"Come on, we're going to be late." Scylla said, haphazardly tearing away her roommate's bedspread as the morning sun glowed through a crack in the curtains. As much as he was used to an odd sleep schedule, an early rise was something Cyprus could never quite get used to. Already dressed in her combat gear, all but her ornate breastplate was strapped on and battle ready. After their meeting with the Headmaster and his inner circle, Ozpin organised a ship to carry the pair to their destination scheduled the very next day, it seems Ironwoods' eagerness to rid Beacon of them was met without much resistance.

"Five more minutes." The young man replied, mumbling and holding tightly onto the edge of his cover.

"You said that five...Minutes...Ago!" Scylla grunted, tugging at the sheet a couple more times before it finally came loose, exposing her almost nude roommate. Thankfully, it was a state the young woman had seen him in multiple times, and so she simply threw his towel from it's position hanging over the door and left the room to continue her preparations.

One quick shower later, Cyprus seemed much more awake, returning from the bathroom with the towel tussling his damp, messy hair. "What time do we leave?"

"About eight minutes ago."

"What, seriously!?" He shouted, his eyes opening wide before he lunged at his bag on the ground, hurriedly throwing his essentials into it and throwing on his clothing at the same time. "Come on, let's get moving!"

"I'm kidding." Scylla smirked. Stopping dead in his tracks, her friend returned to a slump and slowed his pace down tenfold. "We've got plenty of time, which we need since I know you've not even packed your toothbrush yet."

Cyprus would have had a witty retort on the table had it not been for a quick knock at the door. Thankfully due to his lack of pants he didn't have to deal with the arrivals and returned to the bathroom, clothing in hand. Scylla stood from her chair and slowly turned the door handle, a little anxious to answer.

"Hey!" A familiar voice said. "Open up!"

"Yang?" Scylla questioned, the streak of blonde prevalent as she poked her head out of the crack in the doorway before slowly opening it. Not just Yang, though, as the rest of team RWBY and the entirety of their neighbours, team JNPR in tow, letting themselves in. "What are you doing here?"

"We're here to see you off, help you pack, that kind of thing." The oldest of the group replied.

Jaune raised his hand meekly, the blonde haired boy nudged forward by his teammates who all stood just behind him, grinning. "And considering we haven't seen you in a while, it might be nice to catch up, we heard you guys won't be back for a while.

Popping up on her toes from rather close behind his shoulder, his prodigy teammate spoke up with her typical socially curious tone. "I thought expeditions are only supposed to go for a week at most, usually. We were all surprised to hear how long you would be gone for!"

Yang gave a sly wink, her story a necessary cover up that didn't go unappreciated by Scylla. And a muffled "Thankyou!" From her companion in the bathroom boomed in the small, enclosed space.

After a short time of packing, cleaning and searching. The group made their way down the halls and out of the large, rectangular building they had all called home for the past semester. Clear skies filled the large gaps left by pristine white clouds, and the light breeze did it's job well enough to cool the heat from the sun that blazed down onto them. The landing pad was quite the walk, past the decorative gardens and down the main road that led them to Beacon's beautiful stonework fountain in the center of the grounds. From there, it was a straight shot to the large transport ship that lay parked on the central platform.

"So, you guys really won't be around for the Vytal Festival?" Nora asked, looking a little downtrodden.

"Probably not," Cyprus replied. "But we'll still try to watch you guys compete when we can, the place we're staying must have a TV somewhere."

"But wouldn't you guys want to fight, too? It's like, the most amazing, spectacular show of raw power and skill that students like us can wish for!"

Scylla chuckled in response. "While that sounds fun, we've not exactly got a full roster, so I don't think we could even compete. Don't worry about us though, I'm sure all of you will do great."

"Especially you guys, you have Pyrrha! She's like a one woman army!" Cyprus exclaimed.

The redhead blushed and waved her hand in front of her. "Oh, I'm nothing special, besides it's because we're a team that I think we have a shot."

"Too modest for her own good, I think." Cyprus thought, smiling to himself.

A young man with clean cut brown hair stood leaning against the hull of the ship, smoking a cigarette and daydreaming until the group was but a few meters away, finally managing to catch his attention.

"Whoa, whoa. I was told there would be two passengers." He said, stepping between the group and the ramp to the hold, waving them off.

"Relax," The vigilante replied as he grabbed his other bag from Jaune. "Just some friends seeing us off."

