After most of the Beacon's workshop and courtyard was restored to their prior state, the cause of the destruction were currently recovering in the school's medbay, all the while receiving a rather heated scold from Beacon's coldest combat instructors; Goodwitch and Lacroix. Although, truth be told, from what onlookers could see; neither of the two on the receiving end of the scolding seemed relatively affected by the heated glares from the teachers. Both actually appeared bored, as if this wasn't the first time they were in such positions, and as the small group of onlookers soon discovered; that was indeed the case.

Sitting just a few feet away, the audience to the scolding was talking amongst themselves in hushed whispers, mostly with a few of the students asking questions, and only two of the Blond's family bothering to answer. Jesse and Olivia didn't stay absolutely quiet, sharing small bits of whatever the blond's friends asked. Although, while Vaswani's current frown deterred any of the student's from approaching her, Hana was by far the one that seemed determined to completely ignore the two teams. To what they had done to be recipients of her malice eluded them, though, a few ideas were thought up when she would be caught sending small glares towards the heiress. There was no explanation needed for why she did not enjoy being near a Schnee.

Blake could relate to her sentiments, however, where she assumed approaching Jaune's sister would be rather easy, considering the two were faunus, instead she was met with an expression she did not expect to receive; disgust. What made Belladonna more uneasy was the girl eyeing first her bow, then her; almost as if she knew the amber-eyed girl's secret.

"Sooooo…" Ruby trailed, watching Lacroix giving them another heated speech, only this time she was at eye level with the two seated children as she continued her rant. "This is normal…for them?" She gestured to Jaune and the injured brunette.

McCree chuckled, fiddling with an unlit cigar in his hands. "Yea, since they both started walkin' this became their way of saying 'hey there'." Both he and Olivia chuckled at the resurfaced memories of those two rumbling as kids, and soon brawling as growing adults. It was expected nowadays for the two to greet one another in this manner, their family knew and only intervened when the fight was getting out of hand or one of the two was knocked out. The fact that their spars often led to the latter left the small group uneasy, more so when the old cowboy made a small comment about the two seemingly holding back this time around.

"If you ask me I think it's a good way to keep them in shape, and on their toes." Olivia chimed in, crossing her arms while turning to the squires.

"It's barbaric." Satya curtly replied, fixing a faint glare at the aforementioned pair. She was not at all pleased with their idea of a greeting being a fist to the face.

"Maybe, but you can't deny it's amusin' ta see how far they've come. From little ankle biters ta mini Reinhardts; Ang and ol' Torb aren't too happy about it though." Jesse's comment earned a small laugh from the family, surprisingly; even from Hana. Though, the students were awkwardly quiet, the mentioned names were lost on them. Well, the last two, the first did indeed catch the attention of the students, particularly the mention of the old crusader.

After a shared moment, Hana's small frown returned, her eyes wandered to the blond goof she called a brother, to the students before her, and lastly to Satya. "When Am is done, we'll be on our way home." This made the teams rather confused and curious, was them coming here only meant to be a quick brawl, a few choice words, and then a departure? It left the group wondering how much money the blond's family had to book flights on airships for such an errand.

Satya acknowledged the young girl's statement, nodding once. Though, she was quick to throw in a little wrench to a plan she knew the girl mustered up. "Of course, however, Jaune will remain here to complete his studies." Her response was not at all what Hana expected, if her hardened glare was anything to go by.

"No, he will not." Olivia scooted a bit away from the small cat girl; McCree's eyes darted between the two. As for the students, this was the second time they've heard Jaune's family wanting to take him home, which set off quite a few alarms as this one remained firm in her decision. "He's been gone long enough, he's coming home with me; end of discussion."

"That's gonna be a bit of a problem." All eyes snapped to the young reaper, most were a bit shocked by her words; though, one was rather annoyed by them. "See, I get you miss him, and you'd like him to visit home, but we have classes right now, maybe it would be best if you wait for the holidays." She was unsure if her first assumption was true or not, but Ruby didn't want to assume that her friend's family wanted him to drop out of Beacon. Because as it stood; that was the impression she was getting from Hana's intention.

