December 4th, 2040

8:30 AM

As the group got closer to their destination, they began to gain more of a bond with one another. They exchanged tales about this and that, some of the tales impressing Velvet, and some stories about the few times that they almost got caught.

"And I thought that my mom caught me, but she thought that I had a lighter and searched my room for cigarettes," Jaune said.

Ruby and Coco laughed while Velvet looked ahead.

"Look," She pointed.

The three looked in the direction that Velvet was pointing and saw the city just up ahead, the sun had just barely rising over the horizon.

"We made it Ruby… we made it," Jaune smiled.

But they were not the only ones who were arriving at the city that day…

9:12 AM

Taiyang walked into the police station to see that all of the police officers were replaced with military soldiers, one of which noticed Tai and placed his hand forward.

"Citizen, the precinct is under military control."

"Military control?"

"With the recent news about the G.G.B, we have been advised to take over as Burlington is close to the Canadian Border."

"Look, I am Lieutenant Long, I am here to see Agent Callows," Tai pulled out his badge and handed it to the soldier.

The soldier examined the badge and handed it back to Taiyang.

"Follow me," the soldier said.

Taiyang followed soldier as he walked into the G.D.T.F department. The room was empty, with only one man standing in the center as he stared at a wall of monitors.

"Agent Callows, I presume?"

The man looked at Taiyang before looking back at the monitors.

"Taiyang Xiao Long. The infamous fifty-eight year old lieutenant, and head of Queen's Grimm Detainment Task Force, who is chasing his Grimm daughter, Ruby Rose, and her Grimm accomplice, Jaune Arc. I must admit that you are an interesting type of human, Mr. Long."

"What type of human is that?"

Agent Callows looked at Taiyang, "The kind that will stop at nothing to get results. I see myself as the same type of person. I look forward to working with you and perhaps, you might save your daughter from the coming hellfire."

Agent Callows gave a very sadistic smirk and chuckle as he looked back at the monitors.

"What do you mean the coming hellfire?"

"The vote for the G.G.B is done now, and the votes are being counted. And might I say, it does not look good for the Grimm. It is quite disappointing, I must admit."

"What?"

"The Grimm could have been valuable soldiers, but I am not the one making the rules, I only follow my orders to the period. Don't you agree?"

"All that I care to talk about at the moment is finding Ruby," Taiyang said.

"Hmph… Very well, let us begin the game of cat and mouse," Agent Callows said.

8:45 AM

As Jaune pulled into an alleyway of the town, it took every fiber of Ruby's being not to shout in joy that they had arrived. The town itself was relatively quiet at the moment, its buildings had themed decorations. Looking out from the alleyway, Ruby saw children were laughing in their pajamas in the middle of the street.

"Be on the lookout. We might be ahead of the police but that doesn't mean that the G.D.T.F isn't aware of… us." Jaune said as he looked down the alley to make sure the coast was clear.

"Did you notice the military here," Coco asked.

"Yeah… that isn't a good sign," Jaune said.

"It looked like they were setting up a checkpoint on the northern part of the city as we came in, so as long as we steer clear of that area, we should be fine," Ruby said.

Velvet, still in the car, turned on the radio.

'—have become a greater threat than any of us could have possibly realized.'

"Vel, turn that off."

"No, wait… listen," Ruby said.

'That is why I have no choice in the matter anymore and I am listening to the voices of you, my fellow Americans. I have begun moving domestic troops to guard our neighboring border into Canada. While this will take time and resources, know that many cities that are close have begun to volunteer their resources to help in any way that they can. This is what America is, fighting our common enemy as one. I must be going now, but expect a result on the G.G.B soon.'

"No, I'm turning it off," Coco said.

As Coco turned off the radio, she noticed the fear in Velvet's eyes.

"Hey, it's okay Vel," Coco said as she held her sister's hand.

"I want to go home, Coco," Velvet said.

