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jeonggukieandcream · 4 years

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Save Me and Hold Me Tight

Request: Kuroshitsuji AU where Ciel and Alois work their shit out but Claude is still dead, and Ciel and Sebastian kinda take Alois in and train him in tough love to be a more civilised person, and after a while he ends up being good friends with everyone - @flupetyflupflupp

Word count: 2, 487.

They find him broken and bleeding underneath a large oak tree, its branches spindly; its leaves brown and dying. It was a sorrowful scene, but one in which change could be made for the better.

Ciel and Sebastian are here presented with a choice as they take in the grisly scene:

Leave Alois to die, or save him.

They have seconds to make a decision before Alois' heart gives out, the blood loss from the extent of his injuries too great, and the decision is made for them.

Blood spilled out from Alois' physical wounds; used though Ciel was to seeing violence, for often was he the one ordering for it to be carried out, Ciel gasped at the sight.

It was not the wounds which Alois had obtained which so disgusted Ciel, but the fact that this was a broken contract; a treacherous demon.

In that moment did Ciel know how truly lucky he was to have such a devoted demon, and a noise of shock and, dare he think it, pain ripped from Ciel's throat, though quickly did he attempt to disguise it as a cough.

“I know, Young Master.” Venomous rage dripped from Sebastian's every word, though his facial expression and body language was carefully schooled into one of indifference.

“We must help him, Sebastian.”

“Young Master?��

“That's an order, do you hear me? We will take him in. Heal him. Show him a different way. He's not so separated from me, after all.” Ciel's voice shook with barely suppressed anger and sadness, for himself and for Alois, but he swallowed the bitter taste down and used it for power, motivation.

“Young Master, he may be too far gone. So impressionable an age, so unseemly a demon...”

“We have to try.” Resignation. Determination. Sorrow. Rage.

Red eyes flashed fuchsia. “Yes, my lord.”

With as much tenderness as he usually displayed towards Ciel did Sebastian cradle Alois' abused, broken and battered body in his arms. He didn't hug Alois to his chest, though. That is a privilege only for his Young Master.

Soma and Agni were Sebastian's first thought; Alois would need constant supervision and a gentler touch while he was physically healing.

Upon hearing the very basics of what had happened to this boy – on a strictly need to know basis, of course - one who had so many similarities to Ciel that he was a literal parallel, the two men agreed.

Soma would be the more eager of the two, wanting to make friends with Alois and spend more time with Ciel, whereas Agni would be mentally preparing himself, for he would know that a rough time was ahead for all of them; but most especially for this young boy.

Upon hearing even the smallest of details about the entire situation, everyone, even the household staff, wouldn't be able to stop themselves from comparing Ciel to Alois, and this makes everyone determined to help Alois as best as they can.

There is nothing happy about this.

The solemn air which was in the Phantomhive Manor seemed to grow exponentially as the reality of the matter settled into the fine layer of dust which covered the lesser used rooms.

People's attentions were directed elsewhere; particularly the kitchen staff, whom were kept far away from Alois' chambers – they would be easy targets and the last thing Sebastian wanted to tend to was more wounds.

His Young Master had enough of those, thank you very much.

For the first week or so, Sebastian keeps Alois well sedated.

It's for his own good; he's so injured that the slightest movement could rip open his stitches.

No Doctor from the nearest town is called, despite Agni's vehement and frequent advice.

Sebastian is quite proficient, and so he undertakes the task himself. He is, after all, simply one hell of a butler.

His wounds are so severe that it takes Alois weeks to heal to such a point that Sebastian feels that it is safe to keep Alois awake; this is where tenderness is replaced by tough love and everyone feels its effect within an hour of the teenager first waking up.

Firstly, Alois has two fears: the dark and being left alone.

These two fears are discovered at precisely the same time as a weary Agni bids Alois a good night and tries to remove the candelabra from the bedside table on his way out of the door.

Alois jumped upright, almost tearing his stitches and setting fire to his bed, as the candelabra wobbled when his hand closed around Agni's slender wrist.

“No! Don't leave me! You – you can't!”

“Oh, heavens,” Agni would go into full on Mother Hen mode as he put the candelabra back on the bedside table and sits gingerly on the edge of the bed. “Why ever not?”

“I'm scared.” A quiet, ashamed mumble.

A resigned sigh from the doorway. “I'll stay with him. Can't have him waking the household. You may leave, Agni.”

Ciel starts to camp out in Alois' room from that first night of consciousness onwards and within a week, Sebastian moved Ciel's bed and immediate possessions into Alois' room.

The two bicker and physically fight like no one's business, but Agni and Sebastian do a very good job at not only separating the two when it's required, but also dispelling any tensions before they really begin.

At night time, the fighting stops as the two teenagers fall back on mutual understanding; they're not so different.

Once, Sebastian and Agni walked in on Alois throwing Ciel off the balcony, and then jumping down after Ciel, pummelling him with punches after punches.

Somehow did Ciel manage to roll their lithe bodies so that he was on top of Alois, and they traded punches.

Hearing the scuffles from the next room over did Agni and Sebastian rush into the foyer, barely exchanging a glance with each other before they rushed over to separate the two teenagers; naturally, Sebastian scooped Ciel up and cradled him protectively to his chest, and Agni grabbed Alois by his upper arms and pulled him away from the scene.

“I say! What an unseemly display!”

Ciel huffed. “It was nothing. A misunderstanding.”

Sebastian's concerned, “are you quite well, Young Master?” was drowned out by Alois' indignant cry of, “you're all just like him! My Claude... My heart was trapped in his deceptive spider's web but I only desired him...”

Rage turned to sorrow, and the pain in his voice rippled uncomfortably throughout the room.

A click resounded in Sebastian and Agni's minds as they both realised that now could the true healing process commence.

Ciel shivered, clung to Sebastian's frame. Sebastian gripped him tightly – hold on to me – and the demon shot Agni A Look; this meant that each butler would take their charges and physically separate them for the duration of the day.

Agni, having to take care of Soma and Alois, left the two young teenagers while he cooked a curry for dinner – Soma, eager to get to know Alois, tried desperately to crack through Alois' facade, to break through the anger and reach the corrupted core of the sadistic but deeply hurting boy.

Something occurred throughout the day for both teenagers, for come night time, did Ciel end up climbing into Alois' bed after an hour of listening to Alois tossing and turning.

“Move over.” Ciel huffed, and though Alois initially stiffened up and refused to move, Ciel only moved to the other side of the bed and clambered in, taking Alois' agreement in his total apathy – Ciel knew that Alois didn't really want to say no, it was self preservation which made him rude and cold, and so in Alois' silence was consent.

Come morning, when Sebastian rapped upon the door with the second knuckle of his gloved index finger, Agni hovering behind him – both were braced for war, even at this early hour when the sun still hadn't quite risen above the horizon – they found the two teenagers in bed together, facing one another.

Alois' blonde hair spilled over the pillow like a halo, Ciel's raven locks mingled and joined with the blonde, so closely were they laying together, and it was like a physical representation of Yin and Yang.

To Agni, anyway.

To Sebastian, it looked like a devil (raven locks) and an angel (blonde hair); he found irony in this, for though his Young Master's hair was dark, he was decidedly more angelic than the boy with the blonde hair.

He was probably biased, though.

Another breakthrough was made this day, for any time after that, if one of them had a nightmare, then the other would climb into their bed.

They didn't hug, they didn't do anything more than simply share a bed, and sometimes would sentences fall from their lips, hushed confessions spoken into the darkness which enveloped them, and it was almost like therapy on their weary souls.

Sometimes, Sebastian would come in too; shadows writhing on the walls, between pieces of furniture, and he would stand just inside the doorway; carmine eyes flashing fuchsia as he listens to the two teenagers talking.

Both of them knew that the demon was there, as silently had Sebastian and Ciel taken Alois under their firm guidance.

It was hard. Sometimes, Sebastian would answer their whispered confessions with logical statements to dispel their sorrows, many of which were shared.

Sometimes, he would dip his chin so that the shadows in the room enunciated his aristocratic cheekbones, a devilish smirk on his face as he just listened with his arms crossed behind his back.

Sometimes... oh, sometimes, the space where his heart should be would clench in awe and almost sadness at how much grief, pain, rage and sorrow which these two souls – both so young, so young, and yet so tired, bore on their shoulders.

Over the weeks and months, everyone in the Phantomhive Manor had to establish a new system of communications.

Alois was short tempered and rough of manners. He was demanding, callous, sadistic and he behaved atrociously.

Even by Soma's standards, Alois was just rude.

Often times, after Alois snapped or yelled at someone, Sebastian's spine would straighten as he drew himself up to his full height, displeasure flashing across his face before his expression schooled into its usual calm indifference.

“Would you like to try again with a different tone, young Trancy?”

“No.” A petulant whine. Crossed arms and a pout.

“Very well.” Sebastian would leave it at that, cold and uncaring, and Alois, so desperate for approval and affection, would immediately stammer out the same words in a gentler tone, or he would try to reword everything in a wholly different tone; it depended on what he had said and the context in which it was spoken.

One time, Mey-Rin served Alois eggs for breakfast and Alois flung the plate on the floor.

Or, he tried to.

Sebastian caught the plate, set it back on the table so that nothing was disturbed – he had been so fast that the plate hadn't even gone over the edge of the table before he had caught it – and in the same movement scooped Alois up unceremoniously and without all the usual reverence which he displayed towards his Young Master,

Alois was sent to his room for the rest of the day.

By three in the afternoon, Ciel had huffed, flung his pen down, and gone to his shared bedroom with the blonde teenager.

Hours passed and none knew of what transpired in that room.

But when it was dinner time and Alois shuffled out of the bedroom with Ciel eyeing him pointedly, Alois offered a quiet, timid yet genuine apology to Mey-Rin and everyone else.

He knew he was forgiven when, in a clipped British accent did Sebastian say, “That is acceptable. You may join us for dinner if the Young Master is agreeable.”

Ciel was.

Almost six months after Alois joined the Phantomhive Manor did he meet Lizzie, and he was cooed over, hugged, cuddled and even kissed once on the cheek!

She had heard beforehand what had happened to him – she knew as much as Soma and Agni did, which is to say, they knew enough to know that he needed help, even if they didn't exactly know why.

She would definitely be the one to help Alois the most, treating him with all the kindness that she naturally carried within her – kindnesses which Ciel often shunned.

I feel like Alois would end up telling Ciel to treat Lizzie with more kindness and Ciel would scoff and remind Alois of how he treats everyone.

They would both promise to just try to be nicer to everyone and to themselves.

At every meeting, Lizzie was her usual exuberant self, Ciel his usual apathetic self, Sebastian his usual attentive self. Soma and Agni were off in London doing who knew what, and the household staff were all attending to their never ending duties with explicitly stated instructions spoken twice so that they knew that Sebastian was being completely serious when he said to not get into any trouble.

So. Recovery was slow. It was painful for everyone, but most especially for Ciel and for Alois; two teenage boys who had been through such similar horrific things.

If Alois had been given a demon like Sebastian, then he would have found a place to call his own, a home.

But instead he had been very nearly killed by his demon, the one being who was supposed to keep him safe.

