Chapter 13

After telling the group what his semblance was, which surprised them and meant he had to field their questions, they had all gone to bed, excited to go find Blake. But two hours had passed, the clock clicked past 1 AM and Acadian had found his way downstairs, not being able to get much sleep due to what happened. He dis his best to stay silent as he stepped onto the first floor and moved to the map that Glynda had put out earlier. He rubbed his tired eyes and looked at the map, shaking his head to stay awake as he traced the circles, trying to find the connection with his tired mind.

He did his best to focus but his mind wondered because of one emotion that was flowing through him: regret. Acadian had never properly shown off his semblance to anyone while he attended the military and Huntsmen Academy and felt horrible for putting Winter through that. She may have pissed him off for what she said but he still loved her and in his mind she didn't deserve it. His train of thought was thoroughly shot as he sharply gasped and looked right at Qrow, who had laid his hand on Acadian's shoulder.

"Shit on me Qrow," Acadian whispered, Qrow chuckling at his reaction, "The hell?"

"Just checking on you. Why are you up?"

"Couldn't really sleep. What about you?"

"Just making sure no Grimm come out," he replied, patting Acadian's back as the Hunter shook his head, "What's up?"

"I'm trying to find out the patter-"

"The real problem Acadian," Qrow said, stopping his friend, who looked at Qrow and thought about lying to him but realized that would get him nowhere.

"I feel horrible about using it."

"You can't."

"Oh I can and I do," Acadian said, walking away from the table and looking out a window at the quiet, brightly lit town center. Qrow shook his head and walked over to his young friend, keeping his distance and staying silent until a small grin came over him.

"You know… nah, never mind."

"Oh what Qrow?" Acadian said, turning to face the Huntsman.

"Ah it's nothing you would want to hear."

"See you're saying that shit on purpose because you know I'm a curious bastard and I want to know," Acadian said, stepping close to Qrow and poking him in the chest to add emphasis to his words.

"Well, I asked her what she saw, whether it was you or Weiss and she told me it was none of my damn business."

"Okay…?"

"Wouldn't she have easily said it was her sister?"

"Don't you think you're reaching Qrow?"

"No," Qrow said, beginning to walk away, "I'm trying to give you hope. Don't give up just yet Acadian."

With those words the elder Huntsman left the professor to himself, who went over what Qrow had said and couldn't help but have a small smile at the possibility that maybe, just maybe, Winter still cared about him. Acadian went back to the map with a renewed vigor. He sat down, traced where Blake might be next then thought on how to lure her in. He knew that she would be scared to come back, trepid with interaction because she was a loner and was probably blaming herself for certain things, so he had to think of something quick. He couldn't help but nearly laugh out loud as he ran up the steps to the third floor and woke the teenagers up from their slumber.

"Acadian… what is it?" Ruby asked in a very sleepy tone that matched the look of everyone else, with half-closed eyes and groggy groans.

"We need to move now if we are going to get Blake tonight. I know where and how," he said with a confident smile that was matched with blank stares, severely annoying him as he thought about how to wake them up. He went to his sword, put in a yellow Dust crystal and revved the blade. He kept the brake handle held so that the electricity coursed through the blade and ever so slightly poked each of them on their arm, sending jolts through them, waking them up and severely annoying them.

"Acadian!" Weiss yelled only to be met with a chuckle from the professor.

"Well, now that everyone is up, let's go get Blake."

"You know where she'll be?" Jaune asked, rubbing his eyes to wake up.

"Indeed."

"And how're we supposed to get her?" Nora asked, "She might just run when she sees us."

"We'll give her something she desperately needs."

A fisherman that Blake had been tracking for a few blocks walked through a back alley, cracking his neck as he walked. Two things had intrigued her about the figure, the first being that he was out and about at nearly two in the morning and secondly what he was carrying: a box of freshly caught fish. Blake's stomach growled loudly, something she cursed at, as she descended down the side of the building she had been standing on. His large boots squeaked on the ground and his water-proof jacket swayed as he walked eagerly, happy with the catch he had. Blake knew it was wrong to take the fish but she only needed one or two, just enough to quell her stomachs protests.

