RWBY: Destiny of Remnant

by UGX7

In the wake of the fall Team RNJR sets out to bring Cinder Fall to justice while the new Fall Maiden overlooks her master's plan in Haven City. Meanwhile Weiss tries to help a friend, Yang struggles with the loss of her arm, and Blake deals with guilt over the White Fang. Meanwhile someone from Cinder's past returns and Salem's newest pawn rises. Arkos, WhiteRose, SunnyBees, Renora

48. Fate of the White Fang

RWBY: Destiny of Remnant

Chapter 48: Fate of the White Fang

It was a calm clearing about a mile or so from the village of Oro. It was usually serene, one children would come to play and where deer, rabbits, and other animals would graze for food. But right now there was a horrific sight that marred the center of the peaceful meadow. The body of Adam Taurus had landed on the ground with a sickening crunch and smashing sound, ending his life.

His body lay on the ground, mangled and broken by the impact he had made after his long fall. Bones were sticking out of the limbs, his remaining arm, legs, and spine were all bent up in painful and unnatural positions, one of his horns had nearly been twisted off his skull, and his head had nearly been knocked off so it was disturbingly moving towards the left, leaving a good portion of his neck sticking out. Bloody cracks created by the sudden stop covered his skin, causing blood to pour from them, as well as his nose, mouth, head, and other places on his body. His dead eyes stared up to the sky, but his dying moments of anger and overwhelming fear had been imprinted on the red orbs as they stared up into the sky.

No one was there to look over the body, well no one living anyway.

The spirit of Adam Taurus looked mournfully over his corpse, and he could do nothing but look at it and regret the terrible choices he had made and allow himself to be overcome by the realization of his sins. He just sat there on his knees, looking at his body as the reality of his new situation became apparent.

He was dead.

Just then there was the sound of wings flapping, but Adam didn't bother to turn around until a firm hand grabbed his shoulder. He glanced up and saw a woman that looked like Yang Xiao Long, but with raven black hair and red eyes, with a matching color scheme on her outfit. "Adam Taurus." she said.

He nodded. "So I'm clearly dead. What is this? What are you? An angel of death that took the form of Xiao Long to torment me further?" he inquired with a monotone voice. He wasn't even angry anymore. What was there to be angry about? He was dead.

"No, but that would be appropriate after everything you did to my daughter." The woman voiced.

Adam looked back at her, realizing who she was; the woman Cinder had slain in Haven, Xiao Long's mother.

"So whatever this afterlife is sent you to collect me. Fitting I guess." He sighed as he just kept staring at his body.

"That's a bit complicated, but I do consider myself lucky I got to take you." She said as she looked at the ruined body. "You deserve what sentence you were given; The Nothing, an endless void of nothing, where you will be alone for the rest of eternity, along with your sins and the memories of them."

Adam sighed and said "Makes sense. After everything I did I guess it's fair. Murder, theft, mutilation, abusing the girl who loved me, betrayal, terrorism, arson... I could go on, but that's pointless. Normally I would fight it... but it doesn't matter, does it?"

"No." Raven confirmed.

"Figured. There's no coming back from this, is there?" he asked, his voice raspy and hollow.

"No. There are some people who get a second chance at life because they earned it, but you aren't one of those people." Raven stated.

Adam nodded and rose up, his eyes never leaving his ruined body. He reached up and touched his forehead, feeling the brand was still there. "All of this happened because of the cruelty of humanity... but I suppose that in the end I became just as bad." He said, his voice filled with regret.

"Yes, you did." Raven said with a nod. "Come on Taurus, you have a long..."

Just then a vortex opened up before they. Raven quickly turned back into her avian form as Adam looked at the portal, as an all too familiar figure emerged: Salem.

The Mistress of Grimm looked down at the broken body and shook her head. "Such a waste, you had such potential Adam. You will, however, still serve a purpose. I'm not done with you yet." She said as she picked his body up effortlessly and began to head back to the portal.

Adam's spirit and Raven kept watching her, waiting for her to depart, but she stopped and looked back. She stared right at where Adam's spirit was before glancing down to where Raven was in her animal form... and she smiled. Despite the fact that she was technically dead Raven's blood ran cold under the stare of those red and black eyes the bore into the soul of whoever they gazed upon. She was in her animal form, which should appear as just another raven to anyone living, but then again it made sense that Salem would know about these things.

"Hello little raven. I didn't think Adam's sins were that bad, but after a while I stopped caring about such things when I knew I was safe from any afterlife. Enjoy the Nothing Adam, you served me adequately and your body will continue to do so."

Salem walked into the portal which closed behind her, leaving the two alone in the clearing with nothing but the trees, the grass, the air, the sounds of animals, and the bloodstained impact zone where Adam's body had landed.

Adam looked to Raven as she went back to human form and said in a defeated "Let's get it over with."

"Don't you care what she'll do to your body?" Raven inquired.

"It doesn't matter anymore." Adam replied.

Raven looked at him, and as much as she hated him for what he did to Yang, she couldn't help but see something of herself in him.

There was the sound of flapping wings, and the meadow was empty of both spirits, as Raven took Adam to the Nothing.

---

As the dawn of a new day appeared on the horizon, the first rays of sunlight illuminated the partially destroyed White Fang Headquarters and the bleak results of the battle. Trails of black smoke from smoldering wreckage of various vehicles and airships rose to blacken the blue sky above the Vacuo mountains, while the sounds of the joint Atlesian-Vacuoan strike force's military troops filled the surroundings around the captured headquarters within the mountains.

The Resolute floated above the White Fang Headquarters, sunlight glinting off the plated armor hull of the massive airship. A short distance away from the flagship a few other Atlesian airships slowly moved around in a standard patrol formation, ever watchful for any remaining White Fang forces that hadn't surrendered despite the broadcast of Adam's crimes and the change of leadership within the Fang. In addition to the warships in the sky, several Atlesian Transports and Ranger Bullheads or landed to drop off their cargo of supplies and receive troops and wounded Faunus, after which they lifted off to take the passengers to the Resolute. In addition, Atlas Eagles hovered at strategic locations around the White Fang headquarters, their weapons armed and ready while troopers and rangers walked through the forested areas in complex sweeping patterns looking for any remaining survivors and stragglers, including the ones from the escape pods of Adam's ship.

In the large area of the base where the battle for the White Fang took place, smoke wafted from the burnt-out wreckage of destroyed White Fang Paladins and various ruins of Vacuo Ranger buggies and jeeps, as well as quite a few Atlesian transport carriers and Eagles which had plowed deep furrows in the hard concrete surface of ground when they crashed. The souvenirs of war were everywhere; patches of spilt blood, spent bullets, shell casings, energy cells and various discarded and broken weaponry lay strew about the place.

Squads of Atlesian troopers and Vacuo Rangers ran to and fro across the courtyard, moving to whatever locations to finish their assigned tasks by their superiors, while others tended to the injured troopers and the deceased in a make-shift medical facility set up at the far side of the courtyard. Heavy mobile cranes assisted the military forces to remove the burnt-out wreckage of White Fang Paladins and their vehicles, while the bodies of both White Fang and join strike force troops were being removed and zipped up in black body bags to be identified later.

In the middle of the courtyard, lines of masked and unmasked White Fang members who have been taken into custody were handcuffed by Atlas soldiers and Vacuo Rangers, checked one last time before telling them to walk up the ramps into the large passenger compartments of those drop-ships to be taken back to their respective Kingdoms for summary trial and imprisonment. While the majority of White Fang members knew about the consequences of their actions and had accepted their punishment, some rather reluctant masked members had to subdued with a small amount of force before they were taken into custody. But whatever the case, they were all to be treated fairly and equally as agreed by General Ironwood and the Vacuo authorities. Once the ships were filled up, their ramps closed and they took off up to the Resolute, where the prison cells there would temporary house the White Fang members until they could be transferred to the proper prisons later.

Razor had been worried, but both Chamberlain and Ironwood assured him that the Faunus who had sided with Blake would be treated fairly and get lighter punishments, but they would all get fair trials.

Off to the side Coco, Fox, Yatsuhashi, Sage, Neptune, and Scarlet all sat or stood in a spot where the rubble gave them decent seats and a place to rest. Various members of the Elite Guard like Kane, Selena, Piper, Misha, and Cash had joined them and Babara was also there, watching over a medic tend to Jinty's injuries.

Just then Coco nudged Yatsuhashi, Neptune, and Scarlet before pointing at the sight of Hopkins among the prisoners being marched up to the transport ships.

"Hope he regrets not helping us." Neptune muttered.

"I have a feeling he does." Coco stated before Jinty yelped out in pain as the medic tried to heal the wound.

"If I ever see Hui again I'll make him beg for mercy." she promised as she held Jinty's hand and caressed his face.

"Don't worry, I'll make it." He promised her as he seethed in pain from the treatments.

"Sure you will, you managed to keep your secrets from us for months, you'll make it." Misha said confidently.

"But will we?" Kane asked.

Everyone looked to him, some confused and others concerned. "What do you mean by that?" Yatsuhashi inquired.

"Well, despite everything we're still White Fang. We attacked you and we've stolen shit from the Atlas military and we've destroyed some property in the past. I mean I don't think we're getting away with a slap on the wrist." Kane elaborated.

The others knew it was true, things did't bode well for them.

"Hey, it won't all be bad. I mean they're letting you walk about, that's gotta mean something, right?" Scarlet pointed out.

"Things change." Misha stated glumly.

Piper sighed before she used her instrument to 'speak'; "Hey... don't worry. I've known Razor... for a long time... he's never let me down."

"Well you're like a daughter to him, that probably has something to do with it." Selena voiced.

"True, but Razor... considers all of us family. He won't let... anything happen to us... I know he won't. He has a plan." The Mouse Faunus promised before shutting off her instrument and taking a breath, as her way of 'speaking' was a bit hard on her aura.

Despite Piper's confidence the other's weren't so sure, as the chances of them being let go or getting away seemed to be slim.

Coco sighed before saying "Relax. If it gets bad, we'll have your back."

"You mean it? After all we did?" Kane asked, doubtful.

"You were deceived and used by a sick mind, you were just doing your jobs as we were doing ours." Yatsuhashi worded, "You discovered the truth, and helped our friends, even risked your lives to stop Adam. That is enough to earn respect in my book."

"Yeah, so we'll do our best to help." promised Neptune.

Kane smiled, but knew it wasn't likely that they'd get away from the too easily. He looked out to see Razor and Leonardo, kneeling over the body of one of Leonardo's troops who hadn't survived the fight. Razor currently had a comforting hand around the solider, apologizing for everyone they had lost during the night.

The Boar Faunus sighed, he didn't know how but he knew he would somehow get his people out of this. Chamberlain had promised him fair treatment for his actions, but he was still uneasy about the fate of the many maskless Faunus who had sided with Blake and his own Elite Guard. He shook his head, knowing that the Atlesian forces could only be trusted to a point, and they really wouldn't let them get off without some kind of punishment.

"What's going to happen to us?" Leonardo asked suddenly. The two Faunus looked at each other. "We're hurt, we're tired, and we can't run. I know we did the right thing by turning on Adam... but what will they do to us? I've got my team, you got yours Razor, what are we going to do?"

Razor didn't have a real answer, but said "We'll do everything in our power to protect them, I'll make sure of it."

After he finished consoling Leonardo, Razor made his way to the forward operating base of the joint Atlesian-Vacuoan strike force, which was set up in one of the unharmed buildings at the front of the compound, it was a medium sized grey cubed structure with a few guards armed with heavy weaponry to guard a series of radar dishes upon the roof that had been re-calibrated to communicate with the military forces in the surrounding area. Even after the battle at the White Fang headquarters, a number of mop-up operations were currently taking place in the surrounding valleys and towns to flush out the remaining White Fang members who have escaped the major battle, and apparently quite a number of them had been arrested so far.

Inside the temporary base every wall had many blue holographic screens while consoles and workstations with keyboards populated the areas underneath the screens. Atlas technicians and Vacuo Rangers sat at those consoles, their hands dancing across the keyboards while talking to operational forces in the field while officers walked around the perimeter from one console to another, monitoring the developing situation in the aftermath of the battle with the White Fang. Situated at the various entryways and exits were heavily armed Task Force Omega troopers, their black helmets revealing none of their emotions, giving off an intimidating look while they stood guard.

In the middle of the temporary base, Chamberlain, Qrow, Winter, Oobleck, Port, Crane, Central, and a high ranking ranger were all clustered around large metallic table with holographic functions, the surface of the table displaying a complex hologram in the form of a terrain map of the White Fang Headquarters and the other mountains around it along with the valleys and waterways which led out of the immediate surrounding area, gathered by Vacuo Ranger scouting maps and the data the Atlas Eagle from earlier had gather with its advanced recon gear.

