Author's Note:

Sorry for the week long delay, I was a tad distracted. But I plan to make it up with another chapter that I'll release my Sunday or monday depending on how things go.

So uh read and enjoy.

Chapter Ten: Welcome to Beacon

I opened my eyes.

It was the beginning of my time here at Beacon. I yawned, quietly taking note of the fact I was the first to wake up.

I stood up, carefully making sure that my sounds didn't wake up a single soul. I reached for my scroll, ready to check the required courses available for the first years during their first semester:

Grimm Studies (Professor Brass) Monday Morning - Wednesday Morning-Friday Morning

Combat Class (Professor Jonquil) Wednesday Afternoon

History and Government (Doctor Turquoise) Tuesday Afternoon - Thursday Afternoon

These were the apparent base courses and were a lot like what had been shown in the show. But there was actually a wide diversity of unseen electives that proved mildly interesting in some manner or other. Frankly it was a familiar sight to me as a former earth college student.

There was one other teacher though her course was optional, more for people specializing in heavy use of Dust in their combat style. So it'd be more Jayleen's or Umber's style. Jayleen with her bubbles, and Umber with her elemental beams respectively. Though Raven might might enjoy a Dust Arts class too.

The Dust Arts teacher also had a Chemistry course which was useless for me since I already had the credits for that…

But there was a Leadership and Team Management course I was considering. Because while Raven listened to me during the Initiation that could have been because of enlightened self interest rather than genuine respect. Thought the flirting could have been a tell that she didn't hate me.

"What are you doing?"

Guess Raven is up from her beauty sleep…she looks as cute as ever. The brunette yawned, smacking her lips together as she waited for me to reply.

"Just looking up some of the electives…there are quite a few of them here. Dust Arts might suit you. I've personally thinking of Anti-Auric combat and one other…" Perhaps that spiel was a little too long winded?

"Dust Arts…seems suitable for me. I have good control over my weapons Dust crystals but…I can be better." She clearly hated to admit that and I nodded half heartedly as I looked through a few more courses. Raven yawned a second time, wincing as she scratched an itch along her collar bone.

Curiosity beckoned me to activate my semblance, the only tell being a slight shimmer of air. Injury…it seems like something tried to smash her to death but failed. Her collarbone had been cracked rather significantly.

Raven frowned and I shut down my semblance, reigning in my curiosity.

"I…" The sheets of her brothers bed started rustling interrupting whatever she was planning to say. A groan of protest sounded out from the sheets.

"Could you ladies keep it down…someone with my looks needs their rest." I rolled my eyes at the younger twin's muffled complaint.

"Sorry dude but there's no staying asleep when Summer gets up…she isn't an early bird but…she tends to wake up others once boredom sets in."

"Dammit…"

What is the time anyway? My eyes narrowed in on the built in clock.

7:20 AM

"Well we probably need to get up anyway we have our next class at 9 AM and it's 7:20 right now." The trio snapped awake at my statement and I felt a brush of wind as the twins rushed to the bathroom. They both fought over the right before Qrow smirked and pushed his sister back…straight at me!

POW!

Raven bumbled into me and I yelped as 200 pounds of bandit woman crushed me.

"Ugh." I groaned, holding back another help as I came nose to nose with the pretty women. She herself was surprised and an odd sound came out of her throat.

Was…was she trying to hold back a laugh? I couldn't help but give her exposed side a poke and she nearly snorted.

She got off me at that, a cute blush forming over her cheeks.

A smile pulled at my lips at the un-Raven like actions. I liked this Raven a lot more than the OG Raven.

Much more adorbs…

"You good?"

"Yes…"

We should get ready for class then…

I wrapped my cloak more tightly around myself, as we stopped with two minutes to spare at the door to our classroom.

I don't particularly care much for the short skirt of the female Beacon uniform, even with their anti gravity thingies. Fortunately my cloak was an adequate shield for my dignity. Though the most important thing wasn't my uniform…it was the Branwen twins uniforms…if for differing reasons.

