A/N: Thank you everyone, for those that have read, liked and favourited~

There was a problem when I was writing this chapter that caused me to be stuck in a 3 weeks Block, which ended up mostly being self-betas and edits for clarity. But it's done!

The Revenants are finally in Vale, but it was to a bad start in a new city. What are they going to do? How will those in Vale treat them?

Please, enjoy this one~


Vale 01 - The Living Deads

Beacon Academy, Kingdom of Vale
Three weeks after the Dockside Battle against Roman Torchwick

Blake Belladonna was feeling restless. Homesick.

Lately, she had been thinking of her parents, wondering what they would be thinking of her. She dropped everything to stay with the White Fang, despite the direction—violent tendencies—that the new leader, Lady Sienna Khan was taking. Under her leadership, the two species were beginning to respect each other and their boundaries. But Blake knew, deep in her heart that she had not heeded, that it had been Fear, not acknowledgement as an equal, that made the Humans acquaint with them.

Blake had tried, as hard and as much as she could, to keep a level-headedness to the actions she took, in the missions she did. But part of her worldview was shaped by the people she had worked with: Lady Khan herself at the start; Then under someone who refused to name himself and went only by 'Lieutenant'; Before working as Adam Taurus's apprentice and partner after proving herself. And as their (his) actions were becoming less savoury and more violent, coupled with excuses upon excuses, Blake found herself unable to bear what her beloved organisation had become.

It took her leaving White Fang and seeing the reaction of civilian Faunus before she realised that she was wrong and regretted yelling at her parents. The whole organisation had been twisted so far from the vision and values her Father had when he led White Fang.

'What are they trying to do? Why the Dust?' Why Torchwick?'

In front of her eyes, propped up by her knees while she laid on her bed, was a diary. Team RWBY had enough self-control and respect for privacy that none of the girls would ever peek into each other's personal thoughts. Her partner Yang perhaps might, given her personality, but she knew how to keep it down, especially if it was for her younger sister Ruby's sake.

It was less of a diary and more of a disguise for Blake's research into White Fang, after all. Yang wouldn't want Ruby risking her life doing all these anti-terrorism stuff. And she wouldn't blab the contents to their final teammate, Weiss Schnee. Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company and a priority target for the Vale Branch's organisation.

Blake knew about it because she had the hit list. Targets to kidnap or take out for the betterment of Faunuskind everywhere. White Fang…Adam knew she was coming to Vale as a student of Beacon Academy, which told her that he, or likely the organisation, had a spy there with access to classified information.

"White Fang…" Her finger traced the cut-out pasted in her book, stopping on the starting point at the top of the white circle, before slipping onto the picture of a wolf-dog within the circle. The old picture of the White Fang, back when her Father was the High Leader. Back when it was peaceful and promoting Unity.

"Look at this, Blake." Ghira said to a young Blake, so many years ago. From the highest point in Kuo Kuana, both daughter and father were looking out across the city. "All of these, created by the hands of our people." He was so happy then, and proud of everyone who had settled on Menagerie. Father pointed towards the horizon. "Across the sea, Humans had built even bigger buildings and greater safety. Imagine what both our people and the Humans could do, if we are together."

It was his goal, his dream. The real reason why White Fang existed in the first place.

Needing to distract herself, she discarded the book to the side. The Team's room was devoid of the other girls, each having gone off to do their own things to occupy their time until lunch. Seeing that none else was in the room, Blake took her time to use the bathroom to freshen up. As she finished at the end with a face wash, she heard the room's door being unlocked and opened, and left open when she failed to hear the closing sound. Blake tied up her ribbon to her ears, checking the mirror to be sure she had done it up right before reaching for the bathroom door.

When she exited, she saw her team leader, a black-haired fifteen years old girl named Ruby, standing by her teammate, Weiss's study table. On the table was a binder left opened, which contained information about various stores and activities that Vale would be hosting during the Vytal Festival. Weiss obtained flyers and brochures during the semester break when she left Beacon to check out Vale, methodically adding information on them into the binder.

But looking at the state of Weiss's table, Blake reckoned that her teammate was going to blow a gasket at their team leader. Several stick-em notes and separate papers had already been taken out, left underneath a stained drinking cup that was used as a paper weight. Ruby's hands and fingers were still moving deftly across the currently opened page, attaching blank pieces of stick-em notes over Weiss's words before writing and drawing things on the sticky paper.

"Ruby?" The girl raised her head in surprise at Blake's voice. "What are you doing?"

"Hey Blake!" Ruby wore a big, happy grin across her face. "I just thought of a wonderful plan for the last day of our semester break!" She was waving a red marker pen to her side. "Everyone's going to hear about it later!" Blake had not seen Ruby smile since the Emerald Forest incident and her burdened heart lightened at the sight of it.

Blake knew how terrible a Human could be, the blatant racism and despise for Faunuskind were all-too common. Blake had first-hand experience when she was but a child, naive and curious about the dark side of the world that her parents tried to shield the younger her from. But her childishness had won out that day, sneaking out from the Belladonna household to meet with Adam and visit the dockyard. It had been an unforgettable day, not one that she would ever recall with fondness.