Holograms of Ironwood, Goodwitch, and Ozpin emanated from the table, joining their companions in analyzing the situation.

"How are the prisoners? What's the situation there?" Port asked.

Glynda answered "Under control. The guards have surrendered and the ones who were in on Taurus' contemptible mutilation plot have been captured and forced into submission. The prisoners have been freed and are being returned to the village while the ones who need medical attention are getting it, while the Faunus..."

"Yes, are they alive?" Razor asked, making his presence known as he entered the room. The Omega Troopers prepared to move but Central nodded, telling them Razor was a friendly.

"Yes, despite their injuries and trauma, both physical and metal, they will live. We're having them checked over by our medics to the best of their abilities and while they cannot undo the damage they will do what they can." Glynda said sadly.

Qrow approached Razor, smirking. "Y'know, I thought I had you pegged. I thought you were another stooge, one who used the whole 'honor' bit as a way to look good. But I was wrong. You helped my niece and her friends, you saved their lives. I owe you for that." he said as he held his hand out.

Razor accepted the hand to shake it before saying "You helped me see the light, Branwen. Your words helped me realize the dishonor I brought to myself by following Adam."

Qrow nodded before looking to the others and Winter spoke for him. Razor, This is General Ironwood, Professors Ozpin, Goodwitch, Port, and Crane, Dr. Oobleck and Commander Central of Task Force Omega. Everyone, this is Razor, leader of the White Fang Elite Guard, and we owe him a great debt of gratitude."

"We spoke earlier via radio but not personally. Specialist Schnee has told me that we owe you thanks not only for helping defeat Adam Taurus, but also for shutting down several slaver operations around Remnant."

"We do our best." The large Faunus stated.

"She's also told us that you've gathered evidence that links her father to a slave trade, can you transfer this evidence to us?" Ironwood asked.

"That I can." Razor said, before gathering up the courage to ask "What will become of my group and I?"

Winter and Qrow both glanced at the trio of Ozpin, Ironwood, and Goodwitch. Ozpin sighed before saying "You and your team, as well as this Capatain Leonardo and his troops, have earned the right to be free for now, but we will have to decide what to do with you at a later date."

"Yes, Specialist Schnee has made it abundantly clear that jailing you would be a grievous error. We can't judge you too hastily, as you saved the lives of many civilians and our operatives and we are indebted to you for that but unless the councils agree to it we can't give you a full pardon either." Ironwood voiced.

Razor nodded understandingly.

"Hey, come on, there has to be something we can do for all they've done." Qrow voiced.

Glyda glanced at Qrow before looking to Razor and saying "Rest assured, we will do all we can to make sure your team and the Faunus who sided with Miss Belladonna are treated fairly, we promise you."

The Boar Faunus nodded again and bowed his head, "Thank you, I just needed to make sure we would get fair treatment. Now I need to help my team calm down the maskless prisoners, they need to know they will get fair treatment." he said.

"Speaking of which..." Qrow spoke up, "How about we let Razor's ship transport some of the maskless?"

Everyone looked at Qrow and Port inquired "Why?"

"Well the maskless will be a hell of a lot more cooperative with them and they'll trust their own kind more, especially heroes like the Elite Guard, plus I think it'll be easier on all of us. Let's just place a dozen or so guards on their ship to ensure they don't try to run and they can use the various rooms on the ship to keep the prisoners in and together we can move 'em to Vacuo with minimal fuss." Qrow explained.

Winter raised her eyebrow, but saw the logic in his plan was sound, even if the plan was risky. Razor nodded, "I think that would work, and we'd be alright with your guards aboard to supervise."

Ironwood, Glynda, and Ozpin all glanced at each other, but Ozpin nodded. "It's a sound strategy, but we'll have to make arrangements for it to work."

"I can have some of my troops go aboard to you them guard the maskless and to assure that you won't try to run." Ironwood stated.

"We will not run, we will face whatever judgement you have for us with dignity." Razor said proudly.

"Good to know. I'm not entirely convinced but it could work, if done carefully." Glynda voiced.

"Well you can tell me your decision later, I must go back to work." Razor said respectfully before he left the building.

"I'll talk to him." Qrow said suddenly before following the Faunus out. Ironwood, Ozpin, and Glynda all looked to each other, wondering if they should do something, but decided to let Qrow handle it.

"Are you sure Razor won't betray us?" Ironwood asked Winter.

"No." She answered, "He is a good warrior, loyal to his people. As long as we keep our word he will keep his."

As Razor walked away from the building he took out his scroll and was about to call Troy when he felt someone grab his shoulder. He turned around, about to reach for Kill-Master, but when he saw it was Qrow he eased up. The Huntsman gestured to follow him to a more secluded area and Razor followed.

"So, you thinking of running?" Qrow asked in a whisper as they walked together.

"Not to escape, but to begin anew. We deserve a chance to redeem ourselves, and the White Fang for the atrocities that have been committed in its name. I want to start over and fight for equality, fight tyranny, I want to make up for the past." Razor said honestly as they entered into a thin alleyway.

Qrow nodded, "I think they'll go along with letting you take the maskless, but how do you plan on getting away?"

Razor looked at Qrow and bluntly asked "How can I trust you?"

"Like I said, you saved my niece and her friends, I owe you one." Qrow stated.

"As do I." said a woman's voice.

The two men turned to see Winter approaching them.

"What are you doing here?" Qrow demanded.

"Ironwood wanted to make sure Razor wouldn't try anything, and from what I just heard... nothing will happen." Winter stated.

"You won't stop us?" Razor said.

"Qrow isn't the only one who owes you. Had it not been for you willing to work with us we wouldn't have won this night. You knew Adam was going to far and your suspicions paid off. I am free once more because you made the right choice, and so is my younger sister. I will not do anything to harm you." Winter said firmly.

Qrow smirked and nodded. "You're slowly but surely eliminating any reason for me to call you Ice Queen, aren't you?"

Now it was Winter's turn to smirk before she looked to Razor and asked "How do you plan on escaping?"

"Our ship's engines have a special setting, if we pour fifty percent of our energy reserves into them we can blast off and be fifty miles away in a second. It puts a lot of strain on the engines and we need to factor in the calculations to make sure we don't run into another ship, but it can work." Razor said.

Winter and Qrow looked at each other and both nodded. "I will tell General Ironwood that letting you take the maskless prisoners is a good course of action." she said.

"So doesn't this count as treason?" Qrow asked teasingly.

"Treason is aiding an enemy, I am helping an ally." Winter said, matter-of-factly, which made Qrow's smirk grow.

---

In an isolated part of the large compound where the strike forces had not been able to reach nor clear up the detritus of battle, a lone armored figure walked slowly, the rhythmic steps of his boots echoing around the devastated surroundings. The lenses of his face-plate turned slowly from left to right, taking in the scenes of carnage and destruction left behind by the battle and leaving no detail unseen. While the Remnant Knight knew that despite the victory Team Beacon has managed to wrestle with the help of the combined forces of two Kingdoms from the White Fang, there was still a heavy price to pay once the assault on the headquarters was over.

The White Fang was simply too large an organization to be fully brought to heel, and despite being severely crippled without their headquarters and many bases throughout Remnant, there were still some personnel that slipped through the cracks left in the aftermath of the battles worldwide, disappearing when chaos erupted due to the awful truth of Adam's actions being broadcast to all known White Fang bases.

The knight's motorcycle was parked a small distance away, its systems constantly scanning for any trace of life in the vicinity and its weapons were alert for anything that might think that the lone knight was easy prey and open to an attack. Despite knowing that the battle was over, Sharp Strike was nevertheless watchful for anything that might come at him from the shadows despite the fact that the sun was already breaking over the peaks of the Vacuoan mountains.

Walking by the wreck of an Atlas Eagle, he could still see the black acrid smoke billowing upwards and curling into the sky from faint fires scattered around the battlefield, most burning themselves out while others continued to blaze stubbornly. The main building of the White Fang Headquarters had also suffered significant damage during the battle, sporting gaping holes from missile salvos and exposing the contents of some of the rooms inside, ranging from barracks to operations. There were still sounds of squads of Atlesian soldiers clearing the whole building level by level, and sometimes occasional gunfire was still heard as they neutralized the remnants of those White Fang who stood by Adam despite learning the truth, or because they had known the truth.

His gauntlet-clad hands resting on the belt at his waist, yet quick enough to draw either his twin swords from their scabbards or his revolver from its holster, he continued his circuit around the derelict wrecks of various armored vehicles. His midnight-blue cloak, which was torn in some places during in battle with the Grimm Commander and his Beowolves, fluttered around him in the morning breeze, and Sharp Strike made a mental note to repair it once he returned back to the Order.

Coming around the crashed wreck of an Vacuo Bullhead airship, he witnessed quite a number of bodies of both White Fang and of a group of rangers lying around the area of a slightly-destroyed modified Spider Droid, with spent bullets and various other used weapons scattered around the dormant mech. The Spider Droid had apparently crashed into a concrete wall and was lying on its side, its severed arm lying a short distance away, the mechanical limb still leaking engine oil in a black puddle. One of its legs was heavily damaged, with many pistons and gears missing. There was a particularly large hole in its chassis, no doubt the result of a severe missile strike which punched through its weakened armor plates.

In another life, the finished droid would have seen service in the Atlas Military or served some private security firm, but it was stolen by unscrupulous individuals and sold to the White Fang, who had less than noble intentions, like killing good soldiers who gave their lives to serve and protect their Kingdoms.

He stared at the wreckage for a silent moment, and was about to turn and leave when he heard the painful gasp of someone close to death, yet still living. It was faint, so soft and easily covered by the other sounds of the surrounding forces going about their assigned duties, that it could be easily missed if no one was paying attention or listening hard enough to identify that particular sound from the countless other noises happening in the surrounding area. Following the weak gasping sounds, Sharp Strike walked closer to the source of the sounds, he walked past the mech and finally saw the mortally wounded Faunus who was making those pained noises.

It was a White Fang scout, one who looked to be in his teens. He was unmasked, his black hair having grey streaks and eyes that looked like chips of flint and his ears showed that he was a Wolf Faunus. Dressed in the same outfit as the rest of the White Fang, the dying Faunus gasped for breath while a slowly growing pool of red blood formed around him, his aura spent and what was left was trying to heal him but to no avail. The Knight let his gaze travel to the right and saw the reason why: The scout was pinned from waist down by a huge slab of debris and the additional wreckage of the destroyed Spider Droid, and his legs were completely crushed and one of the Spider Droid's legs had stabbed into his body. Also, it seemed that he had also taken quite a few gunshot wounds in his chest and stomach, where more blood flowed and without pause and the Remnant Knight knew that those wounds were fatal, as his aura was barley shining. It doesn't take all his medical training within the Order to tell him that the scout was beyond saving.

The scout look at him with pleading eyes of grey, pain and shock from blood loss written clear on his features. A painful wheeze came from his lungs while more blood bubbled out of his throat. The scout's mouth flapped like a fish deprived of water before the wheezing came again, unable to form words in the face of such unendurable agony flowing through his fatally wounded body. His right arm and hand, covered in his blood, rose and reached out towards the knight, those grey beseeching eyes never leaving the armored warrior.

Sharp Strike was by the scout's side in an instant, so quickly that it could have been the trick of the light itself. He knelt by the dying Wolf Faunus, and took the hand which rose towards him in a firm grip. The young scout gasped again, and the Remnant Knight realized that he was trying to say something, and so he leaned down a little to listen more clearly to the Faunus' final words. There was another thought in the knight's mind that he should use his sword to give the dying scout a quick and painless death, but he forced himself discard that thought and listen carefully to the rasping noises coming from scout's mouth.

"What do you wish to say?" Sharp Strike whispered softly.

He felt the Wolf Faunus' grip tighten before he forced barely-coherent words out of his bloody lips, rivulets of red blood flowing from the sides of his mouth as he spoke slowly and painfully, "Go to... Ishimura. Tell... my... family that... I... love... them." He pressed something into Sharp Strike's grip and with a final choking rattle his grey eyes remained wide open and his chest stopped moving. The hand in Sharp Strike's gauntlets slipped from the knight's grip and splashed onto the puddle of red blood, causing a few droplets to land on the armor-plated boots of the Remnant Knight, but he ignored it and slowly placed the Wolf Faunus' hands on his chest, before reaching out and gently closing the the deceased's eyes.

"May the gods guide you to eternal rest." Sharp Strike intoned solemnly as he stood up and looked at the item given to him by the now deceased Faunus. It was a simple grey-colored pendant necklace, and since it was slightly open the Remnant Knight could see a family picture within, with the teenage Wolf Faunus standing with what presumably was his younger sister and parents, all four of them smiling in front of a simple village home in the desert outskirts of Vacuo. How cruel a fate has befallen such a kind individual, and the knight wondered how different his life would have been if he hadn't joined the ranks of the White Fang.

