Well, it didn't quite take me a month this time.

My Dear Ajax, when you left Snezhnaya, you were kind enough to promise that should it be in your power to forward my interests in any manner, you would be pleased to do so. I now find my situation wanting, my former posting having been mostly burned to the ground and my lack of a successor leaves a shortage of hands for all the work that is still to be done. If therefore, you should be willing to accept an exchange of postings wherein you shall take over my former assignment and I shall transfer my division to your current posting I would be most indebted. I trust that the enclosed files will satisfy you as to the characters of some of the more 'prominent' personages you will meet during your stay in my previous location.

Additionally, I have marked out a few specific files belonging to a select few that I became dear friends with during my time abroad. I wish to impress upon you my dearest hopes that you check in on them and offer some small measure of safety to them during your stay. As well, I have specifically indicated an individual in your primary posting that might satisfy one of "The Doctor's" requests.

Should you wish to meet with me, call at my home and if I can in any way return the favor, it will give me great pleasure to do so.

With every hope that your present embarrassments may be temporary.

Your ever sincere friend,

Jaune

It was another cold night in the city of Atlas, the hard light barriers surrounding the floating island kept the worst of the weather from entering the streets but this far north there was only so much that the barriers could handle. Still, the inhabitants of the city were much more comfortable than those less fortunate souls living in Mantle who lacked such protections.

On this evening, while the inhabitants of the lower city huddled together in a desperate attempt to conserve heat, the nightlife in the upper city thrived. Socialites flitted back and forth between concerts and galas, whilst the youth of the upper class concerned themselves with what kind of dress they would wear for this event, or whether they should order one entree or two.

Amidst all this hustle and bustle a teal blue car passed through the streets towards its destination. From within, one of its inhabitants took in the festive mood of the metropolis, and couldn't help but feel contempt towards its inhabitants.

"Why can't I just go and find wherever it is and grab it? It wouldn't take that long and it's not like anyone here could stop me if I did."

The driver of the vehicle sighed as he heard his passenger's opinion, "Just like the last ten times you asked that, the answer is the same. While the Tsaritsa is pleased that the Gnosis ended up in our possession, the actions taken during your attempts to obtain it were more damaging to our cause than they were beneficial. Need I remind you of Lord Pantalone's reaction when he learned of the damage inflicted upon the Golden House?"

Childe shuddered, the wrath of Snezhnaya's head of economics was not something one wanted to bring upon themselves, and when the elder Harbinger had learned of what he had done to the only mint in Teyvat? Well, one could have almost mistaken the economist for a Pyro vision holder.

"But why here? Surely there are operations back home that I could be assigned to? The Kanjou commission must owe some debt that we could collect."

A few months ago Javert had held the Harbingers in extremely high regard stemming back to when he was just a new recruit being delivered a dressing down by Sandrone for having one of his boots unlaced. So when he had received orders that he would be personally accompanying Tartaglia during the Harbinger's time in Liyue he had understandably endeavored to be at his best behavior around the almost demigod-like figure.

However, he reflected as he slowly brought his head down repeatedly on the steering wheel, all that respect and admiration had died a miserable death when presented with the Harbinger's reckless antics. First, it was thoughtlessly funding that consultant's shopping sprees with the Traveller, then it was raiding the Golden House causing a minor economic crisis, and then to top it all off he had awakened Osial and caused a major shipping crisis as a result of the massive storm that brewed as a result. To top it all off his actions had gotten himself and every other agent of the Debt Collection Agency banned from the city for the foreseeable future. The only reason the Fatui still even had a foothold there was due to the lingering goodwill held towards Burattino and Dottore for their actions in ridding the lands of Ursa the Drake.

The stoplight turned green and they continued forward again as Childe once again made his opinions known "I still don't see why they had to transfer me out here, it's just so boooring, Jaune's obviously still salty over the fact that I got the Liyue posting, it's the only reason why he would petition for me to be placed in this dull hell and send me that letter."