Nothing was easy in their lives and nothing ever would be easy, but they took it an hour at a time if they had to, and a day at a time when it seemed to be going well.

Alois' sadism would be mellowed out, Ciel's anger soothed with a like minded companion, and Sebastian would find himself not wholly wanting to complete the contract, for he found that he rather liked what he had with this contracted soul.

It was bittersweet that something that grew into beauty came from so much pain, but it's a cruel fact of life that the most deserving of souls are fated to suffer the harshest hands.

#alois trancy #alois trancy au #kuroshitsuji #kuroshitsuji imagine #kuroshitsuji au #black butler #black butler imagine #black butler au

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nezzfiction · 5 years

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ENMY Chapter 89 - Fourth Crusade (Part One)

Chapter Synopsis: The Kingdom of Vacuo is about to enter its most daunting challenge since its conception. Salem is launching the Fourth Crusade. A war to end some of Remnant’s greatest warriors, including Team ENMY. Assistance from Atlas is on its way, but will the Fleet arrive in time to make a difference?

Only one thing is certain. Whatever happens in Vacuo will echo the events to come for the rest of Remnant.

Series Synopsis: Team RWBY is disbanded, and Yang must find herself new allies. For her, that might very well be yesterday’s enemies. Joining up with the likes of Emerald, Mercury, and Neo, the four will comprise Team Enemy(ENMY).

Links to read the series: Ao3 or FF.net

Or hit the jump below

Fourth Crusade (Part One)

Well, I looked my demons in the eyes, laid bare my chest,

Said, “Do your best. Destroy me. You see, I’ve been to hell and back so many times, I must admit,

You kind of bore me.”

“Have you finished relaying the situation?” Temujin asked.

“Ran your people the basic play by play,” Emerald answered. “Cuckoos gone, some of their loved ones gone, hordes of Grimm, plus, a giant freakin’ butterfly making a beeline for us.”

“Moth.”

“What?”

“It’s a moth.”

“Right. Behemoth. I get it.”

“Have you modified their emotions?”

“Tweaked them just a touch. They were as angry as you wanted them to be and ready to war without it.”

“That will do. Wake them. And connect my thoughts to theirs.”

“From sweet dreams to full-blown nightmare. This is gonna be a scene.”

As the mental connection secured, Temujin stepped onto the balcony of the Hanging Gardens. She sat on her small stool, and took her familiar horse-fiddle in her hands. As she touched the bow to the strings, her throat opened and she drew strength from her diaphragm.

Another tragedy to carve in these old bones one last time.

One last burden.

One last sin.

Temujin bore her soul bare to the untethered sun and the desert’s hot air.

Answer me, one last time.

My Kingdom of Blades.

A low, soulful song reverberated into the skies above Vacuo. Its volume began low, but slowly and surely, its melody became a crescendo that shook the heavens. The citizens roused to its sound. The voice of their Great Khan, the voice of their Kingdom. It called them to arms.

I failed you.

I deceived you.

I betrayed the Code I set for you all.

But will you answer me once more?

If this is our end, will we stand together?

How will we march into the darkness?

With fear?

Or will it be with Wrath in our hearts?

A single command coursed through the minds of her people. A pure emotion of most unmitigated rage. A sweltering draught that drowned away their sorrows.

All across the city, the citizens of Vacuo stirred. They stood tall with their chests out. Their weapons drawn and raised high.

“An Eye for an Eye.”

X X X X X

Despite the conference room in Atlas HQ being something the size of a small theater, all its occupants were struck silent. None could watch the floating projection, and not be horrified by what was displayed.

Finally, a lone, timid voice spoke what they were all thinking.

“They’re doomed.”

The digital map zoomed out to show the Vacuo capital and its surrounding lands. Rounding to hit the city from the North and South were hosts of Grimm almost twice the city’s size A flood of red markers filled the edges of the map, but the more imminent threat was displayed by the monstrous Behemoth flying directly from the West.

Murmurs began flooding the room. Mutterings of disbelief and fear rose with a rising tide.

“How can that many Grimm be controlled?”

“If something like that attacked us, would the Aegis and Javelin System be enough?”

“We should order our Fleet back. Strengthen our defenses here.”

“It’s all over for them.”

A hand slammed loudly onto the table. Cinder’s furious gaze silenced the room and brought order to the staff.

“How far is the reinforcement Fleet?” she asked.

None made a move.

“How far are they?!”

They all jumped, and one officer rapidly tapped her tablet.

“Still a day’s flight, ma’am! Twenty hours estimated!”

“Is there any way to shorten the travel time for the remaining distance?”

“They could possibly cut down a few hours by traveling at maximum thrust. However, that would only be possible for a small portion of the Fleet.”

“…”

“It would be advised not to separate—”

“I know that!” Cinder shouted in exasperation.

“……Ma’am, I think we should consider withdrawing the reinforcements.”

The Black Queen offered no response to the suggestion. She remained quiet, studying the scales and balances in her head. There was a tough call to make in this. The future of Atlas, and more importantly Remnant’s, would hinge on the actions she took now.

We didn’t expect Salem’s resources to be so extensive.

Can Vacuo hold until the Fleet arrives?

Even with the little aces up our sleeves, the chances of victory are too low to entertain.

Initiating the fight with Salem backfired.

No, it would have been worse to wait. At least, the Cuckoos have been removed from the board.

Is the situation still salvageable?

…

The smart move would be to recall our forces.

By the time they arrive, Vacuo will likely be overrun to a point they cannot recover.

…

Team ENMY must be evacuated.

Cinder looked up to the officer-in-waiting.

“Sortie the light-traveling transport marked Swordfish ahead to retrieve—”

“Belay that order.”

Cinder turned in surprise to Weiss’ sudden interruption. Her surprise quickly transitioned to smoldering fury.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“We aren’t sure Vacuo is lost yet,” Weiss answered.

“With all due respect, my fellow Queen, Vacuo can’t possibly hold out against that,” Cinder motioned to the projection. “Not until reinforcements arrive, and even then, the chances of victory are too small to consider.”

“We need to contact Team ENMY.”

“We will give them the order to evacuate—and they will follow it.”

“Cinder…”

“…What?”

The Black Queen squinted, as the White leaned closer to speak loud enough so only they could hear.

“You know, better than I, the things Team ENMY is capable of.”

“I do,” Cinder nodded. “They can perform the impossible given the right circumstances. With adequate preparation and strong mental grit, they can and will perform outside expectation. But what Salem has brought to the board is completely out of their depth.”

“I want to hear what they have to report first.”

“And we shall, but do not hold out hope.”

“At this point, hope might be all we have.”

Cinder went quiet for a moment.

“I detest the idea of abandoning our allies more than you would believe, and this miscalculation frustrates me to no end—but we cannot afford to be stubborn at this juncture. I thought you were smarter than this.”

“I doubt we can outsmart the Witch, if that’s what we’ve been trying to do.”

“…”

“She’s had decades to prepare and plan and manipulate the variables, Cinder. We can’t win that way.”

Weiss’ words rung deep with the Black Queen. It was a thought she fought hard to abate, but seeing the might Salem brought live on the projection, Cinder could only face the truth. If this was a chess game, it wasn’t fair to begin with. The Witch had too many pieces from the start and moved several times before her first turn came.

It was enough to dishearten anyone.

But that was not what Cinder saw when she met her coregent’s eyes.

“…What are you thinking?” she couldn’t help but utter, almost disbelievingly.

“I’m not sure myself,” Weiss shook her head. “I think we have a choice, Cinder. It’s the choice you and I have been dreading without really knowing what it was.”

“…”

“I can feel it. We have to make a stand here. We have to.”

“…Is that your head speaking, or your heart, I wonder?”

“Both.”

“Very well, Weiss. We will delay ordering the retreat.”

Weiss blinked in surprise.

“Really?”

“As I said before, your counsels are always welcome. No matter how naïve or ludicrous they may be.”

“Hmph!”

Seeing her fellow Queen pout brought a slight smile, as well as lighten Cinder’s mood. She turned to the adjutant and gave the following order,

“Mobilize all the light transports. Few reinforcements sooner are better than none too late. Have the rest of the Fleet maintain course. Inform Trafalgar and Ironwood of the situation and our decision.”

“Ma’am, yes ma’am,” the officer saluted, and tapped at her tablet.

“And open a direct channel with Team ENMY in real time. Priority one.”

“Ma’am, it will take some time to construct a secure line.”

“It doesn’t need to be encrypted. I don’t care if Temujin eavesdrops on our conversation.”

“Yes, ma’am. Right away.”

Cinder breathed a quiet sigh and glanced at Weiss beside her.

“This is quite the gambit, my Queen.”

“You could have overruled me easily. You are, as you’re so fond of reminding me, director of all affairs military.”

“Indeed. But if I had to say…”

“I also think, a stand must be made.”

X X X X X

The throne room of the Hanging Gardens was instantly converted into a war room. Various communication equipment had been rigged around the chamber to coordinate their armies.

Ilia was busy giving sortie orders to the city wall’s hangars and garages to mobilize airships and other modes of transport. Nai had left earlier to join the battalion heading North. Minerva was dividing her students between those transported to the safety bunkers and those who would join the battle in the South.

Meanwhile, Temujin, the Rakis siblings, and Team ENMY had their attentions concentrated on the bigger picture.

“You’re sending an awful lot of your people to cover the armies at the flanks,” Emerald commented.

“Yes,” Temujin answered simply.

“But Behemoth was going to hit the city first. You want to take the fight to the other fronts, outside the walls.”

“Yes.”

“We were supposed to be locking down siege defense after we got rid of the Cuckoos.”

“We were.”

A tense silence filled the atmosphere.

“……You’re abandoning the city?” she whispered low.

Temujin didn’t give Emerald an answer. She rechecked how Vacuo’s military was being divvied up. It appeared none of the staff officers noticed how none of their forces were being devoted to Behemoth. The only way that was possible was if…

Emerald felt the stares of the Rakis siblings on her. Mouse and Knives were the most senior commanders just below Temujin. Minerva and Nai weren’t around, hands full with their own tasks.

“You knew you would have to abandon the city?” Emerald asked, remembering the Precognition Semblance the siblings had. “This was a future you guys saw?”

Mouse and Knives nodded slightly.

“So, what?! We went through with Operation Gun Dog for nothing?”

“It served its purpose. We also believed it might cause a deviation in the future they saw,” Temujin explained. “But it seems our gamble did not pay off on that venture.”

“Great! Thanks for clueing us in this late in the game. We knew Salem’s army wasn’t fucking around, but the wonder siblings didn’t see that big ass, Mothra-fucker coming?”

“The Witch did well to hide it. If you studied the material on our Grimm, you know Behemoth was outside expectation.”

“Yeah, it’s only in its adult form seven days out of the whole year. It also works on a strict timeclock, so you spawn-kill it as soon as it hatches out of its cocoon, far away from the any settlement.”

“There were measures to exterminate it months from now. In the worst case, we would have waited until it exhausted its lifespan.”

“Looks like there’s a new worst case now.”

“It is near impossible to defeat in fair, open ground. If the brunt of our forces were used to counter it, there would be nothing left when Salem’s main army arrived.”

“FUCK!”

