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Chapter 126: Over Again

"You didn't both have to come and drop us off" Diamond noted

"Of course we did" Emerald countered from the drivers' seat of the car whilst Mercury dozed off beside her, having had only a few hours sleep after returning from a flight to Atlas but nonetheless insisting on being present

"This is the last time you'll be doing this" Emerald added "We wanted to at least take you to airship terminal" the answer and the sudden realisation that her mother was right struck a chord with Diamond, she had known that she would be heading to New Vale for her fourth and final year at Halo Academy of course but the impact had been somewhat lost on her beneath the weight of the other, more pressing problems she had endured over the summer. Suddenly she sat up from where she had been sprawling across the back seat of her parents car with her head laying on Arctus's lap and took care to fasten her seatbelt before Mercury could chastise her for it; the former assassin had told her several times before that he'd cut the brake-cables of enough politicians' cars to have seen first hand what happens to people who didn't wear them and Diamond knew that her father was never quite as asleep as he seemed.

Looking out of the window she took in the sight of Anquan-Jia, capital city of Mistral and the place that she had called home ever since her parents had moved here when she was fourteen. The sun was slowly sinking and painting golden streaks across the even sky though it would be several hours yet before it sank fully below the horizon and the Mistrali evening air was still warm and humid though a cool breeze was starting to blow. The streets the car passed through were wider and far more open than the claustrophobic maze of Hive Towers and bridges between them that formed New Vale; many of those streets were lined with bars and restaurants whose trade for the evening was just beginning and the crowds outside of them were mixed with those people returning from their days' work. All in all it was still the Capital City of a Kingdom and Anquan-Jia was bustling and active at all hours of the day and night but in a way that seemed somehow more welcoming than New Vale, even despite the reputation for having a punishing and demanding warrior culture that Mistral was known for.

Presently Diamond was distracted from her thoughts by Mercury who had, as suspected only been resting his eyes letting out a snort and derisive chuckle

"Hey Dee-Dee, check the billboard…..I see his Hunter career is going well"

"What….Oh for Oum's sake" Diamond hung her head and sighed deeply at the sight of what her father was laughing at; she had heard from Bracken Thorn that Team CNBR had officially disbanded before they had even officially graduated from Haven Academy, their dysfunctionality finally becoming too great to overcome, it was still jarring however to see her ex-boyfriend Cinnabar Blaine on billboards as an underwear model.

"That's just sad" she shook her head again, whatever issues she had with the man he was still a trained Huntsman and should have been working as such but it seemed his reputation preceded him and his attitude would always be a hindrance in his life. Arctus merely gave a smirk and decided to join in with some good natured teasing

"Is it everything you remember Dee?" behind the faux pout she wore Diamond was honestly happy that Arctus was secure enough in himself to make the joke, she remembered the first time her partner had met the older man and the doubts it had left him with; as such she rolled her cherry red eyes and retorted

"Pretty much, loads of muscle and ink but his shoulders aren't as big as yours and you're more cuddly-"

"Nope!" Merc exclaimed "I don't wanna hear it, Oum knows I've heard enough this summer….I will grab the steering wheel and send us into traffic"

"I will give you actual Lien to stop talking" Emerald laughed, swatting Mercury gently "She's happy, let her be happy" the joking and teasing continued for the rest of the journey as the streets became far less populated the further away from the centre of the city they journeyed, eventually making their way into the sizeable parking lot of the airship terminal located in an area of the capital that was, secluded if not truly remote. It had been built with a vast clearing around and housed both local and cross-Kingdom flights meaning that as they arrived Arctus and Diamond could see transports leaving for elsewhere.

"We're here" Emerald noted, her voice betraying hints of several emotions as she cut off the engine. Diamond and Arctus clambered out of the car and as the Bear Faunus made to retrieve their bags from the trunk Diamond turned to her mother

"Thanks for the ride-" she was cut off as Emerald threw her arms around her daughter and simply held her for a few minutes before pulling back and wiping a single tear away

"Sorry, I don't wanna get all weepy and emotional" she gave a watery chuckle "But look at you, look at how you've grown….I feel like I don't say it enough but I'm so proud of you"

"You say it plenty" Diamond assured her "Still nice to hear it though" Emerald merely grinned at that

"But as grown up as you are, you're still not too old for the reminder-"

"Stay safe and that goes double on missions, focus on my studies before I party, always watch my drinks and if anything goes wrong I can always call home"

"Exactly" Emerald smiled.

Arctus was removing his own suitcase and the duffel bags that Diamond carried her belongings in and deliberately doing so slowly in order to give his partner some privacy whilst she spoke with her mother when he felt a palm clamp down on his shoulder

"It's been interesting meeting you" Mercury's voice was a low, threatening murmur and Arctus's turned to face him only for the older man to burst out laughing at the worried look on the Faunus's face

"Relax you're fine….I never thought I'd say this about someone my daughter brings home but I can kinda see why she likes you"

"Thanks….I guess?" Arctus was not exactly sure how to answer and Mercury's expression became notably more serious as he leaned closer

"Just promise me something" Arctus gave a brief nod and Mercury continued "Promise me you'll be there for her….look, today's a good day but I've lost limbs and dealt with what comes after, your old man has as well and there're gonna be bad days. If you can't promise to be there when things get rough then you should just-"

"Mister Black, I love her and I'm always gonna be there for her" Mercury heard the firm and blunt answer and considered it for a few moments before nodding

"And oddly enough I actually believe you"

"So…..No trips to the bottom of the ocean wearing concrete boots then?" Arctus asked with a small grin as he tried to diffuse the sudden tension

"I didn't promise that" Mercury chuckled "Go on, she's waiting for you" Arctus took the bags and made his way towards Diamond who was indeed waiting for him so that they could find the airship which would take them to new Vale

"Dad giving you a shake down?" she asked, knowing her father well enough to surmise what their conversation had entailed

"Pretty much" Arctus nodded, Diamond merely rolled her eyes

"He's such a dumb-ass sometimes dude" she laughed before gesturing to some of her bags "Wanna hand those over?"

