To those who come to visit, thank you for stopping by! I really hope you enjoy this story, and watch it grow. Enjoy!

Note: This takes place twenty-four years into the future from after mistral. If you want character ages, just PM me.

Junior's club lay on the outskirts of Vale, in a far flung part of town that you'd often have to squint to see. A dirty, dark alleyway filled with some of the worst scum known to Remnant filled the corridor leading to it. Dealers, drunks and everything in between did their business conspicuously. There was nothing to hide in that disaster zone. Inside, dancers raved to whatever played, strobe lights flashing bright enough to blind people shining everywhere. A man would have to be crazy to cause trouble here.

Garnet was just that kind of man.

Strolling up to the club, calmer than the seas on a quiet day, the young man made his way to the door. The permanent aloof, stoic and most of all, mature look on his face betrayed his younger age. The bouncer almost didn't question him. When he did, all he did was mention a name. Yang Xaio-Long. Just like that, the man folded over like a deck of cards set for failure, and let the seventeen year old hunter in-training in.

The first thoughts that entered his head when he entered was that he shouldn't be here. Not in a club like this. Partying and clubbing was never his style, but it went deeper than that. He should be sleeping right now, getting rest for his flight to Beacon tomorrow. But opportunities arose that never did before. Only today would his father be out on a mission, hunting. Only today was his mother asleep, his two younger sisters in her arms, passing the night away. This was something he couldn't pass up.

The strobing lights bothered him. Closing his eyes didn't help. They still danced around in his vision, circling madly as if mocking him. The music was deafening, but the urge to dance was almost uncomfortably prevalent. Party-goers grouped in a circling, clambering to reach the center before anyone else, or just trying not to get trampled. Garnet sighed, taking a look at his clothes. His short-sleeve jacket over his hooded dark, short-sleeve shirt and jeans were enough to pass him off as any random party goer who's off to have a good time. He may as well start.

After taking his seat at the ordering table, a black-bearded, bored-looking man stepped in front of him. He squinted at the young man, then took a look at the yellow streaks in his lengthy black hair. That was quite an eye-opener. Garnet swore his eyes nearly took the leap of faith out of his skull.

"W-what'll it be?" The man asked, struggling to gain his composure.

"Strawberry Sunrise. Virgin." Garnet replied briskly. Illegally going to a club or not, he had to at least try and act smart.

"You're Yang's kid, right?" He asked uncomfortably, sliding his drink over to him.

"Nephew." Garnet said, taking a sip. Ooh, tangy. No wonder Auntee Yang loved this so much.

"A man of few words, eh?" The bartender looked rather assured at this, but his guard didn't lower. The young man just shrugged. Garnet knew that the man was probably gripping a dinky little pistol under the table. He was nonetheless undisturbed. As if that could touch him. "You mind telling me what on Remnant your doing here? Especially at your age."

"Looking for someone." Garnet deadpanned, a testament to how he normally talked. Yes, he was a man of few words. Brisk, blunt and straight to the point. That was just the way he liked it. As tough as that sounded, he just had no idea how else to talk to people. Call it a heaping vat of social awkwardness if you will. "Where can I find Yang Xaio-Long?"

"What, is she missing or something?" The bartender tried to hide it, but he looked hopeful beyond belief. That went away at Garnet's glare. "What, can you blame me? She made this place look like a tornado decided to square dance in the middle of the dance floor. There are still cracks we haven't fixed. Hell, look that this." He pointed at a crack behind him in the black marble. "That was behind the painting. We just found that! Not even two hours ago. They're popping up like flies on my moms cooking."

Garnet nearly sniggered. Nearly. C'mon, keep up the tough guy facade. He settled for a roll of his eyes. "Know anything?"

"I know she's never paying the boss for the damages." The bartender said gloomily, picking a large cylinder of plaster, and running it against the crack, sealing it.

"Anything not obvious?" Garnet clarified.

The bartender narrowed his eyes. "Why do you want to know? It's not like she's in any trouble, right?"

