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I am making no money from this.

Chapter 144: Out Of Reach

The sky above Halo Academy was entirely hidden from view by thick clouds of a dull grey the colour of iron and the air was filled with a fine, misty drizzle and a pressure that threatened a much larger thunderstorm to come.

Diamond remained sat on the roof regardless.

The spot directly above Team FADE's dormitory which they accessed from the window had become one of their less frequent haunts over the years but to the silver haired sniper it held many cherished memories and she perched with the hood of her black sweatshirt pulled low over her face and defiantly ignored the fact that her clothes were becoming steadily more sodden as she tried her best to clutch at those memories whilst her fingers danced across the strings of the bass guitar that Arctus had bought her two years ago.

She tried to focus on happier times, even managing to crack a small smile as she recalled the time during their first year at the academy that she and Arctus had fallen asleep in this very spot after class only for the pale Bear Faunus to wake up thoroughly sunburned, the sight of his skin almost glowing pink leaving Diamond laughing hysterically; or the countless times when they had first started dating that the two had made their way onto the roof to make out, Felix and Eagle who hadn't unlocked her Semblance at the time having a more difficult time climbing making them less likely to follow.

Despite her best efforts however she found her thoughts being dragged downwards, each throb and twinge of muscles that were still sore from being so casually thrown aside in the fight against the Chimera taking her back to the battle below the city which only made the deep, aching sadness within her even more difficult to ignore as she realised; eyes screwing shut whilst a bitter sounding laugh escaped her that if they had managed to apply just a little more pressure they would have been able to overcome the Chimera's immense power, if Arctus and Eagle had been with them they would have won. She forced herself to focus on what few positives she could find and reassured herself that no matter how dire the situation seemed now that it was clear Salem's reach and power far outstripped what Qrow had expected, they were pushing back against the darkness and that defeating Salem would see the Wizards' powers in the hands of someone else; making it the key to rescuing Arctus and Eagle from wherever they had been banished to. She also knew that there were plans she had not been made aware of coalescing into something tangible and that it was only a matter of time before a decisive counter-attack could be mounted and the battle with Yang Branwen had proven beyond doubt that even their greatest threat could be overcome.

Diamond was forced to admit, if only privately that the sight of the monstrous woman bleeding and pained was one that gave her far more pleasure than was probably healthy.

"You planning on staying up here til you rust?" the sound of Felix's voice made Diamond's fingers halt on the strings of her guitar, primarily so that she could show the Faunus that the hand of her cybernetic left arm was covered by a glove, bringing this fact to his attention with a rude hand gesture.

"Yeah love you too Dee" he snorted as he sat beside her, treading cautiously on the slick, wet tiles "You okay?"

"Yeah dude, just planning on murdering your mum" Diamond snorted with a roll of her eyes and sarcasm dripping from every syllable only for Felix to respond with an eye-roll of his own, though he made no effort to hide his laughter before replying

"You know I used to stomp people out for saying a lot less than that on Patch right?" he noted and Diamond merely shrugged, though she certainly did remember the much more volatile and hot-headed young man that her friend had been when he had first arrived at the academy along with the various stories she had heard from Felix himself along with Corvid and Nyanza which had detailed the various times he had risked expulsion from Patch or only avoided trouble with the law due to Sun Wukong being the one to break up a fight. The two fell into a peaceful silence for a few moments before Diamond spoke up again

"Are you okay Dude, I know it can't have been easy fighting….well your Mum?" Felix nodded silently and took a second to consider his words before he replied.

"Yeah….I think I'd have frozen up if we hadn't known about her beforehand" he admitted gently "We all knew we were probably gonna have to face her at some point, I've had time to prepare myself for it" Diamond supposed that was reasonable and nodded in understanding.

"They're gonna be here in a few hours" Felix stated and Diamond realised that this was what he had climbed onto the roof to tell her. Qrow had informed the two of them that Winter had deployed an experimental transport that would, theoretically be able to cross the blockade created by Salem's Grimm spires and aboard it were both of the Lion Faunus's mothers, Arctus's parents and the third and final person Salem had pulled from an alternate Remnant, Adam Taurus. The news that the Faunus militant who had been instrumental in the destruction of Old Vale garnered far less shock or outrage from the two of them it might have in other circumstances, Felix had been primarily focused on the fact that his mothers were returning; a fact that brought both relief and fresh concerns whilst Diamond simply found her stomach clenching and a cold, sinking feeling every time she considered facing Weiss and Gangrel

"They don't blame you" the Lion Faunus stated bluntly, intruding on her darkening thoughts and brooking no argument the moment he saw her expression becoming gloomy

"Nobody does" he continued "We did everything we could-"

"I was right there" Diamond's voice cracked

"We both were….I tried to rush Salem and you stopped me from getting myself killed" the Lion Faunus reminded her, running his hands through his now damp hair as he thought back to the day half of Team FADE had been lost "I miss 'em both too Dee and I know Aunt Weiss and Uncle Gang are struggling with this as well….I'm gonna head over to see Aunt Ruby, we're gonna meet everyone at the airship terminal when they land; are you coming?" Diamond thought for a moment, considering each of her fears and doubts before promptly disregarding them and slinging her guitar over her shoulder as she rose to her feet.