"You sure? I've got 'em" seeing Diamond nod Arctus transferred her bags over to him and she made a conscious decision to use her cybernetic left arm to carry them, noticing the subtle differences in the weight and sensation as she reached out and took Arctus's hand in hers

"So….Fourth Year" the Bear Faunus noted

"I know" Diamond breathed out, several things being unsaid but silently understood between them

"Come on" she added "It's a long flight and I wanna find our cabin….maybe we'll get some sleep at some point"

Felix breathed in deeply as he stepped off of the ferry and noted to himself that he could easily differentiate the sea air that assaulted his nostrils in New Vale's docks and the heavy fishy scent that he was familiar with on Patch despite there being only a few miles of sea between the two.

"I see they've made themselves at home" Helios noted, both he and Nyanza had made the trip with Helios and the redhead was currently holding Felix's hand gently, the Lion Faunus was also sure that Amethyst Wukong had been on the ferry somewhere. What Helios was indicating towards however was the Nemesis Kharybdis and whilst he and the Patch natives accompanying him had made several trips to the mainland over the summer they had never seen Team GORE's ship so close before, the vessel was docked close to their ferry and Felix could see that it had been given further love and care over the recent months in the form of additional paint to cover the mismatched panels of its' hull and that much of its' upper deck had been covered with tarpaulins, though the Faunus also suspected that it would be littered with traps in case anyone were unwise enough to attempt to sneak aboard.

"Apparently it's been good for 'em" Felix shrugged, having heard stories from Eagle of how the former raiders and bandits had each seemed to become noticeably more upbeat and sociable over the summer.

"Let's hope that being back at the academy doesn't make them insufferable" Helios noted

"There's a Vytal Tournament, they get to kick asses and get cheered on for doing it; they'll be fine" Felix laughed "But anyway, pretty sure that we didn't come here to stare at their new ride" with that Felix led Helios and Nyanza, who had thus far remained quiet as was becoming a disconcertingly common trend, away from the ferry they had arrived on and the other ships that lined the dock in order to catch up with the small crowd that had moved on without them until finally they caught sight of a small car whose rounded and sleek, if non-threatening form was painted a pristine creamy white and more importantly the familiar woman leaning against it

"Hey guys!" Eagle waved at them enthusiastically, whatever attempt at cool aloofness she may have been aiming for was lost the moment she removed her sunglasses and gave the trio that approached her a bright smile; it had been roughly two weeks since Team CLIR had graduated and both she and Felix had been far too busy with their respective summer jobs to simply hang out since then.

"Have you heard from Arctus and Diamond?" she asked after giving each of the young men a hug

"Yeah they flew over last night" Felix nodded "Landed in the city early this morning, I think Arctus paid for a hotel so they could get a few more hours sleep; they're meeting us at the airship terminal"

"Do we really need to fly to the Academy?" Nyanza asked, wearing a quizzical expression as he finally spoke up

"Nope!" Eagle waggled a stern finger at the bushy tailed feline "We are not having this discussion. It's tradition and we're flying to the Academy with all the other students….it's important, I don't care what Carcharodon says"

"Carcharodon?" Felix asked and privately braced himself, the Shark Faunus it seemed would always have his moments of dour cynicism and ruthlessness, Eagle merely gave a dejected sigh

"He had Team GORE lock their ship down and make their way to the Academy last night instead of waiting for everyone else" she scowled disapprovingly "Which means some of the new students going for their initiations today probably saw them as well, you're not supposed to see the students until you're part of a team; they schedule it that way for a reason"

"So he respects the traditions of his own people but refuses to acknowledge those of the Kingdom he lives in" Helios noted disparagingly

"I mean Goodwitch wouldn't have let them get in the way right?" Felix offered, sensing that Eagle would work herself into an irritable frenzy if allowed to.

"I know" Eagle sighed as she leaned against the Lightning Bug once again "It's just that….this is the last time we're gonna do this and I wanted Hellion to be here" the admission changed the tone of the conversation for a moment, Felix feeling a pang of sadness for his partner and best friend as he understood her wishes perfectly and he saw on Helios and Nyanza's faces that they felt similarly.

