This chapter ended up being fairly long. I doubt anyone will read it all. But I still have a lot of time on my hands, so what the heck. Enjoy.


The Breach

Jaune Arc was feeling pretty good right now. In a 'satisfied with life' kind of way, that is. Physically, he felt like we was about to die.

His stomach has been violently rebelling against him for the past two hours. Even though he hadn't eaten much before they took off, he still managed to fill an entire paper bag with vomit throughout the flight. Whenever he felt like he was getting better, the sickness would just strike again with an overwhelming force. He hoped they would arrive to Beacon shortly, because every minute of that torture was a minute too long.

And yet, he was in a pretty good mood. He and his team were heading to Beacon to report on their success. They had just completed their first real mission and done so without any trouble. Granted, the mission wasn't very hard to complete - it amounted to killing several stray Grimm, which probably could have been done by any of them alone - but Jaune had been afraid that he would manage to screw up even something this simple. Luckily it turned out that he wasn't that bad of a leader, or maybe his team was just so awesome that they were able to make up for his... relative lack of experience.

Because they were awesome. And not just because they were all amazing fighters (well, Ren was more in a 'good' category to be honest), but because they accepted him as their teammate, as their leader despite being so much better than him. If Pyrrha had went straight to Ozpin upon learning about Jaune's forged transcripts and demanded for her partner to be kicked out immediately, he wouldn't have blamed her. Heck, it was probably a reasonable thing to do back then. Sometimes Jaune would still wonder if he should just quit. After all, he was not only placing himself in danger by cheating his way into Beacon, he was endangering everyone he fought alongside due to his weakness.

But now... Jaune thought that it couldn't be too bad after all. He was still weak and inexperienced, but thanks to the training he was getting - and thanks to Pyyrha in particular - his skills gradually improved. And besides, it wasn't just about his ambition anymore. It was, first and foremost, about his team.

Team JNPR. Jaune could see its other three members standing in front of the bullhead's window. It made sense that they would be admiring the scenery, now that they were getting closer to Vale. They didn't have to worry about getting airsick like him, so they could enjoy the view... but what was with their faces? Why did they all wore those looks of shock and downright horror?

With quite a bit of effort, Jaune stood up and trudged towards the window himself. It appeared as the bullhead was closer to its destination than he assumed, for they could see Vale clearly. They could clearly see the Nevermores circling in the sky, the other bullheads that, unlike theirs, were heading away from the city at full speed and multiple pillars of smoke, one of which seemed to be coming from the proximity of Beacon.

What the hell has happened while we were gone? Jaune thought, but he didn't say that out loud. His jaw was too busy hanging down. The silence was only interrupted by the pilot's voice coming through the speakers

"I can't get any connection going. I thought it was something with our radio, but... I think the tower might have fallen" The CCT tower... if it has fallen, then that would likely mean Beacon is down as well. And that would beg a question...

"What... what do we do now?" asked Nora, her voice dripping with uncertainty. And rightfully so, because Jaune had no answer for her. They could try and contact the authorities, maybe just jump down to fight the Grimm, but if things were that bad... could a bunch of huntsmen in training do any difference?

"We'll do whatever we have to" he said after a moment of silence. It really was no answer, but he felt like he needed to say something. And, unless he just imagined it, his friends seemed reassured a tiny bit. Well, if acting confidently would be of some use, then that was what Jaune would do.

He would do what he had to.


129 days after the Breach

Blake Belladona was feeling nervous. She probably ought to be feeling much worse than just 'nervous'. She should be questioning all the choices that led her to this point, breaking down under the weight of stress. And yet, she only felt moderately anxious and unsure whether or not they were doing the right thing.

Blowing up the Haven Academy to shreds was a pretty big thing after all.

She was standing on the rooftop of some random building in the city. From there, she could see a sizable part of Mistral, including the school they were about to destroy. Everything was already set up, they only had to pull the trigger and watch the fireworks. Well, there was no need to watch actually, but it wouldn't feel right not to.

Not that anything about this felt right. It was even worse than the attack on Vale, because now they couldn't pass the blame on to Cinder. At this point, the woman wasn't involved in much of their operations. They were doing this out of their own will, they were the ones to come out with this plan.

Although... there was somebody they could blame. After all, this wasn't just White Fang's agenda in play. They were serving this... being called Salem. Doing her bidding in hopes that she would let them rebuild Remnant after they helped her destroy it. Deep down, Blake knew how wrong that was. Well, not just deep down. She knew it with all her mind, every part of her was screaming that it was simply wrong to cause so much death and destruction, no matter how just their cause might be.

But she would not stop, for several reasons. First of all, it would feel just as wrong to abandon the chance given to them. Before that night when Cinder first showed up, Blake had never really believed in victory. She was hoping that she could make things better for the faunus, but the thought of being able to stand with - or against - humans on equal footing just didn't seem very realistic. And now, it felt like they could do something. No, they could do anything with enough resolve.

Second of all, she didn't think there was an option to turn back. Not for her, not for the White Fang as a whole. If they continued on walking this path, they could either honor the casualties by winning, or die trying. If they changed their minds, then either Salem would complete her plan without them, or she would somehow lose and all the sacrifices would end up being in vain. All the faunus who died during the Breach... all those who suffered from the hatred that followed... Sienna, who had to be killed in order for them to carry on their duty... Blake could not possibly accept that, and neither could Adam.

Adam... he was probably the most important reason for why Blake was doing all of this. Right now, he was standing beside her, eyes staring into the distance. That is, until he turned to look at Blake instead and saw her expression, which must have looked pretty troubled at the moment.

"Having doubts?" he asked. Damn it, he was perceptive for someone who had to look through slits in the mask to see anything.

"Not really" she lied "It's just... kind of overwhelming, you know?"

Blake wasn't sure if Adam believed that or not, but either way he didn't call her out on the bluff. He resumed staring towards the city, in the precise direction of the Haven Academy.

"I get that. We are doing something great. We are finally changing the world" the girl shivered slightly hearing those words. Adam sighed. "I know it is grim to think of destruction as of something good. But it is the only way to change anything. The only way for the faunus to get on top. Trust me on that."

"I do." she replied. Without thinking, as always. Honest, as always.

"I'm glad to hear that" Blake saw a trace of a smile on her partner's face. He held his hand out towards her. In a half-open palm laid the trigger. A simple electronic device, which right now held the power to doom Haven and likely Mistral as the result "Wanna do the honors?"