Closing his fingers around the pendant and then tucking it into the depths of his scratched Aegis armor, Sharp Strike turned and walked away from the dead body, but not before directing the first Atlesain soldier he had come across to find the body of the White Fang scout and give him a proper burial. The soldier complied after reporting it to his captain, and the knight made a note on his scroll to pay a visit to the village of Ishimura on his journey back to the Knight Order, to fulfill the Wolf Faunus' final wish.

Sharp Strike sighed sadly as he walked farther away from the area. Despite his, at times, violent actions, he truly did hate to see lives extinguished, especially when they had potential to go on and do so much more. That was why he never killed unless he had to, and even then he took no joy in doing it, no matter how stoic he may have seemed at times.

He looked around at the Atlas soldiers and the Vacuo rangers who were hard at work securing the area and making sure the various Faunus who had sided with Adam over Blake were being arrested and marched into the ships for transport, while many maskless Faunus stood by, nervous and unsure of what would happen to them.

Whatever would happen it was clear that the main threat of the White Fang was over for the time being, as the ship crashing into the mountain most assuredly signified the death of Adam Taurus, so it was clear that it was now time for him to leave. He made his way to his bike, wanting to get away before he could be questioned by any authorities, but he knew there was something that needed to be done before he left, and a voice calling to him enforced that fact.

"Hey, Sharp Strike!" Ruby called as she jogged towards him, with Weiss being dragged along by the hand and Penny following closely behind them.

"Hello Ruby. Have you gotten word from your sister and the others yet?" The knight inquired, using a piece of cloth to wipe away a few droplets of blood from his forearms and gauntlets. He was finishing up on the final checks on his motorcycle, which had returned to its standard mode since the battle was over, the knight paused in his actions to regard them politely.

"Yeah, Velvet and her uncle got them off the ship before it crashed, they are all okay and also on their way back now." Ruby informed him with a relieved smile.

"And what of Adam Taurus?" Sharp Strike asked quietly.

"He didn't make it." Weiss replied quickly, a small frown on her face at the mention of former leader of the White Fang.

The knight nodded, "I see. I presume you going to introduce me to your friends?"

Ruby nodded back and said "This is my partner, Weiss Schnee."

Weiss stepped forward and nodded to him. "Thank you for saving my friend, she might be a pain at times but I honestly don't know what I would do if I lost her." The younger Schnee said with clear gratitude in her voice. She offered her hand out to the Remnant Knight who accepted with a nod of his armored helmet, and both shook briefly for a moment.

"Love you too Weiss." Ruby teased, and that gesture made Weiss blush slightly as she released the knight's hand. Ruby turned to Penny and said, "And this is my good friend, Penny Polendina."

"Salutations Sharp Strike! I must say that your armor is some of the most advanced and impressive I've ever seen! Atlas could learn a lot from whoever designed your gear. But thank you so much for helping Ruby, she's my best friend and I... well, I also don't want to lose her." Penny said simply, her face briefly going sad for a moment before she went back to being happy. Ruby smiled and gave her robotic friend a comforting squeeze on the shoulder, letting the android know that she was always there for her.

"Penny, Miss Schnee, your gratitude is much appreciated. You are both quite welcome, but I was only doing my duty, just as you three were doing yours. It's an honor to meet you both, and I am glad to see that you are all safe and unharmed. Ruby was very worried about you while we were in the jungle." Sharp Strike elaborated as he produced his scroll and tapped some of the functions, making sure that his bike was still functioning properly after the recent battle.

"Guilty as charged. You guys have worried about me, and I can safely say that I am also worried sick about you." Ruby mentioned to Weiss and Penny before she turned and looked at Sharp Strike. Seeing him swinging one leg over his custom bike once more, she quickly realized what he was doing, "Are you leaving?"

He nodded and slowly replied "Very soon, I cannot afford to be questioned by any official, as you know that I still need to remain a bit of a mystery due to my identity. I trust you know what to tell them about me?"

"Right. I will say that you're a Huntsman who happened to be nearby when you saw what happened to us. After rescuing us, you listened to our situation and decided to help us out." Ruby explained quickly. "Also you're kind of shy and that's why you didn't stick around." She finished with a grin on her face.

The Remnant Knight gave a small shake of his head at the Ruby's small joke, and answered, "I guess that's good enough."

"So who are you really? Why do you need to be so secretive?" Weiss questioned the knight, her light-blue eyes slightly inquisitive.

"Well he has his reasons. I'll tell you later, okay? It's probably not a good idea to say it out in the open." Ruby said quickly, looking around to make sure no one was trying to listen in. Thankfully they were at the far end of the courtyard, and the various Atlas and Vacuo military forces around were too occupied to pay any attention to the two Huntresses, an android and the Remnant Knight. Weiss looked a little skeptical about it but nodded and Penny accepted it without another word and just smiled.

Just then Ruby's eyes widened as she remembered something. "Oh! I almost forgot." she said as she took out Crescent Rose, pulled back the breech and took out a bullet with her rose emblem carved on it. She handed it to Sharp Strike and said "Like we agreed."

Sharp Strike held up the bullet in his gauntleted fingers, examining the beautiful carving of Ruby's emblem upon its metallic surface. The small, simple object in his hand made him smile behind his mask, not that Ruby and her friends could see it due to his helmet. He then slipped Ruby's bullet into one of his waist pouches and replied, "You have my gratitude, Ruby Rose."

"What's all this about?" Weiss asked, a little curious as she crossed her arms.

"I made a deal with Sharp Strike just before we came to help you." Ruby elaborated, smiling at the ice princess, "Sharp Strike said he wanted me to trust him, so I made an agreement with him that if we managed to pull this mission off he will show me his eyes and I will also give him one of my special bullets in Crescent Rose."

She looked to the knight and reminded him, "You still have to live up to your part of the deal, Sharp Strike."

The Knight gave a nod of his head, and replied, "That I do, Ruby Rose. But only to you, and not your friends, as that was the condition we have agreed on."

"Seriously?" Weiss raised an eyebrow, "Do you have to be so secretive?" The Knight glanced at her with those azure lenses of his helmet and she quickly changed her tack, "Not that I am interested anyway, and you have already made an agreement with Ruby. Penny, can you also avert your own eyes elsewhere?"

"Of course! I am already looking away." Penny replied as her head swerved to the right, already looking away from Ruby and the Remnant Knight.

Ruby watched as Sharp Strike reached up to both sides of his helmet, and disengaged some kind of locking mechanism with his gauntlet-clad hands. There was a soft hiss of air as the armored plates of the helmet split apart a little, revealing a thin line between the higher and lower parts of the emotionless face-plate that she was familiar with. With a soft click the Remnant Knight unlocked his visor and removed it, and Ruby Rose felt her silver eyes widen at the sight of Sharp Strike's real eyes, not the azure lenses of the helmet that covered them.

The eyes of the Remnant Knight were the colors of the ocean, deep cerulean blue that reminded her briefly of the azure seas that surround the island of Patch. They were rather beautiful, easily putting the most sapphire jewels or even blue Dust crystals to shame, and they briefly sparkled a little in the morning glow. The Huntress also noticed that there was a hint of vermilion red in the deepest recesses of Sharp Strike's eyes especially in the region around his pupils. Ruby almost wanted to ask the knight if he was related to Jaune by chance since their eyes were somewhat similar, but she remained quiet as she tried to identify Sharp Strike's character by looking at his eyes.

There was determination and a sense of duty in those blue eyes, as well as a conviction to protect anything that was important to him. They were also quite piercing and seemed to house pure and untainted emotions, and Ruby realized that the Remnant Knight was like her, kindred soul with a strong sense of justice and unshakable belief. However, she also knew that those eyes could also become those of an emotionless and perfect killer just as easily, seeing how quickly the armored knight dispatched any Grimm or those who would harm others for their own amusement.

And after what seemed like a long moment of gazing into each other's eyes, a thought came to Ruby's mind that the knight was also using this chance to look into those silvery eyes of hers. Like her, Sharp Strike was also trying to read her personality and character through her eyes, and if the knight had divined anything from that brief moment of eye contact with the silver-eyed girl, he kept it securely to himself like a forbidden secret.

Then that surreal moment had passed, and the Remnant Knight replaced his visor once more, the removed piece of his helmet sliding smoothly into place above his lower face-plate and both separate pieces locking back together with a pair of sharp clicks, hiding his deep blue eyes from the outside world. Ruby tilted her head before saying, "You have wonderful eyes."

"And yours are the most beautiful silver I have ever seen." The knight politely answered, "It has been my honor to fight by your side, and you have my sincere gratitude for saving my life from the Grimm during the battle."

"You are welcome, Sharp Strike." Ruby replied with a smile on her face.

Ruby walked over to Weiss and Penny, who had moved away so as not to disturb them. "Well, the deal done." Ruby said simply.

Weiss looked at her partner and hesitantly asked "So... are you attracted to him?"

Now it was Ruby's turn to blush. "What?! No! I mean he's nice and all and his eyes are pretty but I'm pretty dang sure I don't have a crush on him or anything!" She denied.

Weiss let out a sigh of relief before quickly recovering and putting on a face of neutrality. "Well that's good."

There was an awkward silence between the three for a few moments before Weiss sighed and said "Ruby, I have to tell you something."

"What is it?"

Weiss sighed again and said "When we first met I thought you were a complete and total dolt, someone who was at Beacon by mistake or by luck. I didn't think you'd make it past initiation. When we became partners I was further baffled and somewhat annoyed with you, but your talents in fighting Grimm impressed me. When you became our team leader I was stunned, as I thought you were too naive and not experienced or mature enough to lead us, and yet you proved me wrong over and over again, as you showed time and again you were a capable leader and a strong person."

"Thanks." Ruby said with a smile before asking "Where are you going with this?"

"Hold on. After the Fall of Beacon I thought it was all over, that if I ever saw you again it would be a miracle, but I still wanted to help. I didn't want to be some spoiled rich brat who had to be protected while the world fell apart and when I decided I needed to help and when I found out what happened to Penny I knew I needed to help her, not just for her but for you as well. When I discovered you had been captured by Cinder not only was I worried out of my mind but I was determined to get you back safely no matter what. And despite everything that happened in Haven it worked out alright, I had you back and we were a team again. And then this mess began, when you went over the cliffs with Qrow and the others I felt my heart ache, as I thought I had lost you for sure." Weiss confessed, holding back tears.

Ruby was stunned, she had never expected Weiss to open up like this. When they had first met Weiss was so stuck up and snooty, even a bit pretentious, but as time went on she toned it down and began to realize she wasn't above everyone else, and what had happened with Penny in Atlas had proved that, as the old Weiss would never put her life on the line for something like that.

"Weiss?"

"Ruby let me finish!" The heiress scolded. "I was worried sick about you, I was afraid I'd lost you for good and I... I don't think I could have handled it. I had to hide my feelings as I couldn't show weakness in the presence of the enemy, but I never stopped praying that you were alright. And when the jamming towers went up, I knew you were behind it and that, against all odds, you had made it. And then when the battle began and you came charging out of the chaos and hugged me I was so happy I would have hugged you back had it not been for the war around us. What I'm trying to say is..." She stopped and sighed again before coming forward and capturing Ruby in a hug. "I am so proud of you."

"You are?" Ruby asked with wide eyes.

She nodded, "Yes. You proved my initial judgement of you so incredibly wrong, and I can honestly say that I am proud and grateful to have you as my partner, and I would never want anyone else but you." She said, her voice nothing but honest and sincere.

Ruby's eyes began to water as she hugged her partner back. "Thanks Weiss! I'm happy I have you as my partner too!" she declared. She opened her eyes to look at Penny, who was happy for her friends but Ruby could tell that the robotic girl felt a bit left out. "Hey Penny, come here, we can't leave you out!" Ruby invited.

Penny beamed as she rushed over and captured both girl in her arms and gave them a mighty hug as she lifted them both off the ground, giggling excitedly, happy to know she wouldn't be forgotten by her friend. Ruby laughed and Weiss struggled to breathe.

"Hey girls!" called Taiyang, "You might wanna put the group hug on pause for now, Yang, Blake, and the others are back."

"They are?!" Ruby cried. Penny quickly dropped the two, with Ruby dashing off and Weiss breathing in deep before running after her partner with Penny close behind.

They met up with Team JNPR, who had been assigned to guard Claudandus while the medics tended to him, since he refused to leave until Blake returned. Overhead the White Fang ships began to descend upon an area that was cleared for landing. The ship touched the ground and the engines powered down as the ramp opened up to reveal Yang, Blake, Sun, and Velvet as the other members of Team Beacon rushed towards the ship.

