"OSCAR PINE!"

Oscar nearly dropped the scroll he was holding. He'd expected his aunt to be furious. But he was not expecting her to be this loud. His eyes creased up, and a pained smile engraved its way onto his face. Yet, that didn't remove the expression of fury that lined Harlequin Pine's profile.

"Hey Auntie..." Oscar began nervously.

"DON'T HEY AUNTIE ME, MISTER!" Harlequin roared, "You leave one-note, saying there's some voice in your head and you had to go to Mistral! Do you know how worried I was!? I had the whole village looking for you, thinking you'd drowned in the river or something!"

"Look, I'm fine!" Oscar exclaimed, "I'm here now and... I'm safe."

"WHY DIDN'T YOU CONTACT ME SOONER THEN!?" She exploded, causing Oscar to flinch once again. "Where have you been exactly!? Have you made any new friends!? You haven't been in danger, have you!?"

"I've been on a mission; I'm sorry I can't explain," Oscar mumbled.

"General Ironwood told me the same thing!" Harlequinn exclaimed. "But I want to hear it from you. He mentioned you were on an important mission and that you were staying at Atlas Academy. Still, I know that's not the full story."

Oscar sighed.

"Tell me, honestly. That you're okay," Harlequin said. Her hazel eyes were starting to fill with tears.

Oscar wanted to tell her everything about Salem and the relics. About the fact that there was some ancient wizard in his head and that one day, he wouldn't be Oscar Pine anymore. Also, he wasn't one hundred per cent sure that his new friends were really his "friends" at all.

Yet he swallowed all his fears and put on a more convincing smile.

"It's been hard at points," he admitted. "But I'm okay now."

"Are you lying to me?"

"No."

Now it was his aunt's turn to sigh. The tears dried from her eyes, but her expression remained the same.

"If you don't want to tell me the full truth, then that's fine," she concluded. "But I just need to know that you're doing well? Are you eating enough?"

"Yes, the food here is great!" Oscar mused.

"Better than my stew!?" Harlequin asked with a raised eyebrow.

"About equal," Oscar admitted.

His aunt gasped.

"Well, I'll have to sort that out," she huffed. "Don't think you're getting away from me that easily, Oscar Pine. I'll be seeing you sooner than you think."

Oscar's face whitened.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I have a few secrets of my own," she mused with a cheeky smile. "But that's between the general and me."

"What about the farm?"

"I've hired some farmhands to take care of things," she explained. "Not one of them can do the job half as good as you."

"Oh," Oscar said.

"Oh, indeed." His aunt replied. "So when your mission is over, are you coming back to the farm?"

Oscar's mind went blank; that was a question that hadn't even crossed his mind. He knew his mission would never end, it seemed like the problems with Salem, and the relics wasn't going to be solved. There was no endgame, and eventually, Ozma would take over his body, just as he'd done to countless men and boys before him.

"I... I don't know yet," he admitted honestly.

His aunt offered him a look of sympathy.

"I know you never had a problem with the farm," she said. "But if you want to be a huntsman. Then I'm not going to stop you."

"I never said I wanted to be a huntsman!" Oscar exclaimed.

"General Ironwood tells me you've got natural talent," Harlequin said. "I may disagree with the career choice. But if it's what you want, then go for it."

"But..."

"You'll take just after your mother and father!" the farm owner mused, her eyes brightening. "Back in the day, they protected the whole village! I'm sure they would be proud if they could see you now!"

Oscar's face dropped at the mention of his parents.

"Listen," his aunt said. "Whatever you do, I'll support you. But just promise me, you'll stay safe."

Oscar managed a faint smile, now the topic moved away from his parents.

"I promise," he muttered.

"And be sure to contact me every day!" his aunt exclaimed, surprising him once again. "I want regular updates! You don't get to hide from me anymore! I want to meet these friends of yours as well! And I want to see what's so good about this Atlas food! Also, is it true that the city floats!?"

