Happy Friday.

This chapter was mostly done by me, while the co-author did the omake.

Pardon our grammar.

Chapter 11:

"SKAAHAAAAAAAA!"

The Sphinx roars loudly as it pounces. Its massive swipes away the insurgent leader's triple-barreled machinegun from his hands, knocking him to the ground and fumbles for his side weapon. But the snake, that's also Sphinx's tail, zips out and trapped the insurgent in its powerful jaws. Lifted into the air by the Sphinx's tail, the Grimm slams the man into the rocky walls, then into the ground, breaking his aura.

He let out a sharp gasp, feeling the snake's fangs piercing through his skin. Fear immediately takes over followed by the cold air permeating his body. The Sphinx leans slightly to the side of its snake of a tail and gauges its prey, its mouth twitching upward like a twisted smile. Their breath feels like death.

"As you can see, my benefactors are by no means inconsequential in their abilities to aid your cause." Dr. Arthur Watts casually strolls over to the Sphinx, fixing the insurgent leader with a self-satisfied look. "Surely, this little display of ours is enough to quell any doubts you have." He gestures at the insurgents restrained by elongated Grimm hands that sprouted from multiple glowing red symbols with an all-seeing eye. Hordes of Grimm stand over the helpless and fearful insurgents, breathing down on them with sadistic glee. "What do you say, Laguna?"

Laguna strains his eyes over to Dr. Watts and manages a small but painful response. "Y-yes…"

"It seems that we have reached an agreement. Do remember what I'd given you." The doctor said with a grin and turns to walk away. "You should have that wound of yours looked at."

The Sphinx's tail releases its jaw on the insurgent and slithers back with a disappointing hiss. The Creatures of Grimm that were towering over the insurgents let out a collective growl of annoyance and lumber towards the blond teen that had summoned them. The blond teen in question had his sword pointed at a young man name Vyse; Laguna's second in command, who is slanting against the damaged wall.

Their fight lasted barely a minute before the blond teen got the better of his opponent, utilizing the advantage of his shield and the reach of his sword and glaive hybrid.

"Hang on, hang on. Don't push each other." The blond teen berates the Grimm, withdrawing his sword from Vyse and desummon the elongated Grimm arms from the red glyphs.

Several large red portals begin to appear around him and the Grimm silently file into the swirling red mist. Everyone barring Dr. Watts watches numbly as the blond teen pats both heads of the Sphinx before it disappears into the portal, flickering out of existence.

The blond teen nods at Dr. Watts who nods back.

"We shall be on our way; in case you haven't noticed." Dr. Watts waves a dismissive hand at them, snapping them out of their disbelief. "Pleasure doing business with you."

Dr. Watts and his associate disappear into the dark tunnels, leaving the insurgents frozen in shock for a minute before one of them mutters out loud.

"What have we gotten ourselves into?"

A rather ironic statement considering they were planning a series of terrorist attacks on Atlas.

/-/

"I hope I didn't make things any more difficult for you."

"On the contrary. You've made things much easier for me, much so now that you've put Laguna's second in command in his place. Of course, forcing all of his rabbles down and terrorizing them with the Grimm has unquestionably convinced them not to cross us."

Jaune felt a brief surge of adrenaline upon being reminded of that fight against Vyse. His duel with the insurgent was somewhat of a blur, but it resulted in his victory when he shifted his sword into swordstaff mode that gave him a massive reach and advantage over his dual sword-wielding opponent. Though he doesn't know if his victory is due to his training, or the surprise factor.

In truth, he didn't know what to feel of his first actual fight with a human opponent and the first victory he achieved from it. The Jaune back then would never have dreamed of making it to the same level as he is now.

He traced the handle of his sword with his gloved hand. "All thanks to the weapon you made for me. I'd probably have a much harder time if it weren't for this."

"You honor me. Truly so."

Jaune and Dr. Watts sat in the passenger seat of the airship that the latter managed to acquire. The airship itself is being piloted by a hacked android, letting the two enjoy the smooth ride after an eventful morning.