Garnet stayed silent. The man was getting inquisitive. That was always a bad sign. It meant he was starting to build up nerve. And nerve typically boosts to defiance, and defiance goes even further beyond. Better to get his other question out of the way before guns start ablazing.

"No, of course not." He downed his drink in one gulp, barely tasting it. What a shame. He actually liked it. "One last thing. Where's your boss? Is he here?"

The bartender tensed, all nerve gone. It was as if he knew deep down something was about to go down. Debating whether to spill the beans or not, he fingered the gun just under the table. Probably to make sure none of the trouble reaches him. Sighing in defeat, he answered. "He's over there." pointing a private room in the corner. The door was closed. He shivered. Hopefully, his timing wouldn't be off and he'd seeing things that he'd have to discuss in therapy.

Before walking away, Garnet turned with his deadpan face. "Better batten down the hatches in case this gets hot." He marched down to the door, dodging the crowd of people banging their heads to the dubstep, and took a deep breath. Here goes nothing.

His hand barely brushed against the door handle before it slowly drifted open. The room ahead was deep red, with a singular bed inside. Red bed sheets littered with rose petals, giving a soft, sweet and savory smell. One man sat in the chair at the side, probably getting a break from the obnoxious partying. A man with greying dark hair, and business suit. Junior front runner of this establishment, if it could even be called that.

He sat in the seat next to him. The man didn't react. He did spare a glance a little bit later, and tensed. Garnet cleared his throat. Still nothing. "So, a bee was here a few years ago. I was wondering if you might've seen her around."

Junior's head snapped to Garnet's direction. "Boy, what in the hell are you talking about?"

Garnet blinked. That didn't work? Crap, that kind of vague talk always works in the movies. Dad said they did anyway. For the love of Oum, why couldn't he have been born with actual social skills? "Um, a woman, Yang Xaio-long. Have you seen her?"

"Oh…" Junior's gruff tone worsened. "That blonde woman. The one that punched the wall of one of my houses down, claiming she was just knocking."

"Yeah, sounds about right." Garnet muttered with a sigh. "Now, where is she?"

"In a box, floating down the river." The man answered dryly. "Hopefully at least, the damn trouble maker."

Garnet glare deepened. If the man didn't know any better, he would have though the temperature increase was due to faulty air conditioning. "You'd better watch what you say. You might not like the reaction."

"Um, look kid, after what she did to this place, what… twenty odd years ago, I just want nothing to do with her. From my informants, I do know she's in Vacuo right now, looking for someone. Not a scratch on her." Junior said, raising his hands in surrender.

Garnet sighed in relief. At least he knew she was safe… relatively speaking being Auntee Yang. Now he had no other business being here. Junior had nothing to do with him, so what was the point of staying? "Thanks for your time. Goodbye." Garnet stood up. The moment he did, the man's strong arms seized around his wrist. Garnet's head snapped back with a glare. "Can I help you?"

"You just might. Tell me, what is your relation to this woman." He asked. There was a change in his tone again. It was tense and ready, almost caught in anticipation.

"I'm her nephew." Garnet answered.

"Her nephew, huh?" Junior slowly rose out of his seat, an angry glare setting in. The man looked downright predatory. "So, have you come to pay off her debt?" Garnet considered this, then reacted the way anyone from his family would.

"Nope!"

And Garnet took off.

Ten paces. Ten paces were all it took for a dozen or so guns to be aimed at his head. High powered assault rifles no less. Several men dressed in business suits and shades stood around him in a tight circle, barrels aimed right for his kisser. Garnet was nonetheless impressed. Their reaction timing was astounding. He raised his hands in a sort of ceasefire, a brief, wry smile working its ways to his face."Um, I come in peace?" Garnet said in a dull tone.

"I suspected as much. The nephew of Yang Xaio-Long. Isn't this a treat." The man circled around the collection of soldiers that waited at his beck and call. The music had died away, leaving quite a little ring in his ears. Screams replaced the music, and mayhem ensued, with people rushing for the exit, trying to escape the chaos. "Now that you're here, I'm gonna make you pay in full for what she did here."

