I am sorry for the gap between this update and the last! I honestly lost a bit of motivation and this chapter just didn't want to get written. But I'm back with this update for you all!

I start school tomorrow, so expect slower updates in general. I apologise for anyone who really wanted consistent chapters but real life comes first!

Also thank you for the reviews, keep 'em coming!


The break had come and gone, and with its end, a new semester at Beacon Academy began. Alongside the new semester were the hordes of both tourists for the Vytal Tournament and transfer students that would be competing. The city of Vale and even Beacon Academy itself were the liveliest many of the students had ever seen.

"Alright team!" Yang shouted across the table, standing at the head, "we're gonna kick some more ass this semester! Hoorah!"

Yang noted, with no small amount of scrutiny, that only Ruby returned her hoorah. That just wouldn't do.

"Yang, whatever it is you're scheming, I highly suggest you tamp it down. We already agreed to help Adam on his rinky dink crusade that he calls a plan of action," Whitley intoned. Adam sent the boy a sidelong glance, Whitley ignoring him completely.

"Yeah! And that's why I said we're gonna kick more ass! As a team! Hoorah!" she stated proudly, hands on her hips.

"Guys," Ruby whispered to the two men of their team, "say hoorah!"

Both sighed deeply, but raised their hands lazily in the air, hand hanging limply as they did.

"Hoorah," they both said.

"That's the spirit!" Yang beamed.

"Uh guys," Pyrrha said from across the table, "maybe you shouldn't talk about your vigilantism plans so loudly in an open room."

Yang didn't even seem to register the redhead's words as she continued addressing her team. Pyrrha slumped and Jaune laughed and lay a hand on her shoulder. Yang noticed that Whitley wasn't even listening and tossed a grape at him to get his attention. He definitely didn't appreciate it.

"Don't worry Pyrrha!" Ren said happily, "Quests for freedom aren't the only thing that'll be happening this semester! We finally get to compete in the Vytal Tournament!"

Pyrrha slumped further and Nora made sure to elbow Ren in the solar plexus for that particular comment. Meanwhile across the table, Whitley tossed the offending grape back at Yang. She squawked in surprise.

"Don't worry Pyrrha," Jaune smiled lightly, moving his head to the side to dodge a small amount of pudding that had been thrown by Yang at Whitley, but had instead hit Adam, "you'll do fine! You'll do this team proud, just you wait."

Pyrrha blushed but did perk up slightly, encouraged by her partner's words. Ren gave her a big thumbs up and Nora nodded along as well. They were right! She would help lead her team to victory—

The thought was cut off as a bowl of oatmeal made itself familiar with the spartans face.

Adam had his head in his hands and Yang was busy trying not to fall over laughing. Whitley looked at the faunus in disappointment and Ruby looked embarrassed for the whole team.

"This. Is. WAR!" Ren shouted.

And just like that a stack of sticky, syrupy pancakes became one with Ruby's face. The test of her team stared at the reaper in shock.

The real fight started after that.


"Oh my god, you're totally gonna love these guys! They aren't just a bunch of clowns, they're the whole damn circus!" Neon laughed as she skated alongside her partner.

"Well shit, if they're as interesting as you say then I'm sure we'll all get along," he said, strolling next to her with not a care in the world.

"Oh they are Flynt! They're somehow cool, and terrible at the same time! It's awesome!" she laughed. Flynt laughed as well. They sounded like a real party.

He adjusted his hat and blinked after catching something in the corner of his eye. It looked like a person had been thrown against the window but he shook it off. That couldn't have been true.

"Oh, and there's this guy..."

"And this girl, yes, I know, you've told me already," he laughed. She huffed and pouted.

"Well excuse me for having a heart!" she humphed, "And the guys got competition! And I'm almost positive the girl is kinda into the guy! I'm at, like, the bottom of the love triangle!"

Flynt didn't drop his smile, but he did lay a hand on the girls back as she sighed.

"Want me to hype you up? You know I'm good for it," he offered. The look she gave him was what one could only describe as 'desperate'.

"Yes please," she said as she rolled forward dejectedly. He laughed again.

"You may not wanna look like a kicked puppy when we get in there," he suggested. She glared at him, her mood changing in an instant.

"Shush you," she warned as she composed herself. All he did was roll his eyes and smirk. He'd dealt with all of this before.