"I should contact Salem now that we're finished."

"Very good."

Jaune softly rubs Pythia on the 'head', who responded with a clicking sound. Slowly, the Seer floated up to Jaune's face and begins to call Salem, its orb starts to swirl with a sickly red mist that continues to churn slowly. He then guides his Seer towards Dr. Watts so that he can report in; calmly waiting for the call to go through.

Finally, the face of a deathly pale woman appears within the orb of the Seer.

"Hello, Dr. Watts. I presume that everything went as planned?"

"Yes, it went quite smoothly. Their leader will follow through with our plans when the Vytal Festival begins in Vale. I will be continuing to monitor the situation for our future operations here in Atlas and Mantle. Once the Vytal Festival start, we will have the resources and network to maximize our advantages."

"I shall leave it to your expertise." Salem gave him a nod of acknowledgment and turns to Jaune. "It is time we move onto our next phase in Vale, my Everknight. Mountain Glenn is your next destination."

If Jaune can recall, Mountain Glenn is a failed expansion attempt by the Kingdom of Vale. It's now a ruined city with numerous underground networks overrun by Grimm.

"What will I be doing there, ma'am?"

"You'll be assisting the White Fang in pacifying the Grimm within Mountain Glenn and act as a representative of Cinder and by extension, me." Salem didn't miss the eye roll from Watts when she mentioned Cinder but didn't concern herself over it. "Should the plan fall through, use whatever you can to return to my domain immediately."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. You are to leave by tomorrow. Is there anything else to report?"

"No, ma'am."

"Not at this moment."

"Then you are dismissed." The connection ended with a hiss and the Seer floats back into Jaune's arms.

Dr. Watts lets out a huff, "Of course, that girl decided to let someone else do all the manual labor while she sits back and lazes around in Mistral."

"I'm sure she did some of the work." Jaune offers a small defense on the behalf of their half Maiden. "She did manage to get the entire White Fang sect in Vale to our side. And a few useful people."

"Through your involvement of tracking the Fall Maiden and failing even at that, stealing only half of her power. She wouldn't have been able to convince the faunus without the maiden's power. Now, she has two underlings beneath her to do her bidding. At this rate, she might as well outsource every aspect of her role."

He at least has to establish technical and social networks by himself to get what he wanted while partnering with his associates on several occasions. Ultimately, he has proven himself worthy of his accomplishment while Cinder has done nothing but strongarm others to do the majority of her work. It may seem hypocritical, as he tends to do things behind the scene, but at least he has the skills and knowledge to pull his own weight.

Compare to Cinder, she doesn't deserve the acknowledgment she has garner from Salem.

"Well…" Jaune can see Dr. Watts' point. At the same time, he always had the knack for thinking positively of others. "Doesn't that make her resourceful in some way? If she can get others to do things for her."

The Atlesian doctor crossed his arms and leans back in his seat. "Hmph. I suppose I can give her that. You're quite generous in your assessments of others. Even Tyrian."

Jaune internally grimaced at the mentioning of Tyrian. The scorpion faunus is extremely fanatical but loyal to Salem. Very loyal… He's also very perceptive and intelligent than he appears due to his lack of sanity.

"Everyone has some sort of positive trait."

"Hm, yes. A negative and a negative is a positive." He humors the blond boy, "But enough talk about that. Since you'll be leaving soon, I hope you don't mind assisting me with one last task before you go. A rather simple and selfish one, I might add."

That caught Jaune's interest. It's rare for Dr. Watts to be even the slightest self-deprecating.

"How can I help you?"

"It regards an old co-worker of mine." Dr. Watts said disdainfully. A look of resentment crossed his face. "I've heard, through an undisclosed channel, that he has gone through with his project and successfully accomplished what was meant to be the ultimate protector of Mantle." He looks straight into Jaune's eyes. "And I wish to see his accomplishment myself. Every single fine detail."

/-/

Jaune idly strolls through the streets of Mantle, trying to take his mind off of his recent assignment in convincing a group of terrorists to stop carrying out their attacks early before the Vytal Festival. If he were honest, it has a bad taste in his mouth in some sense. A taste that will eventually stop being a bother to him.

