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I am making no money from this.

Chapter 153: Post Graduate

"Well thank you for your time Mister Xiao Long, we'll be in touch if we choose to move forward with the recruitment process with you and your team" the man sat across the desk from Felix was hard to describe simple for how unremarkable and forgettable he was, perhaps in his mid-thirties though it was impossible to be sure and with an entirely bland appearance whose only notable qualities were being perhaps a little too thin and with a slightly receding hairline. What Felix could tell however, knowing it instantly and without a single trace of doubt was that the man was lying; it was plain to see from his tone and especially the way his lips had curled into a barely suppressed sneer as they formed the name Xiao Long that this entire meeting had been a waste of time, its' result a foregone conclusion and nothing Felix or any other member of Team FADE could have done would have made a difference; the Lion Faunus fought the urge to let out an annoyed or disappointed sigh as he replied

"Thank you for your time" the words left a sour, bitter taste in his mouth and he wanted to call out the unfairness of the situation but knew that doing so would only hurt his teams' chances of finding meaningful work even further and so instead he forced himself to remain professional and held out a hand as he rose to his feet, only for the interviewer to pointedly ignore it and stand only so that he could show Felix out of his office whose Spartan and impersonal furnishing gave it the feeling of being a temporary location.

It took every ounce of self control Felix had to not punch a wall in simple frustration as he stepped into the corridor; instead he made his way out of the office building and flopped, somewhat dramatically onto a bench outside of it, running his hands through his mane of dirty blonde curls as he tried and failed to find a positive angle to view the situation from.

It had been weeks since Team FADE had graduated from Halo Academy along with their fellow Fourth Year students and Felix knew that with the Class A Hunter licenses that they had earned they should have found suitable employment with ease yet that had simply not happened. Felix had ran into Aqua Tsuyu in passing and learned that Team AQUA had suffered no such difficulties and would soon be leaving the city whilst Team FADE had moved into the house in the suburbs that had once belonged to Qrow who had left it for Eagle to use as she saw fit whilst he continued to live at Halo Academy, the four of them taking small jobs which mostly involved defending the outskirts of the city now that the perimeter wall was destroyed for relatively poor pay; the Lien itself was hardly the issue, Eagle had a considerable amount of savings of her own and Weiss had pulled Arctus aside before returning to Atlas and assured her son that she would always support him and offer any help he needed despite knowing that he would likely never allow himself to ask for it.

The issue was a simple fear for the future.

Felix had, like every other member of his team imagined graduating and forging a career as a Hunter out in the wilderness where he could face off against the Creatures of Grimm in all their monstrous forms and protect those who lived beyond the Kingdoms' walls and was both worried by the ease with which he had been relegated to a glorified security guard, knowing that if Team FADE failed to garner a reputation soon they would be simply pigeon-holed and stuck working similar assignments their entire careers and furious that it was the result of such open bias; he was certain that if the truth about Salem had been kept hidden and his Aunt Ruby was still the revered and legendary warrior that the public thought of as the definitive Huntress then Team FADE wouldn't be facing these struggles, or that if people had the good sense to look for solutions rather than simply seek out a scapegoat to blame the upsetting of the status quo on that his team would have been sent to every location where Salem could possibly be hiding due to their experience.

Felix let out a sigh and took in his surroundings, with New Vale as heavily damaged as it was and with several of the gargantuan Hive Towers likely needing to be destroyed and rebuilt entirely many businesses had moved into office blocks like the one that he had just left, an old brick and stone building in an industrial part of the city for beyond the dense metropolis of the towers that dated back to Old Vale; it served as undeniable proof that whatever had happened the Kingdom remained unbeaten and unbroken and that life would go on and New Vale would keep moving forwards.

The problem was that Felix felt as though he wasn't.

He shifted his weight so that his tail was no longer trapped under him, the part of it that was still flesh and blood having begun to ache with the old angle and removed the tie he had worn for the interview as he remained on the bench, spending some time alternating between sitting in defeated silence with his head in his hands and checking various job listings on his Scroll in the hope that something would appear. In truth the job that he had been interviewed for was nothing special, still acting as a security detail but in this case guarding shipments of vital resources from the outer settlements in New Vale's territory to the capital and the main appeal of it had been that it would get Team FADE out of the city and closer to Grimm that they could prove themselves against. Eventually he was distracted from his own misery by the feeling of his Scroll vibrating in his hand as he received a text message which he quickly saw was from Yang.

'How did it go?' Felix winced as he read it and simply could not bring himself to type an honest reply so instead he simply stared at the device in silence for a while; swallowing a lump in his throat as the thought that he was letting his mothers down came unbidden into his mind. Whilst Corvid had already had a mission for Team CLIR secured before her team had graduated Felix was floundering and had asked his mothers not to throw him a leaving party the way they had for his sister, at least not until he had something to celebrate. On top of worrying about him he knew that his mothers were both struggling with the problems that the truth about Salem and Team RWBY's role in the war had caused in their own careers, Blake had agreed to take a less public role in the Coalition for a while as many who opposed Faunus rights were likely to try find ways to drag her name through the mud whilst Yang had admitted to her children that several students at Signal were at the very least considering transferring to other schools before attending one of the Hunter Academies in clear attempts to distance themselves from her in case the current controversy hurt their own applications.

Realising he had nothing positive to say Felix instead typed out a message to Arctus and Diamond who were in the city somewhere picking up groceries, letting him know that he could come and pick them up as he finally rose from the bench. One positive thing about the interview was that Eagle had allowed him to borrow the Lightning Bug and as much as he had initially tormented his partner about her car it was a far better option that relying on the currently hamstrung public transport and frankly he had missed being able to simply drive wherever he wanted, not that he could afford a car of his own right now. Letting out a sigh and pocketing his Scroll Felix mused to himself that the entire situation was absurd, Team RWBY and their allies had saved all of Remnant yet because it was politically convenient they and by extension their families were being treated like pariahs.

The Lion Faunus would never admit t but at that moment he could almost see the appeal of going rogue.

For Eagle the struggle to find work and start Team FADE's careers as Hunters in earnest was not as desperate or disheartening as it might have been, true enough she had imagined her and her team-mates setting out into the wilderness and performing acts of heroism that rivalled those in the stories she had been told all through her childhood, a dream that she never allowed herself to lose sight of no matter how harsh the reality of the situation became and it was clear that Team FADE's current predicament was a far cry from that lofty goal but the fact remained that she was home and after her time in the hellish alternate Remnant she and Arctus had been sent to, that was enough.