"Neon! Flynt!" a new voice called. Neon perked and turned and Flynt smiled as he saw who it was.

"Well if it isn't Little Miss Polendina," he bowed and waved his hat with a flourish, "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"Such a flatterer," another voice said flatly. Neon huffed and Flynt rolled his eyes again.

"And if it isn't Miss Moneybags herself," he said as he placed his hat back on his head and stared down at the girl walking up behind Penny, "hello to you too Weiss."

"Yes," Neon pinched a non-existent mustache and twirled it, "to what do we owe such a suspicious conclusion?"

"I think you mean auspicious occasion," Flynt smirked. Brine scowled and icked his arm.

Weiss stuck up her chin, but by this point they all knew that was one of her ways of showing she cared.

"That's Madame Moneybags to you, sir," she said haughtily, her voice snide as she attempted to look down on him. It was in vain due to her short stature. He laughed and could see the smile edging its way onto her face as well. She turned her eye on Neon.

"Penny has told me of your exploits since you two arrived. I must say, I know you've got a lot of energy, but—"

"Hey, we only helped with the attack at the docks because our friend was in trouble," Neon cut her off. Weiss shot her a quizzical look.

"Attack? What are you talking about? Penny told me you've been stalking some poor boy," Weiss stated, turning an icy gaze into her partner, whose mouth was in a thin line as she stared forward and stood as still as possible.

"Weiss! Wouldn't you much rather see your brother again!?" Penny said loudly, obviously trying to distract the girl. Weiss just groaned and flipped her ponytail out of her face.

"We will have words, Penny," Weiss promised. Penny slumped as Neon and Flynt laughed.

"They should be eating in here right now," Neon said as she came upon the door to the cafeteria. Without pause she threw the large doors open and the four Atlesians stepped inside, expecting a normal dining environment.

Instead they were met with a warzone.

"WHAT ON REMNANT!?" Weiss shrieked as she ducked, a student flew overhead shortly after and out the door. Penny and Neon didn't even seem fazed, a fact that made Weiss fear for what the students at Beacon were like. Flynt at least looked slightly perturbed, with a face that was a mix of confusion and disbelief.

"Is this... Normal?" Flynt asked. Neon shrugged and walked towards the side of the room, mostly away from the battlefield.

"Eh, normal enough," she drawled.

"Yes! Your brother's team is quite the lively bunch!" Penny didn't even seem to mind the war going on around them.

"Hah! I doubt my brother would participate in such a ridiculous battle such as this!" Weiss crossed her arms. Whitley was much too well mannered to even consider—

"Uh, princess?" Flynt snapped her out of her thoughts by pointing past her face at something. Or someone, rather.

"WE POSSESS THE NEVER SAY DIE SPIRIT! HOORAH!" a young blonde girl shouted. Three more individuals sprouted up behind her, one of which she recognized immediately.

"HOORAH!" the three echoed before they dove forward. Weiss's mouth was hung open as she watched her brother partake in the scene before them. They seemed to be fighting quite viciously with another team of— was that Jaune Arc!?

Indeed, The Immovable Champion himself was there on the front lines, fighting off a man with red hair and the blonde girl from before.

A wide and feral grin crossed Yang's face as she threw a right hook towards Jaune's head, her hands deep in two rotisserie chickens. The champion didn't even flinch as he raised a tray to block her hand before stabbing at her with an especially long looking asparagus.

Adam leapt from behind him, his eyes glowing as he brought down a long baguette on top of Jaune's head. The boy grunted but spun, slamming the vegetable into Adam's ribs, sending him sprawling.

"MY BRETHREN!" Yang cried, running and grabbing the man off the floor. She grunted when Ruby ran by and grabbed both of them, moving then out of the way of an incoming Nora.

The ginger landed with a crash, slamming a giant slab of meat the size of an elementary school child into the floor that had been spit-roasting in the kitchen, holding the food-turned-weapon by the metal stake. What animal it came from and why they served it at Beacon was beyond anyone, much like why there was a swordfish laying in the kitchen.

Nora yelped when she felt something enter her ear. She reached a hand up and felt her ear, grimacing when she realized it was ketchup.

Whitley stood on top of a table, a ketchup bottle in hand as he shot the condiment with pinpoint accuracy from across the room. He continued his assault, but hissed and fell back when a breadstick skewered the table space he'd just occupied.

