"You heard me right. I want you to blow up Madison Square Garden."

That was the order that was intended to end the threat. The creature that had destroyed so much of Manhattan, and if its offspring lived on, they could potentially overtake the human race. That was something that the Colonel would not allow.

"Understood sir."

Hicks hung up the phone and turned his attention back to the screens. Everything was riding on this. If this attack didn't work, his entire species could be looking at an extinction-level disaster.

That was why he was elated when he saw the stadium explode. He might miss some of the games, but the fact that those lizard monsters were gone was all he needed to sleep well tonight.

But two eggs were still hidden at the time of the explosion. Both were late bloomers, springing into life much later than the rest of their siblings. One was buried deeper and further away from the rest of its siblings. It was far too underground to be affected by the destruction. That one was still motionless even as the stadium was destroyed. It was unharmed. Ready to hatch in its own time.

But there was another egg hidden close by. It was hidden in a janitorial closet, and it began to move as the ground rumbled. And as it rumbled, it began to hatch.

As new life was beginning to take shape, death and destruction began to barrel closer and closer to it. It was at that moment that destiny, fate, the universe, or some form of great power decided to make a move.

When the egg's shell began to properly break, and the creature was just starting to form a thought, it wasn't flames that enveloped it. It was a white flashing light.

And when the fires of the explosion settled, the egg was gone.

Mistral, Remnant...

"Adam! What were you thinking?!"

Ghira Belladonna was not a man to get angry very often. Especially these days. Between his work as the leader of the White Fang and the fact that he had a child at home, he found it best to try and keep his temper under control. But Adam had a special skill for getting under his skin. In the worst ways.

And seeing two humans laying in a pool of their own blood was a way to raise his fury.

"I did what I had to do. This is justified."

"Justified?! Adam, you just killed three men. This was not the mission!"

"The mission was to save kidnapped Faunus. I did that. And honestly, killing them was no worse than taking out the trash."

"You are not to talk like that Adam! What you did is inexcusable! I have half a mind to just-"

"Ghira!"

Turning his attention behind him, the leader saw Sienna Khan trying to intermediate.

"We can discuss Adam's actions later. Right now, I think we should send people out for searches."

"Searches?" Ghira asked.

"It's possible that some of the kidnappers escaped. We need to make sure that they didn't take any children with them."

Ghira took several deep breaths to calm himself. Sienna was the person he had chosen as his second-in-command. He trusted her, and he knew she was right. Adam could be dealt with later. The children had to come first.

"Get the kids we found to the trucks. The rest of you spread out. Look for any that might have slipped past us." Ghira turned around. "That includes you, Adam."

Sending a scowl his leader's way, Adam nonetheless ventured into the forest's trees to search for any potential stranglers. Once he was gone, Ghira took the chance to speak to Sienna privately.

"Please tell me you don't approve of any of the things Adam is doing. I'm afraid that he is losing himself."

"He's fighting for our people sir. He has the best intentions."

"Sienna, you and I both know the saying about good intentions. They don't always make for good people," Ghira said. "Go and do your work. We can discuss this further once this is over."

Following his orders, Sienna readied her chain whip as she ventured into the trees herself.

Once she was gone, Ghira forced himself to look at the dead men on the floor. All of them were wearing red jackets with black drop symbols on the back. The symbol of the Red Bloods.

Technically speaking, this group had always existed. Whenever Faunus tried to integrate with human society, it was usually men in red coats that fought back against them. But after the Faunus Revolutions all those decades ago, the group had become more organized. When the White Fang had been established to ensure the rights of the second species, it was the Red Bloods that immediately declared war on them.

And Ghira knew that the war was going to get worse after this. They would not take the deaths of two of their members lightly. And it was all because one bull-horned punk was too valuable to banish.

Ghira would admit, he had been happy when Adam Taurus had first joined the Fang. The boy had a passion for defending Faunus that the organization was happy to have. But his zeal had only gotten worse over time. And now that he had killed two humans, Ghira didn't know how much longer he could continue to work with him. But Adam was too popular to get rid of. Many of the Fang agreed with his tactics more than Ghira's.

And with the elections coming soon, Ghira worried about how badly that would affect him.

Sienna wondered how much longer the organization could last like this.

She knew that for any group, small or large, a strong base and chain of command were necessary. Otherwise, the entire thing might fall apart before it could accomplish anything. And if the White Fang fell apart, the hopes and expectations from the entire Faunus race might fall apart with them.

