The shock and surprise upon Team RJNR and Nirvana's face was all but prevalent as the woman who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere was eyeing them up and down quietly, one of her many blades firmly clasped in her hand.

"Who are your new friends Nirvana?" the woman asked with clear sarcastic undertones.

"For the record we are not his friends" Jaune spoke up.

"For the record I do not really care what you are to him" the woman said indignantly.

Jaune and Ren where at the front of the group as Nirvana silently hid behind Nora and Ruby before him, making sure to make as little noise as possible, Milena was on the ground beside him, also quietly observing the happening before them.

Jaune turned around and faced Nirvana "care to explain what's going on here. Who is this girl?" he demanded.

"Uhm hello I'm right here I can hear everything you're saying" the woman said sarcastically as she swung her knife in one hand.

Nirvana stepped past Ruby and Nora and joined the two men of the team at the front. "Ah yes apologies friends," he said seeing Jaune's clear annoyance at being once again referred to as friends to him "may I introduce you to Leana Incisor, high ranking assassin for the Conduit and in addition a major pain in the ass."

Nirvana faced Leana and spoke "so how have you been Leana it's been so long, I almost forget the time being here."

A smirk grew on Leana's face at those words as she spoke "oh same old, same old you know how it goes. What about you Alector, you've been gone for more than a year, never turned in your reports of your projects. So this is where you've been hanging out" Leana looked around the area, the thick trees blocking out the open blue sky.

"What can I say it's a nice place here, you know aside from the monstrous creatures of darkness but if you look past that it's quite a pleasant world" Nirvana spoke smiling as he did, a fake smile as was observed by the members of the team behind him.

At that moment Milena walked up towards her owner and placed herself next to him, Leana observed the feline with her continued emotionless and blank expression. "I see you still have that furball with you."

Milena responded with a hiss, which Leana took little notice off instead keeping her gaze on Nirvana.

The team stood in anticipation of just about anything, they should have been surprised by the sudden appearance of this mysterious woman. But after all the events with Nirvana back at Beacon Academy they weren't surprised that someone suddenly appeared in front of them, Nirvana had warned them this would happen but they did not take his threat to seriously.

Ruby who had been doubtful and suspicious about Nirvana's claims just as much as the rest of her team, nonetheless took them with a grain of salt. Her reason being that it was better to be safe than sorry. And it appears now that the man they distrusted all along may have been upfront with them from the start.

Leana scoffed "regardless of the circumstances it's good to see you back Nirvana. The Supreme Chancellor wishes to have a word with you."

"I'm sure she does" Nirvana answered shortly.

"Okay I'm not following this anymore" Nora said scratching her head in confusion.

"You have been away for more than a year Nirvana, I do not know why and I do not care either, the point is that you betrayed the Conduit by not reporting on your findings to the Supreme Chancellor. But if you come with me and explain yourself, I am sure you will be forgiven" Leana said stoically.

"Ah yes because she is well known for being so very forgiving" Nirvana replied stepping forward, gesturing Milena to get behind him.

"You're making a huge mistake Nirvana. The Conduit plucked you from the streets, gave you a home, a place where your talents could be made useful. And now after all of that you turn your back on them, you turn your back on her!" Leana spouted.

Nirvana didn't respond to that statement, not initially, instead he turned towards the members of Team RJNR.

"When the Conduit took me in I had nothing but the clothes on my back and a small kitten to take care off. They offered me such simple but meaningful things, a warm bed, a warm meal, something different from the cold streets I had lived on. In return all they asked me is for my help in their projects, a small price to pay for their immeasurable kindness. I indeed owe them an un payable debt."

The team stared at him as he spoke, Milena looked somber at her owner who smiled and nodded at his feline companion.

"But being here, being captive for more than a year gives you a chance to reflect, to look at yourself in a way I never had the chance too. On this world, despite being a fugitive I have been more free than ever before. Free to travel, free to experience….free to love."

He turned to Leana.

"To the Conduit I'm just a piece they replace when I'm no longer useful, and so are you Leana. The Supreme Chancellor preaches her love for us, the lost souls that she wants to safe. But I see now that we mean nothing to her. I have experienced what real love is here on this world, I have seen there is more than the Conduit. So you can go back to her empty handed because I'm not going anywhere with you."

An eerie silence filled the area after Nirvana spoke his last sentence. The grass was rustling around them, but all sides involved where silent for a good minute.

A look of disbelief fell over Leana's face, her earlier restrained look seemed to fade away quickly.

"You truly have lost it haven't you…you ungrateful bastard!"

She screeched the last part as she lunged forward, knife in hand and ready to strike. Nirvana quickly jumped back sideways to avoid the attack as he fell onto the ground. Leana stopped in her tracks and immediately turned back to the defenseless man on the ground. She said nothing as she moved over to him with her knifed hand raised high.

In the corner of his eyes Nirvana saw the members of Team RJNR sprint into action towards them, and in the other he saw Milena jump up and sink her teeth into Leana's free arm. The woman screamed in pain and dropped her knife as the feline's teeth dug into her skin.

"Stupid furball" the assassin screamed as she swung her arm around but as usual the feline was persistent and refused to let go.

A scream made Leana turn her head sideways to see Nora Valkyrie, hammer in hand ran towards her, she felt Milena's teeth leave her hand as the kitten dropped to the ground and she went flying the moment the hammer connected with her chest, her knife clattering to the ground as she was flung into a nearby tree, knocking the breath out of her.

"Aaarrgghhhh" Leana moaned as she grabbed her chest in pain, blood flowing from her mouth as she tried to get up, every movement sending searing pain through her.

