AN: Hey, I actually managed to get another chapter out quickly! It's amazing what some extra motivation will do for a guy, huh?

I think some interesting stuff is going to happen this chapter, though I'm not too sure how confident I am about one scene in particular. Oh well, we'll see.

Onwards!

Chapter 117

"Where the hell am I?" Qrow asked himself, finding himself floating in the air, looking down at two people standing in front of the front door of a house. Well, three people, if you included the baby that the woman was holding. Qrow took a look around his surroundings, and saw that he seemed to be in a sleepy town, with the sun setting. The town seemed to be built on a large hill or mountain, and a large clocktower at the top dominated the landscape. He floated down to get a closer look at the couple, and saw that the both the woman and her baby had hair a familiar shade of blue.

One that made his heart ache just looking at it.

The man was far more unremarkable, his hair being a simple brown.

Qrow watched as the man opened up the door, allowing the woman to enter with the baby still in her arms. Upon closer inspection, Qrow realized that the baby was very young, probably a newborn.

A part of him wondered if that would be what his and Aqua's…

No. He couldn't allow himself to think about that.

He followed them through the door, the couple not even acknowledging his presence.

"Here we are," the woman said. "Home sweet home. Oh, I'm so excited! I can't wait to show you the nursery we set up for you! It's so cute, you'll just love it!"

The baby, for her part, just made some happy noises at her mother.

"Why are you talking to the baby?" the man asked. "It's not like she can hear you."

"I red somewhere that you should talk to your baby as much as possible to help it learn to speak faster," the mother said.

"Whatever," the man said. "I don't know why you take so much stock in the crap your little friends say."

"What a dick," Qrow said to no one in particular.

"Well, it isn't harming anyone, so what's the problem?"

"It's annoying,"

"Oh, hush," the woman said, before looking down at her baby. "Don't you worry about him. You daddy's just a mean old grump."

She held the baby out to the man.

"Come on," she said. "How can you resist that face? Don't you want to say anything to Aqua?"

"Wait, what?" Qrow asked.

"Aqua!" Qrow shouted, sitting up in bed drenched in sweat.

What the hell did he just see? Was that a dream? It couldn't have been, if that baby really was Aqua. He didn't know her parents or where she came from. Hell, she hadn't even known that.

He could feel tears welling up in his eyes, so he reached over to his night stand and grabbed the bottle of whiskey he kept there. He took a swig, wiped his eyes, and tried to lay back down and get some sleep.

Something told him it wasn't going to be that easy.

"I can't accept this," Cinder said after being handed a small sack full of money by Alice.

"Please, I insist," Alice said. "It's the least we can do for you saving Tanner yesterday. Besides, you're going to Mistral, right? You'll surely need somewhere to stay, plus some food until you can get some paid Huntress work. Just take it."

"She's correct," Aqua said from her position next to Cinder. "Money will be useful."

"…Fine, then," Cinder said, putting the sack of money in her pocket.

"Thank you for everything," Hunter said. "I sincerely hope we meet again some day."

"Me too," Cinder said. "And thank you for allowing us to stay."

"It was nothing," Alice said. "I'm sure anyone would've done the same."

"I guess we'll be off," Cinder said.

"Good luck to you," Hunter said.

"Oh, come on!" Tanner whined, the show he was watching having stopped for a news broadcast.

"We interrupt this program to bring you breaking news about the heinous attack on Haven Academy just the other day. We have been able to identify the people that worked with notorious terrorist organization the White Fang!"

Cinder's eyes widened.

"Damn animals," Hunter grumbled. "Attacking a school like that. And the ones that fought against them are no better. I thought mutts were supposed to have a sense of loyalty."

"What did you say?" Cinder asked.

"What, you got a problem?" Hunter asked. "You a Fang sympathizer or something?"

"In addition to the White Fang group led by Adam Taurus, we will now share with you the names of his accomplices." Portraits started flashing across the screen. "Two members of the notorious Branwen tribe, a woman named Vernal and their leader, Raven Branwen. Both were reportedly killed in the attack. Also identified was Rogue Huntsman Hazel Rainart, an unidentified Faunus man with long silver hair and a single black wing, Mercury Black, son of notorious assassin Marcus Black, Emerald Sustrai, a pickpocket wanted for petty theft in Vale, and Cinder Fall."

Cinder froze as her name was mentioned and her picture appeared on screen. Alice and Hunter slowly turned to look at her, their eyes wide.