Turns out Qrow does have nice legs.

And apparently Raven's uniform wasn't made in mind for her sizable bust…so

Yeah…

I opened the door using my Scroll, looking around to find most of the class had already arrived with the sole exception of team Apricot. Though the loud footsteps from behind me, told me they were close.

It didn't take long for us to get adjusted, though the blatant stares from our fellow Huntsmen in training was a little unnerving.

"That's not a kilt is it?" I shook my head at Raven's question, holding in a cackle. It was rather clear that Qrow was going to murder Tai in the near future. And I kind of looked forward to that happening. It would be hysterical…and I would record every second of it.

Anywho…

We were sitting, paying close attention to our teacher who looked…like a World War Two Pilot? He also seemed oddly familiar beyond just that.

"Welcome to Grimm Studies! I am your teacher here, Professor Roland Brass!"

Roland? That rings a bell of some kind.

"Here we will learn about the beasts you will slay and hunt in the near future. The foul and horrid creatures that rampage this land."

How peculiar…I should start taking notes at this point right? Yeah that would be best…

I pulled out a pen and paper, ready and excited to learn though wondering how he would go about it.

Yeah…!

Oh goddamn that's a lot of information to right down…Roland seems to be the less braggy type in comparison to good old Professor mustache, but he was just as much a rambler.

He talked for hours on end, about the various Grimm subtypes he's fought in his day.

For example he's given me quite a bit of information on a subspecies of Grimm known as a Rakshasa. A distant cousin to the gradually disappearing Troll subspecies. They're not as large as their cousins but they are far more intelligent and faster. Another of their advantages is a limited form of invisibility that make them incredibly dangerous.

Strong, smart and hard to spot, it's a deadly combination among the Grimm. Their main weaknesses are of course the lack of armor, with only a few bony plates around its face and chest, their stealth can be circumvented by either enhanced senses or by hitting it with something. The best places to aim for are its unarmored stomach and legs, though the back of the head can work since its vulnerable there as well.

It was…difficult to pay close attention with the amount of information but I managed, though now my hand was cramping with the amount of talking he did.

But now that class was done there was nothing left to do other than the assignment given to us.

"That Class is terrible." I blinked as Qrow and Tai spoke at the same time. At the synchronization the two boys(mostly Qrow) glared at one another.

"It wasn't that bad…" I protested personally because while it was exhausting, we literally only have to take notes. It's boring but the class is not that complicated. The only time we fight is when he brings in a Grimm as demonstration.

Pretty funny to see Jay get kicked around by a Boarbatusk, though she managed to bring it down after stabbing it in the underbelly.

"It was…a rather uninteresting class…" Raven cut in with a grimace marring her face.

"But it does give us a sizable amount of information on the various Grimm we may face in the field. I'd rather not die because of a Grimm that this class could have taught us about. Dying because of laziness from ten years ago is not how I want to go." I made a weak argument, though I felt no need to start a big debate over the merits of this class.

"That's fair enough." Raven covered her brother's mouth before he could say another word. I gave her a grateful smile, though it shifted into a confused one as her eyes darted away.

She's…shyer…than I expected her to be.

Whatever it doesn't matter anyway…

"For the first match it's Summer Rose vs Penny Polendina!"

Well…fuck…

The first day of combat class is apparently going to rather screw me over huh? Doesn't help that the teacher is a bit of a hardass at times, though he seems more…unprofessional than my adoptive sister would be. Avery Jonquil was a rather interesting teacher. He was apparently a former Atlas soldier who became good friends with Ozpin's current reincarnation back in the day.

And now I had to fight our little terminator buddy…

And she was a terminator. My semblance told me more than enough of her composition, which was to her benefit much less metallic than you would expect. Mainly a mix of various composites and even her computational system are almost entirely pure carbon. Her muscles seem to be some form of carbon nanotube fiber, maybe three or four hundred times stronger than conventional human muscles.

At the bare minimum…without aura. I also detected a strange hollow sphere that appeared to be her main power source. A one hundred gram crystal of Energy Dust powered her mainly mechanical body, though I could pick up some trace quantities of hydrogen isotopes for some reason.