The pilot sighed and made his way inside the ship, moving beside Cyprus as they ascended the ramp. "I'll get her fired up, you guys have five minutes." And moving forward into the spacious cockpit, he slid the door closed, the ship rumbling slightly as he switched on the engines, the icy blue glow frothing from both wings as the power surged through them.

As Scylla conversed with the majority of the team, Yang was the first to meet Cyprus at the base of the ramp, her arms folded.

"Hey."

"Hey? I'm not in trouble, am I?" He jested.

"Nah," The brawler began. "But I think I owe you an apology."

Confused, he cocked his head slightly. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not good at the whole, 'long distance' thing. If things went a little differently back then, and we decided to try things out, I don't think it would have gone well."

"This doesn't sound like an apology..." Cyprus pouted, Yang laughed.

"If you let me finish, it will. Back then, I was angry, I felt like you led me on but I just didn't want to say anything. Ruin the vacation for the others, you know? I guess I'm just glad we didn't rush into things, make it all complicated. So, thanks." Her voice cracked a little, it seems even someone as confident and headstrong as her was prone to the occasional bout of awkwardness.

"You know, I'm still not hearing a sorry." He replied with a smirk.

Yang sighed. "I'm sorry." Her words quickly followed by a punch to the arm. Numb from the pain, he stood feigning shock as he rubbed the pain from the spot she hit. Though looking at her now, something was nagging at him, and it was at this point he remembered just why he turned her down back then, what was going through his head. And once again, his mind was drawn to the vial, the swirling red liquid encased in glass that was tucked away safely within a small pouch on his hip.

"Yang, I..." He began. Alas before he could continue, a heavy burst of power from the engines caused heavy wave of sound to rush over them, the impatient escort no doubt wanting the group to wrap things up. However looking back, she simply gave him a smile and nodded.

"It's okay. We'll see you when you get back okay? Keep in touch."

Taking a breath, he puffed out his chest and returned the gesture. "You too, go kick some ass at the festival, we'll watch when we can."

As storybook as it might have been, there was no hug or kiss goodbye, no confession. But the pair parted ways, trusting that the other would be alright until they met again. Scylla was already aboard, waving to Yang as her goodbyes had already been said to the others, which left Cyprus to make his way over to them.

"Don't you guys do anything stupid while I'm gone." He said, before looking towards team RWBY's leader. "And look out for each other, all of you."

"Oh, we'll look out for each other." Nora burst, an fire in her eyes like always while Ren stood behind, as calm and collected as ever with a smile on his face.

"However, I think that other part might be harder to avoid."

With one last look to the woman that took up much of his thoughts, and would likely continue to do so, Cyprus turned tail and rushed up the ramp, waving as the door slowly lifted itself up and separated them. Before he could even take his seat, the aircraft jolted upwards and began to gain altitude. The cold, grey steel interior masking much of the noise, and creating a cold and stale atmosphere around them as he took his seat against the wall. Resting himself beside Scylla, his companion looked and saw the anxiety and worry on his face, and gripped his hand.

"Hey, we've got this, okay?"

"Yeah." He said, a shakiness in his voice that was a rarity for Scylla to hear. "We've got this."

A few hours went by, and Cyprus had spent much of that time staring into the swirling void that plagued his thoughts. All of the possibilities ran through his head, what his choices were, and what role he would have to play in the future. He'd come a long way from a fool chasing petty thugs through the streets, but he was still leagues off where he felt he should be. Training helped, but he felt so unprepared, so far from being a true Huntsman. Scylla's head rested on his shoulder, long since having fallen asleep throughout the dull, uneventful travel. And so he slowly stood, moved her until she was resting down against the seats, a jacket from his pack shielding her from the lack of much heating as he made his way into the cockpit.

"We're still about an hour out, if that's what you're thinking." The pilot said, in a standoffish tone.

"Actually, I just came to admire the view." Cyprus replied, taking a spot in the co-pilots seat, making sure not to touch any of the dozens of buttons and switches in front of him.

The skies above were overcast, and further along a darker patch lay in wait for the incoming ship. Flying directly over a stunning mountain range, the snow capped ridges seemed to go on for miles and miles, either side covered by lush greenery and forests. And the odd walled settlement catching his attention every now and again.

"Not much to see," Replied the man at the helm. "It's no Atlas or Mistral, I'll tell you that."

"You see them often?" The younger man said, a tinge of bitterness in his voice.