"You may recognize those last three names as participants in last year's ill-fated Vytal Tournament, leading investigators to believe that this same group was behind the Fall of Beacon. Also worth noting is that missing Schnee heiress Weiss Schnee and her alleged kidnapper Aqua Branwen were reportedly seen at Haven Academy that night, though for what reason and their current whereabouts are unknown."

There was a tense silence for a few seconds.

"I can explain," Cinder said.

"Oh, can you?" Hunter asked, moving to stand defensively in front of Alice. "Honey, call the police."

"Wait, you don't need to do that!" Cinder said.

"The hell I don't!"

Alice quickly ran towards the nearest Scroll on a table near the couch and picked it up. She opened it, but a bolt of lightning suddenly struck the device, knocking it out of her hand. Cinder's head quickly turned around and saw Aqua, with her hand pointed at Alice. Aqua slowly turned her hand around, and looked at it inquisitively. When Cinder looked back, Hunter had backed up, looking at them in absolute terror.

"W-What are you?!" he shouted.

"Please, don't hurt us!" Alice yelled, holding Tanner close to her.

"I…I'm not…" Cinder said, before Aqua put a hand on her shoulder.

"We should leave," Aqua said. Cinder took one last look at the family's terrified faces.

"I'm sorry," she said, before turning and bolting out the front door.

"We still need to decide where to go," Ruby said, the group having gathered once again in the living room. Uncle Qrow was actually present this time. Physically, at least. Ruby was pretty sure he was drunk again. Or was it still? Did he even have enough time to sober up?

"The only idea that's been brought up so far is Ozpin's stupid idea of going to Atlas," Yang said. Ruby sighed.

"You know what? I think we should at least hear him out," Ruby said.

"What?" Yang asked. "Why?"

"When I was in Kingdom Hearts, Mom told me to always do what I think is right, and right now, I think the right thing to do is hear Oz out and consider all of our options."

"…Fine," Yang said, crossing her arms in annoyance.

"Thank you, Miss Rose," Ozpin said. "Now, I know you all have a very low opinion of James right now, and not without good reason."

"That's an understatement," Uncle Qrow said.

"And while I agree with you that he definitely cannot be trusted around the Keyblade, I am absolutely confident that if there's one thing about James we can trust, it's his commitment to the cause. Even when he's defied me, it was always in service to the fight against Salem. He just disagreed with me over how it should be fought."

"He thought he knew better than the guy that's been fighting this war for centuries?" Cloud asked with a skeptical eyebrow raised.

"Talk about arrogant," Tifa commented.

"All of Atlas is like that, in one way or another," Uncle Qrow said. "Most of them think they're better than everyone else, and Jimmy's no exception. But instead of acting all high and mighty like the others do, he just assumes you're less qualified and less intelligent than him."

"Sounds accurate from what we've experienced so far," Blake commented.

"Regardless, I know that James will do everything in his power to keep the Relic safe," Ozpin said.

"That's fine and everything, but I think we're forgetting that the biggest reason why we're all pissed off at him in the first place is because he was trying to take Aqua's Keyblade," Jaune said. "I don't think it's a good idea to just show up with two more Keyblade wielders on a silver platter." He gestured to Ruby and Riku.

"Well, we can just leave them here," Nora suggested.

"Count me in, too," Weiss said. "I'm considered a kidnapping victim in Atlas. If I go back, I'll probably get locked up by my father again."

"…I don't really think it's a good idea for me and Ruby to stay here," Riku said.

"What do you mean?" Tifa asked.

"Well, you said there are four academies, right?" Riku asked, prompting the others to nod. "And a Kingdom Hearts has appeared above two of them already. I have a hunch that it's likely another one could appear over the other two academies as well. If I'm right, and there's another Kingdom Hearts over Atlas Academy, we'll need to be there to seal it."

"So then we're right back where we started," Ruby said. "We need to be there in case there's a Kingdom Hearts, but if we go, then the general probably won't let us leave without a fight."

"…I think I have an idea," Weiss said.

"We're all ears," Yang said.

"I'm not sure how many of you are aware of this, but the Kingdom of Atlas is made up of two different cities: The main city of Atlas floating up in the air, and the undercity of Mantle. If we go, and have Ruby, Riku, and myself break off and go down to Mantle while the rest of you deliver the relic, we can keep the lamp safe without the general knowing that Ruby and Riku are with us, you can search for any sign of Kingdom Hearts, and we can keep my father from finding out I'm back in Atlas. Plus, Aqua managed to make a few friends down in Mantle. There's a woman named Robyn that leads a team of Huntresses, and a…friend of mine… named Noctis." For whatever reason, Weiss started blushing as soon as she mention this "Noctis" person.

