The Awakened One: Book 1 Remnant

by Nentai

Nova is the 18-year-old college student who is fated for greatness. An unknown past shrouded in confusion, a mental intellect far above those of his World locked behind monotony, and unbelievable power slumbering in his Soul, all factors that kept this man from becoming all the things that he was meant to become, but soon these factors will be null and void. Gamer OC x Rwby Harem!

35. Vacuo

|!x#$-Please Read-$#x!|

Whats poppin everybody, I have returned to post yet another chapter during this fine weekend! Yesterday I actually had a very productive day, did a bunch of writing to get this chapter finished and even streamed a bit of Bayonetta 3! I've been functioning off of 3-5hours of sleep for like a week and I'm really tryna keep this trend going so I can use the extra time to be even more productive and get more writing and streaming done!

Starting from today onward, hopefully lol, I am going to be writing at least a half a chapter, and stream at least five hours, a day. The stream content will mostly be gaming since I haven't been playin them enough lately, but if enough of you guys start showing up then I'm thinking about doing writing streams so anyone that pulls up can get a sneak peak of the chapters to come. I feel pretty fuckin amazing right now lol.

So, with that being said, the first major thing that I want to change about this story is the frequency at which I upload chapters. If I can write at least half a chapter a day, basically how I did during the summer, then I should theoretically be able to upload a chapter at least twice a week and that's the goal that we're tryna reach.

Whenever you are reading this, I may already be live, or I will be going live later that night. At approximately 12am (Est) I'll be live again since I need to do some writing before then to get my half chapter done and get my school homework finished as well. Hopefully starting today there will be a big turn around in productivity and I'll be able to interact with each of you a lot more! Enjoy!

Please Follow me on Twitch and Pull up to the stream whenever I'm live! I'd love to talk with each of you and answer any questions you have about the story, or me in particular!

P.S.S.S.S .tv/nentai_ | or just search Nentai_

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Chapter 68: Vacuo

Blake watched as her Bel aggressively closed his Scroll in irritation. He then threw the communication object into his jacket without care before putting his face in his hands as he growled in irritation at his current predicament.

Nova rubbed his face aggressively with his hands once more as it would somehow clear his mind and body from the stress that he was experiencing, but unfortunately it wasn't working. "Bel, what's going on?" The black cat asked, hoping to relieve her man of at least a bit of the pressure he was experiencing.

Unfortunately, she wasn't given a response as the man remained completely ignorant of her presence within the airship. He was clearly deep in thought, racking his brain for alternate futures, negative possibilities, and eventual outcomes of the events that have yet to unfold.

It was endlessly complex, infinitely unpredictable, and stressful beyond belief, but even still he continued to think, and think, and think some more because at the end of the day that's all he could do. "Bel, come on, talk to me" Blake pleaded. "I want to help you." As the cat spoke into her lover's Faunus ears, she was greeted with nothing more than a few twitches from the black appendages. In desperation, the cat Faunus looked over to her two compatriots that were sitting by the man's side, hoping to receive some sort of help.

Instead, what she got when she met eyes with Neyah, she got a shoulder shrug and Nix simply replied with a similar expression. They didn't really know what to do. He's always been their rock, the one that would help them whenever they needed him, but now that the roles were reversed things were different. Nova looked as if he didn't want to be touched, he didn't want to be spoken to, and he especially didn't want to be around anyone, so it seemed as if their presence wasn't desired at all.

Even when they pleaded to join, he was extremely hesitant, and it seemed like he only gave in to their request because he was sick of them asking. They came to give him support, to make sure he stayed safe, but in this scenario, they couldn't even do much to reassure him. He was always untouchable, indestructible, invulnerable even, but now he looked anything but that.

Blake couldn't stand to see him like this much longer and mouthed, 'what happened?' to the Panthera twins. Neyah just shrugged her shoulders once more, but Nix replied with, 'I don't know. Probably the future.'

Referring to something that could've been occurring that was outside of what their lover expected to occur. She then followed up with mouthing, 'his head could hurt' which brought a confused expression to Blake's face. She then pointed to her own head to confirm what she was speaking of and Nix responded with a hardy nod.

Blake then mouthed, 'Overwhelmed?' to which responded with a thumbs up to confirm the thought. 'So, what do we do?' Before Nix could respond to the silent question, Neyah suddenly tiled her head and began laying on her Darling's shoulder, gently rubbing her nose against his neck. She then said, "I love you, Darling."

For her comment she got a "mmmhggg" groan from the man as he stopped rubbing his own face, keeping his palms over the surface in comfort. Although it wasn't a compete response, it was a big improvement from the previous silence that echoed off the metal walls of the plane.

Taking after Neyah's example, Blake began gently rubbing her nails up and down her lover's back, using her other hand to caress and massage his eared head. Surprisingly, she felt and listened as her Faunus lover began purring from her touch, yet he still refused to exit from his mind.

The stressed filled Faunus, however, did peek his eye through a small gap in hands to see Blake looking to him with a warm smile, one that managed to calm him slightly. She then said, "we are here to help you, my Beloved. Anything you need, just ask."

Following her declaration Nix got up from her seat beside her sister and knelt down between her lover's knees to peer through his hands with a smile. She then gently pried his hands apart to give a quick kiss on the lips before saying, "I'm sure the things your thinking are far beyond our capabilities, but we'd still like to assist you in any way possible. But I don't believe we will be able to if you don't let us in on your thoughts. Maybe talking about it will help you relieve some of your stress."

Blake then added, "keeping your problems inside of yourself isn't very health Bel, and it's not necessary since you have us any way. We'll support you in any way possible!" As she finished speaking, she placed a quick kiss on the Awakened One's cheek, bringing a bit more light to his eyes.

"Hell yeah!" Neyah said. "Plus, we'll demolish anything and everything that comes in your way! Fuck a problem! If its killable then I'll take care of it!"

"Woah slow your role, that's my job." The trio of Faunus woman suddenly froze in place at the new voice that spoke up. Each of them turned their heads to see the Ram Faunus with a golden smile sitting at the bench across from them, initially not giving any mind to his presence on the plane.

In all honesty they barely noticed that he was there in the first place, but now it was impossible to ignore him. Before either Nix or Blake could respond in kind to the man, Neyah suddenly blurted out, "who the fuck are you?"

Zeb flinched back slightly at the harsh comment, "ouch, that kinda hurt a bit."

Blake quickly turned to Neyah and said, "Neyah, there are better ways to say things like that!"

The other half of the twins lightly bopped her sister on the head and said, "exactly. Apologize."

"Huh? Why the fuck do I gotta say sorry?! I didn't do anything. All I did was ask a damn question!"

That comment got her bopped again, "ow, fine."

Z watched the scene unfold with a small grin and before Neyah could respond he said, "nah you aint gotta apologize for nothin. If anything, I should say sorry for interrupting your cute lil scene. So… my B."

"See, no apology needed. So, stop hitting me!" Neyah shouted, bringing a bit of a smile to her lover's lips. "But still though, who the fuck are you? Seriously."

Z gave the Faunus woman a nervous chuckle before replying, "I'm Z. I work directly for the Chief, something like his left-hand man. Yeah… something like" he mumbled the last part.

Neyah only looked more confused at that comment, "Huh? So, then who the fuck is the Chief?" Z didn't say a word and instead pointed to the now arisen Faunus man that was cuddled in between the women. This made Neyah turn to her lover and say, "you're the Chief? Chief of what?"

Nova couldn't help but chuckle a bit from their interactions and even as Neyah asked the question that she should've already had the answer to he continued to laugh. "You don't remember?" Blake asked, receiving a swift head shake from the Faunus. "The Demon Clan. Remember?"

"Demon Clan?" Neyah asked.

Nix shook her head in disappointment before saying, "remember when babe would sneak out every night to do things without us knowing? It was one of those things."

A lightbulb suddenly went off in Neyah's mind, "oh yeah! I remember that."

"Bingo" Z said, grabbing their attentions. "I'm in that thing. A high-ranking, trustworthy, powerful member in fact. That's why I'm here with you all instead of being back at the office with J-man."

Nova then perked up to sarcastically say, "yeah, for sure" while rolling his eyes.

"See!" Zeb replied with a proud expression.

The girls then began chuckling at the quick exchange between the duo before giving their lover a big hug and starting to speak about various lighthearted things to continue raising his mood. A few hours passed as Zeb started to tell stories about the Chiefs exploits, both those he had witnessed and heard about much to Nova's chagrin.

He even momentarily had to give the man a quick mean looks as he brought up that fateful night, he conquered vale's underground to have him glide over a few details. Even though it was a bit odd to here Zeb gassing him up so much, it was still a nice break from warring over the future of Remnant within the confines of his own.

After everything calmed down and they began getting closer to their desired destination, Nova decided to begin speaking with his lovers and Zeb about the situation they found themselves in. He didn't have anything exact, nor did he know all the possible changes they would come across were, but he did know a few things for sure.

One, Cinder and her crew were in Vacuo somewhere near the White Fang camp, or at least near enough that an in-person meeting could be set-up with minimal effort. Two, Cinder has 'recruited' the help of this Jayson guy and probably the rest of his Tribe in order to harass Adam and the White fang for some reason. Although the reason isn't known its suspected to be either an attempt at forcing Adam to join her or possibly weakening the White Fang's strength.

