A/N: ATTENTION! I know I said I'd let you guys give me ideas for York X Winter names, but I'd like to insert my own suggestion: Winter State, State because of York's codename as a State of America. Tell me what you think, and I'm still open to suggestions. If mine wins, te second-best will still get the prize.

Disclaimer: I don't have the rights to these shows, they belong to Rooster Teeth.

0ooooooooo0

273 Ironrose

York

"Delta squad, you were Freelancers?" Winter questioned.

"Affirmative." Georgia told her. "Sorry we never showed you the armor, we swore each other to secrecy."

"What the hell-" South started

"Language." Utah warned.

"Whatever, Mormon." South brushed it off. "What are you doing in York's house? How'd you even find York before us?"

"Echo Mozarch was assigned to bring in the vigilante, and I was sent to help him. We went on our first date before I knew…"

"I'm sorry." York quickly added.

"So… You two are sleeping together?" Georgia, asked, "Well hot damn-"

"Lan- oh, forget it."

Georgia plowed on through, "You sure did land a fine woman, I thought you'd never get over Carolina."

"We're not sleeping together, she just spends the night occasionally." York told them, not missing the glare Winter gave him.

"York, you dated Carolina?"

The gold freelancer winced.

"Aw, hell." North mumbled, then started backing towards the door. "Hey, I got all our scroll numbers on this paper. If you're still alive, give us a ring."

And with that, York was abandoned.

"York, I thought you and Carolina were just partners?" Winter demanded.

"For all it was worth, we were. We both knew we had feelings for each other, but she was more obsessed with being top dog, and she didn't want to breach protocol… She valued Project Freelancer more than she wanted to be with me." York sighed. "I think I'm over it all now."

"You 'think' you're over it?"

"Well, it's a new life here for me, and I haven't seen her anywhere around, so all I know is, she's dead, and right now, I only care about you." York told her. "And if that's not enough, then I guess I'm not."

Winter stared at him. "Anything else you haven't told me?"

"Uh, let's see here: I'm a vigilante, I'm from another planet, I used to love this girl a few years ago, but she's nowhere near here." He ticked off his finger. "Oh, there is one thing." He scratched his head, embarrassed he still hadn't told her.

"And what is that?" Winter glared at him.

"Delta."

"Delta?" She repeated.

"When I was in the project, some of the Freelancers were given Artificial Intelligence units, to help run their armor and enhancements and assist them in battle."

"AI?" Winter asked. "Like a super-computer?"

"Well, fragments of an AI, the Director was only given one. They took that AI and tortured him, so that he made fragments of himself based on personality. The first was his logic, so he couldn't tell what was happening to him. That's Delta."

"And where is he now?"

York hissed in a breath. "Well, you know that scar on the back of my neck?"

"Yeah, it feels like a little rectangular bump.

"Well, the AI can be placed there, it's actually where he is right now."

"The AI is inside you?" She practically shouted.

"But he can port to other machines, like my armor and the holo-projector over there."

"So this entire night, he's been watching us?" Winter said frantically.

"No, for the most part, he was in the CCT, analyzing data in case someone was in trouble, but he ported into my brain just before the Freelancers showed up."

"So where is he now?"

Tell her I'm jumping to the holo-projector. Delta said in his mind, which York hastily repeated.

"Greetings, Winter Schnee. I am Delta." The AIs voice told her as the projectors hummed to life, generating his armored form.

"York, why didn't you tell me?"

"I was afraid you'd think I was crazy."

Winter shook her head. "Out of all the things that are odd about you, the fact you have an AI implanted in your skull is the least worrying." She told him. "Although it is cool. Implanting Smart AI into a human partner is at least a decade beyond Atlas tech."

York hummed. "So, are you mad at me?"

Winter leaned in and kissed him lightly. "I feel like I should be, but no."

"Delta Squad?"

Winter sighed. "They showed up months ago, and then we hired them as Spec-Ops, sending them to secure targets, assassinate some leader of corrupt organizations, the works."

"Looks like they couldn't stop being soldiers." York said to himself.

Winter smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Looks like they're not the only ones."

0oooooooooooo0

273 Ironrose, one week later

York

"You got North killed by the Meta?" York demanded, glaring at South.

"I'm not mad about it. I always knew I'd be willing to sacrifice myself for her, though I never expected it to go down like that."

"I said I was sorry." South told him.

"And I'm sorry for killing you." Maine told him.

North shook his head. "You weren't really in control, but I don't think Theta will ever warm up to you."

"Speaking of AIs, what did you do with Sigma?" York asked, and Maine's face darkened.

"Sigma is here?"