Not receiving a reply to his complaints the young Harbinger returned to his earlier activity of mindlessly gazing through the window at the bustling city. Contrary to his previous statement he didn't fully believe that Jaune had suggested he be posted here as a form of payback -although that may have played a small part- instead, he believed that Jaune recommended him as a matter of trust.

Both he and Jaune had trained under Skirk after finding themselves in that dark realm, although it was only after Jaune had been recruited into the Fatui that they had met again. Since then they had shared a close bond, that had persisted when their divisions had been created, even bleeding down into their subordinates. To this day it was not at all uncommon to see members of the Artifact Division partnered up with Agents of the Debt Collection Agency in missions.

Before his old companion had returned Childe has been worrying himself almost to the bone over the possible repercussions of the botched operation. So when Jaune had returned from his assignment to find Childe in a tenuous political position he had swiftly stepped up with his own suggestion, which he outlined in a brief letter that Childe had grasped onto like a drowning man grabbing onto a life preserver. He would take Childe's place in the Liyue/Mondstadt area, and in return Childe would take the posting in Remnant. After presenting this proposition to the council, the other Harbingers had spent a brief period debating the matter before they accepted the proposal, albeit with a few caveats.

"Sir, we've arrived at the Schnee estate. please, if you're going to do anything rash at least try to be subtle about it" Javert's voice drew him from his thoughts as he realized they'd already pulled up to the main entrance of the Schnee mansion.

Childe practically lept from the car, pausing for a brief moment to shoot a parting comment towards his driver

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to be on my absolute best behavior."

As he watched his commander enter into the opulent mansion Javert let out another deep sigh before he reached for the flask he kept under his seat.

Weiss stared at the orange-haired youth...Childe, it was a strange name vaguely sounding like some of the old Atlesian names from before the Great War. Behind him her summon slowly disintegrated, white fragments vanishing into the air while his watery boar pawed the ground and let out a soundless snort. After a few moments, she caught herself as she realized that she had already left him waiting for an answer for longer than was polite.

Blushing in embarrassment she took his hand "Weiss Schnee, it's a pleasure to meet you...My father has spoken much of your exploits in the past few weeks." indeed he had, in fact, in almost all the dealings she had had with her father the name 'Northland Bank' had come up constantly, usually followed by cursing.

While the Atlesian high class had their fortunes kept in banks located in Atlas, a great many of those banks had been based out of Vale. in the wake of the destruction of Vale's economic district and the deaths of the board members for the banks, there had been widespread fear that the Atlesian banks would be forced to close.

But in the seemingly darkest hour, a smaller Atlesian based bank had risen up and convinced what was left of the other banks' board members to join them under the banner of the renamed 'Northland Bank.' led by a mysterious figure known as Childe who had taken over after the former head retired.

Since then at the direction of their head, the Northland Bank had expanded its grasp across Atlas, and even down into Mantle where they had bought out old abandoned warehouses and factories renovating and opening them for business again the biggest of which was turned into the "Atlas Institute for Toy Research" -their slogan "Spreading Joy and Laughter to Everyone" had caught on in the undercity along with a decrease in Grimm attacks-. The massive amount of jobs that this move provided had made the master of Northland Bank especially popular amongst the people living amid the slums of Old Mantle.

"I suppose that my appearance must come as a bit of a shock, not many would imagine someone my age qualified to hold such a prominent position, but I believe that my actions speak for themselves in that matter. They've certainly silenced the greater bulk of my naysayers."

The arrogance in his tone did not escape Weiss. In fact, it reminded her of herself when she had first come to Beacon, full of pride but never once examining herself. However, there was something else within his tone, utter confidence in himself and his words...and an undercurrent of anticipation? Like he was purposefully baiting a reaction from the crowd surrounding him. When no one took the bait his shoulders slumped almost imperceptibly, confirming her hunch.

A voice came from behind the young head, breaking the silence that had formed "You witch! I'll have you arrested for this assault." the young duo's gazes were drawn to the overweight woman who had been the catalyst for the entire incident. Apparently, she had finally collected her wits enough to get up from where she lay on the floor.

