Holy crap, the number of comments sky rocketed compared to the previous ones. You guys really wanted Accelerator to appear and kick ass. I was torn about what to do with this chapter, give you what you want, or keep you waiting for a bit. To move the story along, I decided to go with your demands. You have been waiting for quite a while. There were also some comments about Touma not getting a lot of screen time, so that will be rectified shortly. There's currently about three different plot lines going on in this story, so until they converge, expect some different views. Now that Accelerator is awake, he might have to actually socialize with Team RWBY and JNPR, I'm sure he is going to LOVE that. Battle of the Ice King vs the Ice Queen.

Adv: Wouldn't be Accelerator if he didn't.

KisaragiKei: Your reasoning isn't bad for the ship name, but I'm just not feeling it. Names got to be short, sweet, and rolls off the tongue. Any relationship will have to bypass his tsundere nature, which would require someone who won't take no for an answer. The part about playing with his food will be evident here.

Guest: Last Order told Team RWBY and JNPR, remember? You can't honestly believe Ozpin wouldn't be able to spy on people inside the school if needed.

crazie194: Hormonal teenagers stuck in a world with death being a possibility to monsters? Stuff happens. It might be tough for Weiss and Accelerator to get together, but both are pretty nice once you get past their icy exterior. Someone like Yang, who doesn't take no for an answer, or Ruby, who is similar to Last Order in her personality, might have a better shot. You know Touma doesn't believe people would like him. Someone would have to be painfully blunt for him to realize that. Not sure how he would react if they can't find a way back and a girl actually tells him she likes him.

Artyom-Dreizehn: Your hate fuels me. There will be some similar events, since a couple random people won't change everything. I'm sure you will see what event I'm referring too. However, there is the butterfly effect and some large changes will occur. I try to keep them accurate, but it's tough in many situations.

dickythamrin077: If we had time, tickets would have been sold. I've always been torn between Arkos and Lancaster, but Volume four made the decision for me, still sad though.

TykkiMikk: I changed broken to shattered so that I could use broken with dreams. Didn't want all the names to similar. I doubt there would ever be a chance for that ship to sail, but we can dream.

SyQadelic: Cry like a bitch.

The Rupture: I don't know about that. Keeping his power a little lower since there are a few weak points would make fights more interesting. 206 bones in the human body and he can break each one. Vector manipulation with magic and Aura will be interesting in many situations. Jaune's ability is so amazing, we can't show it because it would overshadow everyone else. Touma will appear shortly.

ultron emperor: But for that to happen, Nora would have to leave Ren. That could never happen. I felt like the two worlds would combine to make a good crossover. Good to know you approve.

Salishious: Bad luck has already been stated, but fits them perfectly. Read Below fits Neo, by why Touma? How do crosses work with Accelerator and Weiss? White Rose is already a Weiss x Ruby ship name. Huh, forgot about Glynda. Come up with a more interesting ship name and we will talk. Accelerator would find that highly amusing. If Roman gets eaten by a griffin, Neo needs to follow someone, right?

Guest: It makes you come back for more.

Spartastic 4: The amount of hate for that cliffhanger made it all worthwhile. This one doesn't really have one though.

Accelerator7460: Based on your name, I can tell you like Accelerator.

Memento Mori - The Truth: Well, I can agree on Imagine Dragon, but I probably won't do any crack fics for a long time, because I can always add an omake for that.

Guest: 1) White and silver really aren't shadows of gray. 2) That's stretching it. 3) I meant Bad Girl and Good boy is kind of generic. 4) Polar Opposite seems like a good Pyrrha x Emerald ship name. 5) I can add that, don't have a lot Touma x Cinder stuff. As for the one with Velvet x Touma, I like that.

Asler: That sounds kind of mean to Velvet, haha.

SpiderhunterXXX: I'm not a professional and I do it for fun. I'm going to alternate between my two active stories, so minimum of two to three weeks. I write for fun and thus will not write if I don't feel like doing it that day.

HikariNiwa: And that is how the story ends. Salem says with she is given Touma, the Grimm would disappear and peace would come to Remnant.

Croniklerx: I have never pretended to be a professional writer. This is purely for entertainment. Between the Clones, Worst refers to herself in third person, Imouto (others) also explains facial expressions, and Last Order adds narrating actions. I appreciate the constructive criticism, emphasis on constructive. Dialogue has always been one of the hardest things for me to do. I've been trying to work on spelling/grammar and it gets inadvertently added to dialogue. Been trying to make it flow a little better, but then also differ people's ways of talking. 'Knight and Lady' sounds like a Jaune x Weiss ship, Prince and Princess might be better. Actually, I kind of like that. Also like your Velvet x Accelerator one. Dang, you have some good shipping names. Added a bunch to the list and you can see for yourself. Won't ship Last Order, because she is effectively ten. What makes you think I'm a Dragonforce fan?

Wiliamsusanto: Team CRDL can't win.

LL: Grim fist isn't bad. It's not like they could imagine one person fighting a kingdom, let alone a world. They would need an army. Though, I was actually thinking about what would happen if Penny touched Touma's hand. Lots of ideas there. He would enjoy that world too much.

FireDusk: I read your ideas for Accelerator x Ruby and immediately thought of No Breaks. Not a big fan of the other two though.

WiliamZ0: I like Thorny Rose over Black Rose, less generic. A little help might be able to prevent some bad events, but open the future up to butterfly effects they can't predict. I think only Weiss could provide Accelerator entertainment because her Glyphs would react unusually. Everyone else relies on physical attacks. Though, Ren's Aura fists might cause some problems at first. Jaune's Semblance may be able to work too. Accelerator can drop rocks on Touma and win that way, but he won't anymore. Touma will die then, or regenerate. Normal hero skills. Japanese would be a secret to most, except Ozpin. Aleister is usually on top of things, so I don't doubt that. Time flows between dimensions is weird and should never be assumed. I'll post the gay pairings just because. Trip to Vale has an important purpose.

cloud666: That is a good one.

Guest: Need a good name for them. Something very specific that fits them. I won't accept anything but the best.

JN: Doesn't make a lot of sense in that regard.

CompuBob: Can't involve the RWBY universe without naming pairs. It's part of the fun, but the story shall continue.

Mr. Self-Deprecation: You should definitely watch it. A lot of jokes and information will be missed if you don't.

RPGPersona: Nah, Nora picked Hammer and lost because of rules. The bath scene was mostly for Pyrrha to get some screen time. Not sure how valuable some of that information will be. I couldn't resist the scene between cats and electromancers. Ruby pulls other people at super speed all the time. She just has a weight limit. Having their first glimpse of Touma was huge, and Ozpin wouldn't let someone with that much power run free without an idea of what he is capable of. Makes sense for an Electromaster to identify magnetism. Jaune is the Fearless Leader and Blood Jaune of Team JNPR. His orders are absolute. Team CRDL are not the sharpest tools in the shed.

Pheonix: Maybe at some point. Who are we kidding, it will happen.

Daniel Huffman: Not sure it was a real twist. I think people saw it happening.