The fact that she shared that home with Hellion however made it all the better and the blonde, freckled woman found her heart skipping a beat and a soft, loving smile come to her face every time she watched the Dragonfly Faunus do something entirely innocuous as she was reminded once again that this was real and that it was something she could look forward to seeing for the rest of her life.

The house that she had all but officially inherited was large enough to serve as a home for herself and all of her friends and was as a matter of fact currently fully inhabited; Eagle and Hellion had taken the master bedroom for themselves where Marauder currently roosted on his perch whilst the two smaller bedrooms had been given to Felix and Helios and Arctus and Diamond respectively and there was more often than not someone sleeping on the sofa, usually a member of Team GORE or NEON who had spent the night though it was not uncommon when Carcharodon and Onyx were not sleeping on their ship for Corvid to take the Puma Faunus and vanish into the basement that had once served as Qrow's base of operations.

Currently however the house was empty save for the two of them and Eagle took a moments rest as she and Hellion worked on giving the kitchen, which Qrow had often overlooked a deep and thorough clean; a t-shirt which Eagle was almost entirely sure had once been her own hung off of the slightly shorter and notably less muscular woman's frame with holes cut into to it to accommodate her wings, its' loose fit leaving a tantalising amount of light brown, tattooed skin on display and leaving Eagle's mouth suddenly dry as a joking comment that one of the guests had made days ago came to mind, something about the amount of couples staying in the house at any one time making noise complaints inevitable. Hellion leaned forward and bent over slightly to tackle a hard to reach spot and Eagle almost let out a whine before deciding to make the most of their privacy whilst they still had, realising that her girlfriend had almost certainly been thinking the same thing by the way she leaned back into Eagle to moment her hands found Hellion's hips

"In the kitchen, really?" Hellion's voice was low and smokey but the amused edge to her voice did little to hide the sheer want beneath it and she ground back into Eagle desperate for more contact as the blonde kissed her shoulder and trailed slowly up to her neck

"In every room in the house if we can" Eagle tried her hardest to sound seductive as she whispered the words in Hellion's ear yet could do nothing to stop the way her cheeks coloured as her own brazenness caught her off guard. Hellion turned around and kissed her, tugging on the taller woman's lip with her teeth, determined to keep Eagle's mind entirely focused on the current moment and not let her become self conscious and for several moments it worked and the pair drew gasps and stuttering moans from one another as their hands wandered until they were unceremoniously and entirely predictably interrupted by the sound of the front door being thrown open.

"Damn it" Eagle almost whimpered, letting out a soft giggle as she rested her forehead against Hellion; noting that the two of them now looked visibly dishevelled and their friends would likely be able to guess what they had almost walked in on. Hellion for her part instinctively reached towards where her throwing knives would normally have been and upon finding them absent simply took a step towards the wooden block which held all of their kitchen knives, though Eagle pulled her back into a hug before she could reach the meat cleaver.

"Hello?" the blonde called out, deciding to see who it was that had returned and being rewarded with first only silence and the sudden oppressive tension in the air that seemed to follow Carcharodon when the Shark Faunus was irate and then the heavy stomping of Onyx as both he and Carcharodon made their way into the kitchen, both of them clearly too angry to notice or care about what they might have interrupted

"What's wrong with you?" Hellion demanded, far more snappish with the grey-skinned and fierce looking Shark Faunus than Eagle would have been even after knowing him for so long, Carcharodon seemed to have an air of authority around him that only his own team or those like Diamond who could be entirely flippant about such things could ignore.

"We found out what happened to our Bull-Head" he finally rasped out, if their entire demeanour hadn't given it away that this was not the good news that it should have been the way that Onyx's knuckles clenched certainly would have.

"Where is it?" Eagle asked, knowing that Team GORE had been unable to find their craft after leaving it, heavily damaged on one of many bridges during the battle despite its' distinctive appearance; she knew that Onyx had feared that the bridge it was left on had been destroyed and that the craft had simply fallen into the darkness Salem had intended to swallow the city in and would never be seen again but Carcharodon had refused to admit defeat and had searched relentlessly whenever he, Onyx and Hellion were not working to guard New Vale's coast and shipping routes from aquatic Grimm that were currently far more active than normal due to the general sense of panic and unease.

"In a scrapyard….it was 'Salvaged'" Carcharodon spat the word with utter distaste "Apparently because we were born outside of the Kingdoms we lack the proof we need to get it back, despite it having my peoples' glyphs painted all over its' hull. This is why I despise the Kingdoms, at least when my tribe stole whatever we wanted we didn't pretend we were anything other than bandits" there was a moment of heavy silence before Eagle spoke up.

"Which scrapyard?….they're not gonna break a whole Bull-Head if they can sell it in one piece, I'll-"

"I won't buy back my own property and I certainly won't ask you to do it for me" Car snarled, obsidian eyes flashing angrily before his expression softened as he processed the act of kindness that his people rarely received

"But thank you" he murmured quietly "It means a lot"

"It's what friends do" Eagle shrugged "Now go, we're still cleaning this kitchen so don't drag mud though it" she shooed them away, turning to Hellion after they left and giving her girlfriend and apologetic look as she sighed "Well that sucks"

"I'm sure it's fates' way of repaying us for something we did" the Dragonfly Faunus chuckled dryly before voicing concerns that Eagle mirrored Eagle's own "This is hardly what we thought we'd be doing after becoming Hunters is it….I don't remember them cleaning a kitchen and living in a house like this in the stories you told me" Eagle beamed brightly at her and stepped close enough to gently Boop Hellion's nose in a way that was reminiscent of her Aunt Nora before answering

"I think it's part of the whole 'Happy ever after'" Hellion leaned into her and let out a low purr of contentment before chuckling

"I almost miss the time when I was the smooth one in this relationship"

Mid-afternoon sun streamed through the windows of the office that now belonged to Professor Lie Ren, as unaccustomed as the relatively young Headmaster was to that fact and despite the vacant status of the Academy whose return to cities' skyline had been a welcome thing the sunlit office was still very much occupied.

