Hiruto Mashita had always been a simple man.

Wealth and an easy life had been what he and his twin brother Mikio had always dreamed of. Arian was a land of prosperity, but it was not without its socioeconomic problems.

The Mashitas found that out first hand when a crippling gambling addiction costs them everything. Hiruto and Mikio had sunk themselves, and it took an outside influencer to get them back on their feet.

Fortunately, they had hit the ground running, with the largest Arista crystal in their possession and an entire literal planetary playground. And with Mikio's intellect and Hiruto's shrewdness, they managed to become influencers themselves, creating a brand new sport that became a worldwide sensation and earned them precisely what they had always wanted.

Looking back, Hiruto was lucky. He achieved his dreams and, thanks to his assistant, Theresa Baker, had gained the quiet life of luxury as the PPSE chairman.

That was until Reiji appeared.

The prince of Arian didn't initially recognize the former two-bit thief-turned-corporate mastermind, but he didn't need to. He and Sei Iori's skills and guile managed to thwart everything he had thrown at them during the Seventh Gunpla Tournament, ranging from a giant 1/48 Mega Zaku II to controlling the Third Meijin Kawaguchi with a modified Embody System that Team Nemesis created for Reiji's future wife, their ace.

And eventually, all of it came crashing down, and Prince Reiji, Aila Jyrkiäinen, Theresa, and himself were all brought back to Arian because the Arista gems and the giant crystal that tethered them to Earth dissipated, snapping them back to the colony like a rubber band.

Thinking about it, Hiruto should have probably been imprisoned. He knew that Mikio had attempted to use the Gunpla Mafia, the criminal underground the two of them had established to control Gunpla Battle after it had become a sport that was out of the hands of the PPSE, to subvert Gunpla Battle almost a year after Hiruto returned and had failed, getting himself arrested on Earth. That should have been Hiruto's fate, as well.

Though, ironically enough, Reiji stepped in on his behalf. If it wasn't for Hiruto, Reiji would have continued aimlessly wandering with no passion, few friends, and a rival-turned-spouse that drove him to greater heights. Prince Reiji, instead of punishing Hiruto, actually rewarded him; he was given the resources to recreate his success with Gunpla Battle on Arian and granted Theresa Baker asylum to aid him.

And so, here Hiruto Mashita sat, head of a brand new version of Plavsky Particle System Engineering, living very much as he had on earth, though understandably smaller in scale since Arian had less than two hundred thousand people.

Yet, he had everything he wanted here. What should have been a lifetime in prison was now an opportunity.

A knock on his office door stirred him from his thoughts. Theresa Baker peaked in a quizzical look on her face.

"Sir, there's someone here to see you."

Mashita waved his hand dismissively, closing his eyes again. "Tell them to go away. I'm busy."

Theresa grew concerned, glancing over her shoulder. "Sir, I don't think-"

"Tell them to make an appointment, and I'll get back to them…next week," Mashita responded, cutting her off.

Theresa grew even more desperate. "Sir, it's-"

"HEY, OLD MAN!"

An aggravating and loud shout startled Mashita out of his relaxed state, making him jump in his chair as his office door was kicked open. Standing in the doorway were Prince Reiji and Herald Ozpin, the former with a foot extended before him. Ozpin looked amused as the prince strolled into the office.

Mashita quickly stood up. "P-p-prince Reiji!" He stuttered nervously, chuckling as his mind raced. "To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure."

Reiji looked at the display case of various Gunpla on the office wall. "I need a Gunpla."

Was that what this was about? Just a Gunpla? "I…don't understand, Your Highness. Couldn't you just buy a Gunpla if you wanted one so badly?"

"He wants a specific Gunpla," Ozpin clarified. "He intends on returning to Earth soon."

I've been watching the matches from this year's Gunpla Battle Tournament. There are a ton of new and powerful Gunpla, but Arian has our line. I want one that can compete with the best, like Ricardo Fellini, Sei, and Yuuk-err, the Meijin.

Mashita raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that risky?" He asked. "You just kind of disappeared seven years ago. Won't there be questions?"

Reiji shrugged. "So what? Why should that stop me?"

Ozpin stepped forward. "There likely will be, which is why we have been discussing the situation in length with the rest of the council."

"And, it took a bit of convincing, but they finally agreed," Reiji added confidently. "As a purely advisory role, I, Prince Aria von Reiji Asuna, will make the official first contact between Earth and Arian."