North shuddered. "No. We destroyed his chip as soon as we found it. And yes, we're sure he was inside." He told Maine, who was about to raise that very question.

"And Omega never showed up." South told them.

York took another bite of his cheeseburger. He'd scheduled a meeting with his old colleagues at a burger joint in west Vale. They'd been catching up, one by one, for two hours.

"As soon as I landed, I met Georgia and we teamed up." North told them. "Then we met with Alabama a few weeks later. He'd been traveling with Wyoming when the Meta attacked. Wyoming got away just as he died."

"Is he still telling knock-knock jokes?" York asked.

North nodded. "And they still sucked."

0ooooooooooo0

That night

Agent York, there is a situation nearby. Possible White Fang activity 500 yards from your position. Delta spoke mentally.

In his armor, York stood. "Trouble, 500 yards east."

Behind him on the roof, the other Old freelancers, clad in their armor, rose to their feet. "Then let's get moving." North spoke.

Maine growled in agreement, then the Freelancers began to leap from roof to roof, approaching a nearby Dust refining facility. York saw the facility up ahead, and sure enough, there were multiple fang members.

"Seems like they're beefing up security." York stated, noticing not only the increased numbers of Fang goons but also the half-dozen brutes that seemed to tower above the rest, one with a huge chainsaw in hand.

York leapt into the air, aided by Remnant's gravity laws: easy to go up, but with a hard landing, and when he did, it made a crater, then stood from his kneeling position and drew his BR, shooting into the mass of White Fang. He heard his old friends land as well, and as they slowly took out each of the goons, they came ever closer to the Fang brutes.

York had drawn Firestorm to begin dueling with a cat Faunus when he was blindsided by a man with a huge baseball bat. He was knocked clean off his feet and a few yards away. York shifted his weapon into sniper form and started firing at the huge brute that had attacked him, fire dust rounds quickly eating away at the giant's Aura.

Then, Maine came from nowhere, barreling into the Fang brute's side. The two colossal giants swung for each other, but Maine ducked under the bat's swing and sliced the man's chest with Regret's blade, then kicked the man off balance before blowing him off his feet with the grenade launcher.

York then saw the Freelancer Brute's next problem, a second Fang giant came from behind, a hefty broadsword raised for a crushing blow, York tried to warn Maine, but before he could say a word, Maine was flown back, hitting the ground hard.

York shot round after round out of his BR and SMG as he made his way towards Maine. The man was pushing himself into a crouch. York slid his BR onto his back and offered a hand. "You okay?"

Maine smacked it away with a growl, then got to his feet. He turned towards the man who had scored the shot. Maine lifted Regret, then began to fire at the man.

Nimbly, the Fang brute rolled out of the way, then rushed towards Maine, a fist raised for a bone-crushing punch. It descended towards the Freelancer. And with a wave of pressure and energy. Maine caught the deathly blow.

With a growl, Maine grabbed the man's other hand and twisted the broadsword out of his grip, then lifted the man by his throat before slamming him onto the ground face-first. Kneeling with his bent leg over the brute's back, Maine picked up the back of the man's head, then began to slam his face over and over again into the concrete.

"Maine, no!" York cried, knowing that currently, the Freelancer was angry enough to go too far.

But it seemed Maine payed him no heed, as his opponent continued to have his face pummeled into the pavement, blood spurting from his nose and other wounds on his face until Maine finally had enough, and there was nothing left of the man's face except a bloody mess of muscle and bone. He stood, shaking, armor soaked with blood, and turned to face the remaining White Fang members. They all took one of three options.

One, many ran away in pure fear.

Two, others laid down their weapons, looking with the same amount of fear, some with soiled pants.

Three, a few even fainted, so scared out of their minds at the fearsome brute that their brains stopped working.

"I told you he was too dangerous!" South cried next to them. "He can't control himself! He can't listen to orders."

"South, stop." North pleaded, but South Dakota walked straight up to Maine, stopping a few yards away.

She pointed an accusing finger at him. "You're still nothing but a monster. You don't belong here."

Maine growled, then lifted his weapon. "You are the one out of control, selfish little girl."

"Whatever, monster. You're nothing without a master at you're leash. At least when Sigma was controlling you had some sort of control. Without him, all you are is a power-hungry monster."

"South." North warned.

"Oh, what's he going to do, shoot me?" She cried.

A series of explosions surrounded and blew the purple Freelancer off her feet. When she landed, blood covered her armor and her helmet was knocked off her head, revealing her pale blonde hair. Her face had blood on the left cheek, and her eyes were closed, as if asleep.

"NO!" North cried, rushing to her side.