"Yeah dude, I'm coming"

"Fortunately the New Vale branch of Poly-Tech has enough resources on hand to operate without shipments from Atlas" Glynda noted "They also don't advertise the fact but they give priority treatment to Hunters and students of the academy so the cybernetic was relatively easy to procure" the Headmistress kept her tone as even as could manage and her stern and stoic demeanour firmly in place despite how deeply it pained her every time she saw one of her charges wounded in the line of duty; whilst Glynda Goodwitch was firmly of the belief that anyone unwilling to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to protect their fellow man was patently unsuited to the life of a Hunter and that everyone who devoted their life to combating the Creatures of Grimm should be make peace with the idea of dying a hero at a young age she still felt every injured or lost student like a knife in the heart, these were not Hunters these were, even in their final year under her tutelage children who didn't fully understood what they had committed themselves to.

Beside her Dove Bronzewing made a wordless sound of agreement as the two of them stared down at the motionless form of Nyanza Angora who was still being kept in stasis as the Grimm infesting his body recovered and spawned anew as fast as the automated machines performing surgery on him could excise it. His Aura had been chemically bolstered enough for it to be able to combat the infection and slow its' otherwise fatal progress yet this task limited its' efficacy in other areas and the bushy tailed Faunus's body was now covered in a network of thin, criss-crossing scars marking the places where incisions had been made. Beside the transparent tank filled with fluids that Nyanza was floating inside of was the first unmistakable sign of progress and glimpse of hope; a steel container bearing the logo of Poly-Tech containing a Cybernetic limb to replace his lower right leg, the doctors' at the facility had assured Glynda that the time Nyanza would spend unconscious and unable to have the limb fitted would have no bearing on its' functionality as test subjects such as Felix Xiao Long and Celeste Lupus had allowed the company to expand what was previously possible, and as it would not require any special modifications to work in tandem with its wearers Semblance all that was needed was a series of measurements that could be provided remotely; Glynda had been happy to rely this news and the fact that all costs would be covered by the Academy to Nyanza's parents who had been left distraught by both their inability to see their son and their unspeakable dread at the idea of being unable to provide for him. Beyond the prosthetic there were other signs of how well liked the Faunus was, a bedside table which seemed almost laughably out of place in the sterile laboratory barely disguising itself as a medical facility almost groaned under the weight of the cards, notes and flowers left by well-wishers who both knew Nyanza personally or were simply fans of the young man whilst one of his team-mates had been thoughtful enough to leave his weapons and a fresh set of clothes for him to change into upon his hopefully inevitable awakening, presumably reasoning that he would not want to wear either a medical gown or his old, bloodstained outfit.

"Tell me you're making progress Dove. Tell me that one of my students wasn't maimed after Qrow and I sent them into Salem's lair unprepared for nothing" Goodwitch breathed out, far softer than her usual clipped tones and weary enough to make the Grimm Studies Professor, who found himself wearing a lab-coat as often as his armour of late shoot her a worried glance.

"Slow progress, steady progress but still progress" Dove replied with a slight shake of the head and a sigh "We have promising initial results in very a controlled environment but the substances we're working with are, generously put, volatile. If we rush this and get it wrong we kill him Glynda and I can tell you with completely certainty that it will not be quick or painless….it's not ready, not for medical testing"

Glynda's vibrant green eyes narrowed a fraction as she considered Bronzewing's response, honing in on his last few words and sensing that something of vital importance was being left unsaid.

"What are you planning Dove" she demanded, her tone cautious and apprehensive as she regarded him; whilst she trusted each of her staff implicitly and held none of the lingering resentment towards him for the bigoted beliefs and deplorable actions of his younger self that others did, she also knew that Dove Bronzewing had a particularly ruthless streak about him which had been fostered and cultivated in the re-taking of Vale where he had lost a close friend and had admittedly served him well throughout his career.

She saw that ruthlessness come to the surface as his scarred face morphed into a twisted and sinister grin.

"Since we managed to extract and study the Grimm 'stem-cells' and isolate several unique markers we've been working on creating a compound that uses their own inherent instability against them and breaks them down completely, that's the basis of the treatment for Botfly Grimm infection that we're working on" Glynda noted that Dove had slipped into the tone and cadence he used when teaching, though with far more enthusiasm "We know from Ruby's attack on them that the interior of the Grimm spires around the city are comprised of Grimm fossilised Grimm, which is essentially refined Spawning Pit matter; or put simply more Grimm stem-cells….I'd hazard a guess that much of the network spreading under the city has a similar make-up. What the Atlesians and I have been doing is taking the concepts involved in the medicine and weaponising it" Glynda's was silent as the revelation left her mentally reeling, what Dove was suggesting could well be the single most important change to Grimm Hunting for generations.

"You mean-"

"I mean with proper refinement we can load this compound into a warhead and fire it at those spires and after that we can deploy it all across Remnant" Glynda struggled for words and swallowed an unfamiliar lump in her throat as she considered just what this could mean for the future before focusing on the matters at hand.

"Keep working, I'll inform Qrow of your progress but we need treatment as soon as possible….Salem could decide to flood the city with infectious Grimm at any moment" she paused and added "We will be receiving further reinforcements from the Atlesians in the form of an experimental fighter craft and a joint task-force….whilst Gangrel Slate is no longer the head of the Specialist Branch he does speak with Winter Schnee's authority. I trust you can inform him of these developments without restarting your old rivalries"

Decades may have passed but Dove could help the shudder that passed through him at the mention of the Bear Faunus he had once made the mistake of antagonising.