Either way she needed to be stopped as soon as possible so she doesn't end up recruiting the Faunus to her cause, not only because it would look bad for a group of Faunus to support the destruction of Beacon, but also because it would hinder himself and the Demon Clan from joining her ranks.

After they did this, it would then be on Nova to then travel to Mistral in order to find out what the Spiders leader got in return for giving him up, thus trying to prevent the worst-case scenario. "So, you all got that?"

"Yup!"

"Uh huh Bel."

"Of course, Chief."

"I do understand, but what role do you exactly expect us to play in this scenario?" Nix asked.

"That's the thing, I don't know yet. It could come down to simply protecting and assisting the White Fang during the conflicts or it could become something much larger in which I need your assistance in espionage, offensive attacks, maybe assassination.

Although I doubt it'll come to it, I think it'd be best to prepare for anything." As he mentioned assassinations Blake seemed to shrink a bit, looking a bit uncertain at the prospect. Nova didn't miss this and wrapped his arm around the woman to pull her closer. "You won't have to handle anything of that nature Blake, it'll be all me." Blakes mood brightened slightly at his words and touch, though in reality it hadn't made things much better.

After her lover's comment, Blake turned to him and softly said, "I… I've killed before and I'm sure I'll need to do it again. But all of those that have perished by my hand have been humans. Innocent or otherwise." The black cat paused for a moment before continuing with, "I don't know if I could do the same for… another Faunus." Neyah and Nix shared a look of understanding at their sister lover's plight, but Zeb had a blank expression, one completely void of empathy or understanding.

Nova saw Zeb's look and found it a bit odd, but otherwise understood the reason for it, after all he had taken many lives up to this point and didn't feel even a bit of remorse for doing so. However, he felt as if he was soon to be paying for it. "Our goal first and foremost is capturing and disarming, all non-lethal means against the Tribesman. The other Faunus Tribes are being manipulated by Cinder and her posse in order to do her bidding, so they are the enemy not the Faunus."

"Lethal action may be necessary against the leaders of said Tribes if they choose to continue on with helping Cinder's cause after they've been stopped, however I will make the necessary call when that time comes. And if it happens all the burden falls on me. Faunus' lives won't be wasted in these battles and we are here to make sure of that." His lovers' moods all improved greatly after that statement. But while they were happy, Zeb was neutral.

To make sure that the man understood the assignment Nova gave him a quick look with a raised eyebrow as if to say, 'are we clear?' and the Ram Faunus replied with a simple nod that ensured that they all on the same page. From there it was onto the next big issue, "appearances."

Nova, Nix, Neyah, and Blake had faces that could not be recognized by any of Cinder's people under an circumstances, Zeb on the other hand could be a bit more lenient. Although in the case of Cinder teaming up with the Demon Clan it would be odd for the man who stood up against them in Vacuo to also be a member of the Clan in Vale. So, for all intents and purposes, "we need to keep our identities secret."

Nova continued with, "I understand that it'd be a great help to have the support of the daughter of the Chieftain of Menagerie and the Heiresses of the Panthera Clan for the White Fang's morale, it is imperative that no one knows that we are who we are. So, you'll be wearing those appearances that I made for you while we are in Vacuo. Zeb here is yours, just put it in your chest like they did, and it should work like a charm."

The appearances transformed each of the women into a slightly different outfit from one another although the designs were very similar. In included a long overcoat black, cropped undershirt, tight shorts that went to about mid-thigh length, and black knee-high boots, but most importantly they had Grimm masks that covered their eyes and the upper halves of their faces.

Also, as another plus it got rid of their Faunus traits, at least they did so partially. For Blake her ears were covered by a bow, Neyah's tail disappeared into the long coat, and Nix's ears disappeared into her hair while her tail was affected the same way as her sister's was.

The only difference between each of their outfits was the accents on their black clothing, Blakes was red, Neyah's was white, and Nix's was blue. Zeb's outfit was a bit more basic as it included a full Grimm face mask and a black and yellow hooded cloak that covered his hair and any other parts of his face that could've been exposed.

Showing from underneath the cloak were black trousers and a basic yellow shirt with black stripes along its sides. Now that the others were outfitted it was time for Nova to get into character as well, thinking, "well, I can't be the Devil since I have to meet Cinder and I can't be myself since I can't have her know that I'm a student at Beacon, so I'll have to make a new one. Meta, can you whip me up a new appearance. It doesn't have to be too intricate, something basic with a Grimm mask will be fine."

[Yes Sir! Meta has created the Appearance! What would like to name it?]

"Uhm, Fang is fine."

[It's done! Do you want to equip Fang?]

"Yes please." Once he confirmed it with Meta the apparel immediately covered his body, transforming him into a mysterious cloaked figure directly in front of his companions eyes. He wore a Grimm mask that covered the top half of his face depicted in the form of a Sabyr, a long white hooded cloak that covered his ears, and the rest of his clothing was pretty much the same as his Devil appearance except it was entirely black. "New appearance means new identity. Aka I gotta use a new weapon and I guess I can also use a different Skill and call it a Semblance as well."

With his new identity quickly established he turned back to his companions and said, "I know I don't have to mention this but I'm gonna say it anyway. Everything about you needs to at least be altered slightly when you are up against an opponent that you may face again when you are not protected by an appearance. Fighting styles, weapons if you can, and semblances especially need to be different in order for you to be anonymous.

Also, keeping your names a secret is very important, keep this in mind. If you want a nickname or alias, try to come up with one by the time we arrive at the White Fang camp. For our purposes the people we need to stay on guard for are Emerald, Mercury, Cinder, and possibly the Faunus woman that may be accompanying them. I'll give you all a detailed description before we land, and I'll give you a heads up if they're ever in the vicinity."

As her lover finished talking Neyah tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention and asked, "so, like, how exactly do we keep our Semblances a secret? Mines is pretty straightforward, and I doubt I could use it in a different way then I already do."

After thinking about it for a moment he replied, "maybe use your Semblance in the form of a weapon you don't typically use and act as if it is your primary weapon of choice. Remember, you don't have to do this all the time, just when those four people I mentioned before are present. They should be the only ones that might potentially come into contact with you at a later date."

"Oh, I think I got it now" she said with a smile.

Nova then looked back to the rest of the people in the hanger and asked, "does anybody else have any questions?"

Blake softly said to her Beloved, "what will you be giving me as my reward for helping you out in your time of need?" she asked sweetly, purring into his neck as she spoke.

Nix then wrapped her arms around her lover's neck and inched herself closer to his lips until she was only centimeters away. She then whispered, "that's a great question Blake, what is our reward?"

At his lovers, sudden question Nova let a smile cross his lips once more and he inched closer to give Nix a deep and loving kiss on her soft lips before turning to do the same with Blake, slipping his tongue into her mouth to taste her sweetness before stopping abruptly. "Something like that, I guess. Maybe more? And if you do good enough, I guess it could be anything you desire" he said slyly. This seemed to have brought a bit of welcome motivation to the group as they quickly piled onto the Faunus man and began pelting him with kisses from every direction.

The moment they began Zeb got up from his seat and looked away from the group of lovers before saying, "something in the cockpit looks really interesting to me right now, for some reason, all of a sudden. I think imma be up there until we land."

His words landed on deaf ears as he walked his way through the comfort zone and into the cockpit of the plane, sitting co-pilot next to the man who never shifted his view from the windshield. "How you doin Oct, enjoyin the flight" he asked as he sat down.

Without moving his head, the pilot gave him a thumbs up and said, "yes, Boss! I'm having the time of my life! Being the personal pilot of the Chief and yourself brings me nothing but joy! In fact, I believe that this may be one of the greatest days of my life, Boss!"

Zeb only half listened to his response as he slumped down in the chair to get comfortable. "Good, that's great. Just tell me when we get there, Imma veg out for a bit."

"Yes Sir!"

Zeb slowly but surely got comfortable within his seat as he stared off into space through the window, not paying any mind to his surroundings. The last thought he had before drifting off to his state of rest was, "hope you enjoy your lovers now Chief. We all know that won't last forever."

---

Soon enough Zeb alerted the group that they were starting their descent onto Vacuo's sandy dessert just outside the White Fang camp. As they began making their descent, they quickly fitted themselves back up with their weapons and appearances before Nova told Zeb that if he were to ever need to call his name around the people, they needed to look out for then he should simply call him Fang.

It didn't really matter much for the other girls because they never really called him by his name, anyway, choosing to use pet names and what not instead. For the others however, Nova just gave them simple names since they couldn't come up with any themselves.

Zeb was called Purple, Nix Blue, Neyah White, and Blake Red. It was only really needed for a very specific occasion, so it wasn't too important right away, but they still needed to commit the names to memory just in case.

However, soon enough they had fully landed on the desert floor and the hatch opened to reveal the place they'd be located in for the undetermined future. "So, this is Vacuo" Nova thought as he exited the Bullhead, taking in the sites of the barren wilderness. The sun of Vacuo's day immediately beamed on the five of them with a divine urgency, immediately raising their body temperatures to what felt like a million degrees in mere moments.

