RWBY & All associated trademarks are property of Rooster Teeth (RIP Monty Oum)

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

Chapter 58: Broken Wings

Two more weeks had passed and those students who had transferred to Atlas Academy from Halo, Shade and Haven had settled into something of a routine; classes and assignments taking up the majority of their time and the upcoming dance, missions and the Vytal Festival and Tournament being prominent subjects of discussion alongside the ever present gossip and drama that came with a large number of students sharing a living space.

None of this was what Felix Xiao Long was currently concerned about as it was currently last class of the day and a Friday; which at Atlas meant a return to something which had been a part of Team FADE's first year at Halo Academy, ending the week with a combat training class.

"Not bad" the Lion Faunus taunted as he leaned back, allowing the blades of his opponents' weapon to pass over his face quickly carrying his momentum into a black flip as his opponent followed their own strike up with an incredibly acrobatic manoeuvrer that would have seen their knee colliding with his solar plexus; instead Felix landed safely in a one-kneed crouch before the two fighters circled each other in search of another opening, twirling the weapons impatiently. Felix's opponent was Sandrock Wufei, leader of second year Shade Academy Team SABL; a young man with a somewhat wiry physique who matched Felix's own admittedly average height, narrow eyes and glossy black hair which was tied back. His unassuming appearance was belied by the weapon he carried, a staff with a long curved blade like that of a scimitar at each end facing in opposite directions. Felix however had never been fooled by the appearance, he'd seen Sandrock spar before and as he gave a quick glance at the monitor which indicated that they were almost tied in terms of remaining Aura and that the class was almost over he gave an annoyed growl

"You're holding back, you haven't used your Semblance"

"Neither have you" Sandrock countered, his tone soft "I suppose you're trying to keep some secrets for the tournament as well?"

"Fair" the Lion Faunus conceded with a grin, deciding to waste no more time and simply charging forwards with the blades of Hack and Slash roaring; only for Sandrock to prove how capable and prepared he was as he brought his weapon 'Jufeng-Yin' flashed outwards imperceptibly fast, the first strike landing against the flat edge of one of Felix's swords and forcing them against each other in a shower of sparks and mechanical screeches of protest, the follow up attack from the weapons other end passed over him as he leaned back once again, this had been anticipated as Sandrock used his momentum to launch himself into the air and knee Felix square in the ribs, knocking the air out of him and forcing him to his knees as he struggled to breathe right as the bell signalling the end of the lesson rang.

"Dismissed" their professor, a burly veteran Huntress by the name of Cobalt thundered "Xiao Long stay behind, I want to discuss your performance" Felix fought to keep an annoyed groan from escaping him as he sheathed his swords over his back, looking towards the rows of seats showing that the rest of Team NEON had already managed to get Helios to leave with them; he and the redhead hadn't had a discussion about whatever was happening between them and things hadn't progressed beyond the fact that they now seemed to find themselves holding hands both unsure of who had initiated it or ending up with one of them draping the others' arm over their shoulder whenever their teams were together, but the fact remained Felix would have liked to walk back to their dorms with him; instead he made his way into the teachers office still sucking in painful gasps of air after the crushing blow to the chest he'd received.

"How bad was it?" Eagle asked, concern etched into her freckled face as Felix exited the hybrid of coliseum and lecture hall where combat classes were taught; Sentinel deployed at her side and giving Felix an inquisitive stare

"Nothing serious" Felix shrugged "Professor Cobalt just called me out on holding back, she knows I can hit harder than I was doing….I just told her I don't wanna give all my tricks away before the Tournament"

"How'd she take that?" Eagle asked as the two of them began walking in the general direction of the canteen with Sentinel trundling along behind them, sensing that her partner with his infamously voracious appetite would probably be hungry

"Said she understands but still expects better out of me in lesson and if that means giving away something that costs me in the tournament so be it….I'll bet fifty Lien right now she never tells an Atlas student that" Felix paused to work out a crick in his neck before asking "Where're Arctus and Diamond?"

"Oh they're in the dorm, they're trying to get ahead with assignments 'cos it's their anniversary soon and they wanna be able to go and enjoy themselves without worrying about studying"

"Cute, can't blame 'em for wanting to get out of here either" Felix noted; following what was being called a terrorist attack at the museum he and Eagle had visited earlier that same evening students had been discouraged from venturing out of the academy by the professors, Eagle herself had received a call from a frantic Antonia Arc all but ordering her to stay on the grounds where it was safe.