"DAMN I MISSED!" Ren swore as he knocked another breadstick in his makeshift bow that he'd crafted with a long, curved leek and a line of candy rope.

He let loose four more shots before he was forced to retreat when Yang jabbed his chin. He batted her away with the leek, smacking her fists each time they came near his face. She nearly gained ground when a soda can impacted her head and exploded all over her. She felt the sticky drink drop down her. She saw that it had doused her dad's bandana that she always kept on her left arm.

"Uh oh," Pyrrha winced when the blonde turned, her eyes a blazing red.

Yang launched forward with a shout, and Pyrrha flung herself backwards to avoid the devastating punch. The brawler landed and turned again, eyes still burning as she stared down Team PAVL. She roared as she flew again, fire biting around her as she picked up speed.

Jaune leapt in front of his team and threw the tray he was using as a shield in front of him and braced himself. When the girl impacted the sheet of metal at full force, he grit his teeth from the force. Unfortunately, since there was no strap on the tray like there was on his shield, he was unprepared for the result of the strike.

The shockwave from the tray exploded out and threw him and his team behind him backwards and against the wall opposite of the room. It cracked as they struck it, the room going silent as they all watched the brawler take a few deep breaths and calm down.

Weiss looked like she'd just witnessed a murder at the carnage d that had been displayed. Flynt was pale, realizing that there was a very real possibility he'd have to fight these lunatics. Penny and Neon both just watched in fascination.

Then the doors slammed open a second time.

Every object in the room began flying around, seeming to right themselves and fall back into place methodically. The four Atlesians turned and watched the furious Glynda Goodwitch slam the last table into place.

"Ah tits," Yang cursed.

"Children," she turned her glare on Adam, "and adult."

Adam didn't seem sorry in the slightest. He winced when Ruby pulled an apple that had gotten lodged on his horn sometime during the fight. He nodded his thanks to her.

"What in all that is sacred and holy tempted you to do this to the dining hall?" she seethed.

"They started it!" Yang and Ren both called, pointing at the other. The woman growled and her grip on her crop tightened so much that one could hear it straining.

"Calm blue ocean, Glynda," Ozpin smiled easily as he strolled in and stopped next to her, talking so that only she could hear him "as wasteful as this was, I see no reason to carry out any harsh punishment on them."

"Ozpin, we cannot allow them to just destroy the school grounds simply because you need them for your—" she stopped when he held a hand up.

"Careful Glynda, you never know who's listening," he warned. She growled again but stayed silent. Ozpin and his plans would be the death of her.

"Why don't you all show our new visitors around?" Ozpin said loudly, getting all eight's attention. He gestured casually to where Neon was laughing at the scene they'd caused.

"SISTER!?" Whitely shouted before gasping and hiding behind Adam.

"That's your brother?" Flynt asked. Weiss glowered as the four of them stalked forward.

"Yes," she sighed, "yes he is."


The large group had dispersed momentarily so that the two teams could clean themselves after the food fight. Afterwards they had met in the gardens, in the spot that was quickly becoming the two teams regular downtime space. Mostly because Ren made it impossible to stay in the library lest they all wanted to be banned.

As they all say around the gardens, the two new arrivals stood between Neon and Penny, who stood ready to introduce them.

It was a pleasant day out, especially when one ignored the fact that about an hour prior the entire cafeteria looked like it had been struck by a small tornado. Not to mention that an incredibly pissed off Glynda Goodwitch now stomped through the halls of Beacon, striking fear into the hearts of many god-fearing students.

What a nice first day for some of the transfer students!

"So everyone," Neon started, throwing her hands towards Flynt, "this is my partner and leader, Flynt! Flynt, this is everyone else."

"Gee, thanks for the introduction," Yang rolled her eyes at the faunus. Neon stuck her tongue out but still didn't introduce them any further.

"Uh, right then," Pyrrha took the initiative, stepping forward, "well, I'm Pyrrha! I'm the leader of Team PAVL."

"I'm Jaune," the champion stepped to stand next to his partner.

"Nora," the girl offered nothing more than a nod.

"And I'm Ren!" the ninja jumped on top of Nora, who grunted at the new weight. Team PAVL then turned to their sister team, where Yang stepped up first.

"I'm Yang! And this is Team YSTR!" the brawler waved to her teammates. She tugged Ruby forward and pushed the older girl in front of her.