Ruby couldn't hold her excitement in, as she ran forward to jump into her big sister, capturing her in a hug, which Yang quickly returned.

"You made it!"

"Well no duh we did, lil' sis!" Yang said as she hugged Ruby back and spun around.

Blake and Weiss smiled at the scene before looking to one another. "I'm glad you made it, and congratulations on defeating that abominable man." The latter said as she placed a comforting hand on the Cat Faunus' shoulder.

"Thank you Weiss, I'm happy everyone made it out alright." Blake said, before Ruby pounced on her to give her a hug.

"I didn't forget you Blake! You did it!" Ruby cheered as Blake hugged her back.

"And you made it, you're a survivor like me. Against all odds..." Blake said.

"Hey, odds don't mean jack to us." Ruby reminded her, and Blake could only smile in agreement at that.

Taiyang came up and hugged both of his daughters, "I am so proud of both of you, but could you please stop making me worry?" He asked.

"No promises dad." Yang chuckled as she and Ruby hugged him back.

Velvet hugged Yatsuhashi, the sight was almost comical considering the size difference between the two, but the large teen leaned down to hug his partner. "I was so worried about you..." she said with a teary voice.

"So was I, but we knew you'd make it." Yatsuhashi said as he gripped her tightly.

"Damn right you would. We're proud of you long ears, not only did you help take down Adam, but you did it without your weapon!" Coco said as she slapped her teammate on the back.

"Pretty sweet, if I do say so myself." Fox voiced as he gripped Velvet's hands affectionately and smiled in approval before hugging her.

Sun high-fived Neptune and Scarlet. "Guys! Awesome to see you both made it in one piece." he said as he withstood a hug from Neptune.

"Well it wasn't easy!" Scarlet voiced.

"Yeah, we made it but just barley, and I'm still smarting a bit but I'll get over it." Neptune said as Sage came up.

"Oh man boss, you had no idea how worried I was about you guys, I am never letting you go on a mission without me again." Sage said firmly before shaking Sun's hand.

"I think that's a good idea." Sun agreed, before he noticed the troubled look on Sage's face. "What?"

"Your tail..." Sage said quietly, which was enough to get the attention of the others.

Sun sighed as what was left of his tail drooped in sadness.

"We can fix it, right?" Sage asked.

"Well it was left behind in that clearing, and it's a good bet some animal has already gotten it."

"Do Faunus parts grow back?" Penny asked innocently.

"I'm afraid not, it's like when Yang lost her arm, it doesn't grow back." Velvet informed her sadly.

"Oh..." Penny said, reality sinking in. "Perhaps we can get you a robotic tail built, like Yang's arm?"

Sun smiled at her but said "Penny... I'll have to think about it, okay?"

"Well... if you ever need the money for one, I'll help you with it." Weiss volunteered.

Sun smirked and said "Never thought I'd hear that from a Schnee. You really have changed."

"She sure has." Yang said confidently as she rubbed Weiss' head, before a thought occurred to her; "Hey, where's Neo?"

"She took off after the Fang surrendered." Jaune stated.

Pyrrha nodded and said "She's a thief at heart, and they never like to stay in a places where so many law enforcers are, but I have a good feeling we'll hear from her soon."

"Heh, we better." Yang murmured.

"Blake?" asked Claudandus' voice. Blake turned about to see her grandfather approaching, supported by a cane.

Blake walked over to him and asked "Are you alright?"

"Oh, I'm fine, I'm alive after all! But, I survived unscathed, just a few scratches, nothing my aura and the medics couldn't fix." He said, before asking "Now, are you alright my dear? I'm just an old cat, and I wasn't the one who fought Adam several times last night!"

Blake looked down before smiling and saying "Despite everything, I'm fine. I'm alive, my friends are alive, the White Fang has been stopped, and Adam is gone for good. While I need, really need, some sleep, I'm okay... grandpa."

And with that she lurched forward and captured her grandfather in a hug, which he was all too happy to return, as he could finally call her his granddaughter without fear of rejection.

As her friends watched the happy scene Jaune whispered "So, she didn't say he was her grandfather back when this mission started. What's the story to that?"

Ruby smiled and answered "Jaune, it's a long trip to Beacon. I think we'll tell you on the way."

The blonde smiled and said "Good enough for me."

As the two Cat Faunus parted from their hug Claudandus said to Blake "I am so, so proud of the woman you've become, Blake. I know wherever your parents are, they are proud of you as well. You saved many lives from the monster that Adam became, and that makes you more worthy of being the White Fang's leader than he ever was."

Blake smiled, but she wasn't too sure about remaining the leader of the White Fang, after all it was just too much for her. Suddenly, her train of thought was interrupted by Coco.

"So, speaking of that psychopath, what happened to Adam? I mean you said over the radio that he was dead but you didn't say how." Coco pointed out, curiously.

"That is something I would like to hear as well." said the voice of Razor, as he, Qrow, Kane, Piper, Russell, Selena, Misha, Teresa, and Morgan all approached the group while Thayer disembarked from the ship.

"Well he nearly killed me, he almost threw me off of the ship but Yang saved me at the last minute, she cut off his arm." Blake revealed.

"Whoa." Misha muttered.

"Damn." agreed Kane.

"An arm for an arm. Nice." Qrow said as he high-fived his niece.

"Do not encourage her to maim people." Taiyang scolded, which made his daughter giggle. "No, I'm being serious." he added.

"Anyway, Yang caught me before I could lose my grip, but despite losing an arm Adam got right back up and tried to kill us both, but Sun knocked him over the side but he grabbed my leg, refusing to go out so easily." Blake continued.

"Whoa, so what happened? Did he slip? Did you kick him off?" Ruby asked, stunned.

Blake nodded, "I had to kick him off, he wouldn't let go and he still wanted to kill us. I could see it in his eyes." She confessed, remembering the look in his eyes of both fear and hatred.

"Well, you did us all a service by eliminating him, he was a threat to us all. I am happy to call you my leader, Commander Belladonna." Razor said before kneeling before her, the other members of the Elite Guard following his example.

Blake looked around to her teammates, her grandfather, and her friends. She sighed as she knew she couldn't lead the White Fang, it just didn't feel right. After everything that had happened she didn't feel like she could, she had a duty to Team RWBY, to Team Beacon, to her friends who had become a family to her. She looked down at Razor and made a decision then and there.

"Razor, please stand up." She ordered, and he did so. "I'm sorry, but I cannot lead the White Fang."

"Huh?" whispered Misha in surprise.

"What does this mean?" asked Morgan quietly.

"It means that the burden of leading the White Fang is too great for me, I'm not ready for it. Besides, I have a loyalty to my team, they're like family to me and I cannot abandon them. And as for my replacement; I can think of no one more qualified than you, Razor. As Leader of the White Fang, I hereby step down and name Razor, as my successor." She told him proudly.

"Blake... are you sure?" Razor asked, stunned.

"Despite what Sun, Yang, and everyone else might say, I'm just not cut out for leadership on this scale... but you are. While I will do everything I can to make sure you are all treated fairly by General Ironwood, I think those Faunus will trust you more than they will me. I know you are the perfect choice for the new leader. Lead our people well, Commander Razor." Blake said with a small smile on her face.

The large Faunus smiled. "I will do my best, Blake." he said as he gave he a bow.

Piper, using her Semblance to make happy, celebrational music, tackled her adoptive father with a hug as Qrow patted him on the back. "Well, this will either make things easier or harder."

"We'll have to see." Razor said as he shook Russell's hand.

"What does that mean?" Ruby asked.

"It means we don't really know how things will turn out for the Elite Guard or those who sided with Blake." Qrow answered.

"Well they can't just lock 'em up, after all they did to help. Right?" Nora voiced, unsure.

"We... honestly don't know." Razor confessed. "But that doesn't mean we'll give up and let them jail us."

"We're with you boss, all the way." Kane volunteered bravely.

"You got that right." agreed Selena.

Razor smiled at them and said "Thank you." He turned to speak to Claudandus. "Sir, I need to say this; you were our founder, and I betrayed you and stayed with Adam. Had I not been so foolish none of this would have happened..."

"Oh nonsense! While it did hurt at the time, I know that you are loyal to the White Fang, not its leaders! You have honor, something Adam abandoned years ago. And because you chose to stay you created this fantastic team of yours, this Elite Guard, and they're exactly what the Fang needs. Because you sided with Blake it made those Faunus doubt Adam, and all of those who tore off their masks it is proof that the White Fang isn't beyond saving. I think it can be fixed, and you're just the Faunus for that job, old friend." Claudandus said to the larger Faunus.

Razor smiled and said "Thank you, both of you. I will do my best to live up to your legacy and redeem the White Fang. We just need to figure out how..."

"Well, I'm sure you'll be alright. We won't let them imprison you after everything you did for us last night." Blake assured him.

"Minus the beatings of course." Coco muttered jokingly.

"Sorry about that." Kane quickly said to the group.

"Some of us have had worse, trust me." Ruby said to him.

"Speak for yourself." Joked Neptune, his body still a bit sore.

"It will heal in time Mr. Vasilias." Said the voice of Winter as she marched to the group. "Now if I overheard you all correctly I believe that Blake has made Razor the White Fang's new commander?"

"I did." Blake confirmed.

"Well, it's probably for the best. General Ironwood has agreed to allow you to transport over a hundred maskless Faunus to Vacuo, under the escort of a squadron of Atlas Eagles and a small platoon of twenty Atlesian soldiers to supervise, of course." Winter told them.

"What's this about?" Blake asked.

"Qrow proposed that we could transport a majority of the Faunus who sided with you to Vacuo, since they'd be more cooperative with us. It seems we've been given permission to do so." Razor said with a smile, before turning to his group. "Make sure everyone's on the ship, Leonardo and his troops as well. Get your rooms prepared to hold the various maskless we'll have to take. Get moving."

Everyone quickly ran off to do their jobs and get everyone ready for take off, but Razor stayed to talk.

"We've already sent troops to your ship, ready to go aboard." Winter said, gesturing over to where the ship had landed outside of the compound, "General Ironwood has placed me in charge of them, we'll accompany you to Vacuo."

"Understood." Her said with a nod before looking to Thayer. "Well old friend, do you wish to come with us?"

The Rabbit Faunus sighed and shook his head. "No, I'm staying with my niece, sir. I... I want to see my family before I get any kinda trail, I need to talk to my brother." He said.

Razor gave him an understanding look and nodded. "I see. Good luck, old friend." The two shook hands before Razor turned to face Blake and the others.

"Thanks to you the White Fang is no longer a tool for evil, and I will work to assure that it will never be again." He promised them before bowing once again, a gesture that Blake, Claudandus, Yang, Sun, Velvet, Qrow, Weiss, and Ruby all returned.

"Oh, and before I we go, I've arranged for a ship to take Team Beacon to Oro." Winter told them.

"Really? Why?" Pyrrha asked.

"According to Professor Goodwitch the villagers want to see the team that saved them." Winter said before following Razor to the ship.

The members of Team Beacon were slightly stunned before Coco broke their silence by saying "Well how about that? Some recognition!"

Before anyone could say something to that everyone's attention was stolen by the sound of Sharp Strike's bike as he drove towards them while Taiyang and Thayer went to get on the ship Winter had secured for them and Qrow and Claudandus headed for the forward operations base.

"Holy... look at the beauty..." Yang said, in awe of the bike.

"Knew it." Ruby whispered to Neptune, who smiled in agreement.

Sharp Strike brought his bike to a halt before he looked to all of them before settling on Ruby. "It's time I left, before anyone tries to stop me." He told her.

"Who's this?" Sun asked, a bit confused.

"This is Sharp Strike, a friend who saved us out in the jungle." Scarlet explained.

The knight nodded again before saying "Team RWBY, you have a good leader."

"Obviously." Yang said, as if it was as obvious as the sun being yellow.

"It was an honor fighting alongside you all, I hope we meet again." He said to them. "Especially you, Ruby Rose."

Ruby smiled and said "Same to you."

Sharp Strike then looked to Team JNPR, or more specifically at Jaune and Pyrrha. "So you two are Ashe Kasai's replacements as Guardians of the Aura Crystal?"

The couple's eyes widened in surprise, as did those of the others who weren't familiar with Sharp Strike. "Y-yes... how did you...?" Pyrrha began.

"He chose well. Goodbye." The Knight said before speeding off, rushing past patrols and Atlas Paladins. Jaune and Pyrrha looked on as he departed, stunned.

"Wa-wait a minute! How the heck did you know that?!" Shouted Jaune, but he got no answer from the knight as he drove away out of the compound and into the Vacuo countryside at high speeds.

