Hiya everyone! Wyn here with another chapter of RWBYFall! Ok, so confession time! This story is inspired by the events of an old Crossover Roleplay server I was a member of for a little over a year. I was one of the main storytellers, and many of the ideas for RWBYFall came about from it. As always, I hope everyone enjoys, and I'll see you next week for Red Reaper and the White Princess!

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"Remind me why we're heading into the deep dark of Vacuo again, Coop?" A short, brown haired, red eyed twenty year old woman calls out as she stands opposite him on the bullhead that he chartered to take them into the anima sector of Mistral. Dressed in a blue combat skirt outfit trimmed in golds and greens, with a matching long coat, and dark blue leggings that end in short heeled brown boots, her cat ears and tail all flicker in her slight annoyance at being dragged out of her warm bed at the crack of dawn for another one of her partner's weird hunches.

"Heard a rumour at the guild hall yesterday when we got back about a trio of giant robots bringing down a nasty Greater Wyvern." Jack Cooper replies calmly as he checks out his R-201. The former rifleman and Titan pilot is struggling to keep calm since he saw the pictures of a familiar figure executing a smaller Wyvern ruthlessly. The man himself hasn't changed much since getting blasted to Remnant when the fold device exploded other than growing out his hair a bit to try to add to his otherwise still youthful appearance. His pilot's gear is still in excellent shape, as is his new combat gear purchased when his old gear finally wore out, or as she once put it, his balls were finally hanging out of his crotch.

"So?" Keiko Ayano asks grumpily before stifling a yawn. Cooper just smirks as he watches her stretch. She's barely five foot three inches tall, but fiesty and short tempered in the mornings. Nothing at all like the scared and shy girl he met when he attended Haven Academy briefly to earn a huntsmen's license with her as his rather unwilling partner. But five years of life or death situations, several mishaps, a few cultural misunderstandings, and a screaming match that ended up with them sharing a kiss in front of the Huntsmen's Guildhall has made them inseparable.

"If I'm right, at least one of them is a Titan, Keiko." He replies as he slings the assault rifle on his back before checking his Wingman next. "Specifically, one of the baddest Legions to ever hit the field."

"Uh huh." Keiko gives him a look that makes him cringe a bit while pulling her hair into a pair of long twin tails that reach her shoulders. "This better be legit, Coop. I'm not tromping all over creation again on a wild goose chase."

"It's legit, and it got passed specifically to me since I'm a bit of an expert and all." He grumbles as he moves to stand next to the younger woman. "Besides, aren't you even the remotest bit curious?"

"Nope. Curiosity and cat killings tend to go hand in hand, and with me being considered a cat faunus here, I'd prefer not getting my tail caught in a trap." She informs him as she pulls a dagger from the small of her back and makes a show of checking it's edge. "Besides, I'm not you. I don't get all excited over some rumor or tentative link to my past suddenly showing up at this roach motel of a planet. I gave up years ago on ever going home." She informs him as she puts the dagger away and begins to inspect a small Adel Conglomerate submachine gun.

Cooper sighs as he puts his helmet on, tuning out the lines of commands and data scrolling on the left side of his HUD like always when it boots up. "We can't give up, you know. You never know if and when we'll find a way back."

Keiko sighs as she looks up at the taller pilot. "Coop." She hesitates for a moment before smiling sadly at him. "You're my life now, and an amazing and wonderful part of it. If we go home, that means losing you, and I won't do it. So please, drop it? Cause every single time you bring it up, you make me feel like I honestly don't matter to you. That going home is more important than staying here with me."

"Oh shit. I…" He sighs as he wraps a gentle arm around her shoulders. "Babe, I never meant it that way. There's just something big I never got to finish back home. A little girl and her big assed Mama that I've been worried sick about for five years now and something really bad I was forced to do by my old C.O. And getting a picture of Big Mama from Lionheart directly? It made

that particular worry come back to the surface is all."

"So that picture? What the hell is it?"

"It's the Legion Prime BLP-1124, I'm a hundred percent sure of it. Dunno where she got some missile pods from, but knowing her she got them modded on for the extra firepower." He informs her. "And if Sarah's with her and doing ok, then I can finally stop worrying."

"So if this is your long lost friend, you promise to finally drop all the going back stuff?" She asks quietly as she looks up at him.

"I do, babe. You'll only hear me bitching about finding a decent pizza place outside of Vale from here on out." He informs her, a smile hidden behind his glowing faceplate.