"It's not the last time though" Felix suggested with a soft smile "We'll come back for graduation at least and then we'll be heading out on our first real missions….tell Hellion how important it is to you and she'll get it" Eagle gave a broad smile and felt more than a little reassured as she listened to Felix's advice before fishing out her keys and gesturing to her car

"Come on, we've got a flight to catch"

For Fawn Bordeaux of New Vale Police Department life had been going exceptionally well and though she would never admit it out loud much of her recent happiness could be attributed, at least in part to the Grimm tide that had befallen New Vale with the destruction of the Exclusion Zone. She had been able to distance herself from any involvement in the fact that councilmen Hie Xiong was currently missing and presumed to have perished in the attack, largely due to the fact she had ensured that there were no witnesses capable of incriminating her; furthermore she had managed to use the attack to explain away why there had been no body left to identify Rhodium Torchwick by, only a weapon confirmed to be in his possession which she had returned and retrieved and his fingerprints all over a base which had been tied to the terrorist responsible for the destruction of the Exclusion Zone which, when combined with the evidence that he had spoken with members of security teams guarding the gates to the area had painted a damning picture.

In her own telling of events Fawn was the hero who had apprehended the criminal mastermind who had already escaped justice once, but had tragically failed to stop his accomplice in time.

There had been little sorrow amongst the ranks of the police when Fawn had explained that her patrol car had been destroyed by the Grimm and that Torchwick had died in the crash due to the Aura dampening collar he was wearing, his body left to the monsters. The only tragedy in many officers' view was that he couldn't be paraded out to the people of New Vale as a sign that the authorities could still be relied upon and in reward for her service and heroic actions Fawn had been allowed to form a hand-picked task force which would be responsible for ensuring that the power vacuum left in the cities' underbelly by Torchwick and Xiong's deaths remained vacant and that whatever criminal gangs remained were no more than disorganised and underfunded groups of thugs with no greater intelligence unifying them.

The first thing Fawn had done with this power was target all of those officers she knew to have been on Torchwick and Junior's payrolls, effectively gutting many precincts around the city and garnering herself yet more favour in the eyes of the public who saw her as ushering in a wave of reforms and tackling corruption and allowing her to operate with almost no oversight as it became apparent to those in charge that any attempt to impede Fawn would be seen by the public as siding with the criminals.

Then she had begun killing gang members.

Enough arrests were made to satisfy her adopted image, other street thugs were simply killed in meticulously arranged traffic accidents which were swept under the rug as a consequence of the repairs that were being undertaken across the city; her taskforce disguised themselves as gang members and executed their targets with ruthless efficiency, framing the attacks as gang-violence and further cementing the need for their own existence.

Fawn had decided with her brothers' death that the Kingdom of New Vale had been in the hands of criminals for too long and now finally it was being placed in the only hands she deemed capable, her own; the fact that it had taken murders and a reign of terror functionally indistinguishable from what had come before was of little consequence to her. The only possible threat to her newfound position was that Rover and Artemis Tan, along with Scarlet David-Vasilias, all of whom knew the truth about Rhodium Torchwick's loyalties and could deduce the rest with ease; however it seemed that they had more pressing concerns or were simply waiting for an opportune moment to hold the truth over her head, Fawn assured herself that by the time that occurred she would have replaced any contacts that they may still have had within the police force with individuals loyal to herself and her way of thinking and would simply have them buried if they became a problem.

All of that was secondary at the moment however as Fawn was currently investigating

"Wait here….we're most likely dealing with victims but be ready to shoot and call for backup if things get hostile" she instructed her new partner, a young woman who had freshly graduated from the police academy

"We don't have any proof that anything's actually wrong" she noted

"Something's always wrong; this city has been attacked by Grimm three times in as many years, that doesn't happen for no reason" with that Fawn exited her new, unmarked patrol car. She was here to investigate the seeming disappearance of a recently married couple, the fact that the husband was a member of the defence force operating around the cities' perimeter and more specifically that he operated one of the new Atlesian weapons being used by New Vale were suggestive to Fawn, it led her to believe that there may be a smuggling operation or arms dealer which Colonel James Garland had refused to co-operate with and that he and his wife had been targeted in retaliation. All of this was conjecture of course, all that Fawn knew for certain was that the man had been injured in the line of duty roughly two weeks ago, discharged himself from the hospital and that neither he or his wife had been seen since.

She knocked against the door firmly and waited, she could here something moving inside the home though not specifically towards the door.

"This is the police, I'd just like to talk!" she exclaimed as she knocked again, more movement and still a decided lack of response; cursing under her breath Fawn unslung her shotgun and readied herself, personal liberties be damned, this was her city and if something was afoot she would find out about it.

"This is the police!" she reiterated before simply kicking the door open.

The sight that greeted her was horrific and almost robbed the floppy-eared Mastiff Faunus of her senses.

The shredded remains of what had once been a human body lay in the hallway whilst the walls, floor and ceiling were stained red with dried and congealed blood and viscera; the body had decayed rapidly, seemingly far too fast to have been present for mere weeks and Fawn saw that there were was another body laying torn apart and sundered in the worst ways imaginable laying some distance away, positioned as though they had been brought down whilst trying to flee. All of this however was secondary, far less important than the simple and undeniable fact which sent chills down Fawn's spine and made bile rise in her throat.

The house was infested with Grimm.

Bulbous fly like things hovered lazily into view with a droning buzz of their wings and a swarm of maggot-like monsters soon joined them with a series of sickening squelching noises; Fawn realised that many of the maggot Grimm were sporting the beginnings of insectoid wings and legs, as though each of them would grow into one of the larger Botfly Grimm. Furthermore there was a thick, ropey black substance hanging from the walls like some insidious fungal growth.