As much as she began to disagree with Ghira, she had to admit that Adam was acting out of line when he spoke to their leader. He was chosen to be in charge, and his term had not expired. That meant that until or unless he was voted out of his leadership, the members of the White Fang were obligated to follow him. They weren't animals, the way the humans might like to think of them. The whole point of their organization was to prove that stereotype wrong.

What made this even harder was the fact that Sienna had her agreements with both Ghira and Adam. She believed peaceful negotiation and talks were the best way to bring about peace between humans and Faunus. But like Adam, she understood that humans would not give it willingly or easily. If they had to fight to take it, then so be it.

The keyword in that statement was 'fight'. She was willing to fight for freedom and equality. But what Adam had in mind... sometimes she wondered just how damaged the bull Faunus really was.

Shaking her head, Sienna tried to focus back on the mission. She had been asked to find any stragglers. And so far, she wasn't seeing any. There was not a person in sight. She might have seen and heard a squirrel a few feet back, but that was it.

But then something changed. Sienna stopped when she felt something warm emanating from her left side. She turned her head and saw a momentary flash of light. One that blinded her for a split second. But once the light was gone, she saw…

Nothing. The trees were still the same. The bushes hadn't suddenly disappeared or anything like that. It didn't look like anything had changed.

But then she heard the little sounds.

They almost sounded like small grunts or exertions. Like someone struggling. Keeping her hand on her whip, Sienna moved closer to the sound. It could be a hostage that had a gag. Or it could be one of the escaped kidnappers drawing her towards a trap. In either case, she would be ready.

The sound was just behind one of the bushes. With her chain whip in her hand, Sienna moved the bushes to the side…

"Ah."

And saw a baby lying naked on the floor. The absolute last thing Sienna expected to see.

The baby was obviously a Faunus. That was clear by the lizard's tail that was sticking out of its back. There also seemed to be the small and bumpy beginnings of spikes running up the baby's spine. Aside from the reptile features, the baby was also rather tan, with a skin tone similar to her own, with shockingly thick black hair on its head.

"?"

And it was looking up at her with orange eyes that were as innocent as they were curious.

And it was upon seeing those eyes that Sienna instantly became angry. Those kidnappers must have taken the child from its parents. It was likely that one of them had tried to run with it when their caravan had been attacked. If that was the case, then they had left him there to not get slowed down. That light must have been a flash grenade, or maybe their semblance. But that didn't matter. What did matter to Sienna was the fact that a baby had been left in the woods to die.

She couldn't leave him there. His face didn't show it, but whatever had happened to him had to be traumatic. And he was so young.

"Let's get you up little one."

Taking off her White Fang cape, Sienna used it to wrap around the child's nether region. While she did that, she was also able to learn that it was a boy. The boy was also surprisingly calm and well-tempered while Sienna worked on him, not making a fuss or a sound while she covered him. She was grateful for that. She still would have helped him, but dealing with a messy and crying baby did not sound like a good part of any day.

Once she was done, she lifted the quiet child and headed back to the rendezvous point. She would need Ghira's help with this.

Ghira knew that his grip on the Fang was slipping. He knew that his methods of peace were losing their favor among the White Fang. This was true for both the higher-ups and the common members. Few of them believed that his leadership was bringing about the results that the Faunus wanted.

And on days like this, he doubted himself as well.

He was beginning to think that perhaps he should step down as the organization's leader. Not just because of his waning popularity, but also because of Kali. And the child that she would need his help raising. She was just about to turn one.

Walking back to the rendezvous point, Ghira could see that a lot of his people were back as well. A few of them had children with them. Thankfully, they mostly seemed fine. Stepping on to the point, Ghira noticed that Adam and Sienna had still not returned.

"Ghira!"

He recognized that voice.

"Sienna. How did your...?"

Ghira's words stopped when he saw Sienna. Specifically, when he saw the bundle that she was holding.

"Sienna? Where did the baby come from?"

"I was hoping someone here would know that," Sienna said as she stopped right in front of her leader. The little baby was resting comfortably on her shoulder. "Did any of the people we rescued mention anything about a missing infant? I don't know what else to do with him."

"No. At least, no one I've talked to mentioned anything about a baby," Ghira said as he eyed the little boy. He took note of the lizard's tail hanging from its back. Which made it clear why the human supremacist kidnappers would target it.

"Perhaps…"

"Grand Leader."

One of the fang soldiers came up to the pair. He noticed the baby for a moment, but he chose to focus on his task.

"All of the children have been found. The soldiers are moving everyone to the boat. We await your orders."

