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

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

I am making no money from this.

Chapter 154: Time To Say Goodbye

The utter decimation of New Vale, where thousands of people were simply lost as the shelters they took refuge in were swallowed entirely by the void that Salem commanded and ceased to exist had been devastating to the city for all the reasons one might expect, but also in ways that had not been foreseen, even if perhaps they should have been. With Rhodium Torchwick, Melanie Malachite and Hie Xiong all recently dead and the vast majority of their respective gangs either dead, in prison or having fled the city to evade justice and without the threat of Officer Fawn Bordeaux and her task force hunting down any criminals who dared organise and killing them before they ever received a trial hanging over their heads a new generation of street gangs had begun to emerge to fill the power vacuum in New Vale's criminal underworld and the upheaval or in several places utter destruction of everyday life and the natural order of things, coupled with Salem being revealed to all of Remnant leaving faith in Hunters and other such traditional protectors somewhat shaky had only exacerbated the situation further.

Which was exactly why Shine Jua, leader of Team SNST intended to put a stop to it.

He wore his usual combat gear which had often been described as something of a mishmash of various styles, grey hoodie and sweatpants and high-top sneakers paired with a tactical vest and black-painted armour adorning his knees, arms and chest that were not quite up to military standards but still useful for softening blows, heavy-duty leather fingerless gloves and a harness for his weapon which featured several additional pouches for Dust crystals and other supplies whilst a pair of goggles with several tinted lenses and visible mechanical inner workings had been pulled over his eyes. His weapon was currently firmly in place over his right hand and forearm and he fought to keep his breathing under control as he moved towards his target, knowing that he was about to be outnumbered and most likely surrounded but also that there was no other option that he was willing to consider.

His target was a house on a street that stood largely empty within one of the lowest reaches of one of the poorer Hive-Towers, its' inhabitants having been trapped within a doomed shelter, yet despite its' abandoned state there was clearly someone here, light peeking through the edges of the boarded up window of the living room and Shine highly doubted that this was a simple case of squatters; the lookout stationed at the end of the street confirmed his suspicions in fact that this was the location of a burgeoning criminal enterprises' base of operations.

Shine had learned, through the gossip one inevitably heard by being a popular and well recognised figure in the local community that several incoming Dust shipments had been missing a crate or two by the time they arrived at their intended destinations and the fact that this news had coincided with some local criminals seemingly having far too much lien at their disposal and rumours about the performance enhancing drug 'Booster' possibly being back on the market soon; all of this however was going either unnoticed or simply unanswered by the authorities who did not have the resources to fight every battle that they currently faced and had, as always left the poorest reaches of the inner city to fend for themselves. Shine had decided to take action, speaking with some acquaintances at the docks where the Dust was being delivered and over the course of several weeks gaining information about the gang and working out how he would handle them before deciding that if New Vale needed a reason to trust Hunters again then he would be happy to provide it.

Besides, this city was his home and he had no intentions of watching suffer another wave of gang violence after everything else it had been through.

As Shine drew close and pressed himself close to the wall, staying in the shadows in case there was another lookout that he had missed the dull buzz of hushed conversations from within the boarded up and allegedly abandoned house confirmed that this was indeed the right place; twisting a small control on his goggles gave him the final confirmation he needed as he was given a thermal image of the living room which was fortunately the only occupied room of the house. Six gang members, their heat signatures plainly visible in a room that was far colder than it should be owing to the presence of two large crates of Ice Dust that had been stolen from an SDC shipment that very morning.

"Okay" he breathed out, speaking solely to himself "Let's do this" with that he shifted his weapon. Ferrum-Manibus into its' ranged mode; the mechanical limbs of its' pincer form rotating back to mimic the working of a crossbow whilst a rotating ammunition chamber filled with sharpened steel rods which each featured a Dust crystal at their core slid into place. Without hesitation he threw caution to the wind and fired an explosive round into the boarded up window; leaving the occupants stunned and confused and more importantly allowing him to use his Semblance of line of sight teleportation.

He appeared in the centre of the living room, whose furniture had been removed to make space for crates of stolen Dust and swiftly shifted his weapon into its' pincer form and seized one dazed criminal by the midsection before promptly throwing them into a wall to render them unconscious, another had been left sprawled on the ground and unmoving by the blast which left four gang members to contend with.

Another two fell as one of them hastily drew a pistol and fired, their trembling hands betraying a lack of experience; Shine had teleported and the criminal shot one of their own comrades only for Shine to appear behind them and buckle one of their knees before driving his own knee into their skull in a display of the ruthlessness he had learned by training alongside Carcharodon Gore of Team GORE. The fifth member of the group announced their intention to shoot at Shine with several curses and the young man responded by shifting his own weapon back into its' ranged form and promptly stapling them to the wall, a series of steel rods tearing through the gang members' clothing and leaving them dangling.

Only for the butt of a weapon to collide with Shine's head and leave him reeling, his Aura rippling around him as the sixth and final member of the group aimed and fired the shotgun that they had used as a blunt cudgel at his chest. If Shine could focus enough to teleport he could end this in a matter of moments but another shotgun blast impacting against his Aura combined with his vision still swimming kept him from using his Semblance.

Then something entirely unexpected happened.

A dark stain rose up the wall behind the shotgun wielding thug, almost appearing as though it were damp or even a shadow that had somehow become liquid and then, in a scene that would not be out of place in a horror movie that darkness began to leak from the wall and take shape. In a matter of moments a grey-skinned and black-cloaked form had appeared and the criminal managed to turn around and let out a whimper at the sight of pitch black eyes and a smile filled with countless jagged fangs before they were knocked unconscious with a single blow.

"Car?" Shine gasped, utterly baffled by this turn of events "What're you doing here?"