"It's like a fortress; it's amazing!" Oscar mused. "You won't believe it when you see it!"

"Well, I'm looking forward to seeing it and you," she said. "Until then, stay safe, Oscar. I love you."

"Love you too," he replied before the screen in front of him went black. Looking up from his bedside, he saw Ironwood move forward, from where he'd been watching in the background.

"So, what have you got planned?" he asked instantly.

"That's classified," Ironwood muttered. "But I never knew your parents were huntsmen; it would explain your talent!" he mused.

Oscar's face fell once again.

"Sir, with all due respect. I don't want to talk about them."

Ironwood's smile faded, a silence overcame the small room. Oscar knew he'd made it awkward, but the farmhand didn't want to talk about his parents. That was personal to him.

Thankfully, Ironwood found something else to discuss.

"You've put a chain link between you and the relic," he noted.

"Yeah, I wanted to secure it," Oscar informed him. "I spent all last night crafting this. So If someone tries to steal it. I'll feel it being tugged."

"That's smart," Ironwood muttered, clearly impressed.

"About the tracker, you didn't tell off Winter for that, did you?" Oscar asked.

"No, I didn't," he said. "I was just worried that our enemies would be able to hack into our systems, and they'd be able to track the relic."

"Will they able to!?" Oscar asked in concern, gazing down at the tiny, camouflaged chip.

"It's unlikely," Ironwood admitted. "But at the first sign of any data interference, I'll remove that tracking device myself. If you wouldn't mind."

"No, that's fine," Oscar said. "I never thought of it like that."

"Well, I wouldn't worry for now," Ironwood reassured him. "Now, Oscar, how about we make this relic a little more secure?"

Oscar grinned, knowing what the General had in mind.

Ducking under Ironwood's wide fist, Oscar impressed himself when he aimed a kick upwards that caught Ironwood in the middle of the chest. The larger man grunted in pain; the more they fought in this training room, the more Oscar became aware of the fact that aiming for the middle of Ironwood's chest seemed to be his weak spot. More so than his "lighter side". The farmhand was now convinced that the General must have had prosthetics of some sort, but he didn't ask.

Nevertheless, Ironwood knew what was coming when Oscar aimed another kick there and caught his foot in between his arms. With a battle cry, the General tossed the boy up in the air. Before slamming him down into the hard ground again. Oscar was sure his aura was close to (or had already) broken at this impact.

Once again, Ironwood pinned a heavy boot on his chest and went for the relic. However, he had more trouble getting it from the boy this time, as the chain prevented Ironwood's victory.

Sweeping down, the Atlesian headmaster tugged harder, giving Oscar an ideal chance to swing his smaller fist. The boy watched it connect with the side of Ironwood's face. Yet, The General didn't react to this (despite a bruise already forming there) and tugged again.

With a final snapping sound, the chain broke loose, and Ironwood once again had the relic.

Wiping sweat from his forehead, the exhausted General helped Oscar to his feet.

"Much better performance," he complimented. "I'm glad we trained on hand to hand combat. You have a knack for that as well."

"Feels more dirty and desperate," Oscar groaned. Reaching for his discarded staff on the ground nearby.

"It's your last line of defence; and the most important skill to have," Ironwood muttered. "If you get disarmed, what happens then?"

Oscar gulped.

"We'll have to cut our session short today," Ironwood muttered, taking a seat on one of the blocks and pulling out his vibrating scroll. "I have places to be and people to call. But we can get to both weapon and hand to hand combat throughout the week, now..." he suddenly gasped, massaging his chest. Oscar crouched by the man in concern, wondering if he'd hit the general a little too hard.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine," he grunted, massaging his chest.

"Maybe, you need to lie down," Oscar suggested, but it fell on deaf ears. Ironwood was already talking on the scroll to the soldier on the other side. Everything was military jargon that went over the boy's head.