"I-I'm Ruby! It's nice to meet you!" the reaper said, standing rigid as she spoke. Adam walked up beside her.

"Adam," unlike Nora, he didn't even accompany the greeting with a nod. He simply stared the man down. Flynt shot Neon a look that said 'this can't be the guy', to which the cat girl simply averted eye contact.

The clearing was silent for a moment, and Yang tapped her foot impatiently. After about a minute she groaned.

"Whitley!" she barked, "Come on already!"

They all turned to stare at the boy, only to find him having a staring contest with the other Atlesian that had been brought along. It didn't take a genius to find one of the numerous connections between him and the girl with white hair.

"Uh, dude?" Yang nudged him, losing her annoyance in place of worry. He seemed to barely recognize where he was. When the blonde elbowed him again he snapped back to the real world.

"I'm Whitley," he said simply.

"Is that how you introduce yourself now?" the girl in white asked, cocking her hip to the side and crossing her arms.

"Oh! Was that a Valean greeting?" Penny asked enthusiastically. She cleared her throat and stood behind the shorter girl. Said girl yelped when Penny looped both arms under her own, before lifterling her into the air like a child.

"This is Weiss! She is my partner and noble leader!" the ginger claimed as she held the girl aloft. Weiss flailed, one hand holding her skirt down while the other smacked the air behind her in an attempt to get Penny to drop her.

"Let go of me you oaf!" Weiss cried. Penny did so immediately, which Weiss clearly wasn't expecting seeing as she tripped and fell.

"That's the sister you've been telling us about?" Yang asked.

"Yes, what of her?" Whitley asked, a slight edge to his voice.

"Well, I just thought she'd be... Taller?" Yang said.

"EXCUSE ME!?" Weiss shot up from the ground and stood on the balls of her feet as she leered at the brawler.

"Ohhh, now I see the relation," Yang said as she watched the girl fume.

"And what is that supposed to mean!?" both Schnee's hissed, glaring holes through the girl. Yang wilted a little under the intensity of both.

"Whitley!" Weiss's tone was sharp, "Who is this rude girl?"

Whitley's glare faded slightly as he stared between the blonde and his sister.

"This is... My partner," he told her. She looked at Yang, then at him, then behind her at Penny, who was beaming the whole time.

"I see neither of our partners are capable of tact," she sighed, slumping as the fiery look in her eyes fizzled out.

"Hey! I'm tasteful!" Yang humphed.

"It's tactful you buffoon!" Whitley stomped.

"Oh! Weiss! Am I tasty as well!?" Penny asked.

"You just heard my brother correct her, you imbecile!" Weiss groaned.

"I like this," Adam leaned and said quietly to Ruby, "watching them both get angry satisfies a secluded part of my soul."

Ruby smirked and covered her mouth to hide the laugh, elbowing him in the chest. That was rude! Funny, and in no way unfounded considering the man's past, but rude nonetheless!

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you both," Jaune said, taking control of the situation, "Penny and Neon have been great friends since they've arrived in Vale."

"I would hope so," Flynt smirked, looking down at his partner, "she had a habit of getting into trouble."

"I do not!" she pouted.

"Yes you do," Adam deadpanned. The girl hissed at him for outing her but he didn't flinch.

"Case and point," Flynt laughed, "but thanks for looking after her in my absence."

"That goes for my partner as well," Weiss curtsied a little, "I know she can be a tad dense, but I thank you for keeping her alive."

"Like she even needed the help," Adam grumbled, remembering the carnage that the ginger was capable of. Now that he thought about it, Nora could cause a similar amount of destruction when she wanted to. Maybe ginger girls were just an omen for overkill.

The group fell into a comfortable setting, taking time to get to know the new arrivals, while also learning more about Penny and Neon as well.

"So you're the girl acting as my stand-in for my brother," Weiss and Ruby sat on a small stone bench, watching the others converse with the much more chatty Flynt, Penny, and Neon.

"Ah, well, I didn't replace you, I just helped him when he hit a rough patch! Uh! Not that he isn't great, just that sometimes we all need a little help!" Ruby replied nervously. Weiss's smile was small, but it somehow made her look like a different person.

"Thank you then, Ruby," she bowed her head, "I know that my brother likely wasn't the most agreeable person at all times, but it means a lot that you'd help him where I couldn't."