No…don't get distracted now.

I stepped into the ring, holding onto the shaft of Gungnir while Penny summoned a single sword likely due the limited usefulness of her laser sword combo within a small building.

Ok…quick internal plan…

Penny is absurdly strong, because of her nature as a synthetic being and her potent aura. So I have to either dodge or deflect her blows so I don't take more damage than necessary. Though unlike most I could take her hits more easily. My aura reserves were double the average if not more. Though I did wonder if my silver eyes would have any effect on my reserves

If not….then oh well but…the convenience would be nice.

Raven gave me a thumbs up and I probably sweat dropped when Taiyang and Qrow waved two little flags spelling our team name with an optimistic cheer. I turned back to Penny and I eyed the aura monitor at its respective corner of my HUD. Ahh…technology…your wonders never cease to amaze me.

Finally we started our bout to beat each other to a pulp.

Penny smiled with friendliness screaming on her face. "I hope you do not have hard feelings friend. I would be sad." I shook my head, my helmet hiding the smile forming at the sweet girl's naivety.

But I didn't let my guard down.

BOOM!

I stepped forward twisting on the balls of my feet to avoid the incredible speed that Penny was demonstrating. Ten meters crossed in less than a twentieth of a second, firing off like a bullet with her legs.

She…was fast…faster than Qrow or Raven and they were speedsters of unparalleled skill. The terrifying thing was I didn't feel an outburst of aura. That was from her internal musculoskeletal system.

She slid on the ground but with a crack imbedded her feet in the concrete before attacking once more. Firing off a plasma blast from a single swing of her only held weapon. I hissed as I tried to sidestep the plasma, the heat searing against my skin for the briefest of moments. With the maneuver she had outstretched herself and I took the initiative.

The air crackled with plasmafied air and stray electricity and the smile on Penny's face dropped as the aura sheathed tungsten slug tore through the air to smash against her stomach. Her eyes told me she could react to my bullet just fine, but her body couldn't move at the speed she wanted it to.

Which was when I realized something of importance.

Gungnir, once I have a bead on someone is almost impossible to dodge. Most dust or dust propelled projectiles fly out at around a kilometer to a kilometer and half per second. Not much faster than chemically propelled slug throwers but they hit harder anyway. But Gungnir is four times greater in velocity than any Remnant weapon.

Though getting a bead on someone moving at over a quarter of a kilometer per second isn't exactly an easy task.

The world came back into focus and the aura monitor flashed as over a third of Penny's aura was drained in an instant. She staggered but recovered quickly, first four beams...

SHIT!

Half burned against my aura, taking a single percent off the bar. Penny surged forward and I ducked past a punch only to take a kick to the stomach.

H-Holy crap she hits hard…

I suppressed a wheeze, my armor dulling some of the blow to its detriment. One plate would have cracked if it wasn't for the aura coating of my body

Summer Rose Aura 94%

F-Fuck…she hits like a damn barge to the face!

I twisted Gungnir around, hooking its halberd head around her body and throwing her away from me. During the swing I activated an array, and she took the equivalent of a dozen 40mm grenades to the face.

Penny Polendina 50%

The robot girl grinned…and to my horror a dozen swords hovered over my head, and…

SHOOM!

Several lasers converged and I held back a shout as my body felt the heat and prickle of plasma and light.

Almost twenty percent of my aura gone…in a single attack.

Fuck this shit!

The area around me burst out into psychically controlled flames, the swords twisted and melted in the heat and soon beams of fire converged onto Penny like they had converged on me.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Three concussive shockwaves followed one after the other, each taking a sizable chunk of Penny's shield. I snuffed the flame and smoke out, taking away the fire's fuel and dissociating the soot into raw matter.

Penny rubbed her chin giving me a friendly smile all the same. Yet I could clearly see I had brought her aura down to potentially critical level, maybe 22%.

