Later that day, Julius was in his room putting the final touches on his and Weiss's song. Weiss had insisted on just her and Ruby meeting Winter, but she allowed Julius to finish the song as best as he could, and she would review it later. Julius had wanted to argue this, but saw better against it; once Weiss has her mind set on something, it's near impossible to change her mind.

"There." Julius said to himself as he put the papers the song was written on in a folder. Then, he walked over to the connecting door to team RWBY's room and knocked on it, hoping Blake would answer. Sure enough, she did.

"Hey, Julius," she said.

"Hey, Blake," Julius said, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Ok. So, I was wondering, if you're not busy tonight, that maybe you and I could take a walk through the courtyard and hang out? Just you and me?"

"You mean like a date?"

Julius blushed a bit: "Yeah?"

Blake giggled, then leaned over and kissed Julius on the cheek: "Sure. Let's go in about two hours from now, once the sun actually goes down."

"Honestly, I was thinking the same thing. So, in two hours?

Blake nodded: "Don't be late."

Once she closed the door, Julius pumped his fist.

"YES!" he excitedly whispered to himself; this was the first date they had since the dance. Suddenly, he heard multiple gunshots and explosions coming from the courtyard, and he ran over to the window to see what was going on. As he looked, he could see a white figure, Julius guessed Winter, running across one of the column structures while being shot at by what appeared to be a man, but he was too far away to discern. His curiosity getting the better of him, decided to teleport down and take a closer look. Using his semblance, he made his way to the crowd. Then, looking to the spot everyone else was, he saw the same man, whom he could now see had black-grey hair, a red cape, and carried a sword, being surrounded by glowing white birds that Winter had summoned. After a few moments, the man sliced through the birds and forced Winter to dispel the summoned creatures. Winter glared, building up another energy symbol behind her and preparing to shoot forward. With the birds gone, Julius could finally get a clear view of her opponent, who was revealed to be…Uncle Qrow?

No way…Julius thought to himself. As he watched, Qrow began to morph his sword into a scythe, only to stop halfway and sheath his sword. Everyone watched in confusion as row smirked and taunted Winter. Immediately, Winter shot forward, her rapier pointed at Qrow.

"Schnee!" a voice yelled, stopping Winter right in front of Qrow. Winter, surprised and ashamed, turned around to see Ironwood standing there, flanked by Penny and Slayer.

Busted. Julius thought to himself, holding in a smirk.

"General Ironwood, sir!" she said, saluting.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ironwood demanded.

"He started the altercations, sir!"

"That's not true," Qrow chimed in, "She attacked first."

"Is this true?" Ironwood asked. Winter simply looked down in shame. Julius rolled his eyes in amusement and chuckled to himself; it was amazing how even adult huntsmen acted like children sometimes.

"And you," Ironwood said to Qrow, who innocently pointed to himself. Ironwood walked closer to Qrow and lowered his voice a bit: "What are YOU doing here?"

"I should be asking you the same thing." Qrow responded.

"Now, now, everyone," said a voice behind them as Ozpin and Glynda walked up.

Ozpin continued: "There is a more sanctioned fight happening down at the coliseum, which I can assure you will have much better seats, and popcorn."

"Break it up, everyone," Glynda said, "We will deal with this mess."

The other students began to break up and walk away, except for Ruby and Weiss, with the former jumping onto Qrow's arm.

"UNCLE QROW!" she shouted as she did, "Hi. Oooooo I'm so glad to see you! Did you miss me? DID YOU MISS ME?!"

"Nope," Qrow sarcastically said, smirking as he rubbed Ruby's head.

"Qrow," Julius said walking up, "Never thought I'd see you around this edge of the woods, Uncle."

"Oh boy…" Qrow said to himself, noticing Julius, then said to Julius, "Neither was I, nephew. Nice robo-eye by the way."

"Thanks, I got it before I came here."

"And how did someone like you end up coming to a place like this?"

"Well…" Julius began to explain, but he was cut off by Ozpin.

"Qrow" Ozpin said as Glynda repaired the hole Qrow made in the courtyard path, "A word, please."

"I think I'm in trouble." Qrow said to Ruby and Julius.

"You did kind of tear up our courtyard," Ruby said.

"Yeah, I did." Qrow said, patting Ruby's head one last time before walking away, "See you around, kid. Same goes for you, Julius."

"Don't worry," Julius said with a smirk, "I'll be waiting."

"I know you will." Qrow said before joining Ozpin and Glynda.