As she realized who was standing by Weiss however, her expression from rage to cordiality as she turned to the bank head. "Oh but thank you so much for saving me from this...this brutish woman, I don't think I can repay you enough for your aid."

Childe smiled at her as he replied "It's no matter, I just did what anyone else in my position would have done. But if we're talking about repayment…" he paused for a moment, glancing over at Weiss and at Jacques who had started to make his way over to them. "I think it might be best if the police didn't get involved in this little commotion. I may not have heard the entire start to the disagreement, but I'm sure it stemmed from a misunderstanding and I'm sure Miss. Schnee did not mean to lash out as she did."

The overweight woman didn't seem fully satisfied by his response, but before she could open her mouth to refute it he cut her off "If you're free afterward we can even talk about that loan you took out recently...what was the name of the business you were investing in again…?"

Weiss had a front-row seat to the woman's face paling to such a shade that it almost put the Schnee hair color to shame "Oh! There's no need to worry about that, please don't let me take up too much of your time...oh it looks like my husband needs my assistance with something, please excuse me." the fat woman scurried away and finally the awkward silence that had hunger over the event broke as the crowd went back to their previous conversations.

"What an odious woman" Weiss startled a little as she heard her conversation partner mutter under his breath, her eyes snapping towards him, catching the traces of a smile on his face as he watched her father draw closer. "My last name isn't Stahlberg….ah I must say it's quite the honor to be able to meet you here tonight."

As the young bank director engaged in conversation with her father Weiss took the opportunity to slip back to the side of the festivities. Thankfully Childe's action had all but eclipsed her previous outburst so she was able to remain undisturbed on the outskirts. Her unexpected moment of solace allowed her the chance to reflect a little more deeply on the events of moments ago. More specifically on the actions of the young director, she hadn't had the opportunity to think too deeply on it during the moment but his Semblance seemed to be quite similar to hers.

The only major differences were the color of the summon, and the summon itself, being a mundane animal as opposed to a Grimm. All that aside though there was one other point that stood out about the whole exchange, the speed at which Childe had been able to project his summon. A Boarbatusk's speed wasn't something to scoff at normally and in her rage-filled haze she had not given any thought as to the damage it would have inflicted. And yet, despite all that and despite the close distance between her summon and the woman, Childe's boar had still blocked her summon before she was even aware of it. If only she had that type of skill…A flash of color in the corner of her eye drew her attention once again to the painting of Beacon. Her thoughts once again returning unbidden to the night of the Fall and the events following.

After Ruby had headed up towards the tower Weiss had rejoined the defenses, helping repel the assaults and ambushes launched by the White Fang in the labyrinthine rubble of the school buildings. She had been assisting the construction of a barricade in the dining hall when the tide finally changed. Originally, pauses between White Fang attacks had been filled by swarms of Grimm which had ground down most of their preliminary holdfasts, but seemingly out of nowhere the tides of Beowolves and Ursa had dried up, granting a much needed-if uneasy- respite.

It wasn't until Russel Thrush from CRDL had shown up that they learned of the Grimm dragon's death, the young huntsmen-who had been serving as a messenger between the various cutoff resistances due to the communication blockage- had witnessed the dragon's death while delivering first aid supplies to the library enclave. With the dragon's death, the flood of Grimm had waned and then stopped completely greatly bolstering the previously low morale of the defenders all across the academy. After that, the isolated groups had started launching their own assaults on the previously Fang-owned positions.

Swept along by the emotional current Weiss' group had also started their retaliatory attack, targeting the auditorium with the goal of using it as a staging ground to recapture the Bullhead docks. At first, they were met with success swiftly retaking the staff buildings lying in their paths. But when they reached the ceremony hall their previously breakneck pace had slowed to a crawl as the Faunus had fortified their position.

