Yang had made it to her team just fine but she was worried by the fact that Blake was nowhere to be found. Her sister was in the middle of killing a few beowolves in the main hallway so Yang fired three shots of her own. the first two killing one of the beast and the third catching a second's attention long enough for Ruby to decapitate it.

"Ruby, have you seen Blake?" Yang asked. Weiss was in the process of dispatching her own creature of Grimm but she still managed to answer for the pint sized reaper, who was still fighting a second wave of monsters.

"Blake is MIA. We have no clue where she is. Professor Goodwitch wants us to help the second years secure the dorm hallways while she and the other teachers try to thin the horde by taking out as many of the incoming grimm as possible." the Heiress having relayed her orders quickly went back to watching her partner's back.

Yang knew that she had a moment to catch her breath so she pulled out her scroll and tried to call Jaune. it went straight to voicemail but it still rang so he wasn't eaten by a grimm. letting her worry go for now Yang set about aiding her team or what was left of it defend the dorm.

...

James was working in overtime to get back to his main ship. Roman had managed to keep the fleet from firing on itself but he was stopping it from firing on the grimm and that wasn't okay. normally flying to his flagship would be not only possible, it would be easy.

but things had to be hard this time didn't they. He needed to look like he wasn't expecting his knights to turn on him. so he let them damage the shuttle a good but before he destroyed them. as such what he was doing would be less classified as flying and more as crashing inside of his own hanger.

thankfully Roman seemed incapable of locking the whole ship down. That meant that the hanger was open and the auto turrets were still powered off. making sure he was strapped in James made his final approach.

his bullhead lurched violently when it touched down and scraped to a stop. Thankfully they had been designed to have such lands not only be survivable but relatively easy to handle. unbuckling and getting out James saw that most of his men were either dead or gravely wounded.

The sight broke his heart. He could have stopped this but knew that if he did then there would be too many questions that needed answering. the brotherhood needed to remain a secret no matter the cost. The only thing that he could do is make sure that the lives that were spent meant something.

Drawing his pistol James made sure that it was loaded before replacing it in his holster and starting his search of the ship. The hacked KNIGHT security drones were patrolling the halls but avoiding them wasn't too challenging.

there were two that had been placed in front of the main doors into the bridge. there was no way to bypass them without starting a firefight so he drew his pistol and popped the corner putting a round in the main CPU of the first one before he grabbed another one and used his robotic hand to crush the weapon arm of the second before throwing it against the wall with such force that the drone for lack of a better word shattered.

the door was locked but it did little good when Ironwood used his override codes to unlock every door on the entire ship. the code also shut down the weapons systems until he gave the counter code.

then came his favorite part. it gave him complete control over the entire ship. He now ran the single strongest airship in the world from his cybernetic implants. He quickly relocked the bridge and made sure that nobody could get out.

Once that was done he went to the intrusion countermeasures page and scrolled through until he found the one he wanted. The cameras that watched the bridge were linked to a series of tranquilizer guns.

they were great non lethal options but they were a little finicky about the targeting systems. They were supposed to be guided by an infrared laser mounted to the cameras but James had his doubts.

then again the only person to ever use it was a former soldier who was now spending time in a military prison after he shot Winter in the ass with one of the guns. James wasn't present for that which was honestly good since he would have killed the son of a bitch if he was.

James had interrogated the man and found out that the system shot low so when he lined up his shot on the girl that matched the description of Neo Politan he aimed for the center of her left butt cheek in the hopes that it would land in her leg.

the soldier was wrong the aim was dead on and shot the small mass murder in the ass. she jumped a little and looked back to see the dart. the dose wouldn't put most folks to sleep but it wasn't meant to. it just made you more docile and easier to manage.

sure enough she was much slower and seemed like she didn't know where she was. that got her boss' attention but Roman wasn't a threat to him so he opened the door and leveled his pistol at the stumbling woman. "get on the ground and she won't die,"

doing as he was told James cuffed both of them and saw that thanks to her smaller than average size the dose had put her out. acting fast James set about reactivating all the weapons and targeting them on the grimm.

with the flagship up and running the rest of the fleet was also reactivated and did likewise. The battle was functionally over but that left Roman and Neo. he was still trying to figure out what to do with them. his first thought was to kill them but that seemed like a waste.