It felt wrong. It was wrong. But it was for the just cause. That's why Blake nodded, took the device in her hand, locked her eyes onto the distance, took a deep breath and pressed the button.

And the light from the explosion illuminated Mistral.


201 days after the Breach

Taiyang Xiao-Long was dying.

He felt no need to lie to himself. He had survived many 'hopeless' situations in his time, but this time he would not be getting away. The huntsman was laying in the middle of the street, where he and several Vale soldiers have chosen to make their stand an hour earlier. His aura was depleted and he was bleeding from several wounds all over his body. He lacked the strength to keep fighting, run away or even raise his weapon anymore. He has finally reached his end.

It wasn't the worst end imaginable. At least he wasn't dying alone. All around him laid the bodies of White Fang recruits - they didn't deserve to be called 'soldiers' - each one of them either dead or severely wounded, most of them by his hand. There were dozens of them, maybe around a hundred? - Tayiang stopped counting somewhere in the fifties. But just as many of them were standing in a semi-circle around him, watching him bleed out, but keeping a certain distance. Even now, it seemed, they were afraid to come anywhere close to him. This fact brought him some satisfaction.

"Why are you just standing here?" He heard a rough voice, presumably belonging to one of faunus' leaders. Captain, Major, Colonel - it didn't matter. All of those were titles of the same importance in the White Fang. No matter how strong they have became, they were not a military force, just a horde of killers pretending to be one. "Are you waiting until he dies of old age? Brace your weapons."

Well, about time. Taiyang didn't want to wait too long either. Not only did all those wounds really hurt, he was afraid that he would start hallucinating if he were to lose more blood. He held no delusions about death, he knew it wouldn't be 'dignified' either way, but he still preferred to die with his mind clear. So that he could think about something that matters.

His country... well that was a depressing thought. Vale was crumbling down since the Breach, and now it seemed like it was about to finally fall. The attack over half a year ago has damaged the capitol and essentially destroyed Beacon Academy, but at least most inhabitants were able to escape the carnage and start partially restoring what was lost. But the White Fang has been growing in popularity ever since. Right now, they were carrying out a full-fledged conquest of Vale, and not many people were there to oppose them. Atlas has withdrawn its forces a while ago, huntsmen like him were too few in numbers now, and Vale's military was simply never good enough. Too reliant on a war not happening. Though to be fair, nobody could expect this turn of events.

His family... that wasn't much of a happy thought either. He had no idea where Yang was right now. For all he knew, she could be dead, killed either by Grimm or one of the other monsters, those disguising themselves as faunus. But she was strong and had her team with her. On that basis, he hoped she would be okay. Well, as much as anyone would be okay after this war ends.

But at least Ruby was safe. She didn't want to be safe, she wanted to fight, to protect, to be a hero. But Taiyang would not allow this. Even if she had both arms working properly, she would still be unable to do anything on her own, other than get herself killed. He would not let Ruby share her mother's fate. He forbade her from leaving Patch, let alone joining this bloody war and knowing that it might not be enough to stop her, he took away the Crescent Rose and gave it to Qrow, forcing a promise on him not to give it to Ruby unless there was a target painted on her back. That was his biggest fear when everything started to fall apart, that White Fang would go after him and his family. As a huntsman, he was too important for them to leave alone. They had to either get him to join their side, or kill him. And if they got him now... they would not longer care enough to target his daughters.

There was still a risk that Ruby would do something foolish. She would still feel the responsibility to help, maybe she would want revenge after his death. But even she wasn't hot-headed enough to try and fight without a good weapon, or at least he hoped so. He hoped so much...

"Ready!" The officer shouted. It was really a pointless command - nearly every recruit had their gun already pointed in the direction of the dying man. Like they expected him to get up and charge at them. Those cowards.

"Aim!" Taiyang raised his eyes towards the sky. The weather wasn't exactly perfect for the occasion. The sky was obscured by clouds, but there was no rain to make the scene more dramatic. Taiyang was staring at a large grey ceiling. At least it was a nice shade of grey. Like a well-polished blade.

"Fire!"

Or really beautiful eyes.


214 days after the Breach

Adam Taurus was afraid.

It was an unusual feeling for him. He rarely felt any fear in battle - he didn't desire death, but it was always an acceptable risk for him. In fact, he would be fairly happy to die for the cause, provided that there would be good reason for him to sacrifice himself and that someone competent would take his place as the High Leader.

There were some things he feared. He once feared Blake would leave him, he still feared she would get hurt at some point and he feared something would go wrong every time he planned a mission. But those anxieties were more... rational in nature, they didn't make him sweat or want to hide in some dark corner.

Salem has managed to make him feel afraid in a real, organic sort of way. It wasn't just her appearance, though it certainly didn't help, it was knowing that he was kneeling before someone who could kill him at any moment. Not defeat him, but simply kill, just like that. I shouldn't be much different from facing a horde of Atlas robots, since the both situations could result in death, but it was. It really was a different feeling.

"So, Adam Taurus," Salem said in her calm, perfectly normal voice. "You request my aid in attacking Atlas. You believe that, if I direct my agents to help you in the conflict, you will be able to conquer one of the Kingdoms by sheer, direct strength. Is that right?"

"Yes, my Queen." he replied, trying to sound calm "We have already as good as subjugated Vale and Mistral and we keep getting stronger. With some aid from you, we could..."

"You subjugated nothing but ruins." Salem interrupted, "Both Kingdoms have fallen more to a single strike than to an invasion, something that cannot be replicated in regards to Atlas. People there are prepared for a disaster striking, especially now."

That was, unfortunately, correct. When it came to launching attacks - or any other operations for that matter - Atlas was a lot tougher than Vale or Mistral. Their forces were large, well supplied and technologically advanced, which made it hard to fight them openly. They were also generally suspicious of faunus, which made it hard to be subtle as well.

"But," the Queen continued, "I am willing to take the risk and trust you with bringing Atlas down. If you were to succeed, it would mean a great victory for us, and a great reward for you and your people. Tell Watts that he is to provide you any support he can."

This was unexpected. Mostly in a good way, but there was a part of Adam that was worried about how much value Salem apparently saw in the White Fang. So much for ever leaving her service.

"Thank you, my Queen." he said, trying to fill his voice with gratitude. It was pretty hard, not because he wasn't grateful, but because he rarely spoke with anything other than anger or firmness.