But until the Emerald Forest trip, she just hadn't realised just how far a Human could take those emotions and actions, even against their own kind. 'Poor JNPR…'

She blinked, returning to the present and eyeing her team leader. "And I suppose it has to do with the Festival?"

"Psh, nope. It's for today!" Ruby turned back and closed the binder. Blake could see what her leader had done to the cover. And it was not good. "There's still some things I need to plan out." Ruby tossed the marker into the holder with the other stationery, then took the binder.

Blake was afraid to ask, but she had to. "Does Weiss know that you're appropriating her binder?"

Ruby just giggled and went to the door, the kind where she tries to laugh off her confusion. Maybe she did not understand the word. "I'll see you guys at lunch later! By the way, Rin said 'Hi!'" And off she went, like the hurricane that she was, closing the door silently behind her despite the energy she used.

Blake sighed. Then smiled. 'At least she looks much better again. Perhaps until Weiss sees what she has done and chastises her. Though, I wonder who this mysterious 'Rin' is...' Blake had not seen this person, but Ruby had enthusiastically explained, just last week, that the named girl was a fellow weapon-enthusiast as well. They had been trading notes and Ruby was helping her work on a project. So Ruby now had someone that shared the same passion. 'Does Yang know who she might be?' Maybe her partner did. She was the kind of person who would happily stalk her sibling for something like this.


Beacon Academy Infirmary, Kingdom of Vale
18 days after leaving Gaol of the Mist

It had been eleven days since they entered the Kingdom of Vale. Eleven days since Shiva had fallen unconscious after she accessed her own Vestige at the Port. Not once had she stirred from her state after they managed to stop her Frenzy.

And it had been ten days since their state of 'health' was realised by the Living.

It was a whole load of medical mumbo-jumbo that Yakumo would never understand, but their apparent unliving bodies had the Vale Hospital's doctors scrambling in fear—and need—for studies and research. If the mad doctor had not yelled out loud during their—entirely unnecessary—operation, they might not have known what they were going to do and be able to stop the medical personnel before the unthinkable occurred. Then it had devolved to a half-day long stand-off between the Revenants and Vale's finest: Hospital security guards at first, then Police forces before a team of Professional Huntsmen came.

With the Huntsmen team came an older man named Ozpin, who introduced himself as the Headmaster of Vale's Huntsman academy called 'Beacon.' After listening to a short explanation by Louis, he settled the deteriorating situation by offering sanctuary in his academy. Surrounded by armed, hostile people, all of them rearing to eliminate the Grimm Spies, Louis had little choice but to accept the offer. They stayed in the hospital room, disarmed by the Police and under guard by the Huntsmen team, while the Headmaster went off to inform the relevant authority. Luckily for the Revenants, Ozpin kept his words and they relocated to Beacon Academy the next day, where Shiva was admitted into the infirmary for recovery, under the care of the Academy's Medical Doctor, an elderly retired ex-Huntress named Thumbelina Peach, who also doubled as the Academy's Professor for Plant Studies.

Other than the good Doctor, the other faculty to visit the infirmary for business was Professor Glynda Goodwitch, a middle-aged woman with fading blonde hair who was also the Assistant Headmistress of Beacon. Her reasoning had been fair: She did not trust the Revenants, especially since they were the literal Undead, something that should have been a medical-impossibility, until their arrival in Vale.

Despite everything that occurred, Yakumo was surprised at how quiet the entire thing had gone down. He expected the disgruntled doctors to pressure Headmaster Ozpin for blood samples, or for the Police and Huntsmen to kill the Grimm Spies, like how some of the older films had shown back in Gaol. But there was no headlines or special news cover on the daily news channel, nor any untoward repercussions to their beings. In other words, there had been a significant lack of an outcry over their…uniqueness.

(There was a third, regular visitor to the infirmary: A redhead student named Pyrrha Nikos. She was uninformed of who they were, only that their friend was comatosed and admitted into the infirmary for recovery, a similar state of health to the person she was visiting daily. The person in question was her Team's Leader, a blonde kid named Jaune Arc, who had been in the infirmary for the past few months since a training accident. Pyrrha had not asked Yakumo any questions about Shiva, passing only greetings in respect of courtesy, so Yakumo did the same and asked nothing. Her two other teammates, Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie, did not offer an explanation to their leader's state either, deferring to their second-in-command for that decision.)

On the first day in Beacon, right after arrival, Yakumo and Rin had accompanied Louis to talk to the Headmaster in his office atop the Cross-Continental Transmit System (CCT, T for Tower). Mia was allowed to remain by Shiva's side in the infirmary that day and followed Doctor Peach as she set up the medical stuff and inducting Shiva as a patient. In the Headmaster's office, it was mostly Louis leading the talk and questions, trying his best to get the Headmaster to understand the Revenants. Few things were decided by the end of that discussion before the group was sent away. Led by Professor Goodwitch, they went to a dormitory temporarily assigned for them to rest.