"Yeah... turns out he knew Ashe..." Confessed Ruby sheepishly. "Can I explain it to you guys later?"

"You can tell us later Rubes, and did he tell you where he got those sweet upgrades for his bike?" Yang inquired, as she was now hoping to do some major upgrades to Bumblebee.

"Nope." Ruby answered bluntly.

"Crap. Next time." The blonde remarked.

"Okay, you can tell who that guy really is on the way to town, because I really want to know." Jaune said to his friend.

"As would I." agreed Weiss as they began heading to the ship.

---

A little while later Razor and Winter stood on the bridge of the Elite Guard's ship, the former was typing finishing up with the transfer of the data to the Resolute. Around them Troy, Miguel, and Graham were making preparations for take off, as well as making the proper adjustments to the ship's forward scanners.

"There, that should be everything we have on Willow Schnee and the slave trades. In these documents are links to other potential leads on other slaver organizations and potential slave buyers, you might want to look into them." Razor suggested.

"We will be sure to put this to good use. The United Anti-Slavery Organization will be happy to get these." Ironwood said as the data was received on his end.

"Excellent." Razor said as the transmission ended while Babara entered the room.

"Jinty's in the medbay, he's gonna need a crutch for a month but he'll be okay." The Elephant Faunus reported. "Leonardo and his troops have all made it inside, the the Rangers are starting to march the maskless in now."

"Are the rooms prepared?" Razor asked.

"Just about from the looks of it, I told Leonardo about the plan, he's in. His troops and ours are a little weirded out by working with the Atlesians, but they're willing to do it. Uh, no offense Specialist Schnee." She said quickly.

"None taken." Winter said before looking to Razor. "Have Kane kick be out just before you blast off, you swear not to harm those troops?"

"On my life. They'll just be knocked out and placed into an escape pod, we'll make sure they'll land in a safe area as well. Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked her.

Winter stared into his eyes and said "While there are some nagging thoughts in the back of my head, I do not doubt that you're intentions are good and that you are honorable. I know you have a history, one that will warrant jail-time even after you helped us... but I think letting you go won't be a mistake. I think you will do more good than harm out there."

Razor sighed in relief and said "Thank you. I gotta admit, this is pretty surreal. A Schnee is helping us escape from the Atlas Military."

"Well, experience has taught me that doing my duty isn't always the right thing. If it was Penny would have been used to bomb Haven." Winter said before she shook Razor's hand. "Are you sure your plan will work?"

"About seventy-five percent. We've used a similar tactic to escape a few times before but this will really put stain on the engines, but with a little luck we'll be alright."

"Good, I'll be off to oversee the positioning of the prisoners." Winter said, going back into her 'professional' mode before she strolled out of the room.

"Boss, are you sure we can trust her?" Graham inquired.

"After what we've been through together... yes." Razor answered.

---

As Team Beacon disembarked from the bullhead they were met by Professor Goodwitch and several rangers. "Children, it is good to see you all unharmed." She greeted warmly.

"Nice to see you again too Professor." Ruby said with a smile before looking back to Jaune and Pyrrha. "Okay, I swear, next time we meet Sharp Strike we'll make him tell you what went down between he and Ashe in more detail."

"We better, I'm worried about what those Knights want with the Aura Crystal, I mean it sounds like they're the good guys, but I just want to be sure." Jaune voiced.

"And we'll be sure to get some answers from them. Perhaps they can even help us with it." Pyrrha suggested before she looked around the village.

"Looks like everything worked out alright here." Sage remarked, as they could see the many happy reunions among the villagers.

"Indeed." Glynda said with an nod as she led them into the town. "These good people want to thank you for your efforts, especially the team who infiltrated the prison to spread the truth about what Adam was doing in there."

"They won't attack us will they? Some of us are still wearing our White Fang disguises." Velvet pointed out.

"Relax, I think we're safe." Coco said confidently as the town's mayor approached them. As Glynda walked forward to talk to him Coco looked over and smiled at the sight of Maria the innkeeper hugging her rescued husband. Maria spotted them and waved at Coco, somehow recognizing her without the wig and Coco waved back.

The mayor approached Team Beacon and said "We understand that you young Hunters are responsible for saving our village from the White Fang."

"Well is wasn't all us." Ren pointed out, only to be nudged by Nora.

"True, but after we were liberated Maria told me three of you risked your lives to infiltrate our village and all of you clearly fought for our freedom. On behalf of my village and everyone in it, we owe you, Team Beacon, our lives." He said gratefully.

"Hey, its just part of the job." Sun said lightly.

As the various members of Team Beacon went about the town and talked to the people, many of whom thanked them for their heroic actions, Ruby simply stayed put and surveyed the town, a look of pure happiness on her face but there were also tears in her eyes.

"Ruby, are you alright?" Blake asked. Ruby shook herself out of it to see the rest of her Team, JNPR, and Penny around her, looking a bit concerned.

"I'm fine guys, it's just... stuff like this is why I wanted to be a Huntress." She said simply.

"To help people?" Nora asked.

"Yeah, but more than that. I wanted to save people, dedicate my life to fighting evil. This is what happens when we fight evil." Ruby said to them as she watched a woman who had been freed reunite with her son. "We help peoples, save lives, make the world a little better. This is what I've always wanted to do, and now that I'm doing it feels..." Ruby struggled to find a word.

"Good?" Penny suggested.

Ruby smiled and said "Well, better than just good... but it's a start. I mean after all we went through, Vytal, Haven, this... I feel like we can take whatever they throw at us, you know? It just feels good, like Penny said."

"Well if you want to feel more of that, come on, we'll hear the town sing our praises." Weiss invited before they went further into the town.

---

"We're preparing for lift off now, General." Razor reported as he stood up from the captain's chair on the bridge while the other members of the Elite Guard sat at their posts, making sure the ship was ready.

"We read you, the squadron of Atlas Eagles are getting prepped for the trip to Vacuo, once they're in the air you can move out of the area." Ironwood said to through the view-screen. "How are your... people?" The General asked, deciding that 'prisoners' wasn't a good word to use.

"They're wary of your troops, but we have assured them that they will be safe with us, I've promised no harm will come to them on our voyage to Vacuo. My entire team is on board as are Cpatain Leonardo's troops, combined with your forces we have have more than enough to keep them in line should anyone try anything." Razor told him.

"Good. I've scanned over the documents you've sent us, I'll pay a visit to Mr. Schnee once I return to Atlas, as I trust his daughters will want a few words with him. I'll contact you when the Eagles are ready." Ironwood said before smiling. "Miss Belladonna placed you in charge of the White Fang, while I don't know you I think you'll do alright. Good luck, Commander."

"And to you, General." Razor said before he ended the call. He turned to Troy and asked "Are the engines ready?"

"All fueled up and I've done my best to prepare them for the sudden jump, but are you sure this is the right idea?" The elderly Faunus asked.

"The councils will doubtlessly have most of us jailed despite whatever protests Blake, Branwen, Specialist Schnee, and the others will have. And even if they let some of us go they will never allow us to act as a team again. I'm not entirely convinced this is the best course either, but it's better than being separated and imprisoned." Razor said the the crew. They all nodded understandingly, knowing that now matter how stupid this might seem it was their best bet. Razor then took out his scroll and called Kane, who was with Winter.

"Yeah boss?" Kane answered.

"Let me talk to Schnee."

"Got it." Kane said.

Winter's voice then came over the scroll; "Yes Razor, all of the maskless have been secured and everything's in order. We can lift off whenever you're ready."

"Excellent, once the Atlas Eagles are up we can being our trek to Vacuo." Razor said, being sure to sound innocent just in case any Atlas soldiers were near Winter. "Just close off the main entryway and we'll be set."

"Understood, allow me to see to it." Winter responded.

About a minute later, their escape began. Kane and Winter arrived to the main entry way, which was being guarded by two Atlas troopers. Winter acted casually and moved to close the door, but all of a sudden Kane opened his wings and he flapped them hard using them in combination with his Semblance to create a sudden, powerful gust of wind that sent Winter and the two guards flying out of the door and onto the ground.

As Winter recovered, a surprised look upon her face, Kane shut the door and the engines of the Elite Guard's ship roared to life and it began to lift up into the sky at an alarmingly fast rate.

'Just as planned.' Winter thought as the ship went higher and higher, causing alarms to sound off and troops to shout.

"Stop that ship!" She shouted to the troops, many of whom began to open fire on the vessel, but it was too late, as the Elite Guard's ship blasted off in an amazingly fast pace, disappearing from sight within seconds.

Down in the village the escape did not go unnoticed as the loud boom of the ship's engines blasting off caught everyone's attention to see the large ship rocketing away at incredible speeds until it was out of sight, heavy gusts of wind from the ship's sudden blast off drafted through the town, but did no damage.

"Hey, was that the Elite Guard's ship?!" cried Velvet.

"Yeah, it was..." Thayer said, stunned.

Blake smiled to herself and whispered "Good luck Razor. Lead them well, I know you can." She continued to stare at the part of the sky where the ship had blasted off, knowing that the White Fang's rebirth was in good hands.

In the forward operating base the screens were lit up with warning notices and the klaxons blared. Ironwood had been talking to Claudandus and Qrow when the alarms started sounding off. "Turn those things off!" Ironwood commanded before he shouted "Status report! What the hell happened?!"

"It seems the Elite Guard ship just took off at their ship's highest speed sir!" A female technician informed him.

"Blast! Specialist Schnee and twenty of our men were aboard that ship! Try and track it right away!" He ordered sharply.

"Sir, we've just received a message from the one known as Razor, it appears it was sent right before they escaped!" Said a Faunus technician from the rangers.

"Put it onscreen!" Qrow said. Qrow resisted the urge to smirk, as their plan had worked. He had been trying to keep Ironwood busy so he wouldn't notice the ship taking off until it was too late, and he had done his part with ease.

The figure of Razor appeared on screen, a serious look on his face. "General, this is a recorded message so don't bother talking to me. I sent you this message seconds before we took off, and I am sorry for the deception. Do not worry about your troops, they will be unharmed. We have no plans on harming them or ransoming them, so they're free to go. We will simply knock them out, place them into an escape pod and drop them off near the first village we come across."

"Generous of him, but why the hell did he run?" Qrow wondered aloud, trying to keep the rouse up.

"Good question." muttered Ironwood in agreement.

"As for the most obvious question in the room; we mean you no harm and I apologize for what you will probably consider a betrayal, but I simply couldn't let these Faunus be imprisoned after they turned against Adam, that was proof that they knew right from wrong. It's a naive way to look at things, yes, but I believe there is good in them. I simply couldn't let my team be torn apart and thrown in prisons, they trust me with their lives and I can't allow myself to let them down, surely you feel the same way about the people of Atlas?"

Ironwood's face softened slightly at that, knowing that was true.

"You serve your Kingdom, as I serve my team, my family. What I intend to do is to start over, create a reborn White Fang, not one that fights just for the Faunus race, but one that fights all forms of racism and tyranny. I now realize that humans can be oppressed just as Faunus can, and I will no longer stand for it. I will lead a White Fang that fights for equality for all races, but we will no longer operate like Adam. What I want to do General, is to redeem myself, to redeem the name of the White Fang. I hope you can understand that."

Ironwood sighed and absentmindedly nodded. He knew what it was like to seek redemption, after he had been freed from the mind control he had began to undo any harm he might have done while under Salem's influence.

"And so General, the old White Fang, Adam Taurus' Fang, died with him. Their ways are no more. As of now a new White Fang will rise, one that will fight for all races and against all forms of oppression. We are no longer your enemy, but your ally. If you wish to hunt us down, then we will fight back, but only if forced to, as we do not wish to be your enemy. If any of the maskless with us have murdered in Adam's name then we will turn them in, but I feel that many of them want to do good, they were just misguided. Again, I am sorry for running, but it is not out of cowardice, but more out of a need to redeem the White Fang and so I can keep my team... my family together."

Claudandus smiled at that, knowing that while he didn't exactly approve of them running, he knew they were doing a rather bold thing. He had a feeling that the White Fang's legacy would be vastly improved with Razor in charge.

Qrow, for his part, tried and failed to look stoic, but he couldn't suppress a grin as Winter entered the room.

"So you need not fear us, as I will never let the White Fang go down a dark path ever again. There might be a day when we need to fight together, and when that day comes; you can count on the new White Fang for help. This is Razor, new commander of the White Fang, signing off."

There was a brief silence in the room before Chamberlain asked "What are your orders General? Should we try to pursue?"

Ironwood considered, but sighed and shook his head. "No, but keep alert for our troops' tracking beacon when they land so we can pick them up. Put them on the watch list and tell all bases to keep an eye out for them... but I don't think they'll be a threat."

