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Chapter 140: Disorientation

The days that followed the attacks on New Vale, both the obvious assault in the form of Yang Branwen and the more insidious truth of Salem's reveal which had been kept from the general public's knowledge had been something of a frantic rush of frantic activity, pervaded over by a sense of grief and dread so intense it was almost palpable.

Vast swathes of the city had been locked down, each evacuated and heavily militarised area having an instance of the Maggot Grimm infestations at its' epicentre; as a result thousands of people had been evacuated from their homes and moved to elsewhere in the Capital city or simply to other settlements either within New Vales' territory or within settlements which fell under other Kingdoms' domain that had offered to lend their aid. Overcrowding had become an inevitable issue however, along with sudden losses of income and the general trauma of countless lives being suddenly uprooted and with them an unshakeable sense of resentment and mistrust as tensions steadily grew between the population of the Kingdom and the authorities, including Hunters, many of whom privately agreed that the current situation had led to the most hostile environment that they had ever experienced, where they were being regarded less as heroes and more as the strong arm of an unfeeling system by a considerable portion of the populace; upon hearing these concerns Qrow and Glynda had privately confided their own fears in one another, that this sense of mistrust and fear may in fact have been Salem's true intention, a far larger blow than even the vast damage that had been wrought on the cities' docks by the Chimera's attack as a sudden increase in the amount of Grimm incursions reported, the reports all seeming to converge on the Capital proved beyond any reasonable doubt that the people were responding in a way that aided the Queen of the Grimm's goals; though whether her plan was for New Vale's Hunters to be isolated and steadily picked off whilst Salem herself remained safe below the city or if she had some larger scheme at play remained to be seen.

To Felix nothing seemed quite real.

Despite the thin slivers of hope that he steadfastly and defiantly refused to let go of, the sight of both Arctus Slate and Eagle Arc's names listed as missing in action, presumed dead amongst the growing number of casualties of the latest attack on the city and hearing them mentioned in Professor Goodwitch's address to her students had broken something in him, whilst Diamond had simply not attended the speech, her mental and emotional state not being quite ready to withstand any further blows. The news of Raffia Dirge's death had been surprisingly painful to the Lion Faunus; whilst he and the diminutive berserker had long since progressed beyond their mutual open hatred for one another and their animosity had been blunted into a simple disdain and begrudging tolerance in the name of their partners' happiness Felix had never imagined that he would cry over him but he had, Raffia's passing had felt like the end of an age and the death of some final shred of innocence and naivety, after all if Raffia could be slain and Nyanza's luck could run out then truly no-one was safe.

He was distracted from such bleak thoughts by the feeling of his Scroll vibrating in his pocket, communications fortunately being unaffected by the latest tragedy and opening the device revealed that the message was from Myrtle, the biological mother that he winced upon realising he had no visited in far too long.

'Are you okay? Any news on your partner and your cousin? Will you be able to meet me today….I hate asking this but I don't want to go shopping alone, things are getting crazy out there' Felix scanned the message several times before feeling like an utter wretch as he typed out a reply

'I'm sorry I've gotta do something later so I don't think I'll be free' he chose not to answer as to whether he was okay or not as that tended to vary wildly from day to day to such an extent that he was simply not sure any more; a moment later a new message arrived

'Okay, I'll wait until Redwood gets home. Visit soon please, I miss you and so does Astra' he stared at the message for a moment before accepting that he had no reply that wouldn't sound, at least to himself like an excuse and so he pocketed the Scroll and turned his attention to what had previously held his attention.

Each of the student teams who had lost members; which was shockingly all but one of the Fourth Year teams had been offered the opportunity to stay at the Academy or go home and the remains of Team GORE had promptly returned to the Nemesis Kharybdis to grieve privately whilst Team NEON had been split, Helios staying at the campus whilst Olivine Ether understandably shared their time between the academy and visiting their homes to ensure that their families were safe; with Olivine's mother finally relocating out of the city entirely. Felix and Diamond however had felt no pull to return home, with the silver haired sniper having told her parents in a video call that she would not leave New Vale until Arctus returned and would not hear any arguments on the matter as she was sure that her fiancée was still out there somewhere. Felix simply saw no reason to return to Patch whilst his parents were still in Atlas and so had been finding means to occupy his mind and his time.

The Lightning Bug had never looked cleaner.

The Lion Faunus sat and admired Eagle's car for a while as its' creamy white paint gleamed in the lights of the campus parking lot; keeping it spotless for his partners' return was just one of the many ways that Felix was forcing himself to stay positive and remind himself that he would see her again despite how bleak the situation seemed, Diamond having taken a similar approach as he caught her staring longingly at her engagement ring or playing the bass guitar that Arctus had bought her several years ago alone on the roof.

In truth they were both hurting and no intention healing, as healing meant acceptance which was an idea they both utterly refused to entertain. With that in mind Felix produced his Scroll again and checked the time before sending a message to Diamond, who was almost certainly in Team FADE's dormitory

'They'll be here soon' help was coming and that was a reassurance he knew that his team-mate desperately needed just as much as he did.