(Though, by the third day, none of them were using the room, opting to stay in the infirmary to watch over Shiva. Professor Goodwitch had not been happy to find that out, but Headmaster Ozpin had been willing to let it slide: There were more cameras available in public to watch the party in both the waiting room and the infirmary than along the hallways of the dormitories.)

As Professor Goodwitch issued to the three of them a handphone device they called 'Scroll'—which she used to unlock the door via a scanner pad by the side of the door—Louis asked her about their gears that the Huntsman team had confiscated. She had assured them that their equipment was transferred under the Academy's care, revealing Rin's backpack had already been placed in said room. But their weapons would not yet be returned to them until the Headmaster gave his consent. After a quick warning that they were confined in the campus ground until the situation was sorted out, Professor Goodwitch bid them a good night and left.

They immediately discovered a major problem: Their remaining supply of Blood Beads were gone from Rin's backpack, including Shiva's Amber Bead, likely taken away by the Huntsmen team. There were other items missing as well, notably their vials and blends, but those had lesser impact for the Revenants than the Beads do. There might not be much remaining, but they could have sustained the Revenants for several months if they did nothing strenuous. Now that their Beads were missing, they were in a precarious situation.

Over the week and a half, Louis had gone to meet the Headmaster a few times more. The first had been inquiring about their missing items, but Ozpin had denied going through the backpack. Which meant the Police forces of Vale had taken them, as their belongings were held by them for a time before they were turned over to the Academy. Louis appealed to the Headmaster to retrieve their missing items from the Police, but thus far there had been nothing.

Their other conversations had been about the Gaol of the Mist and the people inside. As with their goal, Louis was seeking help from the Headmaster, but the entire issue was a whole lot more complicated than they had originally thought. "Logistics," Louis had said, "problems stemming from displacing thousands of estranged people, effectively refugees into a single city." They had not even begun talking about the politic-side of things. As well as their own current issue.

Mia had found Team BRNZ while she was exploring the Academy grounds in the previous days and she brought them to the infirmary to see Shiva. It was a messy affair of a sort, with Doctor Peach controlling the place and only allowing a couple of them inside at a time. After their short visit, BRNZ all but dragged the girl out to explore the Academy, as the Revenants were confined to the campus. Yakumo stayed behind to watch Shiva, as they had decided that someone should stay with her until she regained consciousness. Like every evening at Beacon, she returned late at night to the infirmary, right after having dinner with BRNZ in the cafeteria. But she came bearing a comic book for him as a gift this time, before promptly falling asleep at Shiva's side, seated on the visitor's chair and resting her arms and head on the bed.

Rin was taking advantage of Headmaster Ozpin's generosity and had been using Beacon Academy's armoury and their resources, under the care and watchful eyes of Harold Mulberry, the Academy Weapon Crafting and Upkeeping Professor. She was planning to rebuild Queenslayer, though she was thinking of incorporating the outside world's methodology into the new Queenslayer. She seemed to have befriended another student from the Academy as well, a fellow weapon-enthusiast and engineer that had been both teaching her about the weapon-shifting and helping her in the building process.

As for Yakumo himself, Headmaster Ozpin had met him alone twice: The first time, three days after being transferring into Beacon, was to inquire about his own background and combat experience; The second time was to grant him a temporary Huntsman License, which led to the Headmaster hiring and assigning him as a security guard. Oni-Bane was returned to him for his new job, along with a set of Beacon Faculty uniform, as well as an introduction to Professor Ann Greene of Stealth and Security, mainly for the latter. It was not too different than back when he was with the gang in the past, except that he was now protecting youthful students that are armed to their accessories.

(It was an eye-opener when he saw a second year female student's handbag transformed into a minigun. The average student teams were better armed than he was. How and what was he supposed to guard?)

Unlike Rin and Mia, Yakumo found himself associating with the faculties instead, sitting with Professor Peter Port and Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck whenever he passed by the cafeteria during lunch or dinner timings in the midst of his patrols. Veiled behind his seemingly egoistic boasts and feats of strength, Yakumo could hear the tragedy that Peter witnessed or experienced.

"—rescuing the damsel and her one child—" Too late to save the husband and only-Peter-knew how many children.

"—ran at the sound of our arriving Bullhead towards the settlement—" A settlement lost to the Horror—Grimm before they could reach it in time.

"—finally sending those prey fleeing before my very might!" A much nicer story that he shared about a caravan escort, though not without any casualties.

Overall, Yakumo liked Peter Port. Exaggeration aside, the portly Huntsman was a fine teacher and friend to exchange stories with. He would easily be Yakumo's favourite lecturer were he a student here. The kind that looked at the positives instead of harping over the 'what if's.

Doctor Oobleck was an experience. The historian could talk a mile a minute, often vocalising his own thoughts about a particular subject before digressing back. He was polite in inquiring Yakumo subjects about the Gaol, though a little aggressive (which he apologised for. He was simply excited about a completely cut-off civilisation from the Grimm Continent making contact with the outside world). He was also open to answering Yakumo about the 'outside world', though the historian had left more questions than answers.

"—popular belief that they were created by the deity known as God of Darkness, but physically, no one knows of the reproduction process—"

"The Moon had always been shattered."