Theresa pushed her glasses up her nose a little. "But how does that translate into being allowed to participate in Gunpla Battle?"

Reiji smiled at her and pointed his thumb at Ozpin. "Because he is going to get me into the tournament."

Ozpin cleared his throat. "To be specific, I'll be able to sponsor one person of my choosing to enter the Battle Royals for the World Championship. Prince Reiji will be participating under an alias while we wait for a proper time to introduce him. It will act both as first-hand reconnaissance and a way for the prince to vent some of his willful energy."

"And I'll be able to see Sei and the others again!" Reiji's grin grew, which didn't seem possible. The young man was as fired up as ever, with the thought of his friends fueling him.

Mashita looked up at the ceiling, trying to wrap his head around all of this. "Alright, we'll…see what we can come up with, then, if it's all above the board."

"Hey, old man," Reiji once again said. "You have the old combat data from the Seventh Gunpla Tournament, right?"

Mashita shot him an annoyed look. "First off, stop calling me that," he snapped. "Secondly? Yes. I believe Miss Baker accidentally brought it with her when we came to Arian."

Theresa nodded. "It's presently archived in the APPSE database. We use it as a reference for new Gunpla builders who might want to customize their machines so that our own Gunpla can be optimized for maximum mobility and customization."

"Perfect!" Reiji clapped Mashita happily on the back, hard enough to wind the man and almost topple him. "Then let's use that and build me a Gunpla that can whoop everyone at the tournament! It won't be Sei-level of good, but it'll be good enough!"

Mashita, coughing from the slap, glared at him. "I beg your pardon?! Arian Plavsky Particle System Engineering has a far more advanced setup for manufacturing than the old PPSE facility ever could dream of. Our Gunpla will be top of the line!"

Reiji smirked. He'd gotten Mashita fired up, as well. "Yeah, but Sei has had eight years to get better. You really think you can compete with the kid that built the machine that beat even the Meijin and all your dirty tricks?"

Mashita stood up and pulled his suit jacket down, straightening it defiantly. "I can personally guarantee it."

Ozpin leaned on his cane and smiled. "So, Your Highness, do you have an idea of what kind of Gunpla you might want to use?"

Reiji nodded, flexing his arm. "Yeah! I want it to be strong!" He launched a punch out, almost hitting Mashita in the cheek. "And I want it to be fast! I want a machine that can make the ones from the Seventh Gunpla Tournament look like trash! I want something that gives me a flexible battle role, like the Star Build Strike did, but can also get in close and knock opponents around with my fists if I want to!"

Mashita frowned. "That's not a lot to go off of…."

Theresa thought for a moment. "Well, it does give us an idea. Let's consult the various design schematics and see what might be appropriate."

"Brilliant idea, Miss Baker!" Mashita smiled and nodded toward the door. "If you'll follow me, we can look at the database in the factory."

Ozpin watched Reiji and Miss Baker head for the door but stopped Mashita. "Wait."

The chairman looked at the herald. The prince's advisor's normally passive smile was replaced by a complicated expression that seemed to mix suspicion with concern.

"You're being unusually helpful, Hiruto," he noted. "I don't remember you being so hands-on with commissions before."

"Those commissions never come from the prince," Mashita replied. "Truth be told, right before you two arrived, I was reflecting on how I got here"

He gave Ozpin a saddened look. "I don't deserve this. I helped Salem, and with what you're telling me, now she wants to use what I built on Earth to destroy it. And Prince Reiji helped me redeem myself, and rebuild in a way I shouldn't have had. So if helping him means helping you stop Salem, I'll do it."

He shrugged. "Living on Earth was enjoyable, while it lasted. It's a good place, overall. I'd hate to feel responsible for its destruction because I made a system that could be exploited like this."

Ozpin listened intently, before nodding. "You've grown quite a bit since your return. I'm pleased."

Mashita shoved his hands in his pockets and tilted his head. "You know, one thing I could never understand. Why would Salem want to do this? What does she get out of it? Even if she succeeded, she would never be allowed back on Arian."

"That is a question I have asked myself every day since our divorce," Ozpin admitted. "To be frank, I still don't know."


Reiji's eyes lit up like a kid in a toy shop when he saw the APPSE's production facility. It had been several years prior, during its construction, but since then, the factory and R&D labs had expanded considerably.