The young faunus frowned. "This is family business; don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong, runt." Ruby recoiled, feeling the venomous tone in full force she recoiled back into her seat, her head hanging low. She only just now realized she tried to weigh in on a family matter, and she had only known Jaune for a little over a week so there wasn't much she held ground on. Yang was visibly ticked by the harsh attitude thrown at her baby sister, so much so her eyes shifted to a crimson tint for a moment.

"The hell is your problem, shorty?" The brawler nearly shouted if not for the old cowboy gesturing her to keep it down, unless they'd like a scolding from the already heated professors.

Rather than respond, Hana remained silent, her eyes shifted back to her headache inducing siblings. She had nothing to say to these hunters in training, nor would she be so easily swayed from her goal. And when they returned home there would be hell to pay, mostly from their mother. She felt an elbow nudge her, gently.

"Geez, relax girl; they've been good to our hermanito…even the ice queen." Olivia gestured to the Schnee, though; it did little to sway the Faunus. As for Weiss, she gently caressed the bridge of her nose, wondering just how far that little name would continue haunting her future. "Besides, Sati and Jesse already spoke to Ozzy, only way now is if Jauney chooses to leave Beacon on his own."

Now the students were not only immensely confused, but concerned as well. Their earlier assumption was right; they wanted to take the blond out of Beacon and back to their home. Though, the reasoning behind it was still a mystery. To which the bubbly bomber of JNPR had no intention of being subtle anymore. Her teammate's family wanted him to leave Beacon, and while she had no intention of intruding on family affairs, she felt she and her friends at least deserved an explanation.

"Why do you want him to leave?" The blond's family turned their attention to the red-head, even Hana. "He's earned his place here; he's our friend, our leader…my partner." Nora aimed that title specifically at the faunus.

"It's a bit complicated, kiddo." McCree responded, rubbing the back of his head. "But don't worry, bun-bun ain't goin anywhere." He threw a stern glare at Hana, knowing full well how far the girl was willing to go to accomplish whatever she set her mind to.

The cat girl merely scoffed. "We'll see." She muttered. Before the others could respond, Goodwitch was making her way past the small group; acknowledging Vaswani and McCree with a subtle nod before leaving. All eyes were now fixed on the two squires, who were no longer under the berating yells of their aunt, but rather, were speaking to one another as Lacroix leaned against the window frame, her fingers caressing the bridge of her nose.

Without even missing a beat, Hana walked towards them, completely forgetting the rest of those present. And though the group of students attempted to approach their friend as well, McCree stepped in front, gesturing them to stay put. "Give 'em a moment. There's still some talking that needs to be done between them three."

And while there were a few who were visibly opposed to simply staying put, they opted to listen to the man instead.

As Hana grew closer she swore she could hear them bickering over something, she was only thankful it wasn't another discussion about which side a log needed to be facing to keep it dry in winter. The rants they could go on left her with a shudder, though, she was at ease when she saw the two giggling like little school kids.

Even with the two sitting on the cots, they were still vaguely taller than her. And although she was mildly jealous of their growth spurts, she was more at ease seeing her goof of a brother again, especially with him smiling again. As their eyes were now locked unto her, she took a deep breath just before bringing down a forceful fist atop the blond's head.

The strike came as a complete shock to the onlookers, but not to the recipient. Rather, this was perhaps the first time he'd been given one by this particular sister. Unlike Brigitte, Hana didn't enjoy physical altercation unless absolutely necessary, and even then she never laid a hand on three people; her mom, her brother, and Brigitte. Now, however, after the stunt he pulled; her attack came as no surprise. Instead of looking up he kept his head down in shame, unwilling to face her wrath, which only served to piss her off even more.

She took a moment to gather herself, wiping away the tears forming at the corner of her eyes. "DUMBASS!" She screeched out, her fists clenched harder; as if warning that there would be a follow up to her initial punch. "What the hell is wrong with you? Do you have any idea the hell you put us through?" Her words dug into his guilt. Hana's voice was threatening to break as she paced back and forth.

Seeing her distraught sibling attempting to keep herself from breaking down, Brigitte took over. "I mean seriously Jaune; what were you thinking? We thought you'd been taken…again." The brunette placed a hand on the blond's shoulder. "Angela was tearing Zurich apart to find you…and I mean that literally."

Oh he knew, he had noticed an increase in activity amongst the usually quiet city as his bullhead pulled away from Zurich. He had hoped it was some other kind of emergency, but most likely, it was his mother going on a rampage after discovering her youngest child missing."