Maine lowered his weapon, and tore off his helmet, a look of horror overcoming his features. He looked at his weapon, covered in blood, and dropped it, along with his helmet, then took off running.

"Maine!" York called out, but the Freelancer didn't turn back.

"Should we go after him?"

Suddenly, the brute disappeared. "Where'd he go?"

York sighed. "He used his temporal distortion unit. He's long gone."

North looked over to them. "York, I need your healing unit, ASAP, she's still breathing!"

York took a final look in Maine's last known area, then rushed over. "We'll bring him back."

"Are you crazy? He'll kill us all!" Georgia cried.

"He just lost control, it's not like we haven't killed someone before. He was hurt, enraged, and lost. Besides, if we leave him, he could cause more damage than if he were under our eyes." York protested as he connected his healing unit to South's armor, letting Delta run the program.

"Warning: We need to get South to a hospital ASAP." Delta told her.

"I've already called an ambulance." Utah told them.

"Thanks, Mormon." North said.

Utah shrugged. "It's what I'm here for."

0ooooooooooo0

273 Ironrose, the next morning

York

"I'm coming with you." Winter told York as he was packing his saddlebags full of supplies.

"Absolutely not." York told her. "He's unbalanced right now, too many people and he'll think we've come to kill him. It'll be me, North, and Rowan only. We've known him for the longest and the other Freelancers still haven't forgiven him."

"Rowan? Why is he going?"

"I need someone to watch my back and Maine knows him, their good friends."

"Why can't I go? I know Maine, too."

"Not as well as Rowan. Plus, I don't want you hurt."

"I don't want you hurt either, which is why I'm going to do this." Winter told him, then after a quick kiss, took him by the hand. "For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee."

A bright fiery aura surrounded York, and his eyes glowed before fading, there was silence, the York spoke. "What the heck just happened?"

"I unlocked your Aura. I know you're going without your armor, so I figured it was time."

York shook his head. "I'm not even sure I should have an Aura."

"Every soul on Remnant does. You're on Remnant, you have one." She told him. "But I'm still coming with you."

Her scroll rang, and she drew it from her pocket. She pressed a button and held it to her ear. "General Ironwood?"

York pulled away and shrugged his armor in backpack form onto his back, then lifted the saddlebags onto his shoulder and a duffel full of weapons in his other hand.

"You want me back now?" Winter asked. "Understood sir, I'll be on that bullhead." With that, she hung up. "Ironwood is calling me back to atlas for a few weeks, to train some new operatives. You be safe, and if you die, I'll resurrect you and beat you to death."

York nodded, then gave her a quick kiss. "I'll call you when I can."

And with that, York headed to Maine.

0oooooooooooo0

York

"Yeah, I saw the giant man walk in last night, bought one of my horses and supplies and took off towards the southwest. He wasn't wearing any armor, though." An old man told York, feeding a brown mare in the stalls of a horse lot. "He did have a large duffel bag, it could have been in there."

York nodded. "That'd be him." He looked to North. "He's heading for the Wilds."

Rowan's face paled and York turned back to the man. "We need three good horses, able to move long periods of time and far distances."

The man nodded, then called down the barn, "Hey, Rey, bring out four of our best."

"Four? There's only three-" York was interrupted by a tap on the shoulder from Rowan. York turned to see a red-hooded girl behind him. "Ruby, what are you doing here?" He asked incredulously.

"Professor Ozpin assigned us to accompany a Huntsman for a month, whether on or off a mission, and I was assigned to you. I heard that Maine ran off."

"Which is why you can't come." York protested. "Maine's probably a little unstable. We need people who know Maine, and who he trusts, and who can take care of themselves."

Ruby began ticking off fingers. "I know Maine, I helped create his voice synthesizer, which gained his trust and friendship, and I can take care of myself!" She stated indignantly. "Besides, I'm supposed to go on missions with you, Ozpin's orders. He fully expected me to be in the heat of danger."

York sighed, placing his head in his hands. "Fine. Four horses."

0ooooooo0

A/N: I listened to multiple songs by Gustavo Santaolalla (which I don't own) and applied them to these scenes. I invite you to do the same.

Song: Vamos

Grimm Wilds, hours later

York

The area York and the New Freelancers travelled was very rocky, the occasional spot of trees giving them breaks from the hot sun, something they'd have to deal with as they travelled farther out. Trees, which had once been plentiful as they had left Vale's Southwestern wall, now were scarce, replaced with mesquite bushes and the odd cacti. Each of the New Freelancers had dressed accordingly. York was dressed like how you'd imagine a cowboy look. He wore a grey T-shirt and his usual denim jacket, a brown duster jacket covering his body and a red bandana tied around his neck, hanging slightly to the side of his face. His usual square-toed boots were perfect for horse-riding. A cowboy hat with a flat brim sat on top of his head, a pair of sunglasses resting underneath, and in two cases stuck in the straps of the saddle sat his shotgun and a .30-30, both loaded and ready.