In the past couple of weeks Blake decided to ditch what she originally wore to Beacon mainly as a way to get rid of bad memories. She now sported black thigh high boots with a golden trim at the top, black leggings underneath, a white belt and small pouch on her left hip and a black crop top with a simple cross-over design to cover her chest. The biggest addition was the long white trench coat she now sported that was purple on the inside and reached down to her feet in the back but stopped at her waist in the front, which she really liked.

Slowly the sword part of Gambol Shroud became unsheathed and then she charged, closing the distance in a matter of seconds and brought the katana to the man's neck, the small spike pointed at his Adam's apple.

"Drop the fish and walk forward slowly," she whispered. Instead of being met with a cry for help, a question or a fight, she was instead met with a chuckle.

"Damn I love it when I'm right."

"What?"

"Hello Ms. Belladonna," she heard as the man dropped the box and immediately greeted him with a kick to his spine, launching him a few feet forward. He impacted the ground hard and before he could try to move he was met with pressure on his chest and a pistol aimed at his head.

"Who are you?! Did Adam send you?!" she exclaimed, shocking the rather young looking man, something she didn't expect. He raised his hands slowly and shook his head as Blake, keeping the pistol aimed at him, backed up to the box and picked up four fish.

"Blake," the young man said, taking the jacket off, revealing a shirt and vest combo with a tie, "Blake Belladonna," the use of her full name catching her off guard.

"Who are you?"

"I'm a professor and a friend. I've been watching over your friends."

"You mean… my team?"

"Yes."

"… I don't… I can't see them."

"Because of Adam?" Acadian asked, her eyes going wide at the mention of Adam Taurus,"I only know his name because you just said it. Is it because of the White Fang?"

"How do you-"

"They told me."

"How do I know they're safe? How do I know this isn't a ploy?" she said, tightening her grip on the pistol, slightly scaring the professor.

"It's not Blake," she heard behind her, twirling around and nearly dropping her weapon at the sight: her friends from Beacon and the one that, in her mind, she hurt the most, the one that had spoken up, Yang Xiao Long. Blake was frozen, allowing Acadian to get up and walk up to her, making sure his footsteps could be heard. He gently placed a hand on her arm and squeezed, a sign to her that he wasn't going to hurt her. She looked up and Acadian smiled at her, at least he hoped she could see that, as tears flooded her eyes and streamed down her cheeks before collapsing to her knees and sobbing loudly. Yang rushed to her and fell to her knees, hugging her partner as everyone else ran to their friend and embraced her. Acadian simply watched the display and stayed to the side, picking the box back up and gathering the fish that Blake had dropped. She was helped to her feet by her teammates, all three embracing her as they did.

"Don't worry Ms. Belladonna, you can have all the fish you want back at the safe area," Acadian said, chuckling at his own remark as they walked back to the town center. Finally, after nearly four months, team RWBY was back together.

Morning came and news of Blake being back spread around the remaining students from Beacon, who all came to see her. Acadian was on the balcony on the third floor sitting at a small table and looking at the map of the CCT, going over different reports that detailed Grimm activity in the area. He circled multiple points he saw as entry points and started to detail an attack plan until he was interrupted by someone clearing their throat. He looked up and saw Yang looking at him then down at the map he was looking at.

"Whatcha doing professor?"

"Working on a battle strategy. What's up?"

"Nothing," she said with a shrug, walking over and sitting down across from Acadian, who returned to his work. He was busy highlighting a sentence when he saw that Yang had turned the map to herself and was looking over handwritten notes.

"Who wrote on this map?"

"I did, why?"

"How the hell do you read your own handwriting?"

"The hell are you trying to say?! I can read it fine!" he said, turning the map to himself, a smirk on his face that was matching hers as he set his stuff down and looked at her.

"Just saying."

"Uh-huh. What's going on Yang?"

"Nothing."

"Yang."

"Nothing."

"What is it?" Acadian asked, getting a sigh from Yang in response.

"Thank you for watching my sister and our friends, I owe you a lot professor."

"You don't owe me anything," he said with a smile to Yang to try and lighten the mood, "Why did you really come up here?"