Rekyuu: He's just a male Weiss… with a lot more power.

Kiri Kaitou Clover: I am going to constantly update. It just takes time since this is for fun and I actually have a job that takes up most of my week.

Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or RWBY.


"Who's the wimp?" Cardin asked the rest of his group, but they only shrugged.

"No idea," Russel replied. He turned to Accelerator. "Get lost before you get hurt."

"That's rich," Accelerator laughed mockingly. "I don't see anyone here capable of hurting me. Are they hiding behind you four morons?" Nora opened her mouth to insist she could hurt him, but Ren threw his hand over it. Team RWBY and JNPR all seemed to realize they should just watch. Of course, there were a few who were hoping for Cardin to get what he deserved.

"What was that!?" Cardin raged. "Do you have any idea who you are talking to!?"

"A monkey who escaped the zoo," Accelerator stated. It was not a question. Yang, Nora, Jaune, and Ruby began to snicker, which only made Cardin grow more furious.

"Russel," he ordered. "Kick this scrawny loser's ass!"

"No problem." Russel walked over to Accelerator and cracked his knuckles. "Any last words before you eat dust?" He didn't even bother to draw his daggers. Against a small and skinny boy, he saw no reason to need them. There was no way he would be overpowered. Accelerator smirked and looked up at him without the slightest trace of fear. Instead, he reached a hand forward, with his index finger touching his thumb, and stopped right before Russel's chest. A look of confusion appeared on Russel's face. "What are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Accelerator asked sarcastically. "I'm going to flick you."

"Flick me?" Russel responded, dumbstruck. A second later, he burst out laughing and turned to the others. "You hear that guys? He's going to flick me."

"Try not to pass out," Dove jeered and Sky laughed. Russel turned back to Accelerator.

"Okay, idiot," he said and pulled back his fist. "This is going to hurt you a lot more than it's going to hurt me." Before he had a chance to do anything, Accelerator responded by simply flicking his finger forward. Only one person truly knew the effect of that simple motion, and she had stopped struggling in Cardin's grip. Team JNPR had seen Accelerator fight briefly, but Weiss had explained what Accelerator was capable of once they discovered his power. None of them knew how easy it was for him to use though. Poor Team CRDL had absolutely no idea what the monster that stood before them, disguised as a skinny boy, was going to do. The effect was instantaneous when Accelerator's finger made contact with Russel's chest.

BOOM!

A blur flew over the heads of everyone in Team RWBY, JNPR, and CRDL. The crash was caused by Russel's body hitting the wall far behind them. There had been enough force applied to cause a small crater in the solid stone. Russel's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he let out a small involuntary gasp of pain. A couple pieces of rock broke free as his body went limp and fell forward. There was a dull thud when finally he hit the ground, unconscious. If there weren't signs he was still breathing, the others might have thought he had been killed. Aura was truly a powerful shield. The rest of Team CRDL turned in shock and stared at their teammate.

"Holy shit!" Yang spouted out.

"Language!" Ruby reprimanded and held out jar labeled 'Swear Jar'. Yang grumbled and put a Lien in.

"Told you he was capable of throwing an Ursa!" Nora cheered excitedly.

"Will they be okay?" Pyrrha asked. Jaune really wanted to say, who cares, but he was focused on Last Order.

"They have no one to blame, except themselves," Blake pointed out. Even though she was pleased someone was sticking up to those racist bullies, her hand rested on her weapon in case things got out of hand. Ren was in a similar position. Even though Cardin and his team were messing with Last Order, that sort of reaction by Accelerator was getting close to overkill. Jaune scooted a little closer in the direction of Cardin. Weiss held her rapier up and was prepared to strike the moment there was an opening. She was furious at Cardin for threatening a little girl.

"That bastard's crazy!" Cardin yelled to the others. "Get him!" Dove pulled out his sword and Sky raised his axe. They were no longer going to treat Accelerator like a weak pest. Anyone who could throw someone that far had to be a Hunter. Overcome by anger, they did not even notice the boy's aura had not been unlocked. Though the members of Team CRDL were known bullies, they were still Hunters in training and did have some skill. Dove rushed forward to attack from Accelerator's left and Sky struck from the right. The theory was Accelerator would be hard-pressed to block both strikes. If he tried to dodge one, the other person would hit him. Those poor souls had no idea what they were facing. Accelerator only continued to smirk and didn't even try to defend himself. The axe and sword struck him simultaneously.

"Ahhh!" Sky and Dove cried out, as the weapons immediately flew back in their hands. The force was too great for them to maintain their grips and their weapons were ripped from their hands. Pain flooded their arm from the reflection. They just managed to step on the ground after their leap, when Accelerator moved both of his arms out to his side. His hands only managed to scraped Sky and Dove, but that was enough. Both of them were blown away instantly. Sky actually crashed through the wall of the training room and fell into the hallway outside. Dove sailed across the room and crashed into the wall, leaving a crater similar to Russel. He managed to stay conscious, most likely because he traveled the greatest distance and the air resistance slowed him down slightly. Cardin took a step back, unaware he moved closer to a group of people who wanted to see him suffer.

"MISAKA did try to warn you, MISAKA states solemnly, as MISAKA prepares for your funeral. He will not show you mercy." Cardin glanced down at her.

"Shut up, brat!" he snapped. "I'll use you as a shield if I have to." Ruby gasped in the background. Last Order did not take kindly to that. Only Accelerator got off calling her a brat, because he didn't actually mean it and only had a hard time expressing himself. She started unleashing her electricity all around herself and the sudden discharge caused Cardin to let her go in surprise. "You little…!" Cardin fumed and prepared to strike her, but two people were already moving to intercept. Jaune had reached down and struck Cardin in the side of the face with his fist, while reaching down with his free hand to grab Last Order. The surprise blow knocked Cardin off balance for a second, but it was long enough for Jaune to get away. Before Cardin could retaliate, he noticed the primary threat. An explosion had gone off below Accelerator's feat and he rocketed forward with his hand out stretched, aiming directly for Cardin's face. Cardin's reflexes saved him and he raised an arm to block Accelerator. Accelerator didn't seem to mind and gripped his wrist instead.

"I'm going to enjoy breaking you," Accelerator whispered. Cardin was not given a chance to respond, as he felt his body fly to his right into the center of the ring. He bounced a few times before skidding to a stop. Accelerator then glanced over at the spectators for a moment. He recognized four of them and his eyes lingered on Jaune, who was carrying Last Order in one hand. He gave him a brief nod, which Jaune returned. It was a simple gesture of Accelerator acknowledging Jaune, who in returned promised to watch Last Order. The bleachers beneath Accelerator exploded and he launched himself into the air. He landed in the middle of the arena, about twenty feet from Cardin.

"What the hell is with you?" Cardin demanded. "I've never seen you before and the girl there is Jauney Boy's sister. What the fuck is your stake in all this?"

"Stake?" Accelerator asked with mock confusion. So the cover story is the brat is the idiot's sister? Makes sense in a weird way. "Why would I need a stake in this? I just don't like you. Besides," he gestured to the onlookers. "I'm pretty sure you are actually hated more than I am. That is a welcome change of pace."