"Well if you're looking for a day out I have something that might interest you" a smooth, oily and distinctly familiar voice from behind them stated prompting both Felix and Eagle to turn around, coming face to face with Qrow Branwen

"Qrow!" Eagle exclaimed happily, lunging forwards and pulling her father into a hug

"Is it too much to ask for you to let people know you're coming?" Felix snorted "Seriously how do you even sneak around like that at your age?"

"I'm not gonna dignify that with an answer Fluffy" Qrow shot back as patted Sentinel's gleaming cranium in greeting which only made Eagle smile even brighter; though not as much as his next words did

"I came here to deal with something for Winter, mainly a second opinion she wanted on tournament arrangements" he paused, clearly for effect "But Eagle I did say I might have an answer to your Semblance problem, I'm pretty sure I'm on the right track….we just need to test it"

"Oh my Oum let's go, this is gonna be so cool I can't wait to see! What do you think my Semblance is gonna be?" Eagle's words came out like machine gun fire, her excitement uncontainable

"Easy kiddo" Qrow "This is something that's gonna need a little space and I'd honestly rather not do this in the dark. There's an old holiday resort around fifty miles from here-"

"A holiday resort?" Felix snorted incredulously "Here?"

"Yeah it was a doomed idea from the start; they made some artificial hot-springs in the middle of nowhere and tried to market it to gullible rich people, now it's closed down and it'll make a good place to try and unlock Eagle's Semblance. I can meet you there tomorrow morning?"

"Yes!" Eagle answered before the words had fully left Qrow's mouth, her enthusiasm enough to make Sentinel give her a quizzical glance and a series of animated chirps

"Okay cool, I'll drive you there" Felix offered

"Awesome, thank you"

"Okay I should probably go and let Winter know I'm here" Qrow said as he gave a conspiratorial wink "I think Soleil would actually scalp me if she saw me out of place" Eagle giggled and pulled him into another quick hug while Felix merely nodded, as the two of them watched Qrow leave Eagle turned and saw an expression on her partners' face that made it clear he was planning something

"What's up?" she asked, nudging him gently

"Just had an idea" he answered somewhat distractedly before pulling his Scroll out and quickly making a call

"Hey Arctus, can I ask you for a favour?" Eagle was unable to hear the Bear Faunus's reply but she assumed it was positive as Felix continued "Do you think there's anywhere in Atlas that rents dirt bikes or quad bikes that could do really short notice….like tomorrow?"

Team GORE were counting down the final few moments of their last detention, the circumstances that had led to this being unconventional to say the least. Their problems had started when Onyx and Raffia had been taken into police custody following the terrorist attack on one of Atlas's most famous museums, racial bigotry evidently playing a part in the police officers' decision despite their insistence on the contrary; General Schnee had thankfully still been on Atlas Academies' campus at the time and had both vouched for the two of them and sent a member of staff to collect them, the situation could have ended then and there were it not for Onyx catching sight of the police officer who had racially abused and pointed a weapon at him during the arrest and deciding to make good on his promise to break the mans' jaw.

Winter had been furious to say the least and had given Onyx, who was sporting countless fresh burns from the many tasers that had been used to subdue him, what was considered the standard punishment at Atlas; formal reprimands involved a student Hunter being given tasks that were considered grunt work such as cleaning bathrooms and shovelling snow in addition to their regular assignments. What Winter had not counted on was the reaction that Carcharodon Gore would have to this, the Shark Faunus had been incandescent with rage and had almost torn the door to her office from its' hinges when stormed inside demanding an explanation as to why 'His people were being used as slaves for the crime of defending their own honour' Winter had firstly demanded that Carcharodon calm himself before she was forced to place him in an Aura dampening collar and confine him to a cell she assured her Academy contained. When he finally did so she was willing to listen to his grievances and eventually come to a compromise; Onyx would still serve his detentions but they would instead be spent with a teacher willing to help his reading and writing as Team GORE were uniformly abysmal in that aspect of their studies despite Hellion's gradual improvement; what Winter had not expected was that the rest of Team GORE would join those detentions, not out of any desire to learn but out of solidarity with their comrade.