"I'll be there shortly, Anna", Ironwood muttered; shutting off the scroll, he got to his feet.

"Are you sure you'll be okay, James?" Oscar asked again.

"Oscar, my semblance is Mettle," Ironwood said. "Know what that does?"

Oscar shook his head.

"It nullifies all pain", he responded. "As long as my semblance is active, I have nothing to worry about."

"Then why are you rubbing your chest like that?"

"Semblance is probably... fading."

"James, if your semblance is pain nullification and you feel pain, then something's wrong," Oscar informed him.

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not," Oscar said clearly. "Your semblance might get rid of the feeling of pain. But it doesn't stop the effects on your body, does it?" he said. Looking at the bruise on Ironwood's face that Oscar himself had given him.

"When my aura regenerates, these will heal," Ironwood said. "I know you're concerned about me, Oscar. But I can handle myself."

The General stood up and took two steps forward before he stopped.

"Whoa," he muttered, blinking rapidly, "Why is the room spinning?"

"Sir?"

A second later, Ironwood fell face-first onto the ground.

"James!" Oscar exclaimed.

"Where is he!?" Winter exclaimed dramatically, bursting into the medical centre. She passed many patients until she found Ironwood lying motionless on a hospital bed. Oscar was sat next to him, looking guilty and concerned in equal measures.

"Is he okay? What's wrong with him? As soon as I heard, I came over here!" Winter said to Oscar.

"The doctors said he's overexerted himself," Oscar muttered sadly. "Also that he'd took too much damage to a recent surgical scar." he sighed there. Ironwood's bare chest was visible, showcasing the clear divide between metal and skin. The recent patches of skin and flesh that had been regrown were now red and inflamed.

"It's my fault," Oscar muttered. "We were practising hand and hand combat, and I noticed he kept grunting in pain when I aimed for the spot on his chest," Oscar admitted. "But I swear I didn't know about his... surgery."

Winter sighed; pulling up a chair, she sat on the opposite side of the bed to Oscar.

"I don't blame you," she said softly. "Of course, it would be the general's idea to have a hand to hand combat session hours after his surgery." She shook her head there but smiled down ruefully at her boss, "Idiot," she muttered under her breath towards him.

Oscar coughed.

"I'm sorry," he uttered again. "I shouldn't have aimed for his weak spot. I should have known better."

"Don't be sorry," Winter snapped. "You identified an enemy's weak point. That's a valuable trait to have. James here would be proud of you."

Oscar flushed pink.

"I'm still the reason he's here," he mumbled.

"He would have gotten himself here before long, anyway," she said. "That's the problem with his semblance; it makes him think his invincible. He doesn't know when to stop." Winter uttered. "At least the doctors will force him to his bed this time."

"Hasn't he got jobs to do?"

"Me and the ace ops can handle it," Winter said. "Besides, it's not just the General. We do have a whole military to handle this. James just thinks he's responsible for it all; maybe this will be a wake-up call."

"Will it, though?"

"No," Winter admitted after a short silence. "But a woman can dream."

Oscar didn't know what to say next, so he blurted out the first question on his mind.

"If you don't mind me asking, why does Ironwood have these operations? The doctor told me he had them but wouldn't explain much more."

Winter sighed; if Penny knew about it and if Ironwood would continue to spar with Oscar here, then the boy deserved to know.

"Ironwood's right side is cybernetic," she said. "He's had them since he was young. However, in light of what happened at Beacon, he doesn't trust himself anymore," she continued to explain. "Ever since the scientists here proved that prosthetics can be hacked and controlled with complex viruses, he's had these operations to restore his flesh."

"To over half his body!?" Oscar asked in awe, "But it's impossible to restore flesh and bone!"

"It is possible, but it's only a very recent leap in medical science," Winter said. "And that's not all. It's complicated, costly, and the pain for many is unbearable." Winter said. "It's not just skin that needs restoring. But bones, veins and arteries, along with vital organs. Many people just prefer to keep prosthetics; it's much easier."

