A/N: Boys and girls of all ages, I'm back! With a new story. For this, I wanted to explore a few things. One: making a character that wasn't the same age as team RWBY. Instead, they are (or at least, will be) about the same age as many of the adults in the film (i.e. Taiyang, Raven, Qrow, Glynda, etc). I think it would be fun to see more of some mentorship action, an from a badass mentor too. Two: How can someone reasonable by led into baking bad choices for good reasons, but not be anywhere close to a monster?

Oh the fun we will have. Anyway, I hope that you enjoy, and please consider leaving some feedback.

For the umpteenth time, Jet Swanson had to swat away several sheets of paper that threatened to cover the windshield and obscure his view of the narrow winding dirt road. The four-by-four swerved a little before regaining control, which didn't endear the driver to his passengers any.

"Oum-damn it Swanson, didn't you do combat driving when you were training to be a hunter?" complained Dill, peeling himself off the window. "Because I don't see the point if you can't drive in a straight line."

"It's hard when someone's thesis is obscuring my view," said Jet, shooting a pointed look at the girl seated next to him. "Maybe if Olive had converted the physical copies to her scroll like you told her she should…"

"Sorry," apologized the girl, pushing up her circular glasses and shuffling together her looseleaf notes. "I would have, I just didn't know I would be able to come on this trip until the eleventh hour."

"You didn't come until you knew Dill was," quipped Jet. "I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'."

"I'm not quite sure what you're insinuating," said Olive coolly, but a slight dusting of pink on her cheeks betrayed her tone of voice.

"Nothing Olive." One tanned hand swept back through his short, curly black hair as he chuckled to himself.

The vehicle clipped another pothole, jolting the two that had not formerly been hunters. Dill bounced his head off the ceiling, and Olive once more had to pick up the binders and pages that had slid into the footwell.

"Oum Jet," Dill grumbled as he rubbed the top of his head. "Just let Leo drive. Maybe he'll be able to look over the top of the steering wheel."

"Sorry bro. You don't want that." Leo, the other guy in the back, shook his head sending blonde tresses swirling around his head.

"Why not? It can't be any worse."

Dill drew his eyebrow together as Jet burst out cackling, beating on the steering wheel with a free hand. His crazed laughter soon infected Leo, and even Dill found himself chuckling though he didn't understand the joke. "What?" he asked finally, as the merriment died down somewhat.

"Well-" began Leo, but he was immediately cut off by Jet.

"No no, let me tell it, let me tell it," he interrupted. "Okay, so this was about two years after we had graduated Beacon. I'd done some specific classes with regards to law enforcement, and we had spent most of the previous year working with the sheriffs and rangers in settlements around Vale. Anyway, because of that experience me and Leo got subcontracted by the Vale Police Department to help bust up some crime rings at that time that were smuggling Grimm into the city."

"They were smuggling grimm into Vale?" asked Olive incredulously, eyes widening behind the large wire frames. "Wouldn't that be incredibly dangerous?"

"But it's incredibly lucrative," nodded Jet. "Underground fighting was a huge thing at that time. They'd fight dogs, roosters, and other different animals. They'd even kidnap faunus and force them to fight in the rings, often to the death."

"Oum that's awful," murmured Olive.

Dill couldn't help but agree. "That's pretty fucked up."

Jet shrugged. "There were enough sick people that would place money on the fights, so the profits were through the roof. Some of these places were walking out with almost half a million lien in profit every month and all of it tax free. But people always want bigger and better, so grimm was the next step. Anyway, the police were being about a successful as they usually are, and with the presence of grimm hunters were wanted. So, we arrived."

"Okay, that's cool as hell, but what does this have to do with Leo's driving?" asked Dill.

"I'm getting there. You ever hear of story building?" said Jet, scratching at his thick black beard before continuing. "Well, right at the start they wanted us to head an undercover sting operation to gather more information. They provided us with covers as some shady dudes who had too much money for their own good. Part of that was they gave us a JX Noir to be very careful with."

"No frickin way," exhaled Dill. "A Noir? That's one of the most powerful luxury cars on the market. Can't it hit one sixty-five or something?"

"Dude, that's standard. This thing came tricked out with turbos and all the bells and whistles. It was such a sweet ride bro." Leo grinned fondly at the memory, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back.

"Yeah, yeah it was," agreed Jet. "It could hit over one ninety for sure, maybe over two hundred all while we reclined in heated leather seats. It was a part of our cover, otherwise I'm sure they wouldn't have put in so much expense. The thing was donated to them by a wealthy patron, but it must have cost around two hundred K all said and done."

Dill whistled appreciatively and even Olive, who had never much cared for talk of vehicles, raised one solitary eyebrow at such a high sum of money. It went unspoken, but it was clear the desperation that must have been present to bring such resources to bear.

"Anyway, this is about- what was it Leo, three weeks? A bit less?"

"A bit more I think, dude."

"Really? Anyway, it was about three weeks into us working on this. We'd gathered a lot of intel and saved a few lives during a bust, so we were in pretty good standing with the VPD," Jet explained.

"Of course we were brah. That's the only reason they didn't throw us off the case," grinned Leo.

"I know right?"

Dill could hardly contain himself any further, throwing his hands up and bursting back into the conversation. "What the hell happened then?"

"Settle down. I swear I'm getting there. Anyway, we were leaving a site and Leo was driving. We were heading down H-14 in the middle of Vale when he decided to test exactly how fast that damn car could go," growled Jet, pointing a damning finger towards the back seat.

"It was relevant dude," argued Leo.

"Relevant?" the driver screeched, voice rising in pitch. "Relevant to what, exactly?"

"What if we had to get away my dude? I want to have ridden that car mackin' before. I want to feel it."

Jet looked almost like he exploded. "No! Not in the middle of the night on an active freeway! That's not the place!"

"Dude, chill out. You know it was pretty sweet cruisin'." Leo grinned and made a wave motion with his hand which only seemed to antagonize Jet further.

"For all of thirty seconds!"

