignoring the praises from the others, there was something odd in his voice. "No one should be able to control this many Grimm, capture them and release them? Horrific and possible but not this, that woman…"

He trailed… eyes blank with horror, his soul was filled with disgust, self-loathing and horror. Weiss pounced mentality, finally some information she could use that was not from still distorted memories.

Cinder….

Well, that was no surprise, but it was unwelcome. Given Cinder's large number of insane variants with a fixation on Ruby... this would end poorly.

"You're White Fang." It was not a question; ignoring everything else, his clothes were the standard outfit barring a mask and no one outside the Fang's corrupted chapters would know of Cinder. "Tell me what you know, it could be necessary."

Brown eyes met blue. "… Former White Fang, I did not sign up for this and will not take part." His gaze sharpened, searching. "You are also impossible, the youngest Schnee was only a trainee huntress, yet you act more like a huntress out of myth and legend."

Weiss did not blink.

The man broke her gaze and looked away. "Then maybe you can fix this. The Fang has been working with a black haired woman with amber eyes, she had a scorpion Faunus with her…."

16

James Ironwood rushed through the halls of the airship, reaching the bridge quickly. "Situation Report!"

"Sir, the Grimm... they're everywhere!"

"A more useful situation report," James requested.

"Sorry general, but at the moment that's as accurate as we're going to get." The captain gestured at the map and the various red flareups. "We've never seen a Grimm attack of this scale, and compounding that with the enemy airships we simply don't have enough of a view of the situation to get more accurate information."

"Enemy airships?"

"Bearing White Fang insignias." The captain pointed out at where one of the ships was listing. "I don't know how they got them, but it's clear this is a coordinated attack."

Ironwood frowned. His Loop memories were still untwisting themselves, and he had only briefly made contact with Weiss, who was checking to see who was Awake. Still, for the enemy to have airships... somebody with a lot of power had to have sold out to Salem. It could very well be Lionheart-

-not important. "Clear space on the ground. I'll order the more maneuverable airships to go after the Fang vessels."

"Yes sir." The captain turned to his bridge crew. "Focus on sector B5!"

Ironwood pulled out his large scroll, quickly tapping off orders to the rest of the fleet, and quickly produced a smaller, more specialized version. "Ozpin, I've got my ships clearing out space. Do you need any breathing room?"

"Not at this time, general. I am Awake, currently handling the Grimm at Beacon. There are an unusual number of larger variants, though."

Ironwood took a moment to read over his reports. "I'm getting the same here. At least our... unique specialists are handling themselves well."

"I don't doubt it. Something is off about this, though... I'll radio you as soon as I can figure out what."

"Understood. Keep yourself alive." Ironwood shut the communication off. Large Grimm, powerful Fang, far too early for the usual assaults... A variant, probably. Though what could have kicked it off...

He opened another channel. "Specialist Winter, I have a bit of a Loopy task for you."

"I'm Awake and ready, sir. What do you need?"

"Something about this attack makes me uneasy. I need you to track down the source of the aberrations."

"The Variants, you mean."

"Yes."

"Very well. Shall I take the M.3.7.4. project with me?"

James frowned. "If it's combat ready."

"Understood. I'll take good care of it. Winter out."

The captain looked up at him. "Sir?"

"The long and short of it is some classified materials may have become illegally declassified. I'm not sure yet, which is why," he added forcefully, "I'm having the specialist investigate."

"...Understood, sir. You'll... keep me abreast of any developments?"

"As much as I am legally able to, captain." Ironwood looked over the map. "I'm not going to send anyone to die pointlessly if I can avoid it."

17

Yang glowed with flames as she obliterated the head of another massive Grimm, watching the cephalopod-like monster fall back down into the water.

This was annoying. In baseline Cinder had one big Grimm and Yang could remember only a few hundred Loops off the top of her head where this many big ones had been released in one go, a number of them starting up since the expansion. Even then they rarely exceeded three per invasion.

It was unfortunate that this sort of variant had started becoming more common. Stupid insane Cinders, annoying unpredictable Salems.

…Yang really hoped they did not have to deal with those damn raptor Grimm again.

Falling back to the dock and away from the dissipating carcass, Yang cast her eyes around for the signal from Weiss to reconvene, spying the glowing glyph that flashed in a recursive sequence.

Yang turned her attention to the stunned Huntsmen and growled at them; her temper was on a hair-trigger right now and seeing them standing around gawking was unacceptable. "Move! There are more to fight and I need to meet up with my team!"

"Team RWBY from Beacon."

Yang paused and looked at the man staring at her in awe, one of Weiss's summons trying to stop itself from running into her, taken back from the abrupt stop and careened into her leg.

"Everyone heard about Weiss Schnee going to Beacon and her partner, the youngest huntress to ever attend, and their team." The man looked over at the white and blue Grimm clashing with black and bone. "There is only one Schnee in Vale…"

Yang rolled her eyes, turned, and started running, the city blurring past as she left a path of smoking bodies in her wake. She really did not care about Weiss' Loop variable fame or hero worship. There was a job to do.

It did not take long to see Weiss; she was floating in the air on a glyph taking potshots at the Grimm as she directed her summons. A line of glyphs acted as a path for her and Blake, who was approaching rapidly. The two of them reached Weiss at the same time, and for a moment took relieved comfort in each other's arms.

18

"Well, Neo, I'm glad we decided to leave. This place is a wreck!" Roman Torchwick said as the onslaught of Grimm started to make the building they were in fall apart. "You know what? Let's head to Vacuo. I bet no Grimm are going to be trying to kill us there. Well, no more than usual."

"Good. We can wait out the Loop there. Interesting how almost everyone is Awake though. I wonder if we all Awoke at the same time? Probably not, that would be too big of a coincidence, right?"

"Yeah, probably. You know, with my weapon causing explosions, I probably have my Aura awakened, right? Yet how come I never use my semblance?"

"Don't know, but we should really get out of here, Roman!"

"Right! Any ideas?"

"Well, considering these are weaker Grimm, hold them off and wait for the building to fall on us?! Use out-of-Loop abilities! I am not dying to some Grimm in a non-null Loop!"

Fighting their way outside, they saw several nuckelavee Grimm smashing the warehouse. Beyond those, it was an ocean of black, red, and white with smaller patches of yellow here and there as well.

"Shit! I'm going to get us out of here, there's more Grimm here than there are on Remnant in most Loops!" Roman pulled a ship from his Pocket. "Also, my Loop memories FINALLY became clear. Yours take a while as well?"

"Yes, they have. I only just remembered us leaving the White Fang."

"Yeah, something doesn't feel right here... but feelings aside, we are good to take off! As long as no giant nevermore show up, we should be-"

A loud screech interrupted him.

"Roman, you just HAD to tempt fate, didn't you?"

"Yes I did. Let's get as far away from it as we can."

As it turned out, they got about a kilometer towards Vacuo before they were shot out of the sky by the feathers of the Nevermore. They managed to landing, but they were slightly shaken up, and the Nevermore was still heading toward them.