"KILL HIM!" Nora roared. "I'll help hide the body!"

"Nora," Ren sighed. "We can't encourage-…"

"KILL HIM!" Yang echoed. Ren dropped in his seat and Blake gave him a pat on the back. The two quiet individuals shared a moment of unity at the rambunctious antics of their partners.

"Yang!" Ruby admonished. "It's one thing to break his legs, but we can't kill him! No matter how much of a jerk and bully he is, he's still a Hunter in training!" She turned to Weiss. "Help me stop this before it gets out of hand. Weiss, pleeaaasseee!" Weiss looked over at her and nodded briefly.

"No, don't, stop," Weiss said in a monotone, absolutely no enthusiasm. "Idiots, behave yourselves."

"That wasn't convincing at all!" Ruby declared angrily.

"Should we step in?" Pyrrha whispered to Jaune. "It doesn't seem like Accelerator can hold back." She gripped her sword and it transformed into a spear.

"I think he did," Jaune muttered to her. "Cardin's team is still alive. Remember what he did to those Beowolves? I think he is just making sure they don't mess with Last Order again." He made a fist in anticipation. I really hope he does decide to keep holding back. Cardin's an ass, but he doesn't deserve to be killed or crippled for life. I wish I was stronger so I could be the one to protect someone like Last Order.

"Last Order," Pyrrha asked the girl. "Will he stop…. before going too far?"

"MISAKA thinks he will, MISAKA says as MISAKA tries to sound reassuring, but MISAKA fidgets nervously. It depends on how much he understands about your Aura power. MISAKA tried to warn Cardin, but he would not let MISAKA go, MISAKA adds."

"No one is blaming you," Jaune told her quickly. "He brought this on himself." Back in the ring, Accelerator stuck his hands in his pocket and continued to mock Cardin.

"You think you are so special," Cardin growled, as he raised his mace. "Just because you have a strength enhancing Semblance, doesn't mean you can look down on me."

"Strength enhancing?" Accelerator asked sarcastically. "I suppose it does look that way to someone with an IQ less than room temperature." He leaned forward and sneered. "But don't worry about that. You see, I look down at you because you are trash who can only talk big."

"I'm going to enjoy shutting that mouth!" Cardin charged forward and raised his large mace to crush Accelerator with a single blow. This action was futile, but he still had no idea about Accelerator's power. The fight would have ended if Accelerator had let the hit connect, but he wanted to torture the guy who messed with Last Order first.

"Too slow," he sneered and stamped his left foot on the ground. The floor exploded and a barrage of stone pieces flew at Cardin, with the force of a shotgun blast at point blank range. Cardin couldn't lower his mace in time and was hit directly. He stumbled back, but his Aura absorbed most of the impact and he was relatively unharmed. "I met brats faster than that. Why don't you show me something entertaining?"

"You want entertaining!?" Cardin shot back. "Try this!" He raised his mace high above his head and slammed it down onto the ground. Cardin kept powdered fire dust in his mace and he could ignite it with his aura. The head of the mace opened and an explosion went off at the point of impact. A wave of fire erupted and rush toward Accelerator. He only grinned and let himself get engulfed without even trying to dodge. There were gasps from the crowd and Cardin laughed. "Not so tough now, are you?"

"Who said that?" The mocking voice caused Cardin to freeze and he could only look up in shock as the flames parted around Accelerator. "Heh, fire dust I presume. Shame, I already encountered it." Wind erupted all around him and blew out the flames.

"What the hell…?"

"You will see hell soon enough," Accelerator told him. "Right now, I have a promise to keep." He turned toward the audience. "Hey, girl!" he called out while looking directly at Nora. "What did you want me to do when I arrived?" A huge grin exploded on her face and Ren was not fast enough.

"BREAK HIS LEGS!"

"Looks like your fate has been decided," Accelerator commented, as he turned back to Cardin.

"Like hell it has!" He swung his mace at Accelerator, who only sighed. The mace hit him and immediately rocketed off in the opposite direction. The force was great enough to actually blow it out of Cardin's hand. Accelerator reached up and lightly tapped Cardin's chest plate, sending him flying backwards diagonally at the ground. Cardin cried out in pain and it took a moment to reorient himself. He was lying on the ground, with Accelerator walking slowly toward him. The boy's eyes were red and the grin on his face showed he was not planning to be merciful. He stood over Cardin's body and raised a foot.

"MR. ACCELERATOR!" a strict female voice cried out. Everyone froze and turned to the training room entrance. Standing there, with her riding crop raised and looking furious, was Glynda.

"Sup, Goodwitch," Accelerator greeted her nonchalantly, without the slightest trace of fear.

"What is going on here!?" she demanded, as she stomped over to them. Cardin breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't going to die right there and he might be able to pass off this Accelerator guy as the aggressor. "Well?"

"It was-…" Accelerator started to state, when someone unexpected interrupted.

"Training accident," Weiss called.

"Training accident?" Glynda repeated skeptically and turned toward her. Weiss left the others and walked over.

"Yes, professor," Weiss confirmed. "You see, Ruby and Jaune decided a friendly spar between our teams would help get us out of any ruts we accidently found ourselves in from practicing against our teammates. We had just finished, when Team CRDL arrived and challenged us. We were planning to politely decline, when Accelerator here arrived and volunteered to take our place." Accelerator raised an eyebrow at the girl. First impressions told him she was one of those people who came from a high class background. She always appeared rather intelligent, compared to most of the others. Cardin stood up and dusted himself off, not that anyone noticed. "They underestimated him and the results speak for themselves," Weiss continued and pointed to the members of Team CRDL in turn. Dove and Russel had regained consciousness, but Sky was still lying unconscious in the hallway. "They were lucky he was going easy on them, or they could have been seriously hurt." Accelerator felt an involuntary grin.

That girl saw through me, not bad.

"Is this true?" Glynda asked everyone present.

"We were definitely not planning to break his-…" Ren covered Nora's mouth with his hand and the rest of Team RWBY and JNPR nodded in agreement, but Accelerator only shrugged. Cardin was Glynda's final target with her stare.

"Is this true Mr. Winchester? If not, please tell me what events transpired to cause Mr. Accelerator to cause this much damage with your team?" Cardin realized he was trapped. He would have to give some kind of excuse and none came to mind that would have ended without punishment. He didn't know anything about Accelerator, like who he was and why he was there.

"Yes, ma'am," Cardin replied quickly.

"I see." The look in her eyes told everyone she doubted this was what transpired, but it wasn't like she could just call them out without proof. Besides, it actually sounded like something that could happen. Cardin and his team challenged RWBY and JNPR when they were tired in hopes of getting an easy win. Accelerator showed up and probably argued with Cardin, which lead to the challenge. None of that was strictly against school rules, but she wished they would act more like adults. There was more damage than a normal spar, but she had seen worst, usually when dust was involved. "Well then, Mr. Winchester. Please take your team to the infirmary. Mr. Lark looks like he needs it."