Stymied by the obstacle Weiss' group pulled back to reassess the situation. the White Fang had erected barricades out of the various furniture from within the building and her group didn't have the ability to assault the bulwark. Weiss had even attempted to use her summons in the hopes that she could send it ahead to smash through the defenses. But despite partially channeling it in the earlier fighting, she failed when she needed it the most.

Instead, the stalemate had been broken by the arrival of a most unexpected source, Cardamom Winchester. Despite her...reservations about his character Weiss had to admit that his assault on the barricade had been awe-inspiring. charging with the help of whatever covering fire they could provide he had reached the blockade and smashed it -and a few unfortunate Fang members-to pieces with The Executioner, the flames leaking from the fire dust crystal silhouetting him amid the wreckage in the hall.

After that, there was nothing holding back the tide of students, all eager in their own ways to extract what small bit of vengeance they could on the terrorists that had invaded their home. For Weiss it felt like one moment she had been charging down the halls and the next she was standing in the middle of the auditorium, bodies covering the floor in a gross parody of her first day at Beacon.

With the recapture of the auditorium, the hold that the White Fang had on the academy was broken, and although it would take time to root out every last holdout the students were finally able to retake the bullhead docks finally giving the dropships of the Atlesian forces a place to land and offload their reinforcements. This had the secondary effect of taking some of the burden off of the shoulders of the students, allowing them to rest and receive medical support or evac. Unfortunately, this also applied to Weiss as she had apparently been designated a 'VIP' and she swiftly found herself placed onto a Manta and carted over to one of the surviving flagships, and from there she was brought back to Atlas before she even had a chance to see her team again.

News was slow to trickle out at first, especially with the CCT down. but as time passed and more debris was shifted away she was finally able to get her hands on some of the reports that were sent back to Atlas. Promptly locking herself in her room for days upon seeing the information within.

Dove Bronzewing of CRDL: KIA in the administration room along with the rest of the defenders when it was overrun.

Professor Greene: KIA in White Fang ambush.

Professor Mulberry: KIA in Grimm assault, remains identified by distinctive tattoo.

Ace Operative Tortuga: KIA when Atlesian Knight-200s shot down his Dropship.

Blake Belladonna of RWBY: MIA, believed to have last been seen leading Adam Tauros away from the location of a wounded teammate.

Jaune Arc leader of JNPR: MIA, last seen heading towards Beacon Tower.

Headmaster Ozpin: KIA by falling rubble in Beacon's lower levels.

The lists of names went on and on, with many of those named having been friends and acquaintances of her and her team. Not even mentioning the various faculty and other staff that had fallen in the defense of the Academy.

"It's beautiful isn't it." a voice sounded from the side, breaking her out of her reminiscence. Due to the similarities to an earlier statement from a less than desirable conversation partner she glared a little as she turned to the young head of Northland Bank.

"Yes. it's a lovely painting." Weiss said only to be taken aback as Childe turned to meet her gaze with his own dead serious eyes.

"I wasn't talking about the painting, I was talking about the sacrifices made by its defenders. And I'm sure you were thinking about them as well."

"Y-yes, I was...but how could you tell" Weiss stammered a bit, surprised by his accuracy.

"Your expression, it is not the first time I've seen it. You were there, weren't you? That expression is usually reserved only for those who have personally witnessed hardship firsthand." he gestured to the crowd of socialites that populated the ballroom. "It's not something any of those in attendance here would understand. They've never had to work a day in their lives...never learned how it feels to stand against the odds with the only thing separating you from death being the blade in your hands."

Weiss mulled over his words glancing again at the painting, and though she tried to deny it, deep down they had struck a chord with her. "But still, I could have done more to help at the battle. If I were stronger I could have prevented the pointless deaths."

She missed a grin flash over Childe's face at her words as he replied "True" Weiss' gaze snapped back to his in slight offense before he continued "But thoughts like that make light of your companion's own choices." Childe motioned towards one of the other commemorative works that dotted the ballroom, an elaborate piece depicting the last stand of a group of students against a horde comprised of White Fang and Grimm.