Just a few more hits and I can win…

"Very impressive friend but…" Penny practically flash stepped and her fist buried itself into the right side of my face. Even our combat teacher was shocked, the punch dropping me another twenty percent, before it was followed up by six weaker blows.

49%

Jesus…or Monty?

Pfft…can you imagine?

My hand swung, the hard shaft of my spear crashing against Penny's back.

An array burned.

Lightning made her go haywire, the shock wrecking temporary havoc on Penny's systems. Though she was only slightly more susceptible to electricity than a regular human/faunus.

I grabbed Gungnir by the barrel end, and cracked the butt of it against her forehead. Aura burst out and she was knocked out of bounds ending the match…

"Not bad for a first day. As you can see Miss Polendina's has been knocked out of bounds. In tournament rul—" I stowed my weapon away as it compressed to the more manageable bladed anti material rifle.

With a press of a button I removed my helmet so I could look at Penny in the eye(camera?). My hair tickled my ears as I offered a hand to the gynoid.

"An excellent battle my friend!" She gleefully accepted my gesture and I easily lifted her light bulk. Though she was heavier than she looked, writhing 75 kilograms despite being like five foot five. I'm like 82 kilos and was five inches taller.

"Yeah that was a great fight friend." I put emphasis on friend and she beamed. I was practically blinded by that smile.

So bright…

"Thank you." She let go of my hand and I turned to face our teacher as he gave us our respective criticism.

"Now Miss Rose. On your side, your attacks hit hard and fast but…you don't seem to catch up." He was right, I've always been rather slow on the uptake if you know what I mean. "You failed to take much initiative outside of the start and once Penny got close you had issues with keeping up." I nodded meekly largely agreeing with his criticism.

"Yeah…I do prefer range for a reason." I backpedaled when the man raised an eyebrow. "Not that I shouldn't improve! I just mean…that at my current skill level I prefer to fight at a distance."

"Of course…now as for Miss Polendina. You did rather well, you seem fairly balanced in your combat style, but…you're too linear."

Linear? Wait…god damn it she was moving in a straight line! Very predictable…I should have noticed that. I let the words flow past me, taking a seat next to my partner.

"You're…better than I was expected." I felt mildly hurt at her lack of faith. "But we can work on your shortcomings soon enough."

I blinked. "Ehhh?"

She blinked back. "We're partners aren't we? We should help each other…right?" She looked unsure for a moment, and a smile formed on my face.

Someone as socially awkward as I am…is a real gift I tell you what.

"Heh. Yeah that's how it works." I didn't want to discourage her. And I stopped asking myself where that social Darwinism bullshit was. But then again it's completely possible that my existence here has changed things up. Though another possibility is that whatever turned this Raven into that Raven hasn't happened yet. That or her philosophy does not preclude working in a group.

Regardless…I hope this trend can keep up…

I would hate to fight such a pretty face…

As the voice of Jen Taylor rang through the classroom I finally figured out why the teachers felt so damn familiar at times.

The voices, the looks…they look like…well…

Video game characters who shouldn't exist in this universe. That or they were some type of coincidental doppelgängers. Either way it was mildly interesting to meet them.

Our…teacher was a woman in her mid thirties who wore a skintight blue patterned catsuit which caught the attention of the unknowing male(and female) students among the class. It ended poorly…for anyone dumb enough to watch for more than few glances.

Her skin was pale, with odd hues of blue and eyes that shined with light. Likely some manner of cybernetics implanted into her eye socket. Her black shiny hair reached down to her chin, overall she painted the picture of an attractive women in her prime.

"Hey big guy! My eyes are up here." Her smirk was easy to see and Cassin flushed as he was called out. He muttered out an apology and I shook my head. How they boy hadn't gotten his nervous habits broken out of despite spending years with several attractive girls I don't got a clue.

That's not arrogant is it? It's fine to think and know that you are appealing in some manner right? Not that I'll try to flaunt it or anything , that's not my thing…

"Class is dismissed!" I blinked looking down to see my hands had automatically taken notes while I was lost in my thoughts.