Ren himself wore an outfit consisting of black trousers and matching waistcoat over a deep green shirt, over which he wore a black shawl and a green coat with twin tails that reached almost to the ground that was decorated with white, pink and gold detailing. To anyone who had know Professor Ozpin the shades of the old Headmaster is the new attire were unmissable, the appearance of a distinguished academic was offset however by the Storm-Flowers remaining visible as they hung from his waist, he curved hunting knife that was one of his few ties to the family he had lost so young being sheathed on his left bicep and the long scar that ran down the right side of his face, narrowly missing his eye; he still wore his reading glasses and his long, flowing hair and been freed from its' usual braid to cascade over his back and shoulders, the pink streak that had become one his trademarks falling in front of his face and several pale pink flowers in his hair, courtesy of Nora. Whilst the new Head of Halo Academy sat at his desk he was flanked by both his wife, who couldn't help but steal glances at him as though it were her first time seeing him and Qrow who mused to himself that at least his new employer looked the part.

All thoughts and distractions were pushed to the back of their minds however as Ren pressed the series of hidden controls beneath his desk that locked down the office and made it impervious to any and all attempts to eavesdrop and a secure channel to Atlas Academy was opened, Headmaster and General Winter Schnee coming into view wearing a scowl that was somewhat more severe than even her usual expression.

"We're still bothering with the security procedures are we?" she arched a questioning eyebrow "I thought dealing out in the open was your idea?"

"Don't be a child Winter" Ren's response seemed to force the air from the room and the General stiffened for a moment; she had been vocally against Ren's proposal to go public, her preference for working far from the public eye deeply ingrained but had been outvoted by other members of their shadowy cabal, though the new Headmaster had assured her that he would have proceeded with the course of action regardless; an assertion which Winter had made no secret about her anger towards, especially coming as it did from someone she had once considered one of her troops. After a moment of tense silence however Winter merely cracked a small yet unmissable smile and Qrow snorted as he realised what was happening

"Glynda hand picked him Winter, you shouldn't have to test him yourself" if she were in any way abashed she didn't show it and merely proceeded with business as though nothing had happened

"Are we expecting anyone else for this meeting?"

"No" Ren shook his head "The Heads of Shade and Haven naturally have more than their usual workloads and are focusing on their duties to their schools and their Kingdoms, Antonia Arc is similarly preoccupied, Coco and Velvet are in a meeting regarding the construction of their own Academy and they inform me that Ruby is….taking a step back from her duties for-"

"The press got a hold of your stories and decided to make her life hell is what happened" Winter snapped, cutting over Ren's reserved tones with ease "They took Remnant's greatest hero and dragged her name through the mud and now the Grimm are more active everywhere because people are losing hope….that's on you, own it-"

"Arguing with each other isn't helping" it was Nora that interrupted and despite her words the way the air seemed to crackle around her made it clear that she would be more than willing to argue if the need arose. Qrow cleared his throat and shifted his weight in his mechanical chair, leaning forward as he interrupted; realising that he was for the time being at least going to have to serve as an intermediary between the two Heads whose views were diametrically opposed to each other.

"We all knew that telling Remnant the truth about Salem was going to have some backlash….we knew that the press would try to demonise us and that the Councils would let it happen just to cover their own asses; as much as I hate that it's Team RWBY who've been singled out we all knew that there'd be consequences. That being said having the truth out there means we have every Hunter on Remnant as a potential ally now and Winter….you haven't seen New Vale for yourself, we need every ally we can get"

"I understand" Winter forced out through clenched teeth

"Which brings us to the first order of business….Fracture?" at the mention of the experimental compound which had ensured that New Vale remained standing and that the name Professor Dove Bronzewing would be immortalised by Hunters and scientists alike the anger flooded from Winter's face.

"The variety of Professor Bronzewing's formula that was used for medical treatment is still unsuitable, our attempts to recreate it have proven that if it were used on anyone with a Semblance not conducive to the procedure they would likely die….As for the weaponised variety, I realised that your defences would likely be tested over the coming months and I'll be sending the first test sample to you, you can expect it in a few days. Matte was not happy about someone else getting to try out a new weapon first"

"Fracture is far more useful against Spawning Pits than fully formed Grimm….But it will be appreciated nonetheless" Ren added

"And with the information we learned from Arctus, about how it might be possible to defeat Salem without the use of a Silver Eyed Warrior….well it can't hurt to have Fracture at our disposal" Winter noted, her true feelings showing plainly on her face as she allowed herself yet another sigh of relief at her nephews' safe return.

"You wanna shiv Salem in the heart with a blade covered in Fracture?" Nora asked with a snort "That sounds like something I'd suggest when I was seventeen" everyone present allowed themselves a chuckle at that before Qrow moved the conversation forwards

"It may interest you to know that I spoke with Kataigida Nikos recently….her daughter Syneffo is steadily stepping into a public role and will likely be the de facto leader of the Nikosi before she's twenty one, she's also reportedly making considerable progress with her Silver Eyes"

"But we don't have the kind of time" Ren noted quietly before turning to Winter "Have there been any leads?"

"Not yet" the General admitted, clearly concerned by that fact "Whatever Salem is doing none of my agents have found any traces of it"

"Neither have my contacts" Qrow admitted "Which I can only hope means that the loss in New Vale left her needing time to recover just as badly as we do"

"With the Wizard's power at Salem's disposal time is quite literally not on our side" Winter noted "But on the subject of recovery….I have a few former students whom Ciel recommended for teaching positions, unless you have candidates of your own?"

"We have several options that we're exploring" Ren answered "Although Arslan Altan at least seems more interested at working at Coco and Velvet's new Academy; the idea of being the first Professor to have a role has its' own appeal"

"I'll send that shortlist to you, I'm sure you'll find someone suitable" Winter offered, the olive branch clearly understood for what it was as Ren nodded though before he could thank her Winter spoke again "Now, I apologise for cutting this meeting short but I do have a recruitment matter of my own attend to" both Ren and Nora saw the way Qrow and Winter shared knowing looks but neither of them chose to speak up, reasoning that whatever private matter they had was between them.

"Thank you for your time General" Ren murmured and a moment later the video call had ended, the Headmasters' office gradually returning to its' natural state as the security countermeasures were disabled. After taking a moment to gather his thoughts Ren turned to Qrow

"All of us have work to do"

"That we do" Qrow drawled out before making for the door, the many legs of his mechanical chair making little sound as they went; the dismissal was obvious and it was true that Qrow, along with every other member of staff at the currently vacant academy had a sizeable workload, meaning that Qrow was happy to let Ren and Nora do as they pleased in the office, work related or otherwise.