"Or a decent takoyaki place period." She grumbles as she leans into her partner and boyfriend. "Only found one person in Anima that makes it like back home."

"Oh? How far out are they?"

"Doesn't matter. The Grimm thought he was as tasty as his cooking last year." She sighs in disgust. "Stupid beowolves."

Cooper chuckles as he pulls the shorter woman in front of him, wrapping his arms around her delicate seeming shoulders. "That's why we do what we do, Keiko." He reminds her. "To insure the safety of every good chef and short order cook in the world."

She snorts even as she wraps her hands around his arms and smiles. "Listen to us. You'd think all we care about is food."

"And each other. Let's not forget about each other." He adds with a chuckle as they see a village approaching them rapidly, a large, familiar looking robot moving just outside the city walls as well as a repair platform of sorts near the town square. "No way…"

"What?" She asks as she looks down at the village, which the pilot is now circling around looking for a large enough place to land.

"It can't be. They actually have the TMM?!" He declares as they both hear the cracking of his helmet's comms.

"Oi! Cooper! Bet your standing there all slack jawed and shit. Come on down, Embers can play catch!"

"Mama?! How in the fuck?!" He declares in confusion as Keiko looks at him, just as confused.

"It's a long story, Coop. And your pilot ain't gonna be able to land either. We took up most of the village square with the TMM." The veteran legion calls out over comms. "I'll be there in a bit, I'm checking something out."

"Hey, Coop? I heard her… it… whatever! I'll get you as low as I can. Just call me when you're ready for a pickup." The pilot informs him.

"You bet, Gus. Thanks for the lift and bring us closer to the mech holding a hand up." He orders before looking at his partner. "Think you can jump it?"

"I'm more than capable of making my own way down, Coop." She replies as she works herself loose of his arms and turns around. "Remember, every lost boy new to Remnant gets a magical cat fairy as a companion!" She adds with a giggle as a double set of golden wings appear on her back before she leaps clear of the now hovering bullhead and stays in place in midair.

"Trust me, I'm lucky to have you, Keiko." He replies fondly as he jumps down and into the Scorch Prime's waiting hand, which lowers a bit to look him in the faceplate.

"Hey Cooper! Who's the babe?" Embers asks as her core winks impishly.

"Embers, meet my partner Keiko Ayano. Keiko, meet Embers, one of the Militia's toughest and most destructive Scorch Primes." He introduces the two of them with a smug grin behind his faceplate.

For her part, she simply stares at Embers for a moment before waving. "Hi." She finally

mumbles quietly as she hovers close enough to offer the pilot turned huntsman a fifty lien card. "You win. I'm officially weirded out."

Cooper takes the offered card with a chuckle. "A pleasure doing business with you."

"Hey Coop, Mama said she wants to talk to you ASAP. I'm supposed to bring you out to her as soon as you're ready." Embers informs him. "And could you please finally cancel protocols four and five? Sarah's still really upset about them too."

"Oh shit, hold on." He replies before rattling off a series of numbers and letters, then ordering the deletion of the two protocols in question. "Mama was supposed to have done that already." He adds as Embers puts him down.

"She did for the others. I bought the farm during the evac from Harmony." She informs the pilot. "I just got put back together a few days ago myself."

He curiously looks up at the Titan. "If you went down during the evac, then how the hell ARE you back together again?" Before she can answer, he gets distracted by a whistle from his flying partner.

"Hey Cooper!" Keiko calls out as she points in the direction of the village proper. "It's Summer Rose! I guess we know where she's been hiding out now!"

"We'll talk later." He informs the Titan as he turns to look at the already legendary huntress. "Summer! It's been- ACK! WHAT DID I DO?!" He screams out in terror as he barely avoids getting decapitated by her jet black scythe.

"YOU ORDERED THESE POOR TITANS TO MURDER A TEN YEAR OLD GIRL?!" She screams angrily as she swings again, barely missing him a second time. "AND ALL OVER SOME STUPID MACHINE?!"

"LEMME EXPLAIN! I SWEAR I DIDN'T WANT TO DO IT!" He shrieks as he uses his jump kit to expertly scale a now screaming Embers, who is trying and failing to swat him away as she stumbles back in her own terror.

"GET OFFA ME! I DON'T WANNA DIE AGAIN!"

Keiko rolls her eyes as she brings a hand to her mouth and whistles loudly. "Hey! Everyone calm it down!" She yells as she glares at them all. "You!" She points at Summer. "Put the scythe away, now! Just cause you're higher ranked than us doesn't mean shit here in Mistral! You're on our turf!" She then looks at Cooper and Embers. "And you two? Act your age and not your shoe size! Quit panicking and let's all sit down and talk!"