Breath and enjoy the air, even though it's not really fresh in an industrial and old city. He lets out a deep breath, enjoying the soft and slightly warm rain that fell on the tip of his nose.

The sky has darkened and the city is heavily illuminated by dull orange lights, signaling the nightlife of the residents in this bleak city. There used to be a noticeable number of nocturnal activities whenever he visited Mantle, but today it seems that everything has become lethargic. Those who are still moving about at this time of night looked like they could use some rest. Workers transported back from the SDC Dust mine all have wearily expressions with a few sporting dark looks.

The air never felt this heavy before. It's brimming with negativity and Pythia is enjoying every second of it. The Grimm Seer writhe with sadistic glee underneath Jaune's hoodie, relishing the negative emotions that have infused into the city.

It's a wonder that the Creatures of Grimm haven't torn down the city, probably due to the increased presence of Atlas military personnel in Mantle keeping the order and maintaining the city defenses.

"Things are really taken for the worse turn here, huh?" Jaune said sadly, feeling sympathetic towards Mantle's plight. It really didn't deserve the neglect it's been receiving.

Sure, it may have started the suppression of arts and individual expression nearly eighty years ago, but it did try to make up for its mistakes by becoming the center point of technological innovation. All that got them is exploitation and neglect.

He passed by a metal door just as it swung open inward. A faunus girl with pink hair and round pale animal ears skipped out from the frame and nearly collided with him.

"Oh! I'm sorry!"

"It's fine," Jaune said with a smile, noticing her prosthetic arm.

"And no more heavy lifting! You hear?" A grandfatherly voice shouted out from the building.

"I won't! Thank you!" The faunus girl replies back with a wide smile, waving goodbye, skipping off, and examining her robotic arm.

I've never been here before. Jaune thought to himself, not seeing any signs or writings that tell him the purpose of this building.

"Penny, dear. Could you close the door?"

"Of course, father!" Another girl; human, with orange hair and bright green eyes poked her head out and spotted Jaune. "Oh! Father, we have another one!"

"Huh? No wait, I'm not –" He found himself pulled into the building experiencing firsthand the strength the girl possesses despite her appearance.

"Do not be shy! My father…" She pauses and stares at him. "Something is… Different about you."

"W-what do you mean?"

"Hmmm…" She hums, looking at him up and down. She then looks at his hands where the metallic rings are, then turns her attention onto his pockets where his scrolls are. "I am feeling… Ah, I mean I get the feeling that there's some sort of electric interference on you."

"O-oh! That's my colleague's scroll." He reaches into his other pocket and holds it out. "He said he's t-trying something new and is letting me test it out, but it's a bit… Well, not working as intended. Somewhat."

Penny stares at the scroll. It wasn't like any other scrolls she'd seen before. It was bulky and not collapsible like your average scroll, and the screen is made out of some sort of glass. Her mind begins to blank out, watching the screen brightens and darkens, flickering and glitching. Feeling dizzy, she staggers back a few steps.

"Hey, are you alright?" Jaune put the scroll into sleep mode and softly grabs her by the arm.

"Oh, I'm fine. Thank you for regaining my balance." Penny begins tapping at her head. "It seems that your colleague's scroll is malfunctioning. Perhaps my father can help repair it! He's a great engineer! He can fix almost anything!"

"Oh, err. Thank you, but my colleague would like to see his scroll himself if there's any problem with it."

"That's perfectly understandable! We've been standing near the front entrance for one minute and 23 seconds. Let's get you out of the rain and dried up. The substances that are known as H2O or water have occupied 22% of your clothes."

"Uhh."

She drags him in front of a desk that's occupied by a dark-skinned, balding man with pince-nez glasses. He was dressed in a dark red vest and yellow button-up shirt, sporting a pink bow. "Father. We have another patient."

