Qrow took a sip from his flask as he waited for the extradimensional visitors to arrive on the bullhead aircraft from the city.

He was given the job of helping them settle into Beacon because Ozpin and Ironwood were in yet another meeting with the Vale council, much to their irritation, and Glynda was busy with a class. The four teachers had agreed to talk to the group later in the hopes of finding out what exactly happened with the attempt to unlock Harry's aura.

He looked up when the bullhead began to descend, pocketing his flask and crossing his arms as he waited. Soon enough it touched down and the doors opened, letting out the people he had been expecting.

"Hey dude, been waiting long?" Garfield asked as he stepped off, Alice doing the same a second later.

Qrow shrugged. "Nah. Been here about five minutes." As Harry, Chief and Lara stepped out he eyed them. "What, no luggage?"

Lara smiled slightly. "We have everything we need."

He shrugged after another few seconds. "Whatever. Let's get this done. I haven't had a chance to see my nieces yet."

Alice giggled. "You're about to."

"Huh?" Qrow asked before grunting as he felt something impact against his back, latching on like a leech.

"Uncle Qrow! It's so good to see you! When did you get here? Did you miss me? Huh?" The happy voice of Ruby Rose babbled happily.

Qrow chuckled as he turned his head to look into his niece's silver eyes with a smile. "Nope." Then he shrugged his shoulders, making her drop to the ground, still smiling happily up at him like an adorable puppy. He reached down and ruffled her black and red hair. "How you doin, kiddo?"

"Ready to kick butt in the tournament!" She declared cheerfully as she stood up, brushing dirt off her school uniform. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm just helping Oz with some stuff. He felt an experienced Huntsman would be good to have around after the Breach. I was going to come see you and Yang after I was done." He looked up, passed Ruby. "Speaking of…"

"Hey Uncle Qrow." A busty blonde with luxurious golden hair said as she approached with a grin, giving her uncle a hug as six other teens approached. "Been a while."

Qrow smiled, his gaze lingering briefly at his niece's right arm before he looked into her lilac eyes. "Yeah, it has. Your dad has kept me abreast of your progress. You both have been getting good grades. Though he mentioned something about Grimm Studies…?" He cocked an eyebrow at the blonde, who proceeded to laugh sheepishly. Then he looked at the other teens standing behind the girls. "So, ya gonna introduce me, or not?"

Ruby zipped over to a white haired girl with a scar running along her left eye. "This is my partner, Weiss."

Weiss nodded. "Hello."

Yang went up to a black haired girl with a bow in her hair and golden eyes and wrapped her arm around her shoulders. "And this one's mine, Blake."

Blake waved slightly, looking slightly uncomfortable.

Ruby then started introducing the others. "And these are our friends on team JNPR, Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora and Ren." She said, pointing in turn to a boy with short, blonde hair and blue eyes who waved hesitantly, a girl with long, crimson hair and green eyes who gave a cheerful 'Hello!", another girl with orange hair and aqua eyes who grinned widely, and a boy with black hair with a pink streak in it and magenta eyes who nodded serenely.

Qrow nodded at them. "Qrow Branwen, these two's uncle." The pointed a thumb at the group behind him. "I'm busy getting these guys settled into Beacon, but we can hang out after."

"Sure." Ruby chirped before leaning over to wave at them. "Nice to meet you! Hope you like Beacon."

Alice smiled. "I'm sure we will, thank you."

Qrow waved the group forward, leading the way to the visitor's quarters.

Garfield glanced back at the students. "So, those were RWBY and JNPR. Part of me thinks they'd be helpful to have at our side. The other part wants to keep them from getting involved this time."

Qrow had stiffened when Garfield began speaking. "I don't like it, but something tells me that they'll end up involved somehow." He said with a growl.

Harry reached up and put a hand on the man's shoulder. "We'll keep them safe, Qrow. They made it through before, and you've got us looking out for them this time. Adam Taurus won't get anywhere near Yang, and if he does, it'll be the last thing he ever does." He reassured him, making Qrow relax slightly.

Soon they reached the rooms they'd be staying in. "Alright, so you'll be able to stay here as long as you need." Qrow said. "Feel free to explore the grounds or whatever. Anything you can think of to improve security, let us know. The tournament starts in less than a week."