"Is this technology safe?"

"It takes a series of operations but has worked well so far," Winter said. "It's only been used for fingers and arms at most, and even those surgeries can take up to a year."

"A year!?"

"Yes," Winter said cooly, "But trying to restore almost one half of a person? It was a task the scientists here never thought they'd get the chance to commit to. But then the General came along, with the perfect excuse and the perfect semblance to be able to handle the pain."

They both looked down at him once again.

"They've already managed to restore his leg," she informed Oscar.

"How long did that take?"

"Nearly a year."

"And how long has he had these operations?"

"Weeks after Beacon fell, so just over a year now." Winter said, "And he's still got months to go before he's finished."

"It sounds crazy, but if it works, it will be a medical miracle!"

"The tech still needs several advancements before it can even get trialled at local hospitals," Winter explained. "Only elite Atlesian military have been subject to such procedures. James here is something of a particular case owing to his semblance. But the scientists have already gathered valuable information and research from these surgeries."

"So he's offering himself up as a guinea pig for the greater good," Oscar muttered.

"I won't lie to you; I think the operations are pointless and causing him even more stress, on top of what he's already going through," Winter admitted. "But you've gotten to know him now. And you know he won't stop."

"I never knew about this though," Oscar said, guilt tearing him up from the inside.

"Now you do," Winter said. "Try and keep this to yourself, would you? He doesn't like people knowing."

"Okay," Oscar uttered. "But Yang in my group has a missing arm. Would it be possible for her to have these operations!?"

"If she wishes," Winter said. "But she would have to be well aware of the risks."

"You said these operations were safe!"

"The only people we've sampled so far are well-trained, healthy, military elite. A tiny sample of the population." Winter muttered. "Even for a huntsman or huntress, there's a risk of infection. Bones growing the wrong way, organs being displaced."

"I understand, but she might want to take the risk," Oscar muttered, thinking of the headstrong Yang.

"Then let her know, and the doctors will look into it."

"Okay," Oscar said before looking down at Ironwood again.

"I want to help!" the boy suddenly exclaimed, "Is there anything I can do to lessen the burden on him!? It's not fair he's going through this much alone!"

Winter knew this was her golden opportunity, so she had to take it.

"Yes, you can help," she muttered. "You can tell me what you and the group are hiding."

The silence was sudden and intense. The background noise of patients talking in their beds to their visitors or other huntsman seemed to fade into white noise. The entire medical centre seemed to blur in his vision; the only thing that was in sharp focus was Winter's face.

"I... I..." Oscar couldn't formulate a word; his mouth felt dry.

"Do you want to put James through any more stress?" Winter asked harshly.

"No", Oscar nearly whispered.

"Look at him," Winter said, keeping her voice steady. She let the silence take hold as Oscar's eyes found Ironwood's prone form; eventually, he looked away. A sure sign of guilt in her eyes.

"I'm not going to be angry. But I know you're hiding something," Winter said. "You need to come clean now. The longer you leave it secret, the worse state he's going to be in."

Oscar gulped. Sweat beads rolling down his forehead.

"Well?" Winter asked.

Oscar got to his feet before he knew what he was doing.

"Idon'tknowwhatyou'retalkingabout!" he exclaimed in one nervous breath. Before he quickly ran from the medical centre, a passing nurse yelled at him, but the boy paid her no mind and was gone before she could chase after him.

"Honestly, these boys running around without a care in the world!" the same nurse ranted to Winter moments later. "I'm sorry, Winter, I'll have to ask you to leave. We need to clean and feed the general," she said as another nurse set up a drip near his bed.

"No, it's okay, Claret," Winter said to the nurse. Middle-aged- with bright green eyes and dark pink hair styled into its usual bun. Claret was the straight-talking nurse whose primary purpose in life was to wrestle Ironwood to his hospital bed. A task she took into her stride now, as Winter got to her feet.