Fawn wasted no time and her shotgun bucked in her hands as it fired, blasting open the skulls of the hovering insectoid Grimm until it clicked empty at which point the Faunus quickly reached for a Fire Dust grenade, all officers of the New Vale police had taken to carrying similar such explosives owing to the presence of several packs of Grimm remaining in the city; she hurled the grenade into the house and held the door shut until she felt the force of the explosion.

"FAWN WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!" her new partner sprinted to her side, pistol in hand

"GET BACK!" she roared "Get back, call the fire department and let them know we're doing a controlled burn! We need to start evacuating this street….Fucking Grimm infestation got 'em, place is crawling" Fawn stepped back from the door and quickly reloaded her weapon with trembling hands and levelled the weapon at the door in case any of the Grimm she could here hissing and spitting as they died attempted to force their way out of the building. It seemed she would most likely need to speak with Rover, Artemis and Scarlet sooner than expected; this was clearly a matter that required Hunters.

The flight from the airship terminal to where Halo Academy had been forced to land in the crater left by the Spawning Pit which had produced the Hydrakken had been a sombre affair at first; with the initial realisation that there were too few students present being enough to cast a gloomy shadow over them all; those who would be returning for their fourth year at Halo Academy keenly feeling the absence of Team PSTL, Team AQUA who had been friends with the deceased team having found a quiet area on the airship to console their team-leader who had begun crying once again and whilst Team FADE may not have been especially close to them each of them remembered their former classmates fondly.

The mood had not been lifted by the flight over the city, slow and deliberate as always which this time served as a stark reminder of the price of failure in contrast to the grand display of what it was that they would be defending that the journey had seemed to be the first time that they had made it. The fires had burned for over a week in some parts of the city before being brought under control and from the birds' eye view afforded to the students the true scale of the damage could be seen, growing ever more severe as they drew closer to what had been the epicentre of the fighting. Hive Towers were blackened and their exteriors bore scars from the talons of gigantic Grimm or gaping wounds and craters left by both fighters and monsters crashing into their surfaces whilst bridges and monorail lines had been simply ripped away in several places, the streets below still closed as construction and salvage crews which were stretched thin across the city attempted to clear away the wreckage. In more than one instance the monolithic form of a Hive Tower simply ended abruptly where had been torn apart by a falling warship or suffered incredible damage through some other means, leaving its' interior and superstructure visible.

There were silver linings to be found however, the repairs could be plainly seen all across the city and Felix and Eagle who had visited the city often over the summer along with Olivine and Nyanza who called New Vale home had happily explained to Arctus and Diamond that there were far fewer people left homeless or displaced by the attack than might have been expected and a sense of camaraderie in the face of the Grimm had quickly seen everyone from the Kingdoms' moneyed elites to blue collar workers such as those Blake represented through 'The Coalition' pitching in to help where they could. Homes and infrastructure were being rebuilt and improved, jobs were being created and almost as a gesture of pure defiance of the tragedy the city was readying itself for the upcoming Vytal Tournament and festival with the sports stadiums, many of which were situated on the aerial platforms which hung above the city and within the towers and the streets between them, though they couldn't be seen from such a distant banners and other decorations were being prepared already as though the people of New Vale had collectively decided that they had earned the right to celebrate and intended to do so.

Eventually the morose atmosphere had dissipated somewhat and Teams FADE and NEON had found an area on the airship which they had claimed as their own, after getting late breakfasts from the vessels' canteen and as they watched the Kingdom pass below them Felix informed Arctus and Diamond what they had missed out on over the summer

"I swear to you this guy, after throwing himself out of a window and hiding under the damn Bull-Head for a good twenty minutes at least, manages to swallow a bug or something and give himself away by coughing….never mind me and Blake hearing him, Yang heard it, the next door neighbours probably heard it and he comes out from under Team CLIR's ride, face still swollen up; looks my Mums straight in the face and just says 'good morning' at this point I absolutely lost it-" Felix gave in to another fit of laughter at the memory of the morning Team CLIR had left for Menagerie; as did the small audience of his friends he was recounting the story to "So I'm howling with laughter, Iris actually hell out of the Bull-Head she was laughing so hard and Corey just likes she wants to strangle everyone there starting with Onyx-"

"He might be into that" Diamond noted slyly, earning a chorus of cheers and laughter whilst Felix shook his head in mock disgust

"Come on Dee I don't need to think about that" the dirty blonde Faunus gave her a toothy smirk "Besides, how did you and Arctus meet again?" Diamond promptly extended her middle finger, as great of a couple as she and Arctus were roundly stated to be by anyone familiar with them the fact remained that the nature of their first meeting an in-joke amongst every student in their year group who'd been there to see it happen.

