Here is the second missing chapter! The regular upload should still happen later today! Stay classy guys!

"Based on our GPS tracking and the information that you've given us about the area, it's probably some kind of old military bunker from the Great War. You're absolutely sure that there's nothing out there?" Coco clarified with him as he peered down his night vision binoculars again, confirming that there was absolutely nothing happening in the large empty field. Alex had lived in Mistral for all of his life, and despite being taught about battles from the Great War back in his time at the Academy, he couldn't recall any battles taking place here, unless this was a storage for Dust and weapons that no one was aware of. He'd been sitting in his cruiser for some time on the outskirts of the city close to the wall, making it appear to anyone passing by that he was most likely waiting for someone to pass into the city that wasn't supposed to be there, escorting a council member, or waiting for some unlucky speeder to race by late at night.

"Hopefully someone shows up here soon, because I'm getting tired and I'm sure Violet would like me home before it gets too late," Alex groaned. Coco chuckled.

"You didn't bring that new guy with you, did you? She asked him.

"You told me not to," Alex reminded her.

"Honestly, he was just slowing you down," Coco noted as they sat there in radio silence for another moment or two.

"I can go out there if you want, but we don't know where the entrance is," Alex offered as he shut off his engine and unbuckled before Coco stopped him.

"Wait, isn't someone coming right now?" She asked him. He wasn't sure how he hadn't heard it before until it passed directly overhead, but a helicopter was landing out where he had been directed to. The aircraft landed on top of the bog, and Alex half-expected for it to be swallowed up. After a long moment, the ground beneath it shook and opened, allowing the helicopter to descend further. Alex sat there for a long moment with his mouth agape, Coco's voice chuckling softly on the other side as she somehow just knew his reaction, the man wasn't all that easy to surprise after all.

"There has to be another way in," Alex noted as he left his vehicle, double checking to make sure he had his gun, Lex Et Ordo, on his hip. He made his way towards the swamp land, nearly getting stuck in the mud several times before he reached a set of vines to push aside to make way for him, only to find he was touching a wall. "Cloaking tech? Is this the work of Atlas?"

"We do have similar tech to that, but this isn't our work. We know as much as you do, " Winter pointed out as she joined the comms.

"Specialist Schnee, I didn't think that you'd have time to join us this evening," Coco pointed out.

"I can always make time for threats to Remnant's peace," Winter offered.

"Spoken like a true student of Ironwood," Coco jested. Winter ignored her.

"I'll feel around for a door then," Alex interrupted, reminding them that he was still there. He felt around on the wall for far too long before Coco offered him some help.

"It won't be an exact location, but based on the information that we received from the GPS, I can give you a general idea of where the door is," Coco offered. Alex sighed and shook his head.

"That would be ideal, yes," he groaned as she typed furiously on her keyboard.

"Let's just hope they don't mind you using the front door," Coco exclaimed. "Because I'm guessing that's the one you'll be taking."

"Doubtful," Alex corrected her. "Strakh seemed like the kind of guy who makes sure whatever he does that might be seen by the public is agreeable, even if it's a few guards or scientists in lab coats."

Alex moved around the large complex and was rewarded for being right, the service entrance that Strakh must have entered through seemed sparsely used which was evidenced as he managed to force the lock apart with his Semblance, which activated the alarm, but so happened to be near a hamper of clean lab coats. He was swarmed quickly by a group of hapless individuals armed with Atlas tech, and one scientist, who obviously wasn't Blood.

"What the hell is going on back here?" The scientist inquired.

"Stepped out for a smoke break and locked myself out," Alex offered with a shrug. "It's not the first time I've done it, but Blood said if I messed up anymore that she'd have my ass, and I really need this job to provide for my family. Can we just keep this between the two of us?" Something in Alex's bullshit struck enough of a nerve in the man as he looked Alex over before picking up his radio, a woman's voice screaming into it in some kind of code.

"False alarm," he told her. "We'll get it reset, ma'am."

"I want you to double and triple check that it was nothing more than a false alarm, we're already on thin ice!" She screamed back. Alex shrunk down, mouthing thank you as the other lab coat rolled his eyes and nodded at him, motioning him down the hallway.

"He didn't ask for an ID?" Coco questioned.