Ruby smiled warmly. Weiss was a very genuine person when you got past the cool shell she had. Ruby was thankful she hadn't stayed as abrasive as she had been when introduced to them.

"Well, it came easily enough. It's a sister power," Ruby said jokingly. Weiss's smile grew a little more as she watched Whitley argue with Adam about something.

"Well I'm happy to see he's come into his own with you all," Weiss turned back to her, "I must be honest, I was afraid he would turn people away with his attitude."

"Uh, well," Ruby laughed and blushed a little, "there were a few bumps here and there, but we all pulled through easily enough."

Weiss sighed, but her smile didn't go away. Ruby counted this as a win! Smiles were always good!

Meanwhile Flynt was having a much different conversation across the small area they were in.

"I can't help but feel it might have been your own fault that the cactus died," he said after Ren finished explaining why his succulent cactus had 'mysteriously' died after only two weeks.

"Believe me," Nora laid a hand on his shoulder, "there is no explaining this to him."

"Damn right!" Ren said proudly. Nora sighed but Flynt laughed. They were a handful but they were fun.

"I'm just saying," he heard Whitley hiss as the boy talked to his older teammate, "that should you really insist on chasing after them, you need a better plan then 'hit them hard until they stop'!"

"It works for Yang," Adam grumbled.

"When Yang does it she's actually thinking of what the end goal is seventy percent of the time!" Whitley exclaimed.

"Hey! I like to think I'm thinking at least eighty percent!" the young girl argued.

"Don't push it," Whitley didn't even turn her way, keeping his full glare on Adam.

"Can you guys not talk about fighting terrorists for like ten minutes!?" Ren groaned and slumped, Nora having to hold his arms so he didn't lay on the ground.

"WHAT!?" Weiss screeched from her seat next to Ruby. Ruby for her part looked shocked at the octave that the shorter girl could reach.

"Uh, whoopsies?" Ren laughed sheepishly, his team dipping their heads in exasperation.

"Whitley Amadeus Schnee! I know I did not just hear that you've been going around fighting terrorists!" Weiss stomped over, standing on her toes to try and look down on the boy. It didn't work, she was still shorter. He knew better than to point that out though. Ruby followed as well, standing beside her own sibling.

"Amadeus?" Yang tilted her head. Ruby just covered her mouth.

"Weiss! I— well, it isn't me who has been... That is to say—!" he was silenced as a finger was held over his lips.

"Explain," she growled. Ruby shivered. That was the same girl who she had just been bonding with over being sisters! She had seemed to warm and down to earth!

Ruby thanked her stars that she had made a good impression on her, lest she be faced with her bad side.

"Well..." Whitley looked towards Adam, both silently communicating what could and could not be said.

"Our friend Adam here had a run in with the Wh— Ahem, some shady individuals," better he not utter the name of the group lest his sister go berserk, "and he has a death wish to see to their organizations downfall."

Weiss slowly turned to Adam, who for the second time in his life was staring down one of the people he had been told he should hate. She had a glare that could freeze a forest fire.

"Whitley," he spoke out the side of his mouth, "ix-nay on the an-play."

"And why exactly are you dragging my brother into your— your... Crusade!?" Weiss asked. Adam sighed internally. They spoke the same too.

"Hey, he asked to come along," Adam shot back. Weiss whirled back around to Whitley, who sent Adam an unamused look. Adam shrugged in return.

"Okay, okay," Yang stepped in before Weiss could blow a gasket, "we uh, kind of turned it into a team thing? If you gotta get mad at anyone, get mad at me!"

Weiss did exactly that.

"You're the leader of this team! What are you thinking allowing your friends to charge into the city and fight criminals without any form of supervision!? What happens if one of you gets kidnapped!?" Weiss continued to rant for about two minutes straight with no pauses. Everyone sans the other Atlesian students and Whitley, who were very familiar with Weiss already, stared in shock at how much rage one person could hold in such a small body.

"And as leader of my team," Yang said, holding up her hands to placate the girl, "I figured that if one of my teammates can't keep his justice boner in his pants, we may as well all have our dicks out."

One couldn't blame Yang for making a valid point. One could absolutely blame her for her choice of wording. If Weiss seemed furious before, she looked like she could commit a murder in the second degree without batting an eye now.

"Your. What's?" the frosty girl growled out.

"Justice boner? Redemption erection? Heroic stiffy?" Yang listed as though Weiss were the one who had misstepped.