"Right away." Cardin help get Russel and Dove up, before the three of them grabbed their weapons. They also retrieved Sky's weapon and picked him up, before heading to the infirmary. Glynda waited for them to leave, before turning to Accelerator.

"I'm pretty sure I know what really happened," she stated. "But please keep the destruction of school property to a minimum." Accelerator raised an eyebrow as she raised her riding crop. All the rubble and debris created during his fight began to rise into the air and move back into place. She couldn't fix all the damage, but the wall Sky crashed through reformed and sealed up. The craters were compressed stone, so Glynda's telekinesis would not be effective. "This way, please." She led Accelerator and Weiss toward the others, who had frozen up under her glare. "Mr. Arc?"

"Yes?" Jaune replied quickly.

"I'm going to leave Mr. Accelerator with you," Glynda told him. "Help him get used to life in Beacon. Sleeping arrangements will be discussed this evening." She straightened her glasses. "Are you agreeable?"

"Sure," Jaune replied. "We figured he would want to stay with Last Order anyways and there are only a few of us who know about… their situation."

"I suggest you get started then," Glynda continued. "This room needs to be repaired because of your antics." Jaune received the message loud and clear. He nodded quickly and gestured everyone out. Accelerator gave one last look at Glynda, before following the others. As soon as they left the room, Last Order ran full speed at him and latched on to his arm.

"MISAKA is so happy to see you walking around! MISAKA cries as MISAKA wipes her tears on your sleeve." She looked up at him. "MISAKA is confused at how you are even walking, MISAKA adds."

"A few beasts wouldn't keep me down," Accelerator stated simply. "Ozpin's people used their special dust drug to actually heal my old injures. Might have to see if I can take some with us when he figures out how to send us back." He took his free head and riffled Last Order's hair "Good to see you are okay too, brat."

"He reminds me of Uncle Crow when he sees Ruby," Yang whispered to Blake.

"Why?"

"Pretends not to care, but totally does."

"MISAKA wants to introduce you to all her new friends, MISAKA says excitedly, as MISAKA starts pulling your arm knowing you will try to resist meeting new people." Ruby and Yang snickered at this.

"Whatever," Accelerator muttered resigned, with a rolled his eyes. "I have to talk to that guy anyways." He jabbed his thumb at Jaune. Last Order nodded.

"MISAKA thought as much, MISAKA agrees, as MISAKA understands the importance of thanking someone for their help. We have all day to play anyways." She let him go and skipped around. She was always full of energy. Accelerator shook his head and walked over to Jaune.

"Hey," Jaune greeted and held out a hand. "Good to see you up and about."

"I figured I owed you thanks for finding the brat," Accelerator replied and shook his hand. "I didn't actually expect you to pull through though."

"I take promises very seriously," Jaune protested. "But we weren't the ones who found her. Last Order wasn't in the forest, she found her way into Vale. Ruby and her team found her and brought her to Beacon." He pointed at Ruby.

"We are just that awesome!" Ruby bragged and puffed out her chest.

"Didn't you find her by accident?" Blake asked from behind her book, so the others missed her smirk.

"He didn't have to know," Ruby whined, but the damage was done already and she deflated.

"She's safe," Accelerator finally said. "So details don't really matter to me."

"Oh," Jaune realized. "We never were formally introduced. Name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it." Several girls started laughing behind him, Yang and Nora being the loudest, one girl sighed, and he finally realized what he did. "Crap, I did it again," he muttered mortified. Accelerator stared at him for a moment.

"Looks like I was right," he said. "You are an idiot."

"Thank you!" Weiss cried and threw her hands up. "He gets it!" Accelerator raised an eyebrow at her.

"Who are you, princess?"

"He's got your number too, Weiss!" Yang called out.

"Weiss Schnee," Weiss introduced herself professionally, while ignoring Yang. She didn't shake Accelerator's hand, but gave a short curtsy. "And it's not princess. I'm the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company."

"Good for you," Accelerator said in a bored tone. For a second, Weiss looked scandalous, but quickly remembered he would have no idea what the SDC was. Suddenly, Accelerator felt his arm shake and he saw a small girl with a red cloak shaking his hand vigorously. He didn't even see her approach, but the smell of roses hung in the air.

"Hi, Accelerator," Ruby said excitedly. "My name is Ruby Rose, leader of Team RWBY. Last Order told us so much about you and if you have any questions, feel free to ask me."

"Sure, whatever."

"Do you like weapons?" Ruby asked, as her expression turned serious. Accelerator was slightly confused by the sudden change in topic.

"I appreciate a good handgun," he replied with a shrug. "Lost mine before coming here." He was not used to talking this much, but the group of people in front of him had a presence that virtually forced him to.

"We can change that easily," Ruby exclaimed excitedly and her eyes flashed. "Oh, I have this thing-…"

"You can show him Crescent Rose some other time," Yang said and pushed Ruby away from Accelerator. "If we let her start talking about weapons, we won't get another word in today. The name's Yang Xiao-Long, Ruby's older sister. Good to finally meet the champ I heard could throw an Ursa." Keeping a protesting Ruby away with one arm, she shook Accelerator's hand with the other. For fun, she squeezed tighter than she would have normally. It worked at first, but then she felt her fingers open up on their own. There was also a slight drain on her Aura and she noticed Accelerator staring at her, so she grinned and played it off. "Like what you see?" she asked seductively.

She really flirts with everyone, Weiss thought annoyed.

"I'm out of your league," Accelerator told her and turned. Yang's world seemed to have crashed down around her as she spluttered incoherently. Weiss was trying very hard to hold back her laughter. No one told Yang Xiao-Long that and got away with it. It only took a tiny bit of effort on her part, a revealed thigh or a glimpse of her chest and boys became putty in her hands. Her first reaction was to immediately find out how to get her revenge. Lost in planning, she didn't notice her partner draw Accelerator's attention.

"Blake Belladonna." Accelerator turned to see the dark haired girl speak to him. "While it was amusing to see you put Yang in her place, be warned. She's going to do everything in her power to embarrass you."

"I'll keep an eye out," He told her unconcerned.

"That's what she wants." Accelerator frowned as she walked away.

What does she mean by that?

"That was Team RWBY." Jaune interrupted his thoughts. "The other three are on Team JNPR with me." He gestured to the redheaded Spartan. "This is my partner, Pyrrha."

"Hello again," Pyrrha told him. "Do you remember me?"

"Vaguely." Accelerator had seen all of Team JNPR but, with his consciousness fading, Jaune was the one he remembered most. "You helped out in the forest?" She nodded.

"We spent quite a bit of time looking for Last Order," she told him. "Imagine our relief when our friends found her safe and sound."

"Yeah," was his only response to that statement. Pyrrha could tell he didn't want to say something, so she let the matter drop.

"MISAKA was enjoying the sights in the city and followed your orders about what to do when MISAKA got lost, MISAKA interjects, as MISAKA wants to make sure you understand she did what she was supposed to do." Accelerator gave her a brief nod.

"The one in green is Lie Ren," Jaune continued, while Ren gave a nod of his head.