"I need to be off anyway's; I have jobs to do," she muttered. "When will expect the general back?"

"A week," Claret replied. "It should be two, but knowing him..." she looked down and rolled her eyes.

"Okay, thank you," Winter said, taking her leave; she had one goal in mind.

She had one week to find out the truth. One week where Ironwood would be recovering in the same place, if there was ever a time to prove the lie, it had to be now. Ironwood wouldn't take it well wherever he was, but if he had time to sit and recover and mull on whatever it was...

Winter just knew it was better now than later.

How did she know!?

Oscar sat in his room, expecting Winter Schnee to tear down the door at any second. He tried to keep himself distracted by looking up news stories on his scroll. But the words blended into nothingness; his heart raced at every pair of footsteps outside of his room. His palms began to sweat as he tried to control his breathing. Guilt seemed to eat him alive, as every time he closed his eyes, James Ironwood's prone body replayed itself in his vision.

What had they done?

"HEEEEYYYYY OSSCCCAAAAARRRRR!" Ruby screamed, bursting open the door unexpectedly. Oscar let out some sort of scream and reached for his staff, pointing it at Team RWBY and JNR, who stood in the doorway looking perplexed.

"Okay, so someone's on edge," Yang said.

"Sorry, you just surprised me," Oscar said, lowering the staff.

"God, I'm sooooo tired!" Ruby exclaimed, dropping herself spread-eagled on the ground, "You wouldn't believe the day we had today, Oscar! That launch site was crawling with Grimm!"

"Hey, at least you got to deal with Grimm!" Jaune hit back. "I had to babysit kids!"

"Oh, come on, Jaune! That sounds great!" Nora said, "Besides, we didn't get to deal with Grimm or kids; we just had to patrol the wall, which was booooorrring!" Nora exclaimed.

"But essential," Ren muttered. "Although I wish they'd patch up that hole already. It looked bad."

"That's why I'm telling you, we should support Robyn and her crew!" Yang insisted. "Oh, by the way. We came across Robyn Hill and her happy huntresses. You remember what that guy mentioning them in the airship up here?"

"Oh... err... yeah." Oscar lied. His mind elsewhere.

"Anyway, we came to let you know about our next move," Jaune said. "Qrow already knows, but we've decided, we're going to tell Ironwood."

This gained Oscar's interest; he looked up hopefully.

"We are!"

"Yeah, if he gains our trust, we'll tell him in two weeks," Jaune added.

Oscar's face dropped.

"What's with that look?" Blake asked.

"I just... erm... think we should do it sooner," Oscar muttered.

"Well, we've already voted, so that's what we're doing," Ruby said, getting up off the ground. "Sorry you couldn't be there, Oscar. But we've made our choice."

"So, I don't get a vote?"

"No, it's just...we've already come to a choice, we just wanted to let you know," Ruby said nervously.

"So I don't get a vote!?" Oscar responded more aggressively.

"Hey, don't speak to my sister like that," Yang snapped. "Look, we've all voted, and You can vote however you want, but it won't change our minds."

Ren sighed, and Weiss hadn't said a word. It appeared no matter how Oscar voted, it wouldn't make a difference.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you," Oscar said to Ruby. "I've just been training with Ironwood lately, and he really doesn't seem that bad a guy."

"Yeah, to you," Nora responded. "But me and Ren saw the hole in the wall, and it was bad, wasn't it!?"

"Suppose so," Ren muttered.

"But..."

"And Ironwood's doing nothing about it!" Nora shouted over Oscar.

"And he's letting discrimination run rampant here in Atlas and Mantle!" Blake added.

"You haven't seen Mantle like we have." Jaune said, "Some of the kids I had to escort today we're in rags for clothes. It was horrible."

Oscar was silent.

"Don't you think that's horrible, Oscar!?" Yang inquired.