"We can't go home, Vel. The people who knew where we live were going to hurt us, so we had to leave and now we are going to a new home. One where no one can hurt us," Coco said.

"Will Grandma be there?"

"Maybe, but we have to get to our new home to be sure."

"Coco, we need to find The Light. Do you know where they are?"

Coco backed away from Velvet to look at Jaune, "When Willow and I would deliver Grimm, the transaction spots would be different, but it was always in the same area."

"Where is that," Ruby asked.

9:20 AM

Taiyang woke up form his sudden slumber with a confused look on his face.

"What happened?"

Looking back towards the monitors, he saw Agent Callows was still staring at the monitors, "You collapsed from exhaustion, so I had the private move you to a more comfortable spot."

"Why don't I remember falling asleep?"

"You have been chasing your daughter for days without stopping, it appears that your body finally gave in. It does not matter now that you are awake."

"Well… has there been any progress?"

"There was a camera recording of a truck matching Willow Adel's coming into the city. However that truck has disappeared. I believe that they likely ditched the vehicle and are searching for The Light at this very moment. Until there is more news, I must insist that you get some more rest."

"No, that isn't—"

"Unfortunately," As Agent Callows said that word, Private Caboose walked in, "I was not asking you for permission. I refuse to work with someone who is not at peak condition."

Taiyang looked to the private and sighed before walking towards the door.

"Should any news come regarding your daughter, I shall order someone to bring you."

As Taiyang walked out of the room and he could hear the door shut all the way, Agent Callows focused on a monitor that showed Ruby and the others running down an alleyway.

"Where are you going, little Rose?"

9:21

Walking into the break room, Taiyang saw that there was no one in there, but there was a cot with a pillow and blanket.

"This is where you will be staying," Private Caboose said.

Taiyang nodded and the Private proceeded away from the break room, leaving Taiyang alone with his thoughts, or rather his thoughts and Summer.

As she stood before him, he saw the look of anger and fear in her eyes.

"Tai, you must stop! Please!"

"I can't…"

"Should you continue, and you will find pain and death."

"I am going crazy…" Taiyang said as he sat down on the cot.

"You know it too, that agent is not to be trusted with our daughter."

"He will help me find Rub—"

"You would help him kill Ruby!"

Taiyang stood up and yelled, "If it comes to that, then it will be out of my hands!"

As he stared at the horrific look on his late wife's face, Taiyang turned to sit back down.

"Then that night, both you and I died in that crash."

Looking back towards Summer, Taiyang saw that she was gone and in her place, Private Caboose walked in, "Did you say something?"

"No… I was just thinking about something."

9:27 AM

"We're here," Coco said.

While Velvet seemed happy to "arrive", Ruby and Jaune were just confused by the location.

"Coco, this is just a park."

"No shit, just follow me."

Coco walked ahead of the others until she was standing on top of a pothole.

"Here," Coco said.

Following Coco to the grate, Ruby was the first to notice what was different.

"Jaune look," Ruby said as she kneeled down and placed her hand on the pothole.

Along the detailing of the lid, it said 'Libertas Et Alii'.

"Freedom for others," Ruby said.

"And when did you learn Latin fluently?"

"I had some time in the car," Ruby said.

"Jaune, keep an eye on that way. Vel and I will watch this direction. Ruby, get the pothole open."

"On it," Ruby said as she pulled out her translation book.

'Ferrum: iron'

Ruby aimed her hand at the pothole and said, "Ferrum."

As Ruby felt the connection with the iron plate, she struggled slightly as she slowly raised the plate out of the ground. Once it had been lifted, Ruby flung her arms slightly to the right slamming the plate onto the ground and cracking the cement.

"I got it," Ruby said as she sighed from slight exhaustion.

"Good, now follow me," Coco said as she climbed down.

9:45 AM

Tyrian watched the kids remove the pothole and slowly go into the sewers.

"Interesting."