He had not made it far when he was halted by the feeling of his Scroll vibrating as he received a message; assuming it was from one of his family, likely Eagle he quickly opened the device only to be left momentarily perplexed by the text he saw.

'Long time no speak you dusty old bird. I see your still finding ways to make trouble for yourself, but I suppose it's a good thing. Seeing your name next to your nieces in the news reminded to get in touch….I've got a little problem you might be able to help me with' Qrow checked and double checked the contact details, a small grin forming on his weary, bearded face as he realised that the message had indeed come from an old, retired Hunter whom he had known decades ago and remained friends with, if only distantly.

"Well, this is interesting" he muttered before calling.

Team CLIR had fortunately not suffered from their association and relationship to the currently politically unfavourable Team RWBY in the way that Team FADE had; Corvid would have liked to think that it was a result of her abilities as a team leader and negotiator alongside her teams' proven ability to perform that had kept them employed even after leaving a mission unfinished in Menagerie, she was not so delusional however and understood perfectly that she and her friends were fortunate that Lux was the scion of the family who owned one of New Vale's largest construction firms and that every disaster that befell New Vale ensured that said firm and by extension Team CLIR had a steady supply of potential jobs available to them.

Currently Team CLIR worked providing protection and security to a sizeable group of various builders, labourers and tradesmen who were preparing the ground for the foundations of a new perimeter wall around the city; not content to simply rebuild what had been lost the Council of New Vale had elected to build this new wall several dozen miles beyond what had once been the outer limits of the city in order to give the population room to expand and ensuring that once the rebuilding efforts were completed in several years time the Capital of New Vale would look so different that another name change for the city might just be warranted after all.

It was late afternoon and the sun was already long past its' zenith however and work was winding down for the day as whilst construction was continuing around the clock within the city itself the construction crews were far less willing to venture beyond the city limits at night and use machinery whose noise was impossible to ignore, even with Hunters protecting them. In preparation for clocking off Corvid swooped to the ground and with a wordless shrug the Omega Wing unwrapped itself from around her, the battle-suit collapsing into its' sleek aerial drone form which hovered in its' customary place behind as her as she cast her eyes around the construction site in search of her team-mates whilst noting once again that her cybernetic left eye had slightly improved her ability to see in the dark though it was still not as impressive as the Faunus members of her family.

She found Iris using her telekinetic Semblance to help load some heavy machinery into the back of a truck whilst Lux was sat in the passengers' seat of another truck close by, chatting to the manager of this particular crew who was in fact his uncles' eldest child; Rusty was currently perched on top of a shipping contained with his signature Stetson pulled low as he scanned the horizon for any sign of approaching problems, the pistol he named 'High-Noon' in his hand and the setting sun behind him giving him a dramatic appearance which Corvid couldn't help snorting at before she let out a piercing whistle to get her teams' attention and waved them over, though before any of them had even begun to make their way over Corvid felt her Scroll vibrate and upon opening it saw that she was being called from a withheld number

"No I'm not interested in cheaper car in-" her annoyed sigh was cut of by a voice that she recognised instantly

"Hello Corvid" the stern voice of Winter Schnee had a faintly amused edge to it

"Aunt Win-I mean General-"

"Aunt Winter is fine, this is a private conversation" Winter assured her

"Is everything okay?" Corvid asked cautiously, searching for a reason that one of the most regrettably distant members of her extended family might be calling her that didn't involve bad news

"Something that would normally go through proper channels, but I felt a slight deviation from the chain of command was warranted" Corvid could just tell the smile Winter was wearing had widened "Do you remember the offer I made to you two years ago Corvid?"

"Yeah" she breathed out slowly, remembering exactly why she had declined it; to be considered for induction into the Atlesian Specialist Branch was an honour and a testament to ones' abilities yet Corvid had never once regretted refusing an offer that so many other would gladly have taken, she was the leader of Team CLIR and either she would work alongside her friends or she would not be a Huntress at all, there was no middle ground to find on the matter.

"Specialist Commander Chiffon agrees with the assessment of Gangrel Slate, that you are a credit to Halo Academy and that you would certainly be an asset to the Specialist Branch….however where he differs, with the additional information available following the initial offer is the matter of your team-mates" Winter paused and Corvid realised how dry her mouth had suddenly become.

"I would like to repeat the offer I made to you two years ago Corvid" Winter said simply "Except this time I'd like to extend it to Team CLIR as a whole; Specialist Commander Chiffon would be happy to have you"

"Are you serious?" Corvid breathed out, finding somewhere to sit as the news had left her head spinning "That's-I mean thank you-I'd….I mean, Aunt Winter I'd love to but I need to talk it out with my team first, I can't just agree on their behalf, I'm not that kind of leader"

"I understand" Winter assured her "Though I would like an answer within a week"

"You got it" Corvid managed to say despite being left reeling. The call ended and as she numbly pocketed her Scroll she looked around and saw that Lux, Rusty and Iris were stood around her wearing expressions that were both expectant and somewhat concerned.

"Problem Corey?" Lux asked, breaking the silence

"No" she shook her head, taking several deep breaths to steady herself before deciding that it would be best to simply get it over with "That was my Aunt Winter, General Winter Schnee of Atlas Military Head of Atlas Academy, big sister to the head of the SDC and two seats of the Council, that Aunt Winter….she just personally offered us all places in the Specialist Branch, after I turned her down the first time she offered me one. So the only question is are you guys in?"

"Absolutely" Iris was the first to speak up and she answered wholeheartedly and without reservation

"Are you sure?" Corvid asked "'Cos this is gonna be a whole different level of work and it's probably gonna mean moving to Atlas full-time for at least the next few years….I don't know how often we'll be able to see our families, shit this is gonna make things awkward with Onyx" Corvid winced as she remembered that Winter had effectively banned Team GORE as a whole from the icy Kingdom for crimes they had committed there and resolved to bring it up when she gave her answer

"My parents live on different continents anyway" Iris shrugged "I've always gotta get on an airship to see one of 'em so this won't even be too different. I'm in" Corvid turned to Lux who simply shrugged

"My folks know that me being back in New Vale was always gonna be a temporary thing, we've had that talk, had it years ago….They're proud of me for saving Remnant, doesn't matter where I'm coming home to" Corvid swallowed a lump in her throat and let out a shaky breath and turned to Rusty, she knew that his home life before the academy had been abysmal and that if Lux was on board then he likely would be as well; yet she had no right to assume and would say nothing until he had given his answer

"Little lady you know darn well that you three are the first family I had that was worth a damn" he pulled Corvid, who was now struggling not to cry due to the overwhelming mix of emotions into a hug and murmured "Y'aint riding off into no sunsets without us"

"Thank you" she managed to choke out before stepping back and wiping her eyes "You guys are CLIR-ly the best friends I could ever ask for"

"Well….that's that moment ruined" Iris sighed whilst Lux and Rusty merely groaned at the pun, Corvid let out a watery chuckle as she decided which members of her family she should give the good news to first.