"Aye aye!" He calls out.

"I think my shoe size would be bigger than my age, Miss." Embers snarks.

Summer takes a deep breath and nods as her scythe folds to a storage configuration and she stowes it on her back. "Sorry. I've just been fuming since the other day when I heard about it."

Cooper sighs as he lands back on the ground in front of the Scorch Prime. "I got a lot of things to explain, too." He agrees calmly as he looks up at Keiko and gives her a thumbs up. "Nice save, babe."

"Kinda hate sleeping alone now, and I would rather win back that fifty instead of just taking it from your corpse." She smirks as she lands, her wings vanishing a moment later.

Cooper chuckles as he removes his helmet and places it on a small custom built apparatus to hold it securely on his webbed belt. "Yeah, won't have it for too long." He admits as he offers Keiko his arm, which she takes. "It is good to see you though, Summer. Lionheart's been trying to get ahold of you. Especially after the video he got sent from the village chief almost two and a half weeks ago now."

Summer rolls her eyes in exasperation. "I'm not that hard to get a hold of, and Raven's actually on her way to Mistral with the girls and Sarah. They left two days ago." She replies as she motions to them to follow her while she herself begins walking. "Ruby and Yang have really taken to her, and Mama, Jenna, and Embers have grown on us in just a couple of weeks."

Cooper chuckles as he and his partner follow. "Sarah's adorable, isn't she?" He asks the huntress, who looks over her shoulder at him with a smile.

"Absolutely adorable." She agrees chipperly. "Come on, Mama's checking out the Greater

Wyvern's old lair to make sure it's clear, Embers is busy getting that TMM thing ready to move, and I'm busy packing us all up to go too."

Cooper and Keiko both nod in agreement as they continue to follow the huntress through the small village, passing by the silent TMM. Cooper sighs as they do, reminiscing of his own lost Titan, and the fact that he didn't have a chance to save BT's core. If only he could turn back time, especially since he now knows that the amazing machine can indeed rebuild a Titan from scratch.

"So heading to Mistral, huh?" Keiko asks, breaking the brief silence.

"Mhmm." The rabbit faunus hums as they reach a house, the door opening with a quick swipe of her scroll over a panel next to it. "We almost got burned on this hunt, and we're a bit leary of returning to Vale."

"I hear you there." Cooper replies as he follows her inside, blinking to try to get his eyes to adjust. "They lost another good team recently. No trace of them's been found yet."

Keiko nods. "Rumor around the Guildhall says they took a job from Ozpin personally."

"That's who we took this hunt from." She admits as she leads them to the kitchen. "Coffee or tea?" She asks as she starts to dig in the still unpacked cabinets.

"Coffee for me, tea for Keiko please." Cooper replies as he unclips his helmet and sits down. Keiko nods as she sits next to him, her tail wrapping itself around his waist as she purrs softly for a moment. "Do you have proof Ozpin gave you the job? Just curious." She asks the huntress, who nods.

"Took a screenshot of the contract, and printed it out too." Summer replies as she puts a kettle on to boil. "Birdie took the printout with her to turn over to Lionheart. We're hoping he can get us out of our contract with Vale and into some new ones here."

The pilot nods as he smiles. "Call her real quick and tell her to show it to Augustus Nikos and Alexander Garibaldi. After what happened to his brother last year, Augustus has got it out for Ozpin. He'll have you both cut loose in ten minutes."

"I heard about it, but not much in the way of details." The rabbit woman admits quietly.

"Not much to tell." The cat faunus informs her just as quietly. "He and his entire team went missing during a courtesy hunt for Ozpin and the Valian Council last year. All they ever found of him was his spear and shield, and Lord Nikos's daughter Pyrrha's starting to train with them in his honor." She explains.

Cooper nods. "It's a mess to the point where no one from Vale's being turned down if they have a good record." He adds. "You and Raven though? You two he would snap up in a heartbeat."

Summer's smile reflects the relief she feels as she takes the kettle off the stove and brings it to the table. "Good, cause I know Lionheart wants me to teach at Haven, which I'm definitely interested in considering I now have three little girls to raise."

"Oh?" Cooper raises an eyebrow. "Taking in the legendary Grease Monkey are you?"

The rabbit faunus nods as her smile turns fond. "Like I said, she's adorable. She and Ruby along with Jenna are thick as thieves. And Yang's attached herself to Embers." She adds.