The other two could hardly help themselves, eyes swiveling back and forth as they watched the verbal dispute; Olive more and more nervously while Dill leaned in enraptured by the story unfolding. Leo, on the other hand just wore a manic grin and drove his hand like a car, only serving to infuriate Jet further.

Olive raised one hand tentatively to interrupt, as if she was back in one of her college classes. "Emm, it seems like there's a lot of emotion riding on this, uhhh, maybe we should… leave it for another time?"

Jet just banged his head against the steering wheel several times as the small tinny horn rang out into the surrounding pines. "I'm not really mad at him, Olive, I'm just… I'm just mad at him." He groaned loudly as Dill and Leo chuckled, while Olive still looked uncertain. "It was such a cool car man! It was so cool… and I hardly got to drive it!"

"They didn't let you drive it anymore because you were speeding?" asked Dill incredulously.

"Well, I'm sure they wouldn't have been happy with that, but no. No that's not the reason. It's because he absolutely totaled the car."

"He what?" gasped Dill in horror, eyes growing wide at the destruction of such a vehicle. An involuntary shudder ran through his body as he envisioned so many tons of metal and composite perfection being trashed.

"Were you okay?" asked Olive.

"Yeah, yeah. But you've got to understand what happened. So that idiot floored it and took off, and we went from seventy to one ninety in about ten seconds. We were absolutely flying. Well, all would've been fine if this hadn't been right where the highway ends and splits into four overpasses leading to different roads like a bunch of arcing spaghetti bridges," explained Jet.

Dill raised one eyebrow, suitably unimpressed. "What a vivid description," he deadpanned.

"You know what I'm talking about," said Jet, waving him off. "Anyway, you're supposed to go something like fifty over those sections, and we were still going a hundred and fifty even with him standing on the brakes. There's absolutely no way he was going to make that turn."

"Oh Oum," gasped Olive, sensing what was coming next.

"Yeah, we busted through the barrier seventy feet up or something and just sailed out into space."

Behind Jet the entire event was being acted out in sequence with sound effects. Leo's hand had become a car as is arced out into space, his mouth revving like an engine as the hand flipped over on its back and impacted the seat.

"Well, it's got a huge engine in the front, and so it nosed over and we bailed," Jet continued.

"Bailed?" enquired Dill, snapping his fingers. "Just like that? Out of a car seventy feet up and moving over a hundred miles an hour?"

"Yeah, and thank goodness we had aura because it had been a hell of a long time since we had practiced a landing strategy; probably not since the second year of Beacon. It still hurt like hell though," remarked Jet. "I broke my wrist and took a good amount of skin off my back when I skidded, and Leo fractured a few ribs and got pretty bruised up when he ran into a concrete pillar. I mean, aura can only do so much."

"Only so much?" snorted Dill. "You're alive and your injuries were minor for what you did!"

"Yeah, but we might not have even had those if we didn't screw up the landings so bad. But that's not the point. So the car is totally mangled and in pieces; it's a total write off spread all over the empty concrete lots you find under those sections. We're just sitting there nursing some injuries, wondering what on Remnant we're supposed to do now, and then ten minutes later the police show up with a couple ambulances." Jet said, a smile starting to twitch onto his face.

"I guess someone saw what happened and called it in. The paramedics take care of us first, but we're not injured too badly so the police start to ask us questions. You know, who we are, how it happened, the usual. So, there's this officer who's asking us questions, pretty out of shape, putting things down." Jet began to chuckle, the laughter welling up as he tried to suppress it. "So this chubby guy asks, 'So, does either one of you want to explain how this happened?' and he just stands there expectantly, giving us a really intense stare like a total hardass."

"So, I'm worried that we're going to get screwed over because we're currently undercover as members of the criminal underground - I mean, all of our ID and licences say so. We've even got some fake rap sheets on those ID's. It's a crappy situation because I really don't want to blow our cover."

"Why don't they let you go? Don't they know you're undercover?" Olive asked inquisitively, a puzzled expression on her face. She leaned on the center console, all thoughts of her papers forgotten.

"Only a portion of the force knew. I mean, if the cops go after us too it makes our cover that much more believable, you know?" Jet explained. "It also gives less opportunity for someone to slip up and reveal the truth to the bad guys. So, anyway, I'm thinking about what I've got to say to this guy to get out of this and then Leo speaks up and he- and he says-" At this point Jet could no longer contain his laughter as it forced its way into his speech, making him stammer and break down. "He says, 'Sorry officer, I-"

Jet broke down again, breathing heavy and trying to choke back his merriment unable to form coherent words. Olive and Dill sat there expectantly, waiting for the punchline. "Well? What was it?" busted out Dill, desperate to hear Jet calmed his breathing, struggling back in control as Leo sat calmly in the back.

"Okay, okay. He said - totally dead faced, mind you - 'Sorry officer, I was trying to intercept a Bullhead.'"

At this the three male occupants of the little SUV busted out into wild laughter while Olive just shook her head in disbelief.

"No way," gasped Dill. "There's no way you said that."

"Nah bro, I totally did," Leo chuckled, clapping Dill on the back. The inadvertent blow from the hunter caused a coughing fit from the civilian.

"Here's the best part," continued Swanson. "This dude writes it down! He writes that down and some more bull crap Leo spits out and takes it back to his sargent or whoever. So he hand it off to his superior officer, and this dude just gets redder and redder as he reads it."

"What happened to you two after that?" asked Olive amid the laughter.

"Ohh, they ran the fake ID's and arrested us on the spot. We got thrown in a holding cell pretty much immediately."

"Geez, all that effort for nothing?" Dill looked disappointed, as if such a glorious tale couldn't have such a mundane ending. "So did the cops that were in on it have to get you out?"

"Nah dude," reassured Leo. "We broke out of there."

"No way," gasped Dill, right back in the throes of the story.

"Way," grinned Jet in the mirror. "I mean, we're two hunters. Even with some minor fractures, what are the police going to do? Really though."

"Those dudes were so bent out of shape over that whole incident," said Leo.