Hana stopped pacing, if only to jab her finger into his chest, roughly. "And all of it without leaving a goddammed note." She hissed, earning a guilt filled expression from her sibling. "…why?"

That damned question followed by her hushed whisper was what nearly broke him as Hana gripped the collar of his uniform, and with surprising strength, pulled him closer to her snarling face. She looked absolutely feral, at the same time she had a small stream of tears running down her cheeks. She was torn between ripping the blond doofus infront of her to shreds, or be ever grateful he was still in one piece despite his idiotic actions up until the current point. She could opt for both, but she had made enough of a scene as is.

Realizing the audience present, Hana recomposed herself as best she could, although, nothing could've prepared her for what the blond would utter next.

"I think a better question should be; why didn't I do it sooner?" Those damned words echoed in her head, digging deep at her as she slowly turned to face him. Her eyes were wide with disbelief, as was her family.

"What?" She whispered, daring him to repeat what he just said, if her fist was of any indication; she was going to respond violently. Brigitte noticed, her body shifted in order to intervene should her siblings actually throw fists.

Jaune had dug himself a rather impressive hole, he was aiming to remain silent, keep everything bottled in, and just accept the verbal berating. He didn't care much; he was used to it after all. However, in this one moment, when faced with one of the vey reasons he chose to leave home; all his anger and frustration came bubbling up, and he wasn't so sure he could keep it all contained any longer. Hana was by no means the sole reason he ran away, but she played a big part in that decision.

Instead of answering her, he remained silent, hoping to not allow any further transgression to come up between them. However, his silence only provoked an already bubbling anger within his older sibling, causing her to grit her teeth, snarling at just the mere sight of the blond.

The silence remained, even when she grabbed his collar again, demanding him to explain his choice of words. He stayed quiet, and her anger only burned brighter, among other swirling emotions raging in her. Although, before she was able to react in any way, Hana felt a firm hand grip her shoulder. She turns her head to give a side-glance, a small buildup of tears were threatening to break out as she threw a hostile glare at whoever just intervened. To no surprise, she found herself being stared down to by the now stern glare from the cowboy.

"That's enough of that now; I'll take it from here." He could see her visibly try to argue, to demand she interrogate her sibling and get to the bottom of his choice of words. But, she must've realized not too long after that she wouldn't win at the moment, and the blond was less than inclined to speak with her.

Reluctantly, she released her grip and chose to step aside, all the while glaring at her sibling with a mixture of anger and fear. The latter came from recalling the times in her life he reached out for her, begging for help; and she stood with her mother on the decisions she made. Jaune running came as no surprise, she knew he must've harbored some form of ill sentiment towards them, but the young pilot had also hoped that he understood why they had to keep him protected, that he knew the people after his mother would use him to get to her as they've done before.

And yet, as the old cowboy silently gestured the blond to accompany him, she finds herself wondering if she had made the right choices. Wondering if the decisions to protect him were indeed for his safety, or simply for peace of mind. A pain in her chest ached with each step he took away from her.

As the blond and his uncle left the room, the few that remained slowly dispersed; the students being guided back to class, leaving Hana with Brigitte and an oddly silent Olivia.

The silence didn't reign as the purple themed hacker approached the deathly still pilot.

"Hey, you ok amiga?" Before her hand could so much as brush her shoulder, Hana wiped away at her eyes before turning back to face her family.

"Yea…" She muttered, her eyes fixed themselves on the slowly disappearing bodies of her uncle and sibling. "But this isn't over." She snarled. Gesturing the two girls to follow her, the trio followed at a fair distance as to not arouse suspicion, unbeknownst to them of a student with amber eyes trailing closely behind them.

-Later, in Vale-

"I'm not gonna hear the end of this."

"Quit your complainin', we'll be back before they even notice."

It was an odd sight, a middle-aged man in what appeared to be a western garb, hat and all, sitting across from what most rightly assumed was a Beacon student, having a conversation in the outdoor patio of a café in downtown Vale. They caught a few eyes peering their way, and it was no surprise as to why, both were famous by name, though the blond mostly to whom he shared his name with.

Jaune stirred nervously, uncomfortable with both the stares and the fact that his uncle took him out of school again. It was one thing to be taken to a diner just down the road from school; it was another to take him by bullhead to a city across a small gulf to have a chat.

