[Theme 8: "This is War" AMV by amethysta]

Several hours later, Raven and Yang had both been attended to...but there was no noticeable harm done to them, physically, except a few marks from the test on Raven.

Yang couldn't really explain why the whole experience had freaked her out so much, once she told them what happened in brief.

Most of them thought it was less bad than they expected.

"I guess Vara was a little too worried," Oscar said. "Sounds like she didn't do that much to Yang. And Raven is mostly okay."

Raven could have slugged him for that.

Wally and Shine were the only ones, along with Pyrrha and Winter, who seemed to feel it was bad.

Pyrrha because she could imagine how she'd have felt if she were them, and Winter because the idea of the same thing happening to her was terrifying.

Wally had been captured enough times and met enough mad scientists to not take it lightly, and Shine...well, she knew stuff.

But neither of them spoke about it right then.

All they wanted to know was if Victoria seemed likely to recover from the attack. It had not gone quite how Shine envisioned it, because of Yang's change in situation and the alarm system they didn't know about.

Shine took that better than the others would have if their plan had run into that kind of obstacle.

"Still, we don't have much hope of Theodore not knowing about this," Winter said. "He saw Neo, from what she...communicated. And Hazel."

"Yes, he's going to think that either they worked aside from us, or he'll figure it out," Shine said. "Either way, I suppose we can't keep up our game anymore. I was getting sick of it."

"Sick of it?" Qrow said. "That's your reaction to the whole thing being thrown?"

"You never liked that plan anyway," Shine said, "so why does it matter? Every plan only works for a short time anyway, and then you have to adjust it. The whole thing is exhausting, but that's war for you. I think we'd better just deal with it. Raven and Yang need to rest, and all the kids have been up most of the last two days, and we're all stressed. But if we have to leave the school, we'd better be ready."

She pursed her lips. "There is something we need to talk about also, but I think it should wait till we know where we are with Vacuo."

"But we have nowhere to go..." Winter said.

"If nothing else, we can go back to Beacon and Haven," Shine said. "Glynda would allow us, and I'm sure Gira and Kali would also. And no one else is using the school right now. By the way, Ozpin really should appoint a new headmaster to Haven."

"We'll add that to the to do list of things to do if we survive 'till next year," Qrow said.

"That's no way to talk," Shine said. "It should be done whether or not you survive."

Qrow stared at her and then chuckled kind of flatly. 

Winter frowned. "We never run out of problems."

"Nope," Wally said, cheerfully. "But we are going to need a break. But I guess we'll wait till Theo for that... So what are we going to do to him?"

"Well, if the jig is up, I suppose we can do whatever we like," Shine said. "But after that, I imagine he'll go to Vara first....I wonder what she'll do."

* * *

The answer would probably not have surprised Shine that much.

Theo did head back to the house--a bit warily, since he'd already gotten quite the lecture from Victoria about how much damage she had to fix.

She hadn't really lost that much actually valuable stuff except the dust vials, but that pissed her off because of how expensive dust was. It would take her a month at least to restock, she said.

Also she was unhappy with Kip, who had apologized for helping the others escape but said he wasn't sure what else to do.

Theo wondered if the kid really even meant it... He didn't envy Victoria trying to explain her actions away there.

He hadn't seen all of the Grimm--but he'd seen a couple that were still stuck, before she'd just killed those also.

What had she been doing? Grimm and dust were not even supposed to be compatible.

She had offered no explanation beyond, "Security."

The Victoria he'd known back when Uncle Henry was around had not been interested in Grimm. What happened?

Wondering if Watts had something to do with it, Theo looked for him and found he had disappeared. With or without any tech, he didn't know.

Theo knew the others had escaped to the tunnel, so he took another one and went back to Vara's hide out.

Only to find the door was unlocked--and showed some signs of being attacked. Not surprising, but how did she unlock it?

Inside, he expected to find her ready to pounce on him at once--but instead it was quiet.

Turning on the light, he looked around.

Nothing.

Then he saw the folded paper on the table.

Picking it up, he read these words:

Jackass: I was going to wait to kill you in person, but after realizing some other angles of the situation, I decided it would be smarter to not stand on ceremony. 

I may not be able to fight Salem, but I refuse to bring down the people who will by terrorizing them in the name of science and security. Tell Vic that, for all I care. And you can also tell her that I'm disappointed in both of you and our friendship is over.