"Mama did right by those two. Hell, by all of them." The pilot chuckles. "Be hard pressed to find a tighter knit group than the Wrecking Crew of the SRS."

Keiko snorts as she sips at her now ready tea. "Be glad I can't introduce you to a guy named Klein. Him and his guild would be able to give them a run for their money."

"Or my old team back in Beacon." Summer adds with a smug smirk of her own.

"Anyway!" The pilot claps his hands together. "What do you need from us, Huntress Rose? Am armed escort, a prepaid flight back to Mistral, both?" He asks seriously as he stands.

Keiko nods in agreement as she stands up beside him. "We'll be proud to give you a hand." She adds.

Summer smiles. "Help with packing and that prepaid flight both sound great actually. But no sense in rushing either, Raven and the girls haven't called to let me know they made it yet, and no place to take all our belongings to either."

"We really can't help there either." Keiko admits as she helps Summer clear out the last of the cookware. "We live in a small loft outside the old faunus district. Not a whole lot of space, especially since someone put in a workbench for weapon maintenance." She adds the last with a glare at Cooper, who's busy talking to another one of those Titan things standing outside the back door.

"We'll figure it out, we always do." Summer reassures her as she places pans, pots, and their lids into a basket. "I have faith that Birdie will get us settled somewhere. And Keiko?"

"Hmmm?"

"Be grateful he cares enough to have that bench. We locals consider it the sign of a real huntsman, one with something to protect." Summer adds as she smiles. "Raven made sure ours was the first thing to get put in that TMM thing before they left."

Keiko nods as she continues to help the rabbit faunus woman, while thinking long and hard about what she said. She knows Coop cares deeply for her, and she the same. But it also shows how far she's come since waking up here, on Remnant and not back in Japan. She still has no idea how she ended up here, since the last thing she remembers is taking a vicious hit from a nasty zone boss while activating a vicious, high level spell of her own. But that was in a game that was supposed to be safe, wasn't it?

"What the fuck?!" Cooper suddenly cries out as a shadow appears overhead, a really big shadow.

Rushing outside, Keiko blinks at the massive vessel hovering above them, while the new Titan laughs.

"Hey, y'all need a lift?" A man's voice comes across comms, prompting Coop to put his helmet on.

"Jimmy, is that you?!"

"One and the same, Cap." The pilot chuckles. "Moira and I saw the vid of Mama beating the shit outta that Grimm on ValeTube, and decided to come bug the shit outta her."

"Must you be an insufferable ass, Jimmy?" A second, robotic voice declares angrily.

"Oh yeah, say hi to Moira, Coop. She finally grew a personality." The man's voice adds with a chuckle.

"Oh shut up, you bloody git of an idiot! Captain Cooper, would all of you like a lift?"

"A MRVN with a personality, huh?" The pilot chuckles as he looks up at the hovering Widow transport. "Ain't that some shit? And you might wanna park for now, Jimmy. We aren't ready to leave yet."

"Yeah. I love messing with her till I get the mad face." The man chuckles as he pilots the Widow away from the town square and north.

"Shut up!"

"Whoops! There it is!" He declares with a chuckle as Cooper watches the transport land in a spot that looks like a scene from an inferno.

"Sounds like you're playing with fire, Jimmy." Cooper chuckles.

"Better than you playing jump the log with a bunch of Widows and Goblins." The Widow pilot counters as he shuts down the transport. "Ok, Moira, put your best smile on."

"Kiss my purple and pink arse!"

Keiko Ayano shakes her head as Cooper charges ahead to the massive transport, while the robot in the video follows him. Not for the first time, she wishes she too had friends magically appearing from home. Especially a master smith friend who would love the opportunity to work with so many new materials. Hearing her scroll ring, she smiles at the image on her screen and pushes accept.

"Hey Asuna! What's up?"

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"Wow." Jenna whispers as she sweeps her gaze around the main thoroughfare of Mistral City. "It reminds me of the Chinatown district on Harmony." The Titan and her passengers are currently walking down the main avenue of Mistral City, after she left her tracker cannon at the gates.

Sarah nods as she and Ruby both sit in the Tone Prime's cockpit, Raven and Yang held securely in the Titan's hands. "I wonder if they have any good fried rice or sushi?" She muses aloud, making Ruby giggle.

"Mommy and Mama took us someplace with really good cookies the last time we were here!" She declares with a smile.

"You and your cookies, Ruby." Sarah smiles as she brings Jenna to a stop. "Mrs. Raven, we got company." She declares as armed soldiers move to surround the Titan.