"And suddenly, your recklessness makes sense," Weiss said, walking up to Ruby.

"You're just mad cause he kicked butt." Ruby said, playfully nudging Weiss's arm.

"That fight was a draw at best." Weiss protested. Julius chuckled to himself. Hector walked up as well. His mask had been removed, showing fiery orange eyes.

"That's your uncle?" he asked Julius, who nodded in response.

"Huh," Hector said, "I can see the resemblance."

"And the attitude." Weiss added.

"Well, we should head back to our room," Ruby said, "Catch you guys later!"

"You too, sis." Julius said, "Oh, and Weiss, I finished the song; it's in the folder on my desk if you want to take a look at it."

"I certainly will," Weiss said, "Thank you." And with that, she and Ruby walked off.

"Hey guys!" said a girl's voice, and Julius and Hector turned to see a faunus girl with bright orange hair and flashy roller skates zoom up, followed by a dark skinned boy in a jazz musician's outfit carrying a trumpet.

"Hey, I remember you guys from one of the fights," Julius said, "Team FNKI, right?"

The girl nodded: "I'm Neon. This is the team leader, Flynt."

"What's hangin?" Flynt said, tipping his hat in greeting.

Hector shrugged: "Eh, not much."

"Same here," Julius said, "I do have a date with Blake in about an hour, but that's pretty much it."

"Awww, that's cute." Neon said, "Anyways, we saw your team's fight; you guys did really well."

"I respect the teamwork you four had," Flynt added.

"Thanks," Julius said, "We try."

"We were also going to ask you guys if you wanted to hang out or not, but if you got a date, we understand." Flynt said.

"Thanks. Maybe some other time." Julius said.

"Maybe the cute faunus boy can come," Neon said, winking at Hector, who looked away and blushed.

"I'd love to. I'm just not much of a social person," he responded. Julius rolled his eyes and put a hand on Hector's shoulder: "We need to talk." Then, turning to Neon and Flynt: "Can you excuse us for a sec?" He then teleported Hector a few feet away, just out of FNKI's earshot.

"Dude, you can't keep turning down invites like this." Julius said, "Besides, that's the fifth faunus girl that's secretly flirted with you TODAY; you're having better luck in that field than I ever did."

"Fourth," Hector corrected, "I'm not counting that chick with the bird wings."

"She smiled and winked at you as she passed by. That's pretty much flirting in my book."

"Whatever! I just can't be around people like that."

"Why not?"

"Because it reminds me of when I had friends in the White Fang."

"And?"

"I'm worried if I make new friends here, it's gonna reignite my memories of my old friends and I'll want to see them again, which I CAN'T do; it would compromise my entire crusade against them!"

"That's a bit of a dumb excuse, but I kinda see where you're going with that. These friends are not going to be like your friends in the Fang, that I can promise you. Plus, if you be more social, than you might get these people to trust you more. That's what you want, right?"

Hector though for a moment, then sighed: "Yeah, I guess so."

Julius chuckled: "You're just nervous, are you?"

"If I'm being honest, yeah, I am."

"Relax, I've stepped out of my comfort zone more times than you may realize. You should have seen me try to ask Blake out for the first time; I was a mess."

Hector chuckled a bit at this.

"Come on," Julius said, "Just give these guys a shot. Who knows, maybe you might end up getting a girl yourself."

"You think so, huh?"

"With this many flirting with you, it's almost guaranteed. That Neon's a pretty cute one."

"Eh, too flashy."

Julius shrugged: "Fair enough. Point aside, you should go with them. I gotta go get ready for my own date."

Hector sighed: "Alright, I'll go."

Julius high fived Hector, then teleported away. Hector then ran over to where Flynt and Neon were waiting.

"So, where to?" he asked.

Neon lit up like Christmas: "You're coming?"

Hector shrugged: "Might as well."

"Well in that case," Flynt said, "Follow us."

"Lead on," Hector said, and he went with the group, talking with Flynt while Neon skated in circles around them, giddy with excitement.

…

Meanwhile, closer to the office building, Ironwood turned to Penny and Slayer.

"You both are dismissed," he said, "Winter and I will speak with Ozpin and Glynda ourselves."

"Yes sir!" Penny said saluting, the taking Slayer by the hand, "Come on! I have to show you something."

"What is it?" Slayer asked.

"You'll see. Now, come on!" she said leading him away. Ironwood chuckled to himself as he watched the two leave; their relationship turning from professional to becoming friends to now dating was unexpected, though noy unwelcome. Even Pietro was pleased when he heard that Penny had actually grown feelings for someone.