"We should go…" Raven tapped my shoulder and I put away my stuff, then brushing my skirt to remove any wrinkles. Wonder if I should try out a male uniform…I'm sure I'd look good in it. But the I'm sure I could make anything look good if I bothered to try.

But again stuff like "fashion" is uninteresting no matter how many times my female friends have tried to change my mind.

"Sums-up!" I felt my heartbeat pick up as Jayleen snuck up from behind me, snaking an arm around my waist. I kept an eye roll back, reciprocating her friendly smile. Though I had to keep my mouth shut as I noticed how she had to rise up onto her tiptoes to hug me.

I could easily pick her up if I really wanted to…

"Now since the weekend is upon us, how would you like to hang out for a bit. A little r&r between sisters teams." She gave me a big smile and I couldn't say no to my friend of several years.

Especially when you have the sad drooping ears of Umber in view…and the glistening eyes of a shy tough guy like Cassin don't help either.

"Are you guys okay with that?" I asked Raven and Qrow especially since they were the most likely to say no out of my team…

My team…

I have a team…

It's only sinking in now that I'm responsible for keeping myself as well as my friends alive. I have to talk to them, help them so they can be the best they can be.

"Yes there's no…issue."

"Yep, shouldn't be a problem." Their relative compliance was a god send at least for now.

"Good! Cus I know just where to go!"

Hopefully it's not another strip club like last time…fortunately it's easy to blame that on Jayleen. Else I would be more pissed off than you could ever imagine.

I'm going to regret this question but I needed to know.

"What did you have in mind?"

Thank the heavens for small mercies that Jayleen decided to be lenient in her weirdness.

After our last lesson we had taken a bullhead ride into the city. Apparently a cute little coffee shop had caught Jay's eyes and she decided to share it with us.

And it was great. Not too loud, the portions were big enough to feed Huntsmen with our sizable calorie intake.

It's always seen off to me how they are so much in the show, though I go with artistic license as well as a partial truth. Remnan humans do eat more than we do even as civilians, likely a consequence of their biology. Maybe three to five thousand calories a day. Huntsmen eat about two and a half times that amount, which is about the difference between normal people and soldiers or athletes.

"Try it…" I took the slightly warmed up chocolate chunk cookie, tapping a dainty finger against its surface.

Not bad.

Whoever made this had a passion for their work and should be praised, but how does it taste?

CRUNCH!

My word this is…this is…

"EEEE! It's so good! Get me three more!" I squealed happily swinging my legs back and forth. I pointedly ignored the stares from the Branwen half of our team.

"Oh, Summer has a really strong sweet tooth, with the weird exception of ice cream and cake." Tai's explanation quieted any questions and I continued to mindlessly nibble away at the delicious and chocolatey treat.

If there was anything to have in common with the OG Summer it would be our love for cookies.

Raven herself seemed to love coffee, preferably with two cups of sugar. Something I'd likely remember, due to my semblance anyway. Same for everyone else's preferences.

She sipped the coffee cup with a happy hum, while eying her cooling egg and bacon croissant. Her brother was drinking what…I think was water from a familiar flask.

Hmm…

PING!

Yep just water…with .2% alcohol. Whether that's due to contamination or mere coincidence I have no clue.

"You have a rather interesting semblance Summer…" I fought the urge to hide in my cloak as Raven suddenly spoke.

"Uh Yeah…my semblance is pretty powerful and diverse." I kept my nervousness masked though I doubt I did a good job of it.

"Honestly I've never seen a semblance with that many different effects. You're rather strong as well." I blushed at the compliment, straightening my back subconsciously. It seemed like a genuine statement but I shouldn't let it get to my head.

Especially since I have no idea how genuine she's being. She could be buttering me up just to calm my suspicions. But since she's my teammate and partner I'll let it slide though I'll keep an eye on her just in case.

"Heh…Summer's semblance is pretty neat but it does make me curious," Jayleen was smiling, eying Qrow with a curious look. "I know your sister's semblance but I haven't figured out what you might have."

