We're nearing the end of this arc, everybody! Yep, this shit's gonna have arcs XD Things are about to get heated up now... Nightmare is almost at Haven, Umber must rally the students up to defend the school, Adam has received part of Soul Edge's power, and Voldo of all characters is beginning to make his move. AW YISS, VOLDO IS THE SECOND CHARACTER!

Also, I am SO fucking sorry for the slow updates! But to be fully honest, this might be something you guys will have to get used to :/ Updates always get slower during the winter season, mostly because we get pretty heavy snow here so the internet is faulty as shit during this time. That, and with Christmas coming up, along with tryouts for an upcoming musical...it's just going to be a very busy time. So yeah, I hope you guys aren't too pissed at me.

But enough of that... Enjoy the chapter, everyone!

(Chapter six of Volume Four, though O_O)

...

Patch was the kind of place Ironwood could imagine himself settling in, if he wasn't tied down to his job. As many times as the general may have wished he could live a peaceful life outside of war and Grimm, he knew that he wasn't put on Remnant for that. No, his purpose was to be a protector of the people, by any means necessary.

Stepping out of the bullhead, he signaled for the pilot to wait for him. The pilot nodded, before pulling out his scroll to jack around. Ironwood chuckled, before making his way towards the front door of the small house the bullhead landed in front of. Out of the corner of his vision, the general could see two lilac eyes peeking through the curtain of one of the windows. The eyes disappeared, and Ironwood hoped that his visit would be welcomed.

He firmly knocked on the door three times, and after ten seconds of random shuffling noises, the door opened to show a middle aged blonde man sporting hunter's gear. The man blinked, before a ghost of a smile tugged at his lips.

"Ironwood," he greeted. "What a surprise!"

"A pleasure, Taiyang," Ironwood returned the greeting. "May I come in?"

Taiyang scooted out of the general's way, opening the door wider. "Of course," he replied. "Can I ask what you're doing here?"

Ironwood stepped inside and observed the household. It was cozy, to say the least. Ironwood briefly had a flashback of his own childhood home, a warm house that boasted a striking resemblance to the one he had just stepped in. A picture caught his eye, and upon inspecting it he saw that it showed a young, blonde female. Barely thirteen years old, it looked like she was trying on hunter's gear for the first time. His eyes wandered to her right arm, and he sighed, placing it back where it had been before.

"I was hoping to speak with your daughter," he explained. "I would like to see how she's handling her new arm."

Taiyang sported a awkward grin, scratching the back of his neck. "She was reluctant at first," he admitted. "But she got round to it. We've been spending most of our days training now. I think she's really close to going back to her old self."

"She can speak for herself, thank you very much," a new voice sounded from behind the two men. Turning around, they saw Yang Xiao Long standing at the kitchen entryway, her robotic arm exposed for all to see. "And I am back to my old self," she grinned, "thanks for asking."

Ironwood chuckled and approached the young girl. "I'm glad to see you back on your feet, Miss Xiao Long," he told her. "I would like you to know that your actions during the Battle of Beacon saved the lives of countless others. You should be proud."

Yang nodded, though she sighed and looked away. "Wish I could've done a bit more, though," she muttered. "Haven't heard from Blake, or Weiss, or-"

"Miss Rose," Ironwood finished, his smile vanishing. A silence hung over the three, before Ironwood spoke again. "I wish I could help you find her, Miss Xiao Long. Do you have any idea where she could be?"

Yang tapped her chin for a moment. "Honestly, I'm not too sure." She shook her head. "Last time we spoke, she mentioned something about Mistral."

"Mistral?" Ironwood frowned. "My, that's quite far for such a young girl."

"We were actually thinking about traveling there to find her ourselves," Yang pointed out, before receiving a glare from her father. The buxom blonde rolled her eyes. "Well, I was, at least."

"Yang, we talked about this," Taiyang said sternly. "You're not ready yet, you still have a lot more training to do!"

"Oh my God, Dad!" Yang groaned as she turned to her father. Ironwood shifted back a bit, wondering if he should really be witnessing a family dispute right now. "The longer we wait, the more danger Ruby is in!"