Felix had not returned to the house that he supposed he should now call home as intended, Arctus and Diamond had replied to his text message to inform him that they were already making their own way home and the Lion Faunus, still needing to clear his head after the unsuccessful job interview had simply cruised around the battered and recovering city in the borrowed Lightning Bug for a few hours until the school that his half brother attended had finished for the day and met Astra and Myrtle at the gates before the three of them made their way to a nearby park so that the Lion Faunus might spend some time with his biological family and commiserate on unfortunate recent events.

That was where Helios had found them, he had let Felix know that he and Nyanza were currently in the city if he wanted to join them and upon learning that the Lion Faunus was with his family they had both made their way to the park to meet them. Felix and Nyanza were both allegedly 'sparring' with Astra that it was clearly more play than actual training, the young, bespectacled Deer Faunus whose antlers seemed to be steadily growing to what would doubtlessly be an impressive size one day laughing at the antics of both his older brother and Nyanza, the feline being so approachable that Astra simply regarded as a friend rather than being starstruck or intimidated by the Hunter whom he had been something of a fan of ever since the Vytal Tournament all whilst Myrtle watched on in clear amusement at the boys' antics. Helios would likely rejoin the group soon, he had only stepped away to keep an eye out for Olivine and Ether who had apparently been in the area and had offered to join them.

Vibrant green eyes scanned the streets that led away from the park, located within one of the many monolithic Hive-Towers and within moments he found them.

"Hey Heely" Olivine greeted as the pair reached him and clambered over the fence that stood around the edge of the park; she had foregone her usual faded green one piece boiler-suit along with her weapon and even the heavy goggles that usually rested atop her head when not in use and instead wore a simple pair of jeans and a band T-shirt with a headband keeping her dreadlocks from falling in front of her eyes whilst Ether still had the guitar that doubled as his weapon slung across his back as though it had never occurred to him to part with it and wore a pair of ripped and faded jeans with several chains hanging from the waist and a sleeveless leather jacket covered with countless spiked studs, badges and patches whilst his glossy green-black hair cascaded over his shoulders. Despite the cheeriness of the greeting Helios knew his friends well enough to know that something was amiss, the two shared nervous glances and he could see in their eyes that there was something that they both wanted to say but couldn't quite bring themselves to.

"Is everything okay?" Helios asked, bracing himself for whatever the answer might be

"Yeah….it's just still weird seeing Mum in the new place y'know" Olivine shrugged and Helios gave her a sympathetic nod of understanding; whilst the Nikosi were largely nomadic they still had at least one standing settlement that they periodically returned to and so understood the ties that those in the Kingdoms had to their homes, the small house in city that Olivine had been raised in had been destroyed during the battle; Grimm reaching the street that the diminutive woman had grown up on and the militaries heavy-handed response leaving nothing but a collapsed and burning ruin, her mother was alive and well and had been fortunate and financially secure enough to find somewhere else to stay with relative ease but that did nothing to replace what had been lost in any meaningful way.

"Still, at least New Vale's getting back on its' feet right?" Olivine added quickly, still hesitant to meet Helios's eyes as she added "Had any luck trying to get us some more work?"

"Not yet" Helios admitted, trying his best to remain upbeat about the situation "Although I'm sure it's only a matter of time until we can leave the city and show Remnant exactly what Team NEON are capable of" the redhead had expected his enthusiasm to be at least somewhat contagious and so was caught completely off-guard by the reaction he received

"Oum damn it" Ether sighed, visibly uncomfortable as he turned to Olivine "We've gotta tell him"

"Tell me what?" Helios looked between the two of them for the brief moment it took for Olivine to steel herself before answering

"We were thinking of staying here, in New Vale" she met Helios's eyes and squared her shoulders "The wall is gone Heely….the whole Kingdom is gonna be at risk for years. I don't care if it's not the most well paid or glamorous job for a Hunter, there's more important things to being a Hunter than the sponsorships or going on some big adventure"

"I see" Helios managed to murmur, the words coming slowly as he turned the words over in his mind

"The thing is" Ether interjected, wearing an expression that made it clear he expected his next words to be received poorly "We-Ollie and I, we've been talking about this and look….we don't want to stop you or Nyanza from living your dreams so….Damn it Heely I don't wanna say it but-"

"But you think maybe it would be for the best for Team NEON to disband?" Helios finished the sentence for him and could do nothing to prevent the plummeting feeling in his stomach as he saw both Ether and Olivine nod in confirmation. A single moment stretched out for what felt like forever until Helios stepped forwards and threw his arms around both of their shoulders, pulling them into a tight embrace, his next words shaky as he struggled to maintain his composure

"We will talk about this more, with Nyanza….the four of us should be sure of this before we commit to it" he let out a slow sigh and added "But I need you both to understand that whatever you choose you have my blessing, my support and my undying friendship…..you made me feel welcome in this Kingdom and you will always have a home wherever I am" hearing this the pair finally returned the hug, the trio sharing an emotional moment as each of struggled not to be the first to give into tears until the sound of footsteps approaching broke them apart

"You good?" Nyanza asked, shifting his weight on the cybernetic leg that he was still getting used to as Felix looked at Helios in questioning silence until the redhead silently assured him that he would be okay

"We're fine" Helios answered, not entirely sure if it was the truth "We'll talk more later"

"Well it might have to wait" Felix noted "I just got a call from Eagle, Uncle Qrow came round to the house and he's asking for us….I don't know what it's about yet. Ollie, Ether you wanna come for dinner, Eagle's cooking tonight and she always makes twice as much food as we need anyway?

"Yeah, that'd be nice" Olivine smiled and with that the five Hunters made their way towards where the Lightning Bug was parked, wondering what fresh surprises would be waiting for them when they arrived.