"Once a year or so, depending on where work asks me to go. Vale always feels the most boring to fly through, even if there's the odd Grimm."

Cyprus shook his head, he'd seen both places before as well. And while it was true that they were marvels, he always felt more at home in Vale, so much to keep him there. "Nowhere I'd rather be." He said softly to himself. As a wave of thunder rolled overhead, and the first few drops of rain landed on the hull, the Pilot scoffed and remained silent. Atlas was always far too cold for the former Heir's liking, the region often experienced Blizzards and settlements usually required a thorough heating system just to keep themselves functioning. And though places like Mistral and Vacuo were much warmer, he was always homesick during his time there. Vale for as boring as it might be to some people, was where he felt he belonged.

After a short while in silence, only the rumble of the ships' hull and the pattering of rain as it smacked against it, the Pilot finally spoke up.

"Alright, there's our LZ, just outside of town." Cresting over the final few rocky mountains that covered the ground below, the town of Beinnorn lay nestled against the sharp incline, flanked by a large open plain of grassland. It wasn't particularly large, and the open space made any Grimm attacks few and far between, and even then they rarely got close. That said, as they descended through the low clouds and towards the ground below, several shapes managed to stand out amidst the greenery, several black dots moving around, constant sparks of light and clashing individuals. "Looks like we'll be going in a little hot, best wake your friend."

Cyprus rushed back into the other end of the ship, hastily rocking the sleeping Scylla's shoulder in an effort to rouse her as gently as he could despite the necessity for a quick awakening.

"Hey, up you get. There's Grimm on the ground." He said with a smirk, normally he wouldn't be excited to face any of the red-eyed monstrosities, but thanks to his training and a newfound confidence with his upgraded tool of destruction he was more than ready to try things out. It took the girl a moment to wrap her head around the hurried words, and gasping sharply she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and gazed towards the floor, her body taking it's time to return to full focus.

Following her companion as quickly as she could, the pair soon stood by the bay doors, their weapons at the ready. The thunderous sounds of gunfire and screeching of beasts could now be heard as the engines shifted to a position that allowed the craft to land safely. As soon as the doors began to open, a voice could be heard over the intercom as a wave of cold air poured through the opening.

"Alright, kids. Get out, handle this and I'll circle around to land properly."

Still at least a dozen or so meters above the ground, the pilot called out. "Light is green, move it!"

The pair steadied their feet and prepared themselves, rushing through the exposed back of the ship, they leapt into the cold downpour of the outside, their auras flaring in response to the adrenaline as they descended. Scylla, eyeing the safest place to land, flipped the switch on her crossbow to a sharp orange glow. Aiming downwards, she fired at the ground and bent her knees, the bolt fired instantly from it's compartment and the moment it touched the ground, a resulting explosion created a harsh shockwave that cushioned the hackers' fall. Rolling once her feet met the ground, she smiled and headed into the fray.

Several small time defenders of the town fired simple assault weapons, shotguns and rifles damaging the Grimm but not doing a whole lot to stop most of them. They were varied in size, but their shapes were consistent. Multi-legged insectoid forms, a small torso and large round abdomen that dragged along the dirt as they crawled rapidly to their targets, bony plates covered sections of their bodies like armour and a set of eight gleaming crimson hues locked on to whatever targets they could find.

Cyprus whooped and hollered as he fell, leaping further to the right of Scylla, he eyed one of the beasts and angled his body towards it through the air. Tempest extended into it's staff form, he gripped it by the far end and swung downwards, the sheer weight and momentum twirling his body in a front-flip and as it reached the perfect angle, he hit one of the smaller creatures, around a meter in size, and obliterated it. The force of the impact causing the blade to shear clean through its target, while also slowing Cyprus down to a perfect speed where he could ride the staff upwards before leaping onward towards the damp grass with more style than he normally performed with.

Meeting up quickly, both new arrivals found themselves creating a barrier between the Grimm and the townsfolk, a couple of smaller stragglers having already pounced on one or two citizens, they were swiftly taken care of by their fellow man or woman.

"Hunters? Thank the gods."

Scylla fired a bolt towards a larger Arachnid, the impact causing a burst of flame that shred through the bone plating of the creature and leaving it to wail in pain, it's sharp mandibles clicking and chattering as it backed away for a moment. "Are you alright? How many wounded?"

The villager stammered, a middle aged woman with her share of scars. "O-only a couple, your friend has been helping a lot!"