"Maybe it's a common occurrence?" Alex offered up. "Maybe none of them like Blood? I'm not going to question it." Alex moved briskly, as if he was urgently returning to his research and wasn't a man desperate to get to the bottom of what was going on and put an end to it. He passed by an employee lounge, a blue hue pouring in from the window that lined the small cafeteria, and it quickly dawned on him that the light was artificial. He walked towards the glass, afraid of what he might find next, and the actual answer alarming him more than what they had speculated. An entire warehouse that stretched on for far too long. Cryogenic pods, with children suspended within them in stasis. Changing the tide of wars. Dust and Aura. No… No!

"Have you found anything yet, Alex?" Winter pried.

"We… We're much too late," he stammered as he left the room in a dash and found a set of stairs that would take him out to his destination. "Their aura, their blood, DNA, it doesn't matter!" A rail separated him from jumping the catwalk to the floor below and he did so, scrambling to the closest screen as he hit his feet.

Orphea Adonia

Sex: Female

Age: 14

Modification: 30% DNA infusion with Fire Dust

Status:

DECEASED

Alex ran from screen to screen, the cold cocoons holding no more than lifeless vessels across the entire floor. Deceased. Deceased. Deceased. He had failed. He hadn't rescued these children… but he could give their families closure.

"Coco," Alex spoke, his voice alarming her.

"What did you find?" She inquired.

"I need permission to execute both this Blood woman and Strakh Temnota, on sight," he informed her as he used a forcefield to lift himself back up to the catwalk.

"Alex… stop. You have to tell us what you found so that we can respond appropriately," Coco explained.

"I will do this whether you give me permission or not," Alex fumed. "I can give you the details once these pieces of shit are six feet under."

"Alex…" Coco hesitated.

"I give him permission," Winter spoke. There was a long and unnerving silence.

"This is on you then," Coco replied as she left the call.

"If I'm not done in about fifteen minutes you have my full permission to abandon me here," Alex stated, as if it mattered. Whatever they said easily ruled whatever he was felt in that moment, but he felt that he needed to say it. "This conversation never happened and everything will end with me, right here, right now."

"Of course," Winter agreed. Alex stormed down the hall, pinning the man who had vouched for him before against the wall.

"Wha…" He stammered, gripping at his neck, an invisible force tightening its hold on him.

"Why would you do this?!" Alex shouted. "All of this!?"

"Like you said before!" The man screamed, panicking. "We all have families to feed!"

"What about the families that have children that disappeared?!" Alex demanded. "What about them?!"

"Remnant is a dog eat dog world, it's either theirs or mine! Besides, Blood said they were close to…" Alex crushed his chest, watching in slight horror as the man fell lifeless to the ground. He slowed his breathing. He couldn't let his rage blind him. This wasn't the right course of action!

"Coco, I'll bring them in alive," Alex replied over his comms before hearing a set of guards heading his direction. "They need to face the courts."

"I knew you'd come around," Coco admitted.

"If you are unable to do so safely, you still have my permission to take them out," Winter reiterated.

"Pfft, Alex always gets his man," Coco scoffed.

"Of course," Winter agreed. Alex took a deep breath and peered down the hall. Uniform soldiers. All using similar Atlas branded guns. These weren't huntsmen. They didn't have aura. Alex fired down the hallway and around their riot shield, as if using magic bullets, hitting his mark on everyone of them and disabling them with a shot through their leg just below the knee. They wouldn't die, but they'd be crippled for good, which in honesty was a small price to pay for what they'd done. An alarm began blaring again above Alex, letting him know that he needed to move even faster if he was going to find his target before she escaped.

"No! It wasn't supposed to happen this way! Get me Merlot now! Why is she the only one that survived?!" came a thundering demand from a nearby corridor. Alex moved toward it, ducking into a room adjacent to what he assumed to be Blood's as scientists and guards ran about everywhere trying to collect data quickly. All this because he had shown up, how paranoid was this woman? He stopped and listened, trying to determine what was going on. Something slammed on the top of a desk, off of which something crashed on the floor and shattered.

"For a man who acts like a god, you sure don't listen to the people who are praising you very much, do you? He's been dead for years, asshole! Why do I have to tell you this every time that we meet? Is it because I'm a woman? Are you that much of a misogynist?" The woman replied with just as much authority. "Merlot is dead and nothing is going to bring him back any time soon. You have me to talk to, and I had a single successful trial, but she needs more testing and it seems that we've been found out. I'm taking my files and I'm leaving, this work is too valuable to be lost to the council."

"We don't know that it's the council!" Strakh bellowed. "It's probably some clueless huntsman who stumbled upon the place."

