A/N: A quick thank you to everyone who followed/favorited/reviewed. It means a lot to me.

To clarify, Cu Chulainn is technically non-classed, but since my knowledge of the Fate universe is very limited, I'll keep his abilities close to that of his Lancer class.

I'm making this up as I go, so if things don't add up, please tell me. Updates will be fairly irregular (I'll try to update weekly-ish).

80 AGW

Harriet could not believe her eyes. This man outran her without using a speed Semblance. The probability of that happening should have been a whopping zero but that obviously wasn't the case. Elm laughed her ass off as Vine, thank the gods for him, tried to shush her.

"Train for another century and maybe you'll catch up."

This was infuriating!

"Please don't anger my operatives, Cu. You've already caused enough trouble for the military."

"They're the ones troubling me! I'm getting tired of all the arrests, you know."

"In our defense, you triggered a land mine when there's been threats of terrorism," Marrow mumbled.

Clover, being the mature leader he was, stepped forward. "On behalf of the Ace Ops, I sincerely apologize. We didn't know you were—"

"No, don't apologize. He should apologize!"

"For what? Almost blowing myself up and getting arrested for it?"

Elm fell to her knees, shaking uncontrollably with laughter while muttering her apologies.

Ironwood stood there passively with his hands behind his back. It's a good thing he was so patient with them. Gods know how trying they can be.

"We'll take our leave," Clover said with a salute. As soon as the doors closed behind them, he let out a long, agonizing sigh. "Elm, try to keep it in next time. Harriet, don't let your temper control you. We are supposed to be professional."

Harriet acquiesced begrudgingly. This was one of the few times she lashed out, and for good reason. A man showed up in Mantle causing trouble (willingly or not). He let himself get arrested only to bolt as soon as they landed. Then they had to play cat and mouse all over Atlas, in which he somehow ran faster than her and disappeared before her eyes (was he teleporting?), just for him to get immunity because he was a friend of the general's? What kind of bullshit was this?!

Amber mounted her horse and set out for Vale. She already saw what she needed to see in Mistral, and judging by how far east she was, it should take her a few days to get home. Three if the weather was nice.

An elderly woman wished her a safe journey as she bought some apples and sacs of water. "Be careful, young lady. You might find trouble on the road."

"Don't worry, ma'am. I can handle myself," she answered and patted the collapsed staff on her belt.

"Oh! You're a huntress?" She nodded. "Then you can protect yourself plenty. But just so you know, I wasn't talking about the Grimm."

She refrained from scoffing. As if any bandit could beat me. She kept that thought to herself, though, and thanked the woman kindly.

After she left, the woman faded away, revealing a green-haired girl wearing a scowl. A boy casually walked out from behind the curtains to her, arms crossed. "That's our target?"

"Yes." Golden eyes glowed from the shadows. "That's her."

"What brought you to Mantle?"

"The same thing that brought me to Vale. I'm nicknamed the Wanderer for a reason."

"And yet you hate that name."

Cu shrugged and fished out his scroll. "I don't have anything new on Salem. Don't get your hopes up."

"I didn't."

"Theodore did. He almost threw me out when I showed him my lien account instead." He tossed his scroll to James. "I'm currently following these rumors."

"'A high concentration of ancient—' You think Salem is here?"

"In the east. Closer to Mistral than Atlas, but still on Solitas. I've had dead ends before, so I don't think it's worth betting on," Cu said and scratched his head. "Ah, come to think of it, Qrow should be in Mistral by now. I hope we don't run into each other; my luck is bad enough as is."

"What do you want from me? I can lend you—"

He raised a brow and waved a hand dismissively. "You're on my way there so I figured it'd be nice to stop by, say hi, and maybe spar?"

James clutched his arm and winced at the memory. "I'd prefer not to."

"Suit yourself." Cu turned to face the door. "Those were your Ace Ops?"

"That's right."

"You okay if I play with them for a while?"

"Please don't."

"Just one minute."

James frowned at him.

"Don't worry. I'll go easy."

His definition of easy was... skewed.

No one could be sure how he did it, but the fact remained that Cu convinced James into letting him spar with the Ace Ops. Harriet happily voiced her disdain while Clover was quick to remind everyone that it was a friendly duel.