Emerald continued to trade glares from Temujin to the large moth taking up the monitors. Poisonous powders spread beneath the Grimm’s shadow. Its toxins carried into the gusts of its wings. Once in a while, a few scales would drop from its body, unrolling into giant, armored caterpillars.

In addition to its other absurd traits, the Grimm possessed one other ability.

“You guys see any new visions of the future?” Emerald asked.

“…Yes,” Mouse squeaked out an answer.

“Let me guess. If you kept all your people behind the walls, and concentrated your attacks on Behemoth, it would’ve suicide bombed the city.”

Upon the Grimm’s death, it shed all of its scales, which caused an unfathomable amount of carnage in the surrounding environment. It was another reason the Vacuo military tried to lessen the damage by disposing it elsewhere.

“Salem won’t waste time. She’ll have it belly flop the city anyway,” Emerald bit her thumbnail. “That’s what I’d do. It’s too slow to wipe a good percent of a moving army, but it can level a lot of your standing fortifications. Salem’s trying to weaken the siege defense for the later game.”

“We have come to similar conclusions.”

“Any chance we can bring it down before it gets inside the walls?” Emerald continued to press.

“My sister and I foresaw something else, which our scouts have since then confirm.”

Mouse touched a nearby monitor and enhanced the image on the screen. Zoomed onto the back of Behemoth was a small army of Grimm. The groups seemed to be crowding something at their center like a shield wall. When the image was further enhanced, Team ENMY saw what was there.

A few of the Grimm Clan Leaders were identified. Camlann, Azkaban, and Combine were commanding their brethren from afar, while riding Behemoth’s back. The combination of area effects between Azkaban and Combine alone were enough to deter any real resistance. Their abilities were much more potent than the average Cuckoo or Daemontor, and their effect radiuses even wider so.

“…Crap. Then, what’s the plan?” Yang spoke up. “You guys do have a plan, right?”

Temujin looked to her goddaughter strangely, and sighed.

“A course of action is in place. Behemoth will be allowed to detonate within the city. After its death, our armies will retreat back behind whatever is left of the fortifications and initiate siege defense as planned.”

Yang threw Temujin an accusatory look.

“But the other citizens…!”

“Some will survive.”

“More will die!!!”

“Our warriors will fight all the harder.”

“You can’t be serious!”

Just then, Yang felt the oxygen empty from her lungs. She coughed violently from Temujin’s sudden activation of her territorial Semblance.

“I am deadly serious, my foolish goddaughter. It is the only way my people will survive.”

“By offering some of them on a silver platter…!” Yang forced her voice through. “I didn’t know you had such an ego…! I didn’t know you were so cold…!”

“You have no idea.”

“You’d sacrifice anything to win! What makes you so different from Salem?!”

“…Not much I suppose.”

“Bullshit!!!” Yang turned, and stormed from the throne room. Her team followed after.

Once ENMY was gone, Temujin bade a forlorn gaze to Knives and Mouse. Both were positively fuming and biting the edges of their lips to keep silent.

Good job holding back, you two.

We can’t have them staying behind, if they knew the truth.

Yang is right, though.

I would sacrifice anything to win…

Even myself.

X X X X X

As Yang stomped angrily out into the hall, her team caught up to her—right as she punched a hole through the nearby wall.

“Yang,” Emerald said with a hint of disappointment.

“I know what you’re going to say, Em.”

“Yeah, well. I’m going to say it anyway. Temujin’s making the right call.”

“I don’t know about ‘right’.”

“Either some die, or they all die together. Minus one is better than minus a hundred. The math isn’t hard to figure.”

“Or, we can make it’s minus zero.”

Yang stared at Emerald meaningfully, while the team leader narrowed her brow in return.

“Yang…”

“We can bring down Behemoth, Em.”

“Not after the gas we just spent on Operation Gun Dog. Not in time, anyway.”

“We can do it.”

Emerald held her head like she was massaging a migraine.

“Do I have to remind you how this is supposed to work? We frontload our hand on Operation Gun Dog. THEN, we rest a tic to recover what we spent. And only after, do we actually get in on the real fight with Salem’s army.”

“Except there’s no time to rest, because Behemoth is going to cannonball the city! We’re the only ones with enough firepower and mobility to stop it!”

“Alright. So tell me, what happens when we burn ourselves down to the felt taking down Behemoth—which is a little more than an impossible ask, by the way? You think Salem’s gonna pass up the chance to ghost us while we’re catching breaths in-between suicide missions? We know a certain somebody won’t.”

“We have to, Em! Innocent people will die!”

“You and I both know the safety bunkers might hold up,” Emerald crossed her arms with a suspecting stare.

“We don’t know that,” Yang argued back.

“Some of them will.”

“A lot of them won’t!”

“Yang.”

“What?!”

“I should be asking you that.” Emerald stepped close to Yang’s face. “What’s with you? Since when were you so touchy about people dying?”

“Since always!”

“No, not when we had to fight on Dracul. Not when we were making enemies in Vale. And definitely, not when we were taking over Atlas. I mean, you did, but not like this. So, what gives?”

Yang gave Emerald a long, pleading look, before answering.

“…Because this was our chance to do some good.”

“…”

“Hehe…! Stupid me, right?” she chuckled sadly. “After all the shady things we’ve done, I just wanted to do some good—some actual, honest good. Save lives instead of being the reason people lost them. Guess I should’ve known better.”

“Yang.”

“I know, Em.”

“It’s not how our team does things.”

“Yeah. We’re the enemy. We attack. Protecting and saving people isn’t our rep.”

“I’m…sorry.”

“No. Nothing to be sorry about.” Yang gave a vague shake of her head. “I’ll get my game straight in a second. Just let me know when we’re moving out of the city. Till then, I’ll take a rest. Gotta refill the reserves, right?”

As the girl dragged her feet off with drooping shoulders, Neo braced her waist with a comforting hand. Together, they went to look for a private room. Emerald and Mercury were left alone in the hallway.

“…Don’t say anything,” Emerald said, after a time.

“What?” Mercury put his hands up innocently. “I wasn’t going to say anything.”

“Stop. You go weak whenever Yang pulls that ‘puppy dog that just got kicked’ look.”

“More like, ‘you just kicked that puppy dog’s dreams’ look, but same difference.”

“UGH!”

“What are we gonna do?”

“What do you mean?! I just said what we were going to do!”

“Yeah…but what are we really going to do?”

Emerald glared fiercely at Mercury’s passively waiting demeanor. The staring contest lasted for a couple of unblinking seconds.

“AAARRRGGHHH!!! DAMMIT! FUCK!!!” the team leader vented her curses.

“You’re getting softer, boss.”

“And who’s fault is that?! Stupid, moral, nobility craphat. Annoying, blonde, bullshit, punchy…”

As Emerald continued to mutter endless profanities under her breath, her scroll gave a soft ring.

“Welp, saw this coming.” She coughed to clear her throat, before answering. As soon as the line went live, Emerald tried to make her tone as professional as possible. “Let me guess, we’re being ordered to ditch Vacuo?”

“…The matter isn’t finalized,” Cinder’s voice came from the other end. “There is no shame for you and your team to retreat.”

“Yeah, I’ll say. Shit’s not about to just hit the fan here, it’s going to—am I on speaker?”

“Yes.”

“Whole room?”

“Fortunately, only Weiss and myself.”

“Great.”

“Your report.”

“It’s bad, Cinder. Real bad. I know you probably have an idea, but it’s nowhere close to what we’re seeing here.”

“So, Vacuo is lost?”

Emerald thought for a moment.

“……These people are strong,” she gave an uneasy laugh. “I saw Salem’s army with my own eyes—it’s like signs of the freakin’ apocalypse! But these people, they want to fight. They will die fighting.”

“You cannot let their behavior influence your own.”

“I know, I’m trying to say something different. Cinder, Vacuo is worth saving. We shouldn’t abandon them. We need them on our side.”

“They are that valuable an asset?”

“They are. This alliance is the most important investment Atlas needs to make.”

“Sounds like a sales pitch. Tell me what truly whispers in your heart.”

“…” Emerald braced a hand to her chest. “Team ENMY is going to take down Behemoth.”

“So soon after your previous mission?”

“I know we were supposed to take a power nap before the next big fight, but you see that thing.”

“You intend to accomplish this by yourselves?”

“Temujin’s diverting all her forces to the North and South.”

“She plans to forfeit the city. A calculated choice.”

“We’ll manage.”

“This is reckless,” Cinder ended with a short pause. “What would you do if I ordered you from doing so?”

“……I’ll always listen to you, Cinder. If you tell me to take my team, and get the hell out of Vacuo, I’ll do it. I’ll drag Yang back, even if she hates me. You say the word, I’ll listen. Always.”

“…”

“But I’m asking you to trust me. Let me make this call. My team can swing this.”

For a moment, Emerald swore she heard Cinder’s breath stifle with emotion. A second later, the other spoke again.

“You are ordered to return to me,” the Black Queen commanded almost angrily. “Alive and in one piece—but at a time of your choosing.”

“I promise!” Emerald answered quickly. “I promise I’ll come back!”

“Hmph. You are aware any infidelity towards your Queen’s orders incurs the highest of penalties.”

“Don’t I know it.”

“So, how do you plan to perish the creature?”

“…”

“Emerald?”

“I have an idea.”

“So, speak it.”

“You guys might not like it.”

“……Speak it.”

Emerald took a searing deep breath between her teeth.

“We might have to use a couple of the aces we’ve been banking.”

X X X X X

A few miles south of the capital, Vacuo’s military made first contact with the Grimm army. The battalion was tasked with eliminating the enemy’s first wave and slowing their advance towards the city. A part of them knew it would be no easy task.

But they did not know how difficult it would be until they saw the head of the horde.

“My, aren’t these some familiar faces?” the cold voice lingered.

While countless Grimm smashed into the lines of Vacuo’s warriors, a smaller battle was waged in the midst of chaos.

“Tai!” Glynda called.

“I know!”

The head of a Grimm King Taijitu struck at Glynda and Minerva, trying to snap the pair of sorcerers in its jaws. But Taiyang was able to position himself in time. His hands gripped each fang firmly, and slid his feet to a stop. Tattoos covered every inch of his arm, signaling the activation of his Semblance.

While their vanguard held down the threat, Glynda and Minerva aimed a set of spells at the source. A storm of raining ice and flames fell before them. Their target, pelted with blizzardous hellfire.

“Hm. That was much less than I expected,” the chilling voice came again.

Undaunted by the Magic spells, an enormous tortoise shell remained when the sand clouds dissipated. It was white, bony, and jagged. And as the Grimm barrier cracked open, it revealed a dark silhouette underneath. Their arm still connected to the King Taijitu head grappling with Taiyang.

“It seems my Crusade will be easier than I anticipated,” Salem taunted. “I knew you would be lost without Ozpin—but I didn’t quite know how lost.”

She gave her arm a tug, and from atop the Taijitu’s skull, a scorpion’s tail sprouted. The stinger snapped towards Taiyang’s head, but the man was able to dodge the blow at the last second. The tip caught his collar, but even then, it only left a small mark on his reinforced skin.

“That all you got?!” Taiyang shouted.

“Typical,” Salem scoffed.