The surrounding shrubbery was all dried-up stick like 'plants' if they could even be called that, nasty looking insects crawled deeper into the sand whenever they were kicked up from the steps of the newcomers, and scarily enough there wasn't a single person in sight.

After looking around for a moment Nova came to a wonderous conclusion. "Wow… this place fuckin sucks." He hadn't even been walking ten feet and the sand was already pissing him off. Vacuo was a desert and as expected there was nothing but sand everywhere. Sand dunes, sand mounds, sand trails, sandy boots, sandy hair, sandy fucking everything.

The masks from their appearances were a god send because it was able to keep the shitty substance from getting in their eyes, but the moment they began inhaling the dry arid air of the super-heated desert grains of the god forsaken shit began scratching at his throat like glass and filling up his lungs as if it was a sandbag.

Everything was miserable. Walking on the soft substance sinking his feet deep into the ground, constantly breathing in literal stones, literally existing in the area was more than enough to make him want to leave.

"Baby… its too hot" Nix said as she fell over onto her lovers side.

Nova caught the dramatic Panthera twin and replied, "I know." He then reached into his chest and pulled out four light blue Dust crystals and four white cloths before handing one of each of them to his lover.

"Here take these. The cloth is to put around your mouth, so you don't have to breath in the sand while the wind is whipping it up and the Dust is to cool you down. Just put it in your pocket or something like that and run your Aura through it, it will cool you down dramatically. You guys take them too, it'll help a ton."

Neyah and Blake quickly grabbed theirs and said a quick, "thanks Darling/Love you Bel" before equipping the objects, but Zeb on the other hand declined.

"The heat doesn't really bother me, nor the sand. I'll be aight."

Nova just nodded his head in acceptance, "alright, just tell me if you need anything." After getting everyone situated, he turned his attention to the camp that was up ahead, looking around with his great vision to tell what was going on. What he saw was fairly ordinary.

A bunch of tents in a circular formation with only about three feet between them, making it very hard to see what was happening at the center of the camp, and the circular camper formation continued inwardly until they reached the center.

Each ring of tents in the circle formation was shifted slightly so the next row of tents blocked the view of the center of the circle, making the entire view a sort of maze or elaborate defensive structure.

Even though nobody was visible, and it was impossible to see the center form where he was standing, using a combination of Aura sensing and his mental map it was very clear to see what was happening surrounding them. The camp was on flat ground and about 5 miles surrounding the camp it was much the same, however up on the dunes that rose from this relatively flat land were people.

Evenly spaced about ten feet apart from one another, ducked under the camouflage of sand looking alternatingly inward and outward as they watched over the Camp to ensure that there were no incoming attackers. Inside the camp was a different situation, it was clear to Nova that all the White Fang members were simply sitting inside the tents doing whatever it is they were doing.

As the group walked closer someone up on the Dunes evidently made a call or something similar as the White Fang that were in their tents immediately began moving towards the exits in mass, quickly filling the empty space between the tents and heading directly towards their direction.

It wasn't long before they began spilling out of the camps formation, coming out in a wave of gray fanged eye masks, white cloaks, and numerous different weapons. It was truly a sight to behold, the organization and fluidity of the flock of unique Faunus. Tails of all shapes and sizes, ears of every animal imaginable, and even the scaley skin of a chosen few, it was truly beautiful to see them all in unity.

However, it was not beautiful to see them in unity in a situation like this being that they looked quite hostile at the moment. As they finished flooding out from the confines of their tents and stood in a perfectly rowed line in front of the camp, a tall, masked man with a chainsaw came from behind the group and stood out in front of the pack, his weapon of choice dragging through the sand as he walked.

Before he managed to say anything another, much smaller, person came from the back of the pack to stand out in front. She was short, about 5'2'', with long bunny ears and a staff to her side. She dressed as everyone else was, so was the massive man, but both of them seemed to have more importance than the others.

Each of them stood still for a moment, letting the silence speak in volumes for the group, and before Nova could say a word to help diffuse the situation a hard gruffy voice boomed through the desert air. "Are you!" He yelled extremely loudly, not properly controlling the volume of his voice. Why? Because in truth, the massive man with the chainsaw was…. nervous. Yet he still cleared his throat and continued, "Are you," much better volume, "… him?"

Nova just stared at the man with an empty look, only a single thought going through his mind, "… what?"

The bunny girl suddenly smacked the big man lightly on the arm and shouted, "hey! What are you doing!"

The chainsaw man looked at her in confusion, "huh? What do you mean?"

"Huhhh?! What do you mean what do I mean? Why would you ask such a stupid question!"

This only brought more confusion to him, "well… I mean… didn't they say he had like four ears, nine different tails, massive horns, long ass fangs, crazy lookin eyes, and sword like claws? He doesn't have those."

The bunny girl reeled her fist back and slammed it into the man's stomach with all of her strength before quickly realizing her mistake and nursing her hand from the pain. "Dumbass! Look at him! Don't you see the Aura! Feel the presence! Plus, look at that group!"

Chainsaw man didn't turn to look at the group, he was looking at the bunny girl's injured hand, "are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine! Your looking at the wrong thing! Look at him!" Chainsaw man did as he was asked and looked at the man. "Don't you see what I'm talking about!"

"Hmm, I mean, yeah. But I don't see the ears and tails n stuff. That's why I asked first."

"You fricken dumbass! What have I told you about…" the duo continued to yell back and forth, well at least the girl yelled, the man with the chainsaw and the tattoos just listened.

Nova watched with confusion and thought, "what the fuck is going on? Clearly, we're not gonna fight, but… what the fuck is going on?" It took him a moment to pull all his thoughts back together before he thought, "whatever. I think I recognize that guy from the anime, so I may as well take a peek at the both of them. Observe."

Name: Saw Chain, Lieutenant

Age: 29

Race: Faunus

Titles: Lieutenant of the White Fang, Adam's Left Hand

LVL: 92

*HP: 10580/10580

*AU: 11810/11810

Attributes:

*STR; 1106

*END; 662

*DEX; 204

*VIT; 479

*INT; 10

*LUK; 194

*Growth Rate: 25

'Chainsaw Man'- It's a Chainsaw… Man; +30% STR

---

Name: Nia Cottontail

Age: 31

Race: Faunus

Titles: Lieutenant of the White Fang, Adam's Right Hand

LVL: 87

*HP: 4720/4720

*AU: 5885/5885

Attributes:

*STR; 634

*END; 272

*DEX; 1177

*VIT; 186

*INT; 182

*LUK; 96

*Growth Rate: 25

'Cottontail'- A beautiful staff that is guaranteed to whack your tail off. Wait that sounds kinda wrong don't use tha- ; +30% DEX

"…what?" As he began wrapping his head around the information that was presented to him by the System, it seemed as though the Lieutenant partnership had finished their squabble about Nova and his group's presence. The woman that he could now identify as Nia and the man he could now identify as Lieutenant turned to face him once more, this time with much cooler expression.

The Chainsaw carrying Lieutenant cleared his throat and said, "you are him correct?" After asking the question he turned back to Nia for confirmation, to which she replied with a thumbs up and a gleaming smile.

Cottontail then followed up with, "Fang, right? The man who survived the most powerful attack from the Leader without a scratch, took control over an entire train full of Dust single handedly, and promised to save the Faunus by any means necessary! That Fang."

Nova saw through his massive peripheral vision as Blake began chuckling underneath her cloth mask, but he kept his composure none the less, after all he was beginning to get used to introductions like this. "Thank god I told Adam the name beforehand. Yeah, I am him. What of it?"

The moment he confirmed that he indeed was himself various oohhh's and aaahhh's erupted from the line of orderly Faunus as they each turned to talk with one another about the legend that stood before them. Even Nia and Saw lit up in smiles as they bumped into one another.

It was a bit confusing to see the exchange happening in front of him, especially because he thought they were being defensive at first, but Nova and his group simply waited for the noise to die down before Nia continued speaking. "The Leader told us you were coming soon! Glad to have someone as powerful as you on our side!"

The Lieutenant then added with a fangy smile, "I can't wait to see you in battle. It'll be quite the sight to see. Please follow us, we'll take you inside the camp."

"Thanks for your hospitality" Fang responded, walking with his group to the massive campgrounds. As he finally reached the line of Faunus that were standing outside of the camp, he noticed that they all had an expression of awe to them, like they had just come upon a legendary celebrity.

It then became clear to him that the apparent showing of unity was nothing more than a souped-up welcoming entourage, a showing of their strength in order to impress himself and the group. Once he entered the place he immediately began hearing, 'that's him!', 'he's the one!', 'Last time I saw him he didn't look like that', 'who are those women that he's with,' 'I'd take a bite outta that', and numerous other murmurs that echoed through the crowd as they made their way through.

As they walked through the maze-like structure of the tents, one by one Nia and Saw pointed out each of the important locations that they made need to know about, bathrooms, canteens, equipment storages, medical areas, smaller meeting tents, where they kept prisoners, and of course the central area where the members of the Fang tend to convene.