"I won't lose another person in my life!" Taiyang argued back. "Yang, you know how tense the kingdoms are! You can't just take a bullhead or a ship whenever you want!"

"Well I can't just sit here and do nothing!"

"Yang, as your father I am ordering you to sit here and do nothing!"

"Oh my God, Dad!"

"If I may interrupt," Ironwood stepped in between the two. "I do believe I can escort Miss Xiao Long to Mistral myself," he turned to Taiyang, "with your permission, of course."

Taiyang looked shocked. "Absolutely n-"

"Really?!" Yang beamed. "You can do that?!"

Ironwood seemed rather smug at the moment. He crossed his arms and smirked. "The bullhead I arrived here on is state-of-the-art," he boasted. "As long as we stop to refuel, we could be at Haven within just a few hours."

"But how?" Taiyang wondered. "All the kingdoms have a target on Atlas's back, remember?"

"True," the general agreed. "But here I am, in another kingdom. I am one of the few the higher ups in the kingdoms still trusted in Atlas, and they know that harming me would ultimately lead to war." His face turned grim. "And I'm sure no one wants that."

"Dad, you have to let me go!" Yang insisted, facing her father.

Taiyang looked torn. "But..."

"Dad," Yang said, more gently. "I know you're worried, and you have every right to be. But I have to get Ruby back. We'll go to Mistral, find her, and have her back home safe in time for dinner!"

"..." Taiyang was silently debating this, before he finally sighed in defeat. "Alright... I know there's no stopping you. Just be safe, okay?"

Yang grinned and gave her father a brief hug. "Thanks, Dad," she murmured before heading upstairs. "Be right back! I have to get my weapons really quick!"

After Yang was gone, the other blonde turned to the general. "Keep her safe, James," he said. "I'm entrusting her with you. Don't let me down."

"I'm a professional, Taiyang," Ironwood reminded his old friend. "I wouldn't dream of it. She'll be safe with me."

"Good," Taiyang grunted, just as Yang came down the stairs, her shotgun gauntlets around her wrists.

"Ready," she announced.

Ironwood lead the girl outside to the waiting bullhead. The girl turned around and waved goodbye to her father before stepping inside the aircraft.

She would get Ruby back, she vowed. She wasn't going to let her sister slip away again.

...

Perhaps she should have listened to Neo's warning.

Cinder had originally waved off the mute criminal's attempts to warn her as simply crazy talk. There was no way that silver eyed menace who took her eye was here in Mistral. It was simply impossible.

Well, turns out Cinder was right.

But that didn't mean she still wasn't screwed.

She felt the blood red blade press a bit closer against her throat, and she growled as she observed the faces of the other hunters present. Currently, she was being held hostage. While she would normally consider blasting them to smithereens, she knew that her throat could be cut open with just one slight flick. The woman who held the blade apparently had a teleportation semblance, and within seconds an entire squad of hunters had invaded her room.

"Now, we're only going to explain this once," the cursed woman hissed. "And it would be in your best interest to listen, unless you want to end up dead right here and now."

Cinder gritted her teeth, glancing at her 'teammates'. Mercury was being held down by the monkey faunus and the pink eyed man. Neo was being pressed down by the cat faunus's boot, her sword dangerously close to the mute's throat. Emerald was being held by the headmistress herself, a bag over her head to prevent the use of her semblance. Cinder quickly realized that they were all cornered, and there was no getting out of this.

Wordlessly, she nodded, and she heard the woman hum in satisfaction.

"Good." The blade inched away from Cinder's neck by just the tiniest bit, as if just begging the fall maiden to make her escape. However, she knew that would only lead to her early death, and she knew that everyone else knew it too. So she simply stayed, and the woman with the sword began speaking once more.

"Now, I'm only going to explain this once," she said. "I don't know if you are aware of the tale of Soul Edge, but I can assure you it's very real." Cinder gritted her teeth, remembering Neo's warning. If only she had listened... "Now, do you remember the woman you killed atop Beacon Tower?" Cinder nodded to herself, and she would've grinned if it wasn't for the painful reminder of her lost eye. "Well, it turns out that the man who she loved has gotten a hold of Soul Edge, and it corrupted him into a monster more powerful than you can ever imagine."