He marveled at the various pieces of new equipment, mold injectors, 3D printers, and mobility testing stations for what seemed like dozens of Gunpla models. The attention to detail, even among the smaller market that Arian possessed, was incredible.

"No wonder things have been hyped up in the ads lately!" The prince exclaimed.

Mashita smiled triumphantly. "Since we have fewer customers than the original PPSE did on Earth, I suggested we refine the basic Bandai models in both details and articulation. Panel lines, range of motion, and joint strength and integrity have improved by at least 30% over what Bandai and PPSE were doing before."

"So, the same model kit here would theoretically have, by default, superior statistics over the ones made on Earth," Ozpin pondered. "Fascinating."

"We could easily reproduce Sei Iori's Star Build Strike, but using our newer High-Grade Build Strike Gundam APPSE Version Two joint system, it would be substantially better than the original, right out of the box." Mashita looked proudly over at the facility. "I am quite pleased with the overall development process."

Reiji frowned. That prospect didn't fully sit well with him. "I want to beat Sei fair and square," he proclaimed. "I don't want to win just because my Gunpla is better than his automatically. I want to work for it, or lose making him work for it."

Theresa looked over her datapad. "I assure you that the features of the Gunpla will not automatically determine the winner of the battle. Personal skill level will, of course, also factor into the calculations. If Sei has improved, then you have assured a reasonably difficult battle."

"And remember: we designed the Gunpla Battle system to also take customization and build quality into consideration," Mashita reminded him. "Sei's Star Build Strike holds a ninety out of one hundred in the PPSE overall quality database, beaten only by the ninety-two of Mao Yasaka's Gundam X Maoh and the PPSE-designed Gundam Exia Dark Matter at a ninety-five in the Seventh Gunpla Tournament data. That data is now eight years old; there's no telling how much they have improved! If we had their Gunpla scan data, we might even need to reconsider how we could even evaluate newer designs."

"Technically, this could be considered bootlegging, I believe," Ozpin commented, a wry, amused smile on his face. "Ironic, considering your previous position."

Mashita shot him an annoyed glance. "Don't you have other matters to attend to?"

"Not for another hour or so."

Theresa walked over to a computer console. "Prince Reiji, you once piloted Sei Iori's Build Gundam Mk. II, correct?"

Reiji nodded. "Yeah. It was an interesting machine. I kinda liked it, though it didn't hold a candle to his Star Build Strike."

"Of course. But, if you are familiar with that, perhaps this machine might suit your standards."

She clicked on a file, which brought up the schematics for a mobile suit.

"…Nemo?" Reiji tilted his head. "What's special about this?"

"The Nemo serves as a basis for a variety of spin-off machines," Theresa explained. "It can easily be customized and adapted for essentially anything you could desire-much like the Strike Gundam or Gundam Mk. II that Sei created."

Reiji's head tilted, thinking. "Really…"

She clicked on a diagram, which brought up a variety of other machines that linked to the Nemo. So many different Gunpla designs, mostly either in the concept or prototype design stage, were shown.

Reiji put his chin between his thumb and forefinger, rubbing the slight bit of red hair there in thought. So many designs…

Nero. Nemo II. Gemeaux. Jegan.

One name, however, stuck out to him. "Le…Signey?"

"Le Cygne," Mashita corrected. "It means 'The Swan' in French. That is still in the concept stage. We weren't planning on producing that for at least a year."

The design of the Le Cygne was sleek, slender, and elegant. The machine looked quick on its feet, with a simple yet agile design clearly meant for high-speed mobility.

"What can you tell me about the Le Signey?" Reiji asked, pointing at it.

Mashita's mouth twisted in annoyance. "Le Cygne," he repeated.

Theresa suppressed a giggle, pulling up information on the screen. "The machine in lore was a unique unit designed for high-ranking Newtype pilots, similar to machines like the Gundam Alex that you built before on our recommendations. Its small four-nozzle backpack has precise maneuvers in mind, and the Le Cygne houses numerous weapons, including Gatling guns, beam sabers, and a beam trident in its extended shoulders, in addition to a Zeta Gundam-style beam rifle and an optional mega beam launcher."

She selected the shield and brought it up, away from the mobile suit on the screen. "The shield is also unique, as it can twist around the arm on its own to aid in protecting vulnerable points, and has its own thruster assembly to allow for radical, fast-paced movement in battle. It also contains multiple extendable cameras, one on each point of the shield, to grant the pilot even greater fields of vision not normally allowed through the main head cameras alone."