The smell of all manner of food being cooked wafting through the house that Eagle and her various friends now lived in was a common occurrence as many of the freshly graduated students were, much to each others' surprise impressive cooks despite the fact that Halo Academy had catered to most of their needs for the last four years. Eagle, growing up in the Arc family home ever since her mother had sent her to live with her grandparents at three years old was privy to several recipes that were closely guarded family secrets whilst Arctus and Diamond were both passable if not exactly enthusiastic, Team GORE along with Helios had learned to cook as part of their upbringing in their respective tribes and specialised in food that could be quickly and easily made with little resources and would last for a considerable amount of time; the way the proud Nikosi and members of the Frost River Tribe had surreptitiously watched one another cooking in an attempt to learn secrets that they would never be brazen enough to simply ask for had been amusing for everyone else to watch and Felix had proven that he could back up his boasts regarding the vaunted 'Patch Grill'

Qrow realised that in the few weeks Eagle had lived here the house had likely felt more lived in than at any point during the years he had called it home and took that as proof, as if any were needed that giving the house to his daughter had been the right choice.

Currently Qrow was sat in his mechanical chair between a sofa and chairs that had been moved around to accommodate the new furniture that had been added and had admittedly left the living room somewhat cramped, yet distinctly homely.

Eagle was currently in the kitchen with Hellion, the sound of giggling joining the smells that wafted through into the rest of the house; Onyx had made his way down into the basement that Qrow had once spent far too much of his time in so that he could have some privacy whilst he spoke to Corvid who had called him, utterly overjoyed with the news that Team CLIR would be travelling to Atlas. The sound of a whetstone rhythmically scraping against Atlesian steel could also be heard as Carcharodon sat quietly in a corner of the living room sharpening the Red Waves whilst also cross-checking various lists of supplies that the Nemesis Kharybdis either needed or soon would, the lists written in a series of tribal glyphs and the Shark Faunus far more meticulous in his work than Qrow would have suspected; though the way squinted at them made Qrow wonder just how much of Carcharodon's intense staring was caused by a need for glasses that had never been picked up on. Finally Arctus and Diamond had recently returned, putting away the groceries they had brought with them before joining Qrow in the living room; the conversation between them being halted by the sound of the door opening again.

"We're back!" Felix's voice called out, followed a moment later by the Lion Faunus himself along with the entirety of Team NEON "Hey Uncle Qrow, you must've heard-"

"About Corey?" Qrow grinned, running a hand through his hair as he spoke "Yeah Winter mentioned to me that she was considering making the offer, she called her boyfriend to let him know as well"

"In love with an Atlesian Specialist" Carcharodon chuckled darkly "Well, we've already done so much that our ancestors would flay us living for….what can one more act of blasphemy hurt?"

"Dude….you're the leader of your tribe, just change the rules" Diamond shrugged and Carcharodon's jaw hung slack for a moment as he seemed to try and decide whether he should be appalled and disgusted at the mere idea that went against everything his people had ever known or at his own blindness for not thinking of it sooner.

"So what's up?" Felix asked "Eagle made it sound important"

"It could well be" Qrow acknowledged "Since everyone is here go and round everyone up for me" the blonde Faunus nodded and quickly slipped back out of the living room which was steadily becoming a little more full than was comfortable and returning only moments later with Eagle, Hellion and Onyx in tow

"Good everyone's here" Qrow breathed out, his voice becoming an amused, if gruff drawl as he added "First thing's first, you can all get those worried looks off of your faces….this isn't anything to do with Salem. It's just, well I know that things aren't what they should be right now, not in a lot of ways and you kids aren't getting the opportunities that you should be but I might be able to help with that"

"Dad you shouldn't have" Eagle mumbled

"She's right" Felix added, trying to find a way to phrase things that wouldn't seem rude "We don't want favours….if we did we'd just get Arctus to talk to Uncle Whitely and get us on the SDC payroll"

"Like hell you would" Arctus muttered, just as affronted at the idea of needing handouts after all of their hard work as his friends.

"I get that, trust me I do" Qrow assured them "But this isn't me doing you a favour….hell I didn't really do anything, you wanna hear me out or not?"

"Sure" Eagle nodded

"Good" Qrow said "Old friend of mine, retired Hunter by the name of Blanca lives on Jinxing island….part of a little island chain out at sea between Mistral and Vaccuo, most of 'em are completely desolate but the one he's living on now has a resort on it that he manages security for, real swanky place, all the movie stars hang out there"

"We've heard of it" Carcharodon rasped out "It's on the other side of Anima to the Frost River otherwise my people would have raided it"

"I'm pretty sure they deliberately built it out of your reach" Qrow snorted "Anyway the point is this, Blanca called me earlier and told me that a lot of the Hunters he had working on the island were actually from Vale, mostly people who've been graduated a few years and got comfy resting on their reputation; they've all been called back by the Council to work here….Blanca knows I'm working at a school and that Halo students graduated early this year, he says he has a little problem on his hands and asked me if I know anyone who's looking for work so I told him my daughter and great nephew are on the same team and are struggling at the moment-"

"And because flights in and out of Vale you may have also mentioned that they have friends who own their own ship, I presume?" Carcharodon interjected again, a wide smile full of jagged fangs splitting his face as Qrow nodded, pleased that the young Hunters were picking up.

"What kind of trouble?" Felix asked, trying to remain logical and businesslike despite everything about the situation making him suddenly excited.

"That's the strange thing" Qrow grunted "We have no idea….most of that chain of islands is desolate like I said, Jinxing is bigger than the others and has some pretty dense jungle after being artificially irrigated, something is lurking in those trees and a couple of divas and action movie stars have had close calls that are being kept out of the news for the moment but the strange part is we can't even get a basic description on this Grimm, everyone describes it as a different size or with a different amount of limbs"

"So you're saying that our first big mission is gonna be on an island resort where we get to mingle with the stars and hunt down some mysterious shape-shifting super Grimm?" Nyanza's enthusiasm threatened to bubble over until Diamond snorted

"You're thinking about your sponsorships again aren't you?" after the laughter died down Qrow cleared his throat to get everyone's attention and with a suddenly serious voice asked

"So do you kids want the job or not? Even splitting the Lien this many ways and accommodating for fuel it's gonna pay pretty well but a lot of people would jump at a chance at this, you were just offered first refusal….it's gonna take you a few days to get there by sea so you need to decide quickly"

"Team GORE accept the mission" Carcharodon rasped out and though he had not offered Hellion or Onyx a chance to object it seemed unlikely that they would have, Felix glanced around his own team-mates and saw each of them give nods of agreement

"Team FADE are in" he answered

"With what we spoke about earlier I understand if the two of you wish to remain here" Helios murmured as her turned to Ether and Olivine who looked suddenly uncomfortable, the redhead had wished to discuss the future of Team NEON more privately but it seemed that circumstances had forced his hand.