"Okay that'll do for tonight" the professor overseeing their 'punishment' sighed, clearly relieved to finally be able to enjoy the beginning of their own weekend "The Headmistress wants me to inform you that additional tuition will be offered if you require it, though from this point onwards it will be on a voluntary basis"

"I decline" Raffia spat before tearing out of the classroom in a cartoonish display of speed and agility, hopping over desks to get to the door a fraction of a second sooner and leaving Hellion, Onyx and Carcharodon in his wake

"I need to train, I've been cooped up in this room too long to meditate" Carcharodon announced before leaving in the direction of the gym; he hadn't been selected to spar in combat training class and was in need of something to vent his frustrations on

"I have something I'm working on" Hellion murmured before heading in the direction of their dormitory

"Still trying to impress the blonde" Onyx snorted, slapping a meaty palm on her shoulder; Hellion had been secretive with something that had been occupying her free time for the last few weeks but now that he could read a little of the language of the Kingdoms the Puma Faunus could make an educated guess at her intentions, though he chose not to pry any further. He gave Hellion a cheeky grin in response to her eye-roll before turning and jogging until he'd caught up with Carcharodon

"Coming to train?" the Shark Faunus asked quietly

"That and we need to talk about something" Onyx answered, making his rumbling voice as quiet as possible; seeing Carcharodon looking at him expectantly he continued "It's about Raffia, when I next venture into Atlas's cities I don't want to take him with me….he's becoming dangerous"

"How so?" Carcharodon's voice was toneless and held no no judgement, though the Puma Faunus still gave an irritated sigh

"We all want the Cult of Taurus and the Scavenger Guild to face our justice, but I worry about Raffia's temper" Onyx paused, privately disgusted at himself for betraying the Axolotl Faunus's trust but seeing no other option "I'm not sure he'll be able to stop himself from doing something reckless and putting our plans risk"

"Then you will have to be the one to stop him if I'm not there to do so" Carcharodon answered calmly "Raffia is loyal, that much is beyond doubt but I do understand your concerns….hopefully he can find another outlet for his anger until the time comes; perhaps the tournament"

"Maybe" Onyx grumbled, unconvinced

"You still want me to take him into the cities with me?"

"I think you have to" the Shark Faunus sighed, pure black eyes unreadable as always "Raffia needs to feel as though he's contributing and that we're making progress; if I force him to sit idly around Hunters he'll search for someone else to antagonise"

"Point taken" the larger Faunus growled, quietly resigning himself to the fact that he would effectively be his brothers' keeper while searching for the Scavenger Guild and that Raffia would most likely need to be reigned in at some point in the future, better that it be one of the Shadow Cadre to do it than a Hunter who would only exacerbate the situation.

"Good" Carcharodon sighed rolling his shoulders back as they finally reached the gymnasium "Since you're here you can help me" Onyx was about to ask help his comrade needed but found the answer waiting for him as they entered, one of the gyms' many sparring rings was surrounded by roughly a dozen students all of whom were first years from the various Academies, all of them standing a little straighter at the sight of Carcharodon

"You really were meant to lead weren't you" Onyx grunted with a gentle smile at the sight of the gaggle of students the Shark Faunus had taken under his wing.

"Just help me make sure these sheltered cretins don't die on their first mission into the real world" Carcharodon sighed, Onyx jokingly mirrored the posture of the younger students and stiffened up as he answered with a wicked grin

"Aye Captain"

The next morning came though sunlight was slow to arrive with it and heat seemed to be absent entirely, leaving both Felix and Eagle grateful for the warmer clothes they had purchased while the Lion Faunus had turned on the heating inside the Killer Bee for the sake of Helios, who despite the figure hugging black sweatshirt he wore beneath his armour was clearly uncomfortable in Atlas's perishing climate.