Another thing that made him uncomfortable were the stares his uncle and he attracted from passerbies, a fair few from kids who saw the cowboy on their scrolls from time to time, and a few from some maidens whom giggled at the sight of the old vaquero. The blond as well garnered a few second glances, mostly from folks who saw Beacon's initiation, and probably recognized his mother's name.

"So…" McCree started, taking a rather whisper-like sip from a brand of tea he had ordered.

"Auntie Satya did a number on you didn't she?" Jaune remarked, his lips tugged a smirk. If his comment irked his uncle, the man didn't show it, instead he chose to remain calm and place his cup down. "Can't remember the last time you drank something that didn't have some kind of alcohol in it."

McCree smirked, reaching into his armor, within seconds he pulled out a small flask, his own grin won out as he took a small swig from it. After taking a small fill, he flashed a faint grin towards his nephew. "Just don't tell Satya."

"Don't tell her what?"

McCree chuckled, ruffling the blond's head, relishing in the small snippets of himself he passed on to the boy. "That's my boy." His breath reeked of whiskey and green tea. Quite a combination, but the blond was able to distinct the two smells from one another.

They laughed off their antics for a moment, allowing themselves to enjoy a second of brief pleasantries before diving in to what Jesse had brought him out here for. Jaune knew he'd have to talk; no way would he be squirming his way out of this. In all honesty, he really just wanted this all to be brushed under the rug and forgotten, but under no circumstance would he return home unless by his own accord. And he had no intention of speaking to or seeing his mother at the moment; realizing quickly that if he was mouthing off absentmindedly to his sister, he could only wonder what more would gush out if he spoke to his mother. He loved her, he really did; but there were some choice words he had for the woman that would possibly strain their relationship much further than what it was before he left.

Jesse as well was lost in thought; his attention was focused on how he'd approach this subject without stepping on a nerve. Be straightforward was something his nephew and Angela were well known for, though, when it came to sensitive issues, both were equally, and annoyingly, reluctant to so much as touch on the subject. The preference for the Ziegler family seemed to be to avoid the subject all together, a rather irritating habit the boy picked up.

"…so, how's school?" The man had hoped to exchange pleasantries before diving into the main subject.

To which, Jaune chuckled, taking a sip from a tea he ordered. "It's only been a week, but it's better than I expected. I'm handling my studies pretty well, and my team is always on top of their training sessions so no one is getting rusty any time soon." He dry-chuckled that response. A brief moment of silence passed before he quickly inquired. "I also caught an assassin last night." Jesse's eyes bugled as he choked on his beverage. Although, Jaune remained unaffected by his uncle's sudden outburst. "Yea, she got closer this time. She's cuter than I remember." So it seemed he knew his attacker, especially since he mentioned the two meeting prior. "Honestly, if this turns out to be like Lena and Amelie…I think I'll actually make a move before this one runs off with someone else."

By now the old cowboy burst out laughing, Jaune following shortly after as the two were lost in their little inside joke. Both were completely unaware of the collective stares they gathered from their outburst.

After a moment of bliss, the two managed to calm down, McCree's eyes focused first on his drink, then to his nephew. "Ya know, I can't remember the last time I've seen you joke about something like this."

"Couldn't have been that long." The blond argued, his eyes wandered around, seeing a collective sight of folks from walking the streets, a small crowd gathered a little ways away, their whispers and fingers pointed towards the old cowboy, fans apparently. Wasn't too surprising, MSZC was one of the more remembered hunters from the Crisis, especially their dear old angel. Of course, most remember the other members for a variety of reasons, McCree for his partnership to the Vaswani heiress and his role nearing the end of the Crisis.

"Yer right, lemme correct myself; it's been too long where you've laughed and actually meant it." The tension was beginning to thicken as the blond noted the change in his uncle's tone. It wasn't threatening or cold like what he was used to, but the old cowboy could be stern and stubborn when he needed to be. McCree leaned over, slightly, locking his eyes unto the now uncomfortable blond. "Now tell me what exactly you meant by 'should've done it sooner'." He decided on being direct. Not the best approach given who he was speaking to, but in all honesty he couldn't dance around the subject, not when there was the risk of him deciding to never return home. Or worse; disappearing for good the next time around.