"You're an ass-hole man" Arctus sighed before turning away for a moment and as he looked out of the window his eyes widened "We're close, we're passing over where the Exclusion Zone wall was"

"It's gonna be a shame when they knock down those houses" Ether noted conversationally

"Homeless people are using them?" Diamond guessed, the idea of the formerly walled off section of Old Vale in which teams FADE, NEON, AQUA and the late Team PSTL had been formed becoming usable once again presenting several possible solutions to social problems

"Well that and there's been some really big raves in 'em over the summer" Ether added, gesturing wildly as he saw everyone's expressions "What? They don't belong to anybody and it's not like there's gonna be noise complaints"

"You….You know that there're still some Grimm lurking around right?" Eagle sighed as she shook her head in dismay

"That's so dumb you'd expect it from me" Nyanza snorted. Diamond tuned them out however, Halo Academy was becoming visible in the distance and the smile she had been wearing slowly slipped from her face as she took in the sight of what had been her home for several years now brought so low; it was sobering and frankly upsetting and beside her she could see Arctus was wearing a similar expression, the two of them reaching out and gently squeezing each others' hands

"Yeah, hurts to see it like that" Felix noted, having seen the change in his team-mates and quickly deduced the reason "On the bright side the inside is as good as new"

"That's something at least" Diamond shrugged, her previously good mood dented by the sight

"We should get ready" Arctus sighed before perking up "I wanna get good seats for these new teams….they're the first teams to be formed since well Arcadia, Pantheon's attacks and the Exclusion Zone being brought down and it's New Vale's first time hosting the tournament during their first year; there's a lot of weight on their shoulders, they deserve a decent welcome at least" Teams FADE and NEON collectively gave their agreement to the idea and the sentiment behind it and began preparing to disembark, each of them having the unmistakable, yet unspoken feeling that the upcoming academic year, as their final test would somehow find a way to make itself an even greater challenge than all that they had faced thus far.

Glynda Goodwitch gave a proud smile and surreptitiously wiped a tear away from her eye as the sound of thunderous applause filled the amphitheatre of the academy in honour of the final team of students to be formed. It had been decided to allow more students into the current batch of First Years to recoup the losses that the student body had suffered, as loathe as Glynda was to consider it in such terms and the newly minted Teams GLXY, RAVN, SNOW, GHST, MOON and WAVE had been formed after all twenty four prospective students had performed admirably in their trials and been welcomed to their new home returning students who had, consciously or not chosen to cheer far louder than normal as if to fill the voids left by those who were no longer with them.

Glynda hated that she would almost certainly break the hearts of those who had known the fallen, but she felt to do any less than her duty in honouring them would be the utmost disrespect and so she took a single breath, deep and steady as she straightened her back a little further and braced herself.

"And now we have other matters that must be discussed" her voice, amplified by the microphone in her hand brought immediate silence to the gathered students "All of us are aware of what befell this city only a few short months ago; to those of you who are beginning your journeys at Halo Academy today I say that these students should be seen as an example of everything a Hunter should be and to those of you who are returning and knew them I simply ask you to carry their memories with you. I would like a minutes' silence in memory of Team GLOW who would have been starting their second year who sacrificed themselves to buy time for New Vale's military as they detonated a bridge to slow the Grimm's advance, of Team VYLT who would have been starting their third year whose position was overrun though not before they ensured several hundred people were moved to safety, of Team PSTL who would have been starting their fourth and final year whose transport was damaged and its' pilot killed in action, they chose to bring their own Bull-Head down and detonate it in the midst of the Grimm tide and finally for Professor Jasper Cimmerian who gave her life to defend this very academy" Glynda turned to the newly formed teams and saw that several of them wore shocked and horrified expressions, she privately took a mental note of the names and faces of those who seemed the most and unsettled and committed to having each of them watched more closely to ensure that they were ready for the careers they had chosen. Then she turned to the older students and as predicted, over the course of the next minute there were several hastily wiped eyes and muffled sobs. She allowed the silence to last for a while longer as the students composed themselves before finally continuing

"We have a few other matters to discuss, firstly Councillor Vasilias has appointed two junior student councillors who will be working under him and asks me to urge any student to engage with their services if they feel a need to for any reason" she paused to allow the information to sink in before moving on to the next topic "As is obvious to you all this academy will be grounded for at the very least the duration of this year and I expect that my students will treat those working on restoring the campus to its' former glory with utmost respect; furthermore I must stress that whilst I understand the need to let off steam after studying the fact that Halo Academy is grounded will not be used as a justification for students coming and going at all hours; the campus will be locked down at one a.m every day and visitors are not to be brought onto the campus without express permission from a member of staff" Goodwitch fell silent again, she expected that several of her students would buck against the restriction that was seemingly being imposed upon them although truthfully the lock down she was imposing was far from draconian and flights to the academy when it was airborne ended earlier in the evening. She resigned herself to the fact that she was dealing with teenagers, and an especially strong-willed group of them at that before glancing upwards, where a glint of crimson in the rafters told her that it was time to make her next announcement.

"I would like to introduce a new member of staff to you all, despite the tragedy of the way the position became available I expect you all to welcome our new Professor of Unusual Tactics and Ungentlemanly Warfare" she grinned, expecting his flair for the dramatic to pay off in spades "Professor Qrow Branwen"

Eagle's cheer was deafening and soon gave way to a squeal of utter delight as she leapt to her feet, Felix right beside her and adding to the cacophony with gusto as Qrow swooped low from the rafters in his avian form with a piercing cry; flying passed Professor Goodwitch and out of view, a crimson flash of Aura being visible from behind the curtains at the edge of the stage upon which she stood. The Qrow Branwen came into view and whatever Eagle and Felix had been expecting it was far from what greeted them; to overcome the fact he was now no longer able to us his legs the grizzled and veteran Hunter, whose beard had been allowed to grow longer and whose hair had greyed even further now manoeuvred themselves in something that could loosely be described as a wheelchair.

Though it had no wheels.