"I think that's the place" Eagled gasped, the excitement in her tone spectacularly at odds with the depressing sight that greeted them

"They built this place just to abandon it?" Helios enquired disbelievingly, the hotel had obviously once been an extravagant affair but now now it stood as a gutted husk of what it had once been with its' windows broken, mounds of snow piling around it and general air of desolation

"It wasn't making money so they cut their losses" Felix shrugged as he steered his car through the gate of the abandoned hotel, snow crunching beneath his tires and an uncomfortable rattling coming from behind "Would have been nice if the road here was gritted at least" he sighed before parking and turning off the engine

"So do we just wait for Qrow?" Eagle wondered out loud

"Come on, he'll already be around here somewhere Felix sighed as he opened the door and climbed out the Killer-Bee with Eagle and Helios following suit, as they did so Helios turned to the source of the rattling, a small trailer whose contents were covered with a thick sheet that had been buckled in place

"So are you going to tell me what this surprise you brought me out here for is now Fluffy?" he asked, Felix's response was a smile that was both excited and somewhat nervous as he began unbuckling the sheet

"Okay remember on the flight from Halo how you said that your people have actually got some bikes that you never get to use?"

"The ones we use to draw Grimm away from the convoys we're escorting" Helios confirmed

"Well, surprise!" Felix beamed as he whipped the sheet away with a flourish, revealing a pair of high end Atlesian snow bikes; dirt bikes modified for the Kingdoms' climate and terrain with wide tires that would find purchase on the snow and large ostentatious exhausts visible beneath panelling that seemed to be almost armour plated. When Felix had asked Arctus if he could rent such vehicles the Bear Faunus had lamented that Weiss's old prototype hybrid Chopper ATV named 'Stardust' had been sitting in the garage in need of repairs for as long as he'd been alive. Helios took in the sight of the snow bikes with wide eyes and an expression of pure glee forming on his face

"Smooth Fluffy, very smooth….y'know Yang is never gonna let you hear the end of this right, you've basically just admitted that bikes are cooler than muscle cars" the three teens whipped around and were almost predictably met with the sight of Qrow Branwen

"Qrow!" Eagle beamed as she deployed Sentinel who trundled over to the older man

"Told you he'd be around" Felix snorted "Where were you?" he asked

"Inside, making sure there's no surprises of the red eyed and nasty variety" he gave Helios a brief once over "And you are?"

"Helios Nikos" he answered calmly

"Nikos" Qrow murmured quietly, eyes taking on a distant look for a moment before whatever he was feeling was quickly buried "I knew Pyrrha Nikos, she died a hero"

"You'll have to tell about her sometime" Helios answered quietly

"But in the meantime" Felix grinned, fishing the keys for both snow bikes out of his pocket "Let's see if you can actually ride one of these. Eagle watched the interaction and stifled a giggle at the sheer cuteness of it before turning to Qrow and letting out a slow breath

"So you think you can unlock my Semblance here?" there was nothing she could to prevent her nerves from creeping into her tone

"This way" Qrow nodded, evidently equally nervous and desperate for his first gift to his daughter to be something special. Qrow set off towards the hotel which formed the main building of the abandoned resort and Eagle fell into step behind him, entering the building revealed its' interior to be equally bleak as the outside; plaster was chipped and flaking away from the walls which were cracked in several places where pipes had frozen and burst, the floor was littered with slivers of glass and assorted detritus and ahead of them a large fountain, easily two stories tall which had clearly been intended to be the main feature of the atrium stood tarnished and lifeless, its' water stagnant and frozen.

"Come on, we need to be on the roof" Qrow told her, directing her towards a stairway off to one side of of the atrium. Eagle reverted Sentinel into shield mode and slung the automaton over her back knowing that it would be faster than allowing the droid to struggle with stairs. Their ascent went without incident and brought them onto the roof of the twelve story building where the wind howled in their ears and snow had piled high after years of neglect

"Okay, we're here" Eagle breathed out, trying to keep her hands from shaking with nerves and anticipation

"This'll probably go a little easier if you're not carrying the tin man" Qrow mused, scratching his beard; Eagle quickly removed her shield from her back and allowed Sentinel to unfold once again

"Okay, I've done as much research as I can but honestly I think there's nothing for it now; we're gonna have to take the direct approach to this" the veteran Huntsman murmured as he strode purposefully to the edge of the roof

"So what's the plan?" Eagle asked as she took a position next to him

"Your Semblance will manifest itself in reaction to a need, that's the way me and your Aunt Raven learned" Qrow ran a hand through his grey hair and let out a bitter sigh "I really wish there was an easier way to do this Kiddo, but you need to be under serious strain and the fear needs to be real"

"Erm….what are you going to do?" Eagle was suddenly very nervous, fingers drumming against the hilt of her sword until Qrow's hand rested on her shoulder

"I want you to know that you're completely safe, the fear is real but I won't let anything happen to you, you're in no real danger….and I really am sorry about this kiddo" before Eagle could ask what he was apologising for Qrow had shoved her hard and sent her staggering forwards; over the edge of the roof and falling with a panicked scream escaping her lips.