It was a nice camp site with each of the tents being created from a thick white tarp that barely allowed any of the beaming sunlight to get through, and in the large open central area one large tarp was used to create massive sections of shade so the members could escape the heat. Everything was neatly organized and there were sections for pretty much everything.

It wasn't cramped or anything like that, in fact it was so open that it felt as if there were almost no people present at all. As they walked and talked Nova continued to ask each of them questions about their current statuses, how many members they had, how long would supplies last them, how many wounded, the number of skirmishes they had, what were they like, how did they attack, and numerous other questions like this.

Each and every question was answered diligently by the duo, giving him a great idea of the White Fang's current situation at the moment and it didn't sound too awful. The White Fang brought 65 of its members to Vacuo and of them only 5 were injured in any compacity, luckily their injuries were minor so they would recover soon enough.

Within the week that had passed since the meeting they'd been attacked only twice, the first time it came as a surprised to everyone as they ambushed the group in the dead of night. The attackers were a group of six Faunus the had snuck into the camp and immediately ambushed a group of resting White Fang members, however luckily for them it didn't take long for everyone else in the camp to notice their presence from the clashing of blades, so they were quickly subdued and captured.

This event is where the five injured Faunus came from. After this attack Adam set up the surrounding perimeter of watchdogs that rotated out every six hours to ensure that they were never ambushed again. The next attack came a few days later during the dark of night once more, however this time they had been prepared.

The force of Faunus was much larger, approximately 30 Tribesman, but when faced with Adam's overwhelming strength and the numbers of the Fang they were quickly sent running. From that attack they only managed to capture three more of their enemies. From there, Nova then asked if they were properly integrated to which Saw replied, "me and Nia were there when the Leader talked to 'em, but they didn't say much. All he really asked was what tribe they came from, did they team with the humans, and other shit like that."

Nia then picked up and added, "the Leader is very kind. He simply asked questions and politely waited for answers, but after they didn't give up anything useful, he said that the next time they spoke he wouldn't be seeing them as brothers and sisters." Nia paused for a moment before saying, "we love our Faunus brethren. All of them. But traitors are scum, so if we learn that they sided with the humans then it'd be the last day they draw breath."

Nova just nodded his head in understanding, noting that he needed to have a conversation with the prisoners they captured. Although from Adam's report he could guess that the tribesman came from Jayson's tribe, there was still the potential for other traitors to be involved, plus not knowing there motive was only made things more difficult.

So, he'd definitely need to have a 'discussion' with them to find out what he needed to know. "Thanks for the debriefing, you both have shown us great kindness" Nova said, receiving two bring smiles in return. "We still need to convene with Adam however, so do you think you could lead me to that location now? It is very urgent that we get started immediately."

At the legendary Faunus's question, the duo looked at each other with a tinge of fear and embarrassment. They communicated with their eyes back and forth for a moment before Nia turned to the Fang and said, "uhm… sure. It's just, the Leader might be a bit…. I don't know… occupied?"

Saw then said, "he's been occupied for a while. However, this is very important so he would probably want to see you regardless." Saw then turned to face the large tent at the center of the complex before saying, "he's in there, feel free to enter at your own discretion."

A small bead of sweat fell from Nia's cheek as her partner showed them the way, but she still smiled brightly as she gave them a swift goodbye. "It was really nice meeting you Fang! I can't wait to see you strut your stuff!"

"I feel the same. It was night meeting you" the burly man added.

"You as well." Nova and his group then turned towards the large, central most tent in the area and began walking towards it, each of them thinking of how odd it was that they spoke of Adam the way they did. "Occupied? The fuck does that mean." However, as they approached the tent it didn't take a rocket scientist to know exactly what they were talking about.

Nova ears twitched from below his appearance as the sounds coming from the tent were anything but orderly and friendly. "Then why are you here! This is the business of the White Fang and no one else, you said this during the meeting did you not?"

"I know what I said! But-"

"But what! There is no buts here. We are in the middle of what might possibly become a war, not just a battle or a few light skirmishes here or there, but a full war! And you think that you can throw the Jades in the middle of it and come out unscathed? Impossible!"

"I'm not throwing the Jades into this at all! I did not come here with 50 of my best warriors or an entire army of Tribesman, I came here by myself! This is not their fight!"

"And somehow you believe that is better. You came with no guards, no protection, no greater strength! And for what? Nothing. No reason. You have nothing to gain and everything to lose. You say it is not their fight, but that doesn't explain how it is your either!"

"It is my fight!"

"Why?"

"Because-"

"Just because? That is not an answer!"

"Let me fuckin finish jackass! I was saying because its personal!"

"How? How could a battle between the White Fang and a group of humans be personal to you of all people? You were not asked of anything, insulted in anyway, attacked, mocked, or anything even remotely like that. Please explain to me, how in the world could this be personal to you1?!"

"Because…"

"Because?"

"Because of yo-" Her words were cut short as one of the guards that were standing by the tents entrance quickly peeked her head inside the tent to alert them of a group requesting entry.

"Excuse me, but I believe that your guests have arrived, Leader. Should I allow them inside?" An awkward silence immediately began ringing throughout the room as the two Faunus realized how loud they were being as they screamed at one another.

Adam looked across the room at Anaya for a moment before turning back to the man and telling him, "let them in."

"Yes sir."

The moment the guard left the room Adam looked back to the gorgeous Faunus woman with a straight face and said, "go home."

And with an equally straight and unmoving face she replied, "no." As soon as the quick exchange was complete, Nova followed by Blake, Neyah, Nix, and then Zeb walked into the room in an incredibly orderly fashion, walking right into the lions mouth.

Adam sighed heavily before greeting his brother with a familiar handshake as he said, "it's good to see you again Brother. Thanks for coming on such short notice."

Nova returned the handshake with a sense of familiarity as he replied with, "Of course anytime."

After the quick greeting he turned his head to the other people present, "I see you've brought backup. Do you think you could introduce me to our supporters?"

"Oh right, you already know them, Adam." He then told his group, "Yall can take the masks off if you want."

The first one to reveal themselves was Blake as she removed her mask and said with an amused smile, "long time no see Adam. I see you haven't changed much since the last time I saw you. Still can't get along with Anaya at all."

Adam grimaced at her comment and the woman behind him let out an audible chuckle. "Shut it. I could say the same thing about you Blake. I am glad to see that you have become a bit stronger than the last time I saw you, but sad to see that you are still wearing that obnoxious bow."

Blake hissed back at him, "it's to hide my identity dumbass! I wouldn't have worn it otherwise."

Adam turned to Nova and the rest of the group before nodding in understanding. "I see." Nix and Neyah were the next to remove the eye wear and the moment Adam saw their faces he quick to bow his head. ""I am glad to see you both in good health Honorable Priestess Nieva and Honorable Warrior Neyah. You are much more powerful than the last time I saw you, it is nice to see that Nova has treated you all so greatly not only as mates, but also as a teacher of power."

Nix chuckled at his response, "you truly are much the same as you were before. Also, so stiff and respectful. You may drop the honorable and just Nix is fine Adam."

Neyah smiled a fangy smile as she said, "I want my rematch. I'm gonna fuck you up this time no doubt!"

Adam cracked an almost invisible smile at Neyah's comment. "Of course, Nix. However, Neyah, I'd love to see the day that you would be able to beat me in combat, but I don't believe it will be today. Unfortunately."

Neyah scoffed at the comment before mumbling, "whatever."

The last among them was the massive figure but it was pretty easy for Adam to deduce that it was Z behind the mask, so he simply said, "it's good to see you again too Z."

"Yes sir" he quickly responded with a mock salute.

After the quick greeting, each of them walked deeper into the room and spread out amongst the space before Nova said, "so, who's the lovely lady Adam? I couldn't help but hear how close you guys are from outside the tent" he asked jokingly.

That comment seemed to bring a tinge of reddish blush to his cheeks, but before the blush could take over he grit his teeth and responded, "I apologize about that unsightly appearance. This is my… " He paused for a moment as he tried to think of what she was to him, but instead of finding the words to express it he simply restarted his statement. "Never mind. This is Ana-

"I can introduce myself, Adam." She said, cutting the man off before he could finish his word, clearly irritated that he didn't identify her by something special. "I am the Chief of the Desert Jades, Anaya Addax. It's nice to meet the one who gave Adam a proper purpose, thank you for taking care of him." The woman that introduced herself was drop dead gorgeous.

She had beautiful brown skin, fluffy-curly, shoulder length, golden-brown hair with pure white highlights, and long black antlers that grew from the sides of her head. She had incredibly sharp amber colored eyes that practically glew even in light, a cute small nose that sat perfectly at the center of her face, and soft plumb lips that glistened with beauty. Anaya appeared very exotic with her pointed ears, fierce eyes, and tattooed features that littered her exposed body. The markings on her skin were all emerald in color and shimmered in the light gorgeously.

The Faunus woman wore simple clothing, a brownish sports bra like garb with white straps that held her luscious breasts, numerous jade bracelets and other green jewelry on her arms and legs, and on her slender waist she wore a white pelt skirt that was tired together with brown leathery straps. She was gorgeous and the same thing could be said about her sweet voice as well.