Jaune fiddled with his cup, his eyes wandered away, though, he could feel his uncle's gaze still locked unto him. For him, opening up was never an issue, but when it came to this subject, he wasn't so sure he wanted to unload all of his emotions at that moment. Or rather, he didn't want to blow up in a public space. And given recent events he preferred not to risk saying too much. "It just came out…I didn't mean it."

"Then look me in the eye and say it." He didn't flinch at the man's words; the blond was used to the stern tone. "Or, you can cut the crap and tell me what's been botherin ya."

Sighing lightly, Jaune's eyes wandered their way back to his uncle. The man had a fixed stare on him; nothing meant for intimidation for threatening by any means, it was simply one of the few times he got serious. The blond was tempted to look away, though; he knew the damned cowboy would only further pry. Reluctantly, Jaune sighed faintly, of all his family there was few he could share easily with; Jesse was one of them.

Though, he intended to tread lightly on why he ran away, tossing the man a bone might be enough to get his curiosity to simmer down. "I hated my life." His choice of words garnered the reaction he was expecting, though, he was far from done, and he didn't intend to keep the lid closed any longer. Nervously, he averted eye contact once again, turning his eyes to the constant flow of passerbies. "Back home, everything moment of my life was under surveillance, my mother made sure she knew where I was at all times, she chose my classes, ran background checks on my friends, sent people to bring me home if it looked like I was going to be late for my curfew…" His teeth grit as he managed to get a hold on his tone before threatening to burst. "I was rarely ever allowed to leave the house, and thanks to Olivia and Hana, sneaking out was next to impossible. Every dinner my mother hosted I was kept close to her or whoever from our family was attending…and…" He was trembling, lightly. Jesse noticed immediately, though, he reluctantly said nothing, choosing to wait and hear whatever else his nephew would share. Though, to hear the exact living conditions his nephew was living under, he began to understand the boy's choice of words. Normally, he assumed this was all dramatized, exaggerated for effect. But, given this was Angela, and the events she had to deal with since having her son; he could definitely see the woman doing all of this. Jaune continued. "In all of those damned parties, every time I was with her; I felt more like some expensive porcelain doll than a son."

Now this caught the cowboy off-guard; not the swearing, but rather, how the boy saw himself. "Never allowed to be approached or interacted with, to be simply be seen and admired." His trembling increased. "To everyone in Zurich…" His eyes returned to glare directly at his uncle. "And, I mean EVERYONE; I was always seen as Mercy's boy, or Angela's son. No matter what I did people only knew me because of my mother; no matter what I accomplished in my old school…everything I did was expected of me because I was a Ziegler."

His trembling was calming as his took in deep breaths. His eyes glanced towards Beacon as a faint grin etched itself across his face.

"But in Beacon, even though people know my name, it's different. I'm not just Ziegler. I'm just Jaune." Snippets of his friends flashed in his head.

A smirk edged across the cowboy's lips, rarely did he see such a fond expression on the boy, and now he knew why. As much as he loved his old teammate, even he could see why his nephew felt that running away was his best option at getting a taste at the freedom he could only dream of, watching as others had the choice of how they lived their lives, all the while he was bound to a set of rules and restrictions.

"I love my mom, I really do, and Hana…I couldn't ask for a better sister. But all of this was for me. Selfish, I know, but if I didn't, I would've lived the rest of my life as an antique in that damned house."

"Would ya be willing to go back?" McCree asked, leaning a little closer.

Jaune pondered the question for a moment before ultimately shaking his head. "No. Not right now." His eyes refocused back on the tower of Beacon. "I still have something to prove here." Realizing he might've said too much, the blond quickly rose up and excused himself, walking away to catch his breath.

All the while McCree kept an eye on him until he was a good way away before pulling out a scroll from under the table. There was a connected call, and judging by the caller id, on the other end was the blond's mother, listening in on their conversation.

"You got all that Ang?" Silence. "Ang?"

"She had to step out for a bit, I don't think she expected to hear that." An old familiar voice pipes through the call, giving McCree a sigh of relief.

"Hmm, same here. Didn't expect to hear anything at all actually, I'm surprised he told me anything…Did you know about all of that?"