The cells had been kept dim and Arctus's eyes had long since grown accustomed to the gloom. For several days now he and Eagle had remained almost entirely locked within their cells opposite to one another inside the settlement that they had been transported to, escorted under the armed guard of several Hunters including the seemingly resurrected Perdu 'Squish' Callows and Neon Katt; their weapons and Scrolls had been taken in what was an entirely predictable yet still infuriating turn of events although largely the two of them had been treated reasonably well by the standards of prisoners, regular food of a passable quality, bedding and access to showers; though after several days the Aura dampening collars that had been placed around their necks were beginning to irritate the skin, Arctus had noted that the collars were of an older model than those used in the Remnant he was familiar which, in conjunction with the cinema listings they had seen and the fact that Neon Katt seemed to be visibly younger than she had been at the time of her death all pointed to some truly unsettling possibilities which he and Eagle had discussed in hushed tones.

Eagle had been the one to realise that the underground settlement that they had been brought to and whose prison they had been confined within was almost certainly Mountain Glenn.

Whilst they were still clearly on the continent of Vytal and either in or close to the boundaries of what had once been the Kingdom of Vale the architecture had clearly been heavily influenced by Atlesian sensibilities and design principles used in the Hive Cities which pointed to only one possibility, one that only served to further confuse the two student Hunters as almost every citizen of Remnant had learned in school that Mountain Glenn had not only been destroyed by the Grimm before its' completion but then taken over and used as a base of operations by Adam Taurus's White Fang before being destroyed once again following the event that had come to be known simply as 'The Breach'.

Arctus racked his brains for a solution to the various logical problems that their current predicament, certain that there must be some information he was overlooking as the idea that the two of them had been hurled into another universe entirely seemed absurd, even when compared to everything else that Team FADE had experienced thus far. Letting out a defeated sigh as answers continued to elude him the Bear Faunus turned his attention to Eagle's cell and found the blonde laid flat on the ground having recently completed a set of crunches, seemingly determined to maintain her exercise routine in spite of her captivity

"How're you holding up?" Arctus asked, Eagle remained silent for a moment before answering in a breathy, winded voice

"I want Sentinel back" she admitted "I wanna fix whatever they did to him"

"I get that" Arctus admitted "I want my Scroll back" Eagle looked as though she may have intended to make a joking reply to that statement but chose not to as she saw Arctus glance at his engagement ring; the Bear Faunus clearly being more concerned with the various pictures of Diamond saved on the device than the Scroll itself, something which Eagle found herself sympathising with as she glanced down at the ring Hellion had given her.

"The Scroll wouldn't help you….they're busted" the now familiar voice preceded the sight of similarly empty space rippling like water and announced the arrival of Squish, though how long the Reptilian Faunus had been watching them whilst invisible was unknowable. Striding forwards Squish levelled Breaker at Arctus, holding the weapon in one hand whilst unlocking the door of his cell with the other

"Is that really necessary?" Arctus nodded at the adaptable firearm before gesturing to the collar around his own neck "It's not like I can fight back"

"In the very unlikely event you are who you say are I'd be an idiot to take chances" Squish countered "Besides you're a big guy, now get out. We're gonna have a talk" sensing that any further arguments would end unpleasantly Arctus rose to his feet and allowed himself to be led out of the gloomy corridor filled with largely empty cells and through the winding underground warren of a settlement, though apparently only the most secluded parts of it which would give him little real knowledge of the layout of the place, in fact the Bear Faunus was sure that they had taken several wrong turns on purpose simply yo confuse him before he was finally escorted into a small and sparsely decorated interview room which Arctus had become intimately familiar with after both he and Eagle had been questioned several times by various members of what could only be described as some kind of resistance cell.

"Sit down" Squish waited until Arctus had taken a seat at the small metallic table which had been bolted to the floor before collapsing his weapon and placing himself opposite the larger Faunus, lounging as comfortably as the chair would allow and giving a toothy sneer before leaning forward and speaking in a conspiratorial whisper

"Now between me and you, these lies you've told….they're pretty damn ballsy, I'll give you that; telling people that you're Gang's long lost son, and I'm actually your honorary uncle. It takes guts, hell some of the other people who've questioned you might actually buy it" Squish leaned closer and his voice became harsh

"But here's the thing kid, I don't. You and I know damn well Gangrel Slate and Weiss Schnee didn't secretly hook up before he killed her at the Vytal Tournament; so let's cut the shit….who are you really?"

"Uncle Squish listen-" Arctus trailed off, seeing how the older Faunus's eyes flashed at the form of address before continuing "I know it sounds crazy, I know that but I'm telling you the truth….Eagle and I are lost, we're from somewhere where things happened differently, my team were-"

"Your team, you mean this one?" Squish chuckled before producing a Scroll that Arctus instantly recognised as his Eagle's, opening the device to display an older picture of Team FADE "See here's where you fucked up kid….This base might not look like much but Neon and I were both deep cover, we've got access to a lot of White Fang records. See that Lion Faunus, that's Solaris Mars; he was part of the Vaccuan Branch-"

"That's Felix" Arctus interrupted "My cousin, where I'm from he was adopted by Blake Belladonna and her wife Yang Xiao Long" Squish glowered at him before adding

"And as for this one, well we don't have a name for her….best we can get is a partial match on facial recognition….comes back as Emerald Sustrai"

"Yeah Dee does look a lot like her Mum" Arctus admitted "That's Diamond Sustrai-Black….my partner, my fiancée"

"Oh you're good" Squish admitted "Fluent under pressure, the White Fang set I was part of would have loved you back in the day….This Scroll wasn't protected at all, but yours….well that thing's tough to get into without your fingerprints-"

"Yeah, because I'm the heir to the Schnee Dust Company" Arctus explained "If I leave a Scroll lying around there's photographs and conversations that'll be on the front page the next day….and pictures of Diamond that nobody gets to-" he trailed off, looking sheepish as that last comment whilst Squish merely looked unimpressed.