As she plummeted downwards something happened, her scream sounded different to her ears and the rapidly approaching ground suddenly came into much sharper focus, the pure white glow of her Aura became visible and she began to feel lighter and time seemed to slow down as the flailing of her arms became more rhythmic, her body acting of its' own accord. The inexplicable sensation ended as Eagle's feet reached the snow and she staggered several steps before collapsing in a heap, her breathing fast and shallow

"CAW!" hearing the sound of Qrow swooping down from the hotel Eagle rose to her feet on trembling legs, adrenaline still coursing through her and blinding her to just how far away from the hotel she'd landed

"You jerk!" she shouted, shoving a finger into Qrow's chest as she stomped over to him "Oh my Oum you just pushed me off of a roof, what on Remnant were you thinking you crazy old-WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING?" Qrow was almost doubled over in hysterics

"Eagle, you did it" he pointed to the hotel "A twelve story drop and you landed over twenty feet away"

"I-I….What?" Eagle was still too shaken by the experience to process exactly what had happened, Qrow placed his hands on her shoulders and gazed at her with an expression of pure pride and joy

"You didn't fall Eagle, you flew" the words seemed to make everything snap into place in her mind though the shock still took a few moments to wear off

"Oh….my….OUM THAT'S SO COOL"

"Yeah it is Kiddo, yeah it is" Qrow chuckled "So, Sentinel is still on the roof….wanna go back up and get him, maybe have a few more practice runs?" Eagle's eyes widened and she didn't bother with a verbal answer, instead tearing off back towards the hotel, eager to try and experience her Semblance again.

Ozymandias waited in an office that was not his own, the only office that was currently occupied within the secondary production facility of 'Libertas Incorporated' one of the many subsidiary companies which had been purchased by Poly-Tech since Antonia Arc had taken charge. Libertas Incorporated was responsible for manufacturing many of the weapons and vehicles used by the Atlesian military and ever increasing demand had allowed for the company to expand, moving a considerable portion of their weapons manufacturing to Ozymandias's current location; a state of the art and highly automated facility based in Freiheit, the largest of the post-war settlements built outside of Atlas's Hive Cities which had grown to a city bearing the half joking moniker 'The other Capital City'

"Right on time" Ozymandias murmured with a soft smile that would have unsettled any who saw it in ways they would find themselves unable to describe as the sound of footsteps echoing along the corridor outside reached his ears. Ozymandias adjusted his glasses and rose to his considerable but spindly height and strode in front of the desk of the commandeered office just as its' door was opened, his visitor evidently deigning themselves above knocking

"Good evening; glad to see you're well and walking about freely no less. I must say the attire suits you, though I don't recognise the specific design; modified I assume?" Ozymandias spoke jovially while bowing slightly at the waist, indulging the Ram Faunus in front of her followers

"Doctor Eldritch" Celeste gave a barely perceptible nod, she made a striking and imposing figure clad in the suit of black power armour that strengthened her somewhat sickly physique, crimson bladed katana hanging from her waist and harsh magenta eyes visible behind her glossy black mask which was in turn framed by the horns curling around her temple while her curly locks of prematurely white hair were cut close to the skull at the sides and worn in a tight bun atop her head; flanking her on either side were a pair of Faunus clad in black pants and jackets with a white vest bearing the logo of the faction to which they pledged loyalty, faces obscured by the unadorned gunmetal grey mask of a White Fang initiate and each of them clutching a shotgun with a demeanour that suggested they were looking for a reason to justify shooting the human that presumed to speak to their leader.