"You are aware I'm still considered a minor, right?" Garnet stated calmly.

Junior scoffed gruffly. "Wow, I've never hated anyone this fast before. You are definitely her nephew." He jerked his head towards his men. "Stomp'em."

At last, the trigger words. Every gun cocked at once, some later than others, fingers primed and ready to shoot. At the last heartbeat, Garnet took a deep breath, and unleashed his 'weapon'. As he clenched his fists and clicked his heels, gauntlets and greaves sprang into place, wrapping crimson and white shaded metal from his forearms to his fingertips, and from the bottom of his knee to the tips of his toes.

The Gilded Rose had sprung to life.

Kicking off the ground as hard as he could, nearly shattering the ground under him, he burst through the circle of armed men before they could fire off a shot. Two, maybe three, were sent flying into walls as he crashed into them. Breaking to a halt, he kicked off the ground once again, flying left like a misguided missile, fist reared back. His fist met the stomach of one of the soldiers, the momentum alone taking his breath away with the rest sending him flying over the counter and through the wall.

A loud shriek came from the room. Wasn't that a private room? Something told Garnet that the man saw more than he bargained for.

Most of the suited men stared at him in awe. Only two of them managed to grab their bearing and fire away at him. Readying his fists in the way his aunt taught him, he jerked and weaved his way through the trail of gunfire, dodging and occasionally blocking a few rounds with his gauntlets. The closing of distance came all too fast. Ending up in the center of the men, he kicked the knee out of one, then spun on his heel to elbow another in the nose, blood spiraling through as he fell to the floor, out like a light.

One of the men stepped up, and stripped off his jacket, tugging at the edges of his gloves with a smirk on his face. The other men stepped back, acknowledging how useless their guns were. Garnet drew into his loose stance, keeping his body mobile. That man certainly looked strong with his muscles rippling across his white dress shirt and pants. A familiar welcome surge of adrenaline filled him. His heart pounded in his chest.

The man charged a him, lashing out with well placed moves befitting of a professional. With a serious of attempted grabs, holds and locks, Garnet got the impression of Atlas military training. He could feel the added strength of the man's aura. The young brawler couldn't seem to land a good hit it, cleanly at least. He tried to land a body blow, but was blocked by the man's forearm. His other hand closed around his wrist, and flowed to Garnet's other side, kicking out one of his legs, and holding him in an armbar.

Choked, low swears escaped Garnet's lips. Oum above that hurts! Maybe it's time to turn up the heat.

Swinging his other arm back, he surprised the older man by smashing his gauntlets together. A spark burst by the fire-based dust in between the metal pieces lit, making the gauntlets get much hotter. Eventually, the man cried out in pain as the burning became too much for him. He let go of Garnet, leaping back, clutching his burnt hands.

Garnet wasted no time, swooping in like lightning, and headbutting the man's head. As he stumbled back, he elbowed him in the chest, and kicked out one of his knees forcing him to the other. With one last pivot, he elbowed the older man's nose, snapping his head back as if he got struck by a baseball bat. He fell back, clutching his bleeding, broken nose, moaning and screaming whatever insult he could come up with. The other men back up uncertainty, leaving Junior alone.

"And then there was only one." the man said with a sigh. "So much for man-power. Even my son couldn't take you."

"Are you done?" Garnet demanded.

Two separate rumbles answered his question. Crashing through the walls on opposite sides of Junior were two large bipedal mechs, covered head to toe with armor and guns. "My nieces aren't here today, but I'm sure that they'll be enough today." And just as he got out of way, the behemoths started their assault.

The gatling guns fired, spraying everything in a hail of bullets. Garnet's breath caught his throat. Swifter than any round, he hopped around, flipping and contorting his body in midair, dodging most of the rounds. Some made it past his defences however, with one or two of them flattening against his chest, and one smacking him in his knee. He swore. Hopefully, his aura would hold up after this assault was over.