"Quite the coincidence after meeting the best known cop in all of Mistral," Blood growled. "Or did you think I wouldn't find out?"

"Abigor sent him! I've said it once and I'll say it again, that man would only see us fail!" Strakh defended himself.

"You are too young and naïve to make it as a crime lord," Blood argued. "You can try and blame someone else all you want, and I really don't care about all of this bullshit going on with you and Abigor. I did what you asked, and I demand that you pay me. You told me before that you know the location of the Life Stone. Where is it?"

"This is not what we agreed on! I needed an army, not a little girl who keeps crying for her parents!" Strakh snarled. Alex had moved to the hallway, watching as the brute snatched up a scientist running by. "Burn everything down! This was a failure and I'm holding you responsible, Blood!"

"Do not burn anything down!" Blood protested. Strakh reached into his jacket and pulled out an unprocessed crystal of pure Fire Dust, stomping it beneath with an explosion that would have taken off most average people's limbs that were standing too close. Alex was tossed away, flames roaring in every direction as he tumbled and found a footing, using a forcefield to stop the second explosion from reaching him. How many times could Strakh's aura handle him doing that? And moreover, what about the building and everything inside? Another scream from Blood as the third and final crystal was detonated by Strakh, the floor giving out beneath him as multiple employees and himself fell into the fiery abyss below, the hall now scorched, and Alex wondered if he planned this from the start, considering how well the building was burning.

"Help!" Came a weak call from the office. Someone was still in there? Was it Blood? Alex rushed to the room, finding it to be larger than even the lunch room with a single cryo chamber inside that was leaking a steam like fog. Was someone inside? Were they still alive?! He made it across the expanse using a forcefield and used his semblance to force the machine open, a young girl, in her mid to late teens, swung out nearly hitting him. "Why is there so much fire?!"

"It's okay, I've got you!" Alex tried to assure her. He pulled her out and intended to carry her in his arms but they were frozen the moment he touched her, to the point of nearly giving him hypothermic burns. He coated himself with his forcefield and gingerly made his way out.

"What's happening!? Where am I?! Where's my family?!" She paused for a moment before thrashing in his arms. "They killed my family!"

"Is Ilia close by?" Alex requested.

"I don't think Amitola will be able to help grab everything before it turns to ash," Coco offered.

"There's a girl here that survived!" Alex called back, fighting through the flames with ease as the girl was turning everything to ice around him and was starting to wear on his aura. He couldn't hold onto her like this for long. He just needed to get out.

"What?!" Coco shouted.

"The SDC can take her once Ilia has picked her up," Winter declared.

"I'll get her there as soon as I can," Coco informed him.

"You'll be alright," Alex assured her.

"What's her name?" Coco inquired. Alex recalled reading the detail screen quickly.

"Bái Lung."

"Seriously?" Titus asked.

"Bái is the responsibility of the Atlas Military," Nat explained as she paused the memory. "I've been trying to keep an eye on her, but every time I hear that something has gone wrong, it seems your team has already handled it. Maybe Winter should have assigned you to this mission instead."

"I still don't understand how she would have forgotten about everything in her past," Titus noted.

"That one's easy," Natalia replied. "They had Yatsu and Jaune remove all of her memories."

"What?!" Titus shouted as he stood.

"Sit down," Nat told him.

"They agreed to something like that?!" He declared.

"She couldn't be consoled when they got her back to Atlas," she explained to him. "She let out an endless freeze, a blizzard within her chambers that began spreading and claimed the lives of several soldiers. It lasted for two weeks." Titus believed it, he had seen her having terrors before and if they hadn't stopped her the results might have been catastrophic. He sighed.

"Alright," he nodded, agreeing with their decision. He began heading up the steps towards the doors, looking back at Nat to make sure that she was following him. "Are you coming?"

"You didn't want to see how it ends?" She questioned.

"I know he died to a pack of Grimm, I'm assuming that's how it ends. We already saw him rescue Bái and I'm sure that Blood is still out there somewhere considering the new Grimm recently. Strakh's back in Vacuo now as we speak. What more is there to know?" Titus inquired.

"She… she doesn't know…" Nat stumbled over the words.

"Who doesn't know?" Titus asked, making his way back down to her.

"I assume Eliana told you that he died to a pack of Grimm," Natalia asserted.

"Of course," he reaffirmed her.

"I think you should see the rest of this," Natalia informed him.

"Today's the day!" Alex exclaimed excitedly as Violet placed a finger to his lips and kissed him shortly afterward.