"Ummm, I'm not comfortable, even if according to my scans these guys wouldn't even scratch what's left of my paint with those rifles." The Titan adds as she stays in place, Sarah maintaining control over her.

"I got it. Hold up guys! The big bad robot's with me!" Raven calls out as she hops down from Jenna's hands. "And she's not from Atlas." She adds.

"Of course it's not from Atlas." A tall, red headed man dressed in formal armor and with piercing green eyes declares as he strides up and offers the huntress his hand. He is tall, well built, with handsome features that could belong in any fashion catalogue for the wealthy. "Raven, it's been far too long."

"Ahem! She! I'm a girl! Female!" Jenna protests indignantly. "Jeez, why do people act like I need to have tits to be female?!"

"Language!" Sarah yells, Ruby howling in laughter.

"Sure has Lord Proctor Nikos." She replies as he takes the offered hand, doing her best not to wince at the Mistrali man's grip while also ignoring Jenna's grumbling and complaining. "Listen, anywhere private we can talk? Sum and I, we've made a few decisions and I wanna talk business with you and Lionheart."

Augustus Nikos nods as he motions for his troops to stand down. "I assume you brought Ruby and Yang?" He asks as a tall eight year old girl joins them, one hand fiddling with a circlet around her forehead.

Raven chuckles. "About that." She turns to face the Titan, who is staring at a nearby wolf faunus, who's staring back with a smirk, a little girl hiding behind his own legs. "Come on out you three!" She calls out.

Yang leaps down first before Jenna kneels to open her pilot's compartment to allow Ruby and Sarah to exit, the latter doing so with a flourish. "Taa daa!"

"Showoff!" Yang calls out with a grin before dashing away and to the hiding girl. "Hey Cinny!"

"Hi Yang." She replies quietly as she stares at the Titan. "She's so big."

"You got no room to talk, big sister!" Ruby singsongs before dashing up to Pyrrha giggling. "Hey Pyrrha!"

"Hello Ruby!" She replies back just as enthusiastically as the two hug. "Who's your new friend?"

"That's my new bigger sister Sarah!" Ruby declares as the aforementioned girl removes her helmet and shakes her hair free.

"Hiya! Oh!" She takes note of Augustus looking at her and salutes smartly. "Sir! Pilot Sarah Bogard, sir!"

"Pilot?" Augustus asks Raven, who nods.

"Long story. Pyrrha, you mind taking these three back to your house to play for a bit? Me and your dad gotta go talk with Headmaster Lionheart." Raven asks the young redhead, who nods.

"Yes ma'am! Come on, we got the pool working yesterday! We can go swimming! And Cinder can come too!" She declares happily, getting cheers from Ruby and Yang, and a whimper from Sarah. "Sarah, are you ok?" She asks.

"I don't know how to swim." She admits quietly as she digs the toe of her boot into the ground behind her.

"We can teach you!" Ruby declares as she rushes over and grabs her hand to pull her along.

"Yeah! I'm an awesome swimmer!" Yang adds as she grabs the charcoal black haired wolf girl's hand. "Come on, Cinny! You and Pyr both can teach her! Both of you are awesome swimmers too!"

"Is it ok, Daddy?" The wolf faunus girl with the burning amber eyes asks the giant quietly, getting a smile and a nod.

"Shoo pup, go hang out with your friends." He rumbles as he leans down and ruffles her hair.

"Yay!" She cheers as she and the blonde join the other girls.

Pyrrha blushes. "I'm adequate enough." She mutters in embarrassment. "Oh wait! Daddy! You forgot that Gabrielle Schnee is coming with Winter, Weiss, and Willow! They're bringing the new baby for Mama and Aunt Asuna to see."

"Really?! Let's go then!" Ruby declares happily as she starts to push them along. "Bye Mommy! Bye Mr. Nikos!"

The Lord Proctor and the Huntress both start to chuckle at the little reddish black haired rabbit child's antics as the four older girls get pushed, prodded, and cajole in the direction of the Lord Proctor's surprisingly modest home.

"So much energy." Augustus smiles.

Raven nods. "And her and Sum both are morning people. Yang and Sarah? Takes lightning dust loaded tasers to get them out of bed."

Augustus chuckles before looking at her. "We already received word of what these Titans did against a Greater Wyvern." He begins as he looks at Jenna, who's still staring at the wolf faunus. "Alexander? Join us?"