"Yang I don't think you... Want this," Whitley tried, for once very mundane in his advising of the brawler.

"Want what?" Yang asked as she turned to look at him. That was her first mistake. Never take your eyes off an opponent.

The garden looked like an ice age had arrived just a moment later.


Ozpin turned in his chair as the elevator dinged. He knew who it was. The army floating above his school and Vale was quite telling.

"Ozpin," General James Ironwood greeted, a hardly visible smile to his face. The man looked like he'd barely aged since the first time they'd met.

"James. You certainly have made quite the... Display, upon your arrival to Vale," Ozpin nodded.

"Call it what you will Oz, but I won't let anything happen in Vale so long as there are Atlas citizens in the kingdom," Ironwood's barely present smile vanished like that.

"Is that the only reason you brought your army to the city? You're protecting your own visiting people?" Ozpin gestured to the pot of coffee on his desk out of habit. Ironwood didn't even acknowledge the gesture and simply stood before his desk, unmoving and stalwartly.

"It's true that I refuse to let any of my own citizens get hurt during an event that promotes togetherness," Ironwood agreed, "but we both know that there's more going on here than is immediately visible."

"I assure you I have someone on the scene, James. Someone discreet. This," he waved towards one of the massive destroyers as it passed the window over the school grounds, "is anything but discreet."

"We can't sit idly by and twiddle our thumbs," Ironwood leaned over Ozpin's desk and stared him in the eyes, "we need to take the necessary steps to ensure that if anything happens here, we're prepared to do all we can to help as many people as possible."

Neither man said anything. Ozpin knew that James wouldn't take anyone's word here. He was a calculated man and Ozpin didn't know him to do things halfway. If James said he'd go through with something, he would do so. Suddenly, there was a ring from Ozpin's desk. He thumbed the device and allowed Glynda to speak.

"Ozpin, there are dignitaries that you need to meet in fifteen minutes," she said, all business. Ozpin sighed and told her he'd be down momentarily.

"We shall discuss this more later," Ozpin told James as he stood. The general was already waiting by the elevator.

"There is nothing more to discuss," Ironwood said as he entered the elevator, "I plan on protecting whoever I can Ozpin. Even if you do not."

With that the general was gone. Ozpin frowned lightly into his coffee.

That went as well as he expected it to.


Night had fallen on Vale, and the night life was bustling with so many students coming back to Beacon from their short break. Alongside the students, both returning and transfers, there were also the growing number of visitors and tourists for the festival, making Vale quite the crowded city at the moment.

Raven stood atop a roof overlooking the streets. She watched as the small groups of people traveled from bar to bar or club to club, no care for tomorrow's hangover.

She however, was on a mission. She turned and jumped to the next building, running across the rooftops as she approached her destination. Omen hung at her hip, one hand constantly holding the hilt, poised to strike.

This was almost definitely a trap. And even if it wasn't, the person she was meeting definitely wasn't someone she would call an ally. Whoever had wanted to meet with her was part of the enemy, she was certain.

She finally arrived back at the destination she had scoped out. She made sure nobody else was around before she leapt from the roof, landing almost silently in front of the building. The door wasn't locked and inside the lights were out. She didn't know where in this place she was supposed to meet this person, but she wasn't going to drop her guard and ask if anyone was there.

The old building was large, and she could see through the hallways and rooms that it had gone unused for years now. There were signs of homeless people living here and there once upon a time, but it was clear they had all vacated. The stairs led up and down, though the basement was caged off and locked up, and it didn't look like anyone had touched the damn thing.

Which meant she was going up. Smart move, were she anyone else.

Holding a meeting like this on a higher floor made it harder for a person to escape. Have someone cut off the stairs and the only option left is to jump. Most people couldn't turn into a bird or open a portal to a family member like she could.

She walked up the stairs. From what she could tell from the outside, the building was about six stories. The second floor was as empty as the first. There weren't even the same signs of people living in the old rooms as there were below. She figured by that point that she was likely supposed to go straight to the top.

Raven walked up the steps slowly, alert and ready to strike should the need arise. Given the situation it was incredibly likely that she'd be fighting.

She neared the top and set her face in as stoney an expression as she could. She would give these people no chance of reading her. She may have been here at their askance, but she'd be damned if she was going to let anyone control the flow of this meeting.