The Witch materialized a long, ornamental hairpin from her robes. Its end was decorated with an elegantly jewel-crafted butterfly. Then, without any hesitation, stabbed the point of the needle into her collar bone, matching the placement with the scratch inflicted on Taiyang.

At the same time, blood spewed both their bodies. The man let out a scream of panicked anguish before steeling himself enough to leap back to safety. His hand clutched the base of his neck, where blood dribbled between his fingers.

The Witch on the other hand, showed only indifference to the curse-inflicted wound. She continued to observe her three opponents without paying mind to the black liquid spraying out. Only after a few seconds passed, did Salem spin a web from her fingertip to bandage the gash.

Taiyang badgered himself for his carelessness and forced his wound close with his Semblance. Though it stopped the bleeding, the fix was only skin deep. Regardless, he took a fighting stance, showing he was ready to go, but a gentle hand rested his shoulder.

“Assist the others, Tai,” Glynda spoke with consolation in her voice. “Leave this to me and Minerva.”

“This battle will no longer take place within the confines of this realm,” the Headmaster of Shade added.

Taiyang wanted to argue back, but prior experience held his tongue.

“Yes, run along now, little lionheart,” Salem condescended with a brushing gesture.

“Only certain performers are allowed to share this stage.”

X X X X X

“This is the best we could do, huh?” Yang asked.

“Yep. Everything’s zeroed on this spot,” Emerald replied.

“Couldn’t make it any farther out?”

“Considering all the last-minute strings we had to pull to make this puppet show dance, I’m surprised we made this much space at all. Let’s just be happy and take what we can get, shall we?”

On the farthest edge of Vacuo’s western wall, Yang and Emerald plopped down to take a seat. Their feet dangled off the side. Neo and Mercury joined them shortly. The four stared passively at Behemoth encroaching their position. They could see armies warring at the corner of their peripheries to the left and right.

Although they were aware of the violent events transpiring, and those to come, the team basked in the oddly-serendipitous moment of peace. For them, nothing would happen for the next few minutes. All manner of dangers were far or on their way. All they could do was wait. And likely, due to repeated instances of high intensity, even a few minutes of waiting was enough to bring a calmness to their nerves.

Neo pulled out an apple, and sliced off a few pieces with her sword. One by one, she passed the slips of fruit to her teammates. And the four munched on the small snack, while watching Behemoth beat its wings towards them. Nothing left, but to bide their time until the omen of destruction’s arrival.

“So, everyone around’s been cleared out?” Yang started.

“Yup. Zero possible casualties, except for maybe us. Just the way you like it,” Emerald replied.

“See? Doesn’t it feel nice to do the right thing?”

“Fuck the right thing. That’s not why I did this.”

“Oh? Then, why did you do it? I thought your self-proclaimed moral compass was broken.”

Emerald glared at her silently.

It is broken.

I mostly did this cause of you…

“Still, thanks for doing it.” Yang beamed with a warm smile. “I mean it, Em.”

Yang was about to pop another apple slice in her mouth, when Emerald snatched it midair. Taking it as some abstract price exacted, the girl didn’t make a fuss. Only taking replacement from Neo, who was performing her own magic trick of producing endless fruit out of thin air.

“Hey, Em?”

“Yeah, Yang?”

“Did Temujin seem…weird to you? You know, back there?”

“Temujin’s always weird.”

“Yeah, but… evasive.”

“Temujin’s always evasive.”

“You know what I mean,” Yang groaned. “Back when she told us she was abandoning the city, and even when we told her our plan, she just okayed it like it was nothing.”

“You prefer she argue with us? We practically handed her a ‘we’ll save your city for free’ card. Maybe, she just didn’t want to look a gift horse in the anus.”

“Uh, it’s teeth.”

“What is?”

“The saying. It’s ‘gift horse in the teeth’.”

“Oh. Mercury lied to me.”

“No, it’s definitely anus,” Mercury mumbled, stuffing more apples into his mouth. “That’s how you tell the horse’s age.”

“Okay! But you know what I’m saying,” Yang brought the topic back. “What futures did Mouse and Knives see? And what else aren’t they telling us? Temujin doesn’t seem the type, but she looks kind of like she’s given up. What else are they hiding?”

“Who knows,” Emerald shrugged.

“I know you’ve thought about it.”

“I got a few ideas, but nothing concrete.”

“This isn’t the time for our sides to keep secrets.” Yang let out an exasperated groan before popping another slice into her mouth. “Cinder and Weiss are ready to pull us out. Temujin has to know that. She needs to be open with us.”

“It’s not like we tipped all of our hand to her either. Still gotta play a few things close to the chest. Distrust goes both ways.”

“I thought we were in an alliance.”

“I think this is about as much two Kingdoms can trust each other without actually merging. And that’s without all the bad blood between Vacuo and Atlas.”

“We need to be on the same page, Em. Salem found a crack in our team, and pried it apart. What do you think she’ll do to two Kingdoms?”

Emerald paused, and then bit into the next crunchy morsel Neo handed her.

“True. If Vacuo somehow gets out of this intact, I wouldn’t put it past Salem to turn one of the Kingdoms against the other. You have an idea bouncing around that noggin? Or do you just like adding new problems to my ‘shit I gotta figure out’ list?”

“We need to have a sit down with Temujin. At the least, we need to hear everything the siblings predicted so far.”

“Yeah, she’s kept us in the deep dark about their visions. Not just us, but her own people, too.”

“And if we’re learning anything, whatever Temujin hides is worth finding out.”

“Emerald,” a voice came over the Enchantress’ mental link. “Are we ready to begin?”

“Yeah. Just about,” she responded, and got up.

At that moment, a number of transmissions reached Team ENMY’s communications.

“Alrighty. Time to set the world record for taking down a bunch of Nightmare Class Grimm in a row, maybe!” Emerald announced.

“All boss speedrun!” Mercury fake cheered.

Yang turned to Neo with a loving stare.

“Got my back?” she winked.

Neo smiled widely.

Yup.

X X X X X

(An hour ago)

“Are we sure this is wise?” General Ironwood couldn’t help voicing his doubts. “We were supposed to wait until we were closer to attempt this.”

“Drastic measures, General,” Trafalgar answered, next to him on the bridge. “Sometimes, all we can do is take a leap of faith.”

“There are countless variables which can skew the accuracy.”

“That’s why it’s called a leap and not a step, or a modest crawl.”

Ironwood breathed a sigh, before speaking into the console.

“Alright, Penny. Permission to arm.”

“Armed and READY, Mr. Ironwood!” the girl answered with a chipper.

“Execute.”

X X X X X

“……. What the hell are you kids thinking?” Qrow muttered his disbelief.

“I’m thinking we need your help to bring down Behemoth. Is the wax building up in your ears, grandpa?” Emerald replied.

“Don’t call me grandpa!”

“The other guy is definitely a grandpa. As a matter of fact, he’s the grandest of grandpas. So, you gonna help us or not?”

“I thought the plan was to surprise Salem with an ambush.”

“Plans change. Roll with it.”

Qrow breathed one of the most soul-draining sighs in his life, before centering himself to continue.

“Okay. So, let me make sure I got this right. You need me to use Titan’s power to help you kill Behemoth.”

“Yup!”

“But before that, you need me to stick my neck out.”

“You got it.”

“I immediately don’t like this…”

X X X X X

“I think I’m going to like this,” Raven gave a soft chuckle.

“I thought you would,” Emerald shared in the mental laugh. “Shouldn’t be a violation against whatever your contract is with Salem, right?”

“Only you brats could come up with something this sloppy and effective.”

“Compliment received.”

X X X X X

Out in the ocean separating Atlas from Vacuo, the acting reinforcements of the Atlesian Fleet came to a full stop. While the airships hovered as still as possible, their artillery battery raised to a high angle. Tapped into each vessel’s control system and calculating a complex aiming algorithm was a certain android.

“Coordinates fixed. Real-time calculations complete. Trajectory courses confirmed!” Penny cheered.

“FIRNG ALL ORDNANCE!”

X X X X X

(Back to the Present)

Team ENMY turned their gazes eastward, where a flock of glistening projectiles soared towards their position.

“Whoa, that’s gonna be close,” Yang commented.

“Yeah, well. It’s supposed to be,” Emerald sneered, as she elbowed Mercury’s side. “You’re up, top gun. Make sure it’s not us that gets our ass fricasseed.”

“On it, boss.”

Mercury activated his Semblance and felt the surrounding atmosphere come under his control. His senses extended to the oncoming shells. Their trajectories mapped out in his mind’s eye.

Damn. Not a bad shot from fifteen-thousand plus kilometers away.

Just need to sharp it just a little…

Mercury adjusted the turbulence and atmospheric pressure to suit his needs. He played out the simulation in his head, and matched it to the present. Their “back-up” fire would land exactly where they wanted it to on the dime.

“Merc,” Emerald elbowed him a few more times. “Hate to interrupt your beautiful mind moment, but the big bad bug is coming up faster. Maybe, short the fuse on lighting this candle?”

“Sure, just gotta speed up the momentum on more than a thousand combustible Dust shells. No big deal.” The sarcasm exaggerated in his voice.

“I had to hallucinate a whole Kingdom. Don’t get cute with me about making the big plays.”

The crying flock of whistling missiles screamed across the sky ever closer. At the same time, the great shadows and winds kicked up by Behemoth brushed the team’s backs.

Despite being caught between an arsenal of hellfire and the largest Grimm ever recorded, ENMY showed no signs of panic. Once Mercury finished his modifications, he expelled a small sigh of relief.

“Nice,” Emerald smirked, while putting on the sunglasses she took from Coco so long ago. Yang, Neo, and Mercury were producing their own pairs, when she also took out her scroll. She then, held it out and struck a smug pose.

“Are you actually taking a selfie right now?” Yang asked in slack-jawed awe.

“I wanna send a picture to Cinder. It’ll also make a good memory.”

Without wait or permission, the rest of the team crammed into the camera shot. They made random faces, while throwing up a series of hand gestures and middle fingers.

Meanwhile, high-pitch whistling from the Fleet’s artillery was at the peak of its cries when they were suddenly muffled. Bellowing explosions cut the sound off with its own. Raining hellfire engulfed Behemoth’s back in clouds of inferno. It was a carpet bombing of a creature that could have been a small island onto itself.

“Sweet fireworks,” Yang grinned. “Did you get the shot?”

“Got it!” Emerald confirmed.

“I always wanted to help destroy something beautiful,” Mercury shed a single tear.

Neo threw her hands up, cheering with mute excitement.

Fire! Fire! Burn!

“Okay, okay,” Emerald called their attention. “I know that just made the inner pyros inside us cream, but we still got work to do.” She tapped her in-ear communicator. “You there, OG?”

“I’m here.”

Flying above the incinerating back of Behemoth, a black bird swooped down. Its feathers shed upon its descent, giving way to a human form. He aimed the landing of his dive before the intact form of Combine, Chief of the Cuckoo Grimm.

The parasitic bird gave a gross chirp, as it recognized its bodyguards were burned away by Penny’s fire bombing.

“This… really sucks!” Qrow complained.

Sweat dripped down his face. He could feel the life being siphoned from him, leaving his skin cold. If he didn’t possess the Old One’s longevity, he might have died instantly in Combine’s presence.