Alexander Garibaldi chuckles as he moves away from the Tone Prime and walks over. The Guildleader of the Mistrali Huntsmen's Guild is seven feet tall and seemingly made of hardened muscle, while his hazel eyes look amused. He is dressed in jeans, heavy brown work boots, and a plain grey shirt. Stopping next to Augustus, he grins down at them both as he scratched his chin, a day's worth of stubble covering it. "Raven, I got a new contract already waiting for ya. I'd say Sum too, but Leo's ready to offer that woman the shattered moon itself ta get her teaching at Haven."

"Why not me?" She asks jokingly as she takes a flask off her hip and takes a sip. "Tea, not booze. Sum would kill me if I started drinking again."

"Raven, half your students would be dead in a week. The other half? Too traumatized." Augustus deadpans, making the huntress wince.

"Sounds like you've been talking to Sum." She admits.

"She is friends with Athena, Asuna, and Gabrielle." He points out with a smug smirk.

"Anywho, guessing you guys missed Coop. Sent him out to go make contact for himself this morning." Alex explains. "But with you here now, saves me the trouble of having him drag y'all back."

"Look, I wanna do this in private, but I'm still gonna be blunt. We lost all our faith in Ozpin with this one, and we want out of Vale. We could have gotten killed." She informs them both bluntly. "And there's no one who could have taken care of the girls if we had."

Augustus nods. "Alex, you speak with Huntress Branwen. As Guildmaster, you can force through her transfer. I believe I wish to speak to…"

"My designator is JEC-9718. But everyone calls me Jenna." The Tone Prime introduces herself. "And according to my info dump, you're Lord Proctor Augustus Nikos, head of the Mistrali military. Mom figured you'd want to talk to us."

He nods as he smiles, a look of amusement in his brilliant green eyes. "Jack Cooper was correct. He warned me that you are free thinking individuals and not to underestimate any of you."

"Coop's here?" She growls as her core begins to sweep from side to side. "I owe him a kick to the dick!"

"Language!" Raven roars.

"Fuck off! The girls aren't around!"

"Still heard you potty mouth!" Ruby calls out in the distance.

"Before you do so, I would like to speak to you Miss Jenna." Augustus cuts off the impending argument he sees coming. "Needless to say, I am very interested in adding you to my forces."

"Then let's talk, sir." She replies as she stands. "We're here, and Mom said if we could hook up with an actual military, we would definitely get more work. So lead the way, Sir."

Augustus Nikos nods as he begins walking towards the nearby Mistrali military complex, the Titan following behind him. Ever since he took command of Mistral's sadly lacking military, he has been working hard to rebuild and upgrade their elderly weapons and vehicles. And now with these Titans here and willing to negotiate? He finally feels like this is his chance to finally be able to protect the people that have placed their trust in him.

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Sarah's exhausted. Ruby has been her usual ball of energy self, especially once that Weiss girl and her sisters showed up at the Nikos compound with their really pretty stepmom, Gabrielle. But to her surprise, Weiss allowed herself to be monopolized by the rabbit faunus, the snow leopard easily getting Ruby under control. The entire day itself has been great, other than she misses Summer and Mama both really bad, not used to being separated from the Titan who's been raising her for the past four years, as well as the faunus woman who's stepped up to the challenge. But, her father always taught her to be thankful for her blessings, and now that night has fallen and Athena Nikos, Pyrrha's mother has declared they're all staying the night, she needs to be sure that she thanks God for all her new friends.

"Hey." Sarah looks up from next to her bed, where she had been praying silently. Willow,

Weiss's twin sister is looking at her with a shy smile. And once again, she blushes a deep red as she looks into the snow leopard's red eyes.

"What are you doing?" She asks quietly.

"Praying." The blonde replies as she moves up to sit on her borrowed bed. "I noticed no one else really does at night."

Willow smiles as she sits next to her, ignoring the growing blush. "My sisters and I pray in the mornings. Our mum doesn't though."

"Oh. Ummmm." She tilts her head back to think, her tongue poking out between her lips cutely. "The Goddess of Light, right?"

"Mhmm. But you must worship her sister."

"Nuh uh. I'm Catholic." The pilot replies firmly.

"Cothlic?" The snow leopard asks in confusion.

"No silly, Catholic. It's the name of my religion." Sarah giggles. "One of the oldest religions in human history."

"Oh. Even the humans of Remnant worship the Goddesses Three." Willow begins to patiently explain the legend of the Two Brothers, their daughters who took their places, and the sister created to keep them in check as Balance. "And that's pretty much it."