"You might want to tell him that!" Marrow shouted, ducking behind a pillar with his rifle held close to his chest. Fire erupted from the other side, keeping him from moving.

It did not take Cu long to figure out most of their Semblances (Clover's was the only one he couldn't tell). As such, he targeted Marrow first. His was annoying to shake off, and had he been a second slower, the fight could have ended prematurely. Could have but didn't.

"Take this!"

Cu parried Elm's hammer and pushed back. She rooted herself in the ground, preventing him from succeeding.

"Now!"

Vine and Harriet took action, both lashing out at high speeds expected of Atlas's finest. Their teamwork and skills were decent but not good enough. He was faster, stronger, and (to be frank) better than they were. At the last second, he jumped forward and kicked back, sending Harriet flying into Vine. As he sailed over Elm's head, he twisted his body and disoriented her, causing her to stumble and drop her hammer.

"Stay!"

He traced out another Ansuz and infused it with mana as his body slowed to a stop. The rune shot at the faunus and combusted, earning Cu a curse and giving him full control over his body once more. Just in time, too.

He spun around and caught the fishing line, flashing a feral grin. Without a waste of breath, he shot his borrowed spear at Marrow, who had yet to recover. He buckled on impact and fell over with a groan.

Cu glanced at the monitor where Marrow's picture was dulled gray.

"Four left."

Rockets fired at him and were deflected easily. He was protected from most projectiles, including everything on Remnant short of Dust. He yanked the fishing line and swung it down, hurling Clover into Harriet and at Elm. She stopped firing immediately and rooted herself again, prepared to catch her teammates while leaving herself vulnerable.

Vine took it upon himself to keep Cu at bay. To his credit, he succeeded for a solid two seconds. Rather than aim for the tangled trio, however, Cu shot for Vine. He weaved past the golden limbs, retrieved his spear on his way over, and jumped above the pale man. Vine didn't have the time to look up, much less to react. A harsh blow sent him crashing through the platform he stood on and deep into the ground below. Even with a dust cloud impending his view, Cu could see the light blue of Vine's aura flare up and shatter.

"Three."

Harriet launched at him, fists humming with electricity. Clover called her name and hooked his weapon around her to pull her away. A gush of wind blew her hair back and eyes wide.

"Boo."

How?!

His spear barely missed her chest. She'd thank Clover later; she was too focused on wiping that smug smile clean off Cu's face at the moment. Correction: trying to wipe that smug smile off his face.

"Elm!"

The woman caught Clover's fishing hook the same way Cu did just seconds ago. With a grunt, she flung him at Cu.

His feet connected with Cu's spear, and as soon as he kicked off, Harriet took over. She punched twice as Clover delivered a downward swing. Each time one was left open, the other covered their weakness and continued the assault. It was an endless barrage, and Cu could do nothing but block their weapons.

A looming shadow from behind him made him tense. The hammer slammed down—

"One."

Clover watched as Cu landed several feet away. The maneuver the spearman pulled was too fast for his eyes to see. Seeing as how Elm's hammer was next to Harriet and Cu's now broken spear laid on top of Elm, he could guess what happened.

"You guys are pretty good."

"You say that yet you haven't broken a sweat."

"Hey, don't turn down a compliment," Cu said as he lowered his stance. Clover raised his weapon in return.

The man flickered and disappeared. Throwing all his faith on luck, Clover stepped back and swung out. The hook missed his opponent and snatched the discarded hammer. Cu didn't pay any attention to it and was poised to strike before Clover had time to blink.

A buzzer went off, stopping Cu in his tracks. He exhaled and loosened his muscles. "Looks like my time's—"

The hammer slammed into his head with a resounding thud.

"You said a brunette about yea tall in a huntress-cloak getup with a Dust staff and white horse came this way?"

"Yeah. I sold her some apples," the shopkeeper recounted. "Then three shady people followed her all sneaky-like. They're talking about maidens and magic and illusions when poof! Gone with the wind! Weirdest thing I've seen since monkey Monday."

"He's joshing," an old woman holding a basket of eggs butt in. "Weirdest thing he's seen since monkey Monday was fish-flying Friday."