"The students of Beacon were all there to take up arms as humanities protectors, though they might have differed in personality or mannerisms, at their core they shared the same ambition. And in the defense of the academy, they achieved it through their sacrifice. The group depicted in that painting, for example, stayed behind to organize the evacuation of civilians from the Vytal Fairground when the Atlas forces turned hostile. And every single one of them, more than 5 teams worth died as a result...do you want to know how many civilians were killed during that evacuation?"

Weiss hesitantly nodded so Childe continued "Not a single civilian died, every single one was able to evacuate to shelter. Do you think those students died pointlessly? Or do you think that they died happily, content in having fulfilled their dreams?"

"...I suppose it would have to be the latter," Weiss responded

"Exactly," Childe said as he plucked two glasses from a passing waiter holding one out to her "a wise man once said that 'it is sweet to die for your ambitions, sweeter still to live for them, and sweetest yet to drink to the memories of those who fell along the way"

Weiss accepted the glass, feeling like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, she raised her drink into the air for a toast "To our dreams."

"To our dreams," Childe responded as he raised his glass, meeting hers in the air before taking a sip. He then raised his glass again "To success in our endeavors."

Weiss met his glass with hers, taking a sip and then raising her glass "To the fallen, that they may rest peacefully having done their duty."

Childe also raised his glass responding "And that neither of us will ever have to drink that toast for the other."

Having each said their toasts they quickly drained their glasses before lapsing into a companionable silence. A silence that dragged on for quite a while -only semi-broken by the refilling of their glasses- and yet never grew awkward as both were content to just appreciate each other's company. After another 15 minutes, the silence was finally broken.

"Earlier you mentioned your desire to grow stronger, how well have you progressed with that?" Childe queried.

Weiss furrowed her brow "Not well, my sister is still in Vale with the general and there has been a surprising lack of viable training partners since my return."

"I imagine your father has also done his fair share to hamper you in that endeavor?" Childe said.

Weiss snapped to him in shock "I. I didn't say-"

Childe chuckled "It would hardly take a genius to see that you two don't get along well, and from what I've heard he was quite disapproving of you choosing to go to Beacon. And since he has finally gotten you back under his thumb it sadly makes too much sense that he would block any attempts by you to strengthen your skills."

Weiss' gaze slid to the floor as the discouraging thoughts made their home in her mind. Her conversation partner was right, now that her father had her back under his thumb her ability to function freely had been all but extinguished. All she had to look forward to from now on was being wheeled out in front of a crowd every so often to sing like some kind of caged bird. Before her train of thought could slide even further down the rails of depression it was interrupted.

"So…" She looked up at him again, her gaze meeting his mischievous expression. "How do you feel about a little act of Rebellion?"

"Please wait a moment while I find the controls for the lights. " Weiss said as she busied herself at a console towards the side of the arena. After a few moments, the lights flickered on illuminating the entirety of the elaborate arena.

The training room of Schnee Manor was an impressive sight, reminding Childe somewhat of the Haeresys arena that Dottore would test his creations in. A thin layer of dust coated much of the ground.

"I apologize for the untidiness, I haven't had many opportunities to come in here since I returned, and father has done his part to prevent me from practicing. What weapon do you prefer to use?" she asked

"If you have any training bows or spears that would work," Childe replied as he continued to observe the facilities. "It's interesting that your manor has such a lavish training arena, considering what I've heard about your father's views on such things."

Weiss laughed as she walked over to the weapon racks "No, it's definitely not something he approves of, but it's something that my grandfather built when he first founded the Schnee Dust Company and there's not much my father can do to remove it. Now, I think there was a hard light practice bow here somewhere….hmmmm strange."

Childe perked up "Something bothering you?" he asked.

"No, it's just that the weapons are less dusty than I was expecting. Ah! Here we go." She grabbed a small collapsed bow off of the rack and handed it to her companion. And while he unfolded it and familiarized himself with its workings she found herself a practice rapier.

"So, shall we call it at the first strike? " Childe suggested.