The jovial atmosphere became cold and foreboding, Raven's eyebrow twitching ever so slightly. Qrow's heartbeat had elevated and the grip on his flask had tightened greatly. Jayleen hissed as the striking change in mood hit her.

"Uh…if you don't want to talk about it, that's okay. You don't need to bring down the mood like that." Jayleen did her best to placate the twins and the relaxing atmosphere slowly returned after a couple of minutes.

The conversation turned to other more mundane topics, though to my slight shame my eyes did periodically…drift to my partner.

She…was really pretty and it was hard to take my eyes off her even for a second. Especially in her rather more loose fitting casual wear. Because unlike in a computer animated show with limited budget. We can periodically change our outfits like a normal person.

Wonder if I can ask her for a hug…

Probably not, to my misfortune but someday I will hug her…and it'll be great.

"Are you alright? You seem to be staring rather… intently at someone." I grumbled at the amused insinuation Jayleen was making, and I promptly ignored her by stuffing my face with another delectable treat.

"Shut up. I'll do what I want." My friend continued to smile, and I almost desired wiping that smug smirk off her face.

"Ahhh. I think it's cute, you've never really had a crush before so this is a good change of pace." I bit my lip, glancing over a second(or fifth) time to Raven as she stared intently at her coffee. I opened my mouth to ask her what was wrong until…

The sound of a bullet shot out, and my hand cut through the air to knock it off course from a patron behind me.

I turned ready to beat the shit out of whoever had shot at us, until I noticed just who had attacked.

I had occasionally heard of their thankfully rare exploits on the news. Because in a world like this, the violence of the White Fang didn't arise because of nonexistent prejudice.

Another group so much like them, yet one disbanded and scattered to the wind before the rise of the violent sections of the White Fang.

The Red Hand…a disparate group of Anti-Faunus "activists" usually responsible for vandalism and minor crime, though some of their more powerful members dabble in murder and faunus slave trading.

They had snuck past us, despite both my own senses and Umber's. I hypothesized a semblance of some manner. Possibly illusion, or just bending light and using the loudness of the Cafe to distract us.

The apparent leader of the small bunch of…six pulled out a huge but simple battle axe gun. He gave a frowning Umber a lecherous smile and I wanted to knock his teeth out and shove them right up his…

Calm…Summer…calm…no murdering in front of witnesses.

Civilians…I meant civilians.

Yeah that's what I meant.

The others, who I would label Mooks one through five, were much less of a threat their weapons were even simpler, normal axes and swords instead…so.

Worse off than any of us…especially with their puny aura reserves…if they trained for it I'm sure they'd do fine but…

Average people don't put in the training for that…

"First…as an example to your disgusting animal lovers I'll cut off the pretty little head of this girl." He gestured to me and I gave him a blank cold look. "Everyone one of you will die by my hand for your sins. And I'll take that little rabbit as a cute little pet once I'm done."

I blocked the fast as snail pace axe blade with my bare hands and without a blink the tattooed array on my hand lit up. The reaction broke straight through the thin coating of aura around the weapon, and I proceeded to disassemble it into scrap.

The dirty blonde, from what I could see from his shoddy red mask stepped back, instantly falling into a fighting stance. I stood up, my lips curling into a cruel smile.

"You and your friends should really be leaving now. I'm sure you have better things to do." He growled before vanishing…

So my little theory was correct…

I side stepped a punch to my chest, my left hand shooting out and punching him in the neck. If not for his aura the aura would surely have collapsed his neck, killing him.

Not much of a loss really…but killing someone and the aftermath of that is both too much work for no gain. And immoral obviously…I'm really rather adverse to killing people…

Watching the life drain from their eyes as they fade away…is not something I'll ever enjoy.

"You bitch!" He cursed me out, and Umber used the sound of his stupid voice, to launch a kick right into his stomach. His semblance broke, and with a sigh I picked him up by the neck.

He left the confines of my hand like a cannonball barreling into his lackeys, and shattering the window of the store as they landed. He tried to stand until I buried my boot into his gut, and I gave him a wide smile, as I gently felt his ribs against my feet.