"I didn't do much. It is nice to meet you as well. Damn she kinda bad." He thought as he took a step towards the woman to shake her hand. However, the moment their hands touched Nova immediately noticed something was off with the woman, something about her was much different than the rest. "There's no fucking way."

Adam watched with scrutiny as Nova's hand met with Anaya, the two of them smiled at one another in a way that made him uncomfortable, and at the same time it looked as if his Brother was peering a bit too deeply into the woman's form. It made him irritated. But he managed to hold himself together, brushing the exchange off as nothing special to keep himself cool.

As he continued shaking her hand, the man in the Fang appearance remained completely ignorant of the way his actions were making Adam feel as he was far to focused on the woman in front of him. Ananya scared him, not because of her strength or anything, but because of the possibilities that she could bring to the future if what he was feeling inside of her was correct. After the handshake lasted just a moment too long, Nova allowed his hand to slide off of her own and he then quickly thought up his chosen Skill that would help him confirm his suspicions about the woman. "Observe."

Name: Anaya Addax

Age: 25

Race: Faunus

Titles: The Summer Maiden, Chief of the Desert Jades, Adam's special person, Victim of the SDC, Etc.

LVL: 163

*HP: 43048/43048

*AU: 22705/22705

*MP: 52245/52245

Attributes:

*STR; 835

*END; 988

*DEX; 1577

*VIT; 1577

*INT; 3205

*LUK; 499

*Growth Rate: 45 (MAX)

*Summer Maiden*- The host of vast magical power that allows the inheritor to harness the powers old, true magic.

*Jade Palace (Semblance)*- This Semblance allows Anaya to create structures out of her Aura, creating protective barriers, throwable objects, and almost anything else that she can imagine.

'Jade Javelin'-An incredibly sharp and durable Javelin that can wielded as both a throwable projectile and a spear that Anaya can wield with expertise; +30% INT, +20% VIT, +20% DEX

"Fuck."

Chapter 69: Tribes of The Desert

For a moment Nova's mind sunk once more, being severely overwhelmed by the sudden revelation and the implications that it had on the immediate future, but he quicky managed to reel his mind back in so he could think clearly about the current situation. "Anaya Addax is the Summer Maiden. What the fuck."

At the time that Nova had defeated the invading Stygian Animus, killed the legion king and ascended to the level of Awakened, Rwby only had eight official volumes released and so the last thing he saw in the show was the fall of Atlas.

That meant that he, along with anyone else that had watched the show had no idea who the Summer maiden was. He knew that Amber was the fall maiden, Raven was Spring, and some lady in Atlas was the Winter maiden, but he never even considered the possibility of the Summer Maiden coming into play because she wasn't even in the show yet.

It was almost as if for a moment, ever since things had begun going well, he had completely forgotten that the world he found himself in, Remnant, was in fact the real world. People don't just appear whenever the plot demands it, the enemies don't just sit around and wait for the protagonist to attack them, and everything damn sure doesn't just work out for the main character just because. This was the real Remnant and he had to make sure that it happened that way.

Although he kept his cool and retained his comforting smile on the surface it seemed that he wasn't able to fool the Panthera twins as they turned to face there lover with a bit of concern. Nix spoke up and asked, "hey Babe is everything alright?"

As the question was asked everyone turned their attention to the man who was staring unintentionally at the gorgeous Faunus woman in front of him. "Yeah, I'm fine, just thinking about something" he responded quickly, waving off their concern. "Anyway, now's not the time to be idly catching up, we can save that for after everything has been resolved."

Adam found the interaction between Nova and Anaya to be a bit odd and it only became worse after Nix questioned his Brother's looks as well, but he still put that irritation aside for the moment because what Nova said was correct.

Focusing on solving their current problem was the most important thing they could do now. "Your correct, we need to ensure the safety of not only our group, but also the Tribes that may be getting used by the Humans to sully the Faunus name. Our opponents will be powerful, and they have numbers that far exceed our own, but we must find a way to come out on top. So, allow me to tell you what I have done so far to help our situation. I'll skip over the minuet defense details since I doubt, they have much importance, but the other more essential things that I have done in light of the recent attacks was request an aid from the other Tribal leaders." Anaya rolled her eyes at the comment, but Adam ignored her expression.

This sparked a thought in Nova's head, "other leaders? Aren't they the ones that are we are looking into as possible traitors? Who did you end up contacting and what did they say? I thought that they were all potential suspects right now?"

Adam nodded his head and said, "I understand that, and I still know that they are. However, as I listed in the retelling of last week's events, there were a few of the leaders that were highly vocal in their disagreement of the humans' agenda. Naya for one," he said, bringing a small smile to the woman's face, "and more importantly Elder Reese. You see, the Head elder has quite the powerful clan" as he finished Anaya was back to frowning again.

She chose to speak up and cut off Adam in the explanation of Reese's 'powers.' "I don't mean to be rude Adam, but I think I'd be a bit better at letting Nova the power structure between our Tribes." The man looked only slightly irritated but otherwise remained composed as he nodded slightly to give her the go ahead to continue.

"Good. To say that Reese's Clan is powerful is a bit of an understatement because of the fact that even before the massive 'alliance' his Clan was already the largest of the Faunus exclusive Tribes in Vacuo. However, now he has control over three additional Tribes since the alliance essentially just merged them under his rule under the name Desert Faunus Alliance. It is a massive Tribe with over ten thousand people and although there are the three other Chief's that have power within the Clan, we all know that Reese himself is the ruler of all of it."

"Exactly," Adam then added, "that is why I requested his assistance."

Anaya rolled her eyes and said, "whatever, he's a power-hungry sack of shit that acts nice for appearances. If anything, he'd only help to make you owe him and the only reason he'd chose not to side with the humans would be because he wants to control everything."

"Do you even understand why he desires so much strength? Desires to control all of the Faunus tribes within Vacuo?" Adam asked the woman across the table, to which she quickly scoffed. "It's because he wishes to unify all of the Faunus Clans under a single name, a single banner. A massive, united Tribe of Faunus that prosper even in Vacuo, that is his vision, and I believe that he'd do anything to create it."

"You don't need to tell me that," the antlered woman replied, "I already know. Anything, including violently sending mercs to attack another Faunus Tribe that refuses to join his shitty alliance."

Adam paused for a moment, not sure how to respond to that comment. The gears within his mind began turning and he quickly asked, "is he the reason that your Tribe is currently suffering?"

The Addax simply waved off his question, "I have my suspicions. But whatever, it's not important. I just believe that it would be best if Reese or his shitty henchman were not involved in this conflict. They could help, but they could not."

The crimson haired Faunus suddenly straightened out in his chair and got quiet for a moment before saying, "that could be a problem."

Nova let out a bit of a sigh before asking, "what did he say Adam?"

"Head Elder Reese said that he'd be more than willing to provide assistance in our current struggle, and in doing so he would come to this site personally alongside his most trusted guardian and companion. The rest of the force he'd bring alongside him will be off site, probably setting up camp about a mile away to protect against any assaults. He and his men are set to arrive soon, probably as soon as tonight or possibly tomorrow morning." Anaya sighed loudly at Adam's mistake, getting an eye roll from Adam, but Nova remained calm.

"So, was Reese the only of the Chief's that you contacted?" the Faunus man asked.

"Yes, he was" Adam responded. "I didn't trust either Khrish or Jayson since they are both likely to be the ones that defected to the human's side."

"I guess we can work with this…" Nova mumbled underneath his breath as he turned his focus internally. "Reese might be a problem if what Anaya said is true, but it would only be an issue for the White Fang moving forward or possibly for the power structure within Vacuo as a whole. Since there are Faunus exclusive Tribes, I can assume that there are also human exclusive and mixed Tribes as well, with the Faunus portion being the smallest. Shade is the only central governmental agency in Vacuo, so they probably won't get involved in anyway. But then again," as he thought his head naturally turned to the Faunus woman to his side, "the goddamn Summer Maiden is just chillin here so that's an issue in itself. I need to talk with her one on one to see what she may or may not know about our current situation….hmmm, what to do."

As Nova was thinking, Neyah turned to the table and asked, "So, like, how big are these tribes? And how many of the Faunus ones are there?"

Adam answered with, "to my knowledge there are Ten, only six if you consider the Alliance as one. We've been in close contact with four of them, the other two are mysterious and don't communicate much with the outside world."

Anaya continued with, "yeah, they're just bandits and murders so I wouldn't recommend associating with them at all anyway. My tribe, the Desert Jades, is about eight hundred deep, Khrish's Tribe, the Desert Kreeps, has a bit less than mine, probably six hundred. The Walkers are three to four hundred, and as I mentioned before the DFA (Desert Faunus Alliance) has like ten thousand, maybe more."

Nix then perked up and asked, "Do you know where the DFA is located? I'm sure it'd be very hard to move that many people around at any given time, so they must have some kind of at least temporary settlement."

"Yeah, I got it," Anaya said, "I need a map though." Once she said what she needed Adam stood from the table and grabbed the necessary materials before returning and laying it out on the table.

As he put the map out on the table he said, "this map has the general last known location of each of the Tribes from last year, although it may not accurately state where most of they are located now."