"Shall I go and wake Mr. Long, sir?"

"No."

"Sir?"

"Should Mr. Long discover where his daughter is, he will try to extract her and that will only end badly for him now that they have gone into the sewers. A network that has many entrances and exits? He would more likely die from the smell before a Grimm kills him."

"Very well, sir."

9:46 AM

As Ruby made it to the bottom, the smell had quickly filled her nostrils and she gagged.

"Oh god… this is disgusting."

"Not now, Ruby," Jaune said.

"What do you mean—"

"We aren't alone," Coco said.

As soon as Coco said that, Ruby saw two figures running towards them from both sides. They had random clothes on, the only thing that they all had in common were the white bandanas on their faces. Before the four could reaction, they all had pulled out knives.

"Coco," Jaune asked.

But when he looked at Coco, he saw that she was unfazed by the supposed thieves.

"Who are you," One of the masked individuals asked.

"We seek The Light."

"The Light? There is no light here," The four heard a man with a very deep voice say as he walked out from around a corner. He was older looking, but his bandana hid his face as well.

Coco took a step towards the man, seemingly unfazed by his intimidating look. But as she took that step one of the individuals placed the tip of their knife against her neck.

"Hold," The man said as he waited for Coco to speak.

"Dixit hoc ante me."

There was a pause and the air was foul as he chuckled and nodded his head, "Et ill respondit quod in rostra lingua. You claim to search for The Light, and yet I still have not seen any evidence that you met with any of our allies. Who did you meet with?"

"Willow Adel," Jaune said.

The Grimm looked to their supposed leader who just said, "Show me proof."

Ruby stepped forward and handed the man the paper that she was given by Willow. Taking it in his hands, the man said, "Revelet deus absconsa tua."

The paper began to glow and showed a second symbol. The man's eyes widened and looked at us.

"Then it is as I fear… Haven has truly fallen," He said as he looked to Coco and Velvet, "I knew your grandmother for years. She saved my life."

"You're Hazel," Ruby said.

Hazel removed his bandana and nodded before he looked at his fellow Grimm, "Lower your weapons. These are lost Grimm seeking freedom like the others."

The four Grimm sheathed their blades and pulled lightbulbs.

"Clara," They all said.

Ruby watched in awe as all four of the lightbulbs activated in their hands, revealing more of their disgusting surroundings.

"If you would follow me," He said before looking at the Grimm behind Ruby and Jaune, "Keep lookout."

The two nodded put their lights away and ran deeper into the sewer system.

"We have been keeping up with you two," Hazel said to Ruby and Jaune, "I must say that I am most impressed with the things that you have done. You two would make fine members of The Light."

"Well, we have heard much about you, so to hear that would be a compliment, sir," Ruby said, "Is it true that you took down the Maine Institution?"

"It required the cooperation of those within as well as stealth. That wall came down before they even knew what had hit them."

"What about the March on Beacon? What happened there," Jaune asked.

"That bloodbath? There is not much to say. We marched, we fought, we lost. Had it not been for Willow, I surely would be dead alongside our brothers and sisters in arms. The people we lost… I still see some of their faces when I sleep," Hazel said.

Looking towards Coco and Velvet, he realized something, "Velvet, do you still have that translation book I gave you?

Velvet looked to her sister for confirmation.

"Go ahead, Vel," Coco said.

Velvet reached into her bag and pulled out the book to show Hazel, who smiled at the sight of the text.

"That is good to see. I would hate to lose what little is left of our language. What about the two of you?"

"I have my own translation book, but it is not as helpful as Velvet's," Ruby said.

"Well, I must say that regardless of that small disadvantage, you two have done much in such a short amountof time."

"There were some moments when things got tense," Ruby said.

Jaune looked down.

"Many have had these moments of darkness. This is not uncommon during these stressful times. Sometimes, we say things that we do not truly mean and some things must be said to reveal the painful truth of a situation. The strength of our bonds are not tested by the restraints during a fight, but how we rebuild once the fight is over."