"—never been a major earthquake beyond the seismic scale of five within the last one hundred years among the four kingdoms. Mineral and Dust deposits were uncovered, but never ruinous stalagmites or 'Thorns'. The 'Great Collapse' that ruined your city sound closer to a Semblance than a natural disaster, albeit one on an unprecedented scale and power…"

"—good people. It is incredibly disappointing how Humanity continued to hold such prejudice towards Faunus. Their lack of understanding and fear of the unknown is almost—"

Yakumo got no true answers for the heated questions from the historian. At the least, he learned that the racism towards the Faunus had not been a universal consensus, but on an individual basis.

How could people simply hate each other for being different when there was a greater enemy threatening their existence right outside their very walls? His gloves protested in their leathery tension as Yakumo frowned at the sight of his friend still asleep on the bed.

Just a glimpse at Shiva's past had shocked him a great deal when he finally processed what he saw in the last moments. He could empathise with the tragedy, but it was the people in her vestige that caused the greatest distress. 'Children…How could anyone hate anyone enough to harm innocent children?'

'What did the Faunus ever do that made Humans hate them for existing?'

'Was there any Faunus in the Old City?'

'Was there any other Faunus in the PG?'

Those were the questions Yakumo continued to ask himself since he was able to sit down and contemplate, long after they settled into Beacon. He had not shared those thoughts with the rest of the party. He knew it would inevitably lead back to what he saw in Shiva's vestige and, as he respected Shiva's privacy, he did not want to discuss it yet. He planned to talk to Shiva once she had woken up from her coma.

If she wakes up from her coma.

His Scroll vibrated, pulling him out of his thoughts. It was from Louis. He hadn't returned to the infirmary last night. "Hey Louis." Yakumo guessed that Louis was going to look for the Headmaster once again.

And he wasn't disappointed. "Morning, Yakumo. I'll be meeting with Headmaster Ozpin again. Vale's Council is going to call him and he wants me to be there to appeal to them directly. I'll let you know the result as soon as possible."

"Got it. Have you seen Rin yesterday?"

"No. She's pulled another all-nighter again."

"Heh. She doesn't know when to stop once she's in her element."

"How about Mia?"

"Out with Team BRNZ last night. She's sleeping here."

"And Shiva?"

"Still the same."

Yakumo heard the sigh. "Alright, I'm heading up now. Keep me posted."

"Will do."

Ending the call and checking the time, Yakumo realised that it was about time to start his daily morning patrol. He rose up and stood at the end of the patient bed, looking from Mia to Shiva. Like every morning since her collapse, Yakumo mumbled a plea to their comatosed friend. "Come on, wake up. Don't become a Lost like them."

"Will do."

Louis stared at his issued Scroll for an extra moment, watching the touch screen flickered from Yakumo's name and number to the default home screen. He sighed again, frustrated by so many things on-going since their arrival in Vale. The constant questioning, the shifty sights by the Huntsmen that were set in their thoughts, their current Bead issue, Shiva…

He should've stopped her from handling the vestige. He knew what would happen if she—if any Revenants tried to handle a vestige. He already knew what had happened to her the last time he saw her in the Provisional Government Hospital. Yet he still paused long enough for her to take and access the vestige, as if she was still a Successor.

When did he become this indecisive again? It was Cruz all over again, her pleads to stop her when she was losing her sense of self were disregarded by him, held away by the blind hope he had that she would pull through.

The chime of the elevator's arrival brought Louis back to the present. Inhaling a heavy breath, he kept away the handphone and headed up to Ozpin's office at the top floor, thinking of the words and ways to appeal to the group of people that could make the rescue or assist happen. And they need it fast! At the time they had left Gaol, they were running out of everything: No more fuel meant no more electricity and power; No raw materials and refining industry meant equipment and machineries were breaking down and falling into disrepair; Dying lands meant food production, both quality and quantity for the Living were at an all time low, even with severe rationing; medicines were running out without said factories to produce them.

And then there was the tribal-territory stuff, Revenants attacking Revenants and having Blood Slave rings…

Louis really thought that people would have each other to survive after everything that had happened and explained, but animosity towards Silva and the Provisional Government, both during the Operation: Queenslayer and the Blood Bead tax, continued to run high. Their hatred ran deep. The tribes were mainly controlled by Revenants that woke after the Operation but were then hit with the harsh reality of surviving Lost and Blood Frenzy, but Louis had met a group with older Revenants at one time.

And the Blood Slaves…The girl they rescued so long ago, as well as Eva, were just two of the tragedies stopped, out of the hundreds still happening. Despite Io's sacrifice and the abundance of Blood Beads available, monstrous Revenants still continued to torment and drink from the Living. "Living Blood is a bloody delicacy." A returned Revenant named Andrew Alfton told him. "Kinda like enjoying a fine wine after having nothing but crappy moonshine for a long damn time. They're not doing it to survive. They're doing it because they fucking can, power and shit like that. Probably just to shit on Silva too. Fucking savages."

Louis lightly slapped his face. It would not do to go into a meeting and appeal with an angry visage.