"You just don't know when to quit, do you birdie? Alright, well see how you like this!" Roman grabbed a blaster launcher from the XCOM Loops from his Pocket. "Neo, keep the small guys away from me, I'm going to take out the bird!"

He fired it at the Nevermore, to no effect.

"Well, this is going to be a bit more difficult. Change of plan, we're clipping its wings!"

With a great explosion propelling them, the duo leapt onto the back of the Nevermore. Each of them pulled several Dust crystals from their subspace Pockets, tossing them with precision and accuracy at the great feathery wings; Melodic Cudgel sprang up and fired, triggering the mystic substance as it hit the overlarge quills. Lightning made the creature's wings lock up, a burst of gravity weighed them down, and ice enveloped the massive limbs as it descended to the ground.

Roman jumped off the Grimm with a grin. "I love it when a plan comes together. Neo? You can do the honour of killing this thing. I'm gonna raise my kill count a bit. Can't let you have all the fun, after all, right?"

Neo looked at him for a moment, before going up to the bird's mouth and throwing a handful of fire Dust down its throat, with a grenade to set it off. "There, I killed the bird, now can we go to Vacuo? We've already bypassed most of the Grimm, so it shouldn't take too much longer."

"Right you are, Neo, let's not waste any more time."

The two continued fighting their way towards the walls of Vale, deeper into the ocean of Grimm.

19

Blake broke her hug with Yang and looked at her two present teammates; both were stained in ash and blood but were otherwise unharmed.

"What do we know?" Yang said without preamble. "And any clue on where Ruby is?"

Weiss flicked her hair out of her eyes, voice clipped and terse, with her eyes focused on a screen. "Everyone bar Glynda, Cinder, which is not surprising given the variant type, and Ruby are accounted for and Awake. And only Ozpin can't confirm having memory corruption, he awoke at the start and was thinking about the expansions, not looking at his memories until a while later. I can also confirm JNPR does not know where Ruby is, nor do Roman and Neo, Winter and James or seemingly anyone else yet."

This was concerning; even if Ruby was Unawake, a possibility for now, she was not easy for Grimm to kill and was very noticeable due to her petals. So the fact no one could find her was disconcerting.

Blake frowned. "Silver eyes, that was why Tyrian went after her in baseline and we know he is here this Loop. If Salem decide to move now, then she could already be in Tyrian's possession. If she was knocked out before she awoke…"

Yang finished the thought. "…then she would remain knocked out. So Ruby could be trapped. Shit, who have we left to contact about Ruby?"

"Qrow and Ozpin, both of them are together. My connection just dropped out, I was in the middle of calling him when it did. The tower has been disabled."

Blake's mind was running a hundred miles an hour, processing and sorting through the memories her many shadow clones gave her.. The Faunus Weiss had spoken with had given her locations to White Fang safehouses, but they were all empty. Cinder, Tyrian and the other members of WTCH were nowhere to be seen, not surprising but unfortunate. For a few moments, she let her gaze linger on the aerial battle taking place. White Fang Airships alongside hordes of Grimm were clashing with whatever forces Vale could muster. If it was not for the Loopers then it would all be over.

Nora was suspended in the air, wreathed in lighting and obliterating scores of monsters in seconds, but the Grimm kept coming, shielding the White Fang from her lighting. The other members of JNPR backed Nora up, ripping into the bullheads with abandon, coordinating with Weiss's invaluable summons, and matching the hordes of lesser Grimm.

"The White Fang bases are all destroyed now." Blake could not, did not see the point, in keeping the fury from her voice. "And neither Cinder or Tyrian are present in any of them at the moment, but Tyrian was in one of them within the last few hours, going by smell. My clone is tracking him and I can go to find Salem's fortress and be back in less than 10 minutes."

Yang nodded and cracked her knuckles, red eyes burning in the night, "Give me 5 minutes and I can have the communication system up and running again, I have a compatible satellite. I can't say how long it will stay up though, given how messed up this Loop is, but it'll work for now. I'll contact Qrow and Ozpin when it's up."

Weiss nodded, putting away the screen and pulling her blade out of the glyph. "We meet back up as soon as possible. I'm going after some of the more powerful Grimm varieties that have been pouring through the breach as my current summons aren't enough. My scouts are still looking for Ruby and will inform us if she is located." She looked at both of them. "Be safe."

With that, the team parted ways.

20

Yang grinned, flames wrapping around her body as she plummeted back to Remnant, taking in the beautiful if somewhat sad visage of the moon.

Her scroll connected, shielded from the re-entry and rushing wind, Yang could clearly hear her uncle's voice and the sounds of battle.

And score one for Yang. She looked down. …Actually, what is that?

She peered at the distant ground. It seemed like tiny black dots were converging on Vale.

21

A crack rang out through the massive airship, the masked Faunus slumping in her seat, neck broken. Without another thought, Ren shoved the corpse out of the pilot seat and sat down, slotting in his scroll, hands dancing across the controls with ease of long practice. The lion Faunus's dead eyes gazed back at the airships blood splattered corridors.

"Come on Nora," Ren muttered, redirecting the weapons to the White Fang's other ships, blocked by the hordes of Grimm. "Give me a clear firing line."

Lightning split the sky until all was light and noise. Ren smiled as he felt the cold dark hate of the Grimm vanishing under the assault along with bloodlust drenched Aura.

"Wonderful."

Missiles fired, beams of light flashing through the sky and guns barked, the endless lightening weaving around the attacks.

"Your move, Pyrrha."

The battleship soared higher, bombs falling to the ground amidst the tide of black and bone. Ren pushed his hair out of his eyes, focused on the pandemonium that had gripped Remnant.

It was the second time in ten thousand or so Loops that they had had a premature attack on a Kingdom, the hordes of Grimm threatening to overwhelm the defenders in sheer numbers. But this was by far the deadliest and largest; it was also the first to have more than three large Grimm mixed in with the horde of smaller ones.

In truth, Ren mused to himself, his biggest fear was that now that the expansions had halted again, it might mean they were going to have to deal with things like this until the next wave of expansions started. Yggdrasil did like patterns and some variants could be relatively stable, annoyingly so in some cases.

A familiar ringing came from his scroll. "Yes, Weiss?"

"Ren, I could not get in touch with Jaune, we have a problem."

The green clad martial artist did not let his vision waver from the fight, focusing on the ebb and flow of powers and his family's lights. "Not surprising on both accounts. Jaune's scroll was broken and he has not Unpocketed another one yet, and these variants always get worse after the initial invasion."

Weiss' voice was frustrated, surprising him slightly; normally Weiss was rather calm in combat situations. "This is worse than normal, get Jaune linked back in. Salem has called all the Grimm to Vale. All over the world every Grimm that can is coming our way, those that can't are attacking everything they can and WTCH is moving."

…That was significantly worse than he thought, "Give me a moment."

In his mind's eye, Ren could see his family, his team, and without words he spoke. ~This is Ren, Jaune get out a new scroll and everyone link in with Weiss' scroll. Every Grimm on Remnant is coming for us and Weiss has intel we need~

22

"Well, this Loop sucks," Qrow noted, shooting down a nevermore. "It was fine up until the whole Grimm-invade-Vale thing. Heck, I think it could wind up topping the baseline invasion without anything like that dragon getting involved."