"What, oh well... I dunno. I haven't seen it." he muttered.

"Well, you should," Jaune said. "Then you'll agree with us."

Oscar felt a sense of irritation building in his gut. Something about all their voices sounded so... condescending.

"We still think Ironwood could be a good guy. But we have our doubts." Ruby said softly, as if she could sense Oscar's frustration.

"What did you do today, other than training?" Weiss asked, clearly trying to steer the subject elsewhere.

"Well, I got to contact my aunt!" Oscar said brightly. "She was angry at first, but I was glad to speak to her!"

"That's great!" Ruby exclaimed, "Could we meet her as well!?"

"Yeah, she said she'd like to meet you all!" Oscar said.

"Great!" Nora said. "Do anything else?"

"Well, actually, I learnt about a new surgery. I'll think you'll like Yang," he said, addressing the blonde. "Do you know there's a surgery to restore flesh and bone here in Atlas!?"

"No way!" she mused, clearly impressed. "So, I could grow back my arm!?"

"Well, it would be painful and come with risks. And I was told it would take between months and a year to get it done. But..."

"Who cares about that!" Yang shouted. "I'll go for it! Get rid of this arm," she muttered, gazing down at it.

"So, did you find this out by speaking to the doctors here?" Blake asked.

"Ironwood got taken ill today," Oscar muttered. (Not wanting to go into details). "I overheard some huntsmen talking about it nearby. I asked them and a nurse, and they explained it to me."

"Wait," Yang said suddenly. "If this technology has been available all this time. Why did Ironwood only send me a crappy arm?"

"Actually, it's quite recent..." Oscar mumbled.

"Doesn't matter, why wasn't I offered this!?" Yang bellowed.

Oscar sighed; why did all the positives have to turn into negatives.

"I bet this is exclusive as well. Reserved only for the best." Blake snapped.

"Makes sense," Jaune added. "Don't let all this tech get to your head, Oscar."

Oscar gritted his teeth together, anger starting to build in his system.

"Why was Ironwood taken ill?" Weiss asked. Once again trying to steer the subject elsewhere.

"Oh well, he overexerted..."

"Does it matter!?" Nora said (once again speaking over Oscar). "What matters right now is the people suffering in Mantle."

"I agree," Jaune added, "And about this meeting with your aunt Oscar, did Ironwood help set that up?" Jaune asked.

Oscar knew they had good intentions, but how were they this dense!? It was really starting to piss him off. Did they have any idea what Ironwood had been through!? No, of course, they didn't.

But even then, they were undeservedly treating him like the devil.

"Yeah, he helped me contact my aunt," Oscar said.

"Then it's just emotional blackmail," Yang muttered. "It's nice of him and all, but it's just a way for him to try and get on your good side."

"Yeah, don't be too trusting of him," Blake added.

Oscar saw red.

"Setting up communication with your aunt seems nice," Jaune muttered. "But really, it's..."

He didn't finish his sentence because moments later, Jaune was on the ground. With a delicate, red line across his face, The cane was locked in Oscar's hand, and he was shaking in rage.

"Well, none of you ever fucking asked about her."

What followed this statement was complete, stunned silence.

"I'm going for a walk, don't follow me," Oscar growled, storming out of his own room. Unable to believe what he'd just done.

But he'd be lying if he said it didn't feel good.

A/N: Dun... Dun... DUN! Yep Oscar is literally sick of this shit. Granted for him to swear and get angry like that was probably unexpected and OOC from a reader's point of view. But it's kind of his turn to vent his frustrations and not be the group's punching bag for once. Anyway hope you liked this chapter, first mention of Anna, an OC given to me by Warmachine375. and first apperance of Claret. Who'll be like Denbar not a major figure, but a nurse with a name at least. Also further hints at Oscar's backstory with his parents, that will be explored later on. Anyway next chapter we'll have some Oscar/Ruby scene. Another Winter/Fria scene and some Qrow/Ruby POV down in Mantle, with a speical apperance from everyone's favourite happy huntress, untill then time to answer a lot of reviews!