The elevator exited right out into his office with a very spartan setup within. Located inside of a Clocktower, observable gears and machineries could be seen working from the ceiling, muted and silent by the open-air design of the room. Four pillars were evenly-spaced apart near the walls, out of the way of foot traffic and the aesthetic design of the floor. There was a small table to the side, on top of it was a potted plant and an electric kettle. The other side of the room from the elevator was a long, curved glass table filled with more gearwork design, where Headmaster Ozpin and his deputy, Professor Goodwitch were standing at. A Haptic-Hologram screen was floating above the table, with three silhouette figures motioning with their body figures as they talked to the older man known to him as Headmaster Ozpin. "—coincide with the increase in crimes!"

Louis hoped they were not talking about them. Self-defense was not a crime, not unless these people had skewed views. "Yet coincidence is all that it was." The Headmaster must have seen him in his peripheral vision. He subtly raised an open palm—the universal sign for 'Stop'—in his direction, before turning it towards the screen without breaking his reply to the people on the screen. Louis stopped beside Professor Goodwitch, giving her a nod in greetings, which she returned. "You have read the reports. The location and timing of their appearances simply do not link up in timeline with Torchwick's spree of robberies."

'These people must be the Vale's Council group' Louis could not tell much individuality from the silhouettes. He wondered why a group of civil servants would hide their persons from the public. 'Or maybe from us instead?'

"What about our defenses?" The one to Louis's right raised from his seat and leaned forward, towards the centre of their table. "We got the reports of multiple attempted incursions! I have security stations urgently requesting for additional resupplies! Already, we are dipping into our reserved stockpiles."

"The Grimm's attempts to invade us happens all the time. Thus far, there isn't anything out of the ordinary in the Grimm's movement." The Headmaster sighed. "Unfortunately, Beacon Academy does not hold stockpiles of munitions for field work, much less for the required amount used in the defenses at the walls. Our field-training teams have been, since the beginning, taught and made to keep track of their own supplies and maintain them." He tapped the table and, visually observable by Louis, a screen popped up in front of them.

'What kind of academy is this?' Louis was mildly surprised at the pragmatic approach that Headmaster Ozpin used for his students. Though it also made him glad, about the existence of Gaol's Red Mist. Louis had not known, in the earlier days of talking with Headmaster Ozpin, about the frequency or ferocity of the Grimm's assaults. But listening to them talking about Vale's defense made him truly appreciate Silva's and Io's sacrifices.

The figure at Louis's left made some hand movement. The silhouette did not transmit the actions well. "It's my jurisdiction. Unfortunately, we still rely heavily on the victims somehow reporting to us the crimes that were taking place right at those moments. By the time my forces made their way there, the criminals were already gone with their bounties." The sound of a fist slamming onto the table was perfectly transmitted. "Just what the hell were my patrols doing! Twenty-two Dust robberies within the last half year! Two were stopped not because of my officers, but because of your Trainees. And how did the White Fang get their hands on airspace clearance?"

"Oum damn it, we're not here to talk about that! The Revenants!" The man in the centre held his colleagues down by their shoulders and took the stage. Louis had wondered if the Councillors were going to talk about them. "We have the literal walking dead in our midst! And you are harbouring them instead of executing those soulless beings, Ozpin! Just what the hell are you playing at?"

Louis frowned. How rude! Just because they were once dead, it did not mean they were soulless.

"Their bodily statuses are…unique, but the core concept still remains the same." The Headmaster replied, then tapped the haptic keyboard again. "They still have their 'Soul' in them. They have 'Aura'. Which, as you know, the Grimm do not possess." He took a sip of his mug from the table. Louis could smell the chocolaty fragrant from it. "The Revenants are unique individuals that still proves the age-old concept of the mortal beings."

Soul as a noun was easily understandable. But Aura was still a concept Louis was struggling to understand. He had never heard of the power of an 'Aura' before they arrived in the hospital. None of them, save for Shiva, had Aura. He did not even know Shiva had Aura until the doctor said something! He was still bewildered by that surprise.

"Then what are we supposed to see them as, Ozpin? Their bodies are dead! The only existing non-living creature on Remnant is the Grimm! And these ones drink blood, for Oum's sake! We wouldn't even have known of their dietary needs if we hadn't checked what were in those orbs before destroying those abominations!"

Now Louis knew why there had been nothing done by the Headmaster about it and he was furious. He might have just stewed in anger if it was just the Beads, but they had Shiva's Amber as well. Io's memento. Goodwitch's disciplinary stick was slapped on his chest before he even knew he had moved forward. "Don't." She warned. "You need them."

'The people in Gaol need them.' Louis clenched his fist and bit his lip. He steamed in anger and silence.

Ozpin continued the talk with the Council all the while. "While they do drink blood, they do not do so by directly attacking the innocents. Those orbs, you called them, are called 'Beads', which I have been enlightened that they were harvested like ripened fruits from trees grown uniquely in their location. It is very much civilised."