Thrusting his fist forward, he fired a concentrated ball of fire dust, which exploded upon impact against the left mech. With less to to dodge, he weaved his way over to the second mech, and was about to strike until the mech he fire against shot from the cloud of smoke, and uppercutted its mechanized fist up against his chest. The wind shot out of him. It wasn't long before another fist sent him through one of the granite pillars, and nearly through the base of the other next to it.

He pushed himself to his feet, gasping for air, clutching his bruised chest. Was something broken? Probably not, but damn was he gonna feel that in the morning. His aura held up, a testament to his heritage.

Taking deep a deep breaths to steady himself, he surged forward again, gauntlets and greaves lit aflame. Before the mechs could take a shot, he shot fire from his greaves, forcing him forward rapidly. He was behind the mechs before they realized what was happening. With a series of well placed punches and kicks, he knocked up the joints of the closest mech, and sent it tumbling down. One final punch tore through the metal hull and into the core beneath, shutting it down.

"Next?" Garnet challenged. The last mech attempted to bat him down, but Garnet was prepared this time. Firing once more from his greaves, he shot upwards, and slammed it with an uppercut of his own, copying the mech. With the added force, the mech not only tore, it shattered like glass, spilling crude oil and mechanical parts everywhere. "Turnabout is fair play, asshole." He growled as he landed, reeling from the punch it gave him earlier.

"Are you done now?" Garnet demanded.

Junior sighed. "I'm never gonna get that debt paid, am I?"

Garnet shrugged, the Gilded Rose shrinking back to the metal bands around his wrists, and the metal straps around the top side of his boots. "I tried to be nice." He muttered. "Sorry 'bout the bills you've gotta pay."

Junior sighed. "Just get outta here, kid."

As Garnet walked off, Junior turned to assess the damage. The entire club was a mess, with a good amount of the marble pillars shattered, walls scorched and cracked with one completely broken down, mech parts everywhere, and no help to clean. What caught his attention the most was a noticeably large crack just over the bar table. The crack that was just sealed upwards to ten minutes ago.

He sighed.

When Garnet walked out, he winced, running his hand along his bruised ribs. Yep… yep, he would definitely be feeling that tomorrow. What a nice way to start his time at Beacon, eh? Still, that was his fault… mostly. He came looking for trouble, and he found it.

"Hopefully, mom doesn't find out…" He murmured, clenching his bruised knuckles with his other hand. Aura would fix them eventually. They always did.

On the way home, stepping out of the alleyway, he turned and acknowledged the city of Vale. It was nothing like he ever knew before, especially after spending most of his time living on an Island named Patch for so long. Moving away with his family didn't seem like the best idea in hindsight. The loud, abrasive city life was something akin to a constant machine gun going off in his head, a contrast to the peaceful, quiet countryside.

Tonight was different though. Barely any scrabblers who were just making it home after a devastatingly long work day, or night walkers just going about their business were around. No cars were in sight. Barely any lights were on. It was almost as if the entire city had gone to sleep. Even the smells of the city had dissipated.

Shoving his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, he sped up, feeling more and more uneasy. He kept his hands ready to clash together and unleash his weapon. Home was close by now, after nearly ten minutes of silence. He felt a chill then. Teeth grit to keep them from chattering, he looked around, checking everywhere. There was no one around, but he couldn't shake this feeling.

He was being watched.

"Who's there?" Garnet shouted. Nothing. Could it be his imagination? No, he could definitely feel eyes on him. Think of it like an itch in the back of your head, telling you to watch out before you get your head taken off. Dust fell against his shoulder from above. He looked up, and felt his heart skip a beat.

Up above stood a cloaked figure, staring down at him. The black shroud billowed in the night, seemingly invisible, only being visible through the moonlight. From the cloak atop its head, he spotted something that made him shiver.

One silver eye.

"Garnet."

"Wah!" The ever stoic, aloof faced Garnet cried out in surprise, jumping a good foot in the air, spinning as he did.