"This is a particularly nasty one, isn't it?" Ozpin remarked, knocking back a creep. "Impressive how so many common, low level Grimm are causing so much trouble."

"Yeah, and what about later in the Loop?" Qrow frowned. "If Cinder's little invasion happens in this Loop...even if we fend off these Grimm, Vale might not survive at all."

"I suppose we could use it as a learning experience for future Loops," Ozpin said, a slight frown on his face. He disliked that sort of perspective because it was basically saying it was alright for people to die here because they could use the experience to save them in future Loops. It just seemed so callous. And he was pretty sure that sort of thinking led the way to Sakura Syndrome.

Qrow grunted. "I suppose. Doesn't mean I have to like it," he said. At that put, his scroll rang out with the tune of "I Burn". "Wonder what Yang's after?" he mumbled, slicing several Beowolves before pausing to dig into his pocket.

"Are you assigning everyone's theme song as their ringtones?" Ozpin asked.

"No," Qrow scoffed. "Not everyone has a theme. I think. Pretty sure Glynda and Neo don't have them. And I'm not sure about Roman, James or Winter." His scroll slid open to reveal Yang's face.

"Uncle Qrow? Do you know where Ruby is? We can't find her."

"...What?"

23

Polarity, it was so much more than simply metal. Everything had had an electrical charge, with proper focus and power, it was possible to seize control of electricity, neutral matter and more. To repel against the world and float, to pull plasma from the sun or unleash beams of charged particles.

Floating amidst the chaos, Pyrrha spread her hands, ripping the guns and airships apart. Crude javelins of metal ripping through hundreds of Grimm that blotted out the sky. Ancient Nevermore fell to the ground, flocks of Griffin were torn apart by metal shrapnel.

Of cause, metal was by far the easiest and most useful.

It was glorious: blood sang in her veins, wrath an ever present siren call as she tore apart those that opposed her and her family.

And she hated every minute of it.

Wind whipped past her face, a swirling mix of searing heat and frigid cold, blowing her hair backwards into a crimson mane. Cold green eyes fixed on the monsters that would, once more, tear her home apart.

Every moment, every second, more people died. More lives torn apart, misery and fear filling the air and calling only more of the Creatures of Grimm.

Her hand cut through the air, a floating gun, that was the only thing she could call it, spinning in the air. Atlas tech-really, James needed to keep a better eye on his things. How often had the White Fang got hold of the stuff recently?

In the end it did not matter, it was all laid bare to her semblance. Every piece of circuity, every single line of charged practicals that laced the weapon. Pyrrha smiled darkly, tilting her head slightly; while she could not control the ship in its entirety, spinning it and hitting the trigger was easy enough.

Even if she hated the killing, the havoc that had descended and everything else…

She could not help the thrill she felt at ripping the people who killed her and destroyed her family apart.

It had also been a while since she had really pushed her Semblance to its limits. but it looked like she was going to get plenty of practice before the end of this.

Every Grimm descending on Vale… this was going to be a long Loop. Well, that was if killing Salem did not end it.

The four of them had plans for the next time they were all Awake. And while killing Grimm was always a part of that, this was not what anyone them had in mind.

… Well maybe Nora did.

And on that note, tapping her ear piece Pyrrha spoke, Miló shifting into sword from as a flight of winged Grimm swooped down, the remains falling to the ground as bullets took out two more "Nora, do you copy?"

In the distance, at the very edge of the horizon and just visible against the moon and stars as a rising shadow, darkness started to coalesce.

"I copy, what do you need dead, and do you want it crispy fried, tenderised or blown up?"

24

Winter ran down the hall, turning a corner. "Doctor Polendina-"

She stopped.

Stared at the gore and the blood. At the mess before her. At the young girl staring blankly down upon the wreckage that had once been her father.

"...Penny?"

"It was some kind of Mantis Grimm." The gynoid's voice was low, steady. "It got in through the window, it was... it was so fast, I couldn't..."

"Penny."

"He called me the best thing he'd left the world. Before he died-I tried to save him. I don't... I don't have that kind of medicine in my Pocket, Winter."

The specialist stepped forward and, awkwardly, put a hand on her shoulder. "...He'll be back next Loop. You know that, right?"

"Oh, I know." She sighed. "He didn't equip me with tear ducts this time. He usually doesn't. It's not energy efficient."

"Penny. I'm sorry, truly. But we don't have time."

"I know." Penny rose, her eyes steely. "I think, though... I think this is an opportunity."

With a sound not unlike a hiss, her blades shot from the pack on her back.

"I haven't cataloged rage yet."

25

Wrapped in lightning, power surging through her veins and setting every nerve alight, Nora laughed with a voice of thunder.

In the distance Grimm were surging, blotting out the sky, shadows against the moon and stars that were growing in size.

"I'm king of the castle, and you're all dirty rascals," Nora sang as the sky was split, a fierce grin on her face.

And the Grimm fell from the skies, the ever growing mass of darkness being torn asunder as night turned to day and ozone filed the air.

Nora smiled as the wind picked up, reaching out with her power across the continent and manipulating the air flows, a storm building overhead.

More and more Grimm rose up, an endless tide that remained undiminished no matter how much power she unleashed against them. Still, she was thinning the numbers that got through and that was enough. She frowned, casting her eyes across the sky. It was almost empty, the White Fang airships were all gone, most of the big Grimm were destroyed and her lightning was keeping the big ones back at the horizon.

It would not last, but for now she was in the eye of the storm.

"Jaune, this is Nora do you copy?"

The sounds of gunfire and screams rang out over the com, Jaune's voice coming across soon after. "I copy, what's the situation?"

Nora flexed her fingers as she shrugged, letting a bolt of lightning hurl to the ground, webs of crackling electricity burning Grimm to nothingness, "All Fang airships are down, greater Grimm dead and the oncoming aerial Grimm are held at bay for now. I have maybe 13 minutes until they reach Vale. So, what's next? Time to break some legs?"

26

Ozpin watched with stone like eyes as he surveyed the conflict raging before him, watching as Huntsmen and Huntresses stood against the inexhaustible tide of Grimm and did not fall, but for how long? Again and again, it was all destroyed, and he was too often helpless to do anything. Vale and Beacon falling, both in baseline and these increasingly common variants, constantly. Almost always orchestrated by the reflection of a person he considered a good, if somewhat distant, friend.

The air was a change from the normal for once, when baseline it was cooling air of autumn, or almost universally scolding and putrid, laced with the scent of burning flesh when one of Cinder's counterparts burned everything to ash. This time the air was cold, biting into the skin of the defenders, people's breath freezing in the air. But it was a welcoming cold for the beleaguered defenders, the sign of an army of blue-white shielding them from the Grimm that threatened to destroy their homes.

Before him, maybe two hundred meters away, Grimm poured through the breach in the city walls as more and more darkened the skies and the land. Nora's lightning barrier snapped and roared in the distance as it filled the air with ozone, thinning the inexhaustible tide to something a bit more manageable.