"Oum they truly are monstrous" Weiss's voice was barely more than a whisper as she regarded the Grimm spires which seemed to reach and claw at the horizon as they surrounded New Vale and held the Kingdoms' Capital in their grasp clearly visible through the lashing rains and thunderstorm, with vast scars and fissures visible on their surfaces where their bony surfaces had fractured to release flocks of winged monsters from within.

"Clawful" Yang murmured in agreement, eyes focused directly ahead as she wilfully ignored the stares that her pun earned her.

"As far as I can tell we're in the clear" Gangrel noted as his hands flashed across the controls though there was a definite tension to his voice and his brow was furrowed "Hold onto something I'm gonna bring us lower before we pass over the spires, just so we've got an accurate idea of how this thing holds up"

"Take a shot at the spires" Adam offered coldly "The people need to know that they're being rescued….send a message, make a show of force" Weiss turned and prepared to make her distaste towards the idea known only to pause as she found herself considering its', admittedly limited merits and noting that morale was always important in the fight against the Grimm; Blake however regarded the crimson haired Faunus with a rare sneer on her face as she objected

"And are you planning on warning the people on the ground or just leaving the to the inevitable Grimm attack that you'd cause? Is collateral damage okay where you come from?"

"Collateral damage is an inevitability of war that both sides are prepared for" Adam answered, looking away and Blake might have found it within herself to offer him some sympathy if she hadn't known that the hell he had come from was one entirely of his own making. Gangrel merely let out a low growl as he brought their still cloaked craft swooping lower as it sped towards the beleaguered city before turning to Weiss

"Open a channel and request permission to land please" she quickly did so, searching for the appropriate communications channel only to be brought a halt and turn with a wide-eyed and fearful expression to her husband a moment later when the cockpit was filled with a sound that was being broadcast across all channels

Terrified screaming.

"SOMEBODY ANSWER! SOMEBODY HELP US PLEASE!" a presumably male voice cried, the instantly recognisable sound of Grimm snarling and howling clearly close by "WE WERE TRYING TO HEAD TOWARDS THE CITY, GRIMM CAME AFTER US!"

"Oh my Oum" Yang gasped, looking visibly ill as the realisation came to her "The city can't send anyone to help….Gang they're gonna die if we don't do something"

"Are you sure you want to risk our objective like this?" Adam asked with an arched eyebrow, Gangrel seemed to physically resist the urge to punch him in the mouth before answering

"You wouldn't ask if you knew they were Faunus" he accused bluntly before turning his attention to the crafts' controls and sensors before quickly adding "Found 'em, hold on" Yang quickly slipped into position in the gunners' seat as the transport banked and turned at insane speeds before hurtling through the air and diving lower still until mere moments later their target came into view, a small group of pickup trucks some of which had been fitted with weapons that did little to the pack of several dozen Beowolves chasing after them, snapping at the wheels of the convoy as they got close.

"Weapons are hot" Yang informed Gangrel

"Light 'em up" an instant later rockets streaked through the air and engulfed the Grimm to the rear of the pack in flames whilst those closest to the civilian convoy were picked off with precise bursts of laser-fire until, with a matter of moments the threat had been removed entirely.

Then disaster struck.

"We've got something coming from one of the spires-LOOK OUT!" what erupted from one of the gargantuan bone spires was a massive Winged Serpent Grimm like the one that Ruby had encountered in her own attack on the spires and Blakes warning came as the thing opened its' gaping, fanged maw wide and sprayed a jet of corrosive acid directly at their transport

"HOW DID IT SEE US?" Adam demanded

"We fired things that light, tracer fire works both ways" Gangrel snarled as alarms began to blare inside the cockpit "Damn it we're hit! Left wing took some heavy damage, gonna have to redirect some power and drop cloaking!" the Bear Faunus did so and brought their transport racing away from the serpentine horror whose tail came whipping around to strike at them the instant that they became visible

"Gangrel it's gaining on us and there are more Grimm on the ground now, the people we saved…." Weiss trailed off, prompting the Bear Faunus to make a hasty decision.

"Landing strategies!" he warned before steering the transport into a wide turn and hurtling towards the waiting mouth of the Grimm as it prepared to unleash a fresh spray of acid. The side hatches of the craft opened and Weiss, Blake and Yang leaping from their seats and out of the opening without hesitation; the members of Team RWBY each trusting in Weiss and she summoned a Nevermore construct to fly them to the relative safety of the ground

"Like old time-"

"Shut up" Gangrel snapped as he grabbed Adam by the scruff of the neck and frog-marched him towards the hatch, teleporting them both to the ground a moment before the Winged Serpent attempted to swallow the experimental craft whole, its' exploding engines consuming them both in a ball of flames and relieving the Grimm of its' skull.

The situation on the ground was little better.

In retaliation for their attack the Grimm spires had spat forth a surprising number of Ursa which roared and thundered across what had once been busy roads in and out of the city, tearing through abandoned vehicles as they rampaged towards both the Hunters and the civilians they had attempted to rescue.

A hasty plan had been formed and Weiss was using layered walls of Glyphs to keep the Grimm at bay whilst Blake and Yang attempted to draw their attention, Blake flitting between them and ripping open flanks and snouts with her katana before fading away with her Semblance whilst Yang opened fire into the mass of hulking beasts that failed to realise that they were being corralled.