"Our friend?" She turned to Cyprus, who shrugged and charged towards one beast a little far forward than the rest of its' horde. He looked dead into the burning eyes of the Spider, and as it lunged towards him, a shot of electricity fired from the end of his Glaive, nailing the creature between it's left leg and face area, causing it to stagger and fall prone, just long enough for him to finish it with a swift stab into the center of its' face.

The woman pointed, and it was then they saw him. Near the back left area of the horde, a tall, rather slim man with thick greying hair, styled back along his head, charging at one of the creatures. In his grip was a longsword with an incredibly wide blade that was outstretched and soon pierced the exposed belly of a Grimm, and lifting it up into the air, he swung his arm in a wide arc where the creature slid of and crashed into it's brethren, before disintegrating.

"I'll help him out, you hold the line?" The vigilante asked, turning back to Scylla who nodded and continued to lay bolt after bolt at the incoming creatures. Finding gaps in their ranks, Cyprus swung Tempest in wide arcs and stabbing, forcing the Grimm to keep their distance or face the sting of his blade at one end, and the taser that hummed with sharp blue electricity at the other. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something about the man seemed familiar, feeling as if his likeness was seen or described before, a long time ago.

The man charged through the group to meet Cyprus once he took note of his charge through the pack. Wearing a rather smart looking grey suit, with wide shoulders and a torn red cape that touched the edge of his thighs, he didn't look much like a Hunter in terms of armour. However his weapon more than spoke for him, as the blade unlocked and fell down at a ninety-degree angle, it exposed two large barrels that fired into the back of one of the spiders. And as it recoiled in pain, he leapt into the air seemingly with ease and forced his blade right through it, it's body convulsing before once again vanishing into ash.

"You Oz's new scout?" He asked, moving back to back with Cyprus.

"I take it you're the one I'm supposed to meet?" The young man replied.

"Looks that way," The Hunter chuckled as he anticipated a leaping strike from one of their enemies and lifted it high over his head, and kicking his leg outward as another crawled along the floor in a vain attempt to strike him, thrusting it backwards several feet. "Let's finish these things off, then drinks are on me." He chuckled, before breaking off and charging into the fray, slicing off legs and stabbing the creatures that feel, one by one at his hand. The man was fast, and much stronger than he looked, with Grimm not even managing to touch a single attack before he sliced them to pieces. But now was no time to dawdle, Cyprus took a breath before facing off against his own small crowd of creatures, his weapon folded inwards and back to it's smaller, ranged form with a satisfying click.

He rested the butt of Tempest beside his shoulder, and pulled the trigger. Within an instant, and with a surprising bit of recoil, the familiar pulsing bolt released from the chamber, flying with incredible speed into the nearest Grimm, causing it to twitch and fall to the ground. Soon another, and another fell to the temporary but intense burst of electricity, allowing the Hunter in training to charge in freely, and finish off the vulnerable attackers with a rush of swipes with his Glaive.

Unfortunately, Cyprus wasn't as quick as he thought, and with one of the Spiders left, it shrugged off the charge of condensed energy flowing through it and leapt at him. The blade of his weapon still currently wedged inside another of the Grimm, it was all too easy for it to pounce and pin the vigilante to the ground.

Holding the mandibles with what strength he could muster, the beast snapped and growled as it tried to dig it's fangs into him, what it didn't count on was the Woman who was ever at his aid. All Cyprus saw was the creature thrust into the air with great force, an enormous gash in it's lower body before it rolled along the ground a few feet away, where it cried out, convulsed and eventually, faded into nothingness. Above him, Scylla stood triumphant, the Axe form of Prismatic Flurry gleaming as she held it in position, a two handed strike requiring little effort to destroy the beast.

"One day you'll stop going off on your own."

Cyprus shrugged and grasped her outstretched hand, grunting as he was pulled to his feet and quickly dusted himself off. "You always find me in the end." He quickly picked his staff from the ground, the ashes of Grimm encircling it as the wind carried them, and looked for any more of the enemy. "So, how did we do?"

"You kids did alright." The Hunter approached, his sword holstered on his lower back. "Cyprus and Scylla, I presume?"

"Correct. But Ozpin didn't tell us who we'd be meeting here." The redhead responded.

He smiled and fished a small flask from his pocket. "I'm Qrow. Now come on, I think I said something about drinks being on me." Moving between the pair, he headed towards the small town.

Cyprus was staring inquisitively at the lone Hunter, his furrowed brow not unnoticed by his teammate.