"NORA!" the ginger suddenly appeared in front of him. She shook his arm so hard, his entire body felt it and he swore he was lifted a couple inches off the ground. He almost used his reflection to protect himself, before the girl let go. "My name is Nora Valkyrie. Ren and I are best friends and are together, but not together-together." She must have been holding herself back while introductions were being said, because she was in full blown question mode. "How did you get so strong? Can you teach me how to throw an Ursa a mile? Or is it some super-secret move you can't show? I bet you named all your special abilities, right? Like that flick? I would totally call it Vector Point, because you end up pointing in the end. So, do you like Beacon? I really want to thank you for beating up Cardin's team too. They are jerks and keep trying to bother our Fearless Leader. It's about time they got their just desserts… speaking of desserts, I'm kind of hungry, though that's not really your fault. I'm thinking pancakes with ice cream. You like pancakes, right? If you like waffles, we probably can't be friends. Just kidding, I would still be your friend, only to show you the glory of pan-…"

"Nora!" Ren stated firmly. "Breath." Nora stopped talking and took in a deep breath.

"I only heard rambling," Accelerator told Nora, who frowned and then immediately smiled again. It was hard to keep her down for long.

"Doesn't matter," she said cheerfully. "The only thing I'm sad about is the fact Goodwitch stopped you before you broke Cardin's legs." Accelerator stared at her for a moment.

"You're alright," he finally said and Nora beamed at him.

"You have no idea what you just did," Ren muttered as he face palmed.

"I know we are going to be best friends," Nora cheered and put Accelerator into a massive hug. "After Ren, of course. Let's fight in one of the other training rooms. I want to figure out how strong you are."

"And now you annoy me," Accelerator gasped, as he reflected Nora's arms off him so he could breath.

"Complete 180 there, Nora," Jaune pointed out.


"So that's him?"

"Being the only human here besides me and Neo," Roman replied. "I would say your deductive skills are spot on."

"Don't patronize me, Roman," the man growled. He was tall, easily towering over Roman, with red and brown hair that spiked backwards in a windswept way. While most of his hair was red, a portion of it in the back and several streaks were brown. Two horns can be seen on either side of his head. He wore a long-sleeved black trench coat with slit sleeves. There were red designs around a white symbol on the left side. His trench coat was red on the inside with red flame-like accents at the bottom and his wilting rose emblem emblazed on the back over a white floral design. The trench coat was half-buttoned, exposing a red shirt with a black line running parallel to the collar under it. A long thin sword was sheathed and attached to his hip. A White Fang mask covered his eyes and part of his face. "Or I'll strike you down were you stand."

"No need to be so hot-tempered, Adam," Roman laughed. "Must be that bull part of you." Adam Taurus reached down and gripped the hilt of his blade. The two of them were standing on the roof of an underground building looking over a train being loaded. Touma Kamijou was standing further away from the train, but the other White Fang members were working. "Neo has had some fun with him, but his ability is worth pretending to be all goody-goody around him. I take it your mutts told you what he has done?"

"Watch it," Adam warned again. "Cinder may say you're useful, but test my patience and this partnership is off." His eyes fell back onto Touma. "If it wasn't for all those witnesses, I would never have believed a human was willing to risk so much for Faunus."

"I'm working with you," Roman pointed out and twirled his cane.

"Only under threats of violence and bribes." Adam paused. "How did you convince him?"

"I just told him about the Faunus plight under humans," Roman answered simply. "The White Fang is fighting oppression and all this dust is going to help them. I might have lied a bit about it going to cities with heavy Faunus populations, but he would never agree to help us if he knew the real purpose of all this dust. There ends up being two main reasons he is working for me. One, I'm helping him find some of his friends who are lost, and, two, he truly believes in helping the downtrodden. Worth it."

"His power to repel Grimm is certainly speeding things along," Adam agreed. "It makes his presence worthwhile."

"Neo and I are still observing what all his power can do," Roman laughed. "But it seems the longer he is in one area, the further Grimm retreat. Maybe his power leaves something behind that grows in concentration to increase the range, or the Grimm just realized an area has been claimed. They don't even try to get into the nearby tunnels anymore. We only need a limited number of scouts, the rest can work on the train. Luckily, there are a few underground tunnels that lead past the Grimm blockade around us, otherwise we would be stuck here. Can't complain too much though, the growing wall of Grimm around the mountain will keep people from sneaking up on us."

"Any reason he's not working and just watching my people labor?" Adam asked.

"Don't want him handling dust if we can help it."

"Why?"

"On touch, the boy's hand can erase Grimm," Roman explained. "We wanted to see if that power affects anything else, so we tried it on dust. Last night, while he was sleeping, Neo stuck a dust crystal into his hand. The crystal vanished."

"You mean reacted and burnt out."

"No, it actually disappeared without a trace. No explosion, no residue, nothing."

"If it is only by touch," Adam pointed out. "He won't erase the dust already packaged."

"Remember," Roman pointed out with a roll of his eyes. "His power seems to grow in intensity against the Grimm if he stays in one place, so I'm taking precautions in case his continued presence will start erasing the dust near him. We need every bit we acquired. Use your head a bit." Adam growled angrily. "Easy there, we are all on the same side. I just get impatient when people can't understand simple logic."

"I don't trust you," Adam told him. "You always look out for yourself first and I know you are willing to throw my men away like trash."

"You mean like at the docks?" Roman asked. "I explained that already. It was either retreat with the dust and leave the stragglers behind, or the entire operation would have failed."

"And I told you I don't believe that shit," Adam snapped. "I trust that kid more than I could trust you, and he's a human I never met before. My people actually witnessed him save her from a pack of Grimm, unlike you, who only says you fight for our side. When, conveniently, no one else is around."

"He did save that one Faunus spy," Roman agreed. "I feel like she is someone important to you."

"Keep your nose out of my business," Adam said coldly. "Or your head is going to be rolling on the ground." There was no way he was going to tell Roman about his relationship with the traitor Blake. They had been partners before she left the White Fang, and the organization did not forgive traitors. However, some of the members told him about how the boy rushed into the middle of a pack of Grimm to save her. Adam believed there was still a chance to make her see the truth about the White Fang's actions, so he was grateful she was spared. It was the only reason he was giving that human a chance and not strike him down on the spot.

"Just making small talk," Roman replied quickly and chuckled. "It's a good idea not to trust me, I am a criminal after all. That boy is nothing more than a unique resource, but you can place your trust in me that I never waste a resource." There was a really small difference between the two types of trust. A normal person might not get it until Roman explained it, but Adam was smart enough to know what Roman meant. Trusting Roman was not the same as trusting what the criminal would do when given something valuable.

"I want results over talk," Adam snapped. "I'm not going to keep sending my men if there is nothing to show for it. I don't want to take a personal interest, but I will if needed."

Definitely don't want another mutt breathing down my neck, Roman thought annoyed, but continued to display a neutral expression. Time to give Neo the signal for the accident.


Touma Kamijou was leaning up against a building, watching the White Fang load crates of the energy source known as dust.