Time to move, she sighed as she finally took the last few steps into the final floor.

It was obvious that this was where her secret messenger was hiding. The floor wasn't in much better shape in terms of structure, but it was noticeably cleaner and smelled much better than the floors below.

Unlike the other floors, there was only one door here. For what reason, she wouldn't know. It worked well for someone using it as a base as there was no chance of someone hiding out in another room.

She stood before the door, staring at it. Perhaps if she focused hard enough she'd be able to see through it and see who was awaiting her inside. Unfortunately this wasn't the case, and she knew her only option was to take the plunge.

Steeling herself, she opened the door and stepped inside.

What she was met with was not what she was expecting.

"Oh shit!" a boy with gray hair swore, falling backwards from his seat. He had been eating something and had saved his meal rather than himself.

There was a girl across from him, eyes wide as she stared at Raven. She looked like she was trying to find something to say but was in the process of drinking some kind of soda out of a can.

All in all, this wasn't the ambush that Raven was expecting. Matter of fact, it wasn't an ambush at all.

"Mercury, what's going on in he—" a woman who looked older than both of them stepped in, looking like she'd just gotten out of the shower. She had only a pair of towels covering her hair and body, leaving her terribly scarred eye visible. She stared at Raven as though a fire had started right at the door. She looked younger than Raven, likely in her twenties or so.

For a long time, not a single one of the four people present said a word. There wasn't even a sound of anyone breathing, every person stuck in time as they took in the scene.

Finally, Raven had enough, and she broke the silence.

"Are... You the one who wanted to meet me?" Raven asked awkwardly. She had never been a conversationalist, that one belonged to the rest of her team.

"Ah," the woman clearly had been expecting her later, "I... You're quite punctual."

Again, silence rained. Nobody really knew what to say in this situation.

"Want a drink?" the boy on the floor asked.

What had her life become?


Raven had recovered fast, after forming with Summer, Taiyang, and her idiot brother while at Beacon she had her fair share of awkward walk in moments. She was a little out of practice dealing with them, but she felt she handled it better than most. 'Most' in this case were the three others in the room.

The scarred woman had offered Raven a seat on a couch with herself sat opposite of her on a single chair. Her two partners stood behind her to either side. Raven knew that this was supposed to inspire some sort of feeling of cunning and that they had this all planned out, but after her first impression of these three she could tell they weren't nearly as together as they wanted to seem.

"So you're Raven Branwen," the woman spoke, one leg crossed over the other.

Raven wanted to scoff. This meeting was already turning out to be a waste of her time.

"And you're agents of Salem," Raven shot back. The two behind the woman tensed, but the scarred woman did nothing more than narrow her eyes.

"Why did you want me here?" Raven asked, not willing to let this woman beat around the bush.

"Hm, not one for small talk, are you?" she asked. Raven set her jaw and allowed a hand to drift to the hilt of Omen.

"I didn't think people working for someone like Salem would be so bad at planning something as simple as a meeting," Raven mused. That got a growl out of the woman across from her.

"I did not request you here to fight you," she hissed, "I merely wished to... Open your eyes, so to speak."

"What are you talking about?" Raven was through with the theatrics. Why would one of Salem's minions want to talk to her, who was known to be working with Ozpin?

"How much do you know about the man you work for?" she asked. Raven glared. What was her game?

"We do not wish to fight you Raven. Salem does not wish to fight you," she said. Raven stood and leveled the tip of her blade under the woman's chin. The boy and girl were hardly fast enough to react in time, dropping into stance as they prepared to fight her.

"I am not joining your cause," Raven ground out from behind her teeth.

"I am not asking you to," the woman said, staying completely still, "I am trying to warn you."

"Warn me of what?" Raven spat. The woman had a look that said Raven had finally asked her exactly what she was waiting for.

"That you are making a grave mistake following Ozpin and his orders. His vision," she said.

Raven pressed forward a little, the woman's aura flaring slightly.

"Explain."

"Remove yourself from me," she requested. Raven and her gaze clashed, two forces meeting in a deadlock. The woman made no move to stop Raven from pressing more, not did she try to move the blade manually.

After what felt like an eternity, Raven eased very slowly off of the woman, sheathing her sword but keeping her hand on it as a threat.

"What is your name," is was a demand, not a question that Raven bit out.

"I am Cinder Fall. These two are Mercury and Emerald," she gestured behind her. Both still stood tense and ready to fight.