A tall figure strolled out of the gloom with such a regal posture that Garnet thought he may have saw a king at first glance. He had a rather handsome face, looking rather young for his age, with pale green eyes, tan-colored skin, and a bright smile. He stood wearing a long grey coat with a green and white dress shirt underneath, and slacks, typical for a man of his position as principal of Beacon. "Hey Garnet."

Garnet blinked in confusion. "Um… Hi Mr. Pines."

"Oh forget the whole Mr. Pines thing. Just call me Uncle Oscar." He said pleasantly.

"I'm not doing that." Garnet deadpanned. He spared a glance up. The figure had vanished without a trace, leaving Garnet more confused than afraid. "Hey, uh… did you see someone up there?"

"Excuse me?" Oscar asked.

"I… uh… nothing. What're you doing out here?" Garnet bluntly asked.

"Just a midnight stroll. It's rare that I get them these days." He took a sip of coffee from a mug by his side. Garnet regularly shifted glances to the rooftops, hands clasped, armed and ready. Oscar was still slurping away at his coffee, giving off an odd cringe every so often. Finally, when he was done, he placed his mug down, sighing.

"It still tastes horribly." He said sadly.

"Then why do you drink it?" Garnet asked.

"Well, lets just say an obnoxiously close friend had shoved it down my throat non-stop for nearly eight years. I tried to tell him no, but you don't realize how… close we were." Pines said in reminisce. Garnet cocked a brow at the implications. The older man cleared his throat loudly. "Not that close, Garnet."

Garnet nodded, and stared expently, not in the mood to start the conversation. Pines sighed. "Weiss said I'd have to deal with your attitude one way or another." Garnet cocked his head, waiting for him to continue. "Well, now that you're here with me, I'll walk you home."

"I'm not a dog." Garnet growled.

"'Could've fooled me." Oscar laughed, not stopping even with Garnet's glare. "Sorry, still getting used to this whole 'mature, father figure' vibe I'm supposed to be giving. Is it working?"

"Nope." Garnet said, walking ahead of him. "Where's Aunt Yang?"

"Didn't Junior tell you before you tore his club apart?" Oscar asked. Garnet shrugged. "Well, she's in Vacuo, looking for someone… although she may need to be called back. Especially after what just happened."

"So you did see someone up there." Garnet said, narrowing his eyes. "Who was it?" He didn't answer, merely stared. Garnet sighed. "Are all adults like this? Keeping secrets 'till its too late, and I get smacked with cruel, painful reality?"

"I… well… that's not…" Oscar stammered. Wow, he really wasn't used to his position.

Garnet sighed. "Forget it."

After about five more minutes, they made it to Garnet's door. Before he could get his key out, Oscar stopped him, gripping his shoulder. "Listen, at Beacon, you are the safest you can be. I am younger and more powerful than the headmasters before me, and more experienced than you can ever imagine. But out here, be careful. The silver eyes actually mean something in society now. Your mother and father can take care of themselves, and your sisters, but you? Your on your own, vulnerable. Be careful."

"Me? Alone?" Garnet nearly scoffed. "Trust me when I say you have no idea how wrong you are. Goodnight."

Oscar stayed for a moment before nodding and walking to the airship area, probably going back to Beacon. Garnet carefully pushed open the door and tiptoed in, easing the door shut with the tip of his boot. He shoved off his wristbands and boots, leaving them by the door, where the were when he left. The TV in the living room was still on. The stairs that led to his room were just ahead of it. Hopefully, he could make it there before he got caught.

Tip-toeing across the floor, he passed by the doorway, about to flit across it before he saw them. His family. Ruby Arc-Rose, his loving mother, slept on the couch, small and spry, with a rather large lump in her belly, showing her next child. His two younger sisters, Juliana and Summer, both ten and four respectively, lay by her side, sprawled on top of her, Juliana straying from her belly, and Summer full on embracing it, rubbing her tiny face against it, smiling contently.

Just like that, his heart melted.

With the smallest of smiles, he hitched up a small blanket around them before walking upstairs to his room, lamenting about how much sleep he was gonna lose tonight.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed, and please review what you think. The rest of the team will be revealed in the next chapter. See ya then!