"So, to business I presume?" Ozymandias suggested

"Naturally" Celeste answered, allowing him to pass and gesturing for him to lead the way; the spindly human strode calmly passed the body guards and gave no thought to the weapons they discreetly pointed at his back except to prevent himself from smirking at what was ultimately a futile gesture. He led the quintet of Faunus through the corridors of the administration department and various other offices based areas of the plant before reaching a heavy steel door which led to the factory itself

"Why are we stopping?" Celeste demanded

"Proper safety" Ozymandias noted with a faintly amused edge to his voice as he handed each of them a pair of earplugs "We can overlook hi-vis vests for tonight, I assume that all of your boots are steel capped?"

"Do not test my patience" Celeste warned, though she still took the earplugs and was grateful that she had done so when Ozymandias opened the door and led them out onto an overhead walkway where the sounds of machinery and various workers shouting to be heard over it assaulted her sensitive ears.

"As you can see the plant relies heavily on automation" he gestured at the machines below which were mass producing weapons on automated assembly lines "Which naturally didn't go over too well with the Coalition, you've heard of them I presume? Faunus and workers rights advocates-"

"Traitors to their species who would compromise with the same humans who subjugated the Faunus" Celeste snapped

"Of course" Ozymandias breathed out, his as neutral as he could make it "But as you can see there are now living and breathing employees on site; order pickers, maintenance crew, cleaners, despatch, quality control….it's taken some time to implement but I now have the night shift completely under our control"

"All Faunus" Celeste nodded in understanding "All White Fang"

"Precisely, would you like to take a look at the latest fruits of our arrangement?" Celeste again merely gestured for him to lead the way, silently taking in every detail of the of the facility as they made their way down a flight of stairs that clanged underfoot and between the rows of machinery; the Faunus they passed as they moved through the plant either bowed reverently and whispered between themselves at the sight of the power armoured woman carrying the sword of Adam Taurus, or pointedly turned away and continued about their duties while giving themselves the excuse that they had seen nothing if questioned. Eventually they moved beyond the factory floor and into a somewhat quieter part of facility where the main sources of noise were forklift trucks, several dozen workmen and the howling wind which became audible each time a shutter door was raised

"You see these crates here" Ozymandias gestured to scores of crates organised in neat rows and stacked several high, from some of which a faint green glow emanated, the silver haired doctor gave a wry smile as he continued speaking "Unfortunately there seems to be an error somewhere in the production process, leading to an increase of goods which have failed quality tested after assembly, unfortunately this same issue is leading to inefficiencies and more high quality Eco-Dust than expected has been used this quarter"

"Truly a shame" Celeste dead-panned, a cruel smile forming on her face as she turned to her underlings "Contact the others and help them load the trucks" the grunts did as they were instructed without pause or comment

"You can expect similar shipments every three months, although I would consider breaking them into less noticeable monthly deliveries. The paper trail and digital records will be dealt with" Ozymandias stated, knowing better than to tell Celeste exactly how he achieved his results and give her no reason to continue her reliance on him. The Ram Faunus herself nodded in understanding

"And in response-"

"Your services when I require them, you'll know more when you need to" Ozymandias answered enigmatically. Celeste, unused to being dismissed so bluntly lowered herself to a taunt which she delivered with same conviction as her sermons

"Thank you Doctor, for giving me further proof that the Faunus are the superior species; your kind will turn on each other for even the slightest gain and you've only achieved what you have be building it on the backs of Faunus"

"An interesting take from a Faunus whose back I built" Ozymandias noted in a bored tone, continuing as Celeste's armoured fist clenched around Wilt and her expression became something ugly and fierce "Petty squabbles over land and race and resources are childish things that I thought humans and Faunus would have moved beyond. I have my own plans High Commander and they are far more grand than a mere power play"

The journey back to Atlas Academy had been a monumentally happy one, Eagle saw the glances that Helios and Felix were giving each other after spending the day on what neither of them had outright called a date but could easily be interpreted as such, this only fuelled her ecstatic giddiness at finally discovering her Semblance; several dozen more leaps from the roof of the abandoned hotel had seen Sentinel's metallic claws shooting forwards on their cables to catch her or Qrow using his own Semblance and Aura to break her fall several times but by the time they had decided enough Eagle had a success rate of more than fifty percent and had on one occasion managed to shift into her avian form mid fall and return to the roof beside the father whose Semblance she had inherited.