Near his side, a woman with familiar amber eyes and black hair stood watching, just another Huntress to everyone else. If he had not been forewarned, the flash of red in her eyes would have gone unnoticed, the Grimm now offering a clean line of sight to the nearby mountain. Following behind Cinder's counterpart for this Loop was Emerald, no doubt Mercury was nearby as well.

"What did you need from me so urgently?" Ozpin asked the Huntsman who had taken charge of this area, taking his eyes from the battle for a moment, "It seems for now you can hold the line for now and there seems to only be the lesser varieties here at present."

Cinder seemed to shift, her Aura getting closer while it looked like she was staying still. A clever use of illusions, Ozpin suspected that if he had not been Awake and expecting it, he would have been caught off guard. Possibly killed before he saw the trap, too focused on the fight and whatever was going to come next.

What the next part was was a guess, but a reasonably good one. The mountain that normally held the Grimm everyone called Kevin was empty, just an cavern that had been resealed at point. Given then the pandemonium at the start, no one knew when it had got out and the resealing meant no one noticed anything off until it had not made an appearance. Though there had been reported sightings at around the time the breach happened. That combined with the Grimm pouring out of the caves, well it was a simple leap of logic.

The dragon comes out, people panic as the Grimm surge and in the confusion the assassins strike...

"We have recordings of a large dragon like Grimm in the area, in some of the nearby caves, and spawning more lesser ones. Put simply I am not sure if anyone here can feasibly deal with it." The white haired man, that Ozpin vaguely recognized, Granite, sighed barely audible for most people over the din of battle and constant barrage of explosions. "I wish it would just attack, then we can kill it. But as long as it hides we will simply drown quicker in beowolves and the like."

Gesturing to the line of artillery not pointing at the incoming hordes of Grimm, but rather at one of the nearby outcropping with a rather large cavern, he elaborated, "We are going to blow that area up and make it show itself, we want your help to take it down quickly."

"Very well," Ozpin nodded, eyes fixed on the caves and attention on the huntress at his side "When you are ready then."

It would be interesting to find out what Cinder knew this time, and they did not even have to go looking for her.

27

Jaune ducked under a taloned swipe, removing the bone clad thing's head in a single slash, his shield taking a blow before the Grimm was silenced.

All around was pandemonium, blood coated the ice slicked ground as blue-white summons and colourful huntsmen clashed with the back, bone and crimson Grimm. Civilians cowered in buildings when they could not flee, watching the blood conflict with a horrified rapture.

At least the Huntsmen had listened to his commands and were now making progress. Sabotaged communications in the early stages of everything had caused chaos. Then panic, fear and desire had destroyed what discipline was left, to the point where they had turned on Faunus fighting the Grimm as they must be White Fang.

Which to be fair, a number had been until the massacres started.

Dust flung from his hand, flames consuming the head of an overly large nemean (At least, that was what it was called according to his memories). The massive cat like Grimm fell, crushing several of the smaller crab like Grimm swarming out of the ocean. The lesser Grimm were perfectly adapted to swarming huntsmen and drowning them in sheer numbers and cutting through supports.

Jaune's face was a cold mask, mind racing over the information that was constantly streaming into his ear piece. After a moment of thought he replied to his daughter, charging forwards to where a Huntress had been lifted off the ground, the Grimm preparing to eat her. "Can you set up a stable lightning barrier against the Grimm? I remember you working on something like that at one point."

The apelike Grimm bellowed as he removed its arm, twisting away from its retaliatory blow and a Beowolf's lunge, letting the saved Huntress place a round in the lupine Grimm's head.

"I can, I will have to pull a large amount of Dust out and it will be fragile, an hour and a half tops. Less if it's attacked by a Huntsman or a Big Grimm comes."

"Do it then come and help here. Ren and Pyrrha will be joining up here soon."

"Rodger that, Nora out."

Hearing a call, Jaune turned to face the white and gold clad Huntsmen, fire and wind dust swirling around and consuming any lesser Grimm in a 20-meter radius, letting everyone focus on the larger threats.

"Yes?"

The older looking man gave a crisp salute, a notice Atlas accent in his voice "Private Thomas Pyrite, of Atlas. Sir, I know there is no command structure here, but we all witnessed what you and your team did. Out of everyone here, you are for all intents and purposes in charge. What are your orders?"

Cold blue eyes swept over the combat, watching as the last of the nearby big ones were brought down, leaving only the tide of lesser crabs, the name dancing at the edge of his memories, not quite in focus. "Weiss, this is Jaune, do you copy?"

He ignored how the Huntsmen and Huntresses fell silent, bar whispers of Schnee spoke of in shock and hope. "I copy: What is the situation?"

"I need you to freeze the docks and local sea area. We are being overrun by crabs that I can't remember the name of right now…"

"Carcinus, sir."

Jaune nodded distractedly in thanks. "Correction, Carcinus. Freeze the water and we free up a lot of Huntsmen."

"…. hold for 6 minutes, sweep the area then head for the West Vale border. Geists are wreaking havoc alongside Goliath herds. The Defenders are falling, ET 15 minutes if nothing changes. Weiss out."

Driving Crocea Mors into one of the large Carcinus, Jaune pitched his voice to carry over the din of battle. "We hold the line for 6 minutes, Weiss Schnee will be freezing the water at that time, then sweep the area as we head for the West Vale Border, currently under siege by Geists and Goliath."

28

Jaune's face was stone grim as he hacked his way through the tide of monsters, thinning the numbers and culling the greater threats. There were just too many threats to kill them all, the best that could be done was give the huntsmen a fighting chance and move onwards.

They were making progress, slowly advancing alongside the dozens of other fighters as they headed to the west wall, at this rate they would get there in 10 minutes. It was a pity they had already lost air supremacy, but they had broken the tide and cleared enough for other forces to keep the sky in check for now.

A scream came from one of the nearby huntresses making Jaune curse, the wind passing as he broke the sound barrier. A massive wolf Grimm bore down on the fallen huntress, her dust magic barely keeping it at bay.

The massive claw glanced off his shield before the wolf died, Jaune stepping forwards on the follow through to decapitate a fox Grimm that was about to devour the fallen Huntress. In a few heartbeats, the area was cleared, giving the wounded woman a chance to recover.

The huntsmen he had met back at the docks struggled to keep up with the pace they were setting. And there was nothing that could be done about it. They could not slow down and the huntsmen were almost dead weight, so the only thing that worked was to be the Vanguards. To strike down greater threats and thin the hordes for the advancing huntsmen to deal with. That did not mean JNPR was about to abandon them, though.

"Are you okay?"

Jaune narrowed his eyes as the ground trembled, something was wrong. There should be more fighting coming from the north. It was far too quiet.

"No critical injuries, sir," The blue haired woman replied tersely, picked herself up and grabbing her shattered gun-blade, "But I won't be able to fight close quarters anymore and I'm out of ammunition."