"I'm a qualified Hunter am I not?" the Shark Faunus rasped "And it would seem that despite my best efforts to teach you, you still think that your opponents will fight fair….though your technique was impressive" Shine felt a momentary swell of pride at the rare compliment but quickly pushed it aside as they pulled themselves to their feet and tried to make sense of the situation

"But….Why are you here?" he insisted "There weren't any Hunters working this case, that's why I tried to handle it-"

"It looks handled to me" Carcharodon noted with an amused edge to their voice "And word of your exploits has reached me….they say you feed the children whose parents were lost in the battle, that you cut down any who try and encroach upon your home. It almost sounds as though you're trying to form a tribe of your own"

"It's not like that" Shine muttered "A lot of people lost everything….the system is overrun, these kids haven't got anywhere to go. I don't wanna be some leader or anything to them, I just don't want them out on the streets where people like this can take advantage of 'em" he gestured to the gang members that they had dealt with and Carcharodon nodded in understanding

"It seems I've underestimated your potential and I apologise for that" Carcharodon rasped out quietly "You know where to find these children?….Round them up and deliver them to Halo Academy; there are a lot of empty rooms and I refuse to believe that our Professors would see children go hungry"

"I….yeah, I should have thought of that" Shine nodded, only to almost jump out of his skin when he felt Carcharodon's hand on his shoulder.

"I came to find you because I leave this Kingdom in a matter of days, our training will have to come to an end….this only confirms that the decision I've made is the right one" Carcharodon gave Shine a smile, one of his rare genuine ones "Seek me out when your graduate and your team will never want for work or a home….if I can't rebuild my tribe then I will make something close to it and you have more than earned your place" Shine was utterly stunned, Carcharodon had always been a demanding and brutal teacher whom the younger man had nevertheless looked up to and hearing him speak in such a way left Shine with a sudden lump in his throat that he quickly swallowed, their current location hardly seeming like the ideal place for a heart to heart discussion

"Thanks" he croaked out "It means a lot"

"Now go" Carcharodon ordered bluntly "I hear sirens in the distance and you have more useful things to be doing than explaining this to the police" the Shark Faunus watched his young apprentice leave, hopefully to gather up the orphaned and displaced children of this part of the city from wherever they were residing and take them directly to the Academy the moment the first transport departed. Looking around Carcharodon then made his way over to one of the crates of stolen Ice Dust and helped himself to several large handfuls before sealing the lid again just as the police, who had likely been alerted to the sound of gunfire arrived.

He was of the Frost River Tribe after all and the Dust was his by right of conquest.

It was mid-morning on Patch, the sun was beating down on the island and the smell of the sea and fresh fish was carried on the air from the docks as Corvid and Onyx wandered into the centre of town which had changed remarkably little as Patch had become a small city in its' own right; Blake and Yang were beside them walking hand in hand as always though her mothers' presence was oddly not enough to make Corvid self conscious as she leaned into the hulking Puma Faunus as he slung an arm around her waist.

"Well hopefully some people will have seen the news and be feeling a little less of an ass-hole now" Corvid noted as she scanned the crowd in search of any familiar faces, a breaking news story that morning had implicated Carcharodon and a student of Halo Academy in the dismantling of a drugs gang and also the rescuing of some children, it seemed obvious that two separate issues had been somehow conflated; though Carcharodon had predictably refused to give a statement to the press which had led to all manner of speculations. Seeing the story whilst making breakfast it had seemed to Corvid that things may be slowly returning to normal as the media found new stories to obsess over; the fact that the orphaned children would be cared for by Halo Academy would also likely work wonders by the public image of Hunters.

"Let 'em think what they want" Yang answered simply, though Corvid missed neither the slight growl in her voice or the protective look she gave Blake who was still yet to return to life in public eye fighting for Faunus and workers rights.

"We didn't come here to look for trouble….to be seen yes, but not cause trouble" Blake reminded them all cautiously, looking as though she was unsure who she should direct the warning to.

Ostensibly the four of them were making a trip into town to make last minute preparations, with Team FADE having taken a mission on an island far from Patch Blake and Yang were happy to finally be able to throw their son the graduation and leaving party that he'd initially asked them to abstain from and since Team GORE would be accompanying them Onyx also wanted to secure some additional supplies, mainly the fresh fish that Patch was famous for; the fact that Corvid would be leaving for Atlas along with the rest of Team CLIR the following day was also another cause for celebration and also meant that she and Onyx naturally wanted to spend the as much of the day together as possible. All of this was also a suitable justification for a decision that Blake and Yang had made, both of them knew the natives of Patch well enough to understand that no amount of official statements, speeches or decisions made by the Council on the mainland would make a difference to here and that if the two of them wanted to make a difference in the way Hunters were seen on the island they would have to do it themselves and the first step was reminding the locals that they were still part of the community and the same people that they had always been.

As the four of them continued through the streets they were aware of several glances being cast in their direction, many simply curious and several others giving nods of acknowledgement whilst children gave friendly waves, the Xiao Long family were known to the majority of Patch's residents to some degree or other after all and as they continued Blake had to cut short several attempts to talk business, redirecting those speaking to her to the appropriate offices whilst Yang saw one of the students who had chosen to transfer away from Signal Academy duck into a shop to avoid being seen by her and frowned, she had no intention of berating the teen in public and would have wished them well if they had simply talked to her. All in all it seemed that Patch had once again rallied behind its' own and would support Xiao Long family regardless of whatever the rest of Remnant thought of them or any other Hunter for that matter.

The warm feeling that this left the four of them with did not last long however.