If you see Kip, tell him he should run away from home the first chance he gets and not look back. Some things are too twisted to involve kids in.

I know you can find me, Theo--but I wouldn't recommend it.

PS: One of Salem's probable spies has already found this location. I took anything I'd care about losing. I suggest burning the rest and making it look like it was the Grimm.

PPS: I hope Qrow kicks your a-- when you see him next.

--V. S.

That note was so in character, Theo almost laughed...but then he kicked the table over.

But who had found this place? Who had unlocked the door?...

He remembered that the tiny girl had taken his key...but she couldn't have gotten back here so quickly...not unless she knew where to go already... Yeah...if she knew already.

Theo's mind raced. Vara sounded like she knew more than he'd told her... Could it be she'd already snuck out of here without telling him and talked to someone else?

Or could...? But no, they'd never have found this place without his help. No one knew about the tunnels except him, Vic, and Vara...unless Vic had told Watts--but Watts would
have already used it if she did...so...

Angrily, he crumpled the note, then he set the place on fire--not much fear of it leaving the room. It was all rock and stone. Nothing would catch on fire outside.

Then he headed straight for the school.

* * *

The others were waiting in one of the offices on the second level of the school when Theo came in.

He looked at them, and they looked at him.

Somehow everyone knew at the same time that he knew something about what they'd done, and he knew that they knew what he'd done.

The pause was terrible.

Then Yang stood up, shakily still.

"You," she said, irises red.

Theo swallowed.

"Someone has my key," he said.

"Is that all you have to say?" Winter was livid all over again.

"Did she come here?" Theo looked around. "What did you all do?"

"What did we do, Theo?" Qrow said, stepping forward. "What did you do?"

Shine sighed.

"What do you mean?" Theo looked guilty already though.

"What do we mean?" Winter nodded at Neo.

Neo tossed the key upward.

"You, you're the thief." Theo looked at her. "Don't I know you from somewhere?"

"She works for me," Shine said, smiling wryly.

"You?" Theo said.

"You set me up!" Yang burst out, tired of this. "That message I got, it wasn't from Victoria, was it? It was from you! You could have gotten my number."

Theo didn't deny it.

"How long have you guys known about it?" he asked instead.

"Is that all you have to say for yourself?!" Winter came towards him, furious. "You lied to us, you set up Miss Sustrai to get beaten by your own students, and you allowed Miss Xiao Long to be kidnapped and her mother to be taken in. On top of which, you've hidden the truth about the Summer Maiden this entire time when she was right under our feet!"

Theo frowned. "So which one of you found her?"

"I did," Oscar said. "With some help." He nodded at Emerald and Mercury and Neo.

"I'm not surprised it was you," Theo said. "Ozpin, right? I thought you were when I first met you."

"But you never asked," Qrow said warily. "Why not? Was it because you knew he'd be able to ask you more about the Maiden?"

"That was part of it," Theo said. "I'm sure you're all very pissed right now, and I don't blame you for it. But I had my reasons to do all this, and you could not possibly understand them."

"Couldn't understand what?" Shine stood up. "That you're in love with Vara?"

Theo froze.

"That Vara has some condition that she won't share that makes her unfit to be both the Maiden and to be the object of Victoria's experiments?" Shine went on. "That, in fact, it was not the plan for Vara to be the Maiden at all, and your Uncle was partially to blame for it in some way because of something he did. And the fact that, according to our newly rescued friends, all this may in fact have something to do with Summer Rose."

"It does?" Ruby said suddenly.

"Didn't you hear that part?" Weiss said.

"I mean...I knew that the crazy woman mentioned it, but I thought it was just that she didn't know either," Ruby said.

"Ruby, she didn't know, but she made it pretty clear he does," Weiss said.

"Oh...is that it?" Ruby glanced at Theo. "What happened?"

"Hey, ask him." Theo glanced at Hazel, who was watching in the background. "He probably knows."

"What?" Qrow looked at Hazel.

Hazel glanced up. "The disappearance..." he said oddly. "Was that when this Rose woman came here?"

"What do you mean by that?" Winter asked.

"I didn't realize it was the same time," Hazel said. 

"What did you know?" Yang said.

"One thing at a time, Yang," Shine said. "Theo, you're changing the subject. We can talk to Hazel later. But what about you?"

"If she told you all that," Theo said, "then I guess I'm screwed. Where is she? Did she come here then?"