"Still got it, looks like I'm back with a Yang!" the blonde exclaimed with a fierce grin as she unloaded her weapons into the Grimm until one turned its' attention towards her and charge, the ground shaking as Yang disconnected the upgraded weapons that attached into her cybernetic arm and readied her gauntlets.

The Grimm, and a dozen more behind it were unmade as a tsunami of crimson light washed over them.

"You were taking too long" Adam noted nonchalantly as he swaggered into view twirling his pair of katanas which still glowed with the light of his Semblance. Yang fought the urge to grumble, being far from childish enough to feel upstaged but at the same time resenting the idea of being helped by Adam Taurus immensely, though her concerns were quashed as she felt Blake appear beside her an instant later and loop an arm through hers.

"Gangrel with Weiss?" she asked

"Predictably I suppose" Adam answered with an aloof sneer, finally sheathing his weapons as he nodded towards where the two of them were handling the last of their own mass of Grimm "Although we have a problem"

"Shit, you're right" Yang admitted as she turned and faced the Grimm spires which now loomed over them as they reached up towards the clouds.

"We're stranded" Blake breathed out "We need to contact Qrow and let him know what's happened"

"Just so you know if I find her first I'm probably gonna wring her neck for making a pest of herself" Corvid noted irritably into the comms within the helmet of the Omega Wing; almost sure that she would have to repeat herself as the wind howled around her and the sky was illuminated by a flash of lightning as the thunderstorm that showed no sign of abating continued to soak her with its' torrents of icy cold rain.

"She's suffering Corey….more than the rest of us are" Onyx's normally gruff and rumbling voice was soft and tender as he replied and Corvid internally cursed herself for not thinking before she spoke and quickly moved to correct herself

"We'll find her Onyx Helli-onest"

"I love you" the Puma Faunus murmured

"You too" she said simply before silencing her comms and focusing on the matter at hand. The reason for her annoyance was a simple one, Corvid knew that her mothers could be arriving in New Vale at any moment and been fully intending on joining Felix and her Aunt Ruby in greeting them at whichever airship terminal they landed at only to find her plans scuppered when Onyx had come to her with a worried look about him that immediately caused her to ask what was wrong.

Hellion had gone missing.

He explained that the Dragonfly Faunus had confided in him that she was getting strange phantom feelings that she could only describe as reminding her of Eagle and that she felt compelled to chase after these feelings every time they presented themselves to her. Corvid had naturally been concerned for Hellion's mental state upon hearing this; a sentiment which Onyx and Carcharodon had both echoed before explaining that she had slipped away from the academy at some point during the night and never returned, flouting the lock-down that was in effect across the city and now her team-mates had grown concerned as her Scroll was turned off and they were unable to locate her, but at the same time were unwilling to approach the Professors about the matter. Corvid had naturally agreed to help and had brought her own team to their aid, Lux and Rusty were acting as a pair, as were Onyx and Carcharodon, the four of them taking on the laborious task of searching the massive Hive-Towers street by street from the ground up whilst Iris prowled the skies in Team CLIR's Bull-head in search of the missing Hellion; Corvid had found herself in something of a middle ground, using the Omega Wing to weave between the cities' monolithic structures and was currently perched on a large bridge stretched between two towers, each large enough to be a small city in its' own right.

"Okay where are you" Corvid murmured under her breath as she scanned the crowd below her, a facial recognition program that Qrow had helped her integrate into the Omega Wing yielding no results until, with an annoyed sigh at how long this task was likely to take she kicked off of the bridge and took flight. The city was a drab mass of indistinct grey decorated with the occasional neon lights of a particularly insistent advertisement as she flew soared passed it whilst the rivers of traffic below her seemed to blend into a single colourful mass.

Then she found her.

Alerts and prompts flashed across Corvid's visor and she was forced to perform something close to a pirouette in the air to avoid simply shooting passed her. Hovering above Hellion she saw that the Dragonfly Faunus sat hunched in on herself on a small metal bench in an otherwise empty children's play area between two of the massive towers, her clothes soaked and her deep violet hair plastered to her scalp.

"Onyx I've found her, ground floor and track my location" Corvid said simply, knowing that Carcharodon's Semblance would allow the two of them to be there within a matter of minutes before diving down and landing, on one knee as always in front of the bench that Hellion was perched on and deactivating the Omega Wing; taking a seat beside the Dragonfly Faunus as the battle-suit peeled away.

"Lovely weather we're having today, thought I might get the barbecue out since y'know all my other plans for today are shot" Corvid found herself trying to force herself to sound less abrasive and acid despite her own annoyance as she took a good look at Hellion's face and saw that not only had the younger woman clearly been crying but she had the thousand yard stare of someone who had been pushed to their limits and the dark rings beneath her eyes made it clear that she had not slept at any point during the night.

"Oum damn it Hellion" Corvid finally sighed "What's going on? Onyx and Car are out here as well, they're worried about you" Hellion remained silent, giving no indication that she had heard her at all and a moment later a new sound joined the heavy rain, the sound of Carcharodon stomping towards them as he and Onyx appeared close by; the Puma Faunus reaching out and gently squeezing Corvid's hand whilst mouthing a silent thank you as Carcharodon loomed over Hellion, seemingly doing everything in his power not to appear furious

"I've never doubted you before Hellion and I don't want to start now….you've always been our eyes" the Shark Faunus rasped before sinking down to Hellion's level "So what is it you see that we can't" at his words something in Hellion broke and she reached forwards to grab Carcharodon and sob into her old friends' shoulder.