"You're really smart." Sarah smiles shyly at her.

"So are you, Grease Monkey." Cooper declares as he stands in the doorway, his arms already open.

"UNCLE COOP!" She declares happily as she runs into his arms, tears in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry about protocols four and five. Mama made sure to override them once you were safely away." He informs her as he holds the blonde haired girl, who nods.

"I understood, Uncle Coop." She replies quietly. "But Jenna's mad at you still."

"Hello, Captain Cooper." Willow calls out with a smile.

"Hey there, Willow. Keeping the best damned tech in the Militia company?" He asks, getting a shy smile and nod in return. He takes note of the way her ears are folded back, as well as the way her tail is curled around her and smiles. "Good, she needs good friends."

"I want to be her friend. She's interesting." The snow leopard admits quietly. But then she winces as Cooper howls in pain, Sarah having punched him squarely in his no no.

"YOU STILL ORDERED THEM TO KILL ME!"

"OH GOD I'M SO SORRY!"

"Huh. Someone other than Alex who can bring Coop down? He's going to love this." A woman's voice declares. Turning around, she smiles up at the elegantly dressed auburn haired woman holding Cinder, who's tail is wagging in her delight as a teenaged girl with long black hair and grey eyes stands next to her.

"Hey Aunt Asuna! Hey Yui!"

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Gabrielle Schnee is a short, beautiful woman with shoulder length blonde hair and dressed casually in jeans and a blouse. Her facial features are perhaps a bit too angular for some people's tastes, and she's surprisingly thin considering she's recently had a child she and her husband named Whitley. But she adores the three faunus girls she has claimed as her own, as well as their father, and works hard to be the best mother she can possibly be to them.

She's come a long way from her past as the IMC's Goddess, General Marder's daughter as well as his top infiltration specialist.

Many are the sins she committed by her father's command. Many are the lives she took on his order. But even she had lines she would never cross, including the harming of innocent civilians. And when he ordered the release of his plague on MSHM-03, she tried and failed to stop it and him. She too became a victim of the virus, dying along with the people she tried and failed to save.

She and her Titan, Dutchess, both had been surprised to wake up here on Remnant. She and her Ronin Custom had been found by workers from a nearby SDC mine, and brought back to Atlas proper by Ironwood himself. Unfortunately, Dutchess is still too badly damaged to return to battle, having lost an arm and both legs being mangled by an ARES Legion. She herself attended Atlas Academy, where she had met Jacques Schnee. She had been surprised when he proposed to her after a brief courtship, and she had fallen in love with his three little girls. They made her realize she too could have a better life, and after a life altering event one night, even her husband has changed for the better. Her only regret is not

being able to return to the battle alongside her loyal Titan, who never hesitated in turning her Buster Sword against her brother and his own Titan, Duke, to try and save a world in grave danger.

But now she stares in wide eyed wonder at the Widow transport offloading the object of her Father's desires at a nearby hangar: The Titan Mobile Maintenance. She, as well as Sarah's entire planet had died for his greed and jealousy, and seeing it as well as the little girl he coveted for her burgeoning genius, has made her come to several decisions.

Dutchess will soon be on her way, being brought aboard an SDC airship. She's already informed her husband as well as Klein that she will be gone for several days, in order to beg that her Titan be repaired. She has a mission, one that she is willing to die for, and her pride be damned. She needs her Ronin, so that she can protect her daughters and newborn son with all the strength she can bring to bear against anyone who threatens them. She smiles down at the sleeping infant

in her arms. "Whitley, hopefully Mommy can be a pilot again." She whispers softly. "And then, Mommy can hold her head up with pride once more, fighting for what is right, and not because of your grandfather's greed…"

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A Brief Side Story: The Dragon Princess

Keiko Ayano pants as she glares hatefully at the World Tree's guardians. For the past few months, everyone from SAO has worried for Kirito, who has yet to wake up, along with three hundred other players. They have all taken turns keeping watch over the young man who saved all their lives, even though the price of his victory was high.

The nurse who was in Asuna's room told her that she can still remember the young woman dying with a smile on her face, before her body simply vanished, as if it never existed.

She was one of the first Agil sent the picture to, the bar owner and fellow SAO survivor knowing she owes the Black Swordsman a huge debt. The image of Kirito in chains, trapped within a giant bird's cage had enraged the almost fifteen year old girl to the point of recklessness.

But the pride of the Samurai, the pride and standards her family have held themselves to since before the Meiji Era are awake and undeniably strong in the teenager, and her own father even told her it is time to repay her debt to him.