"Don't thank me yet. There is a chance that you will fail at your task, or die trying to complete it. The former, I can only do so much about. As for the latter..." Adam felt the shivers run down his spine as Salem approached him. "I made Cinder stronger, so that she could complete her mission. You are already a formidable warrior, Adam Taurus, but you could become nearly unstoppable... if you only accept my help on this matter."

This sounded even more ominously than the rest of what Salem was saying. What could 'help' from the Queen of the Grimm imply? Becoming part-Grimm? Becoming fully Grimm? Cinder didn't look like one of those monsters, but maybe she was just really good at hiding it.

"Well," Salem said with a hint of impatience in her voice "what will you say to that?"

Could Adam refuse? Probably yes. It would displease Salem, but truth be told, she wasn't one to dispose of her subjects for trivial reasons like that. But he wanted to become stronger... he needed to become stronger if he wanted to make a difference in an actual war.

"I will gladly accept your help, my Queen." he replied, not feeling all too confident about his decision. Seeing how Salem's lips formed a slight smile didn't help.

But still, he would take whatever chance he could get to become stronger. For the right cause.


309 days after the Breach

James Ironwood was extremely frustrated.

By now, it was pretty much a normal state for him. It would have been weird for him not to be frustrated in his current situation. Namely, being in charge of a country that was fighting a brutal war within its own borders.

Atlas was in a state of open warfare for little over two months now, and it was not working out well for the Kingdom. Their army was being gradually pushed back by the enemy forces and was starting to suffer the shortages of food, dust, ammunition... well, pretty much everything save for enemies. This conflict was far too unconventional for him to apply the 'normal' standards for who was winning at the moment, but judging from how they had lost everything save for a few largest cities, it was fair to say that his side was the losing one.

Atlas, the most powerful of Kingdoms, was losing a war against a faunus supremacist group.

For nearly an hour now, Ironwood was trying to write a speech that would reassure people that the White Fang would not manage to defeat the brave atlesian forces. The problem was, the Fang likely would manage to defeat the brave atlesian forces, unless something really major were to change. And even if he managed to somehow convince the public that the war was going in their favor, it would still not be good enough. That war shouldn't have started in the first place!

Just a year ago, nobody could seriously suspect something like this. Back then, the White Fang was just a terrorist organization that limited itself to launching raids at dust companies. A threat that had to dealt with, for sure, but nothing to change the order on which Remnant has operated for decades. Right now, they were effectively controlling two of the four Kingdoms, and they were on their way to conquer a third one.

There was no consensus on how this was possible. Those considering themselves pragmatists tended to come up with rather weak explanations, giving reasons such as the economic instability of the fallen countries or an increase in Grimm activity correlating with the initial attacks. Conspiracy theorists had a field day with all of this - Ironwood himself was the main character of a great many stories detailing his secret betrayal of humanity. Faunus supremacist views were naturally getting more and more popular, even among humans.

The general had figured out the real reason a while ago. It involved a certain evil entity helping the White Fang out. He couldn't share it with anyone of course, which made him all the more frustrated.

Damn it Ozpin, he thought, how could we let that happen? How could you let that happen? If the former headmaster of Beacon was here, James would have given him a long lecture about what being passive and ignoring potential threats leads to. Sadly, he was not. He died during the attack on his school, killed by that damn infiltrator who used all the chaos to get to Amber and claim the whole power of a maiden. In that moment, it was over for Beacon - it was almost completely destroyed along with the CCT tower and all the teachers killed alongside the headmaster for trying to prevent it. Ironwood had felt a temptation to fight and fall alongside them back then, but he knew he had to stay alive, if only to find Ozpin after his next reincarnation.

Well, that didn't work out. If Ozpin took another host since the Breach, then they couldn't locate said host. Qrow was probably still searching, but did it even matter at this point? Remnant was falling apart, and Ironwood had to make his people feel better about that.

This isn't the worst conflict Atlas has faced. Perhaps that sentence was true, but the only conflicts of comparable scale were The Great War and The Faunus Rights Revolution, both of which Atlas technically lost. Scratch that.

We possess a tremendous technological advantage. Technically true, but people knew it didn't really matter that much. Somehow, the White Fang was able to hack into their system each time they got access into the mainframe, and there was no shortage of traitors hoping to gain the invaders' favor by sabotaging Atlas in this manner. Besides, much of atlesian technology was bound to become nearly useless very soon - what is the advantage of having dust bullets, when you are short on dust? Scratch that.

The White Fang is losing two people for each of our soldiers and is bound to run out of manpower. Also stretching it. Yes, their enemies were suffering higher casualty rates than atlesian forces, but they also had access to twice the population viable for combat. While most people in Vale and Mistral didn't exactly like the Fang very much, there were still more than enough potential recruits. Faunus willing to fight for something they considered worthwhile, mercenaries willing to fight for the winning side or just regular people whose lives have been destroyed, willing to fight for food and clothing.

Still, it would have to do. It wasn't like Ironwood had much more time to think - he had a meeting regarding the distribution of rations in about an hour. He sighed internally and expanded on the statement, so that he could have a speech that was sort of reassuring and sort of honest at the same time.

It would really be an achievement.


358 days after the Breach

Weiss Schnee was in the middle of combat.

The sensation was mostly new to her. She has been training for a long time now and fought both human and Grimm opponents during her time in Atlas Academy. But those humans weren't really trying to kill or even seriously injure her, and the Grimm weren't too threatening to be honest. Even if her skills failed her, she always had a possibility of running away, especially since her teammates would cover her retreat. This was different. The danger was real, and with her aura already diminished, every lucky strike on her opponent's part could prove lethal.

Said opponent was a White Fang assassin, the two of them alone in one of many corridors of the Schnee mansion. The place was currently under attack by the terrorist group; Her father and Whitley have rushed for the escape route a moment after the assault began. Hopefully the mother and Klein would follow in their footsteps, as running away was definitely the correct way to act. Weiss knew that her decision to stay and fight was foolish from the tactical standpoint, but she was sick and tired of sitting back while her Kingdom... no, while the entire freaking Remnant burned. She really should have done something earlier, should have joined the fight like most huntsmen and huntresses have done. But how was she supposed to go about that when the Headmaster himself sent her home?

'On the frontlines you would become a target right away, Miss Schnee. We cannot take that risk.' Maybe he really meant it, or maybe he was just influenced by her father. Or, more likely, by Winter. Well, she became a target either way, so to hell with them all. But more importantly, to hell with that faunus who just wouldn't stand still and let herself get stabbed.