"You two are going to tell me everything you know about the people you are working with," He said. he could tell that Roman was about to try and say something so he cut him off saying "because if you don't then I'll let you go and they will hunt you to the ends of existence. until they go down I'm the best protection you have."

Roman sneered at that. "you have no idea what you're dealing with"

a knowing smirk spread over James' face. "Try Me."

...

Ruby and Weiss were helping to secure the bullhead docks for the ability to get any injured students and staff out of the school while Yang was searching the rest of the school with Professor Port. Atlas had finally gotten its head out of its ass and took out the flying grimm.

Weiss heard that the knight drones had been hacked but the specialist core got the situation under control very quickly. with all of that handled the battle was over in minutes. while she was there she saw Willow and Olivia regroup from their room. When the attack came they were separated from their team then they got orders from a professor but after that they had more or less just run wild on any grimm they found.

now they were moving to Ruby in the hopes that she could point them in the direction of her team. "where are Shiro and Noami?" Olivia asked.

"I don't know Shiro won't answer his scroll and Naomi is missing." Ruby said.

"Naomi betrayed us," Shiro said, surprising everyone with the fact that he had somehow made it into the landing area without anyone noticing. He had a body wrapped in a blood soaked curtain in his arms. hr carried the body to the place that they were using as a makeshift field hospital and set the body down.

in doing so the curtain partially fell away and Sun's face could be seen. the sight drew a gasp from Ruby and Willow. they were about to ask what happened when Shiro growled. "Noami Fucking killed him." he crashed his hand into one of the nearby stone pillar cracking it. "shot him the back of the fucking head." again he lashed out at the stone damaging it further.

His face went from rage to horror as he turned to Ruby. "Where's Blake!"

Ruby wanted to give him a better answer but all she could offer was "We don't know she won't answer her scroll." she could tell that Shiro was getting more scared so she kept going. "her aura meter shows that she is alive but we can't find her."

Shiro visibly relaxed, at least she was safe. She was probably with some other team trying to clear out a part of the remaining grimm. Suddenly everyone was distracted by the sound of Willow screaming. turning revealed Jaune, practically on his knees and missing his right arm dragging Pyrrha's dead body towards the staging area.

they all ran over to help. Willow and Ruby tried to help Jaune to his feet but he refused to let go of Pyrrha. instead Shiro and Olivia had to pick them both up as best they could. they shuffled near to where Sun was laid and set the two of them down.

look at Jaune would haunt Shiro for the rest of his life. less than a day ago Jaune was the pinnacle of what Shiro wanted to be. He was strong and confident and led his team well. He seemed fearless. That was less than a day ago. Now Jaune looked like a different person. He just sat there staring at Pyrrha with a face of pure defeat.

Shiro heard an airship and when he looked he saw a luxury craft land nearby. The guards that poured out looked like they were from Atlas and the man who followed was instantly recognized by everyone there.

Jaques Schnee followed by his son Whitley Schnee. Weiss looked nervous just being in his presence but nobody noticed. something about her father drew the attention of everyone in the area. walking over to Weiss he said. "Weiss, we are leaving, come with me,"

"Father, my team needs me here." Weiss protested.

her father's response was swift and left no room for argument. "young lady you are still my daughter and you will do as you are told. Do not make me think that giving you the freedom of Beacon over the structure of Atlas was a mistake and get on the airship."

Whitley looked like he was about to make a smart remark but the look his father fixed him with shut that down before it even started. Weiss seemed like she wanted to fight the matter but gave in and followed her father and brother on the ship.

when she was onboard the guards went to the bay of the ship that they stayed in and she and her brother went to the main cabin. Weiss was going to use the main restroom in order to get some medical supplies. She wasn't badly hurt but she had a few scratches and bruises that needed attention.

"father wants nobody going in there," Whitley said. from the chair he had sat down in the leather was the best that could be bought and matched his suit well. his posture relaxed a little more now that they were in private but he still seemed to be doing his best to act like his father.