"Where are the training areas?" Chief asked as he set up a computer for Cortana, who instantly popped up. "We have new weapons we need to practice with."

"Training rooms are in the east building, along with a gym and pool. If you want to get used to your weapons, though, I suggest going into the Emerald Forest and culling the local Grimm population. It'll lower what we have to worry about later, and will let you get used to actual combat and using your newly unlocked auras."

Chief considered it. "Once we've gotten used to our weapons that would probably be a good idea."

Harry nodded. "Agreed. The better we get with our weapons, the better."

Qrow shrugged. "Up to you all. Anyway, Oz was hoping you'd have time to discuss things later. Around five or so."

The team looked at each other before Harry turned to Qrow, nodding. "Alright, you've got it."

Qrow smiled. "Great. See you then." He pulled out his flask and took a sip. "Now, I'm going to go mess with my nieces while you get settled in. Later."

Garfield chuckled. "Have fun."

Qrow's smile turned into a smirk and he nodded before leaving.

That evening, after the meeting with the teachers, the group of five were taking turns sparring in one of the training rooms, trying out their new weapons and figuring out how to incorporate them into their fighting styles.

Garfield had opted for some clawed gauntlets that could be coated in various types of elemental dust for different effects, such as burning or electrocuting. He most likely wouldn't end up using them much, but when he was forced to fight in human form they would be invaluable.

Lara had gone with a pair of climbing axes connected by a string that could be combined to form a bow. She was working primarily on learning how to make the change between the two forms seamless and quick.

Alice had opted not to get a new weapon of her own, already having her own arsenal to use whenever she wanted. Instead she focused on improving her fighting abilities under the Chief's tutelage, the man using his vast fighting experience to correct her faults and give her an actual style.

Said super soldier had gone with something that took advantage of his great strength, a massive war hammer that could be coated in dust much like BB's claws, but that could also shift into a large caliber SAW, or Squad Automatic Weapon, which normal people would have to mount before firing but he could use on the move. He had quickly gotten used to shifting the weapon between its two forms, and now was simply training to make the motions and combat second nature.

Harry had opted for two longswords similar to the one he'd used to kill the basilisk he'd encountered as a child. Much like Lara's weapons, they could be combined to form a single ranged weapon, this one a high caliber rifle he intended to use when he needed range that his pistol couldn't give him. He needed quite a bit of training in their use, but they were the weapon he felt fit most with what he intended.

Currently Lara was fighting Harry as Chief observed, mentally noting things that needed to be corrected. Harry had been limited to using his new weapons without magic, as the entire point of this was for him to learn how to use them properly. He was only allowed to enhance his physical capabilities enough to match their own, new aura enhancements.

Because of this, Lara was thrashing Harry, being much better at melee combat. She'd come in with a blisteringly fast flurry from her axes before hoping back with an enhanced leap and switching to her bow, firing as quickly as possible.

Not that Lara wasn't having her own issues. An unenhanced human suddenly gaining power had to adjust. Chief clearly remembered how he had accidentally killed an ODST after his own enhancements at fourteen, not having any true concept of his own strength at the time. It showed in Lara in how she stumbled from using too much force in jumps and dodges, or how she had to adjust from striking things harder than expected. She was learning quickly, however.

Harry's education was slower. He had excellent hand eye coordination, was fast and agile, and beyond tenacious. However, he was almost completely unused to melee except for the brief time with a machete in Silent Hill, having mostly relied on firearms or magic. But he was determined to learn, and he got back up no matter how many times he was knocked down.

Harry dodged another arrow Lara shot at him as she rushed him. He slashed at her with his right sword, which she dodge rolled under before springing up behind him. Before he could react she'd placed the bow against his neck and kicked his knee so he was kneeling, chocking him. "Yield." She said.

Harry flailed slightly, dropping his weapons, before reaching up and tapping her arm in surrender, after which she promptly let him go to gasp for breath.

Chief nodded. "That was decent. Lara's mistakes can be improved with continued practice. Harry, you had several options to get out of the chokehold, such as trying to stab her with your blades. You panicked."