She was definitely a tough one. Weiss has already taken down several White Fang mooks, one of whom even had his aura activated, but her current opponent actually knew how to utilize it as well. She didn't seem to be using any semblance - her skin changing color appeared to be some bizarre animal trait instead - but she was still able to fight on a level approaching a huntress. Her weapon was some bastard child of a sword and a whip, which allowed her to fight effectively both in short and medium range. Right now, Weiss was sticking to the former, hoping that her fencing skills would prove superior to the ones possessed by the faunus. Remaining at close distance required her to attack pretty much constantly, which wasn't Weiss' favorite strategy, but at least it allowed her foe no time to breathe.

But still, maybe distracting her even further would be a good idea?

"Why are you even here? Were soldiers too hard to kill?" she asked the assassin while trying to stab her with Myrtenaster, or to unload the fire-dust bottle inside its chamber. "Is that just a way to satisfy your bloodlust?"

"We're here on a mission." the faunus girl growled as she parried a strike with her weapon. "Your family has been an enemy to the faunus for a long time, Schnee. We are here to serve justice!"

'Schnee' wanted to laugh out loud. Did that person really believed what she was saying? Maybe she had her hearing impaired and just didn't hear all the bullcrap she was spewing.

"How does anything my family has done compare to leveling whole cities?" Weiss had to dodge to avoid the faunus' counterattack, but she kept on talking. Maybe pissing the girl off would prompt her to make a mistake of some kind. "I don't recall launching a genocide campaign recently."

It appeared as the tactic worked. For half a second the assassin stood in place, as if thinking of a suitable reply. That was enough for Weiss. She swung at her opponent, and while the faunus girl managed to block that strike at the last moment, she did that at an angle that made it impossible for her to break the blade lock. Weiss smiled with grim satisfaction and gripped Myrtenaster's blade with her other hand, so that she could push with all her strength. She managed to pin her opponent to the wall, the point of the rapier slowly approaching the throat...

And then the electric sparks sprinkled out of the sword-whip.

The electric current passed to Myrtenaster.

Weiss cried out in pain as her muscles rebelled against her, spasms making it impossible to keep pushing... or to block the oncoming thrust.

And, with her aura already low, it was no surprise when the remains have proven not strong enough to absorb the force of the attack.

Weiss didn't scream as the metal whip lashed out and pierced her abdomen. This time, only a muffled whimper came out of her throat.

It hurt. It really, really hurt. Weiss was fairly sure that was how dying felt like. Her legs gave out and another whimper resounded, as the blade was now the only thing keeping her from falling on the floor. But even still, her left hand was holding the Myrtenaster. The muscles contracted in such a way that the hand was now tightly gripped around the blade even without its owner's input.

Weiss had just died. There was no way she was getting out of this, even if the assassin decided not to finish her off. But she hasn't lost yet...

She could still make it a draw.

Slowly and with great effort she moved the sword so that it's tip would face in the direction of her opponent. Unlike a normal gun, Myrtenaster had no trigger guard and could be fired not only by actually pulling the trigger with a finger, but also by something such as rubbing its handle against the leg. The faunus didn't seem to notice the movement; She seemed to have stopped paying attention the moment she thought to have achieved victory.

"For all it's worth, I'm sorry I had to do this." she spoke, staring into the heiress' eyes, "But there is simply no other way for us to..."

She never got to finish that sentence. A wave of fire engulfed her as Weiss finally managed to activate her weapon and empty the Myrtenaster's chamber. Through the fire shone the light of aura breaking down. The faunus didn't scream either. Maybe she died that quickly, maybe her lungs got damaged right away, or maybe she just had that much self control.

Weiss' body hit the floor a moment after her killer let the grip loose. After a second or so, the assassin's body fell next to the huntress. It made no difference whether the faunus was dead already or just dying. It was over anyway.

Weiss Schnee has ended her first serious duel with a draw. It didn't sound too impressive, but it was a good duel. It appeared as she had just managed to take down some rather strong fighter, maybe even somebody who held a leadership position within the White Fang. It wasn't quite what Weiss was hoping for, but it was still worthy of a Schnee name.

At least that was what Weiss kept telling herself. It made her a little less afraid of what was about to happen.

She heard some quick steps coming from around the corner. White Fang recruits, no doubt about that. Weiss closed her eyes. She wouldn't die staring into their masks, wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing her dying eyes.

She wouldn't let them see the tears that were gathering under her eyelids.


364 days after the Breach

Winter Schnee was having a bad day. A bad week, a bad month, a bad year, maybe even a bad lifetime.

Everything she stood for, everything she ever cared about either crumbled down before her eyes or already laid destroyed. The Kingdom of Atlas was as good as defeated by now. She wouldn't say that in front of the soldiers and neither would the General, but they both knew how screwed up the situation was. Heck, just about everyone knew that already. Each passing day some part of their forces would surrender, and some would go a step further and join the enemy. Those who stayed and fought did so not because they believed in victory, but rather because they wanted to fulfill their duty... or take whatever revenge on the attackers they could.

While she attributed her willingness to fight to duty, Winter had a lot of reasons to desire vengeance. Especially now, after her family's mansion has been attacked and burned down by the White Fang. She didn't know what happened to her family; They could have managed to escape and hide somewhere, but it was also possible that they were all dead or captured by the enemy. Weiss was unlikely to just run away in an event like this, so that realistically left only two latter options in regards to her. Grim as it was, Winter hoped that her sister has gone down fighting. The things those animals would do to a captured Schnee... no, it was too terrible to consider.

Besides, Winter needed to stay focused on the matter at hand. She was in a middle of a battlefield after all.

She was currently on a patch of land near the besieged Atlas Academy. There wasn't much more to say about this particular location - there was probably some building here just a week or two ago, but now it was just another part of the battlefield. All the infrastructure surrounding the Academy was completely destroyed as the White Fang attacked time after time, determined to bring down one of Atlas' last bastions of resistance. It was their tenth assault this week, and just like every other time, the numerical advantage was on the attackers' side. The specialist was surrounded by enemy combatants from all sides, but only one of them really mattered, due to being the only real threat, but also due to her value as a target.

Blake Belladonna. The daughter of one of White Fang's previous leaders and the right-hand woman of the current one. Well, that might be giving her too much credit. From what Winter understood, the girl had little to do with actually leading the White Fang. She appeared to be the equivalent of a secretary, perhaps romantically involved as well. That was also good; Winter wouldn't miss a chance to piss the dear High Leader off, even if it did little to change the course of the war.