"I thought we were going to tell her after we get back from the store," Violet reminded him. He kissed her back and smiled large, his happiness radiating off of him and into her.

"We are! We are! I'm just nervous! And beyond elated!" He told her nearly sweeping her off of her feet as he pulled her in for yet another kiss.

"Guess you're happy with your decision then," she asked.

"You bet I am!" Alex declared. "I've lived here all of my life and I've given it my all. I think a change will be for the best for all three of us. And from what you've told me of your childhood, Patch sounds like a nice, quiet place to raise Elli."

"I heard my name!" Eliana shouted as she raced into the kitchen and looked up at her parents. "What's up?"

"Did you hear anything else?" Alex pried.

"That I'm getting a gun so I can practice with you soon?" Eliana asked.

"She was totally listening in," Alex groaned.

"No, you're still far too young for that," Violet scolded. Eliana and Alex both folded their arms and frowned.

"You're never too young to learn how to fight Grimm," they replied in unison. "Jinx!"

"You owe me a soda!" Eliana yelled.

"Mom can buy you one at the store," Alex noted, sticking his tongue out playfully at Violet as Eliana leapt up and down.

"Yes!" Eliana hollered.

"Ready to go?" Violet asked her.

"Yep! Is dad coming with?" Eliana questioned. Alex winked at Violet before crouching to Eliana's level.

"I have something to take care of here, but I have a surprise for you when you come back," he assured her. She lit up, eyes twinkling, and a smile as wide as his.

"Really!?" She pressed.

"Really," he parroted. He kissed her forehead. "I love you, Elli."

"I love you too, dad!" She replied. He stood and kissed his wife.

"I love you too, Vi," Alex offered. She smiled and nodded.

"Love you too, Alex," Violet answered. With that, Eliana and Violet left, and Alex would have time to get the basics packed before they returned. They would stay a few days with Violet's parents while Alex moved everything else over to their new home. He would be at Coco's direct command for any missions within the Kingdom of Vale, an official Huntsmen under the Authority of the Remnant's Peace Council. Everything was perfect. The department had thrown him a party, with the exception of a select few criminals on the list, he had single handedly cleaned up the city. They wished him good luck. Iris cried, and Alex regretted not being able to work with him for longer. But this was his happily ever after, a place to raise his daughter, to teach her everything there was about fighting Grimm, about staying alive.

Not long after his family had left there was a knock on the door and he could only assume that it was one of the movers. He opened it without a second thought, a mighty suckerpunch to the gut throwing him through the wall behind him and he crashed into the staircase, stopping his momentum instantly and doing a number to his aura.

"You don't understand how difficult it is to make me angry enough to take matters into my own hands," Strakh said as he allowed himself in. "So what you've done here really is quite the feat. Congratulations. You pissed me off." Alex chuckled as he slowly stood.

"You talk in circles an awful lot, don't you?" Alex questioned. "We are done pretending to get along, right?"

"I did my homework on you after I spoke with Blood the other night," Strakh smirked. "Your aura is incomplete, isn't it? Something happened while you were in Salem's War, didn't it?"

"You really did your research, only the council knows about that," Alex replied. "I was young and dumb at that point, but we managed to take down the rest of Salem's forces at that point, so I'd say it was an overall success."

"That's where you're wrong, you…" Strakh began before a forcefield to the jaw sent him reeling and cut him off. Strakh stared at the floor for a long moment before grunting. "I am the new head of Salem's Army."

"Pleasant surprise," Alex said, hitting him again as he moved closer, picking his gun up off of the table. "If I take you down that means I'll have two S-Rank takedowns in my career. They might even give me a week off."

"Didn't you hear what I said?" Strakh repeated. "I know your weakness."

"We'll see about that," Alex stated. Strakh charged forward towards Alex, hitting a forcefield that stopped him dead in his tracks allowing Alex another blow to his jaw, jarring the man in the other direction, but he shook it off. He swung around with alarming speed, his fist shattering the forcefield separating the two men before swinging for Alex but missing, the man using his own semblance to throw himself back. He fried a bullet, the monster's aura taking the damage as he continued his pursuit of Alex.

"You can't win," Strakh chuckled. "Whether you fear me or not is no matter. You will die."