Azkaban was somewhere near, so Qrow couldn’t activate his Semblance to save himself. But if things went according to plan, he wouldn’t remain vulnerable for long.

…

“How much could I pay you not to save my brother?” Raven posed to Emerald via their telepathic link.

“Discount low five figures,” the quick answer came.

“That was a joke.”

“Was it, though~?”

From her cliffside in the Black Oasis, Raven gripped the hilt of her katana and went into a low iaido stance. Her senses attuned to the combination of Emerald and Neo’s information. There, she saw her brother’s back turned towards her.

“Now, don’t flinch, little brother.”

…

“Neo?” Emerald prompted.

The petite girl poised her estoc in a thrusting motion above her shoulder. A silver light gleamed in her irises. She made out the positions of three key figures: Combine, Qrow, and Azkaban, before sealing the sight into her blade.

Neo took a long-drawn breath, and then emptied her lungs of all its air. She concentrated a majority of her Aura into the ultimate technique she created herself, leaving just a little in reserve. It was the most powerful move in her arsenal, and she would only be able to perform it once for a long while.

The small swordswoman felt traces of Yang’s influence swell in her soul. A bright fire of her beloved’s sun licked heat on her fingertips.

Neo’s hand moved quicker than the naked eye could catch. The sounds of shattering glass only followed after the fact.

In the same moment, Raven freed her blade from its sheath. Her bloody double-slash was going to cut a blazing X across the sky and Qrow’s back. But at the very last second, the move collided with Neo’s.

It was a clash of ultimate sword techniques that resounded across the entire continent. A piercing blade of blinding, silver glass and a cross drawn by a sinisterly, crimson paintbrush cut the sky into pieces. The world itself seemed to tear briefly, like it was made of paper.

Raven’s attack was barely deflected enough from her brother’s back, and guided in the direction of Combine instead. Likewise, Neo’s thrust was diverted towards Azkaban. Both their blades struck their marks down, slaying the Nightmare Grimm with their god-like skill.

Hmph, Raven scoffed with an impressed thought.

Out of the four brats, she might be the one who grew the most in all this…

“Not that I’d tell her that.”

…

“Uncle Qrow!” Yang shouted.

“On it, kid!”

With Combine and Azkaban down, Qrow felt the burden on him lifted. He tapped into Titan’s ability, while harnessing his own Semblance. A pair of great scythes unfolded in each of his hands. A familiar green glow permeated from his body to envelope the burning Behemoth.

The Grimm’s flying motion slowed to a crawl. Time slurred in the space it occupied until the creature stopped just above the wall and Team ENMY. Wind, fire, poison, and intermingled with it, falling caterpillar Grimm froze midair.

Yang and Mercury stared up, before bumping their fists.

The Spring Maiden felt adrenaline rush her veins. A crystallized crown formed its halo around her head. Her eyes blazed with the fire of her Semblance. She watched lightning crack across her vision, outlining Behemoth’s multiple weaknesses caused by redundancies in its anatomy.

“Wouldn’t be easy if we could just strike one spot. We’re gonna have to hit them all.”

The pair rocketed into the sky.

Mercury and Qrow went to work first. The young man summoned a storm to carry him across the Grimm’s expansive mass. Every kick he delivered made the floating island shudder. Likewise, the veteran Huntsman used his Reaper’s Semblance to sow death from atop. Together, they layered a cacophony of craters and trenches into Behemoth’s exoskeleton.

And then, Yang rose to join them.

“Many search the meaning of the shape given to their soul,” she heard Nai’s words echo the depths of her mind.

“I am Poison.

I am a Weapon.

I have lived and learned to become the agent that destroys my enemies’ bodies.

What does your life embody?

What meaning does its shape give?”

Yang jumped from falling debris to falling debris, making her way to the belly of the beast.

For my friends, I’ll be their warmth.

When they are lost, I’ll be their light.

And for anyone who tries to hurt them,

I’ll be the banisher of their darkness.

Yang’s Ember Celica shifted its form. Pistons fired across her entire arm. It rumbled with all the power and force of a jet engine.

I am the Fight that Life brings.

I am Fire.

And I Burn.

The exact moment, the noon sun reached its highest crest, the Spring Maiden’s punch let loose a flame likened to the birth of a new star. A supernova erupted in the center of Behemoth’s stomach, scorching constellations across the vulnerabilities of its body.

The halting of time was no small feat, and Titan’s ability only lasted a breath before reality resumed. But it was enough for Behemoth’s annihilation to be realized.

“Alright! It’s gonna pop!” Emerald shouted. “Clear the area!”

Yang, Mercury, and Qrow escaped the burning wreckage’s vicinity, as the Grimm plummeted down. Its body decomposed into countless scales, which combusted on any contact. The repeated detonations and weight of its carcass drove a crag into the wall and a small part of the city.

…

Yang let herself freefall. Burning cartilage still flew around her. Much of her energy was spent, but not all of it, per Emerald’s orders. But there was no denying the weariness setting into her nerves.

“Well, that was a thing.”

She looked to the side, and saw Mercury speed down to Emerald. Their leader stood on what remained of the wall. Her Uncle was nowhere in sight.

*Sigh* “I really want this day to be over…”

Just then, among the falling scraps, Yang spotted an oddity. It was a little singed, but it stood out from everything else with its white-colored design and the way it spun sharply through the air.

Yang squinted her eyes, and saw it was a playing card.

The Ace of Spades.

X X X X X

“Is this truly all the strength you can muster?”

Salem gave a wave of her hand, and the bright projectiles Glynda and Minerva cast her way dissolved into squirming maggots. As they writhed uselessly on the ground, the Witch made a claw with her hand. Her long nails thrusted in the direction of her opponents.

Suddenly, the sand beneath the sorcerers’ feet coiled like tentacles, pulling them into its embrace. Salem’s hand squeezed, and the prison of silt closed tighter.

“You’re spellcasting is rather rudimentary compared to what I’ve seen over the ages. But I suppose that is the folly of mortals. Not enough age to hone that wisdom, no matter the potential exhibited.”

“Then, perhaps another challenger is in order? One you can’t bully with your tricks.”

A crow flew down, before expanding its form into a man. He snapped his fingers once, and the “living sand” about to suffocate the sorcerers was dispelled.

Glynda blinked, not believing her eyes. The image of the man before her seemed to phase in and out of existence, as if their identity wasn’t solidified.

“Ozpin?”

“Apologies for the tardiness, Glynda,” the white-haired man with small glasses said. “There was an issue that required our assistance.”

“But, how…? What about Qrow?”

“Also, here,” the figure of Ozpin replied with a voice that was not his. “This body sharing thing is more complicated than it looks.”

The immortal’s body flickered between Ozpin’s visage and Qrow’s, and then another Glynda recognized as Beacon’s past Headmaster Myrddin’s. Reality bent, and several iterations blinked in quick succession. Some figures she remembered from historical texts, more of them she did not. The spinning of the forms continued until the image settled onto a small, hunched-back old man. He had the look of a retired farmer and had to use a cane to support him like a third leg.

“Titan…!” Salem snarled with rising furor.

“…Wicked,” the Old One spoke in a grounded tone. His voice was crass, but it dissipated into the surroundings like an earthquake. “Must we continue this vicious cycle?”

“Oh, it will not continue. Not for you.”

“So, it was inevitable. You and I must battle once more.”

“Immortal versus immortal,” the Witch gestured to herself, then Titan. A bloodthirsty Magic coursed her veins, making them pulse black across her pale skin.

“There can only be one.”

X X X X X

Yang was in no position to react. The playing card spinning outside her reach was practically a calling card for her death. All she could do was leave her fate to another’s hands.

…

Fortunately, those hands were the ones she trusted the most with her life.

The sound of shattering glass scattered pieces of Neo’s mirror portal into the falling sky. Her sword was held, outstretched. Its point pierced through the card as a bullet punched a hole through the same middle.

It should have been a perfect killshot. Yang and Neo read the trajectory, and it would’ve drilled right through Yang’s forehead, but Neo’s interference skewed its course.

“Shit!”

Yang whipped her neck as fast as she could, just in time for the bullet to tear a chunk of her hair off along with part of her right ear. Blood stained her cheek and a sharp ringing noise penetrated her eardrum.

“Hey, you. Can you hear me?” Emerald’s voice came from her comms, as Yang could see her leader smirking in the distance. She flipped her the middle finger.

“Told you she’d try.”

“Really, Em?! Now?!”

“Hey, you were the one who wanted to do this, despite my fair and wise warnings.”

“Can we save the ‘I told you so’s for later?”

“Say hi to her for me,” Emerald waved.

“WILL FREAKIN’ DO!!!”

Yang flashed an angry glare to Neo, who gave her a quick nod.

A second later, and her partner conjured a mirror for her to drop into. The portal pushed her into another, and then another, and so on. Each segment accelerated her into the distance.

Yang didn’t aim her fist. She knew Neo would do that for her. All she had to do was swing when the time came.

And at the last shuttle interval, she threw her fist.

Yang’s landing struck the terrain like a miniature meteorite. The target and source of her bullet wound was knocked off her feet, and onto her back. The shooter could have put up resistance, but the looming Spring Maiden erased any thought of that.

Instead, Inna Kao simply smiled.

“Hey, Yang.” She tipped her hat, still on the ground.

“Hey, Inna. Long time no see,” Yang replied unenthusiastically. “Em says, hi.”

“Oh? Tell her I said hi back.”

Yang did a quick sweep of her surroundings.

“No Bean?”

“Nah. I wanted to take my shot away from him just in case. Guess I made the right call on that.”

“Too bad. I wanted to see him.”

Inna stared at Yang for a while, before tilting her hat down.

“Heh… Well, you got me good. Don’t tell me ya’ll fixed that trap for lil ‘ol me?”

“It was Emerald’s idea. We’ve been ready ever since we heard you and Bean were around. We know we can’t underestimate you.”

“Shucks, Yang. Now, yer just makin’ me blush.”

Yang stared long and hard at the cowgirl.

“……I heard about your team. Sorry.”

“Yeah, well. I’ll be joinin’ them soon.”

“Funny thought that.”

Yang grabbed Inna’s rifle laying on the ground, and snapped it in half across her knee. It pained her a little to destroy someone’s personal weapon, but the bad feeling disappeared when she remembered she was missing part of her ear because of Inna. The gun would be repaired eventually. As far as she was concerned, they were even.

“Nothing to worry about if you don’t have your rifle,” Yang tossed the remains at Inna’s feet. “I’m done killing people, especially people I like.”

“…I can’t stop coming for you, Yang.”

“Yeah, you can. All you have to do is stop,” Yang shrugged. “But if you really want to keep trying, go ahead. I’ll be ready.”

“Hm hm! Told you, you’d be sorry, Inna,” Raven chuckled, as she stepped through her portal.

“Mom. Why am I not surprised you’re here?”

“Your little girlfriend actually matched my favorite move.”

“She’s a keeper.”

“I guess.”

“I’m totally telling her you approve.”

“I don’t. And another thing—”

Just then, Raven and Yang’s heads were flooded with an amalgam of information. Rather information, they were a bit like actual memories, but of events that had yet to occur. It was disorienting to say the least, but one thing was clear.