Jaune nodded distractedly, healing the woman and tossing her a weapon from his armoury. "Can you use this?"

The woman blinked then smirked, saluting before diving back into the fray, "If we survive this, your team will have to join us for a round, my shout."

Somehow, he doubted that was going to happen.

"Weiss, this is Jaune, do you copy?" Jaune slammed his blade into the shell of a Death Stalker as it burst out of the ground. "I need to know what is happening, to the north of JNPR, something is not right."

"I copy, stand by." Weiss's tone was curt, the line falling quite for a few minutes. "It's a black spot with no communications are coming in or out. My summons can see webbing made out of black Ichor, strung up bodies and that's it. It's a massive spider's web, and it is growing. I'm sending Zwei to the west wall instead. JNPR, eliminate the nest."

"Copy that," the confirmation echoing in unison from all four.

"Good, keep me informed, Weiss out."

29

A dark shadow raced through the blood-drenched streets of Vale, moving faster then most could see, following a trail almost completely obscured by the chaos. The flickering image of Blake wove around a pile of butchered bodies, led by the unpleasantly familiar scent.

Now where was Tyrian?

His scent did not lead to Forever Fall like they had thought, forcing the shadow to create another to scour the forest. It did however lead to a number of military/Huntress coordination centres, the butchered bodies and records painted a clear picture of why the coordination of Huntresses was so bad at first.

It also begged the question of why they left the system CCTS running. Interrogated White Fang members had revealed they had been instructed to leave all communications running. The ones who broke that had been killed by a scorpion Faunus.

So, what was Salem up to? The most likely reasoning was fear, letting the world know and that they could not do anything. A rare but known variant, the baseline generally preferring subtle tactics even when she could use overwhelming force.

A prickle of danger, a faint sound of feet on metal, and the shadow reacted. Metal clashed with metal, before a dark shape leapt back off her arms. Blades flashed through the air, the matte black finish not reflecting the faint light, multiplying into a rain of metal.

The golden eyed man cackled as he blocked as many of the blows as he could. "So the cat has claws. A true huntress, a rare treat indeed," Dropping from the ruined building, Tyrian did a mocking half bow, "I would say it was a pleasure, but I suspect you are but another shadow, and you and your team have derailed the goddess's will. So for that you must die,"

The shadow clone narrowed her eyes, carefully taking in the surroundings, noting the Grimm that prowled just out of sight and the necklace bearing a distinctive Grimm motif that hung around his neck.

Tyrian's eye flashed red for an instance, so quickly that if it was not for the sharingan she would likely missed it. The tempo of the Grimm's movement shifted as the tracker's laughter redoubled. "My, my, my, you sensed my pets and even reacted to my commands. Very sharp eyes, I think our Goddess would very much like to examine you."

Settling into a fighting stance Tyrian's laughter died off, his eyes turning purple as they met red. "It seems Ozpin has been preparing more than we kn..."

Red and black spun and a will shattered.

A call was made.

It was empty, everything calmly packed up and the building trapped.

Blake gazed at the scroll that lay on the banquet table in the purple lit hall, the desolate plains barren of Grimm barring those just crawled out of the pits.

Forming a hand seal, a clone appeared then vanished, its memories returning to the original and all the clones scouring the building.

Blake sighed, she hated this area, the wastelands, the crimsons sky, the tar like spawning pools and the glowing purple outcroppings. It was a representative of everything she hated about Remnant and Baseline.

One by one, clones vanished until one was left, playing the recording left on the solitary scroll, Salem's calm voice resonating through her mind as the clone vanished.

"I do not know who stands here, in the heart of my inner sanctum, a place very few people know about; but If you are looking for me, you are far too late. All the research I have done has finally paid off, this is the end. As I can't be sure I will be able to do so in person, I would like you to take a message to an old acquaintance of mine, one who you must know if you found this place.

Tell him this: How does it feel, Ozpin? For it too all before nought? To see your precious Kingdoms fall? The Grimm you so opposed, now utterly mine now. This is Goodbye, dear Oscar; you never did recover your memories did you? So, consider this a final gift to you from an old friend."

Blake turned away from the fortress, she did not need to see any more.

~Weiss, do you copy?~

She had some things to ask Ozpin about his history this Loop, not that him having amnesia was exactly uncommon so it was unlikely to do much good. It was rather common for a mysterious backstory.

30

"Okay, this is such a cliche." Nora gave her team a look. "Can we all agree this is a cliche?"

Ren shrugged. "Cliche or not, it's happening. Jaune?"

"Right." Jaune took in the situation. "Small ones are probably the big threat, venoms or whatever. Too many for most of us-Nora, you're on support, bug-stomping duty."

"Awwwwwww, I wanted to break the big ones' legs!"

"Let your mother do that."

Pyrrha smiled. "You always say such romantic things."

"Thank you. Ren, you want to slice webs or stab heads?"

"I don't mind cleaning up the mess. You go ahead and be the hero."

"Right. Keep high when you can, call out if you're caught." Jaune nodded firmly. "Team JNPR, move out!"

And the family charged the horde of spider Grimm.

31

Unhindered by the combat and madness, Ozpin strode across the battle strewn streets, Grimm falling without any grandiose or elaborate displays.

He walked and they died. Single blows hit thousands of times, each slaying a beast, crackling orbs of force shielding those who could no longer fight.

"Ozpin!"

Not turning or deviating his course, he nodded as his non Looping friends ran over, tired and covered in blood. "Peter, Bartholomew, how are you? I have been out of the Loop for the last 20 minutes or so, what can you tell me?"

Bartholomew blinked, seeming to shake himself from the shock of seeing the tide being destroyed so easily, "No real injuries. Student casualties are high, though they have fallen since JNPR and RWBY seemingly got a power up."

Ozpin nodded. Despite the man's increasingly frantic speech, he was still perfectly understandable. "I was afraid of that. And it's WBY, Ruby Rose vanished at dawn to go Grimm hunting and never returned, have either of you seen her?"

Peter's moustache twitched into a frown, "No, we have not. I must say, that is somewhat concerning but hardly the issue here. One girl is not… but she is not simply one girl is she?" Peter said shrewdly, his dark brown eyes calculating. "While RWBY and JNPR had talent and potential abound, it was not realised yet. Why, I can say for certain I knew miss Schnee would become a magnificent Huntress." He pointed to where the packs of summoned Beowolves clashed with Grimm at the edge of Ozpin's killing field. "But this is the type of thing that legends speak off, and there is no way she could jump like this in skill. The same with you. What is going on?"

Ozpin sighed, feeling the arctic wind that blew through Vale, the chill present ever since Weiss had unleashed her power and summons. The growing wind bowing to Nora's command, lightning flashing across the sky as a storm brewed above Vale. All around was the scent of human flesh and blood, the fires that had once burnt long since doused by the chill, the heat stolen away. He hated Loops like this, but at least Cinder and Tyrian were dead, the Fall Maiden having ambushed him alongside a familiar Dragon Grimm. Trying to use the dragon and illusions as a distraction as she attacked him from behind, blending in with the other huntresses, directly fleeing at the sight of his Loop enhanced powers... to no avail. Emerald's illusions did not give her mistress any advantage.