"So you wouldn't mind giving me your fingerprint to unlock that Scroll?" the Reptilian asked wearing a look of bored satisfaction, certain that he'd caught his prisoners' lies.

"Not at all" Arctus held out a hand and couldn't help but enjoy the look of confusion on Squish's face as the older Faunus produced a small kit to make a cast of Arctus's thumb from one of his many pockets. Squish remained silent for a moment before leaning close again

"I'm gonna level with you here kid….I don't think you're White Fang" the admission confused Arctus and he found himself wondering what kind of angle to prepare himself for, Squish merely shook his head and continued "White Fang have got some old Atlesian toys and they've done some pretty decent work of their own in terms of equipment….but these Scrolls, these are different to anything I've seen before and yet they just won't work for some reason; that robot of your friends', the parts look neater than anything the Fang make, like it came off of an assembly line. There's clearly something going on here, a new player in the game….all I wanna know is who do you work for and are they friendly to the Allied Remnant Resistance Movement?" Arctus considered the question for a moment before giving the only answer that he could and knowing full well that it would not be well received

"I'm a member of Team FADE, Fourth Year student at the Halo Academy of New Vale. License number-"

"I tried" Squish interrupted with an annoyed sigh "I really did"

"Sorry Uncle Squish….All I can give you is the truth" the smaller of the two Faunus sneered at form of address before leaning back in his chair once more

"Y'know what fuck it, I'll bite" he shrugged and gave Arctus an almost predatory smile "If you're who you say you are prove it, tell me something that might convince me" once again Arctus was left racking his brains in search of an answer, it seemed obvious that whatever had changed in this timeline had done so around the time of the war against Salem or perhaps a little earlier; meaning that at least in theory anything from before that time should have remained unchanged

"When they were in Sienna Khan's orphanage in Eisenstadt Dritte Blake Belladonna was scared of Grimm under the bed as a little kid, so my Dad, Adam Taurus and some of the older kids put a big stuffed Grimm under the bed then pulled it out and burned it when she had nightmares"

"Gang told that story all the time" Squish snarled, though his faltered and Arctus could see that on some level his uncle, or at least his equivalent from this Remnant had been rattled and the Bear Faunus decided to press the advantage

"How about the fact that your Mum had a drug problem and that when she kicked you out of the house for the first time when you were twelve my Granddad found you crying outside his apartment-"

Arctus's eyes widened as he found himself staring down the barrel of Breaker, the weapon held in a suddenly trembling hand as Squish took several ragged breaths and visibly wrestled with the urge to shoot the Bear Faunus where he sat.

"I'm gonna walk you back to your cell" Squish breathed out as he collapsed the weapon "And if you so much as breath too loud I'll put a round in your skull. We tried to be reasonable with you, now it goes up the chain"

Arctus allowed himself to be led back to his cell and despite the ominousness of his uncles' words found himself oddly hopeful, perhaps he had shaken Squish enough to listen; the chances were admittedly slim but those seemed to be the odds that Team FADE always worked the best with.

The journey from Menagerie to New Vale had taken far longer than expected.

Firstly Team CLIR's Bull-head transport, carrying Ruby and Nickel had left the Rose family home and flown to the small airship terminal that the coastal settlement of Port Alistair boasted, one of few such facilities upon the island. The attack on New Vale had, naturally thrown the flight schedule into utter disarray and delayed the group; it had been a little over a day before Team CLIR had been allowed to load their transport, dubbed 'Old Unreliable' into an airship bound for home only for more unexpected delays to occur.

With news of the attack on the Capital city of one of the four Kingdoms, along with the evidence of a rogue Hunters' involvement and the death of a student whose name was known across Remnant due to his involvement in the previous Vytal Tournament Grimm attacks had been on a rise all across Remnant as emotions spiked, with the continent of Vytal being the worst affected; the airship had been forced to make an unexpected landing in Central Vaccuo due to a swarm of airborne monsters assaulting a settlement on the desert Kingdoms' side of the border that lay on the airships' flight path. Vaccuan Hunters had already deployed close to the area had intervened and the airship had taken to the skies soon enough, though in the intermittent time Ruby had reported to the Vaccuan perimeter wall to offer services against the steady waves of Grimm that crashed against the cities' defences; partially out of a sense of duty and partially because she needed to get Nickel away from Corvid before the two of them came to blows as the tension between them mounted within the confined space.

However just as they drew close to the Capital of New Vale the Creatures of Grimm had made their presence known once again.

A flock of Teryx, slender wiry things with bat-like membranous wings adorning a body that best seemed to resemble some prehistoric reptile, complete with taloned claws and rows of jagged fangs had been descending on one of the major thoroughfares into New Vale, dozens upon dozens of the pack-hunting beasts swooping from the clouds to dive screaming towards the traffic, largely freight trucks delivering goods to and from the outlying settlements; with the airships' approach however the Teryx flock had doubled around and broke into various streams of living darkness which ripped through the air towards the larger potential meal.

Team CLIR, Ruby and Nickel had sprung into action.

"Coming up on the hostiles now" Iris warned, the servos of her golden prosthetic arm whirring as she gripped the controls of the craft.

"I can have this over in seconds" Ruby noted as she fitted an armoured mask in place which resembled a black and crimson skull and whose eye-sockets featured tactical displays designed by Rover Tan to capable of matching the speed of her Semblance before raising her hood and drawing Crescent Rose but not deploying the weapon within the cramped cockpit.