A sour faced and leathery old man whom Blake vaguely recognised as a dock worker bodily pushed past them, taking care to drive his shoulder into the feline Faunus as he did so; muttering curses under his breath as he went, the words 'Foreign fleabag' had been discernable and an instant later the man was being held several feet off of the ground, legs kicking feebly as Onyx gripped the front of his shirt, greenish yellow eyes narrowed and fangs bared

"Speak up worm, you've clearly got a lot on your mind" a low, rumbling growl escaped from somewhere in the back of the towering Faunus's mouth as he spoke and his words were filled with same chilling sense of menace that Onyx often admired in Carcharodon; the combination left the man in his grasp whimpering with wide and fearful eyes fixated and the double-bladed axe slung across Onyx's back

"Okay that's enough" Yang stated firmly as she grasped Onyx's shoulder and forced his arm down until he released the man, whom the blonde turned to and glared at with eyes that were suddenly a fiery red "Don't ever talk to or about my wife again" with that the old dock-worker scurried away and the tense silence was interrupted by the sound of Blake letting out a sigh

"Well….we've definitely been seen now"

"We didn't look for trouble" Corvid noted defensively, arms folding across her chest as she added "And I'm gonna be honest if Onyx didn't handle that I was going to"

"I know you would….even if I wish you wouldn't" Blake sighed "Yang and I are going to pick a few things up and then head to Miltia's bar; you two enjoy your day"

"We'll see if we can get Onyx's ban lifted" Yang added with a hopeful smile, her eyes their natural colour once again "And hopefully get Sun to not take another swing at you….I'm less hopeful about that one though"

"Gee thanks" Corvid managed the impressive feat of rolling a cybernetic eye before hugging her parents and watching them leave, once they were out of sight she leaned into Onyx again and murmured

"I'm gonna miss you y'know" her nose wrinkled in abject disgust "Ugh, what have you done to me….I used to be ruthless about this kind of thing?"

"I can pretend you were talking about your Bull-Head and let you save face if you want?" Onyx rumbled

"Don't remind me" Corvid sighed, an unexpected downside of accepting the offer Winter had made was that Team CLIR would have to leave Old Unreliable behind; they would be training with the latest models of transport craft along with all manner of other things and were not permitted to bring their own personal transports, though Corvid suspected that the colourful and easily identifiable paint-job that her teams' craft boasted had played a part in the decision.

"I'm sure when I next see you you'll have a faster and more heavily armed one….and be wearing an Atlesian uniform" Corvid saw the look on Onyx's face and snorted in amusement

"So you like the uniform….I'll be sure to abuse that information at a later date" she let the Puma Faunus sputter incoherently for a while before cutting him off "So we've got all day, what do you want to do first?….don't say it"

"I wouldn't dream of being so crude" Onyx gave her a smirk that made it very clear that he was thinking of the same dirty minded answer as her

"Shame" Corvid smirked reaching up to whisper in his ear "'Cos if you did I'd be down for it" with that she sauntered off, taking extra care to swing her hips and leaving her boyfriend staring after her for a moment until he came to his senses and caught up.

Whilst many of their friends and team-mates had spent the last few days packing and loading their belongings onto the Nemesis Kharybdis in preparation for their first real mission as qualified Hunters, preparing themselves with everything they could possibly need as they were unsure exactly how long they would be away and had no real idea of what to expect upon their arrival Arctus and Diamond had no such problems; not because they were more meticulously organised but rather because they had never truly unpacked their belongings from their suitcases upon moving in to Eagle's house, the pair having expected to take a mission much sooner than this and having privately felt that fully unpacking would be too much like accepting that they would remain in New Vale for longer than they were comfortable with.

The pair had not been idle however and had put the free time that this had afforded them wisely, for example that morning Arctus and Diamond had made their way to the Mercy Foundation, the charitable institution that they had once volunteered at and after being intensely relieved to see that both Hickory, the woman who ran the shelter and many of those who sought refuge there were alive and well they had offered their services, helping in any way they could as they had once done until they had informed the older woman that they needed to leave due to a prior commitment and been both congratulated on graduating and wished well for their future, both the young Hunters and their former employer seeming to sense that this was likely the last time they would see each other.

Currently Arctus and Diamond were making their way through New Vale, they were currently several layers up in the Hive-Towers and wandering through areas that had escaped being submerged in Salem's void between realities though the evidence of Grimm attacks was still visible in the form of buildings sporting various degrees of battle damage; their destination was a monorail station that was, mercifully still in operation that would take them closer to the docks as Eagle was currently preoccupied and had warned her friends that she would be unable to pick them up and may even be late to Felix's party on Patch.

"All this and we could have just got a ride in a Bull-Head" Diamond noted

"It would have been Corey picking us up….do you trust her flying?" Arctus countered

"I mean in the Omega Wing yeah" the silver haired sniper shrugged "But I see your point" the two shared faint smiles, it was common knowledge that whilst Corvid ruled the skies in her battle-suit she was not so adept at piloting her teams' aircraft and delegated the task to Iris for the sake of everyone's safety; which in combination with Team GORE no longer having their own transport meant that the trip to Patch would be significantly longer than it seemed to be, not that either Arctus or Diamond had any complaints about spending more time alone together.

"So what do you think we're gonna see on Jinxing?" Diamond asked, her usual aloof coolness falling away as she revealed just how excited about the upcoming mission she was

"A lot of snotty rich kids who you're gonna hate" Arctus snorted, only to receive a playful swat to the shoulder

"I mean the Grimm dumb ass" Diamond treated him to a roll of her eyes, fiddling with her nose piercing as she added "What do you think we're up against?" Arctus paused and considered, giving the question more serious thought before answering

"Honestly I'm not sure" he admitted "I mean Qrow said all the descriptions are different and the island it between Mistral and Vaccuo; we don't have anything like that in Atlas. It's been described as kinda birdlike a few times but nobody has seen it flying yet, does Mistral have a dodo Grimm?"

"What would you even call that?" Diamond wondered

"I mean Corey would call it a Do-Don't" the Bear Faunus shrugged, earning a laugh from his fiancée

"Oh I'm gonna tell her that" she beamed "She's gonna discover a dodo Grimm just to name it that and it'll be your fault"

"Oum damn it" Arctus sighed jokingly, before becoming notably more serious as his expression sobered enough to catch Diamond off-guard

"You okay?" she asked gently

"Yeah" he murmured, squeezing her hand reassuringly before continued "It just hit me though….we're never really gonna know how long we're gonna be away for missions and we can't really afford to take time off this early in our careers; so how're we gonna get married?"