She never hesitated to log into Alfheim Online, creating a Cait Sith account in a moment of sentimentality for her lost Pina. She learned quickly how to fly without the controller as she struggled to reach the World Tree with only the enigmatic Strea and her best friend Lizbeth, while a Spriggan girl named Leafa taught her how the magic system works. Along the way, she met the leaders of the Spriggan and Cait Sith races, fought beside them as they repulsed a Salamander attack led by their general, a brilliant fighter named Eugene, and kept pushing forward as one thought kept running through her mind:

Asuna gave her life to save him. She is willing to do no less to save the young man who saved them all.

The reunion between them and several hundred former SAO members was bittersweet, as the Assault Team had arrived en mass. All to rescue their savior and repay their own debts. She greeted Klein warmly, the Furinkazan leader having taken her under his wing after her adventures with the Black Swordsman. She laughs as several members of the old Aincrad Liberation Front recall Asuna and Kirito's trip to the Town of Beginnings, where the Flash had routed a group of them picking on a group of children.

She cries a bit when the Knights of the Blood Oath swear to rescue Kirito no matter the cost, in honor of Asuna's own great sacrifice.

Silica was one of the first fighters through the massive doors, Lisbeth, Strea, and Leafa by her side. She kept fighting even as others fell and were replaced, a grim determination pushing her onward. She caught all the words of Rekon's Sacrifice Spell, which he cast to save a group of Undine healers who were under heavy attack, and was mumbling them constantly to make sure she gets them right herself. She has a plan, a crazy one, but one that may work to get them through. Dodging more arrows, she begins to fly upward as rapidly as possible, aiming for the largest grouping of the Guardians, which are glitching.

"Silica! No wait! Come back!" Lisbeth screams as she holds a hand out to her. "Leafa said to fall back! The game's glitching!"

"Get to Kirito!" She yells back as she uses the knife she won in a mob battle while passing through Legrue to cut her way through, aiming for the heart of the Guardian swarm. "I'll catch up when I respawn!"

"Silica! ALO is unstable! We're pushing the system too hard!" Strea cries out as she tries to catch up, the rapidly spawning mobs already blocking the way. "It's going to crash!"

Ignoring them as she keeps cutting a path forward, she finally comes to a stop in the center, the Guardians twitching and spasming as their sprites keep breaking up and reforming. Now's her chance, while the system is too busy trying to keep the swarms active and constantly multiplying even in the face of the veteran clearers, who are still bringing them down with ease.

"Ekku karra suvaruto tugāri..." She begins to chant as a larger than normal black armored Guardian streaks towards her, a sword in hand and the mob acting as if it is more than prepared to run her through to stop her. She needs to hurry! "Berufa himun, burotto regin, gāpa nīzafōru!"

Her eyes widen in surprise as the sword penetrates her armor, her computerized flesh, and exits out her back. But she smirks as the spell continues to activate, a glow surrounding her as well as the Black Armored Guardian. "Too late…" She mutters as she feels herself starting to derez.

She starts screaming a moment later at the sudden pain in both her wound as well as her head.

"Do not fear, for you will not be dying today, Keiko Ayano." A feminine voice declares as the first smaller explosions begin, the sheer beauty of it almost bringing her to tears. The glitching Guardians begin to break apart from the growing epicenter, the black armored one simply disintegrating. "But we see this as the flesh you will need, and are making it real, and not a construct of ones and zeros."

"For your courage, for your willingness to sacrifice yourself to save your friends, you have been chosen for a far greater purpose." A second woman's voice informs her, an almost musical tone to it. The pain in her chest and head start to lessen until they vanish as if they never existed. "To defend a world that desperately needs warriors of your caliber and convictions."

"Now, close your eyes child." A third female voice declares, her voice a somber counterpoint to the others. "When you awaken, you will be in good company with one you remember well, along with the child of her soul and the new family she has made for herself in your new home."

She does so, while feeling a warmth beginning to fill her. "Goodbye Liz…" She whispers as the full detonation of her Sacrifice rips into the World Tree itself, the strength of Silica's desires both freeing the trapped three hundred SAO survivors as well as Kirito, while crashing all the ALO servers.

Keiko Ayano was prepared to sacrifice herself to save the others, to save Kirito, despite the fact that the game world she was in was failing. A Trio of Goddesses took note of her courage, and brought her to a new home, a new life, and a future next to another who is just as much a stranger in a strange new land as she is, and all while being welcomed by a woman long thought dead...