Anaya then added, "oh, this isn't half bad. Yeah, every Tribe except for the DFA is off but it definitely gives a pretty good idea of where everyone is at." Once they brought the map out Nova took a quick peek at it, and surprisingly the information naturally updated itself on his own mental map. They hadn't even partially showed up before, but now they were all there in their proper locations, not the ones that were marked on the map in front of him. "Basically, we are all here" she said as she pointed to a specific point on the map.

The location that she pointed to was essentially directly at the center of each of the other four previously known locations of the other Tribes, more than likely for it to be a place of neutrality. Unfortunately, it also worked horribly against them in their situation since they could pretty easily be attacked from any of the other Tribes, especially the DFA. "So, where is Shade on this map?" Blake asked.

Adam then pointed to a large red dot a while North of the DFA and said, "it's here, the City of Vacuo. I don't believe that government interference will be something that we will have to deal with however, especially since the DFA and White Fang are involved. They tend to avoid any and all conflict between Tribes unless it has to do with Grimm."

"Damn," Neyah commented, "seems kinda fucked, doesn't it?"

Nix instinctually bonked her sister on the head, "Sister, your words."

"Owe! What, I'm just sayin! Surrounded on all sides, small force, an asshole that want's to control everything, and the gov close by. That shit sounds like a disaster."

Nova chuckled slightly at his lovers response, "yup, it definitely does seem a little fucked. But, we'll make it through. I've seen worse."

Adam smirked at his response, "I trust you have a strategy to address this situation Brother?" He spoke, turning to the man himself as he asked the question.

Nova had to think about it for a moment because in truth there wasn't much strategy that could be put into play in this situation. There were too many unknowns, too many potential casualties, and far too many possible negative outcomes in this situation and that was before he learned that the Summer fucking Maiden was here as well.

He needed to speak with her alone. But for now, they needed information. "I can't say that I have the perfect plan to magically end this battle in a single move, but I do have an idea of what situation we need to create." Once he began, Nova walked deeper into the room and sat down in one of the chairs that was pulled from the large round table in the center of the room. This prompted everyone else, except Zeb, to do the same.

As they sat, Anaya asked, "so what did you have in mind?"

"Well, the thing we want to avoid at all costs is an all-out war between the White Fang and Cinder's allies. Cinder being the human woman that propositioned you to destroy the Kingdom of Vale. It would cause to many casualties, extend the length of the conflict to an incredible degree, and probably wouldn't end in our victory total victory anyway."

The people around the table nodded as he spoke, absorbing the information well enough to get a general idea of the situation. "Instead, what we need to do is push back the human's to the point where they either die or retreat, leaving Vacuo permanently. In dealing with the defecting Tribal leaders, they need to either be killed or beaten into submission so they wouldn't even think about teaming up with them again. Essentially, we need to take care of this quickly and cleanly by attacking the heads without bothering with the armies of people they control."

Adam perked up and said, "that is what I believed as well, but how do we go about doing this?"

Before Nova could answer the question, Anaya said, "information. We need to find out who we are fighting against and where they are so we can take the fight directly to them instead of waiting for them to attack us. Right, Nova?"

When Anaya asked him for confirmation he smiled and responded with, "yeah that's right. We gotta take the fight to them, but in order to do so we need to find out where and who they are. Without this information we'd be here for the long haul which cannot happen."

Seeing the synergy between his Brother and the woman that was so special to him made a certain anger rouse in Adam's chest, but before he could comment on it Blake chimed in on the conversation. "So, are you heading to the prisoner tent to get some answers?"

Blake's question was met with a somber expression as he could see what his lover was getting at, but he still needed to get answers, so he comforted her with his response. "Yeah, that's where I'll be heading. Trust me, I won't be hurting them in anyway if I can help it, but if don't get answers then I may have to resort to…. more extreme measures. I'll keep it to a last resort though." The answer didn't do much to comfort the woman, if anything it made her feel a bit worse about the situation. The room went silent at his response, prompting Nova to ask yet another question. "Does anyone have a problem with this?"

Nix and Neyah shook their heads as they saw the necessity of the action within this situation, Zeb ignored the question since he wasn't really apart of the discussion, but Adam and Anaya chose to speak up.

It began with Adam saying, "I'd rather not give you permission to torture any of my brothers and sisters. No matter what they did, or who's orders they are under, they still deserve respect as they are still of Faunus birth. Traitors must pay for their crimes via death, but that death must come swiftly and painlessly because they are still our Brethren."

Anaya's expression softened at his response, but she still shook her head in disagreement. "I understand how you feel Adam, but this is not a time for lax measures. We are talking about the possibility of hundreds of Faunus dying in a fight that was caused by Humans, and beyond even that the possibility of an entire Kingdom's destruction being blamed on our people. We have to break a few eggs to make an omelet on occasion."

Adam didn't take too kindly to her response. In truth it wasn't even her words that angered him, he understood the conceptual idea of it and agreed to a certain extent, but something about her agreeing with Nova and her involvement within this discussion irritated him. "First off, 'WE' are doing nothing because you are not a part of this battle. I said it before, this is not your fight. Go home."

Without being able to properly put his feelings into words he immediately resorted back to his argument before, turning Anaya's somber expression into one of anger. "I'm not going home Adam! You cannot make me do a damn thing! I said it before and I'll say it again, this is personal! So, I'll stay here and help out Nova and his group in an effort to stop Cinder and protect the White Fang since their apparently the only ones taking this situation seriously!"

This lifted the Bull from his seat as he slammed his hands on the table shouting, "you think that he's the only one taking this seriously?! You are quite possibly the only one here not taking this seriously! This is dangerous! A battle more dangerous than you have ever experienced! Your life will be on the line every minute, every second that you are in the line of fire! Yet you casually say that you'll support him" he shouted pointing at the mask-less Faunus man. "Don't make me laugh."

"I know already know that Adam! Do you really believe that I would come here without knowing the potential risks of being involved in a conflict like this?! I am more than prepared to put my life on the line if it means that I can protect what is important to me!"

The Bull Faunus scoffed at her comments, "put your life on the line? That's what I'm talking about! You say so with such casualty like you put no importance on your own life. Listen to me and listen closely. Your cannot be here because you are simply not strong enough. You giving your life has no meaning here, so cut your losses and return to the place where you'll remain safe. Naya, you are weak."

Anaya's fiery anger suddenly subsided and the entire room fell silently as the deadly blow had been dealt. The moment the word's left Adam's mouth he immediately regretted saying it. He wished he could take it back but unfortunately words didn't work that way, however now that he had already said it, he figured that he might as well take advantage of it.

Hopefully the insult would strike a chord within the woman, so she'd realize she is out of her league and head home. The last thing he wanted was for her to be in danger, and if this comment would send her someplace safe, he was more than happy to use it.

"I know." She said quietly. "But I don't care. Nothing you can say is gonna make me leave your side, so I don't care if I'm weak, I don't care if I'm in the way, I don't care if get everyone else killed. As long as when your life is in danger, I can help give you the edge even a little bit to help you survive then I'll do it."

Anaya then stood from the table, pushed in her seat, and said, "I used to be weak Adam. Unable to do anything while you risked your life to protect me, but I won't be like that anymore. I refuse." With her comments finished she started towards the exit, and all Adam could do was watch with his mouth a gape as the words left him once more.

He had made her mad, he had hurt her, and now he knew that all she wanted to do was protect him like he had done her all those years ago. Adam wanted to leap up and grab her arm to stop her from leaving, he wanted to yell 'wait don't go' from the depths of his soul, but those words never made it to his lips. So, he watched helplessly as she began walking right out of the door.

"Wait!" Adam's head shot around the room to see who had spoken those words, but when he faced the source, he grit his teeth in anger. Anaya stopped in her tracks, and Adam watched helplessly as Nova stood to his feet to stand just out in front of the Faunus woman.

Anaya looked up to the man as she asked, "what do you want? I'm going to get prepared for what's to come, I already said I'm not leaving. You tryna force me out?"

Nova's eyebrows raised at her question, "what? No. I just wanted to talk with you, in private. It's really, really, really important."

Looking into his eyes Anaya could see how imperative this conversation was going to be and how much the man before her needed to speak about it. "Ok, follow me."

Adam was practically seething at this point, but through his emotions he managed to keep his calm demeaner, and he only listened as his Brother gave his next orders. "Adam, I know you don't want any harm to come to the prisoners and I want the same thing, so we'll start with intimidation factors. Head to the prison and start to warm them up for me, and if after that we still get nothing from them then we can talk about more extreme measures. Also, can you please show the others around the camp and show them where to take up defensive positions in case we're attacked?"

The man himself put this new emotion aside for a moment to focus on the mission before him. "Understood. I'll get right on it."

"Thanks Brother, I'll meet you there soon." Adam watched with an aching heart as Nova and Anaya disappeared out of the tent together, not sure of what they were going to be speaking about, but still angered all the same.

---

Nova found himself alone at the back of tent with the only person within ear shot of himself being the antlered Faunus in front of himself. She was clearly irritated, more than likely because of the last words between herself and Adam.

They were close, really close it seemed, but they looked to be having some kind of communication issues, at least that was how he saw it from the outside in. Anaya wanted to protect Adam by staying by his side, but Adam wanted to protect Anaya by sending her out of harm's way.