"No" Corvid shook her head her own cybernetics whirring as she frowned, the pale blue light of her prosthetic left eye flickering as it adjusted behind her eyepatch "This close to New Vale….where we think Salem could still be? I don't like this Aunt Ruby….it feels like a setup"

"She makes a good point chief" Nickel admitted from her position behind them, slumped lazily against the frame of the transport

"Okay what's the plan?" Ruby asked, accepting her nieces' reasoning and taking a moment to be proud of the Huntress that she'd grown into.

"Whatever you're doing you've got a few seconds to decide" Rusty drawled from beside Iris in the gunners' position.

"I'll take the Omega Wing and handle it" Corvid answered simply.

"Good idea, just one thing wrong with it" Nickel flashed a cheeky grin "I call dibs" Corvid watched as the android with dyed black and green hair bolted to rear of the Bull-head and almost ripped the hatch open before promptly throwing herself out and deploying her wings with an exclamation of pure joy. Letting out an annoyed growl Corvid bolted after her and activated the arm mounted control for her own weapon as she she leapt out into the air.

Suddenly she was falling and the spike of primal fear as nothing but air surrounded her seemed to draw the gaze of the incoming Grimm just as Rusty began firing the Bull-heads' limited weapons into the flock

"Omega Wing inbound" the familiar synthesized voice assured her, a moment later she felt the thud of her weapon impacting against her back as the drone began to unfurl and transform "Combat mode activated" the visored helmet of the Omega Wing slid into place and its' displays flickered into life, with Corvid opening fire with her twin rail-guns the moment they did so and tearing winged horrors asunder with each shot before rocketing forwards and deploying her arm mounted blades, leaving contrails of obsidian smoke behind her as she reduced Grimm to nothing but fading mist.

She was brought to an abrupt halt, almost somersaulting in mid-air as emerald coloured light lanced passed her to blast through the skull of an approaching Teryx

"That one nearly had you buddy" Nickel laughed

"You nearly had me!" Corvid shot back irritably

"Get good" the android laughed before the rotating components of her arm-mounted photon weapons collapsed and she streaked through the air and let out a child-like laugh of pure glee as she showcased her prowess again, this time by driving her elbow into the chest of a Grimm at such speed that the monster was almost imploded by the force of the collision. Corvid rolled her eyes at the androids' antics as she continued to dispose of the monsters swarming around them in needlessly convoluted ways, weaving around them so that they crashed into one another in their attempts to seize her or simply dismembering them with her wings until there was only a single Teryx left.

Corvid waited until Nickel was almost upon it before firing her rail-guns and snatching the victory from the androids' grasp.

"Fuck you buddy" the android grumbled as she span and pouted in the air with her hands on her hips

"Remember, I'm a star….an Asteryx even" Corvid smirked before flying back into Team CLIR's Bull-head, her battle-suit peeling away from her body and collapsing into its' secondary mode and with Nickel close behind her.

"Situation handled" Corvid announced

"Well done" Ruby nodded "The Airship is flying into the city without us; we've just been cleared for landing at the Academy; Felix is already at the landing pad" that news was music to Corvid's ears, after all she had not seen her brother in far too long.

The sound of footsteps echoed throughout the hallway, the footsteps odd in that they were at least partially mechanical in nature.

General Winter Schnee cut an imposing figure as always as she marched through an Atlesian ship that was not her own; cybernetic leg clanking and whirring faintly with each step she took.

Upon receiving word from Specialist Commander Chiffon regarding the trespasser upon the Gespenst she had been incredulous to say the least, though as further reports from Qrow and his allies in New Vale reached her it became more and more clear to her that this was not some freak trick of rogue science or some as yet unseen Semblance; Salem had returned and with her she had brought Adam Taurus, or some version of him and unleashed one of the greatest terrorist threats Atlas had ever endured upon the icy Kingdom once again.

She reached the quarters that the crimson haired Bull Faunus had been assigned and was unable to keep herself from letting out a noise of pure disgust at the luxury afforded to her fathers' murderer, even if the entrance was sealed from the outside and flanked by fully a dozen Atlesian Knights of a model whose existence had yet to be disclosed to the general command structure; running on an artificial intelligence far more advanced than the usual mass produced machines and with fluid, eerily human movements the automatons nodded in recognition and stepped aside to allow Winter access. The reason that Adam Taurus had been given quarters rather than a cell in the brig was a simple one, yet that simplicity made it no less difficult to accept the galling fact; the Atlesian military could not contain him even if they wanted to. This Adam was far more dangerous even than the one that had taken over fully half of the Kingdom twenty years ago, his Semblance capable of decimating any prison he found himself in which along with the Faunus's claims that whilst he intended to cooperate he would simply destroy the Gespenst in its' entirety and kill everyone onboard if any attempts were made to restrict his Aura had forced Gangrel Slate's successor and former First Mate to think quickly and offer a compromise; Adam would speak with Winter first.

"If you're going to come in then do so, standing outside the door grinding your teeth only annoys us both" Winter's eye twitched at the sound of Adam's voice from behind the door, older than he had been when he had died and as deep, oily and condescending whilst filled with barely contained hatred as he had been on the day that he had impaled Jacques Schnee on the steps of Schnee Manor.

Winter unlocked the door and stepped inside.