When the three of them had returned to Atlas Eagle was overcome by the urge to tell someone of her achievements, her mothers' phone had gone unanswered though this bothered her less than it could have; for a moment she debated telling Arctus that she too had a family who passed down a Semblance even if it was a less certain thing than that of the Schnees; in the end though there was one person Eagle desperately wanted to know, whose reaction she wanted to see and praise she wanted to receive.

"Hello little canary, odd place for a lesson" Hellion noted with a slight huff as her gossamer wings shivered, the Atlesian night air a little too frigid for even someone as used to cold as the Shadow Cadre were.

"Okay so I maybe kinda lied a little bit about why I wanted to meet you up here" Eagle answered, words increasing in pace as her cheeks flushed "But I wanted it to be a surprise"

"Oh?" Hellion raised a curious eyebrow, jade eyes startlingly intense as she peered at Eagle expectantly, prompting the armoured blondes' cheeks to colour even more under the scrutiny as she stammered out a reply

"I, well, um….So you know you know how I didn't know what my Semblance was? Well I've been out in the tundra training with Qrow Branwen, um my Dad and I found it….I just wanted you to be one of the first-" Eagle's words came to an abrupt halt as the air left her lungs when Hellion dashed forwards so fast as to be almost invisible and flung her arms around her

"I'm so proud of you" she sighed gently in Eagle's ear, fully aware of the effect she had on the slightly taller and distinctly more muscular woman; Hellion could almost feel the blondes' heart hammering in her chest through her armour at the sudden contact and suddenly felt emboldened, gently cupping one cheek and brushing the freckled skin with her thumb while planted the briefest of kisses on the opposite cheek and whispering

"Can you show me?"

"Uh huh" Eagle gulped, a sudden lump in her throat and her crimson eyes reminiscent of a deer in headlights "Yeah I can show you, that's actually why I asked you to meet me here instead of inside, I haven't figured out how to take of from the ground yet so I need to…." she trailed off aware that her hyperactive rambling would spoil the surprise if not reigned in, with that she took a deep breath and deployed Sentinel behind her, using her Semblance while carrying the droid was another variable she was yet to explore. She took stock of her surroundings, she had met Hellion atop the ramparts of the fortress like campus, as close as she could get to the gargantuan weapons systems mounted on each of Atlas Academy's towers without an access code; suddenly giddy once more eager to show Hellion more than anyone else what she could do she grabbed the snow covered wall and hauled herself onto it, standing on the edge with nothing between her and the harsh wind

"What are you doing?" Hellion demanded, clearly unsettled

"This is my Semblance" Eagle beamed "I can fly, watch" with nothing else to be said she leapt convinced that her Semblance would respond to her needs, spreading her arms wide and waiting for the momentary flash of her Aura that preceded each of her transformations only for dread to wash over her in a wave as nothing happened, Hellion's panicked yells and a series of chirps from Sentinel barely registered as blood pounded in her ears and the snow covered ground rushed up to meet her at frightening speed; Eagle's crimson eyes widened and she tried her best to curl up and protect herself as best as possible before she hit the floor with a dull thud and everything went black.

Authors Notes:

So another cute chapter and it will only continue next chapter.
Honestly the first quarter/third or so of Vol.5 is gonna be cute stuff/set up, you're welcome.
Also a little personal update and I feel like I've said this quite a few times since February but I have a new job that I'm starting on Monday; the difference is this isn't temp to perm basis work through a recruitment agency, an hour after my interview the company called me and told me they wanted to cut out the middle man and hire me directly; the hours make it so that I should honestly be able to keep my upload schedule without any real changes or problems though.