"We do want to stay and protect New Vale, this is home and it needs to be protected" Olivine began "But there are people other than all the celebrities on that island, there are people who live there who can't afford to just leave and all of their protection just left to come here….that doesn't seem right to me" she turned to Ether, the pair seemingly holding an entire conversation without words until they both turned back to Helios who understood their intentions and wore a bright smile as he spoke

"Team NEON will take the mission….perhaps one last time" and with that the mood in the crowded living room suddenly became one of celebration, the various freshly graduated students scrambling to tell their families that they had found a job whilst Qrow quietly messaged his old contact to have him write up the contract.

The good mood only being somewhat dampened by the smoke alarm blaring to remind Eagle of the food that had begun to burn in her absence.

Lightning flashed in the night sky and both the howling wind and the salty scent of the air assaulted Pantheon's senses as the monstrous Grimm stalked through the air silently on their powerful wings, all six of their eyes narrowing as they sought out their target; the source of the mental pull that had led them to this chain of island far out at sea between two Kingdoms and then lightning flashed again and they saw their prize, directly below them where there had been nothing but desolate emptiness only a moment before.

Salem's new abode was no mere palace or lair, it was a fortress.

It was clear that the Queen of the Grimm had been utterly terrified and shaken to her core by the weapon that had been levelled against her in New Vale, but also that she had contemplated and studied its' capabilities and responded by creating a stronghold specifically designed to withstand an assault from this new method of war.

It was also clear that Salem had used the power of the Wizard in addition to her control of the Spawning Pit that had already existed either on or close to this island and allowed her to reappear here as there was no other way that a construct of such size and complexity could have been created, the Fortress was several stories high and its' almost perfectly square, solid construction was made to appear all the more imposing by the addition of four grand spires which each rose up into the air, positioned at each of the fortresses' corners.

The evidence of the structure being designed to withstand Fracture warheads that Pantheon had seen came in the form of its' overall construction; where Salem's previous lairs and palaces had been comprised almost entire of primordial Grimm tissue in its' various states this fortress, whilst almost certainly having a core of the same, protean, mutable living darkness sported an exterior that was heavily armoured; the walls being thick layers of solid bone over which massive slabs of dense muscle and tissue intended to absorb impacts back grown, this in turn was protected by massive overlapping plates of chitinous armour that moved as the entire exterior of the fortress seemed to shift as if breathing yet even this was not the final layer of defence, Pantheon saw countless pinpricks of crimson light and realised that each speck in the darkness was the eye of a scuttling, insectoid Grimm whose miniscule body was entirely devoted to carrying a thick plate of armour as it scurried across the walls of the living building and took the sustenance it needed from the flesh that it protected, hundreds if not thousands of the things that could doubtlessly be manipulated to form a layer of living shields, the Kingdoms' new weapon worked best against unformed Grimm tissue and these disposable creatures, pitiable as they were did not fit that description.

The wasteful disregard for the Grimm sickened Pantheon and reminded them why the Queen was no longer fit to rule.

The Sentient monster continued to survey the fortress below them a moment longer, seeing that large spikes of bone jutted from the walls and windows had been carved into them at somewhat regular intervals to allow freshly birthed horrors to leave, although at that moment it would seem that leaving was something the Creatures of Grimm had little intention of doing as Pantheon saw that perched in most of the windows and on many of the bone spikes was a hulking, gorilla-like beast with bat-like wings and a horned, contorted skull.

Pantheon saw the Gargoyle Grimm and snorted, they were a poor replacement and even poorer effort if Salem meant to intimidate; letting out a low, guttural snarl Pantheon dove and smashed one of the things aside to gain entry to the fortress, splitting its' skull as it dared to growl in defiance.

Once inside Pantheon followed the same mental pull, the bone deep, pulsing ache that had compelled them to follow Salem' mental directive and allowed themselves to be led through corridors made of bone and pulsing, writhing obsidian tissue and illuminated by firefly Grimm that buzzed and hovered in the air whilst other Creatures of Grimm, still slick with the ooze and slime of their spawning skulked about, giving Pantheon a wide birth as they stalked past.

Eventually the sentient Grimm reached Salem's throne room

"Ah my wayward child" the alabaster skinned woman, who in truth was nothing of the sort cooed at the sight of them. Pantheon stomped closer, wings folding along their back and lower arms across their sleek armoured chest as their scythed upper limbs and tail tensed in a clear display of hostility

"Salem" they snarled, their terrifying multitude of voices echoing off of the walls as they took stock of their new surroundings.

The throne room was vast, so much so that to call it a room seemed almost laughable; in truth it was a grand hall with the monstrous dais of chitin and twisting tendrils that Salem's throne sat upon residing and the furthest end whilst a walkway of bone and obsidian, wide enough for a dozen men to stand shoulder to shoulder spanned the length of the room, held aloft by thick ropey sinew growing from the walls that acted as cables whilst below was what could only be described as a small lake of primordial Grimm matter, a seemingly bottomless mass of unformed living darkness from which the Queen of the Grimm could sculpt fresh horrors as she saw fit. An interesting addition stood to the right of Salem's throne, a solid sphere of bone larger than Pantheon themselves with splotches of Grimm flesh growing over its' otherwise bare surface like patches of mould which perplexed the monster for a moment until they saw it for what it was; a map of Remnant with the black shapes representing landmasses and the faintly glowing crimson lines and shapes that appeared across the sphere being Spawning Pits that were under Salem's sway, many of them brought under their control by Pantheon themselves.

"Do you not bow to your Queen?" Salem asked gently, yet with a dangerous edge as she appeared mere inches from their face with a sudden burst of impossible speed. Pantheon let out a snarl and lashed out at her with their clawed tail only for it to be deftly caught and held in place with one hand, Salem's strength simply incalculable.

"No matter, I don't really care for the gestures" she sneered, reaching out to grasp Pantheon's skull "Only that you obey" with those words they felt the armour enveloping their head crack and splinter as Salem's clawed digits pushed deeper and burrowing tendrils worked their way through the pulpy tissue beneath until they bored into Pantheon's mind directly and allowed the Queen to begin the process of reasserting control that had obviously wavered at some point since she had last seen her right hand in person.