"…I did, but I swear it was for his own good. You've seen what those animals have done to him. Satya told us of the recent assassination…this is what we wanted to avoid, Angela just wanted her son to be safe. By the gods Jesse they took his arm, and that's nothing compared to what they did to him when he was a baby." McCree remembered vividly; the blood, the crying, the anger and fear irradiating from the mother of the child. Jesse reached into his armor once more and took a peek at a photo taken at the birth of his nephew. His mother held onto him as she lay in the hospital bed, holding him tightly with the widest grin and warmest tears she had shed. In her arms was her first born, her only child, sleeping peacefully in her arms. What stuck out was the extra pair of elongated, fluffy ears twitching faintly.

The first time they took him was when Angela became so overprotective…even calling her that was putting it mildly. McCree shivered at the memory of seeing his nephew, bawling like a banshee through that damned video as his kidnappers held his bloodied severed ears in their hands. Nothing stopped Angela that night, the bodies they buried were a testament to the old saying 'an angel can be merciful for so long, but when they snap, even the devil trembles.'

"I remember, Reeha." He muttered, hating the reminder of the time he was so useless to help his own family, especially in the moment he was needed most. "Poor kid doesn't even know he's a faunus, lived his whole life thinking his human…I suppose it helps that Ang is human, and he takes more like her than…" He didn't finish that train of thought, he couldn't. The only thing the boy took after his father were those damned rabbit ears. "And he doesn't even remember what happened that night…actually, that's probably for the best." McCree took a long swig from his flask, several actually till he damn near left it empty. "Although, it'll be one helluva surprise when he was kids." The cowboy chuckled, intending to change the mood and topic.

"…McCree." She almost sounded as if she were pleading, mostly for him to stop.

But he didn't, and he wouldn't. It wouldn't take long for the boy to return, and he needed to get this weight off his chest. "It's no wonder he doesn't trust us; can't seem to find it in us to tell him anything 'cause Ang wants to keep it all a secret. The fuck does she think that'll accomplish, if anything it'll just drive him to look for answers on his own, just you see. Wouldn't be surprised if he finds out about his old man on his own."

"Jesse." She voice grew harsh; the cowboy was treading on dangerous waters. And knowing the blond was close by; she hoped to keep him from babbling.

"I mean, what the fuck is so hard about telling him; Jaune, yer actually a faunus."

"What?" The simply question stunned the cowboy as he slowly turned his head to see the face of his nephew, staring at him wide-eyed.

If the boy wasn't fuming with rage inside, he knew damn well the Vacou woman and her mother would rain hell down on him for sputtering that out loud. To be fair to McCree, the idea that they would hide the boy's heritage was ludicrous to him, but to Angela, it tied back to the boy's father, a subject she was adamant on keeping hidden, for reasons even Ana and Reinhardt knew nothing about.

Realizing how badly he had just screwed up, McCree took a final long swig from his flask, ended the call without hesitation, and steeled himself for the conversation that would follow.

"She's gonna kill me, I know it." Jesse muttered. He gathered his nerves up before turning to his nephew. "Son, sit down, there 're somethings I need to tell ya. And…it's been a long time coming…"

Unbeknownst to McCree, from the settlement of Zurich, an airship was set to depart, waiting patiently for the passengers to board, to sail to Beacon, and to meet with a missing piece of family they yearned to get back.

At whatever cost.

Well, work has been grueling, and it's not even our busiest time of the year yet either. To those who say I should put this in the crossover section…I'm not gonna do that. To me, a crossover is when characters from two entirely different worlds interact via visiting each other's worlds. Like if a character from RWBY went into the Overwatch world by some supernatural or Sci-fi scenario. Whereas I don't see a story in which the two worlds are fused into one as a crossover. That's my view on it, some of you won't share that opinion, and I respect that. But I stick to my own opinion and Rally will remain where it is. Again, it's an opinion, not a fact. I could be wrong, hell I probably am.

Moving on, this story is hella fun to write, and so far I'm trying to keep a monthly upload timeline for all my stories, and this time I wanna stick to it. So, I hope this chapter was worth the wait. And yes I know it's shorter than what I usually write, but given that I've been swamped with double-shifts and having family staying over and occupying my attention, I'm more amazed I got this done at all.

The future chapters will be longer of course, and I'm moving Mama Mercy's appearance to after the incident at the docks. Around that time it shall be revealed who Jaune's father is. Thank you all for reading.