So anyway, let's summarise:
So note that this doesn't take place directly after the last chapter.
Ending the week with combat class again, although the teacher will never be Nora.
The student Felix was sparring was obviously based on Gundam Wing characters and Mobile suits.
The sparring match serves to show that Team FADE are not invincible and also it stops tournament fodder characters from just appearing out of nowhere when the plot calls for them and then vanishing afterwards.
I imagine students would hold back on using their Semblances in sparring matches when the tournament was coming up, I also imagine that the teachers would not take kindly to that
'Jufeng-Yin' - 'Hurricane Silver'
Felix and Helios are that awkward "What's actually happening with us" stage and it's adorable.
Diamond Dust one year anniversary coming soon.
Okay yeah just clearing this up, the museum was open a couple hours later than usual but the New White Fang attacked it in the middle of the night; a few people seemed to think Eagle and Felix were there when it happened.
You knew Qrow in Atlas was coming….I love the idea that Felix is just so used to his antics he's kinda dismissive of them.
Can you imagine Ciel Soleil and Qrow having to interact with each other.
Surely you already knew what Felix was planning.
Atlas will always be Atlas; it's not as openly racist as it used to be but there's still a definite tension there and a Faunus at a scene of a crime is always gonna be the first person the police arrest.
Onyx does not make idle threats, he said he was gonna snap someone's jaw so he did.
Atlas is a military academy, I feel like grunt work like shovelling snow would be a big part of their punishments.
The culture of the Anima tribes and Atlesian culture rubbing up against each other is always an interesting thought, and we all know Carcharodon would throw a fit at the idea of his people being used as forced labour (The Frost River Tribe were raiders but they never took slaves or prisoners, remember?).
Also the whole of Team GORE serving Onyx's detentions with him, it made someone awww when I told them about it in advance.
Hellion "Trying to impress the blonde"….We'll see next chapter.
The main point of this scene was to have Onyx bring up his concerns about Raffia, I don't want it to come completely out of nowhere when he does something shocking.
Carcharodon is slowly progressing as a leader, even in first year he would have just beaten Raffia into submission.
I did mention that Onyx has a gaggle of first years that've just gravitated towards him.
Yes, Felix remembered Helios saying that the Nikos tribe use dirt bikes and quads to draw Grimm away and that he wished he could use them, so he went and rented a pair of the Atlesian equivalents so he could treat Helios….adorable.
If you read The Downward Spiral you remember Stardust, it's still at Schnee Manor.
Also friendly rivalry between Yang and Felix over whether muscle cars or superbikes are cooler.
Okay Downward Spiral was planned before Vol.4 started and obviously before Vol.5, hence the bird thing actually being the Branwen twins' Semblance, I'm carrying that a little further and making it a Branwen family Semblance that isn't as fixed as the Schnees' but still turns up often enough in their family to be noteworthy.
Also you know damn well that Qrow would use that kind of hands on teaching.
So yeah, Eagle can fly….note that I haven't actually explicitly shown what her avian form is yet.
Oz and Celeste doing business in person, you know you wanted to see these two interact more.
Also, we haven't really see Oz use his powers for much yet but note that he literally does not care about weapons being pointed at him.
Workers, wear your PPE.
Interesting to hear Celeste's thoughts on the organisation Blake is a large part of.
And that's how Oz is getting the guns and Dust for the New White Fang, fudging numbers at an automated plant and writing off large amounts of goods and materials as damaged; it's nothing super flashy, but it doesn't need to be.
The little insult trading between the two near the end is telling; Celeste definitely has one thing in common with Adam: Her calm and in charge persona works best when people believe it and things are going as planned.
Also, Oz really isn't joking about grand plans.
Above fifty percent…..So Eagle hasn't immediately mastered her Semblance.
Hellion was the first person Eagle told, she's got it so bad.
And that ladies and gents is what showing off gets you….Surely somebody saw that coming right?

Thank you to SumoSnipe, Araniladin, Funlander, iSassenach, ShadowAlex2000, Ferrous, FleetOfWarships, TigerRose and CanadianCavalier for their reviews on the last chapter.
I thought the tail stroking would send your minds into the gutter.
It's not arrogance if you can back it up….Isn't that a Muhammed Ali quote? Seems fitting if it is.
Okay I'll reiterate, the White Fang blew up the museum after it had closed; Antonia only had kept open a couple of hours….getting Felix would have been a nice added bonus for her but she didn't change a plan specifically for it…..there will be plenty of time for a confrontation though.
It was more Onyx acting as a wingman.
Surprise, I have plenty of ways to hospitalise characters.
Celeste in her wheelchair maybe looks a little like L, Celeste with her armour on and in full bad-ass mode looks way more intimidating.
I love how much everyone hates Cinnabar.
Phrasing….The Battle Cats are nowhere near that stage in their relationship yet.
I think there would have been riots if Onyx or Raffia were politically savvy enough to go down that route, as it is Onyx decked the guy and left it at that.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.