"Taurus" her tone was clipped and measured, hiding as much of the shock of seeing the militant back from the dead and clad in a simple button down shirt and pants as he sat upon the bunk whilst reading a copy of Blake Belladonna's book, stacked on the dresser beside him were several newspapers and paperwork which Winter saw at a glance included several theses written by Weiss regarding the implementation of the eco-friendly synthetic Dust that had become her defining achievement and redefined the Schnee name for a generation.

"I understand your niece….Gangrel's son has been reported missing after Salem's attack on New Vale" Adam set the book down and met Winter's gaze, with both of his eyes in tact unlike his counterpart that Winter had known "I can only offer my genuine condolences for that and assure you that I had no knowledge of it"

"Is that why you wish to meet with Professor Slate?" Winter arched a thin eyebrow "To offer your condolences?"

"Among other things" Adam nodded earnestly "The Gangrel I knew was my brother until the day you murdered him, is it really so strange to you that I'd want to see him again Schnee? Even if I'm left confused by the choices he's made here"

"I….murdered Gangrel?" Winter breathed out, her collected facade cracking in an instant at the thought of such a heinous act.

"He beheaded your sister in front of an audience to draw the Grimm into the stadium, you lured him into a trap, teleporting himself into a rigged room which you'd modified to act as a giant Aura dampening cell and filled with explosives; I murdered you and took great pleasure in doing so….how is Captain Skye by the way? I'll admit Matte became the kind of nemesis that every hero or villain dreams of having after seeing your body"

"And which do you believe yourself to be, the hero or the villain?" Winter asked, trying to ignore how ill she suddenly felt; she was an Atlesian Specialist and trained to be the best of the best, ready for any eventuality but the idea of her sister being gruesomely murdered by the man she had married in this timeline was truly sickening to her.

"All the best villains think of themselves as heroes, we can both say that about ourselves" the amused smile left Adam's face "But we're not here to debate the nature of good and evil are we?"

"I'm here to see if Adam Taurus still presents a threat to Atlesian security" Winter glowered as her reply drew genuine, bellowing laughter from Taurus

"Whether it's Atlas or New Menagerie the one thing that I have always have always strived for is a better future for my Kingdom and the Faunus of Remnant" he sneered "I can see why that made me a threat to your security"

"What's Salem planning?"

"My cooperation isn't for free General, I'll speak with Gangrel" Winter paused for a moment, searching for an angle to approach this conversation from before finally settling on one

"Why should I believe you? Why would you abandon the Kingdom you created to come to this Remnant, at Salem's side no less if not to expand an empire?"

"I was betrayed" Adam answered simply, eyes flashing with crimson light at the memory "I was to be assassinated and my Kingdom bombed into submission….I took the offer to restart my work here, once I got here I saw that there was no need"

"No need?"

"Equality and peace….I never thought that my people could have both Schnee, so I took equality; peace had cost us too much already. This Remnant is everything I never dared to hope that mine could be, I won't watch it burn….If everything I've done in my own Remnant amounts to nothing then fine, let me help protect this one, it's something worth protecting" Winter studied the Faunus's scarred and lined face for any sign of betrayal, scrutinising every miniscule flicker in his expression and shift in his body language until she came to a conclusion that shocked and appalled her.

He was telling the truth.

"You'll get your meeting with Professor Slate" Winter finally nodded, knuckles cracking as she spoke "It seems that we are, for the moment at least on the same side" with that she turned on her heel, making the calculated mistake of turning her back to the Faunus and half expecting him to take advantage of the opening, only for his smooth voice to follow her as she left

"Although I'm sure you'll be able to justify it yourself when you inevitably try to kill me" Adam noted with a damnably amused look about him which Winter chose not to respond to.

He was probably right after all, even if she hadn't made her final decision on the matter yet.

Anyone who saw Helios would notice, if they paid him more than a passing glance that his armour and weapons had changed.

The former heir to the Nikosi tribe had taken the twisted mirror of Pyrrha Nikos's remains beyond the walls of New Vale and granted her dying request by giving her a true Nikosi funeral pyre, though he had done so without making any effort to contact his mother or any other member of his people for the sake of both their peace of mind and the sake of the woman he considered to be the one true Pyrrha Nikos. The Invincible Girl of Mistral who had laid down her life for the people of Remnant was one of the great heroes of the Nikosi despite her being born outside of the tribe and her saga was one told to Nikosi children, as such Helios would simply not allow her legacy to be poisoned by the pretender he had slain; he would take no new tribal markings to remember the battle against her and take no glory from it, he would shoulder the burden of the knowledge alone.

He had taken her weapons and armour for himself as compensation however, by right of conquest.

The choice to melt down Olympus Enforcer had been a difficult one to make but ultimately Helios was at peace with it, he had crafted his weapon with Milo and Akuo in mind and in truth the person who originally forged that sword and shield was somebody that Helios accepted no longer existed and whom he was honestly happy to have grown beyond, a man too weighted down by his own pride and expectations to truly find himself. He carried Milo and Akuo as his own now and his armour once again included a chest-plate, etched with ornate Nikosi glyphs and iconography. There had also been a not inconsiderable amount of metal left over and whilst the material the Nikosi used for their weapons and armour was almost sacred to them in its' significance, there were still smiths in all of Remnants' Kingdoms who could be required to treat it with its' due respect, most of them children of the Tribe born outside of it like Pyrrha herself had been; Helios had sold the leftover metal to one such smith and given the money to Nyanza's family on Patch.

As he looked at his partners' unconscious form it still felt as though it were far from enough.