"But I'm not…"

"Hm?" The man glances up after putting away something and observes Jaune with an absentminded expression, quickly turning into a jovial smile. "Ah, yes. Yes..." An awkward moment of silence passed between the three of them. "Have we met?"

"This is the first time actually."

"Ah! A first-time patient?"

"Err, I'm feeling alright. Really. No injuries or illness."

"Oh? If you're not here for… Penny, dear. You wouldn't happen to have mistaken a nearby person as a patient?"

Penny blinked, letting out a small gasp. "Oh no! Did I interrupt your wonderful night? I am so sorry!"

"It's okay. I was just taking a walk." He waves it off and puts out a hand. "I'm Jaune, by the way. Nice to meet you guys."

"Pietro, at your service." The elderly man shakes his hand. "And I believe you've just been acquainted with my daughter, Penny."

"I am Penny. A normal human girl helping out her father at his pharmacy." She eagerly shook his hand, hard. Causing his entire body and Pythia to wobble by the amount of force she put into her handshake. "It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"N-n-nice to-o meet y-you too." He manages to get out a complete single sentence. The girl has some wicked strength!

"Nice to meet you too!" She parroted him, finally releasing his hand. "I should assist my father in closing the door and relocating those stacks of paper to the filing cabinet now."

"Oh, thank you, darling." Pietro smiles sweetly as his daughter went off to do her duties. "My apology for the inconvenience. She means well, but is a bit sheltered and may come off as awkward when interacting with others."

"Don't worry about it. I could say I'm similar to her as well. By the way, what is this place." He surveyed the small room. "Is this a pharmacy?"

"The front area of this building is a pharmacy. This small space of mine is my office. I volunteer here, helping out the locals during my free time."

"That's nice." Jaune admires those who do these kinds of things, which may be odd coming from him, being an agent of Salem and all. "Wait. You're the renowned Atlas scientist, Dr. Pietro Polendina."

The man let out a modest laugh, "I am, young man. You might be wondering what I'm doing down here in Mantle, but to tell you the truth." He lowered his voice a bit. "It's a bit stuffy up there. Haha!"

"I know what you mean." He chuckles. Atlas may be pristine and prosperous, but it can't be understated that within certain parts of the floating city, there's an air of snobbery and arrogance.

"Oh? You've been to Atlas?"

"Yup. The upper areas too. A lot of self-portrait statues there."

"That's mildly putting it. A bit of an over extravagance if you ask me. I dare say, narcissistic."

The two shared another round of laughter.

"What kind of comedy are we discussing?" Penny asks, having just completed her errand. "I've been trying to comprehend humor."

/-/

"Hey, Yang." Ruby peaked her head into her sister's team dorm room, Team RNBY; Lie Ren, Nora Valkyrie, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long. "How are you doing? Is your arm doing okay?"

"Again, Ruby. You're making it sound like it's a serious injury." Yang waved her sister in with her unbandaged arm. "It's just a minor sprain that'll go away soon. Don't be like dad, now."

Ruby took a glance at her sister's team leader, Ren. "Sorry for intruding."

"Don't worry about it." The raven-haired boy replied with a small smile. "Please. You're welcome to stick around."

"Yeah! Just think of us as sleeping sloths." Nora bounced on the sole of her feet, pointing at Blake who was reading on the bed next to Yang's. "And a reading sloth."

"I am not lazy." Blake idly turned a page in her book, her eyes occasionally shifting over to see how her partner was doing.

"I didn't say you were lazy, silly kitty."

Blake stiffened at that but immediately relaxed. "Uh-huh."

"So, how are you doing today?" Ruby sat at the foot of Yang's bed fiddling with her hands. "You took a pretty bad hit from that Deathstalker."

Their joint exercise a few days ago went well for the most part. Heck, they seemed pretty unstoppable until the appearance of larger and more powerful Grimm started to emerge from the forest, forcing them to fall back.

There, they encountered a giant Deathstalker that burst out of a nearby cavern in an ambush. In the heat of the moment, Yang felt bold enough to throw out a punch at maximum output, boosted by her semblance, and landed a solid hit on the Deathstalker's stinger tail. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough and Yang received a sprained arm in an attempt to follow up on her attack.