"A friend, huh?" Yang asked with a sly smile.

"Anyway," Weiss said after clearing her throat. "I think that would work best for all of us."

"Well, there is one very important fact we're forgetting about," Ren said. "Atlas may be the safest kingdom at the moment, but their borders are closed. General Ironwood called everyone back.

Uncle Qrow sighed. "Not everyone." He pulled out his scroll, and projected a map. "The city of Argus is a ways north of us, and it's the primary trading port between Anima and Solitas. They've got the largest Atlas military bas outside the kingdom. There's no way they'd leave it abandoned, and if we play our cards right, I think there's a good chance we could convince them to escort us straight to Ironwood. We'll figure something else out for getting Ruby, Riku, and Weiss in without him knowing. But for now, that seems like a good place to start."

"Argus," Jaune said under his breath. "Why does that sound familiar?"

"I think it's a good plan," Ruby said, looking at her sister. "How about you?"

"…Fine," Yang said. "But I'd rather be in the group that won't be meeting him. I honestly can't say I won't try to tear him a new asshole if I'm in the same room as him."

"Deal," Ruby said. She looked over to Cloud and Tifa. "What about you two? I don't really think I'm you're client anymore. Do you still want to come with us?"

"Since meeting you, I've run into Sephiroth twice already," Cloud said. "And if Haven is any indication, he's apparently working with Salem. It only makes sense that I stick around."

"Alright," Ruby said, directing her attention at Tifa. "What about you?"

"I go where Cloud goes," she said. "I didn't spend so long looking for him just to leave now."

"How do you know Cloud, anyway?" Yang asked.

"She's a nuisance," Cloud said.

"Don't be so mean," Tifa said with a pout that even Ruby had to admit was adorable. "We go way back. He's very important to me."

"What, like a girlfriend?" Nora asked.

"No, his girlfriend is named Aerith."

"No, she isn't," Cloud said.

"You just keep telling yourself that," Tifa said playfully.

"So, the plan is to head to Argus, and from there, go to Atlas," Ruby recounted. "From there, Riku, Weiss, Yang, and I will break off from the group and lay low in Mantle, while the rest of you bring the Relic to General Ironwood for safe-keeping. Riku and I will investigate to see if there's any sign of Kingdom Hearts, and when we're done, we'll move on, I guess. Figure out our next move from there. Does that sound good?"

The rest of the room all answered in the affirmative in some way.

"Well, looks like we have a plan," Riku said.

"Thank you, everyone," Ozpin said.

Emerald clung to Sephiroth for dear as the man approached Evernight Castle by air, the airship carrying Mercury and Hazel coming up behind them. He slowly landed, gently placing her on the ground as the airship landed. She watched the ramp descend, allowing Mercury and Hazel to exit the vehicle. The group started walking forward, and Emerald noticed Tyrian leaning against the railing of the stairs leading up to the castle. She took some satisfaction when she noticed the metal tip covering the stump where the rest of his tail used to be.

"Welcome back!" he said. "I do hope you missed us as much as we missed you."

Emerald leveled a glare at the freak.

"Let's go," Hazel said. The group walked past Tyrian, doing their best to ignore the madman.

"Speaking of which, where is our Fall Maiden?" he asked, prompting Emerald to stop moving. Tyrian started giggling, and Emerald growled in anger.

"Emerald, come on," Mercury said.

"Don't tell me something happened to her?" Tyrian asked in a mocking tone, before he burst out laughing.

Emerald turned around quickly, pointing her weapons at the mad Faunus. "I will cut off more than just your tail!"

Tyrian chuckled as he slowly approached Emerald. "Careful, little girl. Cinder isn't here to protect you anymore."

A sword suddenly appeared next to Emerald's head, slicing Tyrian in the cheek. Emerald turned to look, and saw that Sephiroth was the one holding it.

"I wouldn't take another step," Sephiroth said.

"Oh, don't misunderstand, I am in mourning, just as you," Tyrian said. "Because it appears you've failed our Queen, and that is a tragedy." Tyrian dropped the façade quickly, instead laughing that unsettling cackle of his.

"Your Queen, perhaps, but not mine," Sephiroth said, prompting Tyrian to stop laughing.

"You may be disrespectful now, but you'll learn," Tyrian said, glaring at Sephiroth.

"Hmph. We'll see."