"He'll be okay" Helios felt fingers lacing through his own as Felix's voice reassured him "My tail, Corey's eye my Mum's arm….new body parts are practically a fashion statement on Patch" the Lion Faunus managed a weak chuckle and Helios felt the corners of his mouth being tugged into a smile despite himself whilst Corvid loomed over the stasis tube the held the Feline Faunus's unconscious form, which was still being operated on constantly by teams of doctors as the process of removing the ever expanding Grimm tissue that he had been infected with continued without end.

Helios was grateful for the sense of community and protectiveness that those native to Patch had for one another, Helios had spent hours watching his partner in the silent hope that he might stir and been surprised when he had been joined not only by his own team-mates, Felix and Diamond, though the sniper was currently absent and Nyanza's parents but also Amethyst Wukong, Grease Thunderbird of Team GRAY along with his partner and Nyanza's ex-girlfriend Razzmatazz, whose lipstick currently stained the stasis tube and a handful of other students of the various academies from Patch.

"We need him" Helios sighed eventually "The world has lost its' mind and Nyanza's brand of insanity is the only thing that can help us now" both Felix and Corvid found themselves doubled over as they howled with laughter, the rarity of Helios's jokes combined with their stoic and deadpan delivery always making them all the ore effective.

They were forced to compose themselves by the sound of a throat being cleared behind them.

"Professor Bronzewing" Corvid nodded and straightened herself up as though she had been caught doing something untoward, the old habit returning as the mere months she had spent away from the academy proved far too little to break it.

"Miss Xiao Long, a pleasure to see you….Your work on Grimm migration patterns was exemplary" Dove Bronzewing stepped into the secluded room which Nyanza had been transported to, resembling a laboratory beneath the campus more than a medical wing and Felix had raised the unsettling notion that this may have been where Pantheon had once been housed. The Grimm Studies Professor had exchanged his customary heavy armour for a lab-coat and was flanked by a group of similarly clad men and women whose uniforms bore Atlesian insignias

"Can we help you with something?" Felix asked, suddenly defensive.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave….this is now a restricted area I'm afraid" Dove sighed; in response Corvid planted herself firmly between Nyanza's unconscious body and the scientists and made a show of activating her Semblance

"Then you're gonna have to move me"

"Corvid be reasonable" Dove demanded irritably "We're here to help him….do you really think I would harm my students?"

"How restricted?" Helios took a position next to Corvid and tried to judge the situation as carefully as possible "Swear to me that he won't be kept from his parents….they've suffered enough" Dove nodded in understanding before silently turning to the Atlesian scientists that he would be working alongside in his endeavours, one of whom simply shrugged.

"I understand your concerns" Dove finally admitted "And arrangements will be made" Helios relented and allowed Felix to lead him out of the once hidden, and frankly sinister laboratory, the two of them silently urging Corvid to follow them which she thankfully did with no further argument.

"Been back five minutes and you're already starting problems with the professors" Felix sighed "Welcome back Corey"

"In her defence" Helios noted as the three of them made their way towards the academy proper "I think it's safe to say that we have greater concerns than detentions at this point"

Felix found himself entirely unable to argue with that.

"Qrow, I asked if you're okay?" Glynda's tone was on the verge of being snappish yet was still clearly concerned as she addressed one of her oldest surviving friends and allies.

The two of them sat alone in the Headmistresses' office, which now more than ever felt as though it were the base of operations from which some vast and ultimately unwinnable war was being waged; not that Glynda would voice such opinions aloud, despite Neptune's best efforts to convince her to seek counselling the fact remained that she was of a generation of Hunters who simply persisted and continued onwards in the face of any adversity.

"I haven't been okay for a while Glynda" Qrow admitted sullenly, though Goodwitch inhaled and found no trace of the stench of alcohol that had once pervaded around the man which she counted as a victory on Qrow's behalf even if he would never see it as such.

"I understand that Ruby arrived today, along with Team CLIR….I understand that it must be hard to have your family around you when-"

"She isn't dead Glynda. Neither of them are" Qrow's voice contained the merest hints of a growl, a faint warning that lines were close to being overstepped "Felix's logic makes sense, if Salem is using Oz-the Wizard's powers as well as her own then that portal has sent Eagle and Arctus somewhere; we already have proof of her recruiting allies from other Remnants….Winter is moving to investigate another possible case"

"I see….you think they may have answers?" Glynda didn't dare tell Qrow not to hope too much, it would be unspeakably cruel to the man who had already lost so much.

"If not about the mechanics of how multiple Remnants work then at least something more immediate….like whatever Salem is planning" Qrow let out a sigh as his mechanical chair wandered to the window its' multiple legs and allowed the grizzled veteran to stare out at the campus below. The sun was setting over New Vale though the academy was as active as ever with the students who shed the uniforms of their various academies; several teams were engaging in some friendly competition in the outdoors training area whilst other students helped the construction and maintenance teams in repairing the damage caused by the battle against Pyrrha Nikos and several others simply lounged around the grounds either in groups or couples.

Eagle should have been here and Qrow would do everything in his power to see her and Arctus returned home, in the meantime however there were other concerns

"Ruby's old house is in the process of being sold, I still have keys for my old place though and I doubt Eagle would mind Ruby or Team CLIR staying there….Corvid could just as easily go back to Patch but there's not much point at the moment" Qrow's expression darkened "Ruby brought Nickel with her and I don't want her in the academy"

"I see" Glynda nodded simply, there was obviously a lot being left unsaid though she knew that it would be fruitless to force the issue and instead merely remained silent until Qrow was forthcoming.

