Twisted~ So, from now to the next - and hopefully last - chapter, I don't know how much Mika we'll have. She's on her own fic, which is awesome. Anyways, in this chapter we'll see quite a few plans laid out, by quite a few people indeed. Not sure on it's length, since I do these prior to actually writing it, but still. Might be kinda kinda short, honestly, if I stick to just people making plans. But I'll hopefully be starting on the finale as soon as I finish this.

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"What, exactly, do you mean, mister Arc?" Jaune flinched and looked away from the older man at how hard his voice went, and he heard him sigh lightly, "Forgive my harshness, but this… Frankly, I see no way it could be possible." "And the threat there is high as well, if she is unfriendly as she seems to be…" "What did she look like?"

"Uhh… Kinda like a black haired Yang, but a lot older I guess. She was wearing a black uniform as well, if that helps." He said quietly, sighing again, more out of frustration with his failure to get her name than anything else, "I got out of there as fast as I could when I heard that voice, Headmaster. I wasn't paying close enough attention."

"Your instinct drove you to flight so forcefully you lost track of your surroundings? You lost track of your enemy? It… It is instinctive to fear certain things, for Humans. Grimm, mostly." Ozpin sighed, eyes boring into the desk in front of him while he thought, "If that is the nature of what you heard, then my concern is more warranted than I thought. But… How is that even possible? That is what interests, and worries, me to no end right now."

"I don't have the slightest clue, sir. I just… I knew you'd know what to do, or at least have some kind of idea or something." Jaune looked at Ozpin, part in desperation and part in exasperation, and sighed when the other man stayed quiet, his thoughts a blur of things Jaune couldn't understand about seasons and girls and, of all things, Pyrrha, "Why would you think of her?"

"Hm?"

"Pyrrha. You thought of her, and something about seasons and women… What does she have to do with anything?" Ozpin smiled slightly, almost a grimace honestly, and sighed quietly, "Sir?"

"Jaune, tell, me, what do you know about fairy tales?" Ozpin smiled, reclining in his chair comfortably and letting out a comfortable breath. Jaune merely gave him a confused look, waiting for him to speak and explain what he meant, "Are you familiar with the Tale of the Old Man and his Seasons? Or do you know it by the name of the Four Maidens?"

"I don't know either, honestly. Sorry, sir." He grimaced, and Ozpin spun in his chair to look out the window at the sky, enjoying the sight for a few moments before speaking.

"Once upon a time, in a place we no longer know the location of by the sea, an old man lived in a small cottage all alone. He had lived there his entire life, rarely stepping out of his home for more than a moment. And never opening his door for anyone for any reason, or any person." Ozpin paused, taking a long sip of his now-cold coffee before continuing, "I'll get to the gist, as I sense we may be short of time. One day, he met several girls that he grew attached to. They made him happier in a year than he had been in centuries. So he gave them gifts. The power to control the very elements of the seasons, Winter, Summer, Spring and Fall. Not a Semblance, mind you. Actual, legitimate, magical power."

Jaune almost wanted to argue, and he knew Ozpin was aware of this, but deep down, thanks to his power… he knew it was true, so he instead took a deep breath and exhaled slowly," And, uh, what does this have to do with me?"

"We need someone to replace one of those women. Someone strong, loyal, brave, strong…" He gave Jaune a long, hard look, frowning grimly and knitting his fingers together comfortably, "You know who I am referring to."

Jaune did, of course. No one could hide their thoughts from Jaune, for better or worse at this point he couldn't be sure. So when Ozpin asked the rhetorical question, jaune knew his answer instantly and completely. He hated it, of course. He could sense Ozpin's own fears over… Something to do with the prospect, though Jaune couldn't discern with without asking directly. And he didn't know what to ask to force the thoughts forward. But it, truly, didn't matter to Jaune in the least.

"You want Pyrrha…"

"Yes. I need her to become a Maiden, because we need to use that power against whatever this is." Ozpin explained calmly, giving the boy a thing smile and forcing all thoughts of the woman in his basement from his mind to avoid scaring the already frightened young man, "I will handle all of the intricacies with her, I just need you to convince her to do it in the first place. Her power combined with your ability and my resources will guarantee everyone's safety."