They couldn't stay here for long. There was always a chance that the Red Bloods would send more soldiers to replace the ones they lost. And if they did, Ghira's people were not all trained for combat. Peaceful negotiation had been the goal, so he had never constructed a strict training regiment for recruits. A decision that had been criticized by many, and was now costing him.

"Start the ship up. We need to leave as soon as possible."

Ghira turned to Sienna as the soldier left.

"I hate to ask this of you, Sienna. But we can't afford to slow down for one infant. You'll need to take care of him until we can find his parents."

This was not an assignment Sienna had been prepared for. She had come to help rescue children. She hadn't expected to have to care for one.

But she was loyal to her leader. And fortunately for her, the baby was a quiet one.

"Understood sir."

"Good. Take him to the medic inside the ship. Let's hope this experience hasn't harmed him too much."

Sienna shared his concern.

The two main leaders of the White Fang walked to the shores of Mistral and took the steps to the boat. As they walked up, a masked warrior watched them intently. His eyes were focused not just on the leader he no longer respected, but also on the bundle held in Khan's arms.

Sienna was quiet as Dr. Goki examined the baby. She had offered to wait outside, but the boy had started to silently cry when Sienna tried to leave. As she didn't want to cause him any distress, Sienna stayed and held onto him as the doctor with scales on his neck continued to evaluate him.

Sienna had never interacted very much with Dr. Goki. She knew that he was a trained physician who left his stable job in Mistral out of belief in the Fang, which she could respect. But aside from patching her up after a few missions gone awry, the two had never interacted very much.

But Sienna was someone who could tell when a person was concerned. The way Dr. Goki's eyes widened and his movement became more erratic were troubling. And so was the fact that he was whispering to himself.

"Dr. Goki?"

"Just a moment, Ms. Khan."

"Ms. Khan, let me just preface by saying that the boy is perfectly healthy."

Sienna was glad to hear that. But she was also concerned once she heard the word 'preface' come out of his mouth.

"But?" She inquired.

"Let me just start by stating a few basic facts. Most Faunus are humanoids that have one animal characteristic. A few, like yourself, have two. But that is the most that have ever been recorded."

Sienna did have both stripes on her skin and tiger ears. It was the reason that humans tended to stare at her. It was something she had grown accustomed to over her life.

"Are you saying that he is one of the rare ones?"

"The thing is, he's technically supposed to be impossible."

Sienna frowned. So the doctor continued.

"During my examination, I noticed four different animal traits from the start. The black tail is the obvious one. But you mentioned the small bumps on his back that will eventually grow to spines. That's what made me realize that he is an iguana Faunus."

Iguana. That wasn't the lizard that Sienna had been expecting, but at least she had the specifics on his species.

"These two traits on their own would be unique, but normal. A Faunus with two animal traits is recognized, as you would know. But it doesn't stop at two traits."

Sienna's eyes widened. "What?"

"Look here." The doctor lifted one of the boy's hands (he was surprisingly compliant) and showed his nails to Sienna. Now that she actually took a good look at them, she noticed what was off about them. His nails looked like black stubs. They were darker than those of any infant, and certainly more solid. They looked like hardened keratin more than normal nails.

"It's the same on his feet. What this shows is the beginning of the growth of claws on four of his limbs. Now, look at his teeth."

The baby was a little bothered, but he didn't do anything as the doctor opened his mouth. Dr. Goki showed Sienna that he had many more molars than usual. And they were sharper than any baby teeth she had ever seen, except for those fanged Faunus.

"These are four different types of Faunus traits so far. And that's already twice the established maximum."

Sienna stared with wide eyes at the little infant jovially sitting on the doctor's table. He had no idea that there were two adults concerned over him, and he didn't care. The fact that he was different from the Faunus had not entered his mind. And why would it?

"Ms. Khan?"

"Write your report Dr. Goki. I'm not the only one that needs to hear about this."

Ghira was concerned as he read the report that Sienna had bought back. When he heard from Sienna that she wanted him to read the boy's medical evaluation privately in his office, he just thought that the boy would have some sort of illness. It would have been tragic, but nothing earth-shattering.

He had not expected anything like this.

"Sir?"

Taking his eyes away from Dr. Goki's report, Ghira looked up at Sienna and the boy. The child, having no clue of the concerns the adults shared, was simply happy and content sitting in Sienna's lap. His orange eyes constantly darted around, taking in all the new sights. he seemed particularly fond of the water outside the windows. He constantly looked at the waves.