The Bloodsprings. Louis had shown a photograph of the Bloodspring taken from a long time ago, when he had to explain to the Headmaster why the Blood Beads were so important to the Revenants. He had scrutinised the picture, admitting and agreeing that it was something he had never encountered before. Not yet fully trusting the Headmaster yet, Louis managed to halt any further questions about the origins of Bloodsprings by plainly showing him more pictures of the devastated, ruined city that the Revenants called home, citing that they had no equipment to fully study them. Ozpin accepted the explanation.

Headmaster Ozpin sipped his cocoa drink once more as he spoke further. "But I have to inquire about it: You stole from our guests and destroyed their belongings?"

"We search for contrabands. Drugs. Controlled items. It's SOP. Those Beads are suspicious items, before we even know what they were." The one Louis presumed to be from the Police force explained. "We would've kept them as evidence, as you know it Ozpin. But we received disturbing reports about them from the hospital labs, not just the Beads, and a strong recommendation to destroy all of them."

"And why is that? While I am under the impression that they are merely fruits, my guests had admitted that they had a severe lack of resources and equipment to properly study it."

There was a rustling of papers. "Undiscovered pathogens with unknown effects. They aren't even completely Human Blood, which lend credentials that they are not of Human origins. Or Faunus. But whatever they were, they are a highly invasive biological substance. Causes necrosis in healthy bodies. Burns itself out when exposed to air after an unspecified amount of time, so highly combustible. Possibility of brainwashing subjects…If the labs did not confirm that they are Blood of some kind, I'd call it a drug. It still is."

"Hhmm, interesting." Headmaster Ozpin commented as he crossed eyes with Louis. He roughly knew why the Blood study had shown something like that: It had to do with the BOR Parasites, which generated its own blood into a Revenant's body and assumed control. Something that he had not told Ozpin yet as it was also a Revenant's absolute weakness. "So you have removed every existence of the Beads?"

"I did, yes—"

"It's for the best of our people." Xenophobe cut in.

"By the way, Ozpin." The Officer continued with a raised voice, ignoring the comment. "I require a team of trackers."

Ozpin focused back to the screen. "What is the issue?"

"Missing items with no discernable entry or exit into our safe room. My best men could only narrow it down to Semblances at work."

Ozpin hummed in thought. "Very well, I'll go speak with you after this. There is one more matter. As I had informed you earlier last week, our guest would like to speak with you."

"If it is about getting more of their monsterkind here, they can forget it." Xenophobe shut Ozpin, and Louis's hope, down. "Better that these Living Deads remain away from the populace before they spread their diseases and infect more of the Living into their Undead ranks."

"You should at least treat them respectfully as a sentient race, Council." He was looking towards Louis now, probably gauging his reaction. Louis sighed. Ozpin blinked and returned to the screen. "And what of the Living individuals? Mr. Amamiya had stressed about their dire situation and their inability to sustain them."

"They're probably all infected and brainwashed by whatever these things drank. How else are they surviving on the Grimm Continent!"

"Now now, there is no need to throw around accusations." The Councillor who worried about the city's defenses and dwindling supplies of munitions spoke. "None of his people have done anything untoward us. As Ozpin said, they're a civilised group of people. They're even minor celebrities for that Vacuo Shipping Vessel for saving the crew and passengers from a Sea-Feilong. At the very least, we could hear him out, as well as learning more about their culture regarding their Practice."

"That is no culture nor practice, that is an abomination!" Xenophobe made his opinion clear. "Ozpin, if you wouldn't deal with them, then we'll get someone else that places the safety of the people as their first priority! I'm sure General Ironwood will do what needs to be done." With the last words said, Xenophobe cut the call.

Headmaster Ozpin sighed and shook his head, before turning to a baffled Louis. "My apologies, Mr. Amamiya. I had hoped that they were clear-headed to listen to your plea for help."

Louis was in disbelief. "How is this kind of person a part of your city's decision maker?" The man was clearly narrow-minded and refused to listen.

"He is worried for the safety of our people. He could have phrased his words better, but he is largely known for his extreme views and bluntness." Headmaster Ozpin tapped a few keys and brought up several documents with pictures attached. Louis could identify some were photos of Shiva, more accurately her hand, a foot, her cat ears and a double-helix which he assumed was his friend's DNA structure. And all of them had highlights and details pointed at different parts. "Your Revenants' existence is defying modern medical science and logic, and they fear what they do not understand. They tried to draw connections to what they knew to give themselves a sense of control."

"We're not Horrors." Louis hotly reiterated. Headmaster Ozpin simply kept up his smile. "We're not Grimm." He amended.

"That is without any doubt. I do stand by what I said." Headmaster Ozpin manipulated the screens and pulled up one which had an outline of Shiva judging by the cat-ears, but the outline was bathed in sky-blue colour. Darker hue lines creeped throughout her body, ending with a spot of ocean-blue in the centre of her chest.

Louis's heart skipped a beat. It was exactly where the heart was! 'Did he find out about the BOR parasite?'

"Do you know what an 'Aura' is, Mr. Amamiya?"

The Headmaster's question threw him into a loop. "No, sir." He breathed. He hoped it was a coincidence. "We haven't heard of it before until we're at the hospital."