North was dressed similarly, but he wore a black trench coat and no hat, although he did have a pair of sunglasses on. He had a sniper rifle in a case, and a BR on his back.

Rowan hadn't changed, but he had his hood and mask, jacket zipped up, but his sword and pistol visible outside of it, easier to reach.

Along with Rowan, Ruby was dressed very normally, in her usual clothes except for the black-with-a-tinge-of-red trench coat with crimson trim, Crescent Rose in carry-form on a magnetic plate on her back. She wore a red bandana on her neck as well.

They rode through the Red Canyon, York's eyes wary for signs of ambush, North ready to deploy the bubble shield, but they passed without incident, ascending from the canyon as the sun neared the horizon.

"Alright, let's set up camp." York told them. "Rowan, you're on fire duty. Everyone else, get set up, we're sleeping here."

"What about Grimm?" Ruby asked.

"Out here, the only ones we have to worry about small King Taijitu and Deathstalkers. They won't be able to take us." Rowan stated. "It starts getting bad around the mountains and Death Valley."

"Who'd have thought?" North quipped. "Turns out every planet has a Death Valley."

0ooooooooooooo0

Song: The Choice- Santaolalla

York

After a dinner of warmed biscuits and stew, courtesy of North, and the miracle of Ruby sharing a single cookie to each member from her enormous stash, everyone had retreated to their sleeping pads, most using their saddles as pillows. York set Delta to scan for threats for a few hours, then York would take over for watch duty.

But now, he looked up to the skies hands cradling his head, the many stars and the shattered moon of Remnant entrancing him in deep thought of his lost comrade.

"We're going to get him back, right?" He heard Ruby's small voice speak softly. The reaper lay a few feet away, in the same position as he was.

"We will, Ruby." York affirmed.

"Why does everyone hate him?" She asked.

York sighed. "We don't hate him because of who he is, we hated who he was, and that can sometimes be hard to forget, especially for South."

"But he doesn't deserve it!" Ruby said sadly. "He's already so filled with sadness, and all around him, he can feel that hate radiating off of the people who he used to know, some his friends, all because of some AI that turned him evil."

"Everyone wants power at some point in their lives, Ruby. Some think they can make everything better, some for their own personal gain. Sigma twisted Maine's desire for power, even after they'd all gone."

"Then why does he want to change now?" Ruby asked.

"Perhaps he realized that he wanted power for the right reasons, or maybe he realized the greatest lesson of all."

Ruby turned to look at him, while York kept looking at the stars. "What's that?"

"That the most powerful man in the world is also the weakest. Power not only corrupts you: it feeds you. Take that power away, all that's left is a shell that wants more, weak and unable to even defend itself. Maine never wanted to be considered weak, and I think he realized that these AI, the abilities, the armor, it made him, as a singular person, weaker than he could be." York explained.

Ruby took a deep breath. "I guess that makes sense. But why can't the others see it that way?"

York glanced over at the girl. "He's still wrestling for control, Ruby. There's an internal struggle in everyone, good vs. evil. Maine has good in his heart, but in moments of negative emotion, that same evil he's been living with for years comes up and grabs him, shaking loose all the rational thought and morals he fight's so hard to keep."

"Thanks York."

York hummed, then turned onto his side, ready to fall into the arms of sleep. A couple hours later, he began his shift, cleaning his weapons, sharpening his blades as he scanned the area for Grimm. Soon, his shift ended, and he went back to sleep, dreaming of snow-white hair and soft lips.

0ooooooooo0

Song: The Last of Us (Goodnight)- Santaolalla

York

Waking with a sudden start, York's hand immediately went to his shotgun, which lay by his side, then sat up and scanned the area. There were no threats, so he looked to the person on shift. Ruby Rose was slouched over onto Crescent Rose, head laid against it. York stood, stepping around to see her face, eyes closed, mouth slightly open and drooling.

York smiled and shook his head, then lifted the sleeping reaper into his arms, the girl instinctively turning to lean into him, head tucked into the crook of his arm. With gentle care, he laid the reaper onto her mat, and the teen curled into a ball. York took her scythe and collapsed it into carry-mode, laying it next to Ruby before standing straight and stretching.

Off in the distance, he heard howling, but paid no mind, Delta assured him it was too far away for them to be a threat for now. York took over for the rest of Ruby's shift, then woke Rowan for the final block and went back to sleep an hour before the sun even began to promise its rise.