Besides, leader or not, the girl was a pretty good fighter. They had been locked in a duel for several minutes now. Other White Fang members present were practically reduced to spectators, as they were afraid to get closer from fear of getting their heads chopped off as well as afraid to shoot from fear of hitting their own in a midst of all this incredibly - for them at least - fast combat. Belladonna was quick on her feet, able to dodge most of Winter's attacks, though not quite quick enough to effectively strike back. She was skilled for sure, maybe even on a level of a professional huntress. But Winter was a step above that.

She was an Atlas specialist. She fought in every major battle of this damn war and survived. She would not fall here.

Her opponent has proven herself quite capable of handling Winter's summons - she destroyed several white Beowolves just a minute ago. Truth be told, that aspect of the Schnee family semblance was far less useful than it might have appeared. After all, if you managed to kill something, then it was probably weaker than you, and thus most often not worth your energy to summon. But everything could become an indispensable weapon if you only used it cleverly.

She fell on one knee, leaned on one of her swords and activated her semblance, like she was about to summon something again. Predictably, her opponent jumped at her slashing with her sword. Big mistake. When the faunus was just a fraction of a second from striking, Winter jumped back, letting the blade hit the air instead. In an instant, one of specialist's sabers was falling in an arc towards her opponent's neck.

It didn't connect. But only because it wasn't meant to.

Seeing the blade fall prompted Belladonna to dispatch one of her damned clones and jump to her left. Sadly for her, she has basically fallen on Winter's other sword, a thrust timed and aimed downright perfectly. Only then, when the faunus lost her momentum as well as her balance, did the other blade connect in a quick yet powerful strike. Aura broken, the black-haired girl has fallen to the ground.

Winter smiled with grim satisfaction. Maybe this day wouldn't be so bad after all.

It was really rather tragic that a chance for some sort of revenge was the only source of her enjoyment with life these days. But still, Winter wasn't going to let an opportunity like that slip away. She stomped on her fallen foe's hand with her heel, earning a quiet hiss of pain in the process.

"You will not be getting away this time, Blake Belladonna." she said in a formal tone, loudly enough for all the White Fang recruits to hear. "While this might not be an official trial you deserve, I think it counts as a form of justice. Wouldn't you agree?"

The girl didn't answer. Instead she just looked up at her soon-to-be executioner with those amber eyes of hers. There was no fear in them, though there really was no defiance either. Only... daring? Did that animal wanted to die? Or maybe she really had no fear of death, like so many had falsely claimed?

Well, it mattered not in the end. Winter raised her sword, pointed it downwards... and spun it to deflect a bullet that would have otherwise impacted with her head. Apparently, the prospect of one of their leaders dying was just enough for the White Fang mooks to interfere in some way. A shame that they were still nothing next to a huntress. She turned her hand in the direction from which the bullet came...

Hadn't she knew better, Winter would have blinked several times.

Two dozen yards away stood Adam Taurus, the High Leader of the White Fang. She had never seen the man in person, of course, but she still recognized him almost immediately. A tall silhouette dressed in black, face partially covered by a red-ornamented mask, horns coming out of the crimson hair, a curved sword held in one hand and a characteristic sheathe-rifle in the other. Yes, the primary cause of all this bloodshed stood before her.

It was surprise for sure. Despite being an experienced aura-user, the 'High Leader' never bothered to directly participate in combat during the invasion of Atlas. Why has that changed, Winter didn't know. The White Fang recruits seemed surprised as well, gaping at their leader with astonishment and awe, some having fallen on their knees just now, seeing how the top dog has arrived.

For Winter it was either going to be a really good day, or her last one. Maybe both, if she managed to take this monster down with her.

Right now he just stood there, his sight firmly on the two women. Winter was the only Atlas soldier in wide radius, so it would probably go down to her and Taurus in moment. She figured it wouldn't hurt to goad him into it; Who knows, he might just charge her like an angry bull and leave himself open.

"Coming to help your pet killer out?" she asked, putting a significant amount of mockery into her voice. It seemed to work, as the faunus' face twisted in anger. "Or do you just like watching your own people die like that? If so, then I was just about to..."

Winter saw a vague blur of black and red.

The next second, Adam Taurus was no longer standing in the same place, and one of Winter's swords has fallen on the ground, along with an arm that was holding it.

It took another second for her to register the pain. And by gods, it was horrible. She wanted to scream, but no sound came out of her throat, save for a weak, pained whimper. Aside from severing her arm above the elbow, the sword must have torn into her torso, as that too hurt intensely. A moment after the rest of Winter's body hit the ground, it was already covered in a puddle of blood. I am dying, her mind realized.

Her apparent killer paid her only a quick glance, before kneeling down beside Belladonna. He exchanged some words with her judging by his lips moving, but Winter didn't hear those. All she heard was a continuous hum, almost like a static of a broken radio.

She knew that moment would come and she suspected it might come soon. But like this... surrounded only by enemies... having failed her objective... not even able to say anything lofty... damn it.

She saw Taurus stand up and shout something to his men, but by now she didn't even hear the hum. She couldn't even see as clearly as the moment before... vision fading... the pain slowly weakening.

What would be a good last-

And the darkness overtook her.


365 days after the Breach

Yang Xiao-Long was... there. In one of the many rooms of Atlas Academy. Her team has arrived to Atlas a few months ago, hoping to aid in its defense against the White Fang forces. They considered staying in Vale and joining the resistance, but they figured out that they had more of a chance to do something worthwhile by working with an actual army. They weren't the only ones; General Ironwood has gathered many huntsmen and huntresses from all of Remnant to battle the White Fang menace, adding their strength to the one of his own army, hoping it would prove enough to overpower the enemy.

Shame it didn't work out.

Right now, Yang was sitting and not doing anything. It was a pretty common state for her recently; For the past year her life has been pretty much nothing but fighting, sleeping and training to fight. There were few really good pastimes available, not that many people cared about having fun now that the threat of death loomed over them constantly. In order to avoid getting consumed by grim thoughts, Yang has mastered not thinking about anything. Not about the war, not about the future, and certainly not about her father. Damn, it still hurt whenever she forgot not to think about it.

Her not-thinking was interrupted as somebody entered the room. She recognized the person even without looking their way; Only her teammates walked into this room just like that and judging from how heavy the footsteps were...