"Yeah, the holding cell door and the car were bent out of shape," fired back Jet. "They have a little right to that."

"The car wasn't bent out of shape. It was scattered over a hundred yards."

"And the moral of the story is, that's why I'm the driver," finished Jet.

There was some more chuckling before the noise petered out. The noise of the car rumbling over the dirt surface returned to fill the vacuum, along with the tapping and scratching of Olive's fingers alternating from a sheaf of papers to the scroll that was precariously balanced on her lap.

"Need a hand?" Dill asked Olive. "I've helped with plenty of your work before."

"No, that's okay," she murmured distractedly, staring at the screen.

"Alright," he shrugged in surrender.

The car ride continued for hours, bouncing its way along the path to the discomfort of those inside. There was mostly silence, but for a little light conversation mostly from Dill expressing his excitement to be able to go camping and Leo or Jet interjecting a quick story. Eventually they pulled off into a relatively established campsite by the side of the trail and ground to a halt.

"Okay kiddos, this is where we're staying for tonight. Unpack the stuff and set up camp. We'll finish the drive to Sheone tomorrow." Jet jumped out of the door as Dill got out slowly, groaning as he stretched out his muscles. "C'mon bud! You've been sitting around for seven and a half hours. You can't be tired."

"How are you not sore and stiff?" groaned Dill. "Bouncing around in that car for so long, seated next to a man who is determined to keep his knees as wide open as possible? I had no room! I think a little stiffness is justified."

Leo's long lanky frame appeared from behind the back of the SUV where he was unloading. "Sorry dude, I just got long legs man."

"Right."

"And big balls."

"Right!" Dill threw up his hands in exasperation. "What was I thinking? And no thought for my poor gonads, right?"

"Could we not talk about your testicles please?" Jet sighed, pointing at his smirking former teammate. "You either Leo. I mean, just think of what poor Olive is having to hear right now."

"Actually, I am a medical professional. It doesn't really bother me," said Olive cooly.

"Of course. What was I thinking?" grumbled Jet. "C'mon. Let's get this place set up."

The area had been chosen carefully beforehand by Jet and Leo. There was a steep ridgeline that came up to within a few hundred yards of the campsite, limiting the directions that grimm could come from. The thick pines and deciduous trees knitting together made detection or attack by Nevermore highly improbable, and it was next to the road for a quick exit if necessary. The two civilians didn't know all that had gone into this selection; they just saw a beautiful campside and excitedly moved to set up camp.

Jet and Leo stood side by side, leaning against the vehicle as they watched the two others chatter excitedly while struggling to pitch a tent. The two were totally comfortable with each other despite looking like polar opposites. Leo was tall and lanky with long blonde hair that had been swept back in a ponytail while Jet was short and stocky with curly black hair and a beard.

"Hey Leo, thanks for agreeing to come with me man. I wasn't totally confident it would be safe enough with just me."

Leo just waved a hand dismissively. "Dude, it's nothing. I'm glad to. Besides, I had some free time in between missions and I haven't seen you in years."

Jet angled his body towards his longtime friend as he pushed the point. "No Leo, it really is something. They'd probably never get the opportunity to travel outside the kingdoms in relative safety and do stuff like camping. I mean, Dill was unbelievably excited at the opportunity. You should have seen him man."

"And Olive?"

"Trust me, she's just as excited. She's just not as confident as Dill is. You know, she likes to analyze everything and judge the risk. I mean, look at them." Olive and Dill were laughing and looking around, just enjoying exploring the surrounding area with the tent long since forgotten.

"Yeah, I know dude," smiled Leo. "It's cool. Man, it almost seems like they're overreacting."

"They're just kids," Jet said in way of explanation. "I mean, neither of them have been outside of Vale their whole life."

"Just kids?" Leo prodded Jet in the side. "When did you become such an old fart?"

"Leo, I'm more than ten years older than either of them. You are too."

"Yeah, what are you my dude, thirty four?"

"Thirty five," snapped Jet. "Olive is twenty four and Jet is twenty three. And before you start with the old man jokes, may I remind you you're two years older than me?"

"Mhmm," he grinned. "But I'm not the one calling them kids."

"Leo-"

"You be the dad and I'll be, like, the cool uncle."

"You're such a child," griped Jet, ignoring Leo's satisfied grin.

"Whatever you say dad."

Jet shoved Leo who had to hop on one foot to keep his balance, laughing all the while. "Now I remember why I didn't miss you," the shorter one growled. "Now get your rear in gear and teach them to set up a tent before it gets dark, will ya?"

"Anything you say dad." Leo darted off before Jet could respond, leaving an exasperated teammate in his wake to finish unloading the car.

Somehow, through some small miracle, Leo finally coached the two through setting up the tent and starting a fire as the light began to fade from the sky. The soft orange and lavender hues danced in the sky as if the light was celebrating the day it had been a part of with a final fanfare. Shadows fled farther and farther from the setting ball of fire, running and swelling to meet the embrace of darkness.

But in the darkness brilliant spots of light began to appear, swelling in the sky until they decorated the heavens. The stars didn't cast any light on those that viewed it from below; the only source of the illumination was the flickering fire that lit the trees orange hues.

"Wow," breathed Dill. "I've never seen so many stars in my life."

"It's beautiful," murmured Olive, equally in awe. Jet felt something stir in his chest just watching the two admire their surroundings. "I'm amazed how much we miss due to light pollution. Had I not seen photos I would have never have even known how many there are."

"What she said. She said it better," nodded Dill.

Jet smiled and added another log to the fire, causing a shower of sparks. "It's a view, that's for sure."

"So," jutted in Leo from where he was scrubbing the dinner pots. "How on Remnant did you two end up meeting this guy?"

Olive was the first to reply. "Well, I was conducting a medical study on the long term effects of dust exposure on the human and Faunus. One of the many problems that it causes is the tumors and growths in various tissues and organs."

"Oum. Should I be worried dudette?" asked Leo only half jokingly.