"Dude" Diamond breathed out slowly as she realised the truth of his statement before shaking her head and forcing a smile into place "It'll be fine, we can just be engaged for a few years"

"You're sure?" Arctus asked quietly "You wouldn't mind-"

"Big guy, you're back" Diamond stopped and slung her arms around his shoulders and pulled him close "You're home, with me….we're together again and we've got all the time in the world. We can wait"

"Thanks Dee" Arctus murmured, leaning down to kiss her gently and allowing his concerns to be eased even as he noted to himself, not for the first time that his time in the alternate Remnant had shaken him in ways that were hard to put into words and that it was an issue he would likely have to work through at some point. After remaining like that, embracing each other in the street for some time the two continued onwards, walking hand in hand until they came to the outer limits of the Hive-Tower and the opening that would lead to the next monolithic structure across

"Thank Oum this bridge is still here" Arctus noted as the pair walked out onto the massive bridge between the towers, several lanes of traffic in each direction rushing by and creating enough noise that the Bear Faunus almost missed Diamond's gasp of surprise

"What's up?" he asked

"I know where we are!" Diamond exclaimed, suddenly overly excitable as she pointed a specific point at the other end of the bridge, or more accurately just below it

"There, right there!" she laughed utterly ecstatic "Our first kiss!"

"Oh my Oum you're right!" Arctus's hands flew to his mouth as he remembered the simple trip to the movies that had ended in the two of them being chased through the streets by Rhodium Torchwick, ruining the mobsters car and using Diamond's Semblance to hide under the bridge and out of sight. No sooner than the Bear Faunus had processed the fact was Diamond in motion

"Come on!" she called back to him as she sprinted across the bridge and hauled herself over the barrier at its' edge before causing Arctus's heart to jump into his mouth as she leapt, deftly using her Semblance to land on the outer wall of the Hive-Tower and warp forces and dimensions around herself so that the sheer drop several stories to the ground effectively did not exist and the wall became her floor. Realising what she intended Arctus leapt after her, using a Glyph to carry himself to the wall where just as she had done a little over three years ago Diamond held onto him so that the two of them could share the benefits of her Semblance and Arctus held onto her in return simply he could think of nothing he wanted more.

"I love you so much big guy" Diamond pulled him down into another kiss, this one slower and more tender

"I love you too" Arctus murmured against her lips, the two of them utterly forgetting the world around them until the sound of a window being flung open intruded upon the moment

"Find somewhere else to make out you crazy kids!" a wizened and balding old man yelled out of the window, thus making their attempt to relieve the moment entirely authentic.

Whilst Arctus and Diamond had, at their graduation assumed that they like most other students would not set foot inside their Alma Mater again, or at the very least not for several years until they had established enough of a reputation and experienced enough of the life of a Hunter to be allowed to take students on training missions themselves Eagle Arc had been able to escape such bittersweet notions by virtue of being the daughter of Qrow Branwen who would apparently be continuing to teach their for several more years at least and the honorary niece of both the Headmaster and deputy, all of whom had assured the freckled blonde that the doors of Halo Academy would always be open to her.

"And Blanca wasn't even supposed to be there mind you….it was supposed to just be me and Summer on this job and somehow this lunatic saves our asses, then gets the guy we were trying to bring in and walks him back into town with us in cuffs; Summer and I ended up not getting paid because they thought Blanca did all the work and he was the one who signed the paperwork….and then, and then I promise you I'm not making this up he asked us for a ride home, Summer looked ready to kill him-"

Qrow could no further as he was currently doubled over in his mechanical seat laughing hysterically as he recounted a time he had worked with the retired Hunter who was now hiring Team FADE and their friends to Eagle who was similarly howling with laughter and had tears streaming down her face by this point as she struggled to catch her breath. Initially she had come to Halo Academy today for several reasons, first and foremost she had wanted to say her goodbyes to her family here after spending the last few days while arrangements were being made in the village of New Hope with her grandparents and various aunts and uncles, secondly she had seen the news that morning regarding Carcharodon being involved in breaking up some sort of crime ring and delivering several children to the Academy and naturally she wanted to help in any way she could as well as find out exactly what had happened there was also the matter that had prompted Qrow's anecdote, Eagle had been curious about the man that had reached out specifically to hire her team and had wanted to know more about him, though she was now curious about someone else.

"The way you talk about Summer Rose" she noted "She really meant a lot to you didn't she?"

"She was the best of us" Qrow murmured without missing a beat "She really was….And I don't just mean at killing Grimm, even if she was in a league of her own even before she figured out how to use her eyes. She was just a kind hearted person, she would have done anything to help anyone….kinda like you"

"Thanks" Eagle couldn't help but swell with pride a little at the comparison until a thought occurred to her and her crimson eyes suddenly widened "You and Summer did you ever?"

"I'll tell you when you're older" Qrow interrupted, earning himself a playful pout from Eagle

"No, no we didn't" he sighed, guessing what his daughter was going to ask "Sorry but Ruby Rose isn't secretly your half-sister"

"Oh thank Oum, I don't need any more surprises involving family" Eagle's answer left Qrow laughing until he was wheezing for breath again for several moments. Eventually the two of them ended up in peaceful silence for a while, merely enjoying each others' company until Qrow saw Eagle checking the time on her Scroll

"Got somewhere to be?"

"Felix's parents are throwing him a leaving party on Patch, I'm heading there with Hellion….Are you coming?"

"I can't….apparently I'm looking after all the kids tonight; since some cartoon used my likeness which I never got paid for they all think I'm the coolest thing ever" Eagle couldn't help but chuckle at the grumbling tone of voice as he lamented the obvious parody of himself

"You are the coolest" she assured him before adding, more seriously "What do you think is gonna happen to those kids?"