"Hi Cardin." Yang greeted her leader without bothering to turn towards him. She was still trying to preserve a part of the thoughtless peace she so cherished. "What's the matter?"

"We are soon to be under attack." This prompted Yang to finally look at him. "By the Grimm, that is. The animals seem to be taking a break right now."

A year ago, she would have called Cardin out on insulting the faunus like that. But here and now, she couldn't blame him in the slightest. While Yang didn't really believe the faunus to be all evil or inferior, she would often use insults like that as well. Bigoted or not, dehumanizing your enemies really helped in times like that. So instead of starting an argument, instead of saying anything at all, Yang got up from her bed, picked Ember Celica up and started heading towards the battlements. Cardin walked alongside her, silent as well. There really wasn't much to talk about.

They soon arrived on a large, open platform with a view of the destroyed city. It was one of Academy's most important points of defense, as you could easily shoot down on anything which approached the walls and there was a evacuation hatch nearby. Several dozen soldiers were cramped here - most of them now busy carrying out the colonel's orders - as well as a couple of huntsmen, including the two other members of team CYAN. Azure, a young woman whose name really didn't fit either her red hair or brown eyes and Noir, a rather scrawny-looking boy with fittingly black hair and really dark-blue pupils. Right now they were standing near the edge and looking towards the horizon, just as about half the soldiers present, few of them with lunettes to see better.

Yang really liked her team. No, really, she wasn't just making herself like them for the sake of feeling better with being stuck with them. If she hadn't liked them, she would have left to fight on her own long ago.

It wasn't like that from the beginning. Initially, Yang absolutely hated her team. Noir wouldn't stop flirting with her for the first month in Beacon, Azure just wanted to train and didn't give much crap about the team and Cardin was... ugh, he was just the worst back then. He was bitter about not ending up on the team with his old friends, constantly attempted to boss his teammates around and would certainly have been going around bullying weaker students if Yang didn't give him a piece of her mind - and fist - the first time he tried to openly attack some faunus girl. He wasn't even that strong, even though strength seemed to be his sole focus as a huntsman. During her time in Beacon, Yang envied just about every other student for having passable, or in case of JNPR, slightly less terrible team-leaders. And yet, Cardin has gotten better since then. He has come to like and respect his teammates over the past year and the months of fighting have sharpened his mind and body considerately. As for his racist tendencies... well, right now just about everyone was either on his level or worse. It just happened when the people trying to kill you and your friends had one characteristic that bound them all together.

Well, early on at least. Right now there were almost as many humans working for the White Fang as the actual members of the group. Yang couldn't comprehe- well, she could comprehend it. Some people cared more about being on the winning side than on the morally correct side of the conflict, and the Fang's leadership was apparently pragmatic enough to ally with those humans. Still, it was baffling how many soldiers, and even some huntsmen were willing to deal with those monsters.

Except not really. Most of those 'traitors' just wanted a better chance of staying alive. And while huntsmen and huntresses should ideally not be afraid of death, the White Fang made a habit of targeting the families of particularly dangerous fighters in hopes of getting them to surrender or just do something unwise. Her father has, though he wouldn't have admitted it, chosen to die before that could happen. But could that be really expected of everybody?

At least they didn't have to worry about that today. Now they would fight a different sort of monsters.

Yang could just barely see the individual Grimm in the approaching horde. They were mostly just Ursai and Beowolves, probably some smaller ones in between, but hardly any really big ones or flyers. That bode rather well - whatever Grimm got through the bullet hell that awaited them should be easily squashed by CYAN and half a dozen other huntsmen present. They had to deal with the Grimm semi-regularly due to all the negativity they generated, but they dealt with them each time with minimal casualties. A simple fight against the enemy that wouldn't scream while killed - a decent way to spend time by today's standards.

"You see anything interesting?" Cardin asked one of the soldiers equipped with a lunette.

"Eh, all those monsters look similar, even zoomed... wait." He adjusted the optics. "I think... I think I see a human there. Or a faunus, hard to tell from this far."

"A person here?" That question came from Azure. "Like, getting eaten by the Grimm?"

"No, I mean walking alongside them." Everyone gave the soldier doubting looks. "I know that's weird, but I see it. Maybe it's some kind of humanoid Grimm or something? That or they wear black. Not a White Fang uniform, nor an Atlas one."

Yang looked in the direction the lunette was facing. After a while she spotted something that might resemble a person, but that might have just been her imagination.

"No, that is definitely not a Grimm." the soldier continued. "Has a normal skin. Wait, is that a White Fa- arhg!" he closed his eye and dropped the device. At the exact same moment, a flicker of red light shined in the distance. The man must have looked directly at it.

"Um... what was that?" Now Noir too has joined the conversation and was looking firmly in the direction of the strange light. "Are they trying to signal something?"

"I don't think so." Yang figured it was her turn to say something. "I mean, it is not a flare, and it can't be any coded message, since it's not flickering or anything..."

"It is getting brighter though." interjected some other soldier. He was correct - the flicker of light was glowing a bit stronger with each second. Wait, that wasn't quite it...

"No." said Cardin with surprise and a bit of fear in his voice. A fraction of a second later, Yang understood why. "It is getting closer."

A colossal wave of red energy approached the Academy, or more specifically, the wall they were standing on. It sounded a bit dumb - Yang had learned physics at Signal and knew that energy was not visible - but it was the most obvious description that came to mind. Besides, there wasn't much time to come up with any other descriptions, as this ominous wave was approaching at a speed which suggested they would face an impact just about...

"What the.." Yang wasn't able to say anything else as the wave hit the Academy. She didn't get to see what it did, as the blinding light filled her vision, only to be replaced by blackness a while later.

Darkness.

Darkness and silence.

Darkness, silence and a lack of thought.

Yang enjoyed that state. It was like being asleep, but without all the nightmares. Or maybe she was just dead? Crap, maybe she should had joined some religion after all...

"God damn it Yang!" a voice pierced the silence. "Get up, we are in a middle of a battle!"

She could hear it now. The silence has been replaced by a bundle of noises - gunshots, explosions, screams and barely audible orders shouted by the colonel. Feeling returned as well - now Yang could feel her head hurting from some impact, as well as the weight of the bricks pressing downwards on her entire body. Yet the darkness wouldn't recede one bit- oh wait, she just had to open her eyes.