"Likely not," Olive reassured. "This condition is almost exclusively found within the dust mining community with a few outliers. However, those cases don't have aura. There are very few recorded cases of dust poisoning on someone with aura, and we don't have much medical information on those cases. That's about when we got referenced Jet and I ended up working with him a lot," gestured the girl. "That's how I came to know him."

"So what about you?" Leo shifted towards Dill, waiting for an answer.

"Same as her," he replied easily.

"So you were researching with her?"

"Well, no," Dill admitted. "She's the medical genius conducting the research. I double majored in data processing and computer science, so basically I make really nice spreadsheets and charts that shows all her data in an effective manner."

"But how did you meet Jet then dude?"

"Well, I don't spend all of my time in front of a screen," he explained. "I met Jet at some point and through the was a really cool guy despite what he was going through, so I spent as much time as I could with him."

"Really dude?" Leo squinted at Dill, wondering if he was telling the truth.

"What, you think I can't have a bleeding heart just because I like to have a little fun? Just because I'm a little sarcastic?"

"Let me take this one," cut in Jet. "Yes. That's exactly what we think."

"Shut your Oum-damned mouth," growled Dill with no real heat behind it generating some muted laughter. The laughter quickly died away as he spoke again, voice soft and with utter sincerity. "Well, also the reality was… I really didn't think you were going to make it Swanson. And it wouldn't have sat right with me if I didn't try and make his last months as good as I could."

"And you certainly kept my spirits up," said Jet in appreciation. "You kept me going."

Olive shifted from where she sat next to Dill, bumping her shoulder into his side to encourage the young man as he just nodded humbly and accepted the compliment in silence. The two grinned at each other and after an awkward second before Olive decided to stay leaned in and rest her head on his shoulder.

"Key me bro," said Leo suddenly, hopping to his feet.

"It's unlocked," Jet said with a confused look.

"Good," grinned Leo as he dashed back to the vehicle, throwing open the rear hatch. "Because it's about time for…" There was a pause as he kept digging. "Something I managed to keep hidden from you dude." The other three looked on in curiosity as the hunter returned with something small in his hands. "Time for some music!"

"Hell no," protested Jet as he realized what was about to happen. "Don't even-"

"Ta-daaa!" Leo whipped out a ukulele and strummed some enthusiastic chords, long nimble fingers dancing over the strings.

"Oum damn it," groaned Jet, placing his head in both hands. "I thought I destroyed that thing."

"Dude, I have lein for days," grinned Leo. "I just got a new one my guy. So, how about a love song?"

The hunters hands began rapidly moving as he began to sing. "Ooooooohh, when I was a younger man, down in the deserts of Vacuo, I met a young rose who bloomed by the shores of the Erimor dunes, and danced to the sway of a scorpion tune…"

As the folk song progressed even Dill and Olive joined in on the chorus, clapping along during the verses. After enough poking and prodding, eventually the three got Jet to join and for the next half hour or so a wide variety of silly and serious songs rang out through the trees to the delight of most of the assembly. Eventually however, exhaustion soon began to set in and Dill and Olive began to get ready to go to sleep.

"Damn, it's only… ten o'clock and I'm already tired?" yawned Dill, checking his scroll. "That doesn't seem right. Do you know how late I stay awake working for that taskmaster?"

"Maybe if you got all your work done on time," teased Olive right back, barely hiding a yawn of her own.

"Alright." Jet clapped his hands together to get their attention, fighting off sleep himself. "Come on you two lovebirds. We've still got a long day tomorrow, so you two should get to bed."

"Fine, dad," said Dill in mock exasperation.

Jet shot Leo an accusatory glance, as if to blame him for Dill calling him a dad. Leo just responded with a shrug and a shake of the head, mouthing if the shoe fits… which only earned him another glare.

"Okay. Dill, you're going to split the two man tent with Olive, and me and Leo are going to rotate through the one man. Sound good?" Jet explained. He received a variety of foggy agreement from the two as they went off to get ready for bed.

The process of getting ready and saying good nights took a few minutes, but eventually Leo and Jet were left by themselves. The former teammates warmed themselves by the fire as old habits began to sink in.

"Hmmm...hmmm hmm hmmmm…" hummed Leo, lightly picking at the strings of his instrument in no particular order. "Hmm…"

Jet unsheathed the hunting knife he had by his side, running his finger over the blade to check for sharpness and notches. Finding it to his satisfaction, he shuffled around until he found a stick to whittle and sat back down to begin.

The two sat without saying anything for a while, just listening to the world around them. The fire hissed and popped as it slowly collapsed in on itself. A soft tune came from the instrument that blended into the rustling of the trees, and Jet's knife kept an irregular rhythm as he shaped the wood in his hand.

"Whatcha making?" Leo ventured.

"I dunno. The way this stick is shaped I was thinking maybe a creep. Legs here, head, tail…" Jet gestured to each area with his knife in turn.

"Yeah, I could see it bro," Leo nodded in appreciation. "You know, you're scary good at wood carving my dude."

"I blame you mostly."

"Oh really?"

"Really," responded Jet. "I got into it to have something to do to distract me from the horrible noise you make on that thing you call an instrument."

"Oh really my dude?"

"Really."

"Really?!"

"Shh. Not to loud." Jet gestured at the tent twenty meters away.

"Really?" Leo yelled in a stage whisper, cocking his head at a ridiculous angle. "Well, we better throw down real quiet like because otherwise the kids'll hear mom and dad fighting."

"But if I've been established as the dad does that make you the wife?" said Jet, struggling not to laugh.

"Oh yeah my dude. When was I ever not? I'd be a real sexy lady."

At this Jet almost lost his composure, allowing a snort of laughter before he clamped back down. "No way Leo. You're too tall. No average guy would date you because they'd be in your armpit."

"Well then I'd be a model. With looks like these, I have options."

Jet shook with silent laughter as he managed his next words. "I am not having this conversation with you again Leo."

"Because you know I'd win."

"Leo."

"Fine my dude," the blonde relented with a satisfied smile. "You got it. Speaking of the kids though, tell me more about them."