Qrow didn't know and did not want to know what that meant. "Which way did they go?"

"That way."

He took off and used as much aura as he could on his legs, forcing them to run faster and farther than ever before.

Amber was an inexperienced Maiden, reckless and rebellious too. She didn't know when to flee and she never asked for help. If the people after her were Salem's pawns... well...

He just hoped he found her before they did.

Winter gave the man she was escorting a blank stare. He made several attempts at conversation, a few of which were more flirtatious than was safe for him, and was currently moping like a neglected dog. She would have to apologize to Marrow later for the comparison.

"Now you're just being rude."

"My job is to escort you to the infirmary, not entertain you."

He perked up. "You speak!"

"Gods, kill me now," she muttered under her breath.

"That's not the best thing to say, but hey! We're getting somewhere."

"Yes. We're getting you to the infirmary."

"I already told James I don't need it."

"General Ironwood."

"Same person."

Patience was a virtue Winter admittedly had trouble with. She couldn't decide whether the man was testing her or was generally this talkative.

"So... how exactly does aura work?"

She halted her steps. He must be joking, right? She saw him fight; for a warrior as skilled as he, there was no way he wasn't using aura.

"It's not the same as mana, that much is obvious..." He stopped and looked at her, hands in his pocket, carefree. "What?"

"You... you're kidding."

He shrugged, "Well, I know the basics. It protects you and you can use it to reinforce stuff, yeah?"

"Aura is a fundamental tool for every fighter. Everything you did on the training grounds—"

"Oh, you were watching?"

"—required aura in some way. Speed, strength, protection from the hammer— Your reserves should be dangerously low considering how much you spent!"

"Uh, sure." He scratched his head. "Listen, I don't mean to sound like a douche, but answer the question, would you."

She fumed silently and rubbed her temples. "Ask someone else. I am tasked with escorting you to the infirmary. Nothing more, nothing less."

He physically deflated.

"That's—" He checked his scroll and his face darkened slightly. He shook his head with a sigh and smiled at her, saying, "In that case, see ya."

"What?"

He vanished.

James surveyed the Ace Ops, noting their defeated looks. They were supposed to be the best Atlas had to offer: the cream of the crop, the elite. To be floored by a single man in less than a minute must be a difficult pill to swallow.

Harriet, who prided herself in her speed, was slower than Cu Chulainn.

Elm, who hit like a tank and took hits like one, was weaker.

Vine, who had the highest utility and could support from afar, was outmatched.

Marrow was taken out in the first fifteen seconds, dropping his already low self-esteem.

And Clover, who was saved by the bell, could do nothing.

This was why he didn't want Cu anywhere near the arena. The handicaps he placed on himself—not using Gáe Bolg and only a minute—were not enough to close the gap in performance. In fact, had the Ace Ops known, they would have taken offense and been utterly humiliated. James knew exactly what that felt like. The other headmasters did too, no doubt.

He cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention as they scrambled to stand and salute.

"Take the rest of the day off. You all need time to rest."

"But, sir—"

"Yo, James!"

Cu shoved his revolver away before he could fire. The Ace Ops each readied themselves for another fight, jumping into action with a hand on their weapons despite his order.

"You need to stop sneaking up on people," he responded with a sigh. "What is it, Cu?"

The spearman gave the Ace Ops a cautious look over. "Do they know?"

He nodded.

"Cool." Cu lifted the scroll to his face and dropped all pretenses of his jovial attitude. "They got Fall."

Two days later

Qrow was glad people reacted quickly. From James's life pod thing's delivery to Oz's underground lair repurposing to Cu's speed in general, Amber was now in a somewhat stable condition. She was comatose, and he was not naive to think she would awaken soon. Or at all, for that matter. Still, asleep and alive was better than anything he could ask for after what she went through.

"Thanks for coming, by the way."

Cu gave him a sidewards glance. "I wouldn't be much of a teammate if I didn't."

"I guess that's true." He took out his flask and popped it open. "I couldn't get anything for you to track."

"I figured as much."

"Got anything new?"

"Not really. It's probably another dead end."

"Hm." He took a swig.