"I can't find her Car….she's here but I can't find her" a strangled cry escaped her "I thought I could bring her home but I can't, we lost Raffia and I've lost Eagle-"

"What do you mean she's here?" Corvid asked delicately, Hellion seemed to see her now and pointed at something just over her shoulder yet when Corvid turned to see there was nothing out of ordinary, just the slow passage of traffic and pedestrians

"Right there" Hellion laughed bitterly "It moved around throughout the city during the night but she's right there….only she isn't. I can feel her, I can almost hear her voice but I can't make out what she's saying" Corvid listened and braced herself for the inevitable backlash before speaking

"Maybe Neptune-"

"I'm not crazy!" the Dragonfly Faunus spat venomously, a knife in her hand in an instant only for her to discard in apparent disgust at herself as she realised what she was doing

"I'm not crazy" she repeated, more calmly this time "Wherever Eagle is, wherever Salem sent her she is somehow here as well….you believe me right?" the question as directed at Carcharodon and Onyx

"I believe you….we're meddling in magic from the ages of myths and legends" Carcharodon rasped out finally "But I also believe that you're hurting yourself….I can't lose anybody else Hellion; come home" Hellion swallowed thickly and rose to her feet, looking longingly at where she was certain that Eagle Arc was, just out of sight and out of her reach until Onyx pulled her into a tight hug

"We'll find your little Canary" he murmured, Hellion letting out a shaky laugh upon hearing her own nickname for the missing blonde "But if you've made yourself sick she'll most likely be angry at the rest of us when she returns"

Eagle hit the ground with a thud, the sound of her own armour clanging against itself echoing through the air.

"Ow" she gave a pitiable whimper before dragging herself to her feet once again and stared down Neon Katt whose colourful tattoos and surprisingly well defined muscles were left on display by the black tank-top she wore whilst her rainbow coloured Aura shimmered around her.

"So is the sun setting….'cos Knight-fall" Neon winked and stuck her tongue out as she swung her nunchaku almost playfully whilst showing off footwork that would be fitting for a professional boxer, an impressive feat considering the roller-skates that she currently wore. Behind her Squish and a handful of other members of the Vale branch of the Allied Remnant Resistance were using a collection of empty crates and wooden pallets as makeshift stands as they watched the sparring match unfold whilst Arctus was currently nowhere to be found, though Eagle knew that he was most likely either on watch duty or with Jade; struggling with the mammoth task of trying to comprehend what his relationship with the girl whom he couldn't help but regard as his long-lost sister was. Eagle herself had been morose and distracted all day until Neon had told her that she was looking for a sparring partner and that the blonde had somehow inadvertently volunteered herself, whilst she could admit that she needed some sort a distraction Eagle couldn't help but think that being punched repeatedly in the face wasn't the most helpful solution.

The two of them slowly circled each other, Neon's eyes darting from Eagle to Sentinel who had been positioned off to Eagle's left and whilst the droid currently had no ammunition for its' main gun the Faunus knew better than to assume it was unarmed. Eagle for her part kept her gaze focused on Neon, deep crimson eyes narrowed as she attempted to form a countermeasure against her opponents' Semblance which she realised converted momentum into raw power in much the same way as Felix's did with heat.

They both burst into motion in the same instant.

Neon surged forwards, rainbow contrail trailing behind her to give her the appearance of some stunningly vibrant comet as she hurtled at Eagle who in turn used her Semblance to shift into her avian form and soar overhead before landing behind Neon and readying her sword; the Faunus skidded to a halt and span around before preparing to charge again.

"Sentinel now!" Eagle called out and the droid let out a series of cheerful chirps and bleeps as it fired its' clawed appendages towards her on their retractable cables and clasping Neon by the back of each shoulder, the tension slowly dragging her backwards as they were reeled in; robbing any momentum that Neon had managed to build which the Faunus herself quickly realised.

"Oh that's clever….I've already got enough in the tank though" before Eagle could question what Neon meant by that the question was answered for her as the Faunus's Aura flared around her and she thrust both palms forward, launching a wide beam of glaringly bright light which shifted colours like brilliant aurora and struck Eagle in the chest, throwing her from her feet and hurling her backwards; directly through the crates and wooden pallets which sent their audience scattering and scrambling for safety.

"Okay people, show's over; I'm sure you've all got jobs to do!" Squish called out, still cackling at the sight of the hardened veterans scurrying away as he leaned over Eagle and helped her to her feet "You gonna call your robot off?" Eagle's hands flew to her mouth and she let out an alarmed gasp followed by nervous laughter whilst frantically gesturing for Sentinel to release the Feline Faunus, which Sentinel promptly did whilst continuing to chirp animatedly.