They still did not know where Ruby or Salem were but at least two of WTCH were gone. The Grimm were losing cohesion, no longer working as one focused unit; Some of the White Fang had been given similar amulets but only had minor control of the Grimm.

"It is... complicated," Ozpin said after a few moments, ushering a group of civilians past, watching as a Huntsman loaded them into an armoured truck, "In essence…."

His scroll pinged, an unknown number coming in on his private number.

"Sorry, Peter. But I think I should take this."

Unrolling the device, a familiar face answered, a cold smiled graced plaid lips, red eyes boring into his own. "Salem."

"Ozpin. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

32

JNPR ran through the infested streets, the rest of the huntsmen and huntresses having been told to head for the wall leaving them free to move. Ice, blood and Grimm, that is all that filled the streets now. The dead were beyond counting, and it was only the start. Nora hated Loops like this, fighting was fun, killing Grimm was fun. This was not, still she had a role to play.

"So, anyone want to make bets who can squash the most? I mean, spider Grimm, when was the last time we had some of those?"

"I think counting is rather pointless, Nora," Pyrrha said warily as they approached the dark mass of webbing, "We will lose track and forget at some point."

Nora glanced at Ren, who was running just ahead of her as they passed the first web, as he spoke, "Six Loops ago, we ran into a nest on them on Menagerie. You named the biggest Aragog and then hit it with a car, and can you stop staring at my behind, Nora?"

"Possibly, but if I don't watch your back, then I can't inform you of when a spider is about to bite you on the neck. And spider." Ren cursed, killing the tiny spider Grimm that had been about to bite him on the neck.

An almost literal tide of spiders poured out of the buildings and webs. Small ones emerging from every crevasse and crack while larger ones rapped down on webs from the building. Elephant sized monstrosities sculling across the black and bone webs, striding forth from the webs nets.

Pyrrha bisected a larger spider as it charged, a wedding ring falling to the ground as the monster died. She looked at the ring in disbelief, as Nora let out a snort of laughter. "A ring? A giant spider dropped a ring?

"Huh, must have been caught in the webbing, not all that surprising given how they are covered in sticky webbing," Ren mused, watching the oncoming tide before obliterating the smaller ones that surrounded them with a wave.

"That is one of the dumbest clichés there is," Pyrrha muttered.

33

Salem smiled though the scroll. Ozpin felt his Loop memories surging with a familiar feeling of familiarity and confusion. Well, it seemed like what Blake had found out was correct, he had likely known Salem this Loop before getting amnesia.

It would not have made sense for Salem to lie, nor fitted with her behaviour, but confirmation from another source was always good. It would not have been the first time Salem had mistakenly acquainted him with a person from her past.

"Not long enough, I see you completed your research. A pity, I did always hope your pets would simply kill you."

At his side, Peter and Bartholomew tensed, eyes locked on the scroll. The green haired historian's mouth ran without any conscious thought. "The Grimm Maiden, thought to be legend, present in many old myths before fading. So many apparent sightings over time, always portrayed as being in conflict with a Wizard. Linked with the Maidens of Seasons story…."

"Bartholomew, that's enough."

As his fellow teacher fell silent Salem spoke, a calm amusement in her voice. "I almost did several times; I doubt you remember anymore, you lost so much when we last clashed, but it was those failures that led me to become as I am." Curiosity and caution glittered in her eyes, wariness tinting her voice. "But, it seems like you have regained more than I had thought. Teams RWBY and JNPR… I don't suppose you would like to explain how? A new variation of the Mantles? Using your Aura transfer machine to imbue children with the power and skill of those so much older?"

"What do you want Salem? If you're simply taunting me then I have nothing more to say to you."

The fight was going well, for a relative usage of the term. No more than common Grimm were swarming through the region, taken out by the Hunstmen and huntresses sweeping the streets. If things went well then they should be able to finish evacuating this sector soon. Actually driving the Grimm out? Well, it was going to be a long Loop.

"In part it is that, I did tell you I would tear down all that you have done." Salem smiled, leaning forwards, revealing a high backed chair and dark, purple lit room. "I have waited for this for so long, dearest Ozpin. To finally bring you down, to finally watch you burn. I'll admit, your new maidens could have broken my army... if only they weren't so foolishly insistent on trying to save those around them."

Ozpin barely suppressed the urge to crush the scroll, focusing his mind and reaching through the chaos to Weiss, something he should have done when Salem had first called. Touching the ancient mind, a thought and acknowledgment passed between them. Now he just had to keep Salem talking. Either Weiss, Zwei, or Penny would be starting to trace the call as soon as possible.

"Enjoy the end Ozpin. You were close, but I have won our little game and look forward to seeing the final act." The screen went dark as Salem terminated the call.

"Oz…" Peter trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"That was Salem, she controls the Grimm and is responsible for this as many other holocausts. For some reason or the other, she seems fascinated beating with me. However, given I have amnesia I can't say why." Gesturing for them to follow, Ozpin picked up his pace. The two walked after him, fixated on what he was saying. "As for Teams RWBY and JNPR, her suspicions are wrong, but now is not the time nor place for that conversation."

"Now, we have an invasion to stop. Peter, Bartholomew, I will be putting you in contact with Weiss, she has been handling coordination."

34

Weiss moved in silence, cutting through the Grimm as glyphs flashed around her and the battle field, glowing with a pale light. Though her mind and headpiece, streams of information flowed from around the battlefield. Thought controlled subroutines rerouted the stream of data, stripped down shadows of her mind branching outwards like a spider web, replying and coordinating.

It was giving her a minor headache, but she did not really feel like replicating her mind more and she needed the practice.

"When-" Weiss sidestepped a charging bone encrusted Cerberus like Grimm, removing its front legs and letting Yang finish it. "-did I become the control hub for Vale?"

She was going to have to change something at some point, her current methods were not viable to keep using until the end of the Loop.

Yang laughed, obliterating a massive cockroach Grimm that had burst out of the ground. "It's because you acted first. How long has it been anyway?"

"About 4 hours since the attack began and two and half since the flood of Grimm really started. 42 minutes since we Woke up." Weiss took a moment to survey the situation, floodlights gave the only real illumination in the chaos, showing a blood drenched scene of madness. It was a losing fight, trying to hold back the Grimm so the supplies and vehicles could get through, on foot or car. The Grimm filled sky rendered aerial aid mostly impossible.

Her own summons helped hold back the lesser Grimm, allowing everyone else to deal with the more dangerous monsters. But it was not enough, it was very tempting to just let loose and wipe out the Grimm. But that would require extensive out of Loop abilities and cause massive civilian casualties. But it was becoming increasingly tempting to bring out some better scanners so they could find Ruby and Salem and just end this damn thing.

Weiss huffed, shattering a White Fang member into chunks of frozen meat; those murderers had caused havoc in the beginning, fighting alongside Vale then abruptly turning against them. "Blake, I have the location of a Grimm Relay located in the mountains, an explosive arrow could hit it from here. Sending it now."