"For the last time. Besides getting an earful from Port, Glynda, Oobleck, and dad? I'm doing okay. My aura is speeding up my recovery already." Yang lifts her bandaged arm carefully. "The nurse said that it should be fully healed by tomorrow or the day after that."

"You had us worried when you straight up attacked the charging Deathstalker," Blake added to the sisters' conversation. "Even more so when your aura was almost depleted."

"Which in turn attracted more Grimm because of our distress." Ren piled more into the list that made Yang felt slightly guilty.

"I know, I know." Yang sighs, laying down and putting an arm over her eyes. "It was kinda in the moment. An army of huntsmen and huntresses in training, facing off against a horde of Grimm. I felt invincible with everyone there, you know?"

It did feel like they were invincible, almost as if they were waging a full-out war against the Grimm to reclaim the forest. The combined firepower of all participating cadets was overwhelming, decimating every single Grimm, small and large. Then it slowly became apparent how the Grimm still dominates most of Remnant.

Even if all huntsmen and huntresses were to unite, they were outnumbered. Not just outnumbered, but underpowered as well against the older Grimm who could shrug off the devastating attacks thrown at them. Paired with their dwindling ammunition and resources, it becomes obvious who would win in a war of attrition.

"Caught up in the moment!" Nora nodded with a smug expression, inspecting her nails. "Happens to the best of us."

"Hah! You got that right." Yang made a fist with her unbandaged arm, prompting the two girls to fist bump each other with a painful crack.

Ren looked at the two girls with a flat expression, "Please don't do that. You two are making me anxious."

"Join the club," Blake said monotonously. "On the bright side, it could have been worse."

There were no casualties, though. There were, however, some students that will have to rest for several days, and already students are showing off their new scars that they got from fighting power Grimm during the joint exercise.

"That's true." Ruby nodded, wondering how their father would react if Yang received more than just a sprain arm. "So… Want me to get anything for you?"

"Nah, I'm good. Say, where's the rest of your teammates?"

"They're at the library, doing some research and reading. I'll be going back soon if everything's okay."

"Ugh, that sounds boring."

"Well, we have nothing else to do this Saturday and you can't play video games with one hand."

Not to mention most of the students are still tired from yesterday's joint exercise, making the campus less active than normal.

"Fair point." She carefully stretches both of her arms, "If you got anything planned for today, and have enough room. Let us know."

Ruby's face brightens, "We were thinking about heading over to Vale today. Would you guys like to come along?"

"I'm in!" Nora slaps her hand on the wooden frame of her bed.

"Sure."

"I do need to see if my book order has been shipped…"

"Asking others if they want to join. My baby sister is growing up." Yang gave her a one-armed hug, ignoring her sister's futile attempt to resist it. "Also, I need to stock up on hair products. When are you guys planning on leaving for Vale?"

Ruby stopped trying to push her sister away, "Maybe in half an hour? I'll let Weiss and Pyrrha know that you guys will be joining us."

"That should give us plenty of time." Yang released Ruby and got up from her bed. "We should get ready."

"Great. I'll let the others know."

Ruby waved Team RNBY goodbye and left their dorm room. She took off down the hallways, quickly turning into a sprint, then a burst of rose petals as she activated her semblance, flitting down the hallways in a spiraling flutter of red petals.

"… Something is bothering you." Ren said to Yang.

"Yeah. Ruby is hiding something. Not just Ruby, but her entire teammates." Yang may not be great in certain subjects when it comes to academics, is straightforward in a fight, and emits a vibe of a party girl, but she's far from stupid and unobservant. "When you said how odd it was that this joint exercise came up, my sister's team looked like they know something."

Yang can be perceptive when it comes to minor details. Especially when it concerns her missing person of interest, and of course her little sister.

"I thought it was something I said," Ren admits. He wasn't exactly a sociable person and the one person he does socialize with isn't a good marker for what is normal.