"Sir?" Winter said, snapping him back to reality, "Is everything okay?"

"Yes," Ironwood said, straightening back up, "I'm fine. Let's go."

Meanwhile, Penny brought Slayer to their room.

"Penny, what is going on?" Slayer asked.

"Well, Damian," Penny said, know it was safe to use his true name here, "Ruby and Weiss helped me plan out a few things I want us to do together tonight. I believe Ruby called it a 'date'."

"Oh," Damian said, realizing what Penny was so excited about, "Well, you know, it's usually the boy who does the planning for things like this."

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No, no, no. I'm sure you did great. It's just that this was a bit of a surprise to me as I was actually planning to ask you on a date I had thought of too."

"Really? What did you have in mind?"

It took a few minutes for the two to compare their plans but they finally agreed on doing a few things from both lists, starting with a quiet walk around the courtyard.

"Well," Damian said after everything was figured out, "You ready to go?"

"Absolutely!" Penny said in excitement, "I'm glad we're finally able to do this. I'm sorry for ruining your plans, though."

Damian laughed a bit: "You didn't ruin anything. My plan was never fully figured out anyways" (it actually was) "Besides, now we get to do things we both want, so I see this as a win-win for us."

Damian then walked up and hugged Penny gently, saying: "You're a wonderful person, Penny. I didn't want to make you feel bad from what I said."

Penny hugged back: "It's okay, I guess. So, can we go now?"

"Sure," Damian said, pulling back, "Right this way, Penny." He said, taking her by the hand. Then he led her out of the room and to the courtyard for the start of their date.

…

Up in Ozpin's office tower, Ironwood, Winter, and Hayden waited for Ozpin and Glynda to arrive with Qrow. Finally, the elevator doors opened as the three walked into the room, Qrow having a casual smirk on his face.

"What were you thinking?" Winter demanded.

"If you were one of my men, I would have you shot." Ironwood said.

Qrow retorted: "If I was one of your men, I'd shoot myself."

"Well, I wouldn't exactly condone his behavior," Glynda said, "Retaliating like you did CERTAINLY didn't help the situation."

"He was drunk," Winter argued.

"He's always drunk," Glynda replied as the group turned to see Qrow drinking from his flask, only to stop once he noticed the others were looking at him. Sighing, Ozpin sat down in his chair.

"Qrow," he said, "Why are you here?"

"You've been out of contact for weeks," Ironwood said, "You can't just go dark like that in the field!"

"I'm not one of your special operatives, Jimmy." Qrow said.

"General," Winter corrected.

"Whatever. You sent me to get intel on our enemy, and I'm telling you; our enemy is here."

Ironwood sat on top of Ozpin's desk: "We know."

"Oh!" Qrow snapped, "Oh, you know! Well thank goodness I'm out there risking my life to keep you all informed!"

"Qrow," Ironwood tried to interrupt, but the Huntsman was on a roll.

"Communication's a two way street, pal." Qrow said. Then whipping out his scroll: "You see this? That's the SEND button."

"They had reason to assume you had been compromised," Winter said.

"And I have reason to assume you're not supposed to be here. Seriously, who invited her?"

Ironwood turned to Winter: "Schnee, we'll discuss this incident more back on my ship."

"But, sir…" Winter began to protest.

"Winter," Ironwood said, "Leave."

Winter saluted and said: "Yes, sir." Before turning around and walking to the elevator, glaring at Qrow, who simply winked back.

"Go on." Ironwood said once Winter had left.

"Your little infiltrator isn't just another pawn," Qrow said, "There the one responsible for Autumn's condition."

"What?" Glynda asked.

"You're positive about this?" Hayden asked.

"Positive enough, doc," Qrow said, "Despite what the world thinks, we're not just teachers, or generals, scientists, or headmasters. The people in this room, the leaders of the other two academies, we're the ones that keep the world safe from the evils no one even knows about!" Qrow began while getting up in Ironwood's face "It's why we meet behind closed doors, why we work in the shadows. So you tell me, James, when you brought your army to Vale, did you think you were being discreet, or did you just not give a damn!?"

Ironwood sighed and said, "Discreet wasn't working" as he put his scroll on the desk, projecting an image of Vale with the Atlesian fleet and the Amity Arena hovering above it.

"I'm here because this is what was necessary."

"You're here because Ozpin wanted you here," Qrow snapped, "He made you a part of this inner circle and opened your eyes to the real fight in front of us."