"You…stupid animal loving piece of shit. When I get my buds here, we'll see just how you'll scream." I cocked my head, adding another kick taking a sizable chunk out of his aura. I didn't move a muscle as one of his men, a skinny skinhead type of guy aimed to throw a punch at me. He promptly "tripped" smacking his head against another lackey and knocking the both of them out.

"How unfortunate…I really pity you. You don't even realize how stupid you are." He growled and I stomped on his chest, taking another chunk of his aura.

"You…"

"You can't hurt me, you know that right? None of you have the balls or skills to try. And if one of you do? I'm not stupid enough to go in like Leeroy Jenkins and getting myself killed." He shivered and with a final kick, knocked him out.

I gave a distasteful frown against the shattered window, and while I could have used my semblance to fix it, the shards were a little too scattered for me to do so. Also a little too much attention for my taste…

Shortly after that little incident we were questioned by the Vale police who seemed…oddly more competent than I would have once expected them to be. But that seems to be something that applies to Vale in general.

Whether that's because we're in the past or if something has shifted in the last few years I have no damn idea.

I…still wondered how my old home was doing…at this point it had been at least seventeen years since I died and was reborn here, regaining most of my memories around eleven.

That would make it around…2035? At that point we'll likely have a few dozen people on Mars or maybe even a hundred if SpaceX have anything to say about it. Millions of electric vehicles with ranges exceeding two hundred miles, or even up to five hundred for some.

Genomic technology should be ramping up at that point with more advanced and precise forms of CRISPR. Climate change will probably be irreversible since we've faffed about since the 80s. There will be more than eight billion people in comparison to a hundred and fifty million people here.

"Summer?" I broke out of my inner monologue when Raven shook my shoulder.

"What is it?" She flushed the slightest, passing her scroll so I could make out some news.

There seemed to be a news cast of some variety, showing…

Doctor Kitsune?

"You say you've started launching your 'Voidship' already Doctor?"

The mature fox faunus nodded her head with a smug smirk, her tail wagging excitedly "Indeed, at our current rate plans are for the Orbital Transmit System to be fully online within three weeks. Several launch pads have been constructed across the globe, including two pads in Vale, three in Atlas, two in Mistral and Vacuo and even a single pad within Menagerie."

I blinked at the surprise and footage played of the several constructed locations. Small towns were springing to life around the important locations, though oddly enough they didn't tell any of the specifics of where they were…

Probably for the best, and I could see a healthy dose of what looked like upsized versions of my precious gun. Some measured six meters if I was right on my estimates, probably firing a 10 kilogram round at…I don't know 8 km/s?

A few shots from those could bring down a grand Goliath.

Another oddity for the ones outside of Atlas were the tall walls built as well as the general circular structure of the city. I know some towns made use of Earth dust to uplift stone structure or reinforced roads but this…seemed different.

Regardless it was clear these cities were built with killing as many Grimm as possible if an invasion happend, though I had my doubts that would happen.

"And how much will this cost the taxpayers? Billions of Liens on something with barely any use whatsoever?" Kitsune raises an eyebrow and the reporter's calm and confident look broke.

"Ohh? Is that what you think? I'll have you know that this supposedly "useless" program earns a sizable profit, every Lien invested here adds two Lien back to the global economy. With the addition of the OTS, we can communicate across the globe with even greater ease. No more expensive and difficult to build relays, only a tiny box to provide a connection to every village on our world."

"I…"

"So please…tell me how this isn't a boon to all of humanity?"

"That reporter is kind of a bitch huh?" Raven nodded in agreement, and I discreetly stepped closer, brushing hips with my partner.

"Anything else you wanna show me?"

"A few things yes…"

(Raven's POV)

"Dammit Qrow! Why did you have to be such an idiot?!" I snapped at my brother once we were alone.

"Hey you were being all suspicious like too." I growled at the rising flush in my cheeks. He wasn't wrong, it was blatantly unnecessary to react like I did.