"Why on Remnant should I not kill all of you where we stand?"

"Because we are not the enemies that Ozpin is painting us to be," Cinder did not break eye contact the entire time. Raven stared into her one good eye, sensing only firm resolve in it.

"Then who are you really? What is it that Ozpin is keeping from me? From the world? If you're so sure that you aren't clearly the bringers of misfortune for Remnant, then what are you doing here?" Raven finally decided to test how much Cinder would tell her.

"I can answer most of your questions by just answering the first," Cinder told her. Raven held her steely glare.

Cinder closed her one eye, holding one hand up. One could feel the power hum throughout the room, as a small wind picked up and a flame manifested in the palm of her hand. Ravens eyes widened and the grip on her sword grew tighter, her knuckles turning white.

"As I said before," she open her eye as an orange flame burned around it, "my name is Cinder Fall."

"The fall maiden..." Raven growled. Cinder waved her hand to placate the older woman.

"Only half of her," she said, the ice in her voice obvious.

"Half?" Raven asked before she could stop herself.

"Yes, half," Cinder hissed, looking at one of the windows and seeing the reflection of her scarred face.

"How did that happen? What did you do?" Raven stood, ready to fight. Cinder remained seated though, and didn't seem to want to fight at all.

"I didn't do anything," Cinder said, and Raven could sense nothing but honesty in her words, "I am what is left of the natural fall maiden."

"Natural? What do you mean natural?" Raven was lost. The maiden's powers were already unnatural! They were literally magic!

"I inherited the powers from the previous fall maiden, but as I said I now only hold half of them," Cinder explained.

"Then what happened to the other half?"

Cinder glared out the window, staring through it this time and right at the shining light of Beacon tower. Where she could sense the oh so familiar feeling, the tug and pull of her power. Where she could feel the presence of something capable of ruining the world...

"Somebody stole it."

Where Ozpin was.


BUM BUM BUUUUUM!

To everyone that said at the beginning of this story that it was weird that everyone changed but Ozpin and Salem didn't—

Well, I won't say anymore. What's the fun in that?

I hope you all enjoyed this one! Weiss makes her glorious return as well as the beginning of the era of Flynt! Very excited to have these two in the story now!

Remember to leave a review and tell me what you think and follow if you want to stay updated!

Stay safe out there and have a wonderful time!


Omake: Flynt and the funkalicious five

"I gotta tell ya Flynt, it's nice having another guy around," Ren said as he, Jaune, Adam, Whitley, and the aforementioned Flynt sat under a tree.

"Aren't your team's even with guys and girls though?" Flynt asked. Surprisingly, Adam was the one to speak up.

"With your partner, Penny, Velvet, and her partner Coco around, we may as well still be outnumbered by a team. That's not even mentioning Whitley's sister joining the ranks," the man listed lazily.

"Well damn, y'all make it sound like a bad thing," Flynt laughed.

"It's not bad," Jaune said, an awkward smile on his face, "it's just a little overbearing sometimes."

"Well then we can all be a little getaway from the estrogen in that circle," Flynt smirked. That got a laugh out of Ren, and a snort out of Adam.

"Any time I don't have to spend hearing Yang talk about how much she wishes her, ugh, 'girls' would fill out more is time well spent to me," Whitley grumbled. That got another round of mirth from the crew.

"We should have a name! Like a gang!" Ren said as he sprung up.

"I'd rather not associate myself with a gang," Whitley said, uncaring of the idea.

"What would we even call ourselves?" Flynt asked.

"I don't think—" Jaune was silenced by Adam, who covered his mouth and mouthed 'let it happen'. Jaune smiled in exasperation.

"What about the Blonde Boys!" Ren exclaimed.

"Only I'm blonde..." Jaune mumbled.

"The Manly Men?" Ren tried again. Whitley scoffed and gagged at that one.

"Don't even try," the boy glared.

"Hmm..." Ren looked around. There were five of them... Flynt brought a whole new level of 'chill' and 'cool' to the group... The gears were turning... Turning... AHA!

"The Funkalicious Five!" Ren said.

"What? That sounds like a band—" Adam was cut off as Flynt shit up and grabbed Ren's hand in a flex grip.

"Sounds like a winner to me!" he grinned. Ren cheered. The other three slumped.

And so began the pact of the Funkalicious Five.