"She's gone?" Pyrrha said

"Don't act cute with me," Theo said. "You all had to have planned this, right? You had the key the whole time. How long did you know where she was?"

"We found her yesterday," Oscar said.

"Yesterday?" Theo said. "No, no way."

"Theo," Shine said firmly, "Oscar is being quite truthful, as you would know if you knew him at all. But Vara and you have not been in agreement about this for quite some time, have you? From what she told him. You've been sneaking around us since we arrived, and you've been working with Watts from before that."

Theo frowned. "Vara told you that?"

"Actually--" Qrow was mad at that again. "--we knew already."

"You knew?" Theo was taken aback again.

"Miss Likstar put it together from the first few days we were here," Winter said, "with a few tip offs from Salem's former allies who are now working with us. Did you really think we wouldn't know why you were acting the way you were?"

"But I never thought they knew anything about me..." Theo glanced at Emerald and Mercury.

"We didn't," Hazel said. "But we knew Salem was fairly sure of Vacuo. That could only mean either she knew where the Maiden was already, or she thought she had a way to know. Once these people realized that you'd hidden the Maiden, it became clear what the answer was."

He nodded at this.

"Theo, we've been following your scheming since we got here," Shine said. "We knew you'd spoken to Watts and Victoria, and you've been planning to sell us out also."

"How did you know that?" Theo was puzzled. "I would have known if you followed me... I made sure that Raven and Qrow never saw me ..."

"Yeah," Qrow said. "But we're not the only ones who can spy, you jackass!"

He stepped forward again. "But I just don't understand why. Why did you sell us out? Over some girl? And what did all this have to do with Summer?"

He was mad, but he wasn't attacking yet, because he wanted to hear this first.

Theo glanced around like he was debating if running would work...but no way would he have ever got farther than the hallway.

"Summer..." he sighed. "For the record, I had nothing to do with that...directly. But I knew you'd blame Vara...but it's not her fault, not really."

"Just tell us," Ruby said.

"Yeah." Yang frowned.

"There's no point hiding it now," Shine said. "We'll all find out sooner or later. You can either be a man for once and tell us, or you can run and let us find out the hard away."

"You sound kind of like Vara now," Theo said dryly. "I guess there's nothing to lose anymore... But why did you let me do all this if you knew?"

"Ask her." Qrow pointed at Shine. "It was her idea."

"I'll answer that after you tell us what happened to Summer," Shine said.

Even Mercury was getting interested in this, despite having no personal reason to care.

Theo frowned. "When I first heard of the new Maiden, I thought that she'd killed the old one," he said. "Summer Rose had visited Vacuo right before it happened. You know that was about 13 years ago. After Uncle died, I didn't become the official headmaster for 3 years because I didn't have a professorate yet, you remember? But I was basically in charge. So I went looking for the new Maiden. I hadn't met Vara officially yet, but my Uncle had mentioned to me that she and the old Maiden were friendly. And Vic...she was close to Uncle, like the daughter he never had. She and I were almost like family, but I was away, and she was off with her husband doing the gods know what... We'd grown apart. So I didn't know what she knew till she approached me. But she told me Henry had told her about Salem, about the Maiden, all of it. Offered to help if I caught the new Maiden, said she thought we could transfer those powers... James had been working on those machines for years, you know... I think he'd made more progress back then than he let on to you guys."

Qrow frowned.

"So I agreed," Theo said. "And I told Vic what Uncle had told me before he went off after Summer--who'd left Vacuo just a few weeks before that. But I have to warn you, I didn't even know exactly what he meant then, and I still can't explain it completely. Vienta Calour, the previous Maiden, she was getting up there, right? She was in her 50s, but she was still pretty sprightly. There was no reason to think she'd die naturally any time soon, so we didn't think the powers would be transferred soon. Ozpin knew that part already."

"Yes," Ozpin said, and Oscar nodded so everyone knew it.

"She was still doing missions at the time," Theo said. "The weird thing was, for a long time, it seemed like Salem wasn't even interested in her. But then Uncle, he told me the truth before that. I kind of suspected it, but it was deeper than I thought..."

* * *

Henry had sat Theo down in his office with a grim look.

"Theo," he said, "you know how I've been guarding the Summer Maiden for years?"

"Yeah," Theo said.