"And I am grateful."

"Oh, you've got a real funny way of showing it."

"The people of Vale needed someone to protect them; someone who would act. When they look to the sky and see my fleet, they feel safe, and our enemies will feel our strength" Ironwood said in pride.

Qrow starts laughing "You... You think they're scared of your little ships? I've been out there and I've seen the things she's made, and let me tell you - they are fear".

Ozpin stands up "And fear will bring the Grimm. A guardian is a symbol of comfort. But an army is a symbol of conflict. There's an energy in the air now, a question in the back of everyone's minds..." He gestures to the display "If this is the size of our defenses, then what is it we're expecting to fight?"

"I agree with Ozpin," Hayden said, "If we show up with too large of a military force, the enemy will start to get suspicious and move faster; and we need all the time we can afford, which is why I advised against this deployment to begin with."

Ironwood glares at them before sighing and walking forward, picking up his Scroll just as it flashes with the image of a Black Queen "So then, what would you suggest we do?".

"I suggest we find our guardian" Ozpin said.

"You're suggesting we bring HIM in?" Hayden asked.

"No," Ozpin replied quickly, "We will save that for when it's absolutely necessary. Besides, his son is doing well enough here already. If we had two Sentinels here, it would be too much for anyone to handle. Besides, I have a different guardian in mind."

"The silver-eyed one?" Hayden asked.

"No, she is too young. We must find someone else." Ozpin replied.

"Speaking of someone else," Qrow said, "Mind telling me what the hell my nephew's doing here?"

"He is one of my students," Ozpin explained, "Raven thought it would be fitting to send him here."

"Well, who can blame her, and it's not that I'm worried about him; he's more than capable of handling himself. It's everyone around him that I'm worried about. Of all the hideous things I've seen her create, about half of them are created just to kill him. I don't want innocent people getting caught in that kind of crossfire."

"She's that determined?" Ironwood asked.

"Not determined," Hayden corrected, "Desperate. The only reason anyone would only send their best against someone is if they were afraid of them."

"Interesting…" Ozpin said, thinking of the Ravager that attacked him at the bridge.

"Look," Qrow continued, "There's not much we can do about it now, so all I'm asking is that you cut him some slack. I'm sure you've already done plenty of investigations on him trying to figure him out, but maybe some things are better left hidden; hell, there are some things Julius won't even tell me. I can't blame him though; the kid's had a target painted on his back his entire life. The least we can give him is our trust, and our help."

"I understand," Ozpin said, "Which is why I let him come here. If he is what we think he is, than I cannot stress enough how valuable he can be as an ally. If he were to join her side…"

"He won't," Qrow said, "He's very clear about how much he hates her; you saw what that Sabyr did to him when he was just a kid."

"True enough." Hayden said, "I've also heard he and the Novus Sureya have formed an alliance. We could possibly use that."

"We will discuss that later," Ozpin said, "but right now, I suggest we get some rest. We have another big day tomorrow."

As the four left, Hayden turned back to Ozpin.

"Just so we are clear," he said, "We may rest, but our enemy will not."

"I know, but we don't have much of a choice right now." Ozpin replied.

"That's what worries me." And with that, Hayden left the room.

…

In the dorm building, Julius was making his way through the hallway and was almost to his room, excited to be going out with Blake.

"Hey," said a voice behind him, "I think you dropped something."

Julius whipped around to see Emerald and Mercury standing behind him, Emerald dangling a key in front of her.

"Ah, geez," he said, walking over and taking the keys from Emerald, "Guess I got a bit too excited. Thanks."

"No worries. So, where you off to so fast?"

"I was heading back to my room to get ready; I got myself a date tonight."

"Lucky," Mercury said.

"It'll happen with you too, Mercury," Julius said, "Just be patient."

Mercury simply rolled his eyes in amusement.

"So," Julius continued, "What are you guys up to?"

"Just heading back to our rooms too," Mercury said, "We were just outside getting some fresh air after the fights today."

"I bet. Those fights were pretty intense."

Emerald nodded and said: "Well, we shouldn't keep you from your date," Emerald said, "You go on ahead. Have fun!"

"Thanks. Oh, and tell Cinder I said hi." Julius said before running off.

"Uh, how does he know Cinder's name?" Mercury asked as the two continued towards their room.

"I don't know," Emerald replied, "But we should tell Cinder once we get there."

"Agreed."

In Cinder's room, Mercury was sitting in a chair, reporting on the fight he saw earlier, while Cinder walked back and forth, interrogating him with Emerald resting on a bed nearby.