Cinder wanted to ask why they were bothering to tell her this, but her throat burned when she tried to speak.

"And now, that monster has only one goal for now," the woman continued. "And that goal is to kill you. Now, we are willing to offer you protection, but only if you're willing to cooperate."

"W-why...?" Cinder forced out.

"Why?" the woman echoed. "Because once you're gone, the monster won't stop there. After you're dead, the entire world is next, and we don't plan on letting that happen."

"Correct," Umber added. "Which is why we will be borrowing your 'teammates' for awhile. Raven will make sure you and Miss Sustrai don't cause any trouble."

"Wait," Mercury grunted. "The hell are you borrowing me and Neo for?"

"You two will be helping us defend the school," Raven explained. "We'll need all the help we can get if we're going to stand a chance against Nightmare. You two are the members of this team we can keep trust to fight."

"You're really overestimating our trustworthiness here." Mercury deadpanned.

"Wasn't my idea," Blake muttered.

"Regardless of where your loyalties lie, I trust that you will in fact fight for us," said Umber. "After all, you wouldn't want to end up on the sharp end of Raven's sword, now would you?"

Mercury opened his mouth to smack talk the professor, but the fearful look Neo gave at the mention of Raven gave him the impression that he shouldn't. Sighing, he shook his head in defeat. "Fine, fine..." he grumbled. "You've made your damn point..."

Umber nodded in satisfaction, before she turned to the younger hunters present. Gesturing her hand towards Cinder and Emerald, she ordered, "Tie them up."

After the two were tied up, Umber left Raven to guard them while she took the others to the main hall, explaining that she would be holding an assembly to warn the students about this new threat. She also stated that she would call some of the local hunters who were available.

Cinder glared as the hunters left, but her gaze lingered on Ruby for a bit longer. The young silver eyed girl sensed it, and when she turned around she had a glare of her own. The two locked eyes, before Ruby shook her head and walked out of the room, leaving the fall maiden behind with Emerald and the woman with the sword.

The woman, Raven, sighed and kept her blade against Cinder's throat. "Don't worry," she cooed mockingly. "I won't let anything bad happen to you."

Cinder wished she could wipe that smug look off of the huntress's face.

...

Since Neo was, as far as he knew, a mute, Mercury always had trouble understanding Neo unless she was texting him via scroll. However, as Umber and her little ragtag group guided them to the main hall, the looks Neo threw at him made perfect sense.

What do we do? her eyes asked.

Mercury frowned and moved closer to her. "I don't know," he whispered out of the corner of his mouth. "I doubt we can make a run for it, so I guess we gotta fight."

Not that, Neo's own frown indicated. She made a few gestures with her hands that seemed to roughly translate to, About that Nightmare guy?

Mercury paused, thinking back on the story they were told back in the dorm room. "What about it?"

Neo facepalmed, and it took the silver assassin a moment to realize that she was saying, The guy in the story and the guy in our dreams is the same person, dumbass!

Oh shit, she was right!

Neo nodded after seeing the realization on the young man's face. She tilted her head and gave him a look that said, So what do we do?

Mercury sighed and shrugged. A few moments of silence passed before he said, "We find answers."

"Mr. Wukong," Umber said, turning to her faunus student. "If you would be so kind as to go to my office an make an announcement. Tell all students to arrive in the main hall with their weapons."

"You got it, Professor!" Sun called over his shoulder, already running to make the announcement.

Mercury heard the woman sigh and say to herself, "How are we supposed to win this, Ozpin?"

He couldn't help but wonder the same thing.

...

When the ship had arrived at the dock, the workers were beyond surprised and horrified when the captain's butchered body was tossed in their direction. Scrambling back, the workers looked up to see a large man in blue armor exiting the ship, wielding a sword that seemed to be from Hell itself. Terrified now, the workers ran as fast as their legs could carry them, desperate to get away from the monster.