Headmaster Ozpin nodded. "To put it simply, Aura is the manifestation of a person's Soul. Only those with a Soul could ever have an Aura, including bona fide animals. The only known species known to not possess a Soul is the Grimm." He minimised Shiva's blue-glowing outline to the side and brought up two outlines: one was a dog—was that a corgi?—and the other a Beowolf. The former was glowing like Shiva's image was, though without any criss-crossing of lines. The latter remained dull.

Louis nodded. "To have an Aura is to have a Soul. And Grimms are Soulless. But we don't have an Aura." Though Shiva seemed to have gained hers after they had arrived in Vale.

"While I do meant that every being with a Soul has an Aura, to be able to wield its power you need to have it unlocked." Headmaster Ozpin switched the images again, now a Human and a Faunus with a tail dominated the screen. Both of them could have been anyone. "Even without it unlocked, a person with a Soul will have Aura, albeit tiny and unnoticeable."

The focused images faded into outlines. In contrast to Shiva's full-body glow, there were only a faint dot on both outlines at the centre of their chests.

"It may seem small, but that isn't what truly matters. What mattered is that it is there." Headmaster Ozpin closed off all the additional windows except for Shiva's. "And as Ms. Demilyn has clearly shown us, even the once-dead has their Soul intact. You and yours aren't Grimm, in that sense."

Something felt strange when the Headmaster said it and Louis consciously lifted a hand to his heart. "So we do have a Soul?"

"I believe so, yes."

The words lifted some form of stress that Louis did not realise he had, feeling less burdened by a seeded question he never quite noticed he had. The question of whether or not a Revenant had their Soul, or if they were just empty vessels operated by the BOR Parasites in their heart.

Then Louis blinked. He thought back to a mere few seconds before. "I'm sorry, but what did you just call Shiva?"

"Hhmm," the Headmaster gazed from the screen to Louis, "I was under the impression that all of you have a strong camaraderie. Did Miss Shiva never introduce to you her background?"

'Ah, I see.' "No, though no fault of hers." Louis would have to disclose more information about being a Revenant. "When we are reviving as a Revenant, our bodies require a source of energy to resuscitate our dead cells. That 'source' is our memories." He could hear the soft, but sharp intake of breath from Professor Goodwitch beside him. It was a terrible price. He hoped it was enough as an explanation without details. "Every one of us lost some of our memories when we woke up. As far as I know, Shiva was the worst case in terms of memories lost, having only her first name to recall."

"I understand now." Headmaster Ozpin sipped his chocolate drink. "Suffice to say, Miss Shiva was a registered citizen of Vale, but unaffiliated Huntress before her sudden disappearance from the world. And in our line of work, having an unlocked Aura is a universal requirement. It is nearly impossible to survive against the onslaught of Grimm otherwise."

So Shiva came from outside of the Ruined City. They already had a guess about it when they remember the Vestige they found that had her voice from it, but now it was confirmed. And they were in her place of origin, despised by the people she used to protect. What a twist… Huh? "I'm sorry. Unaffiliated?"

"It is just a political way of saying 'Mercenary'."

Shiva was a known mercenary before she became a Revenant? It took time to build up any sort of reputation. Louis knew because of his own reputation of being known for his Crimson sword, and that was after a long time of fighting alone in the Gaol before he met Yakumo. She looked about his age, so how old would she have been when she started her career and became known prior to her death and becoming a Revenant?

The thought must have been written on his face when he heard a question. "Is there a problem, Mr. Amamiya?"

"No, sir. I was just thinking how old she would have been to be a known mercenary."

Headmaster Ozpin let out a smile. "Perhaps you could find out from or with her when she wakes. Perhaps a little exercise in searching the Remnant Network will jolt her memories back."

'Or she could have already learned it from the Vestige.' It was the whole reason why they were having such a bad time in Vale. But he blamed it on his inaction as well.

Louis shook his head. It was not the time to dwell on what was done. And as interesting as it was to talk about philosophy, he was here for the sake of those still trapped in Gaol. "What should we do now? Your Council admitted to stealing from us and destroying what would have been sustaining us. They're bent on not helping us and there is still a large population of living beings in a dire situation." The whole debacle was a disaster.

"We are but one city with resources that could help." Headmaster Ozpin closed all previous screens to open a world map. Now that Louis could see it, he noted just how odd the world's land masses were, seemingly like they were the mythical dragons. There were four icons as well, one on each continent, which Louis remembered were the national symbols of each Kingdoms. "There are three others that have the same resources to save your people. And it just so happens that one of them will be coming to us within the next few days."

"Who would that be?" Louis barely recalled the name that the Xenophobe had named before he ended the call. "General Wood?" He could hear Professor Goodwitch's resigned sigh.

She had been strangely quiet throughout the talk.

"General Ironwood." Headmaster Ozpin corrected him. "He is both the Council and Headmaster of Atlas. By technicality, he has even more power than I do as my counterpart in Atlas."

"The Kingdom of Atlas…That is the Kingdom that used to be Mantle, correct?"

Headmaster Ozpin nodded. Louis wondered if the General knew Dominic.