"I don't think she's a threat to the students, Ruby wouldn't have brought her along if she wasn't entirely sure and I trust Ruby's judgement" Qrow assured her before looking away "But seeing her through a screen is one thing….She broke my back Glynda, she's the reason I can't walk any more and she hopped off the transport with my family, laughing and joking….it's infuriating"

"If you ever need someone to talk to-"

"I'll be fine" Qrow cut across her with a shake of his head, equalling Glynda's own stubborn resilience "We both know we're going to need the best fighters we can find sooner rather than later, Nickel is gonna be one of them….sacrifices have to be made and my peace of mind is a small price"

"If you're sure-"

"I am" he grunted "You called me for something important?" Glynda nodded and began shuffling through the various items of paperwork that littered her desk leaving it in a rare state of disarray

"I did" she finally confirmed "The Council has made a decision regarding the Vytal Festival" this made Qrow's stomach lurch although he couldn't quite articulate why, beyond a general sense of unease caused by the notion of politicians who had lived sheltered, cosy lives interfering in the business of Hunters.

"Winter has full trust in our capabilities, however the heads of Haven and Shade Academies have petitioned their own Councils who have in turn petitioned New Vale to cancel the Vytal Tournament"

"Surely they wouldn't be that stupid?" Qrow demanded "I don't like the idea of business as usual and pretending everything is normal either but we both know that the backlash of cancelling it could trigger another breach-"

"I understand fully" Goodwitch answered him, her own expression hard "But the choice has been made and I was outvoted. Concessions will be made, New Vale will be reimbursed financially and that Lien will go to the reconstruction efforts, the next Vytal Tournament will still be held here; potentially in a year but as of right now the Vytal Festival has been cancelled….the other academies are expecting their students to be returned to them within the week"

"I see" Qrow slumped back in his seat as his ruined back would allow and pondered; this decision was one that would almost certainly have consequences.

He only hoped that he could figure out what they would be before it was too late.

Squish once again walked through the hallways of the secluded area of Mountain Glenn that served as a prison in the rare cases that one was deemed necessary; though this time he was joined by Neon Katt, his fiancée of several years as the two of them had both agreed that they would marry when the war finally ended, the promise of that better future having been the only thing that kept them sane at times, especially during the years that Neon had been acting as an undercover operative within the Atlesian, or New Menagerie as it had come to be called branch of the White Fang; working closely with Adam Taurus himself whilst plotting his downfall and slipping information to the Allied Remnant Resistance and assassinating key members of the organisation which had grown to become a Kingdom.

"You okay?" Neon asked, quiet concern on her face as she examined Squish's and saw that the Reptilian Faunus was wearing a glum and mildly haunted expression that she had become painfully familiar with since the war had begun, he told far fewer terrible jokes nowadays it seemed

"Yeah, I'm fine" Squish kept his eyes forwards, hoping that the obvious lie might somehow be more successful that way however it was not to be, Neon knew him better than anyone else who was still alive after all.

"You're thinking about….the operation again?" the mission to take Mountain Glenn back from the White Fang and give the people of Vale somewhere to flee from, somewhere that might be safe from Salem had changed Squish. He had been a deep cover operative at the time, despising the inequality that the Faunus had been shown by the Kingdoms but knowing that Adam Taurus's campaign would only lead to the senseless slaughter of countless millions of people, Faunus included and so he had aided what remained of Vale's military in storming the base; doing things that he refused to speak about even to Neon and even a decade later.

"Nah" Squish answered, telling the truth this time "I'm just worried….I don't like any of this; Grimm I can deal with, White Fang I can deal with, the different A double R factions not playing nice together and the Anima Tribes getting braver and travelling further out I can deal with….whatever this mess is, this is new"

"I know what you mean" Neon admitted with a nod as she slipped her hand into his and leaned close enough to kiss his cheek, stealing the brief moment the way they'd stolen countless others.

"I mean I'd dismiss it all if it wasn't for that tech they've got 'cos it sounds ridiculous" the feline continued "But that robot shield, it has Poly-Tech serial numbers; I recognise the pattern but they don't match up to anything….the numbers are all way too high, like they're for an order-"

"That won't be made for years, which fits with the stories they're telling" Squish finished with a derisive snort "They're good, but Poly-Tech is still gone" the destruction of the robotics company had been a crushing blow to Atlas's attempts to reclaim its' territory from the White Fang

"The blonde girl, Eagle….she actually cried when she heard about Antonia Arc….she says that's her Mum" Neon couldn't help but look a little disconcerted at this, war was one thing but watching a young woman break down sobbing was viscerally uncomfortable in an entirely different way that had made her feel like the villain. The two of them continued onwards until Squish spoke again, his voice hushed and conspiratorial

"What gets me though is…..what's 'he' doing here, who called it in?"

"I….Shit, honestly I don't know, it can't have gone that far up the chain that fast" Neon admitted "You think this is a set-up or something?"