Cardin stood there, on the same pile of rubble Yang was now laying in, holding an outstretched hand towards her. Now that she looked around, there was almost nothing but rubble nearby, save for some Grimm running around and a couple of fresh corpses. It appeared as the wall has crumbled after the impact and almost buried the huntress in its ruins. Her aura, however, was still mostly intact. She took her teammate's hand and stood up, instinctively dusting herself off.

"Where are Noir and Azure?" Yang asked an obvious question. Not 'What happened?' or 'What's the situation' - whether or not their teammates were alive was more important of a matter.

"They are protecting the hatch." Cardin answered, and then added. "We are retreating to the bunker."

Atlas Academy, being effectively one on the biggest military bases in Remnant, had an extra-fortified bunker deep under the main building. They were, indeed, meant to retreat there once defending the whole school became impossible, but...

"We are just fighting Grimm!" Yang objected. "Shouldn't we at least hold the line until we can regroup orderly?"

"It's not about the Grimm." Cardin's reply was annoyingly vague.

"You mean the White Fang is here? They had more people hidden somewhere?"

"No. Just one person. Now hurry." Cardin turned around, tightened his grip on the mace and marched hastily in the rough direction towards the evacuation route. Yang growled, but didn't keep asking; She understood that sometimes there really was no time for explanations.

They walked together, slowing down occasionally to deal with some Grimm that decided to mess with them. A few creeps and a boarbatusk, nothing really threatening. Yang didn't remember seeing any of those in the horde, but they were relatively small and easy to overlook, so it wasn't too weird. Not more weird than one person apparently being enough of a problem to warrant an evacuation. Sure, huntsmen could get pretty strong and the White Fang had quite a few of them under their command, but there were several really experienced ones on the defender's side as well. Did they all die when the wall collapsed? That seemed unlikely. Yang kept considering different explanations and finally came to a conclusion that there was no way a single human or faunus could be that dangerous.

She only grew more convinced of that once she saw the person in question.

When she and Cardin were on the top of a small mountain of rubble, Yang has managed to spot the largest center of combat in this zone. A large group of soldiers and two senior huntsmen were all trying to subdue a single enemy combatant and seemed to be failing rather miserably. Not like it was their fault; Yang could barely even see their opponent, who appeared more like a blur of red and black, jumping from one soldier to another, leaving them either in several pieces or at least falling to the ground with their blood already sprinkled over a large area. One of the huntsmen attempted to strike down this... thing with his axe, only for the swing to get parried by the crimson red sword. In a split second when both combatants stayed still, Yang could finally make out some the details.

The attacker was a tall man dressed in a black suit, which was now heavily stained with blood, but judging from a mask he was definitely a White Fang member. His hair and his sword had the same, crimson-red color, and both seemed to glow slightly from some reason. An ominous image was complemented by two large horns coming out of the man's head, presumably his faunus trait. This fitted the vague description given by the soldier with the lunette... as well as other descriptions Yang has heard.

Was that Adam Taurus? The Adam Taurus, the leader of the entire White Fang, storming Atlas Academy essentially on his own?

Half a second after intercepting the axe strike, the faunus threw his opponent's weapon aside with contemptuous ease and slashed at the huntsman, cutting through his armor and skin, spilling about half a liter of blood from the human's torso. The wounded man has fallen to the ground likely not dead, but without much of chance to live through the battle due to the wide, deep wound inflicted by the blade.

An adult, professional huntsman slain just like that. In one strike. Like aura wasn't even a thing.

"That" Cardin said from behind Yang's back. "is why we are retreating. Come, they won't hold him off for long."

On one hand, Yang felt a need to jump into the fray. On the other, she knew, both instinctively and intellectually, that she wouldn't be able to do a damn thing. This... how the hell was that possible? She heard that the White Fang leader was an aura-user, one possibly on a level of a pro-huntsman, but this was just insane. Qrow wasn't that strong. Nobody was that strong!

So somewhat against her nature, Yang just turned around and hurried towards their destination.

By the time they arrived at the hatch, the evacuation seemed to had been going on for a while. Soldiers were either climbing down one of the four ladders on the side of the large, vertical tunnel or waiting until it was their turn to go. Some of the awaiting ones were trying to shoot down the approaching Grimm, but really, it seemed like the huntsmen got this covered.

Just as Cardin said, Noir and Azure were there, protecting the men of arms from the Grimm. Noir, with his twin kama, was only shooting towards those that managed to get close - his weapons had a decent range being pistol equivalents, but dual wielding made aiming pretty hard. Azure was doing better in this regard with her cutlass-rifle hybrid. The weapon seemed to be made mostly from bronze, though there was also some gold alloy near the edges. Yang had once asked whether Azure was trying to copy Pyrrha Nikos with the color scheme. Azure responded with the request for Yang to go to hell, which was pretty much a confirmation.

When the two spotted Yang, they both took a second-long break from shooting and put on weak smiles. Yang responded with her own, also not very bright smile and joined them in their task. There were no words exchanged - they would probably be lost in the sound of gunfire anyway. And besides, nonverbal communication was pretty much the norm for them by now.

The shooting went on for about two more minutes. Grimm were getting more numerous as the fight went on, but they still were not a match for a full team of huntsmen supported by atlesian soldiers. Far more worrying were the flashes of red from the distance, indicating that Taurus was using whatever weird power he had to deal with his adversaries, or maybe rather victims. During the first minute, a few soldiers ran from that direction to join the queue, but they eventually stopped coming. It meant that all the soldiers who were not with them or down in the tunnel were either dead, too wounded to walk or determined to hold their main enemy off. Yang doubted any of them actually hoped to beat Taurus. Not after seeing what he is capable of.

When there were no more 'regular' combatants around, the huntsmen jumped down the tunnel, not even bothering with the ladders- the damage taken from such a fall was fairly minimal. They were met with a long corridor, with an automated turret attached to a wall every few meters. They headed down this underpass, Cardin stopping for a moment to press a switch responsible for closing a hatch. With a sound of metal grinding, the entrance has been sealed.

It was a good defense against the enemy combatants, and even better against the Grimm. The bigger ones wouldn't be able to get to the tunnel at all. The smaller ones would have to get through the thick layer of metal, survive the fall and somehow get through the corridor under constant gunfire only to face their prey bunkered at the perfect defensive position. It would certainly stop all the Grimm...

But would it stop Adam Taurus?

"Wait!" Yang shouted to her teammates. They all paused and looked at her expectantly. "What are we going to do afterwards?"