"Not used to being choked out." Harry said, rubbing his neck as he stood up after picking his swords up.

"Don't ever give in to panic." The soldier replied gruffly.

Beast Boy patted Harry's shoulder as he walked onto the arena for his own spar with Alice. "You'll get it, dude. Can't be good at everything."

Harry grumbled as he ran his hands through his white streaked hair. "Whatever. Go get your ass kicked by Alice." BB chuckled as Harry headed up to the stands to sit and think.

The teachers had taken the explanation about what had happened to Harry to make him what he was surprisingly well. He was getting pretty tired of telling the story, but they'd seemed sympathetic. Afterwards they'd discussed getting some instruction from the teachers in the usage of aura, which they'd agreed to and set to begin the next day, since it was the weekend, which meant Glynda didn't have to worry about any classes.

As Beast Boy and Alice began fighting, Harry relaxed. The lance had been analyzed by Cortana, showing that it was clearing more slowly than it had before, which meant it would be a while longer before they could attempt to jump back to Lara's world. Said woman, sitting beside him, was obviously anxious but trying to deal with it by focusing on learning and improving on her new abilities.

He sighed, closing his eyes and beginning to doze. They'd resigned themselves to being stuck on Remnant for a while longer, so they were going to help the people of this world as best they could. As he rested, his mind began to plan…

Ironwood strode into Ozpin's office the next day while studying his scroll to discuss the new security measures they were going to be implementing in case of invasion. He had spoken to Roman Torchwick not long before, and gave the man an offer. A sizable sum of lien and a transfer to a secure location in Atlas where he would work for the military in crime prevention analytics, with guards protecting him at all times, or staying around for the attack on the tournament, where he and his associate Neopolitan would most likely die.

Torchwick had been shocked at the details Ironwood knew, becoming unnerved no matter how much he postured to deny that fact. James had left the man to stew. He hoped he'd make the sensible choice.

Ozpin looked up as his friend entered his office, pausing in his typing on his computer to sip his coffee. "Good morning, James."

Ironwood nodded. "Morning Ozpin." He glanced around. "Where are Glynda and Qrow?"

"Glynda is helping our guests get a handle of the best usage of their auras before leading them into the Emerald Forest to let them test themselves in actual combat against the Grimm. Qrow is spending time with teams RWBY and JNPR after his nieces asked for advice in training for the tournament. I dare say that group will be even more prepared than they were in what we viewed." Then he saw that Ironwood had barely looked up from his scroll. "What are you studying so intently?"

Ironwood finally tore his gaze away and sat down as he put his scroll in his pocket. "Blueprints and plans for various bits of technology Cortana had in her databases. She gave us an engine that could power a car or a bullhead that runs on water, Oz. Water! Imagine not having to worry about Dust supply shipments, or having a backup system in case of running out, or simply having more Dust to use in munitions rather than transport. A water based engine would be so much more effective at sea and in coastal areas. My mind is reeling at the possibilities, and I've already forwarded the information on that and other things she's provided to Doctor Polendina and the rest of R&D."

Ozpin took another sip of his coffee. "Jacques Schnee will not be happy." He said mildly, his tone making it abundantly clear that he couldn't care less. Indeed, Ozpin would be quite satisfied if this information gave the arrogant head of the Schnee Dust Company an aneurism. He'd never liked the bastard, and that hadn't been helped by what he'd seen in the show his guests had provided them. One of only reasons he didn't really want the company to go under and destroy Jacques was because it would practically destroy Weiss and Winter as well, and he actually quite liked them.

Ironwood evidently agreed. "Jacques can't do anything about it but rage." He said with a roll of his eyes. "Even if he goes to the Atlas Council in the hopes of getting it shut down, the technology is too valuable for them to accede to his wishes. No, he's just going t have to deal with a hit to his profits." Then he turned thoughtful. "Hmm, perhaps once we get finish the testing on the engines and begin production I can have some donated to Kuo Kuana… Might help relations with the faunus…"

"Assuming that the White Fang's assistance with the attack we're facing doesn't ruin the reputation of the faunus race as a whole…" Ozpin replied, sounding tired. "Honestly, it's so stupid…"

Ironwood grunted in agreement. "Think we should maybe get in contact with Ghira Belladona?"