In their place were six legs sturdy and vaguely insectoid in appearance with a wide stance, each with multiple joints that seemed capable of moving in multiple directions. The seat was a comfortable leather one and the arms of the chair featured multiple screens and control panels which Eagle and Felix were both certain were connected to Qrow's supercomputer in what was referred to by those aware of it as his lair.

"Oh this is gonna be interesting" Felix's grin split his face and left his prominent canines on full display, the other students were cheering as well as the hushed whispers between them had allowed them to come to consensus about exactly who this living legend before them was.

"New favourite subject!" Eagle declared as she did a happy little jig

"Thank you, thank you" Qrow's smile was the widest Felix or Eagle could remember seeing it and his eyes twinkled happily "I appreciate the sentiment but I know from experience that you won't be as much of a fan once I start handing out assignments….that being said I was a student of Beacon Academy and from what I can see here Halo carries on the grand tradition of producing the best damn Hunters in Remnant" the students cheered in unison once again, spurred on by pride in the Academy that was their home for much of the year until Qrow relinquished the microphone back Professor Goodwitch

"And in relation to that sentiment" many students were taken aback by the open giddiness of the face of the disciplinarian whose reputation preceded her "This year will see the Vytal Festival come to New Vale, as such students from Atlas, Shade and Haven Academies will be joining us within a matter of months; I should not have to say that I expect them to be welcomed as you would any other student regardless of the competition between our schools….that being said, information regarding the tournament will be given to those who wish to represent Halo Academy at the earliest opportunity. I believe that is all that needs to be discussed and I urge each of you to get a good nights' rest before your classes….You are dismissed, though I must speak with the leaders of the following teams; Team FADE-"

Felix let out an audible groan

"Oum damn it, it's gonna be a mission first thing tomorrow morning I can see it coming" the Lion Faunus grumbled

"Yeah but it's only gonna be clearing out the Emerald Forest again" Diamond shrugged

"Exactly, again" Felix countered with a snort "We did it last year it's someone else's turn….whatever, Dee can I borrow you for a sec though?"

"Uh sure" Felix waited until the two of them were alone, Eagle having stated that she was going to catch up with Qrow who had already departed whilst Arctus waited for Diamond close by; keeping his voice low enough that the conversation wouldn't be overheard the blonde murmured

"You know you're one of my best friends right? I want you to know that whatever answer you give nobody is going to judge you"

"Fluffy what's this about?"

"The Vytal Tournament" Felix answered quickly "Look last summer I was a mess after I lost my tail and you held this team together, I really can't thank you enough…..I know where you're at mentally and this year is our last year; it's gonna be tough anyway so if you say you don't want to enter the tournament and just focus on our exams and stuff then-"

"You know you want to enter" Diamond replied with an arched eyebrow

"Yeah I do, I think there's a good chance we could at least rank, if not win the whole thing" Felix admitted "But you're more important, I'd do the same for Eagle or Arctus. If you tell me you're not sure or you're not ready then Team FADE don't enter and nobody says another word about it" Diamond wrapped an arm loosely around his shoulders

"Thanks for the offer dude" Diamond pulled back and smirked "But there's no way I'm sitting the tournament out on our last chance to win it….we got cheated last time" Felix couldn't help but laugh at that and as the two parted ways, the Lion Faunus making his way towards Goodwitch to receive what would undoubtedly be a slog of a mission he couldn't help but feel a little happier about his prospects for the year.

Eagle had quickly left the amphitheatre upon seeing the Qrow had departed the moment the announcements were concluded; instead of simply wandering aimlessly through the campus hoping to find her father and catch up with him she had decided to simply head in the direction she knew that he would be moving. She knew where the apartments within the campus where the majority of the professors and other staff resided due to having visited her her honorary Aunt Nora and Uncle Ren at their home several times; after waiting in the hallway for several minutes she was beginning to grow impatient and her foot tapped against the floor as she fidgeted until finally she heard the sound of mechanical limbs moving before a familiar voice greeted her

"Hey Kiddo, I was hoping to see you" Eagle fought the urge to squeal and bolt towards her father, instead making her way towards him at a respectable pace and happily accepted the hug that was offered, despite the awkwardness of the angle as Qrow struggled to lean forwards in his seat

"I've missed you" Eagle admonished "You've been busy all summer"

"I know, I know and I'm sorry" Qrow sighed "I haven't taught in over thirty years, I needed to get all my paperwork up to date again….and then there was getting this contraption made, I was a mess over the summer Eagle; I didn't want you to see me like that" Eagle frowned but accepted the reasoning, as much as she disliked it. Qrow moved his new walker around her with impressive deftness in the narrow hallways, several of its' limbs scurrying across the wall as he opened the door of his new apartment via some remote method involving the touchscreens on the armrests of his seat, saving him the trouble of fumbling with keys and awkward positions.

"And I would apologise for not telling you about taking the job offer….but honestly I kinda wanted to surprise you"

"Well you definitely did that, I can't wait to see you classes" Eagle beamed happily as she made her way inside, momentarily shocked to see countless computers, more advanced than any she had seen before lined against a single wall of Qrow's apartment; quickly reasoning that it must have been a vast portion, if not all of her fathers' 'lair' that seemingly granted him access to anything that he needed and connected him to Hunters and other contacts all across Remnant. Eagle had never seen the set-up before and only knew of it through Corvid after she and Felix had shared all of the secrets that they had the year before, she gave him a slightly concerned look as she spoke

"So are you still working your other job" Qrow saw her gesture to the supercomputers and appreciated the euphemism, unlikely as it was that anyone would eavesdrop on him here.