The group turned and reached the end of a sewer passage.

"Hazel, have you starting to forget your way down here?"

"Please Miss Adel, you know me to be better than that," Hazel said as he placed his hand on the wall. Pushing forward, Hazel fazed through the wall, shocking the children.

Deciding to go head first and eyes shut, Ruby walked through the wall and heard Hazel.

"Welcome… to The Light."

Opening her eyes, Ruby saw something taht felt unreal. It was a giant "empty room" that was filled with wonder. Lights dangling from the ceiling, a small makeshift kitchen with a man cooking some food, there was even holiday music playing. A Grimm who was recently wounded was resting in a corner of the room with another Grimm beside him.

As Jaune and the others proceeded through the fake wall, Ruby released an audible, "Whoa…"

Hazel chuckled, "I appreciate your childish wonder, Miss Rose."

"This is place is amazing…" Ruby said.

"How do you guys manage to hide out here," Jaune asked.

"We keep everything timed to what is happening on the surface. At this moment," Hazel checked his watch, "ten in the morning, they are celebrating the christmas festival across town, so we are enjoying a small festival of our own. During this time, we also send someone up top to get some supplies for the others."

"Wouldn't that be suspicious," Coco asked.

"Yes, and that is why we send people out on random days to different stores. That way, the authorities would be unable to track us thoroughly."

"Hazel," the group heard a man say as he approached Hazel, "We have a connection with Liberteria."

"Thank you Sun. My apologies, but I must go now. Your sleeping areas are over there," Hazel pointed to the corner of the room, "Sun can show you to them. May The Light guide you."

As he walked away, Sun guided the children to their sleeping area.

"Hey guys, so we have only a few rules. No explosive spells or any illegal spells. No drugs and no leaving withoutt approving it with Hazel. Pietro is our chef and makes a killer curry, isnt that right Pietro?"

Pietro chuckled, "This boy eats that stuff up like his life depends on it."

"That's because its so good! Anyways, you may have noticed the Grimm over in the corner who is being healed."

"What happened to him," Velvet asked.

"He got injured getting here and our healer is trying to fix him up," Sun said.

Making it to the corner, the children saw that there were four sleeping bags on the ground. Taking a step forward, Sun kneeled down.

"Check this out… fieri lectus."

Within an instant, the dirty sleeping bag became a clean and neat bed for one.

"Whoa…" Velvet said.

"Try it out."

The three Grimm walked to their respected beds and said the same spell, creating their own representation of what a bed was. When Ruby opened her eyes, she saw that it was her bed from home and while it was cool to see that the spell work, she was sad to have a painful reminder of home.

"Well, I have to go check in with Hazel. Food will be ready soon. Welcome to The Light."

"Here, let's get you out of those shoes Vel," Coco said.

As Coco helped her sister, Ruby embraced Jaune in a tight hug.

"Whoa," Jaune chuckled, "What's up Ruby?"

"We made it…" Ruby said.

"I'll say that when we get across the border," Jaune said as he patted Ruby's back, "But… I guess it is a nice feeling that we made it this far."

Breaking contact, Jaune walked over to his bed and fell on to it. As he laid there, Jaune started laughing.

"What's so funny?" I asked, chuckling at his laughter.

"I've been gone from home for a short amount of time, but it feels like ages since I have been in my own bed."

Ruby sat on her own bed and it was just as she remembered it… she just wishes that it was her real bed.

December 4th, 2040

4:30 PM

Senator Hill stood with her supporters in a deadly silence as she saw Vice President Hargrove appear before them.

"After checking the ballots multiple times, seven to be exact, we have a final number for the vote of the Grimm Genocide Bill. The results are in and the leaders of every state have made their decision. The Grimm Genocide Bill has been passed."

Robin shut her eyes and lowered her head, "And so we have become the monsters… God help us all."