"Because of the way the forearm design is set up, we could also add weapons to that, as well, similar to the Gundam Alex and Tristan," Mashita interjected. "Perhaps, uh….a grenade launcher, or beam gun, or even the same ninety-millimeter machine guns on the Alex itself. Or beam sabers in the forearms."

The possibilities were endless, it seemed. But one thing bothered Reiji slightly. "What about the RG System?"

Both Theresa and Mashita glanced at each other, surprised. Sei Iori's ace in the hole during the Seventh Tournament, the Radial General Purpose System, or RG System, was an innovative design feature that had won Reiji and Sei the entire tournament.

"Well…since we have the scan data, we could replicate it," Mashita theorized.

"Good." Reiji seemed pleased. "Then this is the machine I want. With a few tweaks, like the color. I'd like it to be red instead of blue, mainly. And the grenades in the forearms sound great, let's do that."

Theresa and Mashita again exchanged glances. With a hopeless shrug, the chairman consented. He knew there was little use arguing with the prince once he set his stubborn mind to something.

"Your Highness, may I ask what will happen to Princess Aila or your precious daughter while you are away?" Theresa asked, inputting the desired design schematics into the computer.

"Oh, that's easy," Reiji replied nonchalantly. "They will be coming with me. Aila is from Earth, after all, and she also has friends there." He laughed lightheartedly as he looked at the ceiling in thought. "I'm pretty sure she wouldn't forgive me if I left without them. And, I want to thank the group of kids who taught Minerva about Gunpla Battle."

Ozpin thought about it for a moment. "Come to think of it, I cannot remember the last time the three of you had a family vacation. It might prove beneficial for all of you to take some time away from official duties, even if it is just for the afternoons and evenings."

"Exactly what I was thinking." Reiji grinned. "Just…uh, don't tell Kurt. I don't think I'll ever hear the end of it."

Ozpin gave the prince an amused smile. "He's going to find out, sooner or later."

"I know." Reiji looked dejected as he admitted that. "But if I can put it off even for a little bit, that'd be great."

Ozpin nodded respectfully. "I shall make no promises, but will do as you ask, Your Highness."

"Great! Now, let's go tell Aila the good news!"

Reiji headed for the door, but stopped just shy of it, realizing he forgot something. "Hey, how long will it take to make the Gunpla?"

"I've already sent in the order," Theresa replied. "The R&D team will be finishing the blueprint, and the actual Gunpla pieces should be printed out in two days' time, three tops. We will let you know when it's ready to build."

This seemed to please the prince, who nodded enthusiastically. "Excellent! I'll be back then!"

And with that, he headed towards the exit, Ozpin in tow.

Mashita sighed heavily, feeling relieved that was all the prince had asked for. "I feel like that boy took a few years off my life in less than half an hour."

Theresa rubbed his back gently. "There, there, Chairman. I'll take care of the arrangements."

Mashita shook his head. "I've been studying Gunpla ever since we got back to Arian. I thought it would be helpful to understand things since this is a smaller operation."

He unbuttoned his suit's jacket and handed it to Theresa. "I owe it to Prince Reiji, as much of a pain as he can be. Time to help build something to repay my debt."


As expected, Minerva was thrilled when Reiji told her and Aila of his plan. Ever since learning how to build Gunpla, she had been practicing so that, one day, she could show the nice boys and girls who taught her how to do it.

For the last year, she had built models, and the little girl was getting very good. She had already surpassed both Reiji and Aila in her build quality. Playing with her Gunpla had become her favorite pastime, after spending time with her father.

Aila, however, seemed hesitant.

"Reiji, what about your duties? I don't want you getting in trouble again." She gave him a look of concern, but her husband simply shook his head.

"It was kinda annoying, but Ozpin made a wonderful case for establishing official diplomatic relations with Earth. Because I was part of the Seventh Gunpla Tournament, and because the entire world saw me vanish, I was a natural choice. Everyone already knows me. And, Ozpin told me nobody ever managed to explain my disappearance, so it makes it more believable," he explained. "If some random guy showed up from Arian, everyone would think they're nuts. But for me? I have an advantage here."

It did make sense. She pondered it for a moment. If she could see her new friends again…

"So we're going to meet Mommy and Daddy's friends?" Minerva asked curiously. "And I can play with my friends, too!"

Reiji smiled and knelt down to look at his young daughter, gently rubbing her hair and nodding. "That's right, honey. And you'll get to see Daddy in a cool costume, too!"