"Honestly I think that Neo Politan resurfacing and deciding to kill us all would make more sense than whatever is going on here" Squish snorted "But it's weird y'know, these two turn up with Scrolls that look too advanced but don't work, a pet robot with Poly-Tech serials and talking about how they're from another Remnant, then he turns up….you know that he can do some weird stuff"

"It sounds like you're buying it more than you admit" Neon noted, sticking her tongue out and winking at him

"Yeah well….the kid knows stuff that he shouldn't" Squish grumbled "And Oum damn it he looks like Gang, anyone can see that" Neon made a wordless sound of agreement and the two continued closer towards their destination, stepping away from one another and affecting an air of professionalism; deciding that whatever the truth about these newcomers was and whatever knowledge they had already acquired by unknown means giving them more possible openings to exploit was unwise. As they stepped into the row of cells which house Arctus Slate and Eagle Arc Squish's fingers tightened ever so slightly around the grip of Breaker whilst Neon's rainbow coloured Aura began to shimmer faintly around her; ignoring the obvious threat Eagle, for as far as anyone could tell that was her real name pressed herself against the bars

"What's going on?" she demanded; Squish regarded her for a moment before answering

"You're off to see the Wizard"

Authors Notes:

Of course we're ending the first chapter of the Volume on a cliffhanger.
So, welcome to Vol.11; the penultimate volume of this story….which has very nearly reached its' three year anniversary, it feels like we're in the endgame now.
Also I took a break to plan last week, but I still wrote a little something else; if you haven't read "Atlas Declassified: Hex-Code" yet then go give that a glance, it's the first in a trilogy that I'll finish off as and when I get time.

But anyway, let's summarise shall we:
Come on they're not gonna tell everyone about Salem, steadily increasing Grimm intelligence is one thing; she's something else entirely.
Ah the whole city lock-down and crisis scenario…..totally not me processing real world events, no whatever do you mean?
Qrow and Glynda's concerns are definitely valid; because the one key difference between our world and Remnant is on Remnant the authorities have to care about the population to some extent.
Yeah Felix and Diamond are suffering; I was originally gonna have Diamond in this scene but there's only so much heartbreaking shit I can write before it gets draining.
Yeah, Raffia dying really is the end of an era….Team GORE were the first antagonists of the story and Raffia was the first one any of Team FADE interacted with.
Yeah, I actually realised whilst writing this chapter that we haven't seen Myrtle and Astra in far too long (Especially since I'm committed to Astra being in the epilogue) but I will try and correct that.
Felix cleaning Eagle's car….because if he came home and saw the Killer-Bee looking dusty he'd be livid.
So, the resistance movement that Squish and Neon are part of is hiding out in Mountain Glenn.
Arctus and Diamond really are the ultimate battle-couple….separating them is bad news for everyone involved.
Okay, Squish comes off like a bit of a dick in this chapter but….can you blame him really? Look at this from his perspective, it's utter nonsense.
Solaris Mars; Felix's birth name….so in this timeline he was part of the Vaccuan White Fang and since he was referred to in the past tense, is likely dead.
Of course Arctus's Scroll is well protected.
Of all the private information he could have brought up to Squish that was probably not the most sensible choice.
Ironwood said in Vol.2 that travel between the Kingdoms had gotten difficult even for Atlas so I definitely think that a large scale attack would have ramifications for the rest of Remnant as Grimm activity spiked.
I love the Teryx from Vol.7 and I've been waiting for a chance to use them.
Corvid was wrong about it being a setup this time, but you can't fault her logic.
Y'know when Iron Man goes out the window in Avengers and has his armour form around him; yeah Corey just did that.
Corvid and Nickel snarking each other mid-fight whilst on the same team was great and you know it.
There was no way Winter was going to allow Adam to meet her family without seeing him herself first; also in Downward Spiral Adam and Winter never really faced off and I wanted to correct that, as different as this version of Adam is.
Adam told the Atlesian Military Complex "I'll wait….oh and I'll order room service while I'm here"
Adam just casually spilling tea and throwing Winter off balance all while being a completely pretentious dick.
"Equality and peace….I never thought that my people could have both Schnee, so I took equality; peace had cost us too much already" this is the central part of how I write Adam; this story is a continuation of Downward Spiral which, since it was started in the pre Vol. Hiatus featured an Adam that was twisted and bitter, but was written more as a fanatic and completely devoted to a cause than just a creepy stalker of an abusive ex.
So, it's official then; Adam is switching sides.
So Helios has got a full set of armour again, he's gotten rid of his old weapon; he's carrying Milo and Akuo and he gave a decent amount of money to Nyanza's parents.
Everyone loves Nyanza, he's gonna wake up to a mountain of get well soon cards.
"The world has lost its' mind and Nyanza's brand of insanity is the only thing that can help us now" you know it's crazy when Helios is making jokes.
Okay the whole going on the defensive thing was probably dumb but let's be honest,, every single one of this kids is grieving and dealing with PTSD.
Don't worry though, it's not just for angst; the Dove Bronzewing plot-line will have some relevance.
Well Qrow's staying focused and staying motivated, that's something at least.
Come on, Qrow's allowed to be pissed at the sight of Nickel.
These old Hunters though….get therapy for fuck sake.
So the tournament is cancelled….and we know that the tournament would have been part of Salem's plans, so the question is; what happens now? And I can assure you that you'll find out next chapter.
Squish and Neon are cute together.
Had to throw in some little bits of the lore and history of this Remnant.
A double R, Allied Remnant Resistance.
No Eagle Arc in this timeline either…..which made our Eagle cry.
'He'….yes we're playing the pronoun game.
"You're off to see the Wizard" there was literally no other way I could have ended this chapter, none.

Thank you to SumoSnipe, LDOLDAL and Funlander for their reviews on the last chapter.
With a spoon indeed lol.
Infinity War, Endgame….something like that; it just depends on who dies before then.
Hell yeah Squish is back.
Technically Rover invented proto-Booster, Squish just sold the coke he used to make it.
OwO…..indeed

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