"Well, you know this trip is about repaying them for what they did."

"I know. You told me about that," Leo agreed. "And I can see Olive. She's a real sweet dudette, and from what I heard she discovered the cure for your sickness. But Dill?"

Jet nodded, understanding Leo's question and forming his answer. "Well, let me tell you how dust poisoning works first. In the average civilian it ends up operating like a more aggressive cancer as there are growths that shut down important organs by overwhelming them. But in people with aura it's a lot more insidious because it turns the natural protection against you. Aura fights off the tumors, but the buildup and growths drains the aura faster and faster until eventually it can't regenerate.

"The body then goes, 'Oh shit! No aura? We know we need aura to fight this off,' because the body's natural defenses aren't doing it, you know? So in a desperate attempt to get energy to get the aura going things like muscular dystrophy start occurring and eventually even the organs begin to be dissolved."

"Damn dude," said Leo softly.

"Yeah. That's the gist of it anyway; Olive is the real expert. So, you know what I was like before I went in? Five foot ten, two hundred and five, two hundred and ten pounds?"

"Yeah dude. You were a big dude. Not necessarily a tall one, but built like a brick house."

"Well, at the low point right before Olive found the cure, I was down to a hundred pounds."

"Holy shit dude," breathed Leo in shock. "I never would have guessed looking at you now. But that's… damn dude. I didn't know how bad it was."

"Yeah, well, I've done a lot of work to build back up," smiled Jet. "But anyway, at that time I was on a metric ton of meds day and night just to try and slow down the process of my body destroying itself. I eventually had to be kept in the hospital bedridden, and that's when Dill came into the picture. I was up at all hours of the night because of the meds screwing my sleep schedule up, and so I was often awake while he was there doing his data processing thing.

"Well, one night the nurse on duty had screwed up the amount of painkiller to give me. I had actually managed to doze off at a reasonable time, but I woke up on fire. You know, the meds had worn off way too early. Of all the times I've been injured this one was the most Oum-awful because I could feel my body eating itself and disintegrating. Just sensory overload. I was slapping the call button for a nurse, but I guess the guy who had given me the bum dosage had just fucked off because he thought I would just be sleeping through the rest of his shift."

"Oum-damn it, really?" growled Leo in anger. "What a… what a…" Leo struggled for a word foul enough and just decided to give up on it. His hands clenched and unclenched, and he let out a heavy long breath. "If I had my hands on him…"

"Hey, he got what he deserved. He was fired immediately and got convicted for criminal negligence," said Jet. "He's doing time."

"That's not all he deserved my dude," said Leo in frustration.

"It's okay man. Just leave it," soothed Jet. "It's in the past now. But apparently to hear Dill tell it he was getting ready to leave, but in exiting the little cluster of offices you have to pass near the patient care area. He saw the nurse station lighting up and hear me yelling so he came over. The kid called in some other medical staff that were in the building and stayed with me as they figured out what was going on. He would just talk to me, tell me stories, give me something to focus on while they got me sorted out and sedated again.

"After that, he would come into my room at night with his scroll and sheafs of notes to do whatever he does. He'd work while I slept but when I was awake he'd just talk to me. Normal shit. Complain about his workload, tell me about something he'd done over the weekend, tell me about his one brother who was becoming a hunter, and ask about my life. That's why he was joking about staying up so late earlier, because by talking to me he doubled the time it took to get anything done. I think he kept me sane those months I could do nothing but lay around drugged up."

"Wow," Leo muttered for lack of much else to say. "Sounds like I owe both of them a debt for keeping you around bro."

Jet shrugged. "Yeah. Dill is surprisingly good with people. He adapts to the situation. He can laugh and joke with us, but if the situation calls for it he's the most thoughtful dude you've ever met. He'll be good for Olive. She's a sweet gal, but she works herself to death."

"Mmm." Leo sat there and just drank in what he had learned. "Well damn dude. I was happy to do this trip for you, but now I'm glad I can do it for them. They really do deserve it."

"I've been replaced," sighed Jet dramatically, joking to lighten the mood. "The horror."

"Shove it," Leo chuckled. "You're my number one baby."

"And don't you forget it," Jet shot back. "Hey Leo, I've got a proposal for you."

"Shoot."

"I'll take first watch if you double up in the middle of the night, then I'll take till dawn."

"You sure you're not too tired after driving today?" asked Leo.

"Nah. Besides, I want to work some more on this little guy." Jet held up the stick that was starting to resemble a Grimm and shook it for emphasis. "I'll get better rest if I sleep for a solid five hours instead of two and a half hour chunks anyway."

"Alright bro. If you insist. A question for you though, how're you gonna deal with Grimm dude? I mean, have you got a new weapon since you don't have your dust sleeves?"

Jet ran his hand up and down his biceps almost unconsciously. One of the first operations to have been performed was the removal of his tattoos. They had been done a long time ago when Jet was younger and a member of the gangs of Vacuo. As he moved up the gang's ladder, he had been rewarded with tattoos that had been infused with various ground up dust crystals. This, combined with an unlocked aura, allowed Jet some elemental control.

Even after he left the gangs to become a hunter, Jet had kept getting the dust in the tattoos refreshed as it had become part of his fighting style. This, of course, was the source of his overexposure to dust and the cause of his sickness. The doctors had immediately surgically removed all traces of the dust to stop the exposure, leaving Jet with nothing but intricate scars that mimicked the tattoos he once had.

"Well, the best I could do was a pump action shotgun," said Jet, standing to go and pull the weapon out of the vehicle.

"That's all dude? But you're a hunter! How could you not get anything better?" asked Leo incredulously.

"I'm not a hunter anymore," grimaced Jet. "Medically I no longer qualify. I still get all the injury and retirement benefits, but I'm not allowed to advertise or work as a hunter. So, I'm pretty much a civilian. And they don't let civilians buy shit. I was almost going to have to take an over-under or a side-by-side because that's all the council has deemed civvies can get."

"What the hell dude?" complained Leo. "That's bogus."