He was told to avoid contact with the dust crates at all costs because of his hand. How they knew dust would be negated, he didn't know, but figured they did not want to risk it due to its importance. Instead, he started going over everything that happened to him during the last twenty-four hours. He had cornered a magician, was thrown into another world with monsters called Grimm, and then encountered a small girl who was way stronger than he was. Aura was a new concept to him, but it reminded him a lot of strengthening abilities back home and it was negated the same way. Roman was an interesting person, but Touma felt like he was hiding quite a bit, or maybe it was because of the world they lived in. Constantly being attacked by Grimm would probably make a civilization a lot darker than back home. As much as he didn't want to admit it, the White Fang seemed to be very similar to the group he knew called Skill-Out. Both were organizations who claimed discrimination against them by another, stronger, group. Skill-Out had grown violent over the years and had even bombed buildings to prove a point. From what Roman had told him, the White Fang only resorted to violence if they were attacked. He didn't even try to excuse their stealing of dust though, since it was a necessity for life on Remnant.

Can I really judge people from a world I know nothing about? Touma thought. It's kind of different from the worlds Othinus made, but there are some similarities. His thoughts turned to Neo. Even if she couldn't talk, something Touma didn't feel was proper to ask about, she was smart, strong, and quite attractive, but she seemed to love to embarrass him for some reason. Roman may have been used to her antics, but he wasn't. She would show lewd messages to him, constantly grab onto him and press her well-developed body against him when others were around, and, last night, stole all his clothes while he was sleeping. He had been forced to ask a passing White Fang member for help. It was the first solo interaction with one of the members, since he had usually been with Neo or Roman. They didn't seem like bad people and the guy actually talked with him for a bit.

Roman was right, Touma thought. The conversation with the cat girl had still been on his mind. It wasn't just because she was very attractive or that one of Touma's friends would have killed to meet a real-life cat girl. Touma had believed the girl had been completely honest with him about Roman. Even if Touma had not seen those parts of him, she had completely believed that. Touma had promised to keep his eyes and ears open, which is why he really wanted to talk to one of the White Fang. The results had not been pleasant. Some of his friends died in a mine owed by the Schnee Dust Company. Mining has always been a dangerous job, but he actually said the Schnee had been purposely using slave labor because people don't care about the abysmal working conditions of the Faunus. I can't see why he would lie to me, but that girl was so sure of herself. She was a captive and they do say captives will say anything to get free. Was I played? A crane started moving in his direction and he pushed off the wall to get out of the way.

Touma had been a little confused at the way things were being loaded. While it was true a single car could not hold everything, the way it was being loaded was strange. The containers were being spread through all the train cars periodically. Thought they would fill up one car first and then move to the next one. Neo had stopped by for a short time and he asked her. She informed him it was to make delivery easier and a counterstrategy against Grimm. When they stopped at a drop-off point, it made it simpler to unload one car with the previously measured supply of dust. If a Grimm latched onto the train in transit and could not be stopped, the cars could be detached to escape. This way, only some of the dust would be lost, instead of all of it. Neo disappeared shortly after that, leaving Touma alone with his thoughts.

He was also worried about how long he would be stuck here. Junior only started looking for Accelerator and Last Order yesterday and Touma had no idea how long it would take to locate them. He had been transported into the middle of a forest after all and there was no telling how far away those two were sent. He missed his friends and worried about Index, his resident freeloading nun. Shoot, he even missed Biri Biri trying to electrocute him. His day to day life may have been full of misfortune, but it had its good points too. For now, first priority was to find his friends. After that, they could work on finding a way home. The least Touma could do to pass the time was help out people against the Grimm. That was why he joined them in an underground base at a place they called Mt. Glenn. Touma watched the crane lift up a large container of dust and start rotating it closer to the train. Besides the driver, there were two other people, one was a female with antlers, and the other was the guy who helped Touma with his clothes that morning. A movement above him caught his attention and he looked up.

One of the cables snapped.

"Look out!" Touma yelled to the two Faunus near the crane. They turned toward him, unaware of the danger. The crate lost balance and tipped to the side. Several boxes loaded in it crashed into the end, drawing their attention. The side flap's lock burst open and the boxes began to fall out. Crates of dust, something Touma knew a bit about. Roman had warned him repeatedly how volatile dust was. Dropping a crystal, shaking a vile, or a sudden impact could cause it to go off. As a demonstration, Roman had showed him his cane. By using a fire dust crystal, he could fire an explosion capable of destroying a large bolder. The two near the crane would not be able to escape that much dust if it went off. Touma's body had already started to move before his brain finished recognizing the situations. He pushed through the White Fang members and stuck his hand out, right when the crates smashed into the ground. The box just broke when Touma realized something. Can I even negate a dust explosion?

The multicolor explosion engulfed them.

Panicked shouts echoed, as the boom bounced across the underground city. The explosion had lit up the entire area as smoke, flames, ice, and wind fired off in every direction. Several dozen members converged on the location to perform damage control. Accidents like that were bound to happen when constantly transporting volatile materials. The good news was the dust went off far enough away from the train tracks to avoid damage there. The area around ground zero was in disarray. The stone ground on one side was charred black, while the other side had spikes of ice jettisoning out. The crane had been knocked over with a combination of wind and flames. The operator managed to crawl out and was lucky to sport only a broken wrist. As everyone began to approach slowly, to avoid any delayed dust explosions, they stopped when the smoke cleared.

Touma and the two Faunus were unharmed.

In fact, the ground starting at Touma's outstretched hand was perfectly fine. It was like he had erected a wall that covered him and everyone behind him. The two members had fallen backwards out of shock, but they were fine, though the areas to their right and left were far from it. The onlookers could only stare, as Touma lowered his hand and sighed. He turned to the two and held out his hands to help them up. "That was close. I wasn't sure it would work against dust. Are you two okay?"

"Yeah," the guy said, as he accepted the help up. The girl only nodded, but imitated his action.

"What the hell happened?!" Roman's voice boomed out from above them. Someone yelled the situation back to him. "Replace that crane, and be more careful. That dust is valuable! If you don't snap to it, I'm sending Neo down there and she's not nearly as nice as I am!" Several people gulped and started to quickly clear up the mess. Touma and the two caught in the explosion were directed to wait in a building being used as a medical bay until further notice. The crane driver had been carried there already. As they walked there, Touma heard a lot of whispering and saw fingers being pointed at him. He sighed and the male Faunus looked over at him.

"You surprised them," he told Touma.

"Huh?"

"Not only with your power to shield us, but the fact you, a human, protected us, Faunus."

"I don't really understand," Touma replied. "What's the big deal about having an animal part? Sure, there aren't any Faunus where I come from, but you guys are just like everyone else I know."

"Tell that to all those humans who won't even serve us," the guy spat out. The girl tilted her head at Touma curiously. "Oh, names Perry by the way and this is Rita. Thanks again for saving us."

"No problem," Touma replied dismissively. "I only did what was right. Name's Touma Kamijou. Roman only gave out my last name."

"You are a strange person," Rita spoke up. Touma and Perry turned to her.