Jaune took a long time to respond, and a normal man may have grown worried over him in that time. But Ozpin was far, far from normal, and knew enough about Jaune to already know his decision, "Fine. Tell me what I should do, exactly."

Ozpin simply smiled simply, taking a long drink of his coffee and reaching for his Scroll. "Glynda? I need you to start preparing my selection and escort her to the Vault. We have a new piece that will let us move much, much faster on the table." Also, I want dossiers on every single woman with black hair that Jaune has talked to in the last week. Get any and all information on them and their teams to my Scroll as soon as possible." He pressed the end-call button a moment later, not waiting or needing to for her confirmation, "As for you, Jaune, I need you to come with me to speak with Miss Nikos about this, in the Vault. Normally, I would prefer waiting to ensure she is the best option, but the ease with which we can recruit her should be taken into account here. As well as your information."

Jaune simply nodded and closed his eyes, hoping he'd made the right choices.

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Cinder sat in the shower, unable to even enjoy the hot water massaging her back as her mind swam in orders and instructions, ideas and demands. Her mistress was angry and afraid, the former the norm for the Grimm-mother, but the latter… That was new. Not entirely unwarranted, however, as the Grimm-mother had survived so long mostly on her secrecy alone, because as strong as she was - and she was a god in her own right - she couldn't stand against the planet's entire military might. They'd barrage her over and again until she died, both she and her Mistress knew that.

"Salem, I can easily kill the boy. But if I do, then we both know our plans will be halted. Should I have our allies leave while I do this, to limit the damages?" There was no verbal response, Salem was too angry for that. Merely a sense of affirmation, making Cinder sigh tiredly and agitatedly. "I understand, Mistress. It shall be done. Do I need to worry about subterfuge now, or should I just attack directly?"

"No! StRike now at the BOY, ElsE he shall ruIN everyTHing!" Cinder was surprised that Salem actually put in the effort to set aside her anger and speak, flinching at the rage and hatred that still leaked though. She nodded, mentally affirming that she udnerstod the instructions while she towled off and grabbed her clothing, "USe the TwO HumAnS with you as well. ThEY aRe ExpeNdable Enough."

"Understood. I will prepare them and lead them myself, he won't stand a chance against us. Even if his team is present, we'll still crush them easily enough." She felt the Grimm's satisfaction before it withdrew from the connection, and Cinder sighed tiredly. Conversing with the Grimm-mother was always exhausting, especially longer conversations like the one she'd been in. Only for Cinder, of course, but that only meant that her mistress didn't care to leave until she was satisfied.

"Mercury, Emerald, get your equipment and prepare yourself. Plans have changed, we need to eliminate someone here and withdraw." She held a hand up when the duo made to complain, eyes closed and sighing lightly, "Salem's orders directly. If you so desire, you may discuss it with her when we meet her again."

"Because that's such a great thing to do… Fine, who the hell is it that's so damn important that we have to throw away everything we've worked for?" Mercury half-demanded, the young man completely unwilling to truly demand anything from Cinder in the slightest. Truly, he didn't require the explanation he sought to follow orders, "Just seems like a waste is all."

"Yeah, I mean, I don't want to just cut and run after everything either…" And Emerald, the little girl that she knew to be nursing a crush on her. Which was useful as much as it was annoying, so Cinder left it. She raised an eyebrow at the young woman and she sat up straighter on the bed, looking away nervously, "Sorry."

"Relax, Grasshead, it's just a question," Mercury chided condescendingly, laying on his own bed in the corner comfortably until he saw Cinder's irritated expression, "S-Sorry, ma'am."

"Someone has discovered Salem and her nature, and we need to eliminate them immediately. We don't have time to waste making a plan to keep our other goals in sight, so once he is eliminated we withdraw immediately." The criminal mastermind sighed sadly, grimacing and trying to shove the bitter taste of retreat out of her mouth, "We can use the 'Fang's resources to strike in other ways. They won't be quite as… subtle, I'm sure, but they will work just fine, in time. We just need to take time with it and move carefully."

The two merely nodded, each starting to move towards the lockers where they could recover their gear, and to attack as ordered.

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Twisted~ There. Next chapter I finish it all up and move on.