"Okay, not bad" Neon grinned as her skates collapsed into the soles of her shoes and she sauntered over to Squish and Eagle, slinging an arm around the Reptilian Faunus's shoulder and ruffling the blonde woman's hair playfully "Definitely got the spirit"

"Y'know...I'm actually one of the better students where I'm from" Eagle noted pointedly, trying not to visibly pout at the comment

"Still missing home?" Neon asked, expression softening which Eagle nodded in response to before letting out a sigh and taking on a thoughtful expression for a few moments before choosing to be entirely honest

"It's not just that I was missing home….It's my girlfriend" Eagle fidgeted and played absently with the large and chunky ring that Hellion had made for her "I can almost hear her and feel her sometimes, like she's right there but I just can't quite reach her"

"Ouch….that's, I mean it's just not fair at all" Neon gave her a sympathetic look, knowing the struggles of distance and being unable to speak to a loved one for extended periods of time far too well; Squish was silent and his large yellow eyes took on a rare look of deep concentration as he absently fiddled with the ridged scales he had in place of facial hair, stroking them the way another man might stroke his beard

"What're you thinking?" Neon asked

"What if it's not just Eagle imagining things….I mean, fuck it with all the other weirdness why not" he shrugged before cocking his head "I don't suppose your girls' got a mind reading Semblance or something like that right?" Eagle shook her head

"No, she can basically possess animals she has a pet bird…..Oh my Oum" Eagle's eyes were wide as a possibility occurred to her and her next words were a hushed whisper as she dared to hope "My Semblance, I turn into a bird….she's used her Semblance on me while I was….Oh my Oum, she told me that our souls have touched each other"

"Is that what the kids are calling-"

"Babe shut up" Neon interrupted before turning her attention to Eagle and murmuring "I don't want to give you ideas, I don't want you to get your hopes up and be wrong….but you should definitely talk to Oscar about this when he wakes up"

"You think that he might be able to get us home?" Eagle asked, scarcely daring to believe that it was a possibility, Neon made a non-committal shrug which did little to deter the blonde and stop her mind from racing at the idea that somehow, across time, space and the fabric of reality itself she and Hellion were still connected and reaching out to one another.

It was beyond anything that the fairy tales she had grown up with had prepared for.

Felix rushed through suburban streets with Diamond close behind him, nearly running into oncoming traffic on more than one occasion and paying little if any attention to his surroundings as he frantically closed the distance between himself and Qrow Branwen's former residence, where his Aunt Ruby was currently residing.

The two of them had already been on the way to the airship terminals when Felix had heard the news that the aircraft his mothers had been aboard had been attacked by the Grimm and that whilst his family were all alive and unharmed they were still stranded beyond the monstrous spires that Salem had erected. Contacting Corvid had revealed that his sister both knew of the developments and was being actively dissuaded from doing anything reckless or gung-ho by both her own team and Team GORE; Felix had then attempted to contact his aunt only for the legendary Huntress to not answer his calls.

Something which gave him an indescribably bad feeling.

Eventually he and Diamond reached the house and pounded against the door heavily whilst calling out for his aunt to answer only to receive no reply, cursing under his breath he tried the handle and found that the door was fortunately unlocked

"Really dude?" Diamond raised an eyebrow as Felix opened the door, she had been guilty of a considerable amount of trespassing during her teenage years, largely in the form of sneaking into venues but brazenly walking into someone else's home felt different somehow.

"Yes really" Felix answered, perhaps a little irritably before stepping inside "Aunt Ruby! Aunt Ruby where are you?" he listened closely for a moment, the sound of something metallic leading him into the dining room he halted in his tracks.

Ruby Rose was decidedly not an angry person and certainly did not resort to violence to solve her problems unless said problems involved the Creatures of Grimm, Felix had only ever known his aunt as calm, supportive and kind and as such was simply floored by the sight of a fist sized hole in the dining room wall and Ruby's bloody knuckles as she stood at the table which Crescent Rose had been laid across and dismantled, the scent of oil filling the air and several rags strewn around her as she began reassembling the weapon with practised ease and a blank, distant look on her face

"Aunt Ruby, what're you doing?" Felix asked hesitantly

"My job"

"You can't be serious?" Diamond demanded "You're gonna-"

"I'm the leader of Team RWBY" Ruby interrupted, her cracking voice betraying just how brittle her facade was "And my team are stranded out there, I don't care if my Silver Eyes aren't strong enough to do the job; I'm going out there and bringing them back"

Felix and Diamond both found themselves staring silently at her as she continued working on her weapon. The two of them were at a total loss for words, due in no small part to the fact that in her position they would have done the exact same thing and that their mission below the city in the hopes that it might prove to be the first step in returning Arctus and Eagle to them proved it.

Eventually Felix spoke up

"How do we help" he squared his shoulder and met Ruby's eye as she turned to face him and continued "I'll call Corvid right now, that's our Mums out there; Aunt Weiss and Uncle Gang too….If you're going then we're coming with you"

"You can't-"

"Yes they can" Ruby found her suddenly desperate attempt to talk her nephew out of his decision interrupted by Nickel who stood in the doorway that led down to the basement, wiping her hands with her own oil-stained rag and

"I'm coming as well; the Omega Destroyer isn't quite finished but it'll do for now….hey Blondie, remember when you ripped my wings off? Remember how I smashed you through a few buildings first? Wanna see if you go through the spires just as easily?" the android's face morphed into a sinister leer as she regarded Felix, their previous confrontations clearly not forgotten.

"Nickel they're not coming, neither are you….this is a solo job"

"Like hell it is Dude!" Diamond spat "We're not letting you go out there on your own!"

"Look at it this way chief" Nickel grinned "If we've got people on both sides of the spires then we've got Salem surrounded….I say let's take the shot"

"And that's how dumb your idea sounds to the rest of us" Felix noted bluntly, Ruby stared between the three of them for several moments before finally letting out a slow, shaky breath and making her way across the dining room to Felix and pulling him into a hug

"When did you get so grown up Fluffy"

"Somewhere between having a team to lead and letting 'em down"

"None of that" Ruby interjected sternly, silencing the Faunus with a single finger as he made to speak "Nope. You're a great team leader and we'll get Arctus and Eagle back Fluffy, we'll get everybody back"

"Just not today" Diamond murmured, looking at the legendary Huntress "No more running in blind, this time when we hit Salem we do it so hard and fast that she never even sees it coming" Ruby nodded and Felix playfully held out an arm for the sniper to join in the hug that he and his Aunt were still sharing.