"Why do you say that?" Touma asked.

"A human willing to work with Faunus is rare," she answered. "Though, not unheard of. Most are merely indifferent. They don't actively discriminate against us, but they don't help us against those who do. You actually went out of you way to save us. Take that explosion, the normal reaction would be to run away from the explosion."

"My friends back home tell me I'm strange in that regard," Touma chuckled. "I tend to get involved in other people's business." Perry and Rita looked at each other. "But if they need help and I can do something about it, I will."

"What's in it for you?" Perry asked.

"Why do I need a reason to help someone?"

"See," Rita said, as if explaining the obvious to Perry. "He is strange."

"If more humans were like you," Perry murmured. "Maybe the White Fang wouldn't exist."

"I kept hoping Roman was only exaggerating about the way you guys are treated," Touma muttered. "But I keep hearing all these stories and it seems more than just a few isolated incidents." He looked out a window at the other White Fang members working on clearing the ice away. "It reminds me of a group back home, sadly." Rita frowned.

"I'm not sure what kind of deal you and Roman have worked out between you two," she told him. "But if it makes you feel any better, you're one of the first humans I actually like." Touma blinked and turned to her. Perry snickered.

"Making a move on a human?" he asked, trying to hold back the laughter.

"Shut up!" Rita punched Perry in the arm and Touma couldn't help laughing. "I'm saying he proved that he isn't a racist and actually cares about our situation."

"I doubt any girl would actually like someone as misfortunate as me," Touma pointed out to Perry. "I'm really poor and unlucky."

"There are ways to make money if you know what you are doing," Perry replied with a shrug. "Besides, I thought Roman's companion, Neo, was with you. Aren't you two together?"

"What!? No!" Touma shook his head vigorously. "I only met her yesterday and she introduced me to Roman. He's helping me find some people and I asked if I could help him with anything to repay him. After he told me about the relationship between Faunus and humans, I wanted to help out. I'm not really a fan of thieving, but it's for a good cause." The Grimm are a threat to everyone. Perry and Rita shared a surprise look under their masks.

He's upset about us stealing compared to killing and blowing up buildings? Neither decided to mention that. Not that they could, since they had been warned about saying anything remotely close to that near Touma.

"So why does Neo cling to you so much?" Perry inquired.

"I think she likes to embarrass me," Touma regretfully informed him. "Not sure why, but it's just like a couple girls back home. They like to tease me a lot." He sighed and looked out the window again. Perry's mouth fell open. He glanced over at Rita and gestured incredulously at Touma. Rita held her hand over her mouth and tried not to laugh.

"What do you think of Neo then?" Perry prodded. Most of the White Fang had been wondering what her relationship was with Touma, yet no one had the balls to ask her directly. Roman would just say it's not their business and Neo might kill them for prying. While Neo had taken random people off the streets before to satisfy urges, she never really displayed something that resembled affection in front of the White Fang during work.

"Umm," Touma murmured for a moment. "Not going to lie, she is pretty cute, but there's something about her that scares me a little. She's also really tough, far more than I am, so there's not much I can really do to stop her from embarrassing me. I do owe her a lot though, because she found me when I was lost." Perry raised an eyebrow under his mask. Unknown to the three of them, the girl in question was listening at the door.

I am pretty cute, Neo agreed. Cute and deadly, the perfect combination. She appreciated the comments and felt herself blush at the praise. She had followed the three of them because Roman made it clear anyone who gave Touma information that would cause doubt in his mind, was to be eliminated. Seems like I was worried for nothing. Perry and Rita only reinforced Touma's belief the Faunus were being discriminated against and they had been smart enough not to talk about the White Fang's other activities. Once they had digressed into random conversation, Neo made her way back to the rest of the White Fang, who were finishing loading the train. She pulled the sword out of her umbrella. Animals need to be reminded who the bosses were once in a while.


The dust explosion was felt by Roman and Adam, long before they saw the smoke.

"Damn it, Roman!" Adam snarled. "What the hell was that?"

"You going to blame this on me too?" Roman asked incredulously. "I've been standing next to you the entire time." His eyes scanned the loading area below him. "Damn it, some idiot dropped a crate of dust!"

"You!" Adam called out and pointed to a group of the White Fang members who had taken cover. "Go find out the extent of the damage!" They nodded and slowly approach the site of the explosion. Adam looked like he was about to go down there personally, but Roman held out a hand.

"Now you see what I have to work with," Roman told him. "It's a wonder I was able to steal over ninety percent of all the dust in Vale when your men cause these kinds of accidents."

"You blaming this on us?!" Adam thundered.

"Listen," Roman explained patiently. "I ordered all equipment examined before use because we can't afford accidents, like this one. That crane is probably inoperable now, so it's going to put us behind schedule."

"How do I know this isn't your fault?" Adam demanded.

"Because I like money?" Roman asked incredulously. "And living? You know what Cinder would do to me if she found out I was purposely sabotaging her plans. I rather not have my face melted." Adam was silent at that. Both of them knew how dangerous Cinder was. "The simple fact is, your men are not specialists. They are ordinary Faunus who escaped from the oppression of humans. They can learn, but they haven't received a lot of formal training. This is why operations take longer. If they follow my orders, we succeed. If they don't, we get interrupted by brats and things are delayed. You being here isn't going to change much. In terms of combat potential, Neo is more than enough to handle anything we encounter."

"It sounds like you want me to leave," Adam pointed out.

"I think your skills will be more beneficial somewhere else," Roman corrected him. "You specialize in combat, not thievery. Besides, you being here is causing your mutts to divide attention between leadership. In short, you're distracting. Leave, and let me do what I'm being paid to do."

"If I find out you double-crossed us in any way," Adam warned, as he turned and walked away. "Your midget won't be able to protect you. I'll keep my Lieutenant to help you against those kids, because you obviously can't handle it alone." He hopped over the side of the building and skated down the wall, before landing perfectly fine on the ground.

I really hate dealing with animals, Roman thought irritated. And that one actually has claws. If Cinder didn't have me by the balls, I would kill that damn bull. He watched the smoke clear, to reveal Touma and two White Fang members unharmed. Touma helped the two up and Roman decided it was now time to act. "What the hell happened?!" He waited while someone told him what he knew already. "Replace that crane, and be more careful. That dust is valuable! If you don't snap to it, I'm sending Neo down there and she's not nearly as nice as I am!" A simple threat was more than enough to make those animals work and Roman could relax a bit. Touma and the two Faunus traveled to get checked up and Roman shook his head. It was important the boy was okay, but he couldn't care less about the other two. The only reason he was glad they survived was because it solidified the boy in his operation.

The White Fang would trust the boy, and by extension, the man he works for.

They might not trust him as much as Touma, but it would be enough to get things done. Time passed slowly, and then he finally felt a tap on his back. He turned around and saw Neo smirking at him. "Nice job. I was watching the scene of the accident and I never saw you."

I'm just that good, Neo mimed.

"I managed to get rid of Adam," Roman told her. "He won't stick around. How's the boy?"