Back flipping away from a Deathstalker that had just spewed acid, Blake ensnared it with Dust, shadowy binds holding the monster down. Trusting Yang to finish it, Blake turned her attention to the information Weiss had just sent her, eyes spinning. Moments later an arrow cut through the air, fired from a bow held by a colossal Skeleton shrouded in flames that rose up into the sky.

Weiss nodded in satisfaction as the Grimm seemed to spasm for a moment, reports already coming in that the White Fang's control was weakening. Every Grimm Relay that fell reduced the White Fang's control; even their amulets could only do so much.

35

And then, abruptly, everything present seemed to jump. The strange Grimm, the civilians, the speeding vehicles, the Loopers, all parted from the ground en masse. It only lasted a second, but it was a second that levitated them three stories before gravity regained control.

Yang retained enough presence of mind to blast herself out of the way of a falling car. "What and how?!" She grunted as she plowed into one of the centipede Grimm, shotgun punching the creature in the face. "Did somebody drop a gravity dust grenade?"

Blake rolled to a landing, already continuing her deadly blade twirling. "Too wide an effect. The amount of dust would have to be equal to a nuke." She whipped Gambol Shroud around, letting fire dust conjure up a flaming tornado.

"Best bet is that gravity... failed..." Weiss frowned for a moment, sidestepping a too-large beowolf's swipe. "I have to check something. Cover me!"

Blake and Yang spun around and jumped to her side as she summoned a thick chamber of ice around her. Weiss didn't spare a glance at their silhouettes-she was confident they could hold back the mob of Grimm, even ones as oddly powerful as these. Instead she pulled the most powerful scanners she could from her Pocket; a Tricorder, her Sailor Mercury computer, an Omnitool, and a third-generation 'Sonic Screwdriver Prototype' she had won in a bet with a certain yellow pony. Networking them together would have been impossible for a mere mortal and even as a Looper she was having a hard time getting them all to cooperate, but pressure and fear turned her mind into crystal as she interpreted the combined data.

"...temporary failure of gravity... increased polarity of atmospheric vapors... fluctuations in the background microwave radiation? That-that's..."

She stared at the screen. "That's... oh, deathstalker fuck me sideways!"

Weiss stowed away the computers and shattered the ice. "We have a problem."

"Yeah?" Yang glanced over her shoulder as she punched out another megaGrimm. "What's-WHOA!" She gaped as Weiss released a huge stream of water, froze it, and shattered it in all of three seconds. "What the hell, Weiss, there could have been civilians in there-!"

"We all Woke Up at the same time. Nobody's seen Ruby since she apparently went Grimm-hunting. And reality is beginning to break apart."

Blake's ears twitched, and she turned to stare at her with dawning dread. "Wait. You're not saying what I think you're saying... are you?"

Weiss nodded grimly. "Somebody's trying to Ascend."

A wretched pallor seemed to descend at those words, the Loopers looking about the pitched battle with newfound horror.

"...This was a distraction." Yang stared as a Grimm started to stand. "This was all a distraction."

"Whoever's been doing this-they have to have been planning it for a while. And with all the Grimm, they have to be native." Blake stepped closer to the others. "It's one of us..."

Weiss took a deep breath. "As of this moment, our goals are to find out who it is and save Ruby, in that order. We can't break reality any more than it already is. Beyond that..."

She produced a second rapier, and stared down the horde in front of her as two lightsabers hovered over her shoulders. "Nothing else matters."

36

Ruby yawned and sat up, stretching her arms.

"Hey, Ruby," Yang grinned up at her. "Roman called. He has his bar up for the Loop and wants us to come taste-test his drinks. The non-alcoholic ones." Her form seemed to flicker slightly for a brief moment, brief enough to be missed by the Anchor.

"Cool," Ruby chirped. "What building is his bar in this time? Salem's castle?"

"Nah, I think he's only using that for experiments now," Yang shook her head. "I'm betting he stole the Schnee Mansion, just to say he did."

"By that logic, he's probably going to eventually have stolen every building on Remnant at some point," Ruby pointed out, jumped down from her bed. She frowned. "Actually, he probably would. Especially if we mentioned it to him." Ruby looked around. "Where are Weiss and Blake?"

Yang pointed at the bathroom door where running water could be heard. "Blake is in there and Weiss is talking to JNPR about something"

"I'm surprised you're not with Blake," Ruby teased.

"What makes you think I wasn't?" Yang smirked.

Ruby wrinkled her nose. "I don't need to hear that!"

Yang shrugged. "You started it."

Ruby shook her head with a giggle then stopped abruptly, staring at her sister. Yang peered at her curiously. "Is something wrong?"

Ruby blinked and shook her head again. "Nah, everything is fine," she assured her sister. She was just imagining things. Yang's mouth didn't twist into a vicious smirk for a moment. Nor were her eyes golden or crying tears of blood. She was just seeing things. "I'm gonna go join Weiss, okay?"

"Sure thing, sis," Yang nodded.

Ruby smiled and turned to get dressed. Maybe she should look into some holiday Loops. Especially if she was seeing things. Just to be on the safe side.

37

Cinder's world was light and flames that set her soul ablaze, Rising and Falling in an ever increasing tempo as she became more. All that she was and could be, spinning outwards into new thoughts, dream and nightmares. All that she was crystallising, her soul becoming the seed of something greater.

She was not aware of the dazzling lights that danced across her skin and that filled the previously dark, cold and silent chamber, or of the arcane machinery that crackled with prismatic light. Lines of power arcane and mundane, cascading down the insides of the Amity Colosseum, arcing through the air as the power until they filled the darkness, forming shimmering patterns and blazing, colourless sparks that danced around the suspended figure.

Above the glowing stadium, Cinder hung in wretched solitude, wreathed in the building storm scintillating light. Feeling the how the power resonated in time with her soul and the Dust that filled the Colosseum. Absorbing and focusing the growling power, catalysing the change taking place in her soul.

Accelerating a process that would otherwise take days and reducing it to mere hours.

Rise

The nimbus of light flared, growing in size and power, swirling like a four dimensional galaxy in a space where distance died. Uncountable points of crystalline energy glowing like jewelled light and nothingness, fluttering amongst the building storm. Dark energies shrouded Cinder with their abhorrent brilliance, threatening to rip her asunder; mind, body and soul as she drifted in the growing maelstrom.

The world brightened as the twisting energies poured into her soul, Cinder could feel herself change in some unfathomable way as realty deepened and sharpened. The power she was gathering in each cycle growing exponentially, far beyond anything she had ever wielded before.

Absently, the thought flittered through Cinder's mind that it was annoying having to use this work around when she should just be able to just will herself to Godhood. To just let her power free, her Pocket becoming fuel for her soul's ascension as her mortality burnt away along with the world.

Cinder knew how to Ascend using nothing more than her own power and will, every Looper who was powerful enough did. But time was the unknown; for one of the Original Seven it might have only taken minutes due to their power and skill, for someone else? There were no precedents, no case studies and no predictions.