“Hey! Did you get that?!” Raven asked Yang.

“Yeah. What the hell was that, Em?”

“It’s the visions the Rakis siblings have been seeing. Don’t know why, but Knives was suddenly in a sharing mood. But after seeing what was in them, I think we can make a guess!”

“That vision…Temujin…!”

“That’s why you and Raven should get your asses back here on the double!”

“Mom!” Yang turned to Raven, and saw fear there like she never had before.

“Let’s go.”

X X X X X

“Hm. They brought down Behemoth,” Temujin rubbed her chin with an even composure.

The throne room, which was once a bustling war room, was now vacant. The lone ruler of Vacuo sat on her chair with only the Rakis siblings for company.

“Any deviations?”

“With almost all our fortifications intact, more of Vacuo’s citizens will survive by the end,” Mouse answered.

“Haha… They are truly something. Troublemakers. The perfect enemy against Salem and fate.”

The old woman smiled ear to ear, before breathing a contented sigh.

“Everything else is proceeding according to script?”

“……Yes.”

A nearby monitor showed an endless replay of Team ENMY’s assault on Behemoth. Right before the artillery from the Atlesian Fleet struck, a wisp of dark mist engulfed Camlann, and seemingly warped it out of the area.

On a security monitor, three figures made their way through the Hanging Gardens. The colossal armor of Camlann was recognized. Beside the Grimm were Adam and Blake. It wouldn’t be long until they reached the chamber.

“You two should go,” Temujin said to the siblings.

“No,” Mouse refused shakily. “We won’t leave you.”

“You have to guide our people.”

“We won’t leave you!”

The boy now had tears streaming his eyes. He wanted with everything to overturn the future he and his sister saw. A future where the Grimm overran their land. A future where their closest friends died…

…A future where Temujin offered her life to further incite the rage of her people.

“Oh,” the old Faunus put a hand on Mouse’s head. “You know, I faced a lot of criticism for adding that Eye for an Eye thing at the end of the Code. Mostly from Minerva, but whatever.” she smirked. “Who knew it would be the strength our people needed in their weakest hour? Surely, not me.”

Gentle sobs continued to escape Mouse, as Temujin continued.

“No, definitely not me… But if the death of one old woman past her prime can be the rally cry of our Kingdom, I will answer my duty with a full heart.”

“…”

“Go. My time is over.” Temujin announced proudly. “This is goodbye.”

“We won’t leave you!!!” Mouse cried back.

Temujin scratched her ear in frustration, before turning to her other side.

“Knives. I entrust you with your brother. You know what must be done. The both of you must regroup with Nai and Minerva. Notify them of my death. The first waves of the Grimm should be dealt with by then. Fall back here with Team ENMY, and eliminate Camlann. Hold the siege until Atlas’ Fleet arrives.”

The younger Rakis made no move to respond.

“Knives? Did you hear me?! Knives!”

Temujin shook her shoulder, and saw the girl’s expression turn with surprise.

“Oh, right!” Knives answered with wide eyes. Her tone was different from her usual. “Actually, I agree with Mouse there. You really shouldn’t be so quick to sacrifice yourself.”

The elder Faunus was struck speechless.

“There’s a lot of people who would mourn your death, Temujin. They’d be heartbroken,” the girl continued. “I know one person especially!”

“Who…?” the old Faunus could only mutter. “Who are you?”

The girl with the appearance of Knives could only smile brightly.

“There’s always a way to change fate, as well as those who are willing to fight it. You said it yourself.”

“…”

“But they can’t help you if you don’t believe in it too,” Knives held Temujin’s hand in both of hers. “This girl loves you so much. She begged for a way to save you, even in her dreams. That’s how deep her resolve is.”

Temujin continued to stare blankly at the girl. Knives met her gaze, unabashed. The young girl’s eyes seemed to glint with a brighter silver than usual.

Then, Temujin remembered where she heard this speech mannerism before, as well as this unflinching determination.

“Summer Rose?”

#rwby #rwby fanfiction #yang xiao long #neopolitan #emerald sustrai #mercury black #raven branwen #qrow branwen #rwby au #ENMY

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wazafam · 3 years

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Grey’s Anatomy has seen most of its most popular and beloved characters leave the show in different ways, but one of the most heartbreaking departures was that of George O’Malley (T.R. Knight), and to make it more painful, his death was subtly teased in the very first episode. Created by Shonda Rhimes, Grey’s Anatomy premiered on ABC in 2005 and was initially a mid-season replacement, but it quickly earned the praise of critics and viewers, allowing it to continue for over a decade. Grey’s Anatomy continues to be quite popular and as such shows no signs of stopping soon, even if many fan-favorite characters are now gone.

Grey’s Anatomy follows the basic premise of medical dramas and follows the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they do their best to juggle their professional and personal lives, which often overlap and make way for a lot of drama. The series is led by Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), who started as an intern at Seattle Grace Hospital alongside some of the audience’s favorite characters: Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl), Alex Karev (Justin Chambers), and George O’Malley. This last one won over the hearts of viewers and the characters in the show, but sadly, his time came to an end in season 6 in a very brutal and heartbreaking way.

Related: Grey's Anatomy Season 17: Why There Isn't A New Episode Until Spring 2021

Unlike his fellow interns, George struggled with his career, and just when he seemed to have found his path as a trauma surgeon, he made the sudden decision of joining the U.S. Army in Iraq. Richard Webber gave him his last day off so he could spend some time with his family before he left, but on his way home, he made one final heroic act when he jumped in front of a bus to save a woman’s life. The accident left him severely injured and disfigured, to the point where the doctors didn’t know who he was until he traced “007” (one of his many nicknames) on Meredith’s hand. Unfortunately, George’s brain swelled during surgery and he was declared brain dead. George’s death was shocking and tragic, but Grey’s Anatomy very subtly teased his end in the first episode of the series.

In Grey’s Anatomy’s premiere episode, titled “A Hard Day’s Night” (as all episodes are titled after songs, except for one), viewers follow the above-mentioned group of interns on their first 48-hour shift, which doesn’t go smoothly – Meredith struggles with her first patient, Izzie thinks Meredith is looking to “get ahead” by sleeping with Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), and George earns his “007” nickname as all his initial patients are pronounced dead. George then asks the team if they “are going to survive this” as they all had a very tough first shift, and this serves as a double piece of foreshadowing: first, it’s a tease at George not passing his intern exam, being the only one of the first group of interns who didn’t “survive” the internship, and second, he’s the only one from the group who died (Cristina moved to Switzerland, Izzie left to have a fresh start, and Alex reunited with her years later).

This is not the only piece of (heartbreaking) foreshadowing that Grey’s Anatomy has had, and it did the same with Derek’s death. George briefly returned in Grey’s Anatomy season 17 in one of Meredith’s COVID-induced dreams/hallucinations, showing how important he was to her. George O’Malley is still one of the most beloved characters of the series, and this subtle tease in the series’ first episode only makes his death even more tragic.

Next: How Grey's Anatomy Season 17 Subtly Teased Owen's Death

How Grey's Anatomy Teased George's Death In The Very First Episode from https://ift.tt/3bt7RB1

#Blogger

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mubal4 · 3 years

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Friday reFlection

Notice what I did with the title there? 😊 Forgive the attempt at humor. It has been an interesting few weeks and specifically, few days. This entry may take the same path as the podcast last night, no real topic or agenda, just putting down my thoughts. I wanted to write and am not sure what exactly to write about, so I am just going to go ahead and type. Hence the “reflection” above. What is coming to my mind initially is connection. The word or renditions of it have entered into my world often these last few weeks. Whether that has been connecting with strangers, long-time friends, family, or even the dog. I’ve felt a deeper sense of connection with several folks in different situations and that has felt wonderful. There has been disconnection as well and I know the next week promises much more. The majority will be very relieving and some bittersweet. Letting go is a practice that I have been working on and trying to stress in this new year. Releasing the bullshit basically and really trying to keep moving forward, focusing on what means the most to me and benefits my family, my mission & who I want to become. I think that is tough – we let much of the stuff that gets put in front of us distract us from our focus. I hope I’ve gotten better at that; I think I have. I’ve grown and have become more courageous, or maybe it is more cynical, and I don’t care in some situations 😊, but I guess more outspoken about what is most important to me. My intent is not to force my opinions on people but rather share my mind, thoughts, and what has worked for me. Not because I think it will work for you but, hey, maybe you are dealing with something similar and a new perspective may help. It is easy to be influenced these days but all the nonsense being spewed out there. Not gonna lie, it was refreshing to have the past week we’ve had without all the craziness with the transition of power. Don’t care who you may have voted for but you got to admit, it seemed to have gone smooth and no douchebags out there, well – being douchebags. And we also got a great meme of Bernie Sanders out of the deal.

BTW – did anyone seeing something out there about Bill Clinton sleeping at the inauguration or is that just BS?

The folks out there are getting really creative the Bernie memes as well as those of our new president. Good laughs but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t intrigued on how this is all is going to play out. As we said at our home for almost the last year, “let’s see how it goes” or “we will see what happens.” That is where I find myself today, seeing how things will go. The next few weeks, hell, the next few months are going to be very exciting and interesting. We are looking to do a few things and take on journeys we’ve never really done before. I was asked recently if I “knew how this was going to all play out?” I have no idea and if I did, I wouldn’t be doing it. What benefit and value do we get out of going after something we know we can do? What growth is there? That’s not something that is going to tighten up the sphincter and get your juices going 😊. This is funny, couple of weeks ago Groundhog Day was on and I watched it. Came across it one night just when it was starting and sunk in to get a laugh. Couldn’t remember the last time I watched but do know that the term “feels like Groundhog Day” was utter thousands of times throughout 2020. As I watched, I kind of felt that same way in some areas of my life. Sure, there were parts of my journey that I am on where I am outside of the comfort zone but there are others where I was content, not happy, let’s not get confused, but content & wanted to glide through. I don’t know if I was just waiting to see what may surface, relying on hope as a strategy 😊. There were some particular actions I did take, some things out put out there if you will, that I guess, are now starting to come to fruition. Crazy how this roller coaster works.

I have a quote on my wall above my desk that reads, “Create a standout day today.” Got that from Billy Yang – look him up and watch some of his films on YouTube. The foundation is around ultrarunning and trails but the lessons are true for whatever wets your whistle. I read it every day and try to be aware throughout each day that I have the opportunity to do something that does stand out. Could be as simple as a hug for my wife, a high five to Isabella, or a “I am proud of you” to Alaina for simply emptying the dishwasher (I hate emptying the dishwasher by the way 😊. Simple and it has the ability to create a standout day, for you and for them. It can also be a decision to go to the trail or mountain rather than getting a run in around the streets. Walking the dog, maybe instead of going for a run. Maybe eating a salad instead of a bucket of wings. That last one can be reversed as well to create a standout day.

The point is, each day we have is a true blessing and what can we do, what are we doing to make today stand out?