"Yeah, I only got the pump because of my history as a hunter. And I had to pay a hefty tax on it anyway. I can't even buy dust ammunition so all I've got is solid shot and slugs."

"Well damn dude," Leo said. "That totally sucks. At least let me see the one you got."

Jet slammed the car door behind him and handed the weapon to Leo. The gun was average looking, blacked out save for several exposed metal parts and areas where the coating had been scratched to reveal the gunmetal underneath.

"Hmm. Nice weight to it. Kinda heavy. Good ballance, sights are… what you'd expect. It's got a bead on the end of the barrel." Leo turned it over a few more times, working the pump back and forth. "I mean, it's nice, but you could get better. Have you seen some of the newer Atlesian crap?"

"Ahh, but this is the old Atlesian Industries Model 15, back when the tech wasn't as advanced," explained Jet. "Super simple, accurate, and reliable, but most importantly you can slam-fire it."

"Oh damn," said Leo with a new appreciation. "Yeah, those new ones can't do that. And solid shot will deal with Grimm. You've just got to be a little more accurate. How many shells does it hold?"

"Five plus one."

"That's alright."

"But here's the best part. The reason it's so heavy is because this production run by Atlesian Industries made use of the scrap metal off of retired Bullheads, particularly their armor plating. The steel is thick and hella tough. I can swing that thing like a club, block a sword stroke, and it'll still shoot straight." Jet mimed a few combat moves to emphasize what the shotgun could do.

"You took your time choosing this one didn't you?" asked Leo, finally seeing what his former teammate saw in the gun.

"Hey, if this is all they'll give me I better make a good selection," smiled Jet. "I've practiced with it enough to be comfortable. I can take on any minor grimm and probably a lot of the majors too."

"Okay my dude. I trust you on that, and I'll leave you to it. See you in two and a half, and not a minute sooner," yawned Leo. "Just let me pull out my collapsible spear that has a built in railgun to sleep with. It was real hard to come by, because they don't let hunters-"

"I'm going to let the grimm eat you first," threatened Jet. "I won't even do anything. I'm just going to watch."

"Sweet bro. I look forward to it. Well, I guess you're set for watch." Leo started to lumber off towards the tent, but paused and seemed to hesitate before turning back. He reached out and pulled his long time friend into a crushing bearhug. "I'm really glad you're still with us Swanny," he whispered. "Really glad."

"Me too," chuckled Jet softly, returning the embrace. "Night Leo."

"Night dude." With that Leo released him and went back to his tent, the buzz of a zipper marking the door opening and closing.

Clickclickclickclickclick. With inhuman speed the former hunter dug five slug cartridges out of his pocket and slotted them into the magazine. Ka-chunk. Jet pumped the slide once to put a round in the chamber with a heavy metallic sound and slotted an extra shell into the magazine, assuring the weapon was ready to fire and loaded to maximum capacity. Surveying the campsite he sat back down by the embers of the former fire and continued to whittle away.

The night passed without a single incident, which was appreciated but not unexpected. The most exciting moment was when Jet woke up Leo for his watch. The hunter rubbed his eyes sleepily, double checking the time before slowly rising. "This is gonna suck," he grumbled, going out to take his turn.

Jet rolled up in the blankets, happily stealing the warmth from his teammate and falling into a deep sleep.

Packing up the camp went fairly well too, save for a tired Leo sniping at Dill, who had no problems firing back. "Here I am," complained Leo, poking at the bacon sizzling in the pan from four feet away with his spear. "Cooking breakfast for this dude. Stayed up half the night on guard making sure he's safe."

"Have you considered that you're tired because you're old?" called Dill from where he was rolling up his sleeping bag. "Maybe you should take a nap."

"No problem dude. I'll just leave you to the Ursai next time. I don't have a problem my guy." Leo rubbed at his eyes and yawned. "Actually a nap sounds pretty good. Dudette! Olive. You're getting bumped. I'm taking the front seat."

"When did I get involved?" asked Olive in surprise.

"Take it up with your boyfriend my dude. It's his fault."

"Actually, we're not uhh, together," said Olive.

"In everything except name," Leo noted sourly. "Maybe Dill should grow a pair and ask you. Or vice versa. I don't care dudes. I've been hanging with you people for two days and I can't take the tension. Oum knows how Swanny stands it."

Jet stepped up in the awkward silence that followed as Leo continued to poke at the food with his weapon. "Let's leave Leo be and finish packing up. He's… not a morning person."

"I can tell." Dill rolled his eyes, loading things back into the SUV.

"I can hear you dude!" The awkward spell lifted however, and the morning continued more smoothly.

Fully loaded with gear and four people, the SUV set off. Leo shifted around in the passenger seat for a little while before falling fast asleep. Olive and Dill started working in the back, the latter having finally pestered the former into letting him help.

Jet just sipped from the black instant coffee that he had made with hot water from the campfire. It wasn't very good, but the caffeine would help keep him alert and attentive. He rattled along the road for an hour or two, but eventually weariness started to overcome him. Jet started to jerk himself awake, his eyes fluttering open and shut. He tried to fight it but after a few minutes pulled over to the side of the road and stopped the vehicle.

"Leo, I'm too tired. Either someone else takes the wheel or the seven hour drive becomes a nine hour one because I need some more rest."

"Don't worry dude, I got you." Leo yawned and stretched, throwing open the door and walking around the vehicle to Jet's side. Jet just hopped the center console and slid into the vacated seat, shifting to try and find a comfortable sleeping position.

"Really?" Came the complaint from the backseat, an unhappy Dill sitting with his arms crossed. "After that story yesterday we're letting the maniac drive?"

"I've settled down since those years in my youth," said Leo. "You'll probably be okay."

"I don't like probably. Maybe I could drive?" he begged, clasping his hands and pulling his best pleading expression. "Please? I reeeeaaallly want to dad. Pleeaaaassee?"

"Dill, you're named after a pickle. And we don't trust pickles in the driver's seat my dude."