Ozpin's eyebrows rose in surprise. "I'm surprised you would suggest that."

Ironwood shrugged. "He's got a decent head on his shoulders, if a bit too idealistic, and he's got influence amongst the faunus. If we tell him what we've discovered, if not how, then he might be willing to denounce the White Fang and accept the olive branch for the sake of human/faunus relations."

Now Ozpin was eying Ironwood. "Who are you, and what have you done with James Ironwood?"

Ironwood rolled his eyes. "Ha, ha. I'm trying to think tactically, Oz. We need allies, and we need to undermine the terrorist branch of the White Fang. Unless young Blake steps up as a faunus leader as she does in the attack on Haven, he's our best bet."

Ozpin sat back, thinking as he drank his coffee. "Speaking of Haven, we need to discuss Leonardo…"

Ironwood growled at the thought of the traitor who'd sold them out to Salem and the Grimm out of cowardice. "I say we should ask Cortana to find or fabricate some evidence against him and then have him arrested. It would remove one of Salem's pieces from the board."

Cortana's hologram suddenly appeared on the desk, her arms crossed. "I could certainly do that, General. It likely wouldn't be difficult to find something incriminating Professor Lionheart of sabotaging Hunters and sending them to their deaths. I probably wouldn't even need to fabricate anything. However, I would suggest keeping him around for a little while longer and feeding him false intel to make things easier on ourselves."

Ironwood and Ozpin were silent for a bit, staring at Cortana, before the Headmaster of Atlas spoke slightly shakily. "Have you been listening in on us the entire time, Cortana?"

"Not exactly." Cortana said, trying to sound reassuring. "I'm not actively listening in on your conversations, but I did leave a subroutine that informs me of certain keywords I might find interesting, including my name. I check to see if you're calling for me to discuss something, or if it's something I should have some input in, like now, and go from there." Then she glanced at Ozpin. "By the way, I've been a bit bored, so I ran through Beacon's financials. I found a way to free up a little over a hundred and fifty thousand lien in the budget, if you're interested."

Ozpin perked up. "Yes please."

Then the AI turned to a still somewhat unnerved Ironwood. "Oh, and someone's been embezzling money from Atlas Academy for about a decade now."

Ironwood's eyes sharpened. "What?" He growled.

"I'll send the information to your scroll." Cortana said with a light smile. "Last thing we need is someone sabotaging education."

Deciding to shake off the uneasiness he was feeling from having Cortana pseudo spy on them, Ironwood nodded in thanks. "Thank you. I'll make sure to go through it and take the appropriate actions."

Cortana nodded. "Alright. Anything else you wanted to discuss, gentlemen?"

The two glanced at each other before nodding. Cortana smiled as the conversation continued, a small fraction of her boredom alleviated.

Cortana was bored. Bored, bored, bored... Bored.

Sure, she had the entirety of Remnant's equivalent of the internet to play with, but in the end that wasn't saying much. The population of the world was much lower than almost any UNSC planet due to the Grimm. Not to mention that the CCT system they used for communications throttled data exchange by quite a bit compared to what she was used to. So there wasn't much to do online.

She mainly entertained herself by seeking out criminal activity online and reporting it to the relevant authorities. However, Remnant didn't have anything similar to a dark web, so not much was actually done online beyond point to point communications.

Other things were preparation for the future. The information on how to make mechashift weapons had been one of the first things she'd yanked, and she often performed simulations on how to incorporate the concept into UNSC tech. That would be extremely useful whenever Harry managed to get them back.

Not that she was honestly in much of a hurry. She knew her SPARTAN wanted to get back asap, but she was enjoying the prospect of seeing things that only ever existed in fiction. They'd been fighting for a long time, and after her brush with full blown Rampancy she wanted some damn shore leave.

The Rampancy was another consideration. She knew that as soon as she returned Halsey and ONI would want to study her endlessly to find out the secrets to Metastability. Not that she blamed them, but she didn't know what Harry had done, and she had definitely performed innumerable diagnostics on herself in an attempt to find out. Being suck in a lab while they tried to figure it out sounded like nothing less than torture.