"Reduced hours" he chuckled and quickly decided to elaborate, his daughter had certainly earned the right to the truth "With Ozymandias gone it feels like things came to a head and the worst of it's behind us now….I know where two of the four Maidens are and there's nobody actively trying to destroy Remnant; I have contacts in place if either of the missing Maidens make an appearance. The only real problem right now is not knowing where Pantheon is"

"So you're just gonna be a professor and nothing else?" Eagle allowed herself to hope

"Pretty much, I just had to get all of this equipment out of my house….I paid the mortgage off so it's there if you ever need a place to stay"

"Oh my Oum thank you" Eagle's hands flew to her mouth, she had heard from her mother that Qrow intended to leave his house for her but to hear it from her father himself was touching nonetheless

"It's nothing….Oum knows I've still got a lot to make up for" Qrow sighed before he decided to remain upbeat "So yeah, I'm taking up a teaching job here….I wonder if they'll still let me announce for the tournament; Barty and Pete did when they worked at Beacon so I don't see why not-You're entering again this year right?"

"Definitely" Eagle grinned, already imagining Team FADE's names on banners and posters.

"Excellent" Qrow beamed just as broadly, pride for his only child almost spilling out of him until a thought occurred to him "Now I'm not even going to pretend to be impartial as an announcer….but as a professor-"

"You're Professor Branwen and not Dad when we're in class" Eagle nodded in understanding "I get it, that's the way it has to be" before Qrow could answer the sound of his Scroll vibrating demanded his attention and he quickly brought the message up on one of the screens that was now permanently at his disposal, where it was revealed to be from Rover Tan

"That's….odd" he murmured

"What?"

"Rover wants me to take a look at some reports of a Grimm attack in the city, it already looks strange….it's too high up in the tower"

"Anything I can do to help?" Eagle offered

"Not tonight" Qrow shook his head "I'm probably gonna be cross-referencing details all night trying to figure out what, if anything is going on. You've got a mission first thing, go get some sleep"

"Okay, goodnight Dad" Eagle leaned down and kissed Qrow's cheek before leaving his apartment and making her way towards Team FADE's dormitory, sighing as she realised that it was unlikely she would get to spend the night cuddling with Hellion as she would've liked and that instead Mister Pancakes, the three foot tall stuffed Ursa would just have to do.

Salem's eyes blazed with supernatural light and the Grimm matter that formed the ever expanding lair around her visibly rippled as waves of arcane and dreadful power washed over it and the packs of Beowolves howled and whimpered in response to their masters' unbound fury. The arms of the chitinous and bony throne in which the mother of Grimm had situated herself cracked under her iron grip as she seethed in retaliation to the messages that she had received through the tattered and broken remains of the Grimm Hive Mind.

Slowly and with rattling breaths she regained her composure and forced herself to think rationally; she had designed, selectively bred and spawned the Botfly Grimm through one of the many other Spawning Pits that Pantheon had brought under her control and used it specifically to infiltrate the Kingdom of New Vale where, for the last two weeks it had not only been multiplying but also creating the foundation for another Spawning Pit within the city itself.

And now her efforts had been wasted, purged and with fire and destroyed; yet all was not lost and her efforts had not been entirely in vain. Several of the underdeveloped maggot Grimm had escaped the flames by burrowing into the infrastructure of the hive city and Salem was sure that their continued existence would go unnoticed for quite some time. They would spread out and acquire new targets and where Salem had been working on the beginnings of one Spawning Pit within the city she may yet find herself with several if things progressed well, all of which would allow her to see within the Kingdom and learn of her enemies intentions and weaknesses.

In the meantime however Salem realised that she lacked a crucial element of her former strategic might; Pantheon was undoubtedly a monstrous opponent and would lay waste to each of the Kingdom in turn when the time came but the sentient Grimm would never be able to pass for human or Faunus and nor would those Grimm spawned within New Vale's walls. As loathe as she was to admit it Salem realised that the Creatures of Grimm alone would not be enough to win the war she intended to wage, she needed allies.

With that she folded in on herself within her throne and the Beowolves fell silent as she began to meditate, the powers of the Wizard slowing time around her as she pondered where she would find the those who would be willing and able to help her cause.

Authors Notes:

MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND ALL THAT JAZZ TO EVERYONE
So three chapters in and we're back at the academy, it's officially started.
I think I'm gonna take a break next week, I need to plan out a little further ahead for both this story and the next arc of Aegis.
I do however have Chapter 127 planned out and without giving too much away it will be a chapter that focuses on the villains; titled "Four Horsemen"
This is another one of those plot twits that I've been holding onto for literal years….This one's gonna change the rules.
So, I'll see you all in 2020 for some more antics.