"It wasn't, don't worry. We all had similar questions." The blonde sighs and scratches her head. "But Ruby and her teammates didn't look all that surprised, more like they're worried."

"They could be worried about everyone in general." Blake adds her thought in, "There were a lot of students participating. With that many people, someone could get hurt or left behind."

Yang didn't look convinced. She'll have to look into it, maybe ask her uncle since his sudden appearance at the campus was odd. "Maybe… Well, I can't really press about it without much evidence. Not in my current state. Where we going, guys?"

"Book store. I have a rain check for a book I plan on reading this week."

"Waffle house!"

"I'll tag along with Nora to make sure she doesn't make a mess of things."

"It can't be a mess if it's already a mess, to begin with."

"Gotta agree with her. She makes a good point."

"I strongly disagree."

Blake chuckles at her teammates' verbal antics as they readied up for their trip to Vale. Her mood steadily evens itself when she recalls her conversation with Tukson's bookstore and the feeling of uneasiness form at the back of her mind. While she lives a temporary, but decent life in studying to become a huntress, her past is still left unaddressed along with its greater issues.

She looks out from the window. What are you doing now, Adam?

/-/

"Say that again, and I'll cut you and your little assistant down."

"Is that the best retort you could muster?"

The White Fang all stood by and watched with anxiety as the altercation between Adam and Roman was seconds away becoming a deadly exchange of violence.

Neo stands ready at Roman's side with her hand on her weapon while eyeing the ruined buildings on her right in case any Grimm decided to interrupt. They weren't in a good spot to be arguing with one another; with volatile Dust being shipped to Mountain Glenn and the Creatures of Grimm attracted to negative emotions, it's a miracle there weren't any Grimm swarming their positions.

And that brings up a good question about the Grimm's whereabouts. The commotions an influx of negative emotions should have gotten the Grimm's attention, yet there were none. In fact, they've yet to encounter a single Grimm within the area and forest. A far cry from what was reported from the White Fang's scouts.

She rolls her eyes as another bout of hot air escaped from the two idiots before she felt the ground rumble beneath her. Neo's eyes widen and turn her attention to the right, spotting a charging Goliath the size of a building rushing towards them.

"Giant Grimm!" One of the White Fang soldiers screamed.

Adam immediately ceases his bickering with Roman and adjusts his mask. "Everyone! Get to the underground station! Now!"

The charging Goliath stomps through the shattered paved road, flattening everything in its path. It seems like it was intent on running them over, until it slowly deaccelerated as it got nearer, causing Adam, Roman, and Neo to pause and observe it out of curiosity.

Is it slowing down because it knows it can't reach them underground, or something else?

Adam narrows his eyes, barely making out a blond figure riding on top of the Goliath's head. He blinks twice and was tempted to rub his eyes if it weren't for his branding scar and mask. Neo tugs on Roman's sleeve and points at the person on top of the Goliath.

"Yes, Neo. I see him too…" Roman shifts his footing with a concerned look on his face.

"Who?" Adam inquires cautiously.

"Cinder calls him the Everknight." The Goliath has completely stopped and extended its massive trunk for the blond teen to slid down. He's accompanied by two Grimm; a vicious-looking Geist, and a small Seer. "Sounds… Ridiculous, but trust me." Roman pales, even more, when the Everknight landed, decked out in armor and a sword holstered on his waist. "Not someone you want to mess with. Not when he has Grimm on his side."

The Everknight waves at the Goliath, dismissing it. The Grimm obeyed without question, turning away to stomp off into the distance.

Neo stiffens, refraining herself from instinctively reaching for her weapon as the Everknight gets closer. His attire has drastically changed from the old fashion robes-like shirt to a more combat-oriented look. His white-colored chest plate, greaves, and armguard certainly gave the impression of a knight, a 'righteous' one at appearance.

But everyone here knows better than that. The Everknight is anything but holy or righteous; made even more obvious with two Grimm floating alongside him.

"Adam, Roman, and Neo." The Everknight greets them respectfully, "Cinder sends her greetings and my assistance."