"I'm not that good at it," Henry had said, flatly. "I swore I was never going to tell you this because it would dirty your hands if you got involved, but I'm not going to have much choice, I think. The reason that Salem has mostly left us alone, it's not just because she had bigger fish to fry. One of her workers, he's been visiting us for years... We trade information a little, and in exchange...they look the other way when Calour is active, on the understanding that, if they need to use the Sword, we'll cooperate, so long as it's not used in Vacuo."

"That's crazy." Theo has stood up.

"I know it is," Henry had said. "Sit down, boy. I'm not done yet."

Theo had sat back again.

"It's crazy," Henry said. "But as long at they believe we're that stupid, we can survive. Vienta and I both know, if we can get the Sword out, the first thing to aim at would be Salem's army and then the witch herself...at least I thought that would work...but then I couldn't understand how Salem wouldn't see that coming. Well, we got our answer. Her servant let something slip the last time he dropped in. He told us that Salem isn't just long living...she's also indestructible."

"What?" Theo said. "This just came up?"

"I'm thinking it might have been a threat," Henry said, grimly. "They might want that Sword... They want something... I'm guessing it has to do with Beacon. You know the Fall Maiden isn't too young over there. Once her power gets transferred, it'll be weaker, perhaps the time to attack it. Salem has always wanted the Crown most especially, according to Oz... The point is, Beacon is pretty well defended, and they don't have the manpower to just attack it, not with Atlas having its back like that. The Sword would make it easy. They cannot get the Sword."

"So...what did they want, then?" Theo said.

"That's what they want," Henry said. "And they think we'll just give it to them because we can't possibly win this fight."

"And you told him no, right?" Theo said.

"I told him I'd have to discuss it," Henry said. "Which is obviously just stalling. But we're going to have to give it to them."

"You can't do that!" Theo said.

"Will you calm down already?" Henry said. "Listen...you know Ozpin's crack team...the one that broke up?"

"Yeah..." Theo said.

"One of them came here," Henry said. "Here right now. Summer Rose. You remember her?"

"Vaguely," Theo said. 

"Cute girl," Henry said. "Big silver eyes, long cape."

"Oh, yeah, right," Theo said. "Qrow's talked about her quite a bit."

"She had a kid a few years ago, so she'd been off the field," Theo said. "Mostly. But she showed up asking about the Maiden. Seems Oz suspected Vienta's been in some trouble. One too many destroyed villages after she's been there... Salem's Grimm are following us around. Apparently Vienta and Summer met ages ago when she was still a student. You remember the Vytal Festival..."

"What's your point?" Theo said. "What does Rose have to do with this?"

"Did you know Rose is a Silver Eyed Warrior?" Henry said.

Pause.

"I thought that was a myth," Theo said.

"It is," Henry said. "And most myths have some truth behind them. Summer is...a bit new to figuring out how to use her powers. But apparently Oz knew something about it... I didn't believe it at first either, but she gave a little demonstration after she arrived. Then she asked if she could help Vienta, if we were being trailed by Salem...you know, all the stuff I've been hoping Oz wouldn't ask for several years. I guess Summer thinks she can stop whatever's been hitting us with a single stare. And maybe that would work if it was just Grimm... Basically she's offering to be Vienta's bodyguard till we can get a leg up. I wonder what she thinks about this."

"Who cares what she thinks? What did you say?" Theo asked.

"I would have said no, but I'm not in a position to turn down help," Henry said. "I'm not the fighter I used to be... And you know that inventor friend I have? Bright girl. You remember Vic."

"Yeah, haven't heard from her in ages," Theo said.

"She's been trying to study magic for years," Henry said. "Mostly using dust, but she's always been interested in the Maiden powers too. But I didn't know about that, you know? If it was a good idea. But it's funny what you learn when you study for years. She saw Summer around, and she told me that she has silver eyes...and you know what she tells me? She says there's a legend about Silver Eyed Warriors, that they don't just defeat Grimm...they also can deflect magic."

"I've never heard that," Theo said. "But then, I've never heard much, period."

"Sounds nuts, right?" Henry said. "But Summer and Vienta were fighting some Grimm together at the border, and she used her power--I don't know exactly what happened, but Vienta said that it did affect magic after all...wouldn't say more than that. I don't really get it. The point is..."

"That Summer is dangerous?" Theo said.

"That she's got something we've never had," Henry said. "A defense not just against Grimm...but against magic...and magic is, as you know, what Salem is."

Theo frowned. "What are you saying?"

"Well, the idea is kind of nutty," Henry said, "but Summer was saying, afterward, that if she was to...say, find Salem, she might be able to...nullify her. Stop her."