"I…I, uh… Can, can I show you?" she said and was met with a nod from Acadian, somewhat interested in her stuttering and nervousness. He hadn't known Yang nearly as long as her friends but he could see her personality as confident, strong, bubbly and always wanting people to smile. Seeing her like this confused him until they made it to the first floor and he saw her problem. Blake was talking to a few different students, Neptune was with a visually aggravated Weiss who was scolding him about various issues while Ruby, Jaune, Nora and Ren were reconnecting with their friends. The problem with the scene was Blake because right next to her was a student whose name he had heard in passing, Sun, who was very close to Blake and trying to hold her hand but she kept moving her hand away.

"Ah, monkey boy," Acadian said so only she could hear. She looked at him and nodded, retreating back up the stairs to the second landing, where Acadian met her seconds later.

"I didn't know you had romantic feelings for Blake."

"I don't! I just-"

"You just what? Why would that bother you?"

"... I don't know."

"Yang," Acadian said, placing his hands on her shoulders, "Come to terms with yourself."

Yang looked down then up at the professor, a look of lost filling her eyes as she wiped her eyes with her arm.

"I'm just confused, I just don't know. I thought when I saw her I would be so upset, so pissed, that I was going to yell at her, but then I saw her and… I mean, I've always liked guys and had boyfriends in the past but… I just feel such a deep connection with her."

"That's a good start. Tell me how," Acadian said with a smile, leading her to a small table where Yang told him tales of missions, how Yang revealed a lot to her during their second semester and vice versa, how she was blinded by fury when she heard Blake cry in pain after being stabbed, how she had been worried night and day while bed-ridden even though she couldn't do a thing. What she didn't tell him was how she was last night, practically by Blake's side the whole night, talking to her and catching up on everything the two had missed, including Blake asking about and Yang demonstrating her new arm, leading to an awkward silence between the two. All the while Acadian sat and listened, already knowing what was going on with Yang because he had been there before.

"Yang, you're in love with her. Or at least you've fallen for her. To be frank, I don't understand your confusion because I've always just gone after a woman if I liked her but you have strong feelings for her. So what if you also like guys? Life is strange, it's odd, it's a roller coaster and every day we try and discover new things about ourselves."

"Yeah but if Blake doesn't-"

"And if she doesn't she doesn't. But I would feel a lot better myself telling someone than keeping it all locked up."

"But Sun-"

"To be fair," Acadian said, patting her robotic forearm, "He kept reaching for her hand and I could tell she was very unsure about taking it. Just be upfront with her about it."

The two sat in silence for a minute, the room being filled with the joyous conversations that had abandoned Vale four months ago. Acadian waited, knowing that patience was something you needed with teenagers that were still discovering things about themselves. Finally Yang looked at him with a smile.

"Thank you. When should I tell her?"

"Hate to say it but I would wait until after the mission so that we can focus."

"Good point."

"How come you didn't want to tell Weiss or Ruby?"

"I needed a third party on the matter."

"Gotcha. Well, if you ever need anything else, come to me, okay?"

"Thanks professor."

"Please, just call me Acadian, I think I've lost that title, I'm sure by now I've been fired from Haven."

"Why, because you've been on fire helping us?"

"… That was really, really bad."

"I know, I really need to up my pun game."

Later in the day everyone had gathered in the HQ around the large table which had the map that Acadian was looking at earlier splayed on it. It also had a special 3D projector so that everyone could see what was going on and get a proper feel for the battlefield and the plan. At the head of the table was Qrow and Acadian, who had called the meeting after going over the final details.

"Okay," Qrow began, "Acadian and I have been going over everything you guys have on the Grimm at Beacon and we think we have a solid plan to take it back."

"Qrow, we've looked at the plans before and we can't send any squads in, we're spread too thin," Ironwood interjected before Qrow could finish.

"That was true," Acadian said, giving the general a glare before returning to the crowd of Hunters, "However, with the addition of team RNJ, RWBY, myself and Qrow along with the leader of the Atlas Spec Ops, I believe there is enough men to spare for a strike on the CCT."

"Have any military personnel looked at the plan?" Winter asked and Acadian had to bite his tongue to stop himself from going off but smirked instead.

"Well, you and general Ironwood are looking at it right now aren't you?" he said. Winter rolled her eyes as Acadian motioned to Qrow.