One of the workers was, unfortunately, too slow, and the monster descended upon him like an angel of death. The large sword impaled the man and pinned him to the ground. The monster yanked the sword from the body, and turned to face the crowd that had foolishly formed.

"Where is Haven?" he growled, his voice not from this world. In that moment, panic settled in, and the crowd scurried like rats in every different direction. Nightmare shook his head before he rushed to the nearest group of people, cleaving through them without effort. 'Too easy,' he thought. 'I crave a battle, not a silly game!'

"Nearly there," Soul Edge reassured. "Soon Cinder will be yours."

Nightmare didn't respond, instead tossing a young man into the air and slicing him in two. He then grabbed the boy's lover and held her up high with his giant claw. The woman's eyes widened and tears cascaded down her face as she struggled. "PLEASE!" she begged. "DON'T KILL ME!"

"I don't have time for your crying, woman!" the Azure Knight roared. "Where is Haven?!"

The woman sobbed and pointed a shaking finger to Nightmare's left. Turning his head, he saw a large, castle-like structure built in the side of a large cliff, overlooking the city. He could make out a path that led to it, and he grinned. He turned back to the woman, and was about to kill her when a sudden bullet hit his helmet. Turning around, he saw an officer standing a few meters away, visibly shaking as he fired another shot. Like the last, it simply bounced off of the knight's armor. Growling, Nightmare dropped the woman and charged at the officer. However, before he could reach him, he was suddenly knocked back by a surprise attack.

Confused, he turned around again and this time saw a huntress standing before him. She was pale-skinned, and sported curled white hair. She wore a gothic, purple dress with pieces of armor here and there. Her weapon of choice appeared to be the claw-rings she wore on her right hand. Briefly, an image of a similar, but better dressed woman appeared in Nightmare's mind, wielding a rapier with unmatched skill. The image vanished, and Nightmare glared daggers at the huntress.

The huntress didn't say anything, but she gave a small nod. Instantly, a bullet hit Nightmare from out of nowhere, briefly throwing him off balance. 'A sniper?' he thought. The huntress took her chance, charging at Nightmare with a surprising burst of speed. She raised her claws to strike, which Nightmare blocked. Another shot from the mysterious sniper caught the knight off guard, allowing the huntress to make an escape.

Nightmare swung his blade, but the huntress jumped on top of it before delivering a harsh rainbow kick that connected with his chin. Another shot from the sniper forced him to move back.

"The sniper keeps switching positions," Soul Edge warned. "Her ability seems to be teleportation."

"How annoying," Nightmare snarled as he forced the huntress to move back. The huntress bit her lip, and with a wave of her hand a sudden purple orb of light appeared. She caressed it gently for a moment, before she launched it forward. Nightmare brought his sword up to block it when the orb suddenly shifted directions. It zoomed all over the place, landing blow after blow on the knight. The woman leaped forward, raking her claws against his armor as her mysterious orb continued to dance around.

Growling in frustration, Nightmare reached out and caught the orb mid attack. His claw burned, but he gritted his teeth and held on to the orb, not letting it go. With a roar, he crushed it in his gigantic claw, and a pained scream from the huntress sounded behind him. Turning around, he saw the woman's aura flicker away, and she collapsed onto her knees. Nightmare then saw movement out of the corner of his eye, and determined it to be the sniper. The mysterious gunman was about to fire another shot. Smirking, he grabbed the huntress and brought her up as a shield right as the sniper fired. The huntress gasped in pain as the bullet broke through her spine, paralyzing her from the waist down.

The sniper didn't change positions, probably surprised by the sudden turn of events. Cackling, Nightmare threw the crippled huntress at her ally, before he immediately leaped after. The huntress crashed into the other, and Nightmare brought Soul Edge down through both of them.

Staring at the two slain huntresses, he felt their power join his, and he grinned madly. With the mere annoyance dealt with, Nightmare continued his way towards Haven.

Towards Cinder.

...

Once again, so sorry this took a lot longer than it should have! Hopefully that last fight gave me some redemption points XD Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Don't forget to review! And remember, stay wykkyd!