"Does he have the same prejudice as your Council?" Because if he did, Louis might as well start looking for help from the other two Kingdoms. They were running on a very tight and limited schedule now, so they had little time to get the help they needed. Team BRNZ had been a pretty good company so Vacuo could be a possibility.

They could consider returning to the Gaol as well.

"Not at all." The Headmaster's words gave him some hope. "General Ironwood is a long time close friend and an ally of mine, as well as a man of action. While Vale Council will attempt to discredit you, General Ironwood will do more than just listen to them and will want to know more. You should have an easier time talking to him in person when he arrives."

"I believe I will do just that, Headmaster." Louis meant it as he said. It was too good of an opportunity, especially with the Headmaster giving his personality a high review.

Maybe they should have followed Dominic's suggestion and simply headed to Mantle, or the newly-named Atlas. It would have saved them from all the hassles.

"I think I will go and apprise my friends of the situation then. They could use some good news after all the bads since the docks."

"There is the other thing, regarding Ms. Murasame and Ms. Karnstein…"

"I haven't asked them about that. But with our current predicament, it might never come up if we have to leave."

"I understand. Then I shall not hold you back any longer, Mr. Amamiya. Have a good day."

"To you as well, Headmaster. Professor." After exchanging a pleasantry bow with Glynda, Louis made his way to an awaiting elevator—courtesy of Glynda and her remote control—and left the office.

Glynda had not waited for a single second after the elevator door shut before reaming into him. "What was that all about, Ozpin?"

He switched the screen to the elevator's security camera. He noted that there were no temperings of the controls beyond selecting the first floor. "Would you care to elaborate, Glynda?"

"This!" She tapped her electronic notepad, causing four distinctive images to pop up next to the camera. Ozpin took a glance at them to see what the contents were in order to understand his deputy's outburst.

They were Aura scans of the Louis and the other three Revenants. Again, courtesy of Glynda's issued Scrolls for their—literal—inhuman guests. The outlines were completely gray with 'No Aura Detected. Subject has expired' written as captions underneath each.

In complete contrast to the supposedly deceased Shiva Demilyn's scan, which had simply had an 'Error!' written on it.

"Why would you lie to him about his non-existent Aura?" Glynda demanded. "And Ms. Demilyn's Aura is mutated beyond recognition. Neither of us had ever seen such a chaotic mess of an 'Aura' before, if it even is one. Why are you keeping the Revenants here?"

"Our charge." Ozpin simply said, knowing Glynda knew who he was talking about, as he watched Louis exited the elevator without much fanfare upon reaching the first floor. He could see, from the cameras facing the service desk, that Louis had retrieved his issued Scroll and was making a call. On a separate window, a string of numbers was saved, similar to the previous string above it.

"No Aura but living. Living with a mutation. Loss of memories…" Glynda made a short list. "Stolen Aura and Power. Do you believe that Salem is behind all of these? That Ms. Demilyn could be another one of Salem's operative?"

"It is imperative that we learn more about the Revenants. Mr. Amamiya is beginning to have faith and trust us, though he does have his loyalty to the Revenants, something I don't begrudge at all." Ozpin finally looked away from the screen. "That said, I do believe in Mr. Amamiya's genuine plea for help for his people. It is likely why he gave us some hints about the Revenants in general."

"Do I need to remind you that these people feed on Blood? And we do not have those 'Beads' or 'Bead Trees' to sustain these Revenants."

"I do believe we can come up with a compromise. Mr. Amamiya's plea is centered around helping those still alive and living. Not once had he asked to pull the Revenants out, but to supply resources to them, likely understanding that they would not survive unless they throw out all of their civility." He tapped the keyboard, bringing up a list of team names based on a specific specialisation: Scouting. "I do regret that I have neglected to check Metus Continent for the past two decades. It is time to give it a thorough once over, especially if we can do so with blessings from their own people."

"I will put together a team dossier for your perusal." Glynda volunteered.

"Consider external teams as well, including James's people if they fit." He knew Glynda would do it, perhaps even better than he did. He never did get over the loss of lives while trying to learn more about the silent fall of the Kingdom. Perhaps Glynda and James will come out with a team far more competent than he could put together, especially since these two interact with the students far more than he did.

Thinking of his losses reminded him of Amber, still trapped in a coma like both Mr. Arc and Ms. Demilyn are. He should give her a visit and remind himself why he was doing all these. He glanced at the clock: Just past eleven, going towards noon and lunch. "Let us leave, Glynda. I'll be visiting Amber first, then let's see which of our wayward students have made their way back to the Academy safe and sound for the new semester."

Glynda nodded. "I'll accompany you."

And they would not return to the office until the next day, shortly before James Ironwood's arrival with a large military presence.

But if Ozpin had done so in the afternoon, he would have caught something interesting happening on the infirmary camera.


A/N: My apologies for the time skip and most of the chapter being an exposition as a result. Something was meant to happen, but it is being delayed to the next chapter for a smoother transition.

As for the problem that caused a 3-week Block, it was a conversation piece with Louis vs Xenophobe. I ended up deleting the whole section to get over it because I can't get it to come out right. Writing the rest became a breeze after that, though I took out an additional few thousand words for the last edits for being out-of-place and pace.