"So much talk for such an insecure man," Alex replied. Alex fired in rapid succession, hugging corners as he danced through his house to avoid letting the brute reach him. He reloaded quickly, unsure if the bullets would be enough to stop him, but certain he could wear the man down. He disappeared around another corner, Strakh not following this time and Alex paused for a moment. He could use his ability to feel where he was. He was just standing on the other side of the wall. Was he trying to bide time? Had he already bested Strakh? That couldn't have been it, there was no way…

Without any warning, the beast crashed through the wall, smashing through Alex's forcefield and grappling him by the neck. Alex gripped the hand to try and free himself, his semblance creating just enough space to allow him to breath.

"Long live Salem," Strakh spoke. Alex rolled his eyes.

"Too bad you don't know the layout of the house," Alex informed him. Alex splintered the floor above them with his ability, the bathtub crashing down onto Strakh and freeing Alex who leapt back and made sure another forcefield on top would keep him down. "I will not be that easy to take down." His semblance gave again, the tub crashing towards him and catching him, they slammed through the next wall and into the yard as Alex managed to free himself. His aura was already close… this was bad.

"The longer you make it take for me to finish you, the more of a chance I'll still be here when your family comes back," Strakh exclaimed.

"Like I'd let that happen!" Alex shouted, noting that he had lost his gun somewhere in the chaos. Alex threw up several barriers in a row to stop the man from reaching him, pushing his limits as he tried using his semblance to dismember him, but instead lacerated his body. Strakh's aura moved quickly to keep up but was failing, leaving large gashes on the man's back.

"You're pissing me off!" Strakh declared.

"Good!" Alex yelled back. Focus. Breathe. He wasn't sure where his weapon was, but he could do this. His aura was close, but if he kept Strakh busy, there was a good chance of victory. He stretched himself thin, his forcefields cutting through the supports of the house like butter. He was sure the council would bail him out, and he would have liked to have kept most of the things in the house, but what mattered more was that this man was stopped. Before he could completely bring the house down the kitchen sink and table crashed through his multiple barriers, Strakh using one as a shield to batter his way through before swinging the plumbing around with a solid blow to Alex's head. His aura shattered as he was planted into the ground, taking his breath away as pain seared through his body, a second blow from Strakh crashing into his chest and breaking his ribs.

"Gahhh!" Alex screamed in pain as Strakh pulled back and nearly stumbled back.

"You put up a good fight," Strakh admitted, dropping his makeshift gear, his own aura fizzling out as he pulled Alex out of the ground and tossed him back into the house with a sickly thud. "I'll even spare the rest of the family since you were such a good sport."

"How… sweet of you…" Alex managed wheezing. Something was digging into his back where he'd landed, and he was sure he recognized the shape. He couldn't draw a full breathe, the pain was far too great.

"To think you'd come so close," Strakh groaned, sitting on what was left of the tub. "No man has ever come so close to killing me, and none ever shall again. Salem is standing at my side always, and by her grace, I will become ruler over all of Remnant. Strakh looked at his hands, his strength not yet returned and he freed the faucet from the porcelain, slowly finding his feet and stretching. "Really banged me up. I don't think my back is ever going to heal."

"Good…" Alex exhaled, closing his eyes. He'd failed. There was no doubt about that. He wouldn't live through this. Because of his aura being partial, it also returned faster. He had one shot… one shot left to leave a lasting mark… Strakh lumbered closer, just a few more steps.

Violet… I'm sorry… You always told me that I worked too much and look where it got me…

Eliana… I'm sorry… Take care of your mother… She'll need it…

"Any last words?" Strakh inquired. A split second was all he'd have. Anything was better than nothing.

"Is Salem still here?" Alex gasped. He quickly pulled the gun out from behind his back, shooting Strakh square in the kneecap, the man screaming in pain as he hit the ground, rendered partially immobile.

"Bastard!" Strakh shouted.

"Guess not," Alex grunted. It was getting harder to breathe. His aura could slow his death, but he wouldn't come back. He failed. He failed, didn't he?

As long as you do your best to keep Remnant safe, that's all that matters, right?

Violet always knew what to tell him. He smiled softly as he relaxed his body, Strakh trying to push past his pain to stand. He needed to leave. He reached into his suit, tossing an active device onto the ground, propping himself up with the counter.

"I hope the Grimm that come here leave your body unrecognizable!" Strakh screamed in agony as he limped out slowly, making a call on his scroll.

"Sir, where are you, we thought you'd be back by now!" The voice replied.

"Have my driver pick me up north of town, I'll meet him along the road," Strakh grunted, disappearing from the memory.

"Elli…" Alex said whimpering. He was bargaining. He didn't want to go. "Elli… Vi…"

He didn't want to go.