"Hopefully some of them still have parents out there and they just got separated, or other relatives they can stay with" Qrow murmured, sighing heavily as he added "I honestly don't know about the rest….with the way things are I don't know if the care system can take much more strain-"

"We're just lucky Car didn't take them as recruits for a new Frost River Tribe" Eagle noted, trying to make light of what was admittedly a terrible situation

"They'd be fed and cared for, better than living on the street. As tough as Car acts he wouldn't let anything happen to 'em" Qrow noted with a shrug "Who knows…..I know Ren and Nora think of every kid that comes through this academy as theirs, they might end up letting 'em all stay"

"Do not put the idea of all these new cousins in my head" Eagle laughed, in truth she loved being part of such a large family and the idea of Ren and Nora having children whom she could be a fun and awe inspiring older cousin to was something she didn't want to allow herself to hope for. A distraction presented itself in short order however as Eagle's Scroll finally vibrated and she couldn't keep the smile that formed on her face as she read the text message that Hellion had sent her.

'I'm at the airship terminal. While I was in the city I passed the comic store you took me to when you were teaching me how to read, it's still open so I picked up the latest issues of the ones you like'

"Oum I love that woman" Eagle muttered under her breath, choosing to ignore the fact that 'picked up' did not strictly mean 'bought' before rising to her feet and giving Qrow a brief hug "Gotta go Dad"

"Have fun and tell everyone I said hi….I'll try and be at the docks before you leave tomorrow"

"Thanks and I will do….Hopefully when I come back I'll have some cool stories to tell you"

"I can't wait to hear 'em kid" with that Eagle departed and Qrow couldn't help but smile for quite some time after she left; he might have been absent for his daughters' childhood but the fact he got to see this, the moment where she spread her wings and made her way out into the world was almost enough to make up for it.

Whatever happened, Remnant would never be quite the same now Eagle Arc was ready to make her mark on it.

Miltia's bar was filled with even more raucous noise than was usual for the establishment, whose regular crowd were admittedly some of Patch's more rowdy residents. The dull buzz of dozens of conversations was blurred and indistinct, almost lost entirely beneath the thumping bass that reverberated in Felix's chest whilst the alcohol blunted his senses, if only a little.

The party was in full swing and as Felix leaned against the bar waiting to be served he cast his eyes around to take in the sight, a broad and somewhat drunken smile that showed his overlong canine teeth splitting his face as he saw that his friends and family were surrounded by the natives of the island he had called home for much of his life and though it was true that not all of them had come to wish him well, the Xiao Long family had not taken over the entire bar after all, merely requisitioned several tables whilst Sun and Miltia had set up banners to mark the occasion it still pleased the Lion Faunus greatly to see the two groups interacting so freely and without issue considering everything that had happened.

The glint of lights striking something golden and metallic caught his eye and Felix honed in on Yang's cybernetic arm which his mother had finally modified and tweaked to a point that she was happy to call finished, at least for the time being and paint the same bright gold as its' predecessor with winding and intricate patterns resembling countless deadly nightshade reaching from the back of her hand to the elbow joint courtesy of Blake who had designed and applied them. Currently Blake and Yang were leaving the dance-floor that the small bar boasted, Yang's arm around Blake as someone whom Felix vaguely remembered running errands for as a young boy chatted animatedly them, in his slightly inebriated state he couldn't make out everything that was said but it seemed to be a declaration that if the world didn't want Ruby Rose then she should just come home to Patch.

Turning his attention elsewhere Felix could see many of his friends enjoying themselves, Arctus and Diamond were on the dance-floor where the Bear Faunus had almost certainly been dragged against his will and Felix half considered simply watching and waiting to see how long it took his cousins' willpower to utterly crumble before he instead sought out the others and found Eagle in a quiet corner reading a comic book of all things with Hellion all but draped over her back and shoulders as she allegedly read along with her, Olivine and Ether were close by in conversation with some Signal students who were certainly not old enough to be in the bar who seemingly wanted the opinions of recently graduated Hunters and lacked the social awareness to realise how much the couple would like to be left alone. Finally spotted his sister, Corvid was making her way onto the dance-floor with Onyx and shot what could only be described as a warning glare towards the bar where Felix realised Sun Wukong must have been; the Monkey Faunus obviously helping his wide at the bar between patrols of the island in his capacity as a Hunter though before Felix could turn around seek him out, or even finally be served he felt someone tap his shoulder and heard a familiar voice

"Hey Fluffy"

"When did that go from being something that only my Mums could call me?" Felix griped as he turned to face Amethyst Wukong who merely rolled her mint green eyes and snorted

"Round about the time you stopped kicking the crap out of people for looking at your tail funny….here take this" she pressed a large bottle of something pricey into his hands "On the house and no I haven't stolen it, Mum said to give it to you"

"Is this to keep me neutral if things get tense with Onyx and Corey and your Dad?"

"Oh please she knows you wouldn't be neutral….besides my Dad could beat Onyx easily" Amethyst shot back

"But not Corey?" Felix allowed himself a smug grin as the younger Faunus merely scowled but didn't answer the question before moving further along the bar to make it clear to any patrons that she was not currently serving; the Lion Faunus trailed after her and poured them both a glass from the bottle he had been given, after downing it in a single gulp the burned on the way down he gave the Monkey Faunus a serious look

"How's things Ammi….I know things must be hard for your whole team right now?" Amethyst paused and seemed to consider giving a non-committal answer before instead shaking her head and allowing a look of deep concern to fill her eyes

"I'm worried about Redshank….we all lost a teacher and a month or so at the Academy, he lost his dad"

"So go find him and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid" Felix answered simply "You're partners….it's part of the job, even when it sucks"

"Yeah I know" Amethyst muttered "I'll head onto the mainland and see if I can track him down tomorrow….but in the meantime this is your going away party, you gonna spill and tell me what the job is?"