Weiss thought about it and decided that she didn't care what her father wanted. she was going to tend to her wounds. when she reached for the handle and vice like grip clamped down on her hand and with a strength she didn't know he had her father pulled her away from the door.

at first she felt fear flood her when she saw how mad he was but unlike all the other times his anger seemed to melt as he looked at her and he sat her down in a chair next to her brother. walking over to the table he said. "I suspected that you would need to care for a few new scratches that was why I had the aid kit taken out and left on the table. If you had looked or waited you would have seen it."

making his way over to her he kneeled in front of her and set the kit on the floor first fishing out the antiseptic wipes and then a package of bandages. Weiss wasn't completely certain what to say, her father had never paid this much attention to her before. He always delegated such tasks to Klien.

her words still failed her as he started to search her for injuries. staring with her neck then moving to her hands and arms before finishing with her legs. Once he had identified all open wounds he went to work cleaning and bandaging all of them.

when he was almost done he began to speak. "Weiss I know that this has been a very stressful day for you but there is a lot that I need you to understand, things are going to change in a large way and I'm going to need you to be patient and try and keep a clear head about this."

Weiss felt dread growing in her stomach if her father had news so bad that it warranted him paying this much attention to her then it must have been awful news.

"I have something to tell you but your sister needs to be here for it as well. it pertains to all three of you."

As he spoke he looked at Whitley, that was what tipped Weiss off. He was dying and he had written her and Winter out of the will. it made her sick, all he was doing was trying to soften the blow for when he told her that her name now meant nothing.

she refused to let this go unchallenged. she had no way to fight it but that didn't mean that she had to cooperate. She quickly stood up and started for the bay where the soldiers were staying. they were a bunch of hired mercenaries but she would rather be in a den of jackals than a pit of vipers.

"Weiss please," her father started.

"NO!," she shouted. "I've had it with you lies and vileness," she started for the door but stopped halfway there and she turned back and added. "I wish it wasn't so easy to read what you want out of this. and I never thought i would say this but you know what since it clearly doesn't matter to you then it doesn't to me. I HATE YOU!" she screamed before storming off.

"That arrogant bitch" Whitley mumbled. He was rewarded with a firm but not harsh hand to the back of his head.

"I've told you about talking about your sisters like that, why don't you go wait in your room for the rest of the fight." Dropping his head in shame and confusion Whitley slowly made his way out of the room as Jaques opened the door to the restroom. Adam Tuarus was passed out in the tub with several IVs in him and multiple bandages wrapped around his chest.

The boy was still asleep and that was fine with Jaques. he came here for a little bit of Privacy. sitting down in the chair he brought into the room for when Adam woke up Jaques lifted his hand to his mouth and did his best to wipe the tears from his face.

his shoulders heaved as he cried. He sat like that for several minutes with his head in his hands. "what happened?" The question got Jaques focus, looking he saw that Adam was awake. He almost looked like he was worried for Jaques.

"My own daughter just told me she hates me, I know the other one feels the same, and my son who loves me loves all the wrong things about me." Jaques said. He was speaking more to himself than to Adam but that didn't matter. now having a question of his own Jaques asked. "why do you care?"

Adam seemed to think about moving before he thought better of it and answered. "you could have left me for dead or even killed me yourself with a clean conscience. but you didn't, and I'm not restrained so I'm not going to a secret prison. so I suppose that I'm not too sure what to do right now and it never hurts to know more than you need to."

"I know about the poison Adam," Jaques said.

Adam was nervous, "So I am going to some secret prison then?"

"No, my doctor found it in my most recent blood screening. I have a little over three months to live at the best." Jaques said the words that he had rehearsed but saying them still felt odd. Adam had managed to poison Jaques favorite brand of whiskey. Small enough amounts that it wasn't able to be picked but by the time Jaques had finished the bottle he was a dead man. "My Wife too but she already knows." the dying man said

Adam felt a pit in his stomach. He never thought he would feel bad about killing Jques Schnee but he never met or had even heard of the man's wife. He didn't even know her name but he had killed her. "this needs to end Adam. all the fighting and killing. you and I have turned each other into monsters." He handed the young man a stack of papers the language was one that Adam didn't know and when he turned to Jaques the older man explained.

"That's the old tongue of Mantle, all pieces of law must be written in it, here's the important parts in English." He handed Adam a second sheet. The laws that would be passed by this bill would be ground breaking. Massive jail sentences for negligible endangerment of workers, both human and faunus. Mandated fair pay, a new court system that recognized all rights as universal. It was everything that Adam had been fighting for.

"There's a price to this," Jaques said. Drawing Adam's attention.

"You want my death.' Adam guessed. If that was the price then he would pay it gladly. Jaques had never lied to him before. If his death would make all of this happen then he would pull the trigger himself.