I had no idea what had come over me…

"It's Summer isn't it?" I held back an urge to clock my brother in the head.

"And what exactly do you mean by that dear brother?" An eyebrow twitches involuntarily, and Qrow paled to my satisfaction.

"Uh, I just…I know you want to find out what she's hiding right? It's pretty easy to tell, I am your brother after all."

"Fair enough." I relaxed, taking off my shoes and wiggling my now freed toes.

"And the fact you have the hots for her doesn't help…"

You…

POW!

"FUCK! You b…" I smiled showing my teeth. "Beautiful sister of mine who I love very much."

"I'll show you mercy for the time being. We have more important things to discuss." Qrow turned serious, his eyes narrowing at my change in tone.

"What is it then?"

I took a deep breath. "It's about the future. Once we complete our training here."

"Once we go back to the tribe you mean?"

My lips pursed at his statement, and he looked at me in amazement. "You have that look in your eye. You always said you loved the tribe like family. What the hell changed?"

"I discovered something…while we were leaving I overheard a conversation from Spring."

Qrow hissed. "Spring?! The leader of the Branwen?! Our leader? If she caught you, she'd kill you!" I looked at my hands, remembering the thing she had made contact with.

A gigantic and frightening black knight…

"She's made some type of deal…a dangerous one. And even if we become as strong as her…it's unlikely we'll survive the crossfire."

"I…what the hell Raven?"

I was…

"Woah are you okay?"

Was I shaking? Why was I…

"Hey come here for a minute. If you need a shoulder to cry on you can have it."

Spring is a fool…and she's doomed our tribe to extinction.

(Unknown POV)

Deep within the lands of Mistral two warriors met, one a seemingly dainty women with green hair and red eyes, and the other a black armored behemoth, carrying a sword two meters in length.

A rather disparate and interesting pair, the women while waifish had murdered many many people in her day, and would kill many more before her life came to an end.

The man, a man of science twisted by grief and rage into an unyielding berserker. A being of vengeance and hate, much unlike the women.

She killed many, but she took no particular pleasure in her deeds. She was merely doing what she needed to do, so she could survive in a cruel and hostile world.

And the gift of incredible power that the world gave her didn't hurt.

"So all we have to do is kill as many Huntsmen as possible?"

"Indeed, my benefactor is willing to pay you in Dust and supplies, as well as a sizable quantity of Lien."

"An interesting deal we've made huh? If you hadn't proved you were good for it I would have gutted you for such a stupid plan."

"Just leave some for my…experiments and you will be rewarded handsomely…"

The women looked unsure but she decided to simply go with it. Whoever the benefactor was, they would elevate the Branwen clan to legendary status.

"So you've brought in the Red Hand too? That may prove an issue for my clan, since we have faunus among us."

"They are simply useful tools for us, they will prove a suitable distraction for my master's goal."

"If you're sure…" the women sighed, and turned on her heels leaving the Berserker to his devices.

The black knight froze when he heard a ringing sound, carefully removing a vibrating scroll from his hand. A single photo sent the knight into a frenzy and he barely kept himself from shattering his electronic device in apoplectic rage.

It was an image of a coffee place, as six men are beaten down by a white cloaked women in a black dress. In the image he could see the face of a women he had not seen in a long, long time. But her knew that women was dead, so it could only her her child. The man took a deep breath, placing the device away.

"You…betrayed me…all those years ago. You did not help me quench my thirst for vengeance and justice. We could have destroyed them all, we had the power and the means to do so."

The man of science was now nothing but a chained beast, chained to a petty woman corrupted first by grief like he was, and then corrupted by the endless pool of nightmares and destruction.

"You do not help me. So to take vengeance I will make her suffer. And then…"

His body exploded with power and aura, the ground crumbling beneath his feet. Attracted to his sheer negativity, hundreds of prowling Grimm surrounded him.

They pounced…

"Atlas will burn!"

The Grimm screamed as multicolored light exploded outwards, and the land vanished into dust.