"Getting paid to party like a rock-star" Felix flashed her a smug grin, only to flounder somewhat as he saw her disbelieving expression "No seriously, resort full of celebrities….I can't say the name for legal reasons but they've got some Grimm trouble and don't have Hunters on site right now because of, well everything, so we get the job"

"Oh that's nice" Amethyst made no attempt to hide just how jealous that description had made her "But seriously though, it's gonna be weird not having you around….you've always either been on the island or at the Academy-"

"I was an Atlas for most of my second year" Felix interjected "But yeah I get what you mean….it still doesn't feel real somehow, like I wake up and still think I'm gonna be late for class some days" Amethyst made to reply but paused, seeing Felix's deep blue eyes, that she would freely admit she had once found absurdly attractive scanning the crowd that filled the bar once again and she couldn't help but roll her eyes and let out an amused huff as she realised who he was looking for

"He'll be around somewhere, you don't have to be joined at the hip" she noted in a pointed, if joking way before adding "Seriously you and Helios are taking a cruise to a resort island tomorrow-"

"Hilarious that you think it's a cruise, we're going on Team GORE's ship"

"Oof" Amethyst said simply, visibly wincing "Yeah go find your man, there's no telling who Carcharodon will keelhaul first" Felix couldn't help but laugh at that, unsure whether he should agree or argue that the Shark Faunus wasn't as bad as he made himself seem to outsiders, after a moment of slightly drunken deliberation he decided on neither and instead gave Amethyst a brief hug and wished her well.

Her idea to go and find his man was one he agreed with very much and he was sure that Helios was still here somewhere.

"What the hell, fresh air made it worse" Nyanza groaned as his knees buckled only moments after he managed to stand again and a fresh bout of dry heaving left him trembling, red-faced and slicked with cold sweat. Helios stood behind him, the redheads' armour removed for the occasion save for the golden bracers adorning his forearms that were rarely, if ever taken off and it was a testament to the severity of the situation that the he had not simply scoffed and told Nyanza to hold his liquor better, instead he took care to gently lift his partners' bushy tail and keep it off of the ground so that it the snowy white fur wouldn't be stained by his own vomit or any other dirt and filth that it may otherwise be dragged through until the Faunus could half limp, half crawl to the outer wall of the bar and almost shimmy around its' surface in a display that must have been hilarious to any onlookers, as though he didn't trust the ground to not simply fall away beneath him until finally he sat on the ground, massaging his temples as he leaned against the wall of the side of the building, away from the entrance and any crowds that may gather outside it; Helios took in the sight and decided that the best descriptor for Nyanza's current appearance would be 'crumpled'

"Are you….well?" he asked slowly, slurring the words as the alcohol took affect on him though to nowhere near the same dramatic and frankly worrying degree; instead Helios had merely boasted that Nikosi brew had made him almost immune to anyone else's alcohol and had been promptly challenged to prove it by the islanders.

"Yeah, haven't really been drinking since my operation" Nyanza's expression darkened for a fraction of a second before a sound that was half laugh, half agonised moan escaped him "I knew this was a possibility, risked it anyway….thought I'd luck out" Helios took a deep breath to quell that incandescent fury that ignited within him and fought the urge to cuff Nyanza around the back of his head and leave him to suffer for his own utter stupidity but thought better of it, noting that the sudden movement would only leave the Faunus struggling not to vomit again. Instead the redhead let out an irritable huff at the situation, it seemed that the procedure involving the use of Fracture compound to excise the parasitic Grimm from his body had left him with greater health complications than just the web of thin scars that covered his body, Nyanza's tolerance for alcohol was simply non-existent and drinking had made him almost violently ill.

"You're not an idiot" Helios growled after letting his partner feel sorry for himself for a moment "As much as you like to pretend otherwise you're smarter than this….so why?" Nyanza simply shrugged and made a non-committal noise as he looked anywhere but at Helios, looking more like a scolded child than anything else until finally he answered, the words seemingly being dragged from him wholly against his will

"Just wanted to enjoy having the team together one last time" he grumbled, voice cracking somewhat as he added "Y'know all four of us….Team NEON; the way we should be

"Oh" Helios breathed out, looking away for a moment and giving Nyanza a moment to collect himself and refusing to acknowledge the fact that the Faunus was crying as he doubted that it would be received well if he drew attention to it.

"I don't get how you're so okay with this man" Nyanza continued, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand and sniffling "This isn't how things were supposed to go"

"No, no it isn't" Helios breathed out "But would you have me force them?" Nyanza shook his head and Helios sat beside him, taking care not to tread or sit on his partners' tail

"When Olivine and Ether told me they wanted to pursue careers in New Vale I told them that it would change nothing between us and I meant that" Helios murmured "I left my people and followed my own path to remain here and live the life of a Hunter with Felix, what kind of hypocrite would I be if I argued against them for choosing to stay and defend their home even if it meant we have to go our separate ways, how can I judge them for wanting that?"

"I guess" Nyanza muttered, voice still watery

"What is it you want?" Helios asked, suddenly curious and ashamed at himself for never having this conversation with his partner over the years "Truly….my goals have changed since I enrolled at Halo, Ether and Ollie's have stayed the same; but is it you want, there must be something more than Lien and fame?"