She felt a pull at her side and found Milena pulling at the utility belt around her waist. "Stupid beast…" she half shouted as she grabbed another knife from her side and lunged it forward, only for the cat to jump back, taking a pouch from her belt with her as she did.

Leana looked up as the team plus Nirvana walked up towards her, she was barely able to stand let alone defend herself. Every moment made her feel the excruciating pain of being send flung into a giant tree.

Nora held her hammer close, ready for another strike at the woman. In panic Leana quickly grabbed the small silver circle from her pocket and pushed the button. A giant multi-colored portal appeared in front of her feet as the team and Nirvana stepped back.

"You will…pay for this" was all she said as she allowed herself to fall forward and into the portal, which disappeared upon her entering it.

Ruby walked forward, checking the ground on which the portal had just disappeared as quickly as it appeared. She found no sign of Leana, no sign she had been there and nothing left but what they had just experienced.

"Who? What's going on?" Ruby asked confused.

Nirvana sighed as the whole team looked at him for answers, both curious, confused and in Jaune's case, slightly angry.

"She is a member of the Conduit and well….it appears they recreated my portal technology…" he said sighing in frustration.

Jaune stepped forward and joined Ruby's side, observing the spot with caution before turning an angry towards Nirvana "you better have a good explanation for this pal."

That night…

The party had set up camp far away from the spot where they had encountered Leana, out of unknown fear she could suddenly reappear and attack them again. Ruby undid the ties binding Nirvana's hands and as the team sat down around a campfire, Jaune spoke up.

"Explain Nirvana. What just happened and what are we dealing with?"

Nirvana warmed his hands by the fire as Milena silently sat beside him. "I already explained to you what we're dealing with but I suppose since you never paid attention in my class I shouldn't expect you to do it here either" he started, earning him an angry stare from Jaune.

"But as I told you, the Conduit was the organization I worked for before coming to Remnant. It's where I created my portal technology to come here and well the rest is history. Now it appears that they managed to recreate said technology and they send Leana through, and by random chance she just happened to appear in the spot we were travelling through."

"Who was she?" Ruby asked.

"Leana Incisor is one of the assassins for the Conduit, working closely with our Supreme Chancellor. She has a rich history, a product of a harsh upbringing filled with alcohol, drugs and…well enough other things. Things that I shouldn't tell you about, mostly because I don't know the full story and I can't exactly judge, I was in the same boat, being an orphan and growing up in the gutter having no one by my side" Nirvana told taking a sip of water from his cup.

"Is there a point to this?" Jaune asked, crossing his arms in annoyance.

"My point is that one you should pay better attention and two," Nirvana paused as he placed his cup down "the Conduit takes children who have nothing and turns them into their own personal slaves, their scientists and even their warriors. From the moment I was taken in by them, the Supreme Chancellor has told me that all she wants is to spread her love and care towards all these poor unfortunate souls that life had given a bad hand to. But that's a lie, all we are to her are parts to be used and replaced until we lose our value."

Ruby, Nora and Ren listened with great intensity, Jaune on the other hand listened with a clear look of disbelief plastered on his face.

"Then why didn't you just leave them earlier if they are so bad?" Jaune asked.

Nirvana shot him an almost angry glance, but it quickly devolved into a smirk "you make it sound so easy Mr. Arc but oh if only that was the case."

"Leaving the Conduit is equivalent to a death sentence so there was no escape possible. Plus most wouldn't even want to leave. Most where just like me and Leana, orphans, runaways, children who had nothing and nowhere to go. The Conduit was like a home to us, the Supreme Chancellor was there for us, gave us the most valuable thing any orphan or runaway could ask for…a place to belong. I think I always knew, I always knew there was more to her then just her claims of love. But I had a home, I was valued, I was fed and clothed, Milena and I were safe" he turned to Milena, softly petting the kitten on the head.

"Thinking back Milena kept me grounded, making sure I didn't lose myself completely. At the end of the day I mean nothing to the Conduit, neither does Leana nor even Vadim when he was still alive. We are just broken pieces that they put back together to serve their needs, the needs of the Supreme Chancellor."

Silence once again reigned as all parties where silent, Ruby had attentively listened to the story Nirvana was telling her. Jaune's mouth was agape and he had no response. Nora and Ren looked at each other with concern.

"So…what now?" Ren asked curiously.

Nirvana bowed his head down "I'm afraid I cannot answer that because I don't know. What I do know is whether you like it or not, you have been shown clear prove of what I claim. So we need to stick together from now on."

"We don't need you to fight them, we've handled worse" Jaune said, his tone showing his restrained anger.

"Yeah we endured the Fall of Beacon, we can take on anything" Nora said excitedly as she did as usual.

"No you cannot," Nirvana spoke, his tone suddenly stern and almost brooding as Nora immediately fell silent "the Conduit has technology more advanced than yours and they now have a way to cross over to this world and we don't know where they will appear next. Maybe they could appear right in front of your family's houses, or the other academies, and they will be unprepared to deal with such a sudden threat."

"I know their ways of operating, I know the way they go about things so like it or not, I'm your best hope against them so you're stuck with me" Nirvana finished, turning around with his back to the team.

The team did not respond to his last words, taken aback by his sudden shift in tone. While they had seen him serious when he was posing as Professor Carlisle, after the façade was dropped they saw how Nirvana tended to antagonize and put down the people around him more directly.

As the team huddled together to discuss things privately, Nirvana held out his open hand as Milena dropped the small pouch she had ripped off of Leana's utility belt into it and he silently pulled out a blue device shaped like a beetle, a small screen appearing on the top.

Nirvana smirked triumphantly as he looked at Milena, whose face also turned into a smirk.