"What do you mean afterwards?" Azure asked, visibly annoyed. "We have to get out of here before..."

"Before that guy gets there?" Yang interjected. "Why? So we can get slaughtered elsewhere? He destroyed a quarter of the Academy with that attack and already killed most people here. He will cut through any defenses we have." Other huntsmen seemed to consider her words. "But maybe with an element of surprise... I don't know how he got so strong, but he is still just a hu- faunus, right? If we make a stand here we might just get a lucky shot."

"If we don't get lucky, we die." remarked Noir.

"And if we do, we might win this war. Or at least damage the Fang in any way." Yang didn't like their chances either, but the future looked grim regardless of what choice they would make. They had to take the more promising option, even if that option was shitty as well.

Right now, the members of team CYAN were the only ones in this part of the corridor. There was no military officer whom they could discuss this dilemma with, though in the end it didn't really matter. They cooperated with the military and did what they were told for the most part, but in life or death scenario there was only one person qualified to make a decision.

"We are fighting here." Cardin declared after a few seconds of thought, seconds which felt like eternity. And just like that, both Azure and Noir turned to face towards the entrance. There was no further arguing - they would all trust their leader with their lives in a heartbeat. Funny, how far they had come since Beacon.

Hopefully that wouldn't be the end.

Another few second later they were all prepared - as much as they could be at least. Weapons were fully loaded, any aura damage they took regenerated, any semblance of fear within them repressed. They were through tough, even hopeless moments before, but now... they were almost fully convinced that they would die.

But at least it would be in good company.

"If we don't make it through this-" Azure started, only to be interrupted.

"Oh come on, you could at least come up with something more original." Azure wore a very weak smile on her face, eyes locked on the sights.

"Let's go out with a Yang?" the other huntress suggested. It was the first pun she has made for a long time. That's why in earned chuckles from the others, even Cardin, despite admittedly not being very good.

But alas, some horned jerk has come to ruin the mood.

The hatch fell on the floor with a deafening thud, and a moment later their enemy landed on top of it. Adam Taurus, just as expected. He looked just like Yang has seen him several minutes ago, only covered in more blood, probably not his. The masked face showed no emotion - there was no 'slasher smile', no expression of surprise and certainly no fear, not even when a cascade of bullets shot at him.

The faunus ran towards them, deflecting every single projectile aimed at him. His sword has again turned into a red blur, like it was in several places at once. Maybe if the turrets were active already, he would have had some problem dealing with all the gunfire. Maybe. If. Here and now, their ranged attacks had no effect.

Well, one of them had. When Taurus was about half-way between the broken hatch and his foes, Cardin has discharged an explosive blast from his mace. Whoever or whatever their opponent was, he apparently didn't have the ability to deflect explosions, as the blast caused him to temporarily halt in his advance as he was pushed a step back, away from the huntsmen. There was no telling how much aura had been taken from the faunus, but the attack has at the very least given them an extra second to switch their weapons to melee mode. It was time to see how the White fang leader would deal with all of team CYAN coming at him at once.

He dealt with it fairly well.

Despite having attacked in near-perfect synchrony, none of the four huntsmen managed to connect their strike. Taurus was just moving too quickly. In once second he was before them, and in the following one he was behind them with a perfect opportunity for a counter-attack.

Azure and Noir have fallen first. There was no telling which one of them was the first to take the killing blow - it all seemed to happen in the exact same moment. In a single, incredibly fast swing, the red sword has cut through both huntsmen's bodies like a hot knife through butter. Azure was nearly cut in half as the blade went through her chest and managed only to blink in disbelief before falling onto the floor. Noir has faced a similar fate, except his superior reflexes prompted him to throw his arm in front of him in defense, only to have it severed before the sword cut through his torso. For a moment, he stood there looking at the stump in disbelief, only to waver and fall to a floor beside his teammate. He passed out before hitting the ground, maybe dead already if he was lucky. They said that unconsciousness didn't always mute the pain.

The sight of two of her teammates getting killed has caused Yang to - an unforgivable sin during the fight - pause for a moment. And then her semblance kicked in, turning her eyes red and engulfing her in flames.

She launched towards Taurus with all of her might. She hoped that even if he blocked the attack or cut through her, she would knock him down with her impact alone. Her target must have seen that possibility, for instead of blocking or attacking himself, he simply stepped to the side, though faster than any regular person could. This caused Yang to hit the air instead of her opponent and left her completely defenseless as the faunus raised his bloodied sword...

And used it to block the mace that would have otherwise impacted with his head.

Yang didn't think Cardin was capable of striking with such a speed. He covered the distance in a fraction of a second, and the force behind the blow was enough to generate a shockwave which carried through the corridor and - which somehow felt even more impressive - push the crimson sword back an inch. For a moment, the two men stared at each other's eyes. For a moment, it was actually a contest of strength and not a one-sided slaughter.

And then the red blade cut through the mace's handle.

And then it cut through Cardin Winchester's throat.

As there wasn't as much force behind the strike, the huntsman didn't fall down immediately. He blinked and looked in surprise on his blood-stained chest plate. A moment later, his knees bent and he fell into the floor besides his teammates, gave out a few chocking sounds and only then did his eyes become numb and motionless.

The bleeding stopped few seconds later.

Yang's eyes, iliac now when the anger turned to shock, kept jumping from one fallen friend to another. She felt... she didn't really feel anything to be honest. No more anger, no sadness, no fear of impending doom; Just the knowledge that she just lost her team in a span of several seconds.

Adam Taurus stood there, his hair and sword synchronically pulsating with red light. He looked over his opponents, a strange expression on his face.

What is he waiting for? I'm ready to be killed right now. A thought pierced through the curtain of shock. After another while, the faunus set his sight on Yang.

"You decided to stay when everyone else ran." he spoke. "That is a rare sentiment among humans."

Anger returned. Yang's eyes turned back to red, red like the centre of a flame, red like the killer's sword, red like her friends' blood.

She stood up. She still had her aura intact, she still had a strength to fight. With clenched fists and a roar of anger, she launched herself at Taurus once more, this time without any semblance of a plan or a rational thought, determined to bring him down or die trying.

A flash of red was the last thing she ever saw.


Everyone dies. The end. Seriously though, so far I wanted to set up the situation for the actual story to take off. As I said, I do have some plans, but realistically speaking, I'm not sure how much of it can ever be realized. Guess I will just keep on updating and see if it goes anywhere.