#maketodaystandout dontgetthroughtheday getuncomfortable figureitout enjoythewildride

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supervidyavinay · 4 years

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By Jordan Fabian and Nick WadhamsFormer National Security Advisor John Bolton writes in a new book that President Donald Trump asked Chinese leader Xi Jinping to help him win re-election by buying more U.S. farm products, according to an excerpt published by the Wall Street Journal.The disclosure is part of a devastating portrayal of Trump’s conduct of foreign policy by Bolton, the most senior official in this White House so far to publish an account of his experience. The book is poised to further burden Trump’s already struggling effort to secure a second term.In the book, which is scheduled to be released next week, Bolton describes a discussion between Trump and Xi at last year’s Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan. Bolton writes that Trump was “pleading with Xi to ensure he’d win” but said he could not print the president’s exact words because of the government’s pre-publication review process for classified material forbade it, according to the excerpt.The former top security aide said the result was emblematic of “the confluence in Trump’s mind of his own political interests and U.S. national interests,” writing that he routinely made foreign policy choices in order to benefit himself politically.“I am hard-pressed to identify any significant Trump decision during my White House tenure that wasn’t driven by re-election calculations,” Bolton writes.Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters in Beijing Thursday that the country “will not interfere in the U.S.’s internal affairs and election.”The Trump administration has been trying to stop the book’s publication, and on Wednesday night asked a federal judge in Washington to grant an emergency restraining order. But the New York Times and the Washington Post have both published reports on Bolton’s book on Wednesday after obtaining copies.In an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News Wednesday night, Trump said that Bolton “broke the law, very simple. As much as it’s going to be broken.” He belittled Bolton as a “washed up guy” when he joined the administration.Trump lashed out at his former adviser in tweets early Thursday. He earlier told the Wall Street Journal that Bolton was “a liar” and offered a vindication of his foreign policies.A Trump campaign spokesman, Tim Murtaugh, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television that Bolton’s allegation Trump sought Xi’s intervention in his re-election is “absurd.”“John Bolton is just trying to sell books, that’s all there is to it,” he said.But the White House is already struggling to consistently rebut Bolton’s account. While Trump said Monday that “maybe he’s not telling the truth,” White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Wednesday the book is “full of classified information” without denying Bolton’s assertions.Re-Election LensIn excerpts released Thursday morning from Bolton’s interview with ABC News, which will air in full on Sunday, he said Trump is not “fit for office” and doesn’t have “the competence to carry out the job.”“There really isn’t any guiding principle that I was able to discern other than what’s good for Donald Trump’s re-election,” Bolton said in the interview with ABC News chief global affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz.“So if he thought he could get a photo opportunity with Kim Jong Un in the demilitarized zone in Korea, there was considerable emphasis on the photo opportunity and the press reaction to it and little or no focus on what such meetings did for the bargaining position of the United States,” Bolton said.Bolton claims that Trump views China policy entirely through the lens of his re-election, fixated on securing a trade deal at the expense of almost everything else. That, according to Bolton, raises the possibility that Trump’s recent tough talk about China’s role in the coronavirus pandemic is nothing more than bluster that may dissolve if he wins re-election.“The Trump presidency is not grounded in philosophy, grand strategy or policy,” Bolton writes. “It is grounded in Trump. That is something to think about for those, especially China realists, who believe they know what he will do in a second term.”U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said it was “absolutely untrue” that Trump asked Xi for help with the 2020 U.S. election during trade talks in Japan last year. Lighthizer made the statement in Senate testimony on Wednesday.Bolton writes that last year, Trump offered to reverse criminal prosecutions against Huawei Technologies Co. if it would help secure a phase-one trade deal with China.Bolton also said Trump did not study the weighty issues facing the country and knew little about other nations he dealt with. For example, Bolton writes that the president asked if Finland was part of Russia and expressed surprise upon hearing the U.K. is a nuclear power, according to The Washington Post.The lack of knowledge put the president at a severe disadvantage when dealing with leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin, Bolton said in the interview with ABC News.“I think Putin thinks he can play him like a fiddle. I think Putin is smart, tough. I think he sees that he’s not fazed with a serious adversary here. I don’t think he’s worried about Donald Trump,” Bolton said in a clip that aired Wednesday.The book, titled “The Room Where It Happened,” could have lasting consequences for Trump’s campaign, which has already been bedeviled by the president’s response to nationwide protests against police brutality and his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Trump is trailing his presumptive opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, in national polls and in many polls of key swing states.”If these accounts are true, it’s not only morally repugnant, it’s a violation of Donald Trump’s sacred duty to the American people to protect America’s interests and defend our values,” Biden said in a statement on Wednesday.In asking for the emergency restraining order on Wednesday night, the government argued that the book contained classified information and that Bolton failed to get approval to have it published.The injunction should “instruct his publisher to take any and all available steps to retrieve and destroy any copies of the book that may be in the possession of any third party,” the government said in court papers.The Justice Department on Monday filed a lawsuit seeking to block publication.The legal wrangling, combined with Trump’s heated criticism of Bolton, has generated interest in the book, which has become a number-one best seller on Amazon.com ahead of its publication. Many former Trump aides have published accounts of their time in the White House, but none who held as high-ranking a position as Bolton.At the very least, the book could undercut the Trump campaign’s argument that the president is far tougher on China than Biden would be, if elected. Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. has taken to using the hashtag #BejingBiden in tweets and has accused the Democratic nominee of failing to recognize the threat posed by China’s Communist Party.China ConcessionsThe list of Trump’s concessions to China are long, according to Bolton. He was uninterested in supporting Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters last year and told Xi in the summer of 2019 that building camps in the Xinjiang region to imprison hundreds of thousands of Uighur Muslim was “exactly the right thing to do.”Trump, in the Wall Street Journal interview, said he did not give his assent to Xi’s plan for the widespread detentions in Xinjiang. And in the interview with Hannity, the president said, “Nobody has been tough on China and nobody has been tough on Russia like I have. And that’s in the record books and it’s not even close. The last administration did nothing on either.”The description of Trump’s policies in Bolton’s book will lend credence to Democrats’ claims that the president’s actions essentially gave China a green light to carry out some of its most egregious abuses, including its crackdown on Uighurs and its decision to impose a new national security law on Hong Kong.The White House announced Wednesday that Trump had signed a bill rebuking the Beijing government over its treatment of the Uighurs minutes after the book excerpts were published.Defending Taiwan, according to Bolton, also isn’t a priority for the president. He describes Trump as being deferential and at times downright obsequious to Xi, at one point calling him the greatest Chinese leader in 300 years -- and then amending it to “the greatest leader in Chinese history.”The revelations came out at almost the exact time that Secretary of State Michael Pompeo was meeting China’s top foreign policy official, Yang Jiechi, for secretive talks at the Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii. Both sides have so far refused to discuss the agenda for the talks.Bolton argues that House Democrats could have expanded their impeachment inquiry beyond Ukraine to focus on what the former security aide called a “pattern of fundamentally unacceptable behavior that eroded the very legitimacy of the presidency.”But Bolton has also faced backlash from critics for his refusal to testify in the House’s impeachment inquiry. He said he wanted to wait to see if a judge would rule if he he could testify despite White House objections.He offered to testify during the Senate’s trial of Trump’s impeachment. Republicans who control the chamber voted not to hear from him before acquitting the president.The New York Times reported that Bolton also wrote that Trump said he was willing to stop U.S. criminal probes “to, in effect, give personal favors to dictators he liked,” citing cases involving China’s ZTE Corp. and Turkey’s Halkbank. Bolton writes the president sought to seek favor with Xi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan through the offers.“The pattern looked like obstruction of justice as a way of life, which we couldn’t accept,” Bolton writes, according to the Times, adding that he expressed his concern directly to Attorney General William Barr and White House counsel Pat Cipollone.Bloomberg News reported last October that Erdogan made multiple appeals to Trump to avoid charges against Halkbank, one of Turkey’s biggest lenders. Trump assigned Barr and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to look into the issue after an April phone conversation with Erdogan.No action was taken for months after the call, but U.S. prosecutors released an undated indictment in October accusing the bank of fraud, money laundering and violating U.S. sanctions against Iran.— With assistance from Mario Parker, Kevin Cirilli, Jennifer Epstein, Robert Burnson, Jing Li and Karen Leigh. from Economic Times https://ift.tt/2AQAB8j

#News #Economy #COVID19

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jamieclawhorn · 6 years

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25 lessons we’ve learned in The Motley Fool’s 25 years

The last 25 years have been an incredible journey for millions of Fools — our three co-founders — Tom Gardner, David Gardner, and Erik Rydholm, Fool staff, members, CAPS players, and readers. As we’ve worked with Tom and David over the past 25(!) years, we’ve shared in the ups and downs — joy, laughter, Foolishness, camaraderie, and bright memories made all the brighter by many failures and hard times.

We’ve all learned a lot together over the years. And so we decided to take some time to reflect on the biggest lessons we’ve internalized over the last quarter-century together.

Here, in no particular order, are 25 lessons to carry into your investing life, your professional life, and even your personal life.

Default to trust and generosity.

One of the most empowering things a newly hired employee can hear is: “We trust you.” Fools are trusted to make big business decisions, because we believe we’ve done a good job of hiring smart, talented, decent people who will do their best to find the right answer. That’s also why The Motley Fool embraces flexible schedules and unregulated vacation time.

For Tom and David, that started early. “From the beginning, it was easiest for us to do that with our new hires, because we didn’t have ads to run in newspapers to get strangers,” says David. “So we hired people we knew.”

As The Motley Fool grew over time, that underlying culture of trust expanded with it.

Find the Rule Breakers…

Disruptive companies usually look like underdogs at the outset. They’re taking on entrenched interests with far more resources. Consider Amazon versus traditional bookstores (and, ultimately, most of retail) in the ’90s and early 2000s.

But disruptors have a critical advantage over the incumbents in their space: vision. Past business success — and the resulting belief that the status quo will persist — often hobbles market leaders, and they fail to appreciate just how much things can change. Wall Street has been underestimating disruptors for far longer than we’ve been around. One of the biggest advantages an individual investor can have over Wall Street is the ability to see that change before entrenched interests can. Use it.

…and hold them while they become Rule Makers.

Yesterday’s disruptors become today’s industry leaders. Amazon has become a classic Rule Maker in e-commerce: Dozens of other companies are trying to follow a similar playbook and carve out their own digital niche.

Yet Amazon remains the undeniable market leader. Tom recently noted that “I’ve gotten to the point where any problem I’m trying to solve in my life, I just type it into Amazon.” 100 million satisfied Prime members agree.

Yet Amazon has stayed hungry, rapidly expanding across all kinds of other businesses, from Web services to video streaming to same-day product delivery. There’s plenty more to like about the business, even today.

Double your holding period. Then double it again.

One of the key secrets to investing well is doing nothing — just holding on to great businesses for a long time. Tom is fond of telling people, “Whatever your holding period, double that, and you’ll be a better investor.”

To stretch the Amazon example one last time, it’s up over over 400 times since its first recommendation in September 1997. Had we recommended Fools sell it sometime in the past, they likely would have made impressive money — 10 times their original investment, or 50 times, or even 100 times. Yet holding through to today has generated awe-inspiring returns.

Take the long view. It’s worth it.

“Top it.”

The idea is simple: If someone has an idea that you don’t think is the right way to solve a problem, then figure out a better solution. It’s a more collaborative way to achieve shared goals: add innovation instead of merely shooting down someone else’s idea. We think it’s the right way to run teams, and it’s a phrase commonly heard at TMF headquarters.