"Sure," Weiss responded, taking her place at the opposite end of the arena, watching while Childe did the same, albeit twirling the bow around in his hand while doing so. Once they had both taken their respective positions a screen lit up above them displaying a countdown. Weiss raised her sword in salute, although she cocked an eyebrow as Childe still held his bow in a languid position.

As the timer reached zero Weiss shot out from her position, but she was caught off guard as Childe somehow managed to raise the bow and let off an arrow before she had covered more than a few feet. Fortunately, she was able to block the first arrow sent her way. Unfortunately, that meant she didn't see the second arrow that had been loosed behind it.

"That makes it one in my favor." her opponent smirked as he lowered his bow, while Weiss rubbed angrily at the small welt on her forehead. "You caught me off guard." she responded "It won't happen again."

Childe's smirk stayed on his face, "well we'll see about that." And so they returned to their positions for another round...which Weiss lost, and so they went again...and again… and again…

"I know it's just a practice sword but I still think you should treat it with more respect" Childe suggested as Weiss threw down her sword after her most recent loss.

"YOU don't get to lecture anyone about respect, who the hell THROWS an arrow, and how did you even hit me with it?" She ranted.

"Practice" Childe responded, that damned smirk still on his face, his thoughts flashing back to his training (i.e. shooting dulled arrows at his agents as a form of target/dodge practice.) "Lots and lots of training... Speaking of, I'm just as surprised at my win streak as you are, I mean I figured that surely by the ninth time you would have started zig-zagging more but nope you just keep coming straight on...I can respect that."

Weiss shared at him in disbelief before lowering her head into her palm with an audible smack as she slowly sank to the ground in mortification as Childe approached. "Don't...don't even talk to me right now. I just want to pretend the last 15 minutes never happened."

"Hey hey don't go all silent on me like that, I think we've both learned very valuable lessons today. I learned how to improve shot grouping and you learned that approaching incoming fire in a straight line is a bad idea." Weiss groaned even louder as he patted her on the back.

"Either way we'll both be much more prepared for the next time we do this sort of thing."

Weiss perked up, her eyes peering out between her fingers. "Next time?"

Childe looked at her in confusion "Well yes, I figured this wasn't going to be just a one-time thing, especially since you mentioned not having any sparring partners earlier... unless you don't want to?"

Weiss brow shot up "Wait no! I mean Yes of course I want to do this again, what day would work best for you?"

"Anytime really, although it might be better if we used the training facilities at my compound, it would help avoid some of your father's scrutiny" Childe responded as he stood up. "We can even go over your sword work a bit if you want," he said as he offered his hand to help her up

Weiss let him pull her up as she looked at him with a bewildered expression. "Go over my sword work? But I thought you used bows?" she questioned

Childe shot her a confused look of his own. "What gave you that idea? I absolutely suck with bows, my main weapons are swords."

Weiss' indignant scream echoed throughout the arena as they made their exit.

Javert sat in the car passing his time with a copy of 'Rex Incognito' having long since polished of his flask. He had just gotten to the middle of the third volume when his peaceful silence was interrupted by the back door of the car opening allowing Childe to slide into the back seat. He sighed and marked his place before turning the keys in the ignition, and a few moments later they were out of Schnee manor and once again in the streets of Atlas.

After a short while he decided to break the silence that had formed "My lord, may I ask how the party went?." he inquired.

Childe gazed out of the window with a smile. "It went well… very well in fact." he laughed, "Javert, send a request to the Artifact Division for one of the old inert Visions..., I've made contact with one of the 'Persons of Interest' from Jaune's list"

Author's note: So, this has been slow in getting out, partially because I have a huge problem with procrastination and mostly because I wanted to do a deep dive into Inazuma to make sure that nothing directly contradicted points in my story. Luckily that was not the case and so in the last week, I was able to put the finishing touches onto this chapter. I might wait again until 2.1 before getting the next one out since apparently that patch will reveal more about the Fatui's plans in Inazuma.

In the meantime, I'm going to try and start work on an unconventional Elder Scrolls fic so hopefully, you can look forward to that