But in the meantime let's summarise:
You ever had the realisation at school/college/a job on the last day or something where it hits you? "Oh I'm not going to do this again" that's a weird one.
Parental advice from Mercury must have been interesting and he was almost certainly impossible to sneak anything by.
We probably won't see much of Mistral if anything in this story, I honestly can't think of much of a reason to visit Vaccuo….until the very end (Epilogue).
Cinnabar, Diamond's ex; Team CNBR got knocked out of the last Vytal Tournament by Team FADE in the first round….man-bun, tacky tattoos, that tosser. Yeah his career as a Hunter never even made it out the gate, fuck that guy.
Nice to see that Arctus doesn't feel insecure because of Diamond's ex any more.
"I will give you actual Lien to stop talking"….remember how Merc & Em were introduced in canon?
Arctus has survived a full summer of living with Mercury and has earned as much of his approval as he's ever gonna get….it's still Mister Black though, not Mercury and definitely not Merc.
An international flat with their own cabin after spending all summer in a small apartment with Diamond's parents….you know damn well they weren't sleeping.
I feel like Helios is always gonna hold Team GORE in some level of utter disdain.
Too busy to see your friends? Welcome to adulthood, it's shit.
The Academy is grounded, I'm sure at least one student must have thought fuck it and just drove or walked there….it's like getting the Hogwarts express when you live in Scotland or the North of England, why would spend £100-200 just to go back the way you came.
I feel like Eagle would definitely be the one upset by people ignoring the traditions, she grew up not just in Hunter culture, but in Vale's Hunter culture specifically.
Hellion will find a way to make it up to Eagle, she's slick.
So Fawn is back and more of a bitch than ever….she's somewhere between the Punisher, Red Hood and Denzel Washington in Training Day; utterly corrupt and easily as violent towards anyone in her way as the organised criminals but because she's got a badge she thinks she's above reproach, and the people have been convinced to eat it all up.
"This city has been attacked by Grimm three times in as many years, that doesn't happen for no reason" and that's the root of why someone like Fawn would have appeal to the general public; there are systematic problems that are clearly being ignored and whilst her heavy handed approach will never work in the long run she's at least publicly being seen to do something.
Fawn's reasoning for the disappearances makes sense considering the facts she had.
Surprise mother fucker.
I feel like police carrying things like grenades in case of emergency isn't really too much of a stretch in this scenario; they're not really capable of dealing with Grimm in numbers any other way.
Controlled burn seems like the sensible option there.
I know it feels like I'm stressing the deaths of the background characters a lot but considering how small the class sizes are at the academies twelve students, a full team from each year is a big loss and literally everyone knew someone that died.
The aerial view of the city gives a rough idea of how bad the attack was but even then it's not a full picture because a lot of the damage is tucked away inside the Hive Towers.
Of course Felix is going to tell everyone about Corvid trying to sneak Onyx out of the hose, all younger siblings are snitches to some extent.
And I refuse to believe that Diamond choking out Arctus back in Vol.1 was not a joke that got mentioned fairly often.
You know damn well that people would throw illegal raves in the Exclusion Zone once it was cleared out.
The First year students really have got a lot to live up to.
Six new teams instead of four, three teams were lost, but there were actually five teams in Team FADE's year because Team GORE joined in second year...but then Team MUCK from Amethyst's year were expelled, so Halo Academy is actually still down a team.
I realised that I never actually gave causes of death for each of the deceased teams, so I made them suitably heroic last stands.
Neptune and his two underlings are gonna be getting some overtime this year.
Come on who saw Qrow taking the vacant teachers' spot?
So basically Qrow has Pietro's walker-chair from canon Vol.7 except it has a couple more legs and a more bug-like build.
Qrow might not have like being a teacher but I refuse to believe that he doesn't know how to control a crowd when he wants to,
I feel like Felix would be a bad leader if he didn't ask the question.
So Qrow's moved his lair to the academy; which means he and Goodwitch, two members of their little organisation are in the same place with all of their equipment….and Qrow thinks the coast is clear.
Qrow as an announcer is low-key the highlight of every Vytal tournament because he gives no fucks.
The crowds adored Eagle last time, of course she wants to go again.
So Qrow knows about the infestation, let's see how long it takes him to figure out that something's wrong.
Mr. Pancakes reigns eternal.
Not all the Grimm are dead, you didn't think it'd be that easy surely?
So Salem was planning to set up small spawning pits inside the city and that might still go ahead.
And now Salem realises that she needs more than just Grimm….wonder who she's gonna enlist, spoiler alert you've already met them, but at the same time you haven't.

Thank you to SumoSnipe and Funlander for their reviews on the last chapter.
Nothing against Team RWBY and co being in their 50s but I honestly feel like writing these characters that we've all come to love slowly slipping passed their prime and maybe health issues start cropping up is something I don't really want to think about.
Also if I do write a story about Athena-Jade and her team I feel like I run the risk of becoming too lost in layers of my own lore and inaccessible to new readers.
I was actually committed to writing FADE before Downward Spiral was finished, I just didn't have all the details ironed out when I posted "Our Happy Ever After"
I kill named characters as a direct fuck you to the red-shirt principle.
Oh yeah and if those students walk down the yellow brick road thinking that all those Hunters were heroes and bad-asses it's gonna be a real eye-opener when they look at the dates and realise that they were kids barely older than they are.
Amethyst will get her own back at some point….but yeah, Sun kinda had to do that for his own peace of mind anyway.
Of course he got the seal of approval.
Shield generators are not cheap or easy to find, remember that Corvid had to literally loot one from a downed warship. Most Bull-Heads don't have them, hell even some smaller Atlas fighters like the Baba-Jaegers don't have them; it'll be several years of saving before Team CLIR can afford to fit their ride out with its' own shielding.

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