Engineer1869- Pot calling the kettle black is an understatment. I visualled it as the spiderman meme of the two spiderman's pointing at each other. Except it's just Yang and Robyn calling each other out over their attitudes. I do have a scene planned for Clover and Qrow later and you'll see if you're right. However, thanks again for reviewing!

Guest- I did feel sorry for Qrow, until he blamed Ironwood and spent Volume 8 still blaming Ironwood and not reflecting on his mistakes. Granted I know he can hard on himself, and blaming himself for Clover's death may have felt like a rehash of past arcs of not wanting to get close to people. But seriously he seems to lose his mind in V8 and just blindly sides with Robyn against big-bad-ironwood. It doesn't make much sense to me, or many others. As for Adam I actually have a scene where Blake will learn of his past through Denbar planned in the future. Where it will go from there, you'll have to wait and see! Thanks for reviewing!

He Who Seeks The Joys In Life- Loving the username. Competely agree with you on Ruby gaslighting Penny. It's something I don't feel get discussed enough. "There's no sides Penny" BS from Ruby. Who wants Penny to stay be her side and do what they want. It also made Salem's job easier Because if Penny had just gone to the vault in the first place and secured the staff and done what Ironwood suggested. Then Atlas could have possibly been saved. Granted Mantle would have been doomed, but something would have been saved and you could argue (yes but Ruby and co saved everyone). By moving them to Vacuo? Seems like a death sentence to me, placing hundreds of frightened refugees in the middle of a desert. With one maiden and a few huntsmen to protect them. Anyway before I rant for too long, thanks for reading!

Guest- You assumed correctly that I've wrote Blake/Yang to be unbearable so it will bite them back further on down the line. But it's a constant challenge to get right, because I just love writing them as unbearable a-holes but I don't want to take it too far. That's why Jaune/Nora are also on their side, so it's not just them who are acting this way. However glad you like the little scene of Penny helping Winter/Ironwood in a creepy way. Ties back to how little she knows about human interactions, but she doesn't care cause she wants to help people in anyway possible.

avaize- Thanks again for your lengthy review. Yep Penny now also serves as an alarm clock! :) As for the rest of the chapter, I'd say Robyn is like Yang, in that she has good intentions but her attitude can people put off her instantly. I can also see how jarring it is for Yang to say "We should tell her" to (after one conversation with Clover) "Well I don't trust you yet". That was a blunder on my part. But I suppose it ties in to how Yang can speak before she thinks and the latter comment was her coming up with some BS reason to not act out. Yet. As we see in the van she's still likes what Robyn is doing. But I don't think she's one to act until her paitence is gone or if she's backed by the rest of the team. Again, you make another good comparsion to how Ironwood let's fear and paranoia control him. It's a flaw that will kept for this fic, although he's been portayed more sympthateically here, he is still a flawed man.

Loving your points on Qrow as well. Because Qrow seemed really shook up when the truth was revealled. And I loved how you listed the events to Ironwood's breakdown. That was actually a part of later Volume 7 I enjoyed, because I don't know whether it was intentional or not. But I thought it was pretty well written how he'd been through so much shit, just given up his arm to defeat Watts. Before that learned he'd been lied too the whole volume by people he thought he could trust, seeing the chess piece triggered his PTSD of what happened at Beacon. And despite all that I was actually cheering when Ironwood just said fuck it. arrest team RWBY. If the ace-ops actually beat them and RWBY were forced to sit and reflect on their mistakes in a jail cell. Then it would have been brilliant! But nope. They had the potential for something great, but RWBY beat the ace-ops. Ironwood just becomes a full-blown bad guy... hated it. Anyway before I go on forever thanks again for leaving your thoughts!