It wasn't pretty to watch go down and he would like to help them out, especially because he was extremely interested in the fact that Adam has an actual love interest that's not some weird shit between himself and Blake, but now wasn't the time for that.

"So, what do you want?" she asked.

The Awakened One let out a long sigh before saying, "I'm not gonna beat around the bush with you Anaya. I know you're the Summer Maiden," One moment the woman was slightly irate but open to listening, but the next Nova quickly found an emerald javelin's pointed tip uncomfortably close to his neck.

With a deep glare the woman growled, "how the fuck do you know that?"

He didn't react at all to her attack, instead feeling a bit annoyed that he needed to go through this whole interaction when he just wanted to cut to the chase. "I'm a bit of a special case aight. I know Ozpin, I know Salem, I know a little bit about pretty much fucking everything," he began, "but I had no idea about you."

With that comment he watched as Anaya's muscles relaxed slightly and he took that opportunity to push the pointed weapon from his neck so he could continue explaining. "The reason I knew you were a maiden was because of my special ability, you could say I have a sense for this kind of thing. But in all honesty that is neither here nor there. What I need to know is everything you know."

The Faunus woman cautiously put her weapon of choice down to her side before asking, "what do you mean?"

"I need to know what you know about Salem, the Relics, the other maidens, the humans that proposed Adam to take down the Kingdom of Vale. Literally everything. Nothing can be left up to chance in a situation like this." Anaya seemed to be contemplating it all for a moment before Nova said, "please."

Her glare softened and her posture shifted, "fine." Nova quickly learned that Anaya knew almost nothing. All she knew of was the idea of Salem, the concept of the Relics, and the fact that she was the key to opening one of them up.

Apparently, she quite literally just randomly attained the powers one night after the Tribe she lived in was raided and most of its members were killed. She then went to Shade, the Huntsman Academy in Vacuo, as a refugee where some professor caught her making fires with her powers and she was quickly escorted to the Headmaster where she was told to never show those abilities to anyone else, EVER.

After that they sent her on her marry way, borderline ignorant of everything regarding the ability. "This is either a really good thing, or a really bad thing. I just cannot tell which yet." Nova took a moment to process the information he was being presented with before asking, "so, who else knows about your powers?"

"Nobody. Just the professor and the Headmaster. When I was making fires that night it was the first time I tried practicing with it, and ever since then I haven't used it at all. They said keep a secret, so I did. Why is it so important now?"

"Oh fuck," he said to himself, "Adam might've been right when he said take yo ass home."

"Aye! I already told you, I aint fuckin leaving! I'm not leaving him!"

"I know, I know, I know. It's just…. Fuuuuuucccckkkkk." He took another moment to recompose himself before saying, "ok, so, basically the human people that are currently attacking Adam and want him to join White Fang are also trying to kill all of the Maidens so they can use the power to acquire the relics so they can use the relics to destroy the world."

Anaya looked at Nova with a blank expression, one that he found himself seeing a bit too often lately. "That is the super dumb down version of it, and if you ever need a more detailed version I'll give it to you, but for now that's all you really need to know."

"So, why does this matter now?"

"It matters because you are an extremely valuable asset to them whether they know it or not, so your making things exponentially worse by just being in their path. Luckily, they have no idea that they suddenly happened upon the literal gold mine of powers with you, Adam, and me all in the same place. But if they ever find that out it'll be a big issue."

Anaya just rolled her eyes at the comment, "you worry to fuckin much. Nobody ever learned about my powers up until this point, so nobody is gonna learn the fact that I'm a Maiden now."

With one last huff Nova agreed, "you are probably right. However, just in case, if you are ever about to die, I mean really close to dying, please think extremely hard of Adam and only Adam. I don't care if someone is stabbing you in the chest, think only of Adam. You got that?"

His request was odd and seemed extremely out of place, but the request itself was extremely simple for one reason. "I'm always thinking of Adam."

Nova found himself smiling a bit at the Summer Maiden's declaration, feeling a bit of pride in Adam finding such a nice woman. It was sweet, like a Brother that's been single forever finally getting a girlfriend. "Good. That's good."

As she saw Fang smile, she replicated the expression, "great. So, are we done here now?"

"Yeah, we're done here. Let's get back to the task at hand." Nova watched as the Jade woman turned tail and exited the tent with incredible swiftness as she headed to wherever Adam was. "That was fuckin terrible instruction. Think of Adam when you die? What the fuck was I thinking. I'm setting up death flags left and fuckin right." As he began taking his stride outside of the tent, he put his mask up once more and thought, "Gotta make sure she doesn't kick the bucket. As long as she doesn't reveal her power, die, somehow get her shit siphoned out by Cinder, or get kidnapped then we should be fine… Damn it'd really be easier if she just went the fuck home. I really am just at the whims of every person I meet. Hopefully I really do just worry too much."

With that final salty thought, Nova exited the tent and walked to the location that the prisoners were being held in, and as he approached the large white structure, he noticed two familiar faces standing guard outside. "Oh, hey Fang! Here to do some interrogating?"

"Nia, I don't believe that kind of question is appropriate" the Chainsaw wielding man said to the energetic bunny woman.

"Oh right! Uhm, Uhhhhh, nice night we're having! Perfect weather for getting answers from strangers, wink-wink, nudge-nudge."

The much larger Faunus man nodded his head at Nia's response and followed up with, "it's a very nice night for that thing that Nia was talking about Mr. Fang" he said as he attempted to wink behind his mask. Nova couldn't tell whether or not he was doing it well, but the way he tilted his head with every movement made him believe he was failing horribly at the eye gesture.

He quickly greeted them with a wave and a "nice night indeed" before walking into the tent and seeing what he had to work with. Inside it was fairly large, at least large enough to separate the entire thing into different sections using additional flaps of the tent fabric.

The first 'room' he walked into when he entered the tent had a few tables where Nix, Blake, and Neyah waited for them to finish up, and the after passing through that section he entered into an area about the same size as the former room but had two more sections branching off from it.

Displayed on one of the two branching rooms were shadows of two standing people pacing around the space and Nova quickly deduced that this was where Adam, Anaya, and the prisoners were located.

After waiting a moment to listen to what they were saying, Fang swiftly slapped open the rooms separating flaps to enter into he room, quickly laying his eyes upon the five tied up prisoners that were laying on the ground in the corner of the room. "I gave you your final opportunity to do this the easy way, but now it is out of my hands" Adam remarked as he watched Fang walk into the room.

Three women, two men, all Faunus of different types, all dressed in different garbs, but all definitely strong enough to stay tight lipped in the given situation. "We aint tellin you shit!" One of the women yelled.

"Yeah! Kick rocks bitch!" Another of the boys said, immediately following her statement.

Nova quickly noted that the two of them had some kind of connection since the other was only willing to speak after she did, so without saying a single word he grabbed the woman from the ground with a single hand.

He lifted her into the air with ease, aggressively launching her from her feet, and without giving her even a second to speak he reached into his own chest and pulled out his weapon of choice. Agni-Aeolus. A so-called God like spear of indomitable creation that emanated a scorching heat and visceral winds the instant it surfaced from the depths of Fang's chest, and without a moment wasted he began carrying the woman outside of the room.

Pure terror erupted from the Faunus woman's face as she saw the weapon, all the gusto and vibrato that she once had within her heart disappeared in an instant. "W- wa-wait a second! Y- you really d-don't have to do this! I-I'll talk, I-I-I promise!" Fang didn't listen to her pleas and instead brought her beyond the flap where her screams became mumbled from the distance and material between them and the other prisoners.

Even Anaya and Adam were confused as to why he didn't stop, after all she said that she was willing to give up the information, but they kept their faces icily straight as to not portray any emotion.

On the other side of tarp, they watched the event unfold as if they were shadow puppets on a stage, seeing as Fang roughly tossed the woman on to the ground as she plead for her life with every second of life she had left.

However, the pleas fell on deaf ears and from beyond the tarp they heard Fang speak for the first time in the coldest, darkest, deadliest tone of voice imaginable. "Die." At the same moment Fang plunged his violent, multi-pointed spearhead through the pleading woman's chest, and they watched in horror as she fell to the ground unmoving. Dead.

Fang quickly left the lifeless corpse to re-enter the room where the now four prisoners were being held, not even giving a moment's notice to Anaya and Adam's expressions. He stared directly into the Faunus man's eyes and said, "now, I'm going to ask a question and you are going to answer it. This is going to happen until I and my partners are satisfied. If you do so you'll be able to live to tell the story, unlike your partner who made the mistake of irritating me. Do you understand?"

"I-I-I-I. Sh-She, I-I-, Wh-Why" The Faunus boy was clearly losing it, he couldn't catch his own breath, tears and snot ran down his face in gobs, and he repeatedly stuttered and stumbled over his words without stopping.

Nova just let out a sigh before exclaiming, "I guess you don't understand." Looking over to the other three Faunus that were tied up he thought aloud, "hopefully the other three understand." He then quickly picked the Faunus up with a single hand, the same way he did with the former woman, and started towards the exit. It didn't take long for Adam to pick up on what his so-called Brother was about to do and he quickly moved to stop him, but before he did so one of the other prisoners spoke up.