"Sir, are you sure that's a wise course of action?" Winter inquired.

"Maybe not, it does seem irresponsible, but I think they'll do more good than harm. After all, most people, be they human or Faunus, deserve a chance for redemption." he said.

"Well said Jimmy, well said." Qrow agreed before taking a swig from his flask.

Ironwood sighed and said "I just hope this will not come back to haunt me."

"Sir, with all do respect, I think you're right when you say they will do more good than harm. In times like these we need all the allies we can get, and I am confidant that Razor and this new White Fang will be a great ally in the future." Winter assured him.

"Only time will tell, Specialist Schnee. Let us hope we've made the right choice." Ironwood said with a serious voice.

---

Hui looked around at the hundred or so members of the White Fang who had escaped with him, they were all tired, their faces made that obvious, but also upon their faces were looks of defeat.

They had arrived at this... place hours ago. Where it was he couldn't be sure, there were barren looking lands with large rock formations surrounding them and any plant life was large and twisted, looking incredibly old. And then there was the palace; huge, the size of Beacon Academy, and it looked absolutely ancient, with faded stones, large towering spires that added to the foreboding aura of the castle, large windows that offered small peeks into the gargantuan structure but no one dared look inside.

The giant doors had remained closed ever since Emerald and Mercury went inside, telling them to remain outside until they were sent for, and that had been nearly two hours ago.

They had tried to contact other White Fang bases, but there was no signal, no reception for their scrolls, no way of contacting anyone... nothing.

Hui didn't know where they were, but he didn't like their situation at all. The whole thing made him feel more nervous than he had in years, and their current defeat made it even worse.

Before he could consider his next action a large metallic groaning sound could be heard as the doors opened up, revealing a large, tanned, bearded, and muscular human man. "Lieutenant Hui." He called.

"What?" Hui asked.

"My name is Hazel Rainart, I am one of Master Salem's disciples. She wishes to see you and your high ranking officers, follow me." The man, now identified as Hazel, ordered.

Hui hesitated for a second, but he decided they had no other choice, so he beckoned some of the officers and members of the Oblivion Vanguard to come with him.

They followed Hazel into the main entrance hall, a towering, gothic looking room that was illuminated by candles on the walls. It just seemed to give off a strange, threatening, but at the same time strangely inviting atmosphere. It was bizarre, and Hui couldn't put it into words, but that what it made him feel.

Hazel didn't say another word, and when Hui asked "What does this 'Salem' want with us? What is she going to do?"

Hazel glanced at him, and simply said "Patience."

They soon came to a medium sized room with a table in the center, but what was on the table shocked all of the Faunus to their core. Laying upon the table was the broken, bent, and ruined corpse of Adam Taurus.

"My gods..."

"Commander!"

"He's... he's dead..."

Hui, seething mad, grabbed Hazel roughly and demanded "Who did this to him?!"

Hazel responded by grabbing Hui's arms and forcing them off before grabbing him by the neck and hoisting him off the floor with little effort, quite impressive considering Hui's muscular build. "Do not annoy me." Hazel growled before he threw Hui to the ground. Hui looked up to see Hazel glaring down at him, a look in his eyes that made it obvious that he wasn't one to be trifled with.

"Calm yourself, Lieutenant, this was not our doing." Said a powerful, but elegant voice. Hui forced himself up just in time to see the legendary Mistress of Grimm, Salem, emerge from the shadows.

"Wha... what happened to him?" Hui asked carefully, his voice made it clear he was nervous.

"He was sent to his death by Blake Belladonna. She, along with Xiao Long and Wukong, murdered him by throwing him off the ship, thousands of feet in the air. He had already lost an arm to them, but that wasn't good enough." Salem said as an odd looking Grimm, that seemed to be an orb with long, rope like tentacles coming out of the bottom its hovering body, came out from behind Salem.

"This is a rare type of Grimm known as a Seer, it has the power to read the minds of its prey and some of the older ones can even gleam at the memories of the deceased. I used to it to observe Adam's last moments among the living." She explained as the Grimm hovered tamely by her, not even making a move for the nervous group before it.

"So... you saw how he died? Belladonna kill him?" Hui asked.

"Correct. He nearly defeated her, but Xiao Long severed his arm and Wukong knocked him off the side of the platforms where Belladonna was hanging, but he grabbed onto her. He pleaded them not to kill him, but it was there that Belladonna kicked him off, sending him to a cruel and painful death without any remorse." Salem said, bending the truth a little to get them in her hands.

The present members of the old White Fang were shocked with either grief or anger at the death of their leader. Some of them had only joined the White Fang because of Adam, he gave them purpose, the gave them motivation to make this world a better place for Faunus kind, no matter who tried to stop his vision. In their eyes, his murder was Blake Belladonna's ultimate betrayal of her race, but not just her's ever single Faunus in the who sided with her and her foolish beliefs, be they White Fang traitors like Razor or mere civilians.

The loss of Adam was a devastating blow and none of them knew what to do.

Hui fell to his knees, his fingernails digging into his palms hard enough to draw blood. "What will we do? Without Adam... we're lost! We can't survive this!" He shouted furiously.

"No, you will survive this defeat and you will continue to fight." Salem said to him.

Hui forced himself to look up to her. "What do you mean?"

"Your era of the White Fang is over, but you can begin anew. You will dedicate yourselves to serve my cause as warriors in my army, and in return I will help you avenge the crimes humanity has committed against you. You will be able to avenge Adam and the other Faunus lives claimed by humanity's cruelty, not as the White Fang, but as the Red Fang. Red for the blood of your noble people that is on the hands of humanity. Blood, letting them know you will never forget their crimes against your race." Salem said , her voice firm and authoritative.

Hui was silent for a minute before he said "We have no choice. We will serve you... Mistress Salem."

He bowed down to her, and the others, not wanting to invoke her ire, followed Hui's example.

Salem watched the scene before her and allowed herself a smirk.

Up above on a gated veranda, Emerald and Mercury watched as the Faunus bowed down to Salem. "Well, Cinder probably won't be too pleased with how this turned out." Emerald muttered.

"Well, true we didn't come out on top, but things could be worse." Mercury said to her.

"He is right, Emerald." said a voice from behind, causing the pair to turn around to see Cinder, her face hidden by the shadow of the hood draped over her head, standing behind them. "Things can always be worse..."

She stepped forwards and looked down upon the escapees from the White Fang, now rebranded as the Red Fang. She looked to Emerald and said "Tell me what happened."

---

Later that day, sometime after noon, the residents of the town of Hondyama were surprised to see the flagship of the Atlas Military flying by the town, and even more surprised when it came to a halt. Soon enough a small drop-ship ejected from its hangar bay and flew down towards the town.

Gina Wukong was surprised to see said ship land in her street. She opened the door to go outside, and there was an odd, sinking feeling in her gut that told her this had something to do with Sun. Sure enough the ramp lowered to reveal her son, looking bruised and weary, but he still had that cocky aura of confidence about him, but at the same time he looked a bit sad as he walked towards her.

She soon saw why.

She saw that half of his tail was missing, completely severed from his body. Amputated. One of the worst things that could ever happen to a Faunus.

Her eyes were wide and teary, her arms and tail limp, her legs were shaky but she managed to walk forward and capture her eldest child in a powerful, comforting hug. He leaned into her, and despite his pride and his effort to hold it in, he began to cry too.

Blake, Yang, Ruby, Weiss, Neptune, Scarlet, and Sage watched from inside of the ship but quickly disembarked to let Sun know they were there for him.

"Sun?" Called the voice of Haulan. They looked up to the house to see the youngest member of the Wukong family. She walked off the porch but stopped and gasped when she saw what had happened to him. Without another word she dashed over to her big brother and hugged him tightly, crying with him.

Sun's Team and Team RWBY watched the sad scene as Sun's family wept for what happened to him.

About an hour or so later Yang stepped out of the ship while the others waited on the porch. Inside the house Sun was telling his mother and sister everything that had happened on his mission, how he lost his tail, how Blake had beaten Adam more than once, how they stopped the ship from bombing villages, as much as he was allowed to say. While Chamberlain stayed behind to look after the cleanup operations General Ironwood took care of the official dealings with the councils and the public and he had stopped the Resolute to drop off Sun so he could be with his family after losing his tail and before that a bullhead, containing Team CFVY and Thayer had left also so Velvet's uncle could make amends with his family before he was put on trial. All the while Ironwood and Glynda, along with Ozpin via hologram, discussed the situation with the councils.

Neptune was currently on the scroll with his parents, telling them he was alright. Despite everything most of their stuff in from the wrecked R.V. had been left relatively intact and they were now able to change into their own clothes again, and their scrolls had been returned to them before the Elite Guard took off, along with Velvet's weapon so she could fix it.

"Love you too mom, bye." Neptune said before he shut off his scroll and looked to Yang. "So what's up?"

"Just got off the radio, they found those Atlas Troopers, Razor kept his word and all they have are headaches." She said, flexing her robotic hand which had been mended on the way.

"I knew he wouldn't hurt them." Blake commented.

Yang nodded and said "They want to head for Menagerie soon so you and your grandpa can talk about what happened to the public. How much longer do you think we'll have to stay?"

"Don't know, but I think we'll stay here, for Sun." Neptune said as he gestured to Sage and Scarlet.

"Are you sure about that?" Ruby asked.

"Pretty sure, he's our leader, like a brother to us." Sage voiced.

"Right, we gotta stick with him through thick and thin." Scarlet chimed in.

"And I... I want to make sure he'll be alright before we leave." Blake said quietly.

Ruby nodded, "Sounds good to me, we won't leave until you're ready Blake so the General is going to have to wait."

"Ruby... that's not how that works..." Weiss moaned. She had come to love Ruby, but the girl could still get on her nerves at times.

Yang noticed a worried look on Blake's face and knelt down before her. "Hey, what's the matter?"

Blake looked her in the eye, blushing briefly as she remembered the three-way kiss they had shared with Sun, but answered "What if they blame me for what happened to him? What if they think it's my fault?"

Yang placed both of her hands on Blake's shoulders and made her look her in the eye. "It's not your fault. It's no one's fault but Adam's, and you took care of him permanently. You should know by now the Sun loves you, and he will make it clear that they can't blame you for what happened to him." She assured her partner.

Blake smiled and said "Thank you, I know you're right... but I can't help but worry." Just then her ears twitched and her head jerked up. "They're coming out."

As if on cue the front door opened the the Wukong family came out of the house to join their guests on the porch.

"So... Sun told you guys what happened?" Ruby opened up after a brief awkward pause.

"Yes... I think he might be sparing us some of the more gory details, but he told us the basics of what happened." Gina said.

"How do you do it?" Haulan asked.

"What do you mean?" inquired Weiss.

"How do you keep fighting after everything that happens to you guys? I mean, I always imagined being a Hunter would be awesome, but after what I just heard it sounds hard and... well scary." The young Faunus confessed.

"It is sometimes, sometimes the Grimm aren't the only monsters we have to face." Blake said to her.

"Like that Adam guy?" Haulan asked.

Blake sighed and said "Yes, like him."

Just then Blake felt another hand on her should and she looked back only to be hugged by Gina, which startled her. She noticed Yang smirking, as if to say 'See? You were worried about nothing.'

Blake plucked up her courage and said "Mrs. Wukong?"

"Sun told me what happened, including what happened to you. I am so sorry dear, no one should ever go through what you kids have had to. He told me you'd be afraid of me hating you for what happened to him. I swear to you that I don't blame any of this on you, he's told us that all you ever wanted was equality and Adam used you for his own ends. He told us about the... the amputations and how he wanted to bomb villages... you did us all a favor by killing him." Gina said.

Blake looked down and said "Did I? Or did I just sink to his level?"

"No." Sun and Yang both said sharply at the same time, making her look up at them.

"You are nowhere near his level and you never will be." Sun told her.

"It's like you said, the real Adam died years ago and was replaced by the monster he became. If you hadn't kicked him off he would have taken you with him, maybe all of us. You're a hero Blake, so please get that through your pretty little thick head." Yang said seriously.

Blake smiled and looked to Sun's family. "So... you're alright with me?" She asked.

"More than alright, I'm happy my boy found someone like you. What happened to him isn't your fault, and you avenged it when you beat Adam and took away his control. I'd love to have you as a daughter-in-law." Gina said cheerfully.

Blake blushed as Haulan said "Yeah, I think you're pretty cool, all of you. I mean fighting bad guys, killing Grimm, sneaking into prisons... it sounds awesome!"

"Just stop and think before you decide it's what you want to do with your life, squirt." Sun said to her jokingly.