Axdevilman- Thanks again for reviewing! I think a lot of people just see him stopping his drinking as "He's recovered/recovering from his issues". But I see it as him coping in a healthier way, but those issues aren't going anytime soon. Espeically considering the time span between the revelation and start of Volume 7 (a couple of weeks, I think?). Anyway liked your analysis of the fight between Tyrian, Qrow and Clover. While I think all three acted dumb in some way during the fight. Qrow was the worst offender by far. Why the hell would be make a "Deal with the devil" and expect that Clover would somehow not be harmed against a known-serial killer!

Anyway swiftly onto the next point. I can see how jarring it is for Yang to not want to tell Ironwood here, but she seemed to support telling him (more-so than Blake in canon). Tbh I'm glad you pointed that out for me, because it can be easy to group them together as a hivemind when writing them like this, when giving them differences could work wonders and make them seem more indivdual than just two parts of Bumblebee. So I'll work to improve on that, along with your suggestion to give more details on the supplies actually being taken to Amity. I'm guilty of writing too much dialouge and often time leaving out details, so I'm glad to be reminded of that, so keep on critquing I'll work to improve any nitpicks people point out! Also I appericate having you people reply to my A/N or thoughts on the chapter! Look forward to hearing more from you!

SuperSaiyajin4Vegeta- Well let's just say it gets a worse after Volume 6 and if Yang/Blake annoyed you last chapter. I'm dreading to think how much they pissed you off in this one. Anyway thanks for reviewing!

He Who Seeks The Joys In Life- Didn't realise you'd reviewed twice, so I'll answer your review to Ch6 here, agree with you assessment on Yang/Blake/Ruby effin' things up in Volume 7-8. Even if it seems like Weiss has been nerfed (or isn't doing much). She's still my fav of Team RWBY because she hasn't activley gone out of her way to fuck things up the way the other three have.

merendinoemiliano- Thank you for the gift! And hope you had a great birthday! Calling Qrow meek was harsh from my POV, the thing was I actually would be behind Qrow showing a softer side if it was done well. Which I feel wasn't the case at all from the end of Volume 7 through V8. Anyway glad you liked the chapter!

SilverRei- Thanks for liking the chapter and I like that you brought up Robyn's design. I know after Volume 3 the designs for a lot of new characters became more realistic. But that takes away from a lot of RWBY's use of colour. There's a few good YouTube videos pointing out how truly bland the new designs are, which is why minor characters like Claret here have dark pink hair (matching the colour) as I wanted to bring a bit of the colour back to the universe. But yep your assessment of Robyn is how I felt about her.

Ravell Aqim- Thanks for reviewing again! Liking your observations on the characters, espeically Qrow and the ace-ops. Because the ace-ops in the show had little to do. I blame the fact that the cast was simply too big and the episodes too short. But I'll try to do what I can for them here. As for Yang I'm like the analysis here for her character, she certainly doesn't like keeping secrets from certain people. But she will develop further on down the line.

and finally BlindAsABat95- I agree that Clover acted like a big Dumb, Dumb during the fight. But you'd think it would take both of their common-sense to work together to take out the serial killer first. And while you can fault Clover in the fight, I can't fault how he acted Before the fight started. I mostly blame Robyn for what happened, because she esclated the conflict by refusing to comply with Clover. Clover defended himself when she attacked, the situation esclated, airship crashed, Tyrian escaped and the rest is history. The most annoying thing about the whole thing however is that Robyn and Qrow got arrested anyway! So if they hadn't started the fight, Clover would still be alive and Tyrian would be with them in his cell. I wasn't saying that Clover acted flawlessly, but I have to put more blame on the other three. Tyrian for actually killing Clover, Qrow for teaming up with Clover and Robyn for esclating what could have been an avoidable conflict. Anyway thanks for taking your time to review, we may disagree but I like discussing topics among reviewers!

and that's all from this chapter! Once again feel free to leave your thoughts or PM me. Okay, thanks again and until next chapter!