"I would like you to explain to me…How it is you failed so spectacularly?" Salem asked, the group from Haven kneeling at the end of the throne room. Tyrian and Watts sat at the table, looking at their master in fear. Sephiroth, unlike the others, was standing defiantly.

"The Faunus militia split our forces—" Hazel tried to explain.

"Stop," Salem interrupted. "Let me rephrase the question. Who is responsible for your defeat? Whose fault is it that there was even a battle to begin with? Your orders were to contact Raven Branwen and have the Spring Maiden open the vault for us without incident. Instead, you found yourselves in combat in the middle of the night, and it became a national spectacle. And in the end, you didn't even bring back the Relic for your efforts. And you lost Cinder! Who. Is. Responsible?!"

"That would be me," Sephiroth said without a hint of fear in his voice.

"What?" Salem asked, her voice practically a growl.

"I had originally intended to stick to the plan, until I realized that Raven was lying to us about the Spring Maiden's identity."

"What do you mean?" Watts asked.

"She was the Spring Maiden, not Vernal. When she asked to give her the opportunity to kill her brother, I saw the chance to have some fun, so I took it."

"You knew she was the Spring Maiden and didn't inform me?" Watts asked.

"I don't answer to you, you pathetic fool," Sephiroth said.

"Why you…" Watts growled, standing up.

"Watts," Salem said, making the man sit back down. "It's not enough that you caused a spectacle, but you also lost us Cinder. How an you explain that?"

"Well, it seems that the power you gave her was simply inadequate," Sephiroth said.

Arms suddenly sprouted from the floor, grabbing hold of Sephiroth.

"YOU COST ME MY MAIDEN!" Salem roared. "AND YOU THINK TO DEFY ME TO MY FACE!"

Sephiroth smirked, and the arms grabbing him suddenly disappeared.

"I fail to see how that's my problem," Sephiroth said. "If anything, you should be thanking me. After all, if Cinder was defeated so easily, then clearly she wouldn't have been very useful."

"…We will discuss this later," Salem said. "Emerald, your services will no longer be required."

"What?" Emerald asked.

"Your purpose was to keep Cinder under control. With her no longer with us, I have no further use for you."

"Told you," Mercury said under his breath.

"Emerald will be staying with me," Sephiroth said.

"Excuse me?" Salem asked.

"Emerald will be staying here. I will not allow her to leave."

"What reason could you possibly have for keeping her around?" Salem asked.

"My reasons are my own," Sephiroth said. They stared each other down for a few seconds.

"…Very well." She slowly sat back down. "Our top priority will be to acquire Ruby Rose. Her Keyblade will be instrumental in opening the Vaults since we no longer have Cinder. But first, we must secure the vaults themselves. Our next target will be Shade—"

"Ma'am," Hazel said. "I have…more to report." Salem glared at him. "Qrow and the children are likely taking the Lamp to Atlas."

"Not if I can help it," Tyrian said with a laugh.

"And they're being led…by Ozpin."

"So soon?!" Tyrian asked.

"He's the only man with a chance of getting through to Ironwood. If that happens…"

Watts suddenly stopped talking as he and the others noticed the oppressive atmosphere. The windows in the throne room began to crack, and they noticed dark smoke emanating from Salem's form.

"Leave," Salem said, pure fury in her voice.

"Your grace, I can—" Tyrian tried to say, before a glare from Salem shut him up. Sephiroth turned and left the room, taking Emerald by the shoulder to escort her out with him. Once everyone was out, the doors closed.

They heard a feral scream suddenly erupt from within the throne room.

James,

I'm sure by now you've seen the officially report regarding the attack on Haven. As you can probably imagine, there's a lot more going on than I'm willing to say in this letter. But for now, what I'm trying to say is that we're on our way to Atlas, James. There's a good chance we'll get there before this letter does, but in case we don't, I need to know that we're bringing a lot more than bad news with us.

See you soon,

Qrow

P.S. You and I need to have a long chat about what you did to my wife.

Qrow placed the letter he had written to Jimmy in a mailbox at the station, only for Ruby to bump into as she ran past him.

"Hey, what's with the running?" he asked.

"And what's with the standing? It's almost time!" She said excitedly before dashing off with her Semblance.

Qrow smiled to himself at seeing his niece still trying to keep her spirits up after everything that happened.

"She always was good at looking on the bright side," a familiar voice said. Qrow glanced off to the side, and saw Aqua looking fondly after Ruby.

"You're not real," he said, pulling his flask out and taking a swig.

When his head lowered again, Aqua had vanished.