Omake:

"Hey, Pythia. Do you ever wonder why we're here?"

A series of flat clicking sounds came from the Seer Grimm.

Jaune and Pythia stare out at the setting sun while pondering about their life. One is a regular human boy who somehow became a high-ranking member to an evil immortal witch who is essentially Grimm herself. The other is a jellyfish-like Grimm that acts like a normal person than the rest of her fellow Grimm; in fact, is much more of a normal person than nearly everyone in this forsaken world.

"Yeah… Me too."

Jaune sighs, wondering how it went from the 'annihilation of the entire world of Remnant' to 'child custody fights and unresolved sexual tension with a former lover who incarnates into another person after death' within a day or two after he entered into Salem's service. Pythia sighs along with him and floats closer, wrapping its tentacles around his neck to rest on.

It was another tiring day of working under Salem and something tells them that it's about to get even crazier.

"Let's hope things get better, for our sake." He rubs Pythia on the head.

The sound of heavy boots with metal soles could be heard clicking down the hallway behind him. Jaune turns and spots Glynda looking like she's on the brink of having a mental breakdown.

"It's not going to get better." She moans, having heard their conversation. "Out of all the people in the world, Ozpin choose Taiyang to help him with his marriage problem!"

"H-hey, big sis. Who are you talking about?"

Glynda smooths out her dress and fixes her glasses before venting. "A colleague of mine. Blond like you; banged his entire team, including Qrow. Maybe… Banged Raven, had Yang, then Raven ran away. Then banged Summer, had Ruby, then she died. Maybe banged Qrow…? Or was it the other way around? Anyway, they get drunk together."

"Okay, okay. I think I see the problem." He rushes to help Glynda back to her room. "You look like you could use some rest."

She grips him by the shoulder, hard. "You. Do. Not. Understand. If Taiyang gives even a slimmer of advice to Ozpin who is absolutely horrible with romance, the world is doomed sixty-nine times over!"

"That's an oddly specific number…"

"We must not let Taiyang meet up with Ozpin and go through with whatever that idiot has planned!"

"W-well, what should we do?"

Glynda freezes and releases him. She cups her chin thoughtfully, "Raven. We need to get Raven in on this! Only she can stop Taiyang!"

"What about Qrow?"

"Qrow is wasted! Quickly, find me an envelope!"

/-/

After a day of terrorizing villages with her bandit tribe, Raven Branwen is enjoying her lovely evening with a cup of warm tea. Years of living among the lawless land have hardened her mind and heart, making her a cruel and ruthless individual. It takes a hardcore individual like her to –

"Um… Raven?" Her right-hand woman, Vernal, interrupts her mental pep talk.

Raven glances up from her teacup, "Yes?"

"This random letter flew into my face and it's addressed to you." Vernal waves a white envelope, "It's from someone named Glynda?"

"Glynda? What does she want?" Raven rolls her eyes and puts out her hand for Vernal to hand her the letter. "This better be important…"

The bandit queen opens the letter, begins reading the content, and made a terrible mistake of drinking her tea while reading.

"Pffft!" She spews out her tea and begins to violently cough.

"Raven?!" Vernal immediately went to her side and hit her on the back. After several seconds of coughing, Raven regain her lungs and looked like she's in a panic. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"My fucking retarded former husband is about to get everyone killed! That's what's about to happen!" Raven shrieks and dives towards her belong. She hastily grabs the nearest baggage and shoves her stuff into it. "I need to get over there and stop him before it's all too late!"

She tries to calm down the frantic woman. "Whoa, whoa. What do you mean everyone is going to die? Surely…"

"No time! Vernal! You're in charge of the Branwen tribe while I'm gone!" She slices the air with her sword, opening a portal to her ex-husband, and chucks her baggage into it. "I'll be back briefly to check on your status tomorrow! Shit, shit, shit! Tai, don't be fucking stupid!"

Raven jumps into the portal, leaving an unnerved Vernal behind.

Pardon our grammar.

I swear the co-author enjoys making the omakes more than the actual story.