"You got me Leo. You sure got me," said Dill, trying not to laugh. Nobody else had that problem however, and between the hunters guffaws and Olive's giggling Dill soon joined in. "Alright. Important hunter stuff. I got it guys. You won't get any more out of me."

Jet rested his head against the window, but as the SUV rattled off he had to take off his sweater and use it as an impromptu pillow. As he got used to the irregular bumps and sways, he dozed off into sleep.

"What the hell…"

It was this shocked exclamation along with the sudden application of the brakes that jolted Jet back awake. He rubbed at one eye, beginning to survey the outside.

The cause of the stoppage was immediately obvious. There was another SUV about fifty feet in front of them, rolled on its side and blocking their path. A girl was huddled by one of the broken windows of the car, making a pitiful figure with her knees drawn in and head down. "Shit," whispered Leo, leaving the car running as he threw the door open. "You two stay here."

Beside him Jet was doing much the same, both hunters reaching instinctively for their weapons. Leo left his spear in the collapsed form while Jet's could hardly be hidden as they started to move towards the girl who they could now hear crying softly. Their advance was only halted as another car door swung open and shut.

"Let me come too," asked Olive, pulling her long dark hair back. "If they're in bad shape I can help them."

Glances were exchanged between the two hunters as they weighed out the risks and benefits as Leo silently indicated his deferral.

"Okay. Dill!" Jet barked loudly as the other civilian jumped out to listen. "You wanted to drive, you have your chance. Get in and be ready. We may have to go quick. Leo, get the medical kit out of the back. Olive, you're with me. Let's go!"

The change from Jet's usual easygoing attitude was so dramatic that the civilians jumped to do what was asked without a word. Leo was more used to it, Jet having formerly been his team leader, but still hustled to get the job done.

"Okay sweetie, you're going to be okay. Just tell me what happened, okay?" Olive began tending to the girl in front of her. The girl looked to be in her early teens, about thirteen or fourteen, with bobbed brown hair with blonde highlights and startlingly pink eyes. "What's your name?"

"Cora," the girl responded tearfully.

Jet surveyed the area, his nerves set on edge. It wasn't the thought of the crash, or what happened to the girl, or even the potential for drawing grimm because of the negativity. No, something else was just not right to him but he couldn't place a finger on it. But why?

It took less than thirty seconds for Jet to see it, but by that time it was already too late.

The first thing he noticed was that the girl had no adults with her. There were no dead bodies in or around the rolled vehicle, and the girl was clearly too young to have been taking herself. So if they weren't dead, did they just leave her? Not likely.

Secondly he saw the vehicle was very intact for having supposedly rolled, and there were no impact or slide marks on it or the ground around it. Almost like it had been placed on its side…

"Leo!" he yelled frantically at his friend who had just dug the medical kit out. "We've been set up! Catch and go!"

Leo immediately threw the stuff back in the trunk, slammed the door, and darted around the SUV. "Dill! In reverse! Be ready to go! Got you Jet!"

"Jet, what's going - eeep!" Olive let out a squeal as Jet picked her up bodily and flung her all forty feet to the waiting Leo. Leo caught her and bundled her into the car unceremoniously, slamming the door shut.

"Go Dill! Reverse!" shouted Leo.

"But-" The protestations from the driver came with an almost synchronized shout from the two hunters.

"Just hit it!"

Leo hung off the side of the SUV by the roof rack with his foot on the runner, and Dill had covered the distance to hang off the grill on the front. As gravel kicked up from under all four tires and the vehicle began to move, Jet saw the other SUV emerge from the treeline and block their path, leaving them pinned beneath the two vehicles. "Stop!" Jet yelled, using the change in momentum from Dill hitting the brakes to catapult himself over the roof and directly next to the opposing car. "Leo! I'll take it and move it! You guard ours!"

Jet didn't wait to see his former teammates response; he know that Leo understood and would carry out what he wanted. One would take control of the enemy vehicle and move it out of the way, and the other would defend their own vehicle so it was ready to go when the time came.

Rising out of a crouch, Jet pulled the trigger on his shotgun and held it down as he worked the pump back and forth at full speed. The first shot shattered the driver side window, impacting a very surprised bandit. His aura absorbed the first, second, and third slugs, but the fourth one shattered his aura as the driver struggled to duck away or pull out a weapon. The fifth shell tore straight through the man's cheekbone, throwing his head back as a large smattering of brain and skull coated the other side of the car.

Jet threw the door open and hauled out the drivers corpse, but before he could hop in and drive the vehicle he was struck from behind. The blow was hard enough that when he hit the open drivers door it almost tore the portal off its hinges and left it hanging at a drunken angle.

Spinning into his attacker, Jet whipped the butt of the shotgun blindly around with two hands so hard that the other bandit was catapulted into the SUV. What followed was the burly man grabbing the bandit by the scruff of the neck and proceeding to slam the drivers side door on his head until the door came off its hinges from the strain.

A battle cry gave away the third attacker. Jet sidestepped the stab and then fired the shotgun into the face of the off-balance assailant. The man's aura kept his face from being hollowed out, but a point blank twelve gage slug has consequences. Yellowish white chunks of teeth and red blood burst from his mouth as he was knocked back.

Jet slammed the pump back once more only to hear a click as the firing pin fell down on ammunition that wasn't there. Knowing he needed to work fast, he flipped the gun so he was holding it by the barrel and brought the stock down on the bandit's neck like he was chopping firewood. The bandit slumped down to his hands and knees, only to have Jet wind up and kick him in the side of the head while simultaneously reloading.

Most hunters and huntresses loved to focus on big, powerful, elegant strikes, and rapid combos. It was a romanticized form of fighting that perhaps could be kept against the grimm as it was undoubtedly the more effective method.

But growing up in the gangs of Vacuo Jet had learned a different philosophy; a philosophy that dealt with people. Fighting wasn't about winning. It was about hurting the other guy so badly he would stop fighting, hurting him worse than he hurt you. As such you used whatever you could. Every dirty trick, every piece of your surroundings, every one of your opponents weaknesses, and you showed no mercy.