"You really don't know what it's like growing up as the poor fat kid who can't fight on an island where everyone wants to be a Hunter like Ruby Rose 'cos she's the only person from here that anyone else on Remnant cares about" Nyanza chuckled, trying to keep a bitter edge out of his voice

"The Lien is nice, my parents try their hardest but we never had shit; now I can make their lives easier. Really though….I do this to matter, because nobody really believed in me or thought I'd make it before Halo, not even Fluffy, not really. It's why I love you guys so much; you always did, especially you, you saw something in me and made me see it in myself"

"Anyone who doubts you is an imbecile….especially if it's you" Helios answered, blunt and firm as he added "I would have died a hundred times before now if I didn't have you as a partner. Yes you were insufferable when we first met but you are a capable Hunter and an inspiration to those around you, look at Felix's brother, look at the companies that give you tributes-"

"Sponsorships" Nyanza muttered "Not tributes, but thanks" Helios was about to argue that there was, at least in his mind little if any difference between the two and his people were often paid tribute by other tribes who wished to pass through Nikosi lands however he was halted as a shadow passed over him

"Am I interrupting?" Felix's voice was amused, yet it was a thin veneer laid over obvious concern. Helios sprung to his feet and regretted it as his head began to spin yet still he leaned close to the Lion Faunus and hoped that in his current state Nyanza wouldn't hear

"He can't drink any more, he needs to sleep….he's a little emotional right now"

"On it" Felix nodded before stepping over to Nyanza and helping him to his feet "Come on man….I'm gonna have Grandpa come pick you up and drop you off at your place, wait at the bar til he gets here; Sun will make sure you don't collapse and hit your head….come on, don't argue with me Nyanza, just text me when you get home; text Razz as well she wanted to say goodbye before she left" at the mention of his ex-girlfriend with whom things seemed as if they would always be complicated Nyanza fell silent, his semi-coherent attempts to assure Felix that he was fine coming to an abrupt halt as he allowed his childhood friend to lead him into the bar and seat him at an empty table. Helios watched as Felix pushed through the crowd at the bar, matching the glares of anyone who took issue with him doing so before explaining the situation to Sun and Miltia before making his way over to the redhead who shook his head slightly

"Was using Razzmatazz like that really for the best, you know he never really got over her?" he asked pointedly, though he still allowed Felix to wrap his arms around his waist and lean in to him.

"Yeah but she really did want to talk to him" Felix shrugged "Besides if he actually does talk to her instead of just passing out then he's got closure one way or the other"

"Fair" Helios noted

"Anyway, he'll be fine" Felix gave a bright-eyed smile "You are one hell of a dancer and it's our last night on this island, so why are we stood here?" Helios found that he couldn't fault his boyfriends' logic and, with one last glance towards Nyanza to make sure that he was okay allowed himself to be led, his hands snaking around Felix's waist as he went.

"You know it's okay to look excited, nobody will think less of you for it" Qrow teased in his usual gruff drawl as he watched Carcharodon stare at the incoming ferry from Patch, trying his hardest to appear as stoic and unshakeable as he always did yet a slight impatient tapping of his foot gave him away and revealed the nerves that he suffering from, nerves and a roiling stomach that were entirely to be expected yet that the Shark Faunus would allow himself to admit to. In response he gave a wordless, rasping hiss and pulled the hood of his sleeveless cloak further over his face although Qrow still glimpsed the ghost of a smile before it was hidden.

The two of them were stood at New Vale's docks with the sun glaring down on them, waiting for Teams FADE and NEON to arrive along with Corvid, Onyx and Hellion. Stood close by were the other members of Team CLIR and Felix's biological mother and half brother, the young Deer Faunus sat on his mothers' shoulders so that he might see the Hunters coming even a moment sooner.

Eventually they came into view, ten Hunters with Felix leading the way though the Lion Faunus looked distinctly worse for wear and Qrow couldn't help but laugh as he saw the telltale signs of a hangover on each of their face though he supposed he couldn't really comment considering just how much he had drunk before Team STRQs' first real mission.

Carcharodon must have sensed the smell of alcohol that still lingered around them as he stalked away from Qrow and the others that had come to see them off, stepping directly into Onyx and Hellion's personal space and giving them what could only be a stern lecture; Qrow though he heard the phrase 'Stinking like dead bilge rats' before his attention was directed towards Team FADE as they finally reached him.

"Hey Uncle Qrow" Felix murmured, wincing at the sound of his own voice before making his way over to Myrtle and Astra to say his goodbyes; his biological mother proving herself to be something close to a saint as she produced a sizeable amount of greasy breakfast food that promised to cure their conditions. Qrow shook his head, chuckling again and turned his attention to Eagle

"Hey kid, told you I'd be here" Eagle didn't respond with words and instead reached down to give him the tightest hug she dared and Qrow was left to wonder if she had drunk less than her friends or if her own chipper personality and boundless enthusiasm were simply unrelenting. After a few moments of pleasantries and conversation the various teams assembled, Teams FADE, NEON and GORE double checking that everything was in place an accounted for, including food, fuel, munitions for the ships' considerable weapons, tools and other necessary equipment and all manner of other oddments right up to the Lightning Bug which Eagle had simply refused to leave behind yet as they did so Qrow noticed that Team CLIR were stood close by exchanging glances as they waited for Corvid to make an appearance.

Which she did only seconds later with all of her usual flair

"What is she doing?" Carcharodon demanded as Old Unreliable, paint-job as distinctive as always rose from the ferry that had carried the Hunters over from Patch and began to hover over the Nemesis Kharybdis; Corvid taking extra care to keep it steady as she lowered it onto the ship

"Didn't the little lady tell you?" Rusty drawled "Since we can't take her with us we're letting y'all borrow her….we'd like her back in one piece y'hear?"

"Thank you" Carcharodon managed to answer, despite being utterly stunned by the generosity. A moment later the Bull-Head landed with a metallic thud that caused several winces before Corvid came streaking towards them small crowd, the Omega Wing peeling away from her as she landed.

"So" she breathed out, her expression hardening into something resolute as she realised the scope of what lay ahead for them all "This is it then?"