Ruby quickly ran over to the benches where her friends were waiting for her, holding a shopping bad behind her back.

"And?" Yang asked.

Ruby put the bad out in front of her. "Ta-da!"

"What an absolute waste of time—" Weiss tried to complain before Yang interrupted her.

"What did you get me?"

"You'll have to wait and see!" Ruby said in a singsong voice.

"No fair!" Yang complained.

"Oh, I can't believe we're taking the train to Argus!" Nora said excitedly. She was standing behind the bench Oscar was sitting on, her arms wrapped loosely around the boy's neck. "The beautiful northern coastline… You really think it's too early for beach season?"

"B-Beach season?" Oscar asked, a fierce blush on his face, likely imagining what Nora looked like in a swimsuit. Ruby also noticed Ren glaring at the back of Oscar's head.

"Keep it in your pants, kid," Cloud said, embarrassing poor Oscar further.

"Seriously, why does the name Argus sound so familiar?" Jaune mumbled, his arms crossed like he was deep in thought.

"While it's…unfortunate… that beach season isn't here yet, we'll be one step closer to Atlas," Ren said.

"Well, I'm glad you're all excited," Weiss said sarcastically. "But I don't think you appreciate the trouble Aqua and I went through to leave Atlas. Aqua even got branded a fugitive for it."

"I know you're worried, Weiss, but trust us," Ruby said. "When we get there, Riku, Yang, and I won't leave your side for a second. I promise."

"That's fine, but don't forget that we need to watch our backs when we get there," Riku reminded.

"No one's gotta be worried with us around," a voice suddenly said. The group turned around and saw a pair of men approaching. One of them had shaggy, unkempt brown hair and carried a mace slung over his shoulder. The other one had brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, and a goatee, and carried a rifle.

"And who are you supposed to be?" Cloud asked.

"Why Dee and Dudley of course," the one with the mace said, gesturing to the two of them to indicate that he was Dee, and the one with the goatee was Dudley. "The Argus Limited's very own Huntsmen. We'll be keeping everyone safe as we pass through Grimm territory."

"But for a generous tip, we can make sure your passenger car gets extra special attention should things get dangerous. Especially you," Dudley said with a wink at Tifa.

"Oh, um, no thank you," Tifa said. The other girls all gave him flat, unamused looks at his blatant flirting.

"Yeah, I got a tip for ya," Uncle Qrow said as he approached them.

"Huh?"

"Buzz off. Looks like Mistral really scraping the bottom of the barrel these days."

"Hey!" Dee shouted. "You're talking to a—"

"A professional Huntsman, right," Uncle Qrow said, displaying his own license. "Well, it seems one of you heroes left the staff entrance to the caboose wide open." The idiots turned around at that. "It's be a shame to lose your job before it even started."

"I…I didn't do it!" Dudley said.

"Come on, dummy," Dee said as they slinked away.

"You know, sometimes the burden of saving the world seem overwhelming," Oscar said. "But then people like that come along and make me grateful that it's our jobs and not theirs."

"You said it," Riku said. "After meeting all of you, I thought Huntsman standards were higher than that. Please tell me they were just exceptionally bad."

"Eh, most Huntsmen actually kind of suck, especially in Mistral," Uncle Qrow said. "A lot of them are in it for the money and glory more than anything else. And too many of them think women are gonna fall all over themselves."

"We like to call people like that pigs," Weiss said.

"I see," Riku said.

"So, you kids ready to go?" Uncle Qrow asked. "Bike all loaded up?"

"Yeah," Yang said.

"Just waiting on Blake," Weiss said. "As usual."

"I still don't feel like I deserve the freedom you and your family granted me," Ilia said.

"Well, you're going to have to get over it, Ilia," Blake said with a smile. "Saving Haven had a huge impact on how Faunus are seen in Mistral. Now it's up to you all to take the progress and keep running with it."

"Right," Ilia said. "The White Fang may have been a failure, but with your father starting up a new movement, I've got more faith than ever before." Ilia suddenly ran up and gave Blake a big hug. "Thank you, Blake, for everything. I wish you didn't have to go."

The two pulled away. "I know, but my team needs me. We're going to track down the people responsible for the attack on Haven and the fall of Beacon."

Ilia laughed. "Always trying to save the world."

"More than you realize," Blake said. There was a few seconds on silence between them, before Blake suddenly leaned forward and gave Ilia a quick peck on the cheek.

"H-h-h-huh?!" Ilia stammered, her face turning bright pink. "W-What was that for?!"

"I just wanted to say thank you," Blake said. "For the help at my home. And for coming back."