The moment was promptly ruined by Nickel deciding to throw herself into the pile of bodies, expecting to be caught.

To say that the current situation was a mess was, at least in Yang's opinion, an understatement of cosmic proportions.

Her children, uncle and countless civilians whom she had pledged herself to protect as a Huntress were still trapped within Salem's grasp beyond the monstrous Grimm spires which encircled New Vale whilst she, her wife and two people she had considered amongst her best friends ever since she had been seventeen were stranded on the wrong side of those spires with roughly two dozen civilians and a version of Adam Taurus from another world. Yang was unashamed to admit she had given more than a little consideration to the idea of simply disposing of Adam as she in no way trusted the Bull Faunus, not because she doubted his claims but precisely because she believed that he was who he claimed to be and understood what that made him capable of; ultimately she had dismissed those ideas and refused to allow herself to be lowered to his murderous and depraved level although in truth she doubted that she could kill the man even if she wanted to. Adam Taurus had always been a more than capable fighter and this iteration of him had lived through a decade of warfare and spent that time honing his skills to levels that were far beyond what Yang remembered if the ease with which he wiped out the Grimm were any indication. She gently squeezed Blake's hand as they trudged onwards and resigned herself to the fact that Adam may well be a useful addition to their group as they would likely need every capable fighter at their disposal if the grim picture painted by the civilians they had rescued was to be believed.

It seemed that New Vale's settlements beyond the capital were faring badly.

The combination of several major breaches of New Vale's walls in recent years, each leading to several hundred or even thousand refugees searching for new homes, along with the destruction of Arcadia, one of the larger cities outside of the capital the previous year had meant that there was simply nowhere left for those displaced by the Grimm spires to go. The evacuation of entire Hive-Towers following the discovery of Salem's return had filled every temporary lodging for more than a days travel in any direction and upon being asked the de facto leader of the group of civilians who had attempted to drive back into New Vale explained that he, his family and several others like them called the city their home and had been sleeping in their cars for days now, not only that but the authorities of the settlements they had been taking shelter in since then had made a concerted effort to move them along and frankly didn't care where they went, citing the increased likeliness of Grimm being drawn to the smaller settlements but offering them some food and weapons so that they at least had a fighting chance of making it home; as callous as the statement was and as utterly disgusted as Yang and her companions had it seemed that those fears were far from unfounded as Grimm activity had apparently been steadily increasing all across New Vale's territory, with the roads leading to and from the capital being the worst affected as packs of nightmarish creatures flocked towards Salem's influence.

This had left Yang, Blake, Gangrel, Weiss and Adam in the unenviable position of marching away from their original destination, scouting ahead of the convoy and cutting down any Grimm the encountered as they searched for somewhere suitable to make a camp for the night; lessons that Yang had spent far more time teaching than practising in recent years coming to the fore as she realised that her old friends were in similar situations though Adam had mercifully made no objections, the fact that there were Faunus in the group of stranded civilians seemingly enough to spur him into action.

"I smell something up ahead" Blake warned, her voice barely above a whisper as she readied her katana and narrowed her eyes whilst a silent nod to Gangrel sent the Bear Faunus moving off to the side in a flanking manoeuvre whilst Weiss remained behind them and planted her feet firmly on the ground as she prepared to conjure a Glyph to protect the vehicles behind them.

"Grimm?" Yang asked as she readied her weapons, deploying Ember Celica and sliding an attachment of her cybernetic right arm which integrated with the limb and her existing weapons to give her considerably more firepower. They had made it out of view of the city itself and had travelled far enough that they were now travelling along wide open roads with dense trees on both sides, Yang scanned the treeline cautiously until Adam stepped out in front of her wearing a smirk

"Not unless Grimm have started lighting fires" a biting retort was on the tip of her tongue and her temper painfully close to the surface yet she fell silent as she saw a trio of figures emerge from the trees.

"You've gotta be kidding me" Blake mouthed in simple disbelief at the sight of a pair of warriors in golden armour flanking a woman with braids of crimson hair cascading down her back, decorated by a golden grown; her own armour partially hidden by a cloak made from the pelt of some gargantuan bear and her pale skin covered in tribal markings.

"It's been a long time Yang Xiao Long, but at last we meet" Kataigida Nikos noted in a conversational tone, as though this meeting were the most normal thing in the world

"Helios's Mum" Blake explained, being the only one present who had met the Nikosi ruler in person before then quickly turning to the green eyed woman herself "Not that we're unhappy to see you, but what're you doing here?" to the surprise of all but her own bodyguards Kataigida let out a hearty laugh at the question

"I was leading a hunting party of my warriors, collecting a bounty for the Kingdom of Mistral when news reached me of another Yang Xiao Long….one with several Semblances and who killed a member of a fellow tribe of Anima" Kataigida held up a hand to silence Yang who was ready to proclaim her innocence "I know you had no part in this but it seemed like to good of a chance to test my skills to ignore and so I rounded up a dozen of my finest warriors and charted a ship only to be denied once again….those Grimm claws around your city meant that we had to drop anchor elsewhere on the coast, we've been trying to find our way into New Vale for days now"

"Do you have your daughter with you?" Gangrel asked as he and Weiss drew close "Ruby couldn't bring the spires down on her own but two Silver Eyed Warriors might just do it"

"Alas no" Kataigida sighed with a shake of the head "This was not a battle I wished to risk my daughter in….her last journey to New Vale was eventful enough"

"We'll find a way in, Qrow is already working on something" Yang assured the armoured warrior "May as well work together right?"