"The plan is to launch a multi-team strike on the Grimm in the area. Two squads of soldiers accompanies up to four Hunter teams. I'll lead team RWBY while Acadian leads team RNJ. We need two volunteer teams and two volunteer experienced Hunters to lead the squads. Whoever wants to can come to Acadian and I and we'll determine who would be best. Basically, the six teams will insert in at different locations. Five teams will exterminate as many Grimm as possible in the area while Acadian and team RNJ will move on the CCT to reactivate it. When that happens they'll rejoin, help drive the rest of the Grimm out and then we can start fully repairing the CCT. Questions?"

"Yeah, what about the large Grimm at the top?" Neptune asked.

"Here's hoping that we can just break it apart."

"Why have Acadian and his team reactive the CCT?" Winter asked, which was a bit of a shocker to the young professor, who shared eye contact with her for a split-second.

"Frankly, among all the elder Huntsmen present Acadian is the youngest and has squad experience thanks to his military background. He already has instructions on how to restart it; if any problems arise every member of the mission will have headsets to allow for proper communication."

"And if we can't break through the Grimm?" Ironwood asked.

"We will," Acadian replied in confidence, "Spread the word to every student and professor still around that we will need all the help we can get and those that can't come will be on security detail around this area. Anything else?"

"When?" Ren asked.

"Tomorrow morning around noon. We know about the long fog that has accompanied here but by attacking mid-day we catch them at their weak-point."

"What if your old team shows up?" Ruby asked before Acadian could stop her. Ironwood and Winter looked with disbelief at Acadian and Qrow.

"Team CYAN?"

"Yeah, turns out they're on the other side."

"Damn it," Winter said, shaking her head.

"Look, if we encounter any human opposition we have the numbers, simple as that. We overwhelm them but do not give chase, our priority is the CCT. Any more questions?" Acadian asked and the room fell silent, "If you think of any more later on just come to Qrow or I. Dismissed."

The large group dispersed with excited and nervous chatter, leaving RWBY and Qrow, confusing him as he looked around.

"Where the hell did Acadian go?"

Unbeknownst to him, Acadian had slipped out with everyone else and waited, trying to play cool as his heart thundered in his chest. He tailed a few different student groups until he saw a specific person all alone, looking over various reports on her Scroll.

"Brigadier Schnee," Acadian said, standing a few feet away, his legs slightly spread and his arms behind his back. Winter turned and looked up from her Scroll, her look going from focus to apathy.

"Zaffre."

"It's actually professor Zaffre."

"Congratulations," she said in a deadpan tone. What Acadian didn't know was that he and Winter were similar at the moment, for her own heart was beating at an extraordinary rate in her chest.

"Yeah, thanks," he said, disappointed in her tone, "Look, Winter-"

"Brigadier."

"Brigadier," Acadian said, his mood further sinking, "I'm sorry for what happened last night. I lost control and…" he continued, looking away, "I'm really sorry. I don't know what you saw but a couple of people told me how you reacted and I would never want to scare you."

The silence between the two seemed to last ages. In the back of his mind, Acadian hoped that Winter would just walk up to him and kiss him, but he knew that would never happen. For Winter, the fact that he was here still left her in disbelief but she felt a little question at the back of her mind thanks to what Qrow said to Ironwood the day before. For now though, she felt as though she had every right to hold onto her anger.

"What did I see?" she asked quietly. Acadian walked closer but was stopped by the Spec Ops leader when she held up her hand, making the former soldier stand at attention, "What did you do Acadian? What did I… why did I see...?"

"I basically tap into your darkest personal fear and it forms an apparition that taunts you and gets to you. It's my semblance."

"Don't ever do it to me again," Winter said, and with those words, left the professor in the courtyard to walk to the Atlas squads while reading her Scroll. Acadian ran a hand through his hair and returned to HQ, ready to retake Beacon Academy.

Fun little set up chapter and hey, Blake is in her new gear, which is awesome. Fun fact: Yang's dialogue originally had her saying how she wanted to 'rail into Blake'. Took that line out because my fiancee started to laugh, thinking about Yang railing into Blake sexually... which is why I love my fiancee lol. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I think you guys are really going to like 14. Thank you for all the views, fav and follows, I appreciate every single one very much and I will see you guys next week! Have a great week guys!