"This certainly explains why the Red sons would try to run away with him specifically."

"That may be true, but it's not what I'm concerned about. What do we do with this information?"

That was the question. And Ghira wasn't what he should do.

He knew what he shouldn't do. The boy was still too young, and he had obviously escaped a tragic fate. And with that in mind, it would have been monstrous and callous of him to force the child into a spotlight he didn't deserve.

"We can't report this to the wider community. At least not yet."

"Is that really the best choice sir?" Sienna questioned. "Something like this sounds like it would be important to the other Faunus. And I'm not sure how long it even could be hidden."

Ghira understood her concerns. This was going to be a difficult secret to hide. Especially with the boy's differences from others being evident even as an infant.

"I know that Sienna. Believe me, I don't think we can hide it forever. But's too young to go through something like this. The questions and attention he would receive could be detrimental. And we haven't even found his parents, so he would have to go through it alone."

Sienna understood. Having not had her own parents in her life for very long, she could understand how that would affect a person. And she could only imagine the stigma of being different even for a Faunus.

"So what do we do sir?"

Ghira sighed. as much as he would be willing to take of the boy himself, he wasn't sure how Kali would take the idea. And he had his own child that he was still trying to figure out how to raise. Additionally, he wasn't sure if the boy would even take to him.

Which left him with one option.

"Right now, the boy seems to be most comfortable around you Sienna. So for the time being, I will have to ask for you to look after him."

Sienna immediately had her concerns. Many of them were personal, but also many logistical. But Ghira held up a hand to stop her from voicing them.

"I'll make sure to increase your pay and give you some leave to adjust. But I'm not asking you to adopt him, Sienna. I'm only asking you to look after him until we can find his family."

"I appreciate the incentive sir, but I don't know if..."

Ghira stopped her again. "Sienna, he doesn't have anyone else. And so far, he's at his most comfortable around you."

As if to prove Ghira's point, the child rested his head against Sienna's chest. It was evident that he was a little tired, and he quickly fell asleep against Sienna. And as much as she was still worried, she couldn't deny how adorable he looked.

"Sienna, please. This will only be for the time being. Once we find his family and a way to protect him, he will be returned to where he belongs."

This didn't feel fair. Not only was her leader asking her directly, but the baby in her lap was too adorable to say no to.

"I don't suppose anyone knows what he's called."

"Without a family member, we can't confirm anything."

Sighing, Sienna hugged the child closer. His body was warm, and his mouth curved in a slight smile as she hugged him.

"I guess I'll have to figure out what to call you little one."

Once the matter had been settled, Sienna was free to leave the office. She had things to do now, most of them centering on making sure the boy would be comfortable. She was going to have to buy some formula to feed him and a small bed to place in her room. Not to mention...

"Khan."

She stopped immediately when she heard the familiar voice. She turned around to see someone with familiar horns.

"What did the High Leader discuss with you? Is there something the soldiers need to know?"

Sienna hadn't anticipated Adam coming to approach her, but she didn't have time.

"Nothing I can freely discuss Taurus. Belladonna's orders."

This only made Adam's scowl deepen. "Are there secrets being kept from us?"

"There are always secrets Adam. That's one of the burdens of leadership," Sienna said plainly. "Now if you'll excuse me, there are things I need to do."

Without giving him a chance to retort, Sienna turned to leave. As she left, Adam's eyes kept falling onto the sleeping infant in her arms. he figured the child had been one of the kidnapped children. But why was Khan the one taking care of him? There were doctors for that. And why would Khan have taken it in to meet Belladonna?

There was something here that didn't sit right with Adam. And he knew that it centered on that baby. So for the time being, Adam would be keeping an eye on it.

I said I would be restarting this story, so here is the new beginning. I said in my last update for the old version that there would be a few changes, and they should be evident already.

As you may have noticed, the Jira in this story is not the same one that would become Zilla Jr in the original universe. The reason for that, as someone pointed out in the last story, is that taking that Zilla would result in the world basically becoming an alien colony with no monster to defend it. Also, using one of Zilla's siblings will give me more freedom to come up with unique monsters, and a slightly different personality for this new Faunus.

Also, Sienna becomes aware of the baby's differences much sooner here. Something that will impact her decisions later on.

There are a few other changes that will be coming up pretty soon. I'm not going to go into detail about them, I would like to have a few surprises.

One of those changes is the love interest, which I have already decided on. It should become clearer as the story goes on.

Anyway, please leave reviews, tell me what you all think, and I will see you all next time.

Bye!