"Agreed….we have a camp set up in these woods and enough food for the travellers you were accompanying" her expression softened, the gentleness looking almost out of place on someone so imposing "Tell me, how is my son faring? I assume he and Felix are as inseparable as ever?" Yang had to laugh, not just at the comment but the absurdity of the entire situation as she wondered other surprises were waiting for them.

Authors' Notes:

Okay, this one felt like a filler chapter but at the same time I feel like it gave things a solid and definite push in the right direction.
That being said, Vol.11 will end with Chapter 151; I've got every scene of every chapter of the rest of this volume planned out and trust me when I say we have got something truly special in store...And then after that we head into the final volume.
Also, we're getting close to the three year anniversary of this story (29th of May) so I just wanna take a minute to say thank you to everyone that's stuck with it for this long.
As we get nearer to the inevitable end of this story I've been wondering what's gonna come next and I can give you a little spoiler here and say that the epilogue of this story is gonna set a few years after the end of Vol.12 and since we're doing time jumps and since a few people have already mentioned it….Do people seriously want me to write another story following Athena-Jade and Astra as they attend one of the academies?

But onto more immediate matters, let's summarise:
Chilling on a roof in the rain like Batman….or any emo kid with access to a roof.
Atlesians tan like a lobster and you know it.
I mean look Felix was raised on Patch and can definitely climb trees and anything else, but Arctus has Glyphs and Diamond has her Semblance so they have the easiest time sneaking off.
If Arctus and Eagle were there they defiantly would have won.
That's Diamond's long-term play here, get the Wizards' Power in someone else's hands….I'm not saying that's how things are gonna go, but she's definitely thinking.
Felix gets to make jokes about rusting 'cos he's got prosthetics himself.
Felix used to be a little shit.
I think if he hadn't know about Yang Branwen he would have tried to reason with her, and he'd probably be dead.
I needed to write a Diamond scene, just to get in her head and see how she's coping and it's rough for her, same as it is for everyone else but she's still fighting.
Glynda is hard as nails but she's not heartless and I won't here different.
Nyanza's getting a new leg, just so everyone his 100% on the same page and understands that's he's coming back.
Poly-Techs' prosthetics are getting steadily better, because technology should reasonably improve in the course of a story this long.
Come on, would it be me if I didn't save the return of the lucky cat for something special?
And boom, Dove has come in clutch; that was the whole point of Nyanza getting injured, I needed a vehicle for the development of the new anti-Grimm weapon.
Adam will always be Adam, and he is both in canon and my writing a theatrical bastard.
Of course there's screaming, surely you didn't think it was gonna be that easy did ya?
"Tracer fire works both ways" maxim number 32.
Adam has been demoted from chief bad-ass to annoyance.
Well the Grimm's gone….but trading a prototype for it was a bit much.
But damn if he isn't a powerhouse.
How do you Corvid loves Onyx dearly, she even considered helping him when she wanted to go welcome her parents back to Vale,
Eagle mentioned the feelings to Onyx earlier in the volume.
Corvid only knows how to land by doing the hero landing.
Respect the fact that Carcharodon does not doubt Hellion for a second.
The feelings were off in the distance while Arctus and Eagle were at Mountain Glenn, now they're in Vale Hellion can literally point at where Eagle should be….getting it now.
God Neon's puns are terrible and I love it.
Neon pulled the old parenting standby of "If you're gonna cry you'll get something to cry about"
Eagle fights dirty and clever….But Neon is a bit too tough.
DO YOU GET IT NOW? Eagle is the only person that Hellion has ever used her Warg Semblance on and now, because their souls have literally touched they can find each other anywhere.
Corvid needing about half a dozen people to stop her from doing something reckless sounds about right.
If you read Downward Spiral then you remember a grieving Ruby knocking trees over when she was training….she doesn't lose her shit often but it can get explosive when she does.
Hey look on the bright-side….we could well have a full Team RWBY reunion by the end of this Volume.
Now whilst it might sound like Nickel is being a little shit, she's actually doing some expert level reverse psychology….whilst also being a little shit.
"Somewhere between having a team to lead and letting 'em down"….Ouch.
Yang is definitely not in the wrong for at least considering getting rid of Adam.
How many times have I swept massive infrastructure damage under the rug with "They were moved to another settlement" well now people are paying for it.
Boom, I bet none of you were expecting Kataigida to show up again….now they've got some muscle on this side of the spires…..No Syneffo though.

Thank you to SumoSnipe, Funlander and MajorBrony95 for their reviews on the last chapter.
The reveal of why Raffia's Semblance is hurting her is gonna be great.
Oh please, my writing has literally made people cry and I still have both kneecaps.
Blake teaches AJ the most important rule of stealing shit "If you look like you belong nobody questions it"
Gotta open a chapter off with a porno joke sometimes.
Oh it's defiantly gonna get big.

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