Life was vexing like that. Just when he gets a piece of this damned puzzle, the whole board scrambles again and throws him off. Qrow wasn't that great with metaphors, but the frustration was the same, if not worse. Much worse.

"Onto more happy thoughts, I heard your niece got accepted into Beacon."

"Of course she was. She's talented."

"Heh. You sound like a proud uncle. A drunk one, but proud."

"That's 'cause I am one." He gulped down some more.

Cu stared at him with a look Qrow couldn't quite place, kind of like Oz's when he was thinking too hard. Longing? It was a sad one, that's all he knew, and it was gone with a shake of Cu's head. "Anyway, it's been nice catching up, or whatever this was. I'm heading out now. Call me if you—"

He tripped over a potted plant and hit his head against the wall lamp. The bong was loud and echoed all the way down the chamber and back, and Qrow could see a shiver rush down his spine. It was mostly quiet save for Qrow trying (and failing) to contain himself.

Pressing a hand to his forehead, Cu glowered, "I swear, this was not here before."

Qrow burst out into laughter. And gods, did he need it. He must have laughed for an entire minute. He knew about the man's supposedly horrid luck, he witnessed it as well, but this had to be the funniest unlucky moment he'd seen.

"Asshole."

"Hey," Qrow managed between gasps. "You can't blame this all on me."

"I should avoid you like the plague."

"Now who's the asshole?" Contrary to his words, this was nice. He hadn't been this relaxed since he last visited Tai, Yang, and Ruby. It just seemed right, like a bond between brothers. It was weird, but hey, it worked.

"Death by lamp, haha," Cu hissed. "Ow. First the hammer and now this?"

"How the fuck does that hurt but bullets don't?"

"Excuse me for not having aura like you. Mana doesn't work the same way. And stop laughing, will ya? It's giving me a migraine."

Qrow coughed and cleared his throat but kept the grin. "You're suddenly a lot less threatening."

"Why, were you scared of me?"

Obviously. You practically used me as a punching bag two years ago. Glynda still has that goddamn footage! "Of course not."

"Of course." Qrow can hear the sarcasm in waves. "Well, if Ozpin asks, I'm off to Solitas. He'll probably know if you don't tell him anyway, though."

"Solitas, huh?" he hummed and downed whatever was left in his flask. "Good luck."

"Yeah. You too." Cu flicked two fingers at him and sparkled away in that glitter thing he always did. "Ciao."

RANDOM SCENE

Amber Meets Cu (78 AGW)

Amber analyzed the man, giving him a judgmental stare from the tropical shirt to the ponytail to the empty bucket and fishing rod. Ozpin must be joking. This was her guard (read: babysitter)? She did not need protection, especially not from someone that looked like she should protect. Sure, he's tall and broad shouldered, but a goofy-looking fisherman was not what she expected.

"Do I have something on my face?"

"How much did he pay you?"

"What?"

She glanced around and pulled him to a less open spot.

"Woah, if you wanted that, then—"

She kicked him, interrupting his train of thought. "Cut it. Ozpin told you to watch over me, right?"

"He told me to check on you."

"Same thing."

"Eh." He shook his hand like a balance. "Not really."

"Tell him I don't need someone to check on me. I'm perfectly fine on my own."

"I don't doubt it," he smirked. "But I owe him for demolishing the courtyard, so I've gotta follow orders."

She examined him again, this time taking note of the toned muscles on his arm. It was too defined to be a regular fisherman's. "You're a huntsman."

"Close enough. You're the fall girl."

"Close enough." Maybe this wouldn't be another Goodwitch fiasco. That's good. She could live without it. "How about we agree you checked on me and go our separate ways?"

"Fine with me. See you around, fall girl."

"Yeah... Hey, where's the other guy? The shaggy man who usually does this check-up stuff?"

"Shaggy? Oh, you mean Qrow. He's at the hospital."

"Hospital? What happened?"

"I happened." He let that sink in before he turned and waved his fishing rod. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to return this."

Amber could get used to this new change. Not having someone breathe down her neck everyday was refreshing. To have her own space and secrets would be nice for once. Speaking of, "I wonder if they know I'm traveling to Mistral."