Haulan giggled and said to Blake, "But you... you took that creep down. I don't think you're a bad person for that. I mean look at all the things he did, like holding me and mom hostage, hurting all those people, wanting to bomb towns... I mean, he was nuts and needed to go down. Mom's right when she says you did everyone a favor."

"Thanks, your acceptance means a lot to me." Blake voiced.

"After all you've done for not just my son, but for our race, your team, for everything... how couldn't we accept you?" Gina asked before giving Blake another hug.

"So, you guys are staying here, huh?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, I need some time to rest, be with mom and Haulan. And... adjust." Sun said as he looked to his halved tail before he wrapped his arm around his little sister. "Don't worry, I promise you we'll be back in a week or two."

"And we're staying with him, hope you guys can hold up without us." Sage stated.

"I think we can handle whatever happens in the next few days." Weiss remarked.

"Yeah, after everything we just went through, a couple of public addresses to explain what happened should be a walk in the park." Yang voiced. "Nice to see you again." She added before she gave Sun a sly look and went back up the ramp of the ship,

"Yeah, take care! Hope you feel better soon Sun!" Ruby wished before she followed her elder.

"Take care, and remember; my offer to pay for a mechanical replacement still stands." Weiss said to him.

"A robo-tail?! Cool!" Haulan declared.

Sun chuckled and said "Thanks Weiss, I'll think on it."

Weiss nodded before smiling at the other members of Team SSSN and saying to Neptune "And you get better too, I imagine you still feel sore?"

"Better than I was last night, buy yeah, still a little sore. I'll be okay, see you later" The bluenette said before Weiss shook his hand and followed Ruby back onto the ship.

Sun got up and walked over to Blake to hug her. "So I guess I'll see you later too, huh?"

"Yeah... Sun, thank you, for everything." Blake said before she captured his lips in a passionate kiss.

Gina and the other members of Team SSSN smiled at the sight while Haulan made a face. As the two parted for air Sun said "If you need to talk just call me, okay?"

"I will, and the same goes for you. I love you." Blake said to him.

"Right back at ya." Sun said with a smirk.

Blake walked up the ramp, her teammates saying their goodbyes to the Wukong family and Team SSSN. The ramp closed up as Blake gave her boyfriend one last smile. As the ship began to rise up Blake and Yang traded looks, knowing that sooner or later they'd have to talk about what had happened on the ship, but not in front of the younger members of the team.

For now, they were content to rest up some more as the Resolute continued its journey to Menagerie.

---

Blake shifted nervously in her seat between Claudandus and the rest of Team RWBY as General Ironwood and Professor Goodwitch stood in front of them on the stage, before a large crowd of reporters, news anchors, and citizens of Menagerie, all listening to Ironwood's report on the fall of the White Fang. Her old home of Menagerie was just a beautiful as she remembered it; lush trees, small but comfy homes, and a sense of peace, despite the occasional dust up with White Fang protesters, most of who had fled the town or had been jailed.

"...And while there are some stragglers and escapees out there, including several high ranking officers, we have defeated them for the most part. The ones who got away are now running and hiding. Over two thousand arrests have been made today, many of the voluntary from White Fang members who discovered the truth about Adam Taurus' crimes. Now I know that despite the progress there is still some tension between humans and Faunus, but I assure all of you, that the legal systems of all of the Kingdoms will work hard to make sure that every one of the arrested Faunus are given fair trials, and those who sided with Miss Blake Belladonna after learning the truth about Taurus will be given lighter sentences for their actions. We cannot simply let them go, but their punishments will be much less severe than those who knew of Taurus' horrific crimes and willingly allowed them." Ironwood said into the microphone on the podium.

"Excuse me, General!" Called a reporter, "I was wondering if you could tell us exactly what happened to Taurus? We know he's dead but how?"

"Taurus tried to escape on an specially built airship for himself, loaded with missiles to attack villages or areas with mostly human populations to create a schism in race relations. However, thanks to the efforts of Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long, and Sun Wukong, he wasn't able to fire any of his weapons. He nearly killed them, but in the end Taurus fell off of the ship and tried to take Miss Belladonna with him, and so she was forced to kick him off, sending him to his death." Ironwood said.

Camera lights flashed as they took pictures of Blake and the others, more questions were called out: "Could he have survived?" "What happened to those missiles?" "Where's his body?"

"Silence." Ironwood said powerfully, making everyone quiet down. "As for some of those questions I heard; No, he couldn't have survived a fall from that height, the missiles were destroyed with the ship when it crashed into the mountain, and while Ranger scouts found where his body landed, the body was taken. Most likely by his followers. Rest assured, that the White Fang have been defeated, and they are no more. I now wish to let Claudandus Pirincci, the original founder of the White Fang, who was rescued from captivity just the other day, a chance to speak."

Ironwood took a seat as the elderly Cat Faunus came up, supported by a cane. Glynda stood still, her stern glance was making sure the ones in the audience didn't do anything to rash.

"So, why were you imprisoned? Did you oppose the direction the White Fang took?" Asked a female reporter from Mistral.

"Yes, I left years ago when it was clear my goals for equality were being thrown out the window for a more violent direction." He answered. "I was imprisoned about five months ago when I helped my granddaughter, Blake. It turns out Adam Taurus had been spying on me, waiting for a reason to have me arrested for... betrayal."

"What do you think of the White Fang troops that escaped? Should we be worried?" Asked a Faunus reporter from the local news.

"Well... I don't think so for the time being. They're beaten and tired, maybe even scared and ashamed. Some of them are still threats, but others might be... helpful." He said cryptically.

"What do you mean by that?" Questioned another reporter.

"A group of White Fang members, known as the Elite Guard, turned on Adam when they discovered what he had been doing. They worked with my granddaughter and her friends to defeat Adam, and we owe much of our victory to them. They escaped with another group of soldiers and a great many of the Faunus who turned of Adam after Blake defeated him in combat." Claudandus explained.

"Is this true?" Asked yet another reporter.

"Yes it is true." Ironwood said, getting back up. "They said they want to redeem the White Fang for what did, for make up for past sins. While they will be wanted for various crimes and resisting arrest, I do not think we should consider them a threat. I have talked it over with the councils, and while they're still wary, they agree that the Elite Guard are not an intimidate threat. As for the ones than can be considered threats, rest assured that they will be dealt with. Not all of them are accounted for, but the reveal of Taurus' crimes has caused the White Fang to turn on itself, a schism between those who still believe in Taurus' cruelty and those who oppose it. The infighting has gotten these bases noticed and they are being captured by the law enforcement of each Kingdom. They are either surrendering or being forced to give up. As the rate of their defeats, the White Fang of Adam Taurus will be gone for good. Back to you, sir."

"Thank you General." Claudandus said before addressing the crowd again. "As for the Faunus who have been arrested, I can tell you that things have changed a lot in the years, so I am confidant that the ones who have been arrested will be given fair sentences and the ones who turned against Adam will be given shorter jail time. Now, I would ask for my granddaughter, Blake, to come up if she has anything to say."

Blake was uncomfortable for a second, but she took a breath and rose up to make her way to the podium. "Yes, I do have something to say. I was once young and foolish, I thought that the world could be judged and divided easily; humans hated Faunus so we had to fight back. That's how I used to think, and Adam Taurus was the reason for that. When I was very young I lost my parents in a riot, they were killed by human officers and when I met Adam I listened to his story of how he and his family had been enslaved and forced to work in a mine and how he was the only survivor. As the years went by Adam's hatred for humanity became more violent and eventually I couldn't ignore it, I thought he loved me, but eventually I saw the truth, he only wanted to use me as another soldier in his private war against humanity, so I left him and the White Fang. In doing so I made him angry, angry enough to align himself with Cinder Fall, so he aided her attack on Beacon just to get at me and the people I cared about, cutting my partner's arm off and eventually he imprisoned my grandfather for months and severed the tail of the boy I love, Sun Wukong."

This caused some gasps in the crowd.

"Yes, the leader of a 'Faunus Freedom Group' severed a tail from a Monkey Faunus, but Sun wasn't alone, as many other Faunus suffered the same fate as they opposed him or tried to get away. He even allowed Cinder Fall's allies to murder those who opposed him as well. I was forced to kill Adam Taurus to save myself and my friends. Do I regret it? I honestly cannot say, while a part of me is glad that he's finally gone another part of me hates the feeling of killing another, even if they did deserve it. I want to tell everyone I can that; Adam was a victim too, a victim of humanity's cruelty, but in the end he became a monster, just as cruel as the ones who ruined his life, so he might not deserve your sympathy, but do not forget him. He is what anyone will become if they let racism and lust for vengeance consume them. We must put an end to hatred between our races, as people like Adam Taurus don't need to be any specific race to spread hate. A kind of hate that isn't just annoyance or anger, but pure, vile loathing, and that is not good for anyone. My only hope is that one day humans and Faunus can live together in peace, and that the grudges of the past and racist people like Adam are forgotten and only remembered as examples of what you should never be. I hope everyone that hears this will take from this and learn. Thank you all." Blake finished before letting Glynda take the podium.

Blake sat down with her team, all of whom looked proud of her.

---

Later that night Blake and Claudandus walked together towards Menagerie' cemetery along with two other Cat Faunus, her father's brother Ghira, the mayor of the town, and his wife Kali, who not only looked like her mother but had apparently been her childhood friend. Ghira had become a member of the White Fang along with Kurt, but unlike Kurt he didn't seek quicker solutions. He had left the Fang to enter politics but supported them until Adam's takeover. They had agreed to keep the fact that Claudandus was Blake's grandfather a secret from her out of respect for him, and they even had custody of her for a few years until she demanded to become a member of the White Fang full time, so they had been very close to Blake until she ran off with Adam.

"I have to say it was quite the surprise to see you after all these years Blake, you've grown up into a fine woman." Ghira praised.

"He's absolutely right dear, your parents would be so proud of you." Kali said to Blake with a kind voice.

"Thank you Aunt Kali, people keep telling me that, so I hope it's true." Blake said as they walked towards her parents' graves.

"On our lives it is, the things you've done would have amazed them." Ghira told her.

Blake looked at Kali and said "It's weird, you actually kind of look like my mother.

"Oh yes!" Laughed Claudandus, "When they were young people were surprised to find out they weren't sisters."

"In all seriousness Blake, you shouldn't worry so much. You've made all of us proud, so trust us when we say Esther and Kurt would have been too." Ghira swore.

Blake nodded and said "Thank you, Uncle."

They soon arrived at the shared headstones with the names of Blake's parents carved into them. Blake took out the bouquet of flowers she had purchased and placed them before the graves.

"Look at your little girl, guys. All grown up. She's beautiful and a hero..." Kali said with teary eyes as Ghira hugged her.

Claudandus looked down at the grave of his daughter and said "I hope you can forgive me, I hope I did what was right."

Blake said nothing, she just looked at the graves of her parents, but then she suddenly had a strange, comforting feeling, one that told her that she was loved.

Somehow, she didn't wonder if her parents would have been proud of her, she knew they were.

After saying goodbye to her Aunt and Uncle they walked back to the pickup point to be greeted by Ruby, Yang and Penny, and discovered that Weiss and Winter had taken a ship to get them back to Atlas, as they had some... personal business to attend to.

Blake wanted to ask about it, but she was far too tired, as she hadn't slept in over twenty-four hours, so on the way up to the Resolute she fell asleep, leaning against Yang, who carried her bridal style to their room they were sharing with Team JNPR.

For Blake, it was the end of a very long and emotionally draining ordeal, and her rest was oh so deserved.

---

The door to the Scarlatina family's average sized home opened up to reveal the daughter of the family, Velvet, smiling as her parents approached her. Her mom, Margery, caught her in a hug and held her close and tight.

"Oh Velvet! Let me kiss you!" She said as she began to place kisses upon her daughter's head.

"Mom!" Velvet cried, a bit embarrassed as Coco, Fox, and Yatsuhashi stepped in scene, the last of whom having to duck down through the doorway. Coco snickered at the sight while Fox and Yatsuhashi just smiled. Margery noticed them and said "Oh hello dears! So nice to see you all again, and safe and sound too!"

"Thank you, Mrs. Scarlatina." Yatsuhashi said, giving a slight bow while Fox nodded.

"Good to be here Mrs. S." Coco remarked.

John, Velvet's father, took her aside and hugged her, petting her head a bit. "My gods, I never imagined my little girl would have to live through something like that."

On the way there Velvet had told them what had happened via scroll, telling them the events of the night and how she had miraculously ran into her uncle, who had become part of the White Fang Elite Guard. John had wanted to talk to Thayer, but the latter declined so they could speak face to face.

"Well, I made it out okay, didn't I?" Velvet replied with a smile.

John smiled, "I guess you did. You make us both so proud." He said before he kissed her forehead.

"John?" Said the voice of Thayer, announcing his presence.