"Uh, you okay?"

"Yeah..." He began, blinking a few times before shaking off his thoughts. "Just, feels like I've seen him before somewhere."

"Alright, so how much have you been told?"

The inn was quiet, most patrons having hidden in their homes after the surprising Grimm attack, only the most stubborn or drunk staying behind to relax. A small television in the corner buzzed softly as it struggled to keep the image of the newsroom on screen, the picture flickering every few seconds. A lone bartender cleaned glasses in the corner after providing the three with their drinks, an aged man with wiry grey hair and pale skin, who seemed happy to just have some new faces around.

"Not much," Scylla answered, wincing once she took a sip of the dry, bitter beverage. "Ozpin sent us out to look for Huntsman that haven't reported in a while, give them a message, aside from that, it looks like he left it up to you."

"Heh, sounds like Oz'. Always a need to know basis." Qrow shook his head with a smile and tipped the remainder of his short glass into his mouth. "There's a little more to it than that. The Hunters that haven't responded have been doing more than just ignoring us, they've actively gone missing. We have some leads, and I've been following the trail for a good couple of months. But so far the news isn't good." He said, swirling the ice from his finished drink around in slow circles.

Cyprus was growing a little impatient, though the word of him being on his mission for such a long period of time rung some bells. "So what leads have we got?"

"Hate to break the news, but it's not a lot. I've visited about half of the names on the list, and every one has either gone missing completely, or had their bodies found in the areas they we're assigned to." The mature scout sighed. "These are just solo Huntsman though, thankfully no teams have been wiped out, as far as we know."

Whilst Cyprus and Qrow conversed, the remaining person at the table scrunched her lips, the alcohol not much to her tastes, as she pushed it politely forward over the woodwork. It wasn't long before the Huntsman asked the others to bring out their Scrolls, the three devices lay before them as he transferred his mission details. The names of various fighters operating in this region of Vale, of the thirty or so names, several had been crossed out with either a red or grey line that signalled their current status.

"I've been working my way South from Vale, been going from settlement to settlement until I found something the Boss needs to see. Therefore, you guys have my job now."

Cyprus's eye twitched as he grasped his glass like he was squeezing a stress ball. "So we're not even on our own mission, we're just picking up your slack?"

"Hey, it's not much of mission anyway." Qrow growled back. "Dead end after dead end, but the old man clearly has something going on."

Scylla piped up. "Well, actually..." She flinched when his gaze moved to her. "We found out someone working with Roman Torchwick is at Beacon right now, and due to a mutual acquaintance, he thought it best to keep us out of the way until they figure things out. Don't want to scare them off, you know? But you knew that already."

Qrow's grimace turned into a scowl, and looked furious, like a man who had been cheated a most insulting fashion. "Right..." The Hunter downed his half-full glass, the cubes of ice knocking together as he set it down and pushed back off of his chair. "Well, you two have your orders, and I need to get moving. It's a long way to Beacon on foot."

"On foot?" Cyprus asked, turning around and following Qrow while he made his way to the exit. However the crashing of a glass over at the bar, followed by a frustrated moan from the man tending it. For some reason it finally clicked, the stories of while he was at Signal coming back to him.

"Wait a minute...You're Professor Branwen, aren't you?"

That seemed to stop him with the door half open, and somewhat take his mind off whatever he was thinking.

"Well, someone's done their homework." He chuckled.

"Sorry, who?" Scylla interjected. "You know this guy?"

"I went to Signal Academy, you never taught any of my classes, but I remember hearing from other kids that you were always heading out for business, only saw you a couple of times between classes." The vigilante continued, the eureka moment dawning on him at last.

"Well, here I am. In the flesh, keep your wits about you, kid." The ageing teacher seemed a little unsure how to react to being noticed, thankfully the Inn's patrons were too little and uncaring to take any mind of the three. And with that, he was gone, the door closing . The pair had all the information they needed to continue, twelve names remained on the document, their Scrolls syncing up with the files to both keep track. Hopefully their luck fared better than their predecessor, or it would be a very lonely mission indeed.

"So, where's our next stop?" Cyprus asked, turning back to Scylla once the Professor's visage had vanished from sight of the window.

"Looks like Periwinkle, small village about...Thirty five miles south west." She sighed.

"Great, no chance of getting a ride there?"

"Considering our bags have tents, spare clothes and rations? No."

"...Is it weird that I miss School?"