"U-U-U-Um," Ilia kept stammering, trying to compose herself. "I-It's no problem. Anyway, where's—"

"Sun? Oh, he's right here!" Sun suddenly said, walking up the walkway towards her. "What? You didn't think I was gonna miss your big send-off, did you?"

"He definitely overslept and absolutely almost missed this," Neptune said, suddenly appearing behind Sun. "Hey Blake. Now would you hurry up? Need I remind you we have our own trip to plan?" He looked past Blake and noticed Ilia. "Oh, I didn't know Ilia was gonna be here. I'll, uh, give you two a moment." He walked towards the chameleon girl. "Hey, almost didn't see you there, 'cause, you know, the camouflage?"

Blake reached out her hand to try to stop Neptune, but he wasn't paying attention. "Wrong tree…"

"He'll figure it out," Sun said.

"So, you're really going to Vacuo?" she asked.

"That's right," Sun said. "Seeing you reunited with the rest of Team RWBY really made me realize something- I'm like the worst team leader ever. Me and the boys were cool with a little hiatus, but we gotta make up for lost time. Shade Academy's not dealing with any problems like Haven right now. Plus, that means I can show the guys around my old stomping grounds!"

"I have to admit, I think I was kind of getting used to having you around."

"I go where I'm needed! And…you don't need me anymore."

"I don't know if I'd say that…" Blake said sadly. Sun put a hand on her shoulder.

"Look…despite the drama and the fighting and the numerous attempts on my life, I had a lot of fun! But you're with who you're supposed to be with now." He nodded his head towards the group waiting for the train.

"Sun…I don't think I'll ever be able to thank you enough. I'm still—"

"You're still working a lot of things out, I know," he said. "But you can do it with them. And in the future, who knows? I've got a feeling you haven't seen the last of me."

"I'd better not have," Blake said. She suddenly leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the lips. The kiss lasted for several seconds before she finally backed up. "Sun. I—"

He put his hand up to interrupt her. "I know. But I think it can wait until I see you again. We'll say it for real then, yeah?"

"Yeah," she said with a resolute nod. "Then, goodbye, Sun. For now."

"For now."

Out of sight, a pair of men wearing black coats with their hoods up stood looking down at the large group boarding the train. One of them puled their hood back, revealing a scarred face with an eyepatch over his right eye. He had long black hair with gray streaks pulled back into a ponytail.

His name was Xigbar.

"So, that's them?" Xigbar asked.

"Yup," the other man answered.

"They don't really look like much," Xigbar commented. "Hell, the Rose brat looks like she's barely out of diapers."

"I'm sure you of all people know that appearances can be deceiving. Take a closer look at the group. Recognize anyone?"

Xigbar leaned forward and squinted his good eye. "Well, isn't this a surprise! It's little old Riku! So that's where he ended up."

"Ruby Rose has a remarkable ability to gather hearts to her, like a certain someone we know."

"I'm starting to see the appeal," Xigbar said.

"She definitely has her uses," the other man said. "So, is your boss okay with you being down here?"

"Ha! As if!" Xigbar said. "But we both know you're my real boss."

"And don't you forget it. Speaking of, did you get in contact with Taurus like I asked you to?"

"Yup," Xigbar said. "He took a real liking to that little ability I gave him. But why did you want me to go see him?"

"I like to throw curve balls at those kids every now and then." The train whistle sounded off, indicating that it was about to leave. "You should probably get back before you're missed. The real fun will be starting soon."

"Later!" Xigbar said, and a corridor of darkness appeared around him. He vanished seconds later.

"Yeah, things are about to get interesting indeed."

AN: You know, I really didn't want to reveal right away that one of the two men in black coats at the end there was Xigbar, but I kind of had to. In written form, it's really hard to differentiate between two people when they're dressed identically and you can't see their faces. But his speech patterns would have given it away anyway, so I just said "screw it".

As I said before, I'm not too happy with one scene in particular, and it was the scene in Salem's throne room. It just didn't feel right, but I can't pinpoint why.

I also hope that Cinder's scene made sense. I actually was kind of drawing a lot of inspiration from the episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender called "Zuko, Alone".

So, the gang is still heading to Atlas next, and I hope the logic of why they deiced to makes sense.

And poor Jaune. He's so close to remembering why Argus is important.

So, next time, we'll be on the Argus Limited.

I want to remind everyone that this story now has a Tv Tropes page! I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone puts on it!

As always, thank you very much for reading, and I'll see you all next time!