Leaving Pantheon collapsed on the floor, mewling and whimpering in agony in the process.

"When you can stand I will have tasks for you to attend to" Salem was so confident in her own, undisputed mastery of the Grimm as a species however that it never occurred to her to check and ensure that her will and been imposed and that Pantheon was the obedient beast capable of leading her packs of monsters and little more that she desired.

Pantheon had been prepared for this.

How could they not have been after having their mind forcibly subsumed into darkness during their last encounter with the Queen of Grimm and so, the moment that she had drawn close enough to touch them Pantheon had reached out into the Grimm hive-mind with their consciousness and simply hidden in the endless web of linked, predatory psyches and waited; what Salem had forced her control over had been little more than an empty shell which Pantheon began to slowly return to, the pain of the injuries inflicted on their body only exacerbated by the process of reclaiming their physical form from the foreign influence; they realised that they would have to feign being nothing more than a docile and pliant beast for the time being and that their reckoning with the being they had once called Mother would have to wait but the truth of the matter remained.

Pantheon was a free Grimm.

Author's Notes:

BEFORE WE SAY ANYTHING ELSE, THIS STORY HAS HIT A QUARTER OF A MILLION VIEWS ON FF NET AND I WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO FOLLOWED THE STORY FOR THIS LONG.
So two chapters into Vol.12 and I'm honestly loving writing this story more than I have for a while.
Like, writing three scenes in a day, calling it a day then sitting down at midnight and writing two more 'cos why not.
Also "Post Graduate"….I wanted to call this Chapter "The Millennial Experience" so bad.
This one was mostly slow and chill except for that last scene and I'll level with everyone now; we've got a couple more of those chapters and a 'Mid-season' side-quest before we get to the grand finale….because this might be the last time I write these characters and I wanna give 'em a proper goodbye.

But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:
To everyone entering the job market right now and having to deal with those interviews where it feels like the decision was made before you even got there, just keep trying you'll get there eventually.
That fear that time is ticking on and you're not going anywhere….I'm not gonna lie, that is real; I feel that on a spiritual level.
Nothing like losing job opportunities because of things entirely out of your control.
Having to answer the 'How did it go' message when the answer is 'Badly' is always fun.
The whole Salem situation is having a lot of back lash, because nobody likes feeling that they were lied to even with the best intentions and everybody wants something they can blame when a situation is entirely out of their control.
Fluffy isn't gonna go rogue, he's just in a bad place and annoyed.
Eagle handling things slightly better.
Yeah the whole "And then they graduated and never saw each other again" trope is dead, these kids did not go through everything just to drift apart, they're staying in the same house.
Noise complaints indeed.
Honestly everything about domestic Cyberpet was fun to write.
Sometimes getting the meat cleaver is a fair response….but also, don't expect privacy if you're gonna fuck in the kitchen.
So Team GORE currently don't have a problem, don't worry I have a solution.
Ren's new outfit is basically a mix of Canon Vol.4-6 and Ozpin's outfit, I felt like Ren needed a new look as Headmaster and it worked….also with the hair down, shawl and the reading glasses instead of goggles he's looking kinda like Aizawa from My Hero Academia.
Damn, Ren gives literally no fucks about Winter's attitude today.
Winter might have been harsh with Ren, but her point stands….the downside of everyone knowing the truth is that everyone has an opinion about it.
So Fracture is still a thing, it's not gonna be forgotten just because it served a purpose….also a little foreshadowing if you caught it.
Obviously they're looking for Salem, they're not just gonna let her set up on them again.
Arslan as a teacher, something for the next story in this universe perhaps?
'Do as they pleased in the office'….Look, I know we all miss Goodwitch and that was her office but let's be realistic; you can't tell me that Nora hasn't been fucked on that desk yet.
Ah nepotism, where would we be without it.
So New Vale is actually being expanded as well as rebuilt.
Cheaper car insurance, a universal constant.
How does Specialist Xiao Long sound?
Yeah Onyx is technically still banned from Atlas….not that it would stop him from visiting Corey.
I had to work a pun into this scene somewhere.
Have a little more of Astra and Felix in the background, as a treat.
So New Vale getting smashed again finally hit home, with Ether and Olivine being the only two members of Team FADE, GORE or NEON to live in the city it was only really a matter of time.
Even if Team NEON do go their separate ways in terms of their careers their will be no hard feelings about it.
Seriously….Everyone in that house can cook to some extent.
As bad ass as Car usually is he's good at the quiet parts of being in charge as well.
"Dude….you're the leader of your tribe, just change the rules"….And that right there was a revelation.
Can't blame the kids for not wanting handouts.
Blanca was actually one of the names on Qrow's Scroll when he was looking for Hunters in Mistral in Vol.5….I thought it was a Street Fighter Easter Egg.
The chain of islands isn't actually on Remnant's map but y'know what that map should have more islands on it.
So there's a weird Grimm on an island that all the celebrities hang out on….should be a fun time; I know this is the final volume but the temptation for an obligatory beach episode is there.
Hey, the kids have got jobs now.
So….Salem's new base is on an island chain, I'm sure you don't need to be a genius to figure out where this is going.
So Salem has an actual fortress now and this one is even bigger and nastier than Evernight….Also, having it be built specifically to withstand Fracture warheads just seemed to be a sensible choice.
Magic to hide it, bone as dense as concrete, muscle/shock absorber, extra armour layer, living shields that can swarm making them basically living nanobots and then Grimm Gargoyles….Salem isn't playing this time.
Calling my version of Salem a woman feels weird, 'cos she really isn't even a person.
So Salem's got a throne and those tendrils obviously connect her to the Grimm hive-mind on a larger scale, she's got her living map of Remnant displaying the areas she controls the Grimm in and then she's got a fucking lake of a Spawning Pit.
"Only that you obey" now that's the Salem from the show right there.
You didn't really think I was gonna have Pantheon turned into a meat-puppet again so easily right?...Oh no, no, no; Pantheon and Salem are gonna have some issues.

Thank you to SumoSnipe, Funlander for their reviews on the last chapter.
I'm glad people liked the wholesomeness.
Someone had to smash the feels button.
Nah Ruby's never gonna tell people "Do it yourself then" no matter how under-appreciated she is.

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