It has real impact in investing, too. When Tom invests in a company, “I need to see a demonstration that they have a larger market opportunity” beyond what they’re currently doing today. They have to be in a position essentially to top themselves.

Like several of these concepts, ‘”top it” has its roots in Tom and David’s childhood and has been in their lexicon “since long before we started the Fool.”

TOM AND DAVID NEAR THE BEGINNING. IMAGE SOURCE: THE MOTLEY FOOL.

Program for Motley.

Different life experiences, personalities, and viewpoints help us become better investors, businesspeople, citizens, and humans. Make sure you regularly hear other views, because it ensures that you’re investing humbly, and that you make fewer mistakes.

Motley matters in your investing too — not only in terms of diversifying across sectors, but also in how organizations run themselves. Tom believes “that the culture of an organization is becoming more and more important as we become more connected as a species around the world.” Tom also notes that “The bottom 50 public companies on Glassdoor, rated by employees, significantly underperform the market.”

We try to apply this within The Motley Fool as well. As David recently put it, “Any employee who comes to The Motley Fool is bringing to our stained-glass window their own unique piece of glass. It’s their own shape, their own hue, and it’s additive. That’s what I love about Motley.”

Relatedly…

Embrace conflict.

If you’ve built a business full of diverse viewpoints, then conflict is inevitable. Too many people (and businesses) avoid tough conversations. Research shows that every missed “crucial conversation” costs a business $1,500 and eight hours of employee productivity.

IMAGE SOURCE: THE MOTLEY FOOL.

It’s a nice factoid, and we’re glad to have it as an additional argument in favor of wading into tough conversations and getting to the right answer (which may not always be the consensus answer). But really, it’s just about treating people the way we all want to be treated. Everyone should know where everyone stands and why.

And of course, that’s because we believe everyone should…

Embrace the golden rule.

Treat others as you’d like to be treated.

We all crave trust. We all crave community. We all need kindness and grace every now and then. Part of running a purpose-driven business is treating all of your stakeholders as equal partners — or, put differently, as you’d like to be treated in their shoes. Every new Fool who joins our ranks takes a class specifically on this critical aspect of Foolish culture, because it’s something we want to implement every day, in every interaction our business has with the broader world.

Recognize the value of time.

As David puts it, “Time is our dearest commodity.” Because you have a limited amount of it, make sure you’re spending it on the activities and relationships that matter most to you.

Invest in growing your time.

Your time is limited, but you can increase it by embracing a healthier lifestyle. The data clearly show that a sedentary lifestyle (too much sitting, not enough exercise) has major negative effects on your physical health, reducing the length of your life.

The Motley Fool has an extensive wellness program, spearheaded by Sam Whiteside, that’s designed to help Fools improve their physical health (free healthy food, meal planning, fitness classes, and an office gym) and mental health (reimbursement for meditation and mindfulness apps, free access to a digital support program for people coping with anxiety or depression, and more). If you’re an employer, consider the message you’re sending your employees if you put resources into helping them live healthier, happier, and, ultimately, longer lives.

Invest in the yin and the yang.

Most new investors (we’re excluding traders from that definition) focus far too much on either metrics or the story that a company’s management is telling — and neglect the other. As David puts it: “Knowing either the metrics or the story is helpful; knowing and understanding both leads to even better outcomes…You want to be a numbers guy and a words guy.”

IMAGE SOURCE: THE MOTLEY FOOL.

Getting caught up in the numbers might mean you miss the forest for the trees; focusing on the story to the exclusion of all numbers could leave you without any tangible way to back up your thesis.

Add to your winners.

Motley Fool Stock Advisor has beaten the market by more than three times as of this writing (with a track record now in its 17th year and counting) by recommending businesses that have incredible growth ramps ahead of them. Those stocks are usually “expensive,” according to the financial media, and rarely on sale.

So consider buying the stock that recently doubled — like Amazon shortly after its IPO (seriously, did you really think we were going to stop with the Amazon examples?) — and that you think still has tons of room to run. And if it doubles again, that might be a great time to buy more.

Know that your winners will make up for your losers.

Psychologically speaking, we feel the pain of losses far more strongly than we feel the joy of wins — yet investing requires you to accept losses.

Tom and David are great stock-pickers — yet under half of their picks have beaten the S&P 500 over a five-year holding period.

Expect failures. Acknowledge them. But most importantly, don’t overindex to them. As David has said: “The worst you can ever lose [in investing] is one times your value, but your best stock pick could grow to five hundred times initial value. Joy of gain should infinitely exceed the pain of loss.” One or two good stock picks can make all the difference in the world.

Don’t sell.

OK, so we’re not saying you should never sell, but Tom’s first rule of selling is “Don’t sell.” Because the chances are good that, if you’re selling a stock that has run up a bunch, you’re selling too early and missing out on even more incredible gains. (See: Netflix. Booking Holdings. Tesla. UnitedHealth Group. And so many more.)

Invest to learn about the world around you.

There are all kinds of ways to learn more about the world. Each provides a unique perspective.

But investing (hopefully) pays you while you’re learning. As David is fond of saying, “The act of investing, by actually putting your money on the line, will cause you to care and pay attention.”

And there are some knock-on benefits, too. As he continues:

“When you buy that awesome company and it does well, you’ll start saving more so you can have more invested and make more money. Investing makes people smarter and act better.”

Figure out who you are; partner with who you aren’t.

Here at The Motley Fool, we encourage people to double down on what they’re good at instead of focusing on mitigating their weaknesses — because we believe that diverse teams can effectively balance each other’s strengths to create a better whole.

That’s also something every entrepreneur should do when first starting a business: Focus on their niche, the thing they do best, rather than trying to do everything. Payment processors and software providers are specifically trying to solve the problems that keep entrepreneurs from focusing on whatever business they’re trying to build.

But there’s one place where the “focus on your strengths” lesson really breaks down: matters of character.

Practice integrity.

If you’ve ever seen Star Trek, chances are good you’ve heard an engineer or three talk about the USS Enterprise‘s structural integrity being in danger of collapse. (Spoiler alert: Somehow, the ship always holds together. Except for that one time in Generations. But we digress.)

In matters of character, we have to sweat the small stuff — because any weaknesses in character will threaten the structural integrity of the whole enterprise (pun intended). That’s true whether the enterprise is your personal life, a department you lead, or the business you run.

Honesty is a core value at The Motley Fool, but at the center of our entire philosophy is integrity — doing the right thing whether or not someone is watching, simply because you know it to be right.

Find excellence.

If there’s a flaw in “cigar butt”-style value investing (which is the idea that you buy a company at a discount to its liquidation value in the belief that you’ll get at least liquidation value), it’s that it often undervalues just how much shareholder wealth can be generated by a superbly run business. Here’s what value investor Warren Buffett had to say on the topic in his 1989 shareholder letter:

“I could give you other personal examples of ‘bargain-purchase’ folly, but I’m sure you get the picture: It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.”

Instead of trying to find OK companies selling at a discount, focus on fantastic companies that look set to dominate the competition. Those are the companies that can compound wealth at an incredible rate.

And as David notes, “As you get used to finding excellence, you’re going to get better and better about finding it.”

Cultivate serendipity.

John Milton coined the phrase “Luck is the residue of design.” We Fools believe you can set yourself up to be lucky by actively seeking opportunities — and, when they present themselves, acting decisively.

Think about luck as “being in the right place at the right time.” David recently shared a story about one of The Fool’s early lucky breaks:

HEY! IT WAS THE 90S…IMAGE SOURCE: THE MOTLEY FOOL.

“We were on AOL ahead of the rest of the world, and we got the attention of AOL when we, as paying customers, had a few articles written about us in newspapers and [The Wall Street Journal]. We were at the dawn of this new medium, and we were at the right time. We couldn’t control the right time, but we were at the right place—DC.”

Be Foolish.

Back when Tom and David hosted a weekly NPR radio show, they usually opened the program with a quote from Twelfth Night: “Foolery, sir, does walk about the orb like the sun. It shines everywhere.”

We’ve decided not to take ourselves too seriously since The Motley Fool’s inception. (As if the name weren’t already a pretty good indicator of how we feel about the topic.)

That’s why new Fools get jester hats with their employee packet. It’s also why we do things like:

Board games every Wednesday;

“Pizza day” and “birthday celebration day” (we used to call it cake day, but sometimes we do pie too);

Trivia every day;

Plank time;

Nerf gun battles;

Regular rock-paper-scissors contests;

The annual April Fool’s Day joke;

And so much more.

THE OFFICE CIRCA EARLY 2000S. NOW WE HAVE VR HEADSETS. IMAGE SOURCE: THE MOTLEY FOOL.

Running a successful business takes mental flexibility and a readiness to laugh at yourself. It encourages others to do it, too, which builds a sense of safety in groups.

Recognize that bold visions never look entirely sane.

Visionary leaders win when they see a future very different from our present. It is almost inevitable that such a vision seems zany in the present.

“But people enjoy browsing through Blockbuster.”

“Tesla can’t possibly remake the auto supply chain. That’s just the way it is.”

“The internet will never replace TV.”

“People will not pay up for organic. Whole Foods is [avocado] toast.”

…and on and on.

Yet here we are, in a society that doubters could not have imagined just a few years ago.

Invest in the people you’d want to work for.

We care a lot about culture at The Motley Fool. (You’ve probably picked up on that by now.) As a result, we care about leadership.

Our services’ recommendations are filled with companies led by CEOs with the vision to dream big, the humility to listen when someone proves them wrong, and the thoughtfulness to invest heavily in a fantastic company culture. That’s why we consider what current and former employees say on websites like Glassdoor and InHerSight when deciding whether to recommend a stock. Believing in a company’s future starts with trusting the leader at the helm.

Tom invested in a play created by his college friend Jill Furman because he believed in her ability, her grit, and her passion for producing great theater. In the Heights ultimately won four Tonys and a Grammy (and was even nominated for a Pulitzer). It also opened the door for Tom to be an early investor in a then-unknown musical called…HAMILTON.

As a corollary to that point…

How you treat others matters.

As Tom puts it, “Culture doesn’t just mean what it’s like to go to work. It also means: How are customers treated? How are suppliers treated? How are the stakeholders of that business treated? That’s No. 1 for me.”

We could talk about karma and all the reasons why it’s smart to be good to others, but that really neglects the underlying point: Being good to people is just the right thing to do.

The next 25 years are more important than the last 25 years.

The Motley Fool has accomplished a great deal in its first 25 years, but we’re more excited than ever about what our community can achieve in the coming 25 years.

At the end of the day, only a fairly small slice of people are interested in stocks. Our goal is to “help the world invest — better” — which means we need to serve a much broader swath of the population than only people interested in stocks.

Above all, build the world you want to see.

David shared a great quote at a company conference a few years ago: “Make your portfolio reflect your best vision for our future.” But that’s only part of the answer. Make your actions — where you invest your money, where you spend your money, where you spend your time, how you live your life — reflect the world you want to see. That’s what we try to do here at The Motley Fool, and we’re excited to grow and change together over the next 25 years.

We have been so fortunate to share this journey with millions of awesome people. Do you have a Fool story or memory you’d like to share? Send it to us here.

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