That notion caught Aila's attention. "Costume?"

Reiji picked up the little girl and held her close as he stood. "Yup. To avoid alerting Salem to my presence, which Oz thinks might make her do something stupid, I'll be taking a page out of your book and put on a full-body disguise."

Aila smiled and rolled her eyes. "Oh, I can only imagine how you'd look in a skin-tight bodysuit like what I wore."

The grin on Reiji's face grew more mischievous and flirtatious. "Think we could get you in a new one sometime?"

Aila scowled. "Reiji! Not in front of Minerva!" She playfully hit him on the shoulder, which caused him erupt in laughter. "So, what'll your name be? I assume you will have an alias or something?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I'm taking another page out of your book. You first told Sei and me that your name was Aina, from the 08th MS team. So, I decided to go with Shiro. Earlier today, Oz and I thought just using Asuna would be fine, but we realized Salem might catch on too quickly."

He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "So? Will you and Minerva come to watch me?"

Aila smiled. "Of course. How could we pass that opportunity up?"

Reiji hollered in excitement. "Yes! A real vacation! I cannot wait to see everyone and play Gunpla Battle again! This is going to be epic!"

Minerva laughed as he danced around, holding onto his shirt and swaying with him as he excitedly babbled about all of the things he planned to do once he was back on Earth. Seeing Mister Ral and Sei and China were givens, but he wanted to challenge the Meijin and Ricardo as soon as he could. He wanted to eat delicious street food again, to smell genuine air, to be around the things that had made him feel alive, and not trapped by his heritage and duties.

"So, do you want us to help you pick out your costume?"

Reiji paused and looked at Aila. "Oh, yeah! That would be so fun, having you two help! We could make me look cool and slick and dangerous."

He looked at Minerva. "What do you think? Wanna help Daddy make a costume?"

"Yeah!" Minerva's bright smile lit up the room. The little girl giggled happily and snuggled against Reiji. "Let's make Daddy look cool!"


The return trip to Earth left Ozpin feeling a bit restless. The evening had overtaken Japan. The setting sun illuminated the city in a brilliant orange glow, which the herald reveled in as he strolled around.

There was so much to do. With Prince Reiji determined to take matters into his own hands, Ozpin felt obligated to begin preparations immediately for his arrival.

The quarter-finals of the Doubles Tournament would start tomorrow morning. There was very little time for him to think, but think he must.

Which was why now, as evening set in, he had decided to take a stroll at one of the parks. The scenery helped him clear his head.

"I do hope I'm not interrupting."

Ozpin turned around as the voice spoke to him. He was surprised to find Mister Ral, a pleasant smile on his face. Next to him was a woman Ozpin had never expected.

"Mister Ral. Missus Belladonna." His eyes glanced between the two. "What an unexpected surprise."

"Please, Mister Ozpin, Kali is fine." Blake's mother gave him a pleasant look. "Mister Ral and I are old acquaintances. My daughter told me he was looking for me, so we decided to catch up."

The look on her face changed abruptly, a knowing look and a slight glance suddenly locking on to Ozpin. A sly look that seemed to Pierce the veil of mystery around him. "And my, what a curious and interesting thing he has told me."

Ozpin smiled slightly, before looking back to Ral. "And what, pray to tell, might that be?"

Ral cleared his throat. "Nothing too overt, I assure you. May we walk with you to someplace quieter?"

Ozpin nodded, and the two joined him on his gentle stroll. They were silent for a short time until they had gotten to a more secluded area inside the park.

"Ral was remarkably scarce on details," Kali stated, breaking the silence, "but he felt it necessary to reach out."

She spun on one foot and stopped Ozpin dead in his tracks, standing before him. The golden irises of her eyes locked onto him like a predator, and Ozpin could sense the tension she had been hiding.

"I don't expect you to enlighten me on all of the details, yourself," she began, staring him down, "and I will not tell Ghira anything, so long as it doesn't put Blake in danger. But as her mother, I am demanding to know one thing: is there any danger that could befall Blake or Yang, or any of their friends, by participating in this tournament?"

Ozpin gave her a sympathetic look. "Missus Belladonna-"

"Kali."

"Kali. I understand your concern, but I assure you, Gunpla Battle is perfectly safe. The incident that happened eight years ago cannot be replicated. It was a freak accident."