"Wait! Please… don't. We'll talk, we'll tell you whatever you want. Just please…don't."

Nova stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around to face the woman that spoke up, "so, I'm to take it that you do understand?"

The Faunus woman was hesitant to respond, but she eventually said, "Yes, I understand."

A sinister smile fell across his lips as Fang sickly stated, "good." He then tossed the Faunus boy back into line without care and walked up to the other three prisoners to sit down in front of them. "Now, tell me what I need to know."

And that they did, each of them quickly released not only what Tribe they were from, but also what Tribe the other group of five was from. It didn't take long for the Faunus boy that was once a bubbling mess, to start adding and clarifying details left and right, so soon enough they were able to build a full picture of the threats they found themselves facing.

First and foremost was Jayson and the Desert Walkers, this was the full Tribe that defected to Cinder's side and was currently helping the woman attack the White Fang under the guise of bringing the group under heel.

However, according to them Jayson believed that the humans wanted to recruit Adam by any means necessary, but they were given the order to kill him if possible since he wanted his position solidified within the group.

So, the massive group of thirty that attacked the camp site was in fact a group filled with all of Jayson's Tribesman, and there only real objective was to test the strength of their opposition. Nobody was supposed to get captured, but unfortunately for them Adam decided to attack on the front lines which depleted their Aura and will to fight that much quicker.

However, the assignation attempt from the group of six ambushers was intended for the Adam himself, but somehow, they managed to attack the wrong tent or attack the location that he was supposed to be in, either way they failed in their objective.

The group of six that were sent to assassinate Adam were not actually from Jayson's Clan, instead they were hired guns from Khrish's Tribe since they were viewed as aces of stealth. After this they learned little much else since they were low ranking members of their respective Tribes and wouldn't be allowed to learn extremely important information regardless, but they were able to leave them with something of potential importance.

One of them overheard a conversation that Jayson was having with one of the human's that visited their Tribe. "I don't really know what it all means, but the Chief was saying something about an overwhelming force, smothering the enemy, and something about ransom. But I swear that's all I know."

Nova looked down at the group before turning to Adam and Anaya to see what they had to say, but it seemed they had already learned everything there was to know about the situation from these Tribesman. "Thank you for your services. Your help is very much appreciated" he thanked the group of prisoners for their assistance, but all he got in return were sour expressions and glares.

However, it didn't seem as any of them had the courage to say what was on their minds, except the Faunus man. "You're an animal! I hope you die a painful death for what you did to Toothy!"

This got the man's attention as he squatted down to look in the fearful man's eyes. "Was she important to you?"

For a moment he paused, not sure whether or not to respond, but at this point he had nothing to lose so he spat out, "she was the most important person in the world to me, and you killed her in cold blood. Fuck you!" The man they called Fang only sighed and stood up, walking out of the room to pick up the woman's apparent corpse before quickly stepping back inside.

Without a moment of warning, he tossed the woman's body at the Faunus who said she was the most important person in the world to him. "Here take her back then. I didn't kill her dumbass, she passed out. I just used Source Slice to attack her Aura directly and Anger Roar to hit her with the stun-fear combo. But I guess being stricken with the worst fear of your life in combination with watching a blade sink inside your chest is more than enough for even a battle-hardened Faunus to take. Thanks again for helping out though, this shit'll be resolved before you know it and the two of you can get back to whatever it is you do in your tribe."

From there, Nova, followed by Adam and Anaya, left the room once more and invited the White Fang guards to protect the inside of the makeshift prison. Back in the tent's originally entry room the group sat down alongside the other Faunus women to talk things through. As they began sitting Blake asked, "so, how did things go?"

At the question Adam and Anaya turned to the masked man, not sure exactly how to put the experience into words. Eventually, Adam remarked, "well, enough." Planning to leave the topic of discussion at that and not elaborate anymore.

However, Anaya quickly asked, "how did you do that? Don't say illusion because I could clearly see that you stabbed that woman."

"I guess this is where I have to play my card," he thought before saying, "it's a part of my ability, one of many. I know it may sound very interesting, but trust me its not that important right now, what we really need to focus on is what to do with the information we have now."

They all agreed on that idea and after quickly debriefing Blake, Nix, and Neyah on their newfound information it didn't take long for Neyah to say, "so why not just go fuck em' up directly?"

Blake then asked, "what do you mean? Like travel straight to their Tribes individually and fight with them?"

Neyah nodded her head as she said, "yeah exactly. We already know who they are and where they are, so why don't we just split up and head to Jayson or whoever tribes individually and fuck em up. I mean, wouldn't one of them have to know something about the humans?"

Nix then added, "not only that but it is highly possible for one of these Tribes to be housing them entirely and since there are only two Faunus Tribes it wouldn't be much of a search, unless of course there is another Tribe involved. Obviously, this would stretch our strengths very thin, but at the same time it would provide the best chance of success as long as those who are sent can easily take care of the tribal leaders Jayson and Khrish."

Adam shook his head saying, "that is a very risky plan. You three are only Huntresses in training, not nearly enough to take on a powerful Tribal head, so you'd be restricted to defending the White Fang camp. I cannot leave this camp site, at least not for now, since I need to be here once Head Elder Reese arrives so I can update him on our situation." Then with a quite side eye at the Jade woman he commented, "Anaya cannot go either since she is required to keep up friendly appearances. Is that right?"

"Sort of," the antlered Faunus responded. "In a situation like this I doubt appearances matter, although I'd rather not put the Jade's at future risk because of my actions here. Either way though I am going wherever you go Adam, so if you are required to remain here then I will do the same."

Blake began snickering and added, "well, I'm sure the Leader of the White Fang would have it no other way, right? Don't you have to make sure you protect your allying Chieftain?"

Not really knowing how to react, Adam tilted his head down to hide his growing blush, much to the amusement of the other Faunus woman present. "Right." He said, brushing off the feeling welding up within his chest. "Anyway," he said to get everyone back on topic, "that then leaves us with Nova and Z."

As their names were mentioned, Nova quickly ran through the pros and cons of each of the plays they had and figured that this was probably their best option. Plus, he was really the only one that could do this plan efficiently since he didn't tire nor did he need sleep, and Zeb would be the second-best candidate as well. The Ram Faunus stood in the corner of the room once more and Nova turned to him and asked, "how are you feelin about this Zeb? Are you down to travel through the Desert for a half a day to beat some ass?"

The man himself only chuckled, "you already know my answer Chief."

Zeb's superior only nodded his head and turned back to the table to say, "I guess that decides it then. The only thing we need to figure out now is who go's where. Well, I guess that's pretty obvious too. Jayson sounds like he's prepping an army and has more involvement within the entire operation in general, so just in case whoever gets sent has to fend off hundreds of angered Faunus, or maybe even Cinder and her people, I should go. I've already dealt with an army of men before; this shouldn't be too much of a difference."

Zeb laughed aloud, getting the attention of everyone present as he said, "haha, it'll be like Roman all over again!"

Nova rolled his eyes and responded, "no the fuck it won't, at least I sure hope not." This brought a bit of a confusion to the surrounding table members, but Nova quickly stopped the speculating by standing and getting everyone's attention. "Alright, we're leaving now. Time waits for no man."

Anaya quickly stood as well, saying, "I'll help prepare your horses with the needed supplies."

This time Nova laughed out loud, much to the chagrin of the others presently in the room. As his laughter began to die down, the chuckling Chief of the Demon Clan said, "I don't need a horse, it'll be much faster on foot. Also, you can give whatever supplies you thought I might need to Zeb, I'm not really much of a eater, or drinker, or sleeper."

Zeb then added, "I'll take the horse since this body aint to quick on its feet. Imma need a map and stuff to since I have no clue where I'm going."

"… yeah" Anaya said, not exactly sure how to respond to Nova being so insistent that he didn't need a horse. From here, they quickly finished up the meeting and began preparing Zeb for his departure, showing him that he was heading northwest in the direction of Khrish, the DFA, and Shade academy, but Nova on the other hand was heading south, out of the way of literally everything.

It was unfortunate, but he checked with Meta and found that the White Fang camp was important enough that he could Fast Travel back to the location whenever he wanted to, which was reassuring enough. While Anaya was packing up Zeb's horse, Nova saw the most important commodity in Vacuo, blue Dust.

This was the central source of water for those that lived in this arid desert climate, which wasn't surprising to him but was cooler to see than anything. He kept that in mind if he ever needed to establish something within Vacuo since he had more than enough of the stuff to probably make his own oasis if he wanted to.

Soon enough Zeb was on his horses back, which was an odd sight to see considering the man himself was already massive, and Nova was kissing his lovers goodbye. It didn't take long for him to prepare, in fact he didn't need to at all, but he still needed to let Zeb know exactly what he was supposed to be looking for and how he was expected to address the Tribe once he got there. After he knew that Z was prepared and he said his goodbyes to Blake, Nix, and Neyah, he activated his necessary skills and set off to get some answers from Jayson and his Tribe.

---

(A/N)

Hey, quick question, who's your favorite character in the story thus far? If you can't choose one you can list a top three, or top five, or ten! I am... interested ;)