It was fast, brutal, and efficient. Within twenty seconds of the first shot being fired he had three bodies around him. Two were dead, and the third was in no condition to do anything but receive medical care for the next week.

A quick look over to Leo showed he had his situation well in hand. The blonde made it something of an art form as he fought, spear flashing in elegant sweeps and circles in a deadly dance. Despite his more stylistic fighting, two bandits lay unconscious before him while he held the bait girl - Cora - by her collar.

The girl growled and thrashed, doing everything she could to break free, but against Leo there was nothing she could do.

"Hey Jet, what should I do with this little viper?" Leo grimaced as the viper in question tried to swipe at him with a knife which he batted away easily.

"Knock her out and leave her. We've gotta get moving," ordered Jet, already climbing back into the cab of the SUV and starting its engine. "Take over from Dill. As soon as I move thi-"

Jet whipped his head down and threw himself sideways with a speed that made him a tumbling blur. He came to his feet, shotgun in hand and pointed at a figure that had appeared out of what seemed like thin air. A long red blade had sliced through the windshield, the front A pillar, the drivers side seat, and ended up carving a path back to the rear quarter panel in an unimaginably powerful strike. If Jet had continued to drive the vehicle he most certainly would have had his head separated from his body.

Wrenching her blade free, the attacker turned towards Jet in a ready stance. She had a mass of black hair that flowed from the back of her mask, which was like a large stylized version of what the White Fang used. She wore a red and black dress with red gauntlets, and thigh high black boots.

"Leo!" Jet called out from the standoff. "It's Raven!"

"Damn it dude," Leo said. Jet heard a small whine and then a metallic thunk as Leo's built in railgun fired into Cora to send her spinning away, unconscious and with aura depleted. "Sorry kid. Alright Jet, let's go."

"Jet and Leo…" mused Raven, voice muffled beneath her mask. "I admit, I half expected to see you again. You two gave my tribe a lot of trouble a few years back."

"Nothing personal. It was our job. You and your tribe were killing people, stealing all their stuff, and that doesn't sit well with the law," Jet explained as Leo fanned out so they could attack her from two directions simultaneously.

"You don't seem to be adverse to killing people yourself," countered Raven, callously flipping over the corpse of the driver with her foot.

"But I'm on the right side of the law. I'm not killing innocent people. And they weren't innocent."

"You have an interesting view on murder," said the bandit leader cooly, shifting to keep both Jet and Leo in view. "But I would advise against attacking me. It's not a fight you will win."

"It's two against one. You may be good, but you're not that good. I know Leo got to spar with you at least once and held up pretty well. As did I, actually."

"A lot has changed since then, Jet. Perhaps most vitally, we are not facing each other in a one on one tournament fight."

The smugness in her voice caused both hunters to cast their eyes wider than the fight in front of them and take in the landscape around them. Out of the trees came another dozen bandits who hurried to take positions surrounding the hunters.

"Well played," nodded Jet. "But it's still not an even fight. If you think twelve of your goons are worth more than five minutes of my time, you're outside your mind."

"Not quite." One could almost hear the smile in Raven's voice. "Vernal, would you come up here please?"

A young woman separated herself from the pack, sashaying up to stand next to Raven. She had very short cut brown hair and blue eyes, and a smirk that tugged at her lips. On hand was planted on her hip where two crescent shaped blades hung. Though she couldn't have been older than seventeen or eighteen she exuded confidence.

"This is my apprentice Vernall. I personally have taken great care to train her and she has done well."

"So you're merely prolonging the time it takes for me to get through them and finish you off with some better trained cannon fodder?"

"Jet, let's put all the cards on the table, shall we? I'll still respect Leo as a very formidable foe; I have no doubt you still are too. But please don't insult me by pretending you're still in your prime. You no doubt had a run in with dust poisoning, which is why you are using a shotgun instead of the elemental attacks. Your t-shirt doesn't hide the scars where your tattoos used to be either. No matter how much you've trained, you will not be as proficient with that weapon as you were with dust. There just hasn't been enough time. Furthermore, you aren't just two hunters. You also have to be concerned about the two friends you have tucked away in your SUV. With such an overwhelming numbers advantage someone is going to slip through and get to them. Your position is not tenable." Raven had pulled her mask off and smiled at Jet, as if humoring a small child.

"True," conceded Jet. "You got me there. But, I propose to you that if harm befalls either of them you lose that edge. There will be nothing holding us back, and you will lose everyone you have here today. You already know that though. If you thought you could kill us and get away with acceptable losses you would have done it already, but you lost that chance when you failed to take my head off earlier."

Raven's smile faltered and she frowned slightly, but didn't challenge the notion as Jet continued. "Don't try and bluff me out Raven. We both know we have, as they say, a Vacuan standoff. So why don't we stop all this verbal posturing and get down to negotiating?"

Jet flipped his shotgun onto his shoulder and stuck out his hand for Raven to shake. There was silence for a moment in which Raven considered the offer. In that small eternity Jet was acutely aware of the rustling of people and weapons, ready at any moment for a trap to spring. Raven finally relaxed a little and nodded to him, taking her hand off her weapon hilt to shake his.

"That takes a lot of strength to be able to demand a compromise when you're so outnumbered. I respect you both for that, Jet. For that I will negotiate with you." Raven stared him down, but Jet could see the truth in what she said and took it sincerely. From Raven that was a high compliment.

"Sweet. Anything you want to add Leo?" Jet asked.

"Nah my dude," sighed Leo, taking his spear out of striking position and leaning on it instead. "You're the leader for a reason my guy. I think this is the best thing to do too."

"Alright," said Jet, glad to have that affirmation from his teammate. "Let's get down to business then."

A/N: When you put all your points into strength and charisma... If you were disappointed there was no huge climactic battle, well, tough. That's just how the cards fall. But there'll be plenty of fight later on. I promise. PROMISE. If only I could upload more often... #collegelife.

RIP. Anyway, love you if you made it this far. Feel free to leave thoughts, comments, concerns, and anything else. See you on the flip side!