Kali narrowed her eyes. "I'm not talking about Gunpla Battle as a whole. I'm talking about Godslayer."

The veil was officially pierced. Ozpin blinked, a look of genuine surprise on his face. When he didn't speak, Kali continued.

"You likely were unaware of this, but before I moved to the US, I worked in one of the early Gunpla bars that opened up here in Japan. It's where I met the Lieutenant here. I was never one of his subordinates-Gunpla wasn't my thing, originally-but I got to know him and many of the associates that formed in the early days of the sport."

She crossed her arms. "I am still friends with a lot of them. And many have already sent me private messages on various social media sites and Gunpla forums about their concerns with Team Godslayer. About the mysterious gemstones, Salem Autry wears that some have linked to being remarkably similar to the ones that began to glow before the Mock Battle of A Boua Qu eight years ago. The ones connected to Reiji and PPSE Chairman Hiruto Mashita's sudden disappearance."

She glared at Ozpin. "We still don't know what happened to those two, or that Finnish girl or the assistant to the chairman who also up and vanished with them. But now, I've got a lot of concerned and interested parties wondering if Godslayer is just changing the name of Team Nemesis, and is in fact still up to problems. And I want to know if Blake and her friends are actually in any danger from it."

Ozpin listened carefully, then looked to Ral. The smile was gone, replaced with a look that seemed to be a cross of conviction and worry. "Kali remarkably connected to above the board side of the underground Gunpla network. If anything happens, she's likely to hear about it before even the Gunpla Battle Commission, or at least will hear some of the possible problems to arise."

Ozpin mulled over what he had heard. Kali learning about things would be an unnecessary complication if she didn't know the specifics. But on the other hand, Ozpin was already concerned that he pulled too many people into his little inner circle as it was. Having Kali's resources might be an asset, but could she be trusted?

"I can promise you that your daughter's safety is my top priority," Ozpin reassured her, but he could see it did virtually nothing.

"That didn't answer my question," she replied sharply. "Could they be put in danger?"

Ozpin gazed into her eyes. The strength and conviction and fierceness of a mother protecting her young was hard to ignore. And, he needed Blake. Without her, Yang could not participate.

Sighing, he walked over to the bench nearby and sat down, leaning on his cane. "There is….a small chance that your contacts are correct," he admitted.

"Tell. Me. Everything."

"That, I cannot do." Ozpin met her frustrated look with one pushed back. "Understand, Missus Belladonna-I do not take pleasure in keeping you in the dark. On the contrary, it would be far simpler to admit everything. But the truth, as is often the case, would be too difficult to believe without revealing more than I would prefer, and this would not be the best place to do so."

He closed his eyes. "However, I will tell you what I can."

He first put her fears about Salem's jewelry to rest. While they did appear to be the same jewels that her contacts identified them as, thankfully for her worries, they were knock-offs. He also explained the nature of the Arista gems like the original Plavsky Particle crystals, though he was careful to hide where they came from. Arian was safer with only Reiji's closest friends knowing.

"And what about the disappearance?" Kali questioned. "How are they related to those four?"

Ozpin shrugged. "I'm afraid there's not much I could tell you about that."

Kali thought about this new information. "And Blake?"

"For now, there is no danger. She, Yang, and the others are having fun; let them continue to do so. If it becomes too dangerous, for one reason or another, I'll pull them out of the tournament. Qrow Branwen and Mister Ral are monitoring things, to make sure that doesn't have to happen."

"Qrow is, too…" She hadn't expected that. It was more serious than she thought.

She turned to Ral. "Then if I hear anything, I'll keep you two or Qrow updated."

"Summer and Takeshi Iori are also assisting us," Ozpin added, "though Taiyang is presently in the dark. At this time, discretion is important."

Kali was surprised again by hearing Summer's name, but she nodded. "Summer and I are close. I'll contact her, as well."

Ozpin nodded, and Kali bowed slightly, before turning to leave. After a few steps, she cast a look over her shoulder. "Ozpin. If anything happens to those kids, I'm holding you personally responsible."

"Exactly as it should be," Ozpin replied with a nod.

Ral watched her leave, before turning back to the man before him. Ozpin gave him an understanding smile. "It was only natural for her to want to know," Ral stated.

"I know. And I don't fault you. In truth, it's a bit of a weight off my shoulders." He glanced down at the top of his cane, which he opened up to reveal an Arista gem inside. "Sometimes, I just need a gentle reminder of what is truly at stake."