Undamaged, though we knew he would be. His reaction time is impressive for someone without an Aura. More good news. A couple of the White Fang members are opening up to him and are unknowingly solidifying your story.

"Perfect," Roman said with a smirk. "Shame, though. Once Cinder learns about him, he's probably going to get taken away."

Over my dead body. Neo cross her arms defiantly.

"Tell that to her."

Neo only shivered.


Qrow rubbed his chin and leaned back in his chair. Something caught his eye on the far side of the bar's corner table he was sitting in. A woman with long black hair and red eyes walked into the bar and proceeded upstairs, but she had definitely glanced over at him. Qrow gulped down the rest of his drink and stared at the three men surrounding him. He picked up his cards and stared at them. The pot was getting big and he either had to raise or call.

"Raise, fifty."

"Max bet? Bold move. I'll call."

"Fold."

"Fold."

"Three of a kind, aces," the man across from Qrow said.

"Full house," Qrow replied, bored, as he tossed his cards onto the table. The other guy groaned, and Qrow swept up the pot. After pocketing it, he stood up to leave.

"Leaving already?" one of the other guys asked. "Give us a chance to win some of our money back."

"No can do," Qrow replied with a short laugh. "Saw a pretty girl going upstairs alone. I bet she needs some company."

"Classic Qrow," the three other men chuckled. Qrow laughed again and tossed a few Lien onto the table for them to buy themselves a round of drinks, before heading upstairs. He saw one private room door cracked open and he entered. The woman sat in a chair, staring at him, with a large white and red Grimm like mask on the table. She was wearing a shallow cut black dress, five necklaces with an assortment of beads, a red girdle-belt, and a pair of matching gauntlets. She also wore detached black leggings, with a red splatter pattern, and black leather boots beneath them. Her face was oddly similar to Yang's.

"Hello," she said when the door shut behind him. "Brother."

"Raven," Qrow replied curtly and sat down. They stared at each other for a moment in silence. "What do you want?" he finally asked.

"A girl can't visit her family?" Raven asked innocently.

"She can," Qrow acknowledged. "But you're not. Let's just get on with it." Raven's eyes narrowed.

"I know you have been investigating that green light that appeared in the sky," she stated.

"Oh, do you?" Qrow raised an eyebrow.

"I took an interest in it too," Raven continued, as if she had not been interrupted. "I heard a few people mention they had contacted you. However, there is a problem they don't know about that requires our immediate attention."

"You want us to cooperate?" Qrow asked. "Why? I know you, Raven. You won't come for my help unless you need information or you don't want to risk your own life."

"We both want to protect Remnant," Raven replied, determinedly keeping her voice calm. "We simply have different views on how."

"That is the understatement of the century." Qrow leaned forward. "I hadn't been planning to investigate, I was only told about it. Ozpin seems interested in it though, so that is the only reason I'm in this town."

"Ozpin actually realizes a threat when he sees it," Raven stated bemused and then dropped the important piece of information. "A man emerged from that light."

"Really?"

"I was monitoring him for a while," Raven continued. "He didn't have an unlocked Aura, but there was something about him. A feeling, not dread like with Grimm, but it made me uneasy." She frowned. "He can control water. I watched him touch a river and saw a ripple travel up and down stream."

"He must have been the one who killed those Grimm," Qrow mused. "So what? The only interesting thing is that you said his Aura wasn't unlocked."

"It wasn't!"

"I don't doubt you," Qrow replied. "You are way too skilled to misread that. The thing is, weird shit happens. It wouldn't be the strangest thing I've seen."

"What do you mean by that?" she asked.

"That's my secret and you don't need to know about it, especially if you aren't sharing your own unrelated information with me."

"Our survival is important," Raven countered. "You were part of our tribe until you betrayed us."

"This again," sighed Qrow. "They were killers and thieves."

"They were your family."

"You have a very screwed perception of that word."

"I lead our people now," Raven stated and stood up. "As the leader, I will do everything in my power to ensure our survival, which is why I am here talking to you. The weak die and the strong survive. Those are the rules, but that man who entered from the light is a threat to all of us."

"Controlling water and ice is a useful power," Qrow agreed. "But how is he a threat?"

"Because," Raven answered and leaned forward on the table to stare at him directly in the eyes. "His skill with water doesn't end at combat." Qrow raised an eyebrow. "He didn't kill all the Grimm he encountered."

"Did he capture them for experimentation or something?" Qrow asked. "He wouldn't be the first."

"Worse."

"Worse?"

"He found a way to control them." Qrow sat in stunned silence before finally replying.

"Explain."

"He forced water into an Alpha Beowolf's ears," Raven said and her face grew dark. "The eyes then changed to blue and he ordered it to kneel. The Alpha followed his command and then the order to attack another Beowolf trapped in ice."

"That's… impressive, but unnerving."

"He didn't stop there. He's slaughtering the young, but taking over the older ones. Last I checked, he had around twenty Grimm and counting. I want your help to subdue him."

"Subdue?" Qrow asked interestedly. "Not kill? That's unlike you, sister, unless you want to recruit him. If that's the case, why should I help?"

"What do you think will happen if he continues this course of action?" Raven asked. "A man with an army of Grimm? Do you think Salem will ignore him?" Qrow frowned. "If I can use him, I will, if not, I will kill him. It will be better than the alternative."

"What if I can persuade him to join Ozpin's side?" Qrow asked.

"I can offer more than you," Raven answered confidently. "I still want you to come back and join us. Your skills are invaluable. Salem's army is growing and preparing to strike. Beacon will fall, Ozpin will fail, and the relic will fall into her hands."

"We won't let that happen."

"Then help me stop this man," Raven said to him.

"Fine," Qrow agreed. "Only because Ozpin would want me to. Do you know where he is now?"

"I know the area he was in," Raven admitted. "But he moves fast. It may take a little bit to track him down."

"Let's go then," Qrow said and stood up. "Just like old times?"

"Don't get too comfortable," Raven muttered and drew her sword. A large red portal appeared in the wall and they stepped through.


Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.

Current Ship Names:

Yang and Touma: Fistbump / Golden Dragon / Imagine Dragon

Weiss and Touma: Prince and Princess

Ruby and Touma: Blossoming / Thorny Rose

Blake and Touma: Nine Lives / Bad Luck

Velvet and Touma: Bunny Couple

Ren and Touma: Lotus Fist

Jaune and Touma: Better Luck Next Time

Glynda and Touma: Teacher's Pet

Emerald and Touma: Shattered Illusions / Illusion Breaker

Twins and Touma: Triple Threat

Cinder and Touma: Through the Fire and Flame / Fire Demons

Salem and Touma: Burning Witch / Grimm Fist / Shattering Darkness

Accelerator and Weiss: Cold and Calculating / Ice Vector

Accelerator and Yang: Road Rage / Short Fuse / Way of the Dragon

Accelerator and Ruby: One-Way Rose / No Brakes

Accelerator and Blake: Twilight Arrow / Chain and Sickly

Accelerator and Nora: Shattered Bones / Broken Dreams

Accelerator and Velvet: White Flash