"And you're sure?" Cinder asked.

"Bad hair, used a scythe, and smelled like my dad after a long day. It was him" Mercury said.

"What do we do?" Emerald asked.

"Nothing. We stay the course. They have no idea who we are, so we have no reason to worry. Besides, the last of the heavy lifting is being taken care of thanks to our clever little friend" Cinder said as she picks up her Scroll as it too flashes with the Black Queen "Speaking of which... it appears we have a new access point".

Emerald looks at her "Anywhere good?"

"You could say that."

"Also, we ran into that Julius guy in the hall earlier," Mercury said, "and apparently he knows your name."

"Does he now?" Cinder asked, intrigued.

"Yeah," Emerald said, "and we didn't even tell him."

"Which means we may not be as hidden as I wanted us to be. However, he may have overheard it from somewhere else, so there still may be no reason to really worry. Not yet, at least."

"What do you want us to do?" Emerald asked.

"Go to your rooms for now. I'll prepare everything for tomorrow" Cinder told them.

"Yes, ma'am" Emerald said as she stood up.

Mercury got up too: "Got it".

As they left, Cinder looked at her scroll as she worked on it, but she couldn't shake the feeling that this Julius was more than he was making himself out to be; almost as if he was…

No, she wasn't going to let herself think about that. Not yet. Pushing the thought out of her mind, she put the final touches on her scroll: "Let's give the crowd a REAL fight."

…

Later that night, Julius and Blake were sitting next each other in front of a fountain in the courtyard, watching the water calmly flow as they talked.

"You know," Julius said, "This fountain kinda reminds me of that small stream I brought you to when we were kids."

"You mean the one where you used the freezing water to try and clean my wounds after you rescued me?" Blake asked.

Julius chuckled: "You did NOT like that water."

"It was FREEZING!"

"Well, I was nine years old and had only one arm and one eye; you can't blame me for trying my best."

Blake rolled her eyes in amusement: "I suppose you're right. I mean, we did end up becoming friends after that."

Julius nodded: "And now look at us; I'd say we've come a long way."

"I think so too. So, where's Hector and Slayer?"

"Hector's off hanging out with one of the Atlas teams. Slayer: eh, who knows where he went off to. Why?"

"Just curious. I'm also a little…concerned."

"Concerned?"

"Remember that group of White Fang bodies you found in town a while back?"

"It was Hector, wasn't it?"

Blake nodded: "He's grown as much a resentment for the White Fang as the White Fang has for humans. I've already seen this kind of anger destroy someone else I knew; I don't want it to happen to another one of my friends."

Julius put a comforting arm over Blake's shoulders: "Relax. I'll make sure he stays in line, and I'm pretty sure Slayer will be the same way."

"I hope so." Blake quietly said. Then, changing the subject, "So, has your team decided who would be going into the next round."

"Actually, it kinda got decided for us." Julius replied, "General Ironwood wanted Penny to continue into the next round, which left us with some harder choices, but it eventually came down to Hector. With his semblance and fighting style, though it is somewhat brutal, I think we have the best chance of moving on."

"I thought it would be you moving on."

"What, you can't get enough of seeing this awesomeness in action?" Julius said gesturing to himself. Blake blushed and smirked: "It's a bit more than that."

"You're not denying it."

"Oh shut up," Blake said, and she pulled him in close, kissing him full on the lips. Julius was startled at first and his chest felt like a bunch of marbles started bouncing around like crazy inside, but he quickly melted into the kiss, and they stayed like that for a few minutes; then they pulled back, and Julius started gasping for air.

"Couldn't breathe near the end there," he said between gasps, "but it was totally worth it."

Blake laughed to herself, then said, "Well, we should probably get back. We'll need to rest for the tournament tomorrow."

Julius checked the time on his scroll: "Agreed." Then, the led Blake back to the dorm rooms, stopping briefly outside the door to Team RWBY's room.

"Thanks for taking me out for a bit," Blake said, "I enjoyed it."

"Me too," Julius said, "Well, good night."

"Good night," Blake said. After the two shared a briefer kiss, they went into their rooms. Julius didn't even bother changing, and he crashed onto his bed, breathing a huge sigh of relief.

"What a girl…" he said to himself, and he quickly passed out, feeling only happiness as he remembered his time with Blake: the most amazing girl he would ever meet.

Author's note: If anyone has an idea for an original weapon that Novus Sureya/Slayer should carry, feel free to let me know.