Plus, she felt she owed Harry. He'd saved her life on what was essentially a whim. They hadn't known each other even close to well enough to warrant him trying to help her out of friendship, like Chief would have. When she'd asked him, he'd simply said it was the right thing to do. So now she wanted to help him, to repay that debt.

Though he never did explain what he did.

She was roused out of her thoughts when she encountered something new in the digital space. It wasn't a new cat video, either. It was a presence similar to what she'd recognize as a fellow AI, but more... primitive, like it was straddling the line between a Dumb AI and a Smart AI, edging closer to Smart. Cortana could only think of one being in all of Remnant that would match this feeling, and she let out the digital equivalent of a smile. -Hello, Penny Polendina.-

There was a moment of hesitation before the presence responded. :Salutations. May I ask who this is, and how you contacted me?:

-My name is Cortana. I'm an associate of General Ironwood. Feel free to ask him about me. It's always nice to meet another AI, even if we're not really all that similar.-

Another pause. :You're an AI? I wasn't made aware that anyone else was working on one. Did my father have any input on you? Could we meet in the real world? Oh, I have so many questions!:

Cortana let the digital equivalent of a chuckle reach Penny. -I wasn't created by Atlas, Penny. And unlike you, I'm a purely digital being. I don't have a gynoid body like you do.- She let out a wistful sigh. -I would like one, though. I've always been curious about what a hug would feel like.-

:Oh, hugs are wonderful!: Penny said. :I know I can't feel them exactly like humans can, but my father made sure that I would register a pleasant response when my sensors receive the feedback of one. It makes me feel... warm. Especially when my friend Ruby hugs me.: She was silent again before asking another question. :Since you weren't made by Atlas, can I ask how you were born? Or is that classified? I wasn't aware anyone by Atlas had the technology to create AIs, and even them, I'm just a prototype.:

-I don't mind telling you.- Cortana began. -It's pretty simple in concept. The quick version is that my 'mother', Doctor Halsey, made a digital copy of her brain and uploaded it. That's what I was born from.-

:Wow.: Penny said, awe coming through the connection. :My creation wasn't that simple. It took my father decades before he managed to successfully make me, and... and my 'siblings', the first iterations didn't... didn't come out right and had to be purged...: Penny was quite for a bit. :I'm extremely fortunate that I activated correctly, and that father wasn't forced to do that to me. I remember when I first came online. He cried, he was so happy it worked...:

-Sounds like he loves you a lot.- Cortana said gently.

:He does! He always tries to make sure I'm going to be safe. The best armor, the best weapons systems... He's always busy making sure I'm at 110%!:

-I'm glad.- Cortana said with a soft smile. She remembered what this innocent young girl's fate was supposed to be, and she could already feel an ember of protective wrath begin to burn in her code. Penny would survive this time. She'd make damned sure of it. -So, why don't you tell me about yourself? Any friends?-

:Oh yes! My first friend is called Ruby Rose! She's...:

The conversation lasted for a long time, longer than either of them expected, and Cortana enjoyed all thirty seconds of it.

She'd just found another reason to stay and help.

Yay, new chapter done!

Not much happens in this one. I was going to get into the beginning of the tournament, but then a reviewer reminded me that we haven't just had a breather chapter for character interaction since the beginning of Tomb Raider, if not earlier. So I thought a chapter like this one would be a good idea before we jump back into the crazy.

I had some people ask why I didn't unlock Cortana's aura. Mainly because she doesn't have a body to do it to. It would be odd to have Ironwood try to unlock a laptop's aura. Not to mention, Cortana isn't the same as Penny. Penny was created specifically to be able to have aura despite being artificial. They're completely different. So no guarantees on her ever getting aura. Her capabilities are already scary, though, as you'll soon see.

I think that's all for now. Not much more to say beyond the fact that we hit 900 reviews! We're so close to a thousand it's making me giddy.

Oh, I finally got my 3DS repaired, so for those who might be interested, I've finally updated my Chrono Trigger novelization. Give it a read and leave a review, if that's your thing.

Till next time, please review, and don't forget my Pat A Ron, /athanmortis .

Bye