"Stay safe in Atlas" Onyx rumbled, Corvid nodded before pulling him into a kiss and whispering some assurances in his ear then turned to Felix and gave her brother a brief hug

"Proud of you Fluffy, you're gonna do great"

"Thanks sis" Felix struggled to his tone even and expression neutral as Corvid shot him a wink before walking away and joining Team CLIR, the four of them making their way towards the city itself and the airship terminal from which they would depart for Atlas. Felix was unsure of when he would see his sister again, or any of his family for that matter but knew that there were currently more important concerns

"I'm proud of you too Fluffy….you've grown into what all of us, your mothers, me, Tai, Ruby, all believed you could be" Qrow's voice was quiet yet seemed to fill the Lion Faunus with fresh energy and his cybernetic tail glinted in the sunlight as it swished behind him

"Okay team!" he called out, chest puffed out with pride "Let's move out!"

Qrow watched them leave, eleven Hunters ascending the ramp on to the ship that would take them towards the start of the careers and couldn't help but smile; the ambient noise of the docks seemed to fall away as the teams disappeared out of view and he knew that his faith in them was deserved.

He could sense that some of them would go on to become shining beacons of hope for aspiring Hunters to hold up an example and that others would likely keep Remnant safe in secret, fighting Salem or any other threats that might arise from the shadows like he had done yet one thing was undeniably certain

"Those kids are gonna change the world some day" he muttered to himself.

Authors Notes:

And we're off.
Three chapters into the final volume, we have left New Vale and spoiler alert….none of the teams on that ship will be visiting any of the Kingdoms again before the epilogue.
I've actually worked an additional chapter into this volume because it's literally the last chance to do this and considering where the teams are heading it's the perfect opportunity.
So (Again Spoilers)….Chapter 156 is a beach episode and will literally be called "Omake" because of course it is.

But anyway, let's summarise shall we:
How many of you saw the title and had a Pavlovian response?
Gang shit is eternal, as long as money is a problem new recruits will keep cropping up.
Shine, one of the team that follow Carcharodon around like little duckling, fought against Helios in a qualifier for one Vytal Tournament and Carcharodon in the second one.
Shine out here taking on the up and coming crime bosses all on his own, Ruby Rose would be so proud.
The thing with teleporters' is once they've managed to catch you off guard it's really easy for them to snowball that momentum and fuck up your whole day.
Carcharodon showing up out of nowhere would be legit terrifying and you know it.
There are definitely orphans after that last battle, I gave Shine the job of being the one looking after them until now because if Ether and Olivine had known about it they never would have agreed to leave New Vale.
Car has made similar offers before but now it's official; he's got a ship, his career as a Hunter is starting and he's building his own network of people he trusts. It's not the Tribe but it's close….Really this scene just highlights how far he's come.
Of course he took some of the Dust.
The media are vultures who care about having a story first more than having the truth but occasionally it benefits people.
Remember a reporter trying to talk to Carcharodon at the Vytal Tournament in Atlas? He had no time for that shit.
Nobody in any insular community gives a fuck what some twat in a suit said on TV, you want something from us you come and talk to us directly.
Cussing out Corey's Mum in front of Onyx….quick way to get your teeth put down your throat.
I think some of you guessed that Team FADE and go were getting the stupidly brightly coloured Bull-Head the second Corey mentioned not being able to take it with them.
That Specialist uniform though….
The Mercy Foundation…..because it's our last chapter in New Vale of the entire story and I felt like throwing in all of the callbacks.
"A lot of snotty rich kids who you're gonna hate" insert the Morgan Freeman "He's right you know" meme.
Do-Don't…..you know you love it. Also, if you think a Dodo can't be scary; watch Kamen Rider Zero: One and enjoy the Assassin Dodo.
And in the spirit of all the callbacks, this was one I specifically wanted to include….the whole "Diamond's Semblance letting them hang on walls" is basically the FADE version of the Spiderman upside-down kiss.
….Also the old guy at the end of the scene is meant to be the shop-keep.
Most students don't see the Academy again unless they take students on missions, Eagle has an unfair advantage.
Eagle loves a good story and Qrow has definitely got a few to tell.
So just a thought for the epilogue….would anyone want to see Eagle and Hellion/The crew as a whole adopt one of those kids?
My disdain for the "Qrow is Ruby's father" theory knows no bounds.
The kids' cartoon having a parody of Qrow since he's so famous has been mentioned before….I think it was all the way back in Vol.01, might have been 02.
Well played Hellion.
Everyone's having fun, Arctus can't dance though, Hellion is teasing Eagle and we all know it and Ether and Ollie are being cock-blocked by kids that shouldn't even be there.
Have Amethyst Wukong, another background character from early in the story who I wanted to say goodbye to.
Sun Wukong would get his shit wrecked by Corey.
The job Team FADE got has the potential to be a really fun one or utter bullshit.
Cold fresh air….it will help with being drunk, but those first few seconds while you're acclimatising to it after being in the bar/club are unpleasant.
So Nyanza can't drink, sucks to be him.
And it's turned him into an emotional drunk….oof.
Nyanza has a point there, in Vol.01 Felix specifically didn't want to be partnered with him because he knew Nyanza wasn't the best fighter and would probably hold him back.
Using his ex's name like that was cheap but it worked.
Car really has been getting banter from everyone this chapter and most of it wasn't to his face.
'Stinking like dead bilge rats'….is one way to put it.
Yeah, the Lightning Bug is on the ship….in case of emergencies.
And like that Team CLIR are heading to Atlas to become Specialists.
So Qrow thinks some of the crew are gonna be the next Ruby or other famous Hunters that everyone knows and others are gonna be like him and his network of contacts, any guesses on who goes into which category?

Thank you to SumoSnipe and Funlander for their reviews on the last chapter
Not a carefree beach episode, but a beach episode nonetheless.
Well Team GORE have a temporary Bull-Head but they also attacked a scrapyard that was owned by Melanie Malachite back in First Year so some sort of payback is definitely on Carcharodon's "To do" list.
I mean the expansion makes sense, they've been expanding upwards with the Hive-Towers but if some of those have to come down to be rebuilt and the wall needed to be rebuilt anyway then why not expand outwards.
The islands are of plot convenience because again….they're not on the official map of Remnant but that map should have more islands anyway.

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