"No," Jaques responded, confusing the young man. "You leave the fang and never go back, don't start a new one, and never hurt my family. give me your word on those things and I will have this voted on tomorrow. Me and everyone that owes me favors will vote for it. That alone makes the passing certain when you factor in all the ones who would vote for it any way and it will landslide."

Smoothly reaching for the white fang patch on his pants Adam ripped it off and tossed it at Jaques feet. "You have my word," he paused for a moment like he was thinking about whether or not he wanted to say what he was about to say and seemed to think that he should so he finished. "you have my word, brother."

There were tears in his eyes to match Jaques. A decade and a half of fighting had led them both to this moment. and now it was over. Less than a year ago they were enemies but now they were simply brothers. Watching out for and caring for each other. In truth they had both always had a lot of respect for each other but they never let it impede their work.

"My war with you is over. Soon James will have all my intel on the fang, they won't be a threat, and anyone who would threaten my brother's family." As he spoke he disconnected all of his IVs and climbed out of the tub to stand in front of Jaques. "Will have to step over my dead body to do it."

Jaques fought to his feet before wrapping his arms around the young man. Even without their brotherhood connection they would still have been close. Just the amount of time they had spent studying each other made that inevitable.

...

it was funny how blurred the line between enemy and friend had become over the years.

Minutes after Weiss and her family left a new airship arrived. Willow saw it and now it was her turn to look scared. When the bay door opened a single man walked down the ramp. He was tall and blonde with broad shoulders covered in heavy armor. He had a sheathed sword at his hip and he seemed to ignore everyone on his way to Jaune.

It wasn't hard to guess that this was Jaune's father. "Report," the man said standing over the broken boy. When he got no answer he lightly stamped his foot on the ground and this time she spoke a harsher tone. "Report!"

Years of training overcame grief and Jaune rose to his feet. looking up at his father he stated. "Final assessment, complete tactical failure. Ozpin is dead, the status of the maiden is unknown and the school is actively burning. One of my teammates is deceased and the other two had been AWOL for some time."

Jaune's father looked displeased and so it was no shock when he said . "You know what this means."

Nodding Jaune answered "Yes sir," holding out his left arm he continued. "Sir, I cannot reach the controls." with a nod the old man pressed a series of buttons and the armor fell to the floor,

"I need the ring," he said only to be cut off when Jaune immediately countered. "Only from my lifeless hand."

Nodding once more he offered. "Then give me the body glove." Jaune swiftly stripped out of the glove leaving him in only his underwear.

With one final look Jaune's father said. " Now begone from my sight from now until the end of time,"

Without a moment of hesitation Jaune turned and limped away, Willow for her part was in complete shock. "How can you do this, he's your own son." She begged

"It's not about what I want Willow." He said in a tried and practiced tone. "If you want to stay here you can if you want to come home I'm leaving soon." Having said his piece the old man returned to his ship and waited.

Willow, looking more confused, walked over to Shiro. she was acting on instinct but her leader was as good a place as any to start. she was about to speak when Ruby blurted out. "Shiro, Blake's scroll just pinged at the harbor, I don't know where she's going but that was where she was. "i'm sending you the location."

before Willow could respond Shiro took off towards one of the transports. The ride down was long and nerve wracking. Once the craft landed he was the first one off and began sprinting for the docks.

When he was close he used the tracking ping that Ruby sent him to find Blake but only saw her scroll he picked it up and saw that there was a message on it. He pressed play and a video of Blake's face filled the screen.

"Shiro," she started, "I'm sorry. I can't tell you why but I need to go, my past is coming back to haunt me and I can't let that hurt you." In the video she was starting to cry and so was Shiro he knew what she was about to say. "I love you, Goodbye."

The video ended and Shiro was prompted to replay it. Rage was building him now. his hand crushed inward crumpling the scroll and grinding the screen into dust. "AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHH" he roared as he hurled the scroll into the ocean.

"I wasn't strong enough," he growled walking over to a shipping container. " WASN'T STRONG ENOUGH!" he yelled, lashing out and putting his closed fist through the metal wall of the container.

"You gonna keep attacking metal boxes or do you want to get stronger.?" a voice from behind him asked. when he turned Shiro was Odin looking at him. "I can take you to your Aunt, she won't be nice but she will make you stronger."

Glancing down at the bruise forming on his hand Shiro looked up through crimson eyes and growled. "where is she?"