"But you said Salem can't be destroyed," Theo said, "which by the way, Oz never told us."

"No, he didn't," Henry growled. "But I'm not that skeptical... Why else hasn't it happened yet? He must think we're fools... What was I talking about?"

"Summer," Theo said. "Crazy plan. Destroying Salem."

"Right." Henry rubbed his head. "Look, I'm not saying it will work...but I am saying Oz never told us it was possible. I can't say why, but what if it did work? Silver eyes...they're pretty rare. But it got me to thinking--her servants were always asking about them. Asking if I had heard of any."

"Did you?" Theo said.

"Rumors sometimes," Henry said. "Ones far away from Ozpin's crew... I figured if they kept looking that way, they wouldn't think of the Summer. Probably it was nothing anyway. But the point is, now she wants to face Salem herself. And the thing is...Vienta thinks it could work. So does Vic."

"And you think so?" Theo said. "Because to me it sounds crazy."

"We don't have a lot of options," Henry said. "Salem will bring her fist down on this place if we cross her now without some kind of plan. Vienta thinks if we take the Sword to Salem's land, she'll allow us passage."

"Take it there?" Theo said. "No, she'd get it for sure."

"We aren't going to actually take it, moron," Henry said. "But if she thinks we are..."

"The Grimm will look for it," Theo said.

"But if Summer kills them before they even get close, Salem will never know that they didn't find it," Henry said. "It's just mad enough to work. I...have an idea where Salem's hideout is."

He pulled a map out of a drawer with a lock. "I was given this so that I could bring the Sword, at any such time as it was demanded... It's not exact directions, but it's close enough. At that point the Grimm or her servants would find you and bring you the rest of the way, I guess. If the girls can fight their way that close..."

"And you're letting Vienta do this?" Theo said.

"Yeah, it's not something I'm happy about," Henry said. "But with Summer and her together, there's a pretty good chance they'd make it. No one could match Summer in a fight, and Vienta has honed her skills for 30 years. Vic also offered to give some of the prototype weapons her husband had been working on, a little extra insurance. I think it could work. We have airships too. It's possible."

"No one ever comes back from there," Theo said

"Well, no one has ever tried sending a Maiden and a Silver Eyed Warrior there together," Henry said. "If it does work...this could all be over... If it doesn't..."

"Then we get a new Maiden," Theo said.

Henry traced his finger along the table. "If it looks like it's going to go south," he said, "Vienta said she'll...take her own life, or Summer will...and then Summer will get the powers. The eyes and the power together, she'd be unstoppable...and she'll run. Her Semblance too, she'd never get caught, no way."

"What?" Theo sat bolt upright. "Vienta would just do that?"

"Realistically...she's going to be too...old for it soon anyway," Henry said. "I'm no spring chicken myself, you know. I've known her the entire time she's had those powers... They take a toll on you. She thinks it's better now, while she can choose it, than when she's too weak or too senile to know. And Summer is the perfect choice...powerful, loyal, and a killer fighter. Like I said, if she got the powers, she'd be unstoppable. It's not a bad plan."

"It is, for you," Theo said.

"I'm too old to be concerned about myself," Henry said. "And...if this doesn't work, I'll be blamed for it. If I have to step down, I want you to step into my place. No one I could trust more than you. And for a new assistant for you, Vic and I have this other friend, good fighter, smart. Vara Sol...you might have heard of her."

"I think she was the top finisher for Vacuo in the Vytal Festival a few years ago," Theo said. 

"Yeah, that's her," Henry said. "A few years younger than you, but she's sharp. Think about promoting her if this doesn't work out. Summer likes her, too."

"She knows her?" Theo said.

"Oh, yeah," Henry shrugged. "I forget how they met, but they hit it it off. Summer said she reminded her a little of Raven, back when she was still working with them. Still, can't believe she left..."

But this was getting off subject.

"So you're telling me all this now as a formality," Theo said.

"I thought I should warn you," Henry said. "I'm expecting a visit from Salem's servant tomorrow... I'm going to set all this up. But I want you to stay out of it. You're my wild card. No one knows you knew about this plan, got it? Never. I mean, if Oz found out the way I handled all this, you'd go down with me. If it fails, just let me take the fall. If it works, we keep it secret."

"I guess there's no stopping you," Theo said. "I hope you know what you're doing."

Henry nodded.