And Cinder doubted she had the power or skill to pull it off before she could be stopped. Her studies had led to the feeling that it would take upwards of a day or more, time she simply could not guarantee. Every moment was just another chance of something going wrong, for her opportunity to be stolen away, for one of the Loopers to interfere.

And she could not just kill them all, she knew that would be a bad idea. The very thought making her feel sick with dread, even if the reasoning escaped her at the moment. It was not an issue though, none of it was.

Her pride would not cost her this one chance and the Loopers being present was a good thing. 

It had to be...

Fall

Unbidden, tears flowed down her cheeks from the odd feeling of loss and regret, shimmering in the baleful light that filled the world. She felt empty, everything that she was fading away, ripped away by the arcane machinery and her own will.

It ached, it hurt more than all she had felt so far. Echoing from the deepest recesses of her mind with emotions and thoughts Cinder could not grasp, the meaning slipping away like rose petals the moment she tried to grasp it.

Her fury rose as pain ripped through her mind as the flow reversed. Even now she was still having these problems?

… No matter, soon she would have it all and finally be free from her fate.

Rise

A scream tore free from her throat as the torrents of power flowed thought her, something deep in her soul expanding and shifting again. It was a pleasure she had never felt, in all her experiments – never having pushed this far.

It was an untold agony, guilt and loss drowned by fury and hate at her own weakness, the faint emotions dying unacknowledged. The aurora of Lights and Nothingness once more increasing, far beyond their previous height.

Fall

Cinder let out a strangled gasp, almost losing control of the unfathomable blend of energies as they surged out. The Dust imbued Colosseum blazed more intensely with each cycle, wind and light dancing around it as a distorted music seemed to fill the area. The machinery started to fail under the strain, they would not survive another cycle.

But they had served their purpose, she could do the rest herself.

Rise

The power was a siren's call, kaleidoscopic sounds blending with the ethereal-smells of fire and scolding wrath. Cinder's eyes pulsed, one becoming nothing more than an orb of crimson flames and the other burning with a deep golden amber as the cycle reached its crescendo.

Fall

Power cloaked her body even as it receded, wrapping around the colosseum, seeping into her being as she slowly but surely became more. Cinder gritted her teeth as the cycles continued, slower and more excruciating as she forced each one by herself. Pulling more and more power from and into her soul, the Amity Colosseum blazing with a riot of colours and powers as it twisted and changed, verging on completion.

The Final Key to her plan, the Crucible and Catalyst for her Ascension.

Each cycle hurt more than the last, exquisite agony beyond mortal understanding tore through her soul and deeper. The eldritch blend of energies threatening to slip from her grasp and tear everything apart.

And in that instance, Cinder envied Madoka for something else, something other than her Godhood. Her Ascension was Wished powered and instantaneous. No preparation or danger, simply her own nature as the Anchor of an unstable world and an ill thought out Wish.

True Eternity and Freedom, granted to someone by sheer chance and Administrator negligence, while she had to suffer and claw her way to Godhood.

Cinder seethed as she burnt alive in the nexus of power, but she did not have to remain focused for too much longer, on this step at least.

The Crucible was almost ready.

Rise

Beyond that… She had no real idea on the time or what it would feel like. But it would be Glorious.

In the end, victory always tasted sweeter when you earn it in blood and pain after all.

Fall

The haunting music, that choir of the end, resonated through her mind, drawing forth all her fears and desires. The blend of powers growing as they consumed the world, slowly becoming a coherent whole. Then it would only be a matter of time as she devoured the final Remnants of her mortality.

Rise

A beam of light shot out of the Crucible, forming a circle filled with shining sigils and shifting patterns. In the exact centre between the Crucible and the burning array, Cinder floated, head thrown back with a mind rending scream, resonating with something other.

Space twisted and open revealing a room filled with arcane machinery, all hooked up to a girl encased in an organic-inorganic pod. A flowering plant sank its roots into her skin and trapped the red haired figure in her dreams.

Fall

The Crucible and Portal pulsed in time with each other; brighter and larger, smaller and dimmer. A trickle of power slowing starting to flow from the Portal to the Crucible, becoming one with the ever growing spiral.

Rise

Space twisted and distorted, the Crucible and Portal becoming one. Cinder screamed, Cinder laughed, Cinder cried, and Cinder rose. For a single instance, Remnant stood still. Harsh winds beginning to whip across the world, tearing away the heat. Gravity dying and Time skipping.

Blood slowly filled the colosseum, shining with a shifting light of Amber and Crimson. Glowing sparks playing across its surface as it glittered like diamonds in the dark. Wind started to whip around the stadium, as more and more light poured into the glowing Crucible.

Fall

Cinder opened her eyes once more, watching with empyreal eyes of Crimson Flames and Golden Wreathed Amber as Grimm enveloped Vale, a tide of darkness and bone that reflected the faint scraps of light from the moon.

With a thought, the skies darkened. Grimm and monsters from beyond Remnant rising up from the ground and sea, taking flight from the distant moon and blotting out the stars and moon and plunging the world into darkness.

Everything seemed to slow down, the world reduced to a glacial crawl and her blood boiled with the cold of Heat Death. Cinder watched in agony from up high as Ren seemed to defy gravity, frozen in the air as he lept over a deformed Grimm, bullets creeping forwards in slow motion.

She was so close. Soon nothing they did would matter, she just had to keep them distracted for a bit longer.

Why was it taking so long!

The Crucible was focusing and magnifying her power, letting her feed off Ruby and the world. She should be further along already!

Rise

Ashes slowly filled the air, lingering on Cinder's tongue, seemingly to tasting of eternity and burning wood, as the veil of reality burnt away. Cinder laughed as tears of blood leaked out of her sole amber eye, shining darkly in the iridescent light that wrapped her body. Drinking deeply on the nigh endless power Ruby had accumulated over aeons, pushing her closer to the edge.

Plasma and Petals raced through her veins, burning away her mortality piece by piece as she drank in the Searing power of the Stars and the Blood and Rose scented power of Remnant's Anchor. Feasting on the foundations of existence as the Rapture began.

FALL

Infinity stretched out before her, all evanescing colors with no light, shadows with no life or soul. Echoes along the broken Tree of what may have once been, lost forever more.

In the twilight, pillars of light glowed like beacons of life and power, limitless in distance and unbound by death, they glowed like paragons of glory.

And she would Rise above All!

RISE

Cinder screamed as an inferno of blood and lighting wind enveloped her, rivers of prismatic light lighting up the sky.

The flow of power from Ruby slowing and cutting off, a scream of fury resonating through her mind before the distant feeling of Ruby's mind faded, the connection severing. Too little, and too late to change the outcome.

And Eternity began to shatter as a nascent Goddess gazed across the world with twin eyes of hatred and desire, and of fading grief and remorse.

With a negligent gesture, Shards of the Broken Moon being torn from orbit, raining down like balls of fire. Twisting and turning around the Crucible as they glowed, dormant generators coming online and encasing her in overlapping shields.

From within her egg, Cinder gazed out at what remained of Remnant, watching as madness and chaos consumed the world.

FALL!