John and Margery both looked to the front door at the man they had not seen in four years. Thayer slowly walked into his brother's home, slowly and nervously, his gaze never leaving his brother.

John looked at his older brother for the first time in years and let Velvet out of his grip before beginning to slowly walk towards his brother.

"Thayer..."

"Hi John. Long time no see, eh?" Thayer opened, awkwardly.

Margery, deciding her husband and brother-in-law needed some space, quickly gestured to the teens to follow her in the kitchen. Coco nodded and snapped her fingers to get the message across to her male teammates, Velvet however stayed behind.

"Velvet..." Her mother said quietly.

"Mom, I need to be here for this." Velvet said firmly. Her mother wanted to protest, but she simply sighed and nodded before giving a loving look to her husband and going into the kitchen.

Velvet looked to her father and uncle, neither saying anything to break the dreadful silence, so she took it upon herself to do the deed.

"Don't either of you have anything to say? You're brothers who haven't seen each other in four years, you have to say something." She voiced softly.

The two adults looked at her, and knew she was right.

"John... I'm going to admit it; you were right and I was wrong." Thayer said bluntly. "I was going too far, putting us all at risk because I was so tired of the inequality and I was so enchanted by the idea of fighting back that I... I just... I don't why I..." He struggled to find the right words to say before sighing in defeat and admitting "I understand if you never want to see me again."

"Thayer... shut the hell up." John said before he stepped forward and hugged his brother. Thayer was stunned for a moment, but slowly returned the embrace, leaning into his brother. Tears began to fall from their eyes as John continued talking; "Velvet told me about what happened, she told me how you risked your life to save her and her friends, how you even tried to shoot the leader of the White Fang. You were risking your life for her, I can't thank you enough!"

Thayer's tears kept falling as he hugged his brother tighter still. "Well I... I couldn't just... I couldn't let her get hurt without fighting. While joining them may have been selfish, I joined them so my family could have a better future, I couldn't let anyone hurt her." He said.

The two parted, John saying "I'm sorry for what I said all those years ago, I was just angry and I wasn't... I just wasn't thinking about what I was saying."

"No," protested Thayer, "you were right. I was putting us all in danger by aiding them. I wasn't thinking either.

"Actually, I don't think either of you really did the right thing, but what's done is done and right now the only thing we can do is try to make amends for it." Velvet said to them with a calm voice.

John nodded and said "Well I still have to apologize for what I said..."

"No, you were right for saying what you said. I went too far saying Velvet's safety didn't matter to you, because kicking me out probably was the best for this family in the end." Thayer said quickly.

"Kicking someone out of the family is never the best move, and I regretted it more and more as the years went by." John confessed. "I missed you Thayer."

"I missed you too little brother." Thayer said with a sad smile.

They spent the hours telling each other what had happened during their separation, with Thayer speaking of his experiences with the Elite Guard, John telling him about the grocery business and how he had been given several promotions, and Team CFVY spoke of their various adventures such as the Battle of Haven.

But all things must end, and later that night, the a quartet of police officers came to escort Thayer to the jail cells where he would await trial. While none of the Scarlatina family, nor Team CFVY, were comfortable with letting them take him, he did not resist nor try to escape.

"Are you sure there isn't something we can't do?" Margery asked Thayer as she hugged him.

"Character Witness, show up for the trial, I dunno really. We'll just have to wait and see." He said before looking to Coco, Fox, and Yatsuhashi. He smiled and nodded to them, "I gotta admit, I was skeptical when I heard Velvet wanted to be a Huntress. A part of me was always afraid she'd get saddled with a team of racists... I'm glad I was wrong. You lot did fantastic out there, thank you for being there for her."

"She is a wonderful friend and a great Huntress." Yatsuhashi said.

"We wouldn't be as good a team without her." voiced Fox.

"You got that right, and we're proud of her." Coco said as she patted Velvet's shoulder affectionately.

Thayer looked to his brother and said "I'm happy for you, John. I could have had a life like yours but I went off to be a 'freedom fighter' and while I don't regret the good I did under Razor, I wish I could have been here more."

"Do you regret not going with the Elite Guard when they escaped?" John inquired.

"A little, but I think it was worth it, just to be with my family again." Thayer confessed before hugging his brother one more time. "See you later."

He then looked to Velvet, who he had held when she was a newborn, played with when she was a child, and now could only look on at the beautiful, strong girl she had become.

"I'm so proud of you Velvet. Never give up, never stop making us all proud." He said as he hugged her and kissed her forehead. "I love you."

Velvet leaned into the hug and whispered "I love you too, Uncle Bigwig. Goodbye... for now."

Thayer allowed himself to be cuffed and read his rights by the officers. He gave his family one last look before he was led out of the door... only for a winged figure to drop down upon the police officers, bringing his full weight down on the leader to knock him out, starling them all. Velvet and the rest of Team CFVY ran out, ready to fight, only to be surprised at the sight of Kane fighting the three remaining officers while a confused Thayer lay on the ground.

"What the hell? Should we do something?" Fox asked Coco.

"Nope." She answered simply as she saw Selena come out of the woods. The Raccoon Faunus blasted down the three remaining cops with a rifle set on stun, knocking them all out.

"Hey Thayer, thought we'd leave you behind?" Kane asked as he helped the Rabbit Faunus up.

"What's going on? Who are you?" Demanded John.

"This is Kane and Selena, two members of the Elite Guard who were friends of mine. Guys what are you doing here?" Thayer asked, baffled.

"Rescuing you, Razor remembered where you lived and said we couldn't just let you go. He wants to offer you another chance to join us." Kane said.

"Join you?" Velvet repeated.

"Yeah, the new White Fang! A new, better, and way less crazy and evil version. What we're meant to be." Selena explained.

"Just like Razor said, huh?" Coco asked.

"Yeah, this time the White Fang are going to be the good guys for real. So what do you say man? You in or out? It's your choice." Kane said to him.

Thayer thought about it for a minute and looked to his family once again.

Velvet smiled and said "I'd rather you be out there doing good than rot in prison."

John stepped forward and added "She's right Thayer, if they're serious about starting over..."

"We are." Selena swore.

"We're going to do everything we can to redeem ourselves." Kane assured him.

John nodded and continued "Then maybe you going with them isn't such a bad thing. If you want to go out there and redeem yourself for anything you did wrong, then we won't stop you. Now you better get moving before I come to my senses."

The two brothers laughed together, as Thayer began to cry bittersweet tears of joy. "So... what are you gonna tell the cops?"

"We'll just tell 'em that the attackers were too fast and only knocked them out and took you, then vanished." Fox said.

"Sounds good enough to me." Coco said with a shrug.

Velvet hugged him one last time and said "Make us proud."

"I'll do my best." Thayer promised before he followed Kane and Selena into the woods, but he stopped and turned around to give them one last wave, which they all returned.

"Goodbye." He said before he turned around, and with a heavy heart, followed Kane and Selena to their ship.

---

Weiss and Winter led a squadron of Atlesian Troopers up the large, elegant stone steps that led to the front door of the Schnee family mansion. It was already morning in the Kingdom of Atlas and the two sisters had gotten some rest on the Bullhead ride over to their family home, as they needed to be prepared for anything. Their father had private guards employed and over the years he had become a competent fighter as well, one they could take together but if the need arose they'd be ready. Qrow had offered to come but Winter refused, saying this was something they needed to do alone.

The large doors opened up to reveal a middle aged man with balding, brown hair and a mustache, their butler who was named Klein Sieben. "Ah! Miss Winter! Miss Schnee! So good to have you home at last! We've heard about the terrible mess with the White Fang, are you both alright?" He asked, his voice genuinely concerned.

The pair allowed themselves a smile, as the man had always been kind to them and supportive in their endeavors outside of the family business, but never openly lest he invoke Willow's ire.

"It's good to see you again Klein." Winter said as she offered her hand out for him to kiss.

Weiss did the same and said "We're both fine, just tired and in need of some rest, but we have something to do first."

"Yes, I'm aware that your relationship with Master Schnee hasn't been quite... positive in the last several months, Miss Winter... may I inquire as to why those soldiers are here?" He asked.

"We've discovered our father was involved with some rather... malicious individuals." Weiss said, "We have proof of it and General Ironwood allowed us to see into it personally before legal action is taken."

Klein's eyes widened and he said "Oh... I see. Your father is in his office. I will not tell him you've arrived."

"Thank you." Winter said to him before she looked to the soldiers and said "Wait in the foyer, if we need help we will call."

"Understood Specialist Schnee." Said a sergeant that led the troops.

As they walked towards the grand staircase Klein called "Winter, Weiss!" Sounding incredibly odd to be speaking without using the proper honorifics. "I'm happy to see you're both alright, good luck up there."

The two sisters smiled down at him and Weiss said "Thank you." The do continued their ascent up the steps and once they made it to the third floor they began walking towards their father's office.

Willow Schnee was currently busy going over various documents about the acquisition of a shipment of new materials for the company when there was a knock at the door.

"Enter." He said, expecting to see Klein.

"Hello father." Said the cold voice of Winter. Willow's head jerked up to see both of his daughters with stoic, yet judgmental looks written upon their faces.

"Winter! Weiss! I... I wasn't expecting you." He said as he placed his papers away and rose from his chair. "I've heard about the defeat of the White Fang, heard you were both involved in it. What brings you here after such an ordeal?"

The sisters glanced at each other before Winter stepped forward. "Willow Jacques Schnee; in the name of the Four Kingdoms, you're under arrest." She said before she drew out her sword. "Do not resist."

"What is wrong with you?!" Willow demanded, a shocked expression written on his face. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"Some information has come to our attention, documents that say you bought a rather large amount of slaves from a highly illegal organization." Winter told him.

Willow looked even more surprised at that, but asked "And where did you find these documents?"

"From the White Fang's Elite Guard, who became our allies and helped us overthrow their cruel leader. Some time ago they liberated many Faunus, and even some human, slaves from an underground slave trade and when they downloaded the leader's data-banks they discovered that one person had purchased all of them, and your name was on the buyer's documents." Weiss revealed as she subtly gripped Myrtenaster's hilt.

"You said you got these documents from the White Fang, a known terrorist organization that you just helped defeat? Are you two that naive to believe you can trust them?" Willow asked incredulously as he moved to push a button on his desk that would summon security, only for Winter to stab her blade into the desk, warning him away from it.

"They helped us, they discovered the truth about what their leader was doing and helped us defeat him, they spared our lives. You should be grateful." Winter hissed.

"General Ironwood wondered the same thing, so he had his data analysts look into the documents, and they verified that they were not forged or fake. Your signature is on those papers via touch-screen pen and the meeting place for the trade off was even at one of the companies' sites." Weiss said to him.

"And we know our family has a history with Faunus slavery, even after it was made illegal across all the Kingdoms." Winter pointed out.

"Don't deny it father, Adam Taurus was enslaved in our mines on the mountain Ausz just over a decade ago." Weiss added.

"Ausz?! Who was enslaved there?!" Willow asked in bewilderment, his shocked reaction appearing genuine.

"The leader of the White Fang, former leader now that he's dead. His entire family was killed by that place, his face was branded with our family's emblem, and when he escaped he was so overwhelmed by anger and sorrow and hate that he became the monster who waged war with our company, the same one who had board members execute was created by our family's company." Weiss said to him.

Willow was quiet for a moment before he muttered "My gods..."

"You didn't know about Ausz, did you?" asked Weiss gently.

"No. I thought that place was abandoned decades ago."

"Adam said the overseers and guards began to execute the workers when our grandfather retired." Winter stated, "You didn't like the 'unofficial' operations, ones that had connections to criminal activities."

"No. I had all of them shut down or halted when I took over. He never told me about any slave mines..." Willow said. "It's more than likely one of the old board members had the mine shut down and all documents pertaining to it destroyed before I could find out."

"So do you deny your connections with the slave trade? With the late Madame Fatalea?" Winter inquired.

"Fatalea? Oh Oum... this isn't what it looks like." He denied.

"Then explain!" Winter demanded, her voice unusually harsh.

"... Very well. After what happened five months ago, when you were released from prison, Winter, I apologized but you refused to accept it. You made it quite clear that a simply apology couldn't fix the damage I had done, heal the wounds my harsh words had inflicted. You made it clear that my disregard for my daughters and other races of life... like the Faunus, was unacceptable in your eyes. You saw me as a horrible person who wanted to control his daughters and step over everyone I thought was beneath me. You made it very clear that you wanted nothing more to do with me for the man I was... and so I wanted to change."

Both sisters were taken aback by that answer.

"You? Wanted to change?" Winter asked in disbelief. Her father was rarely ever one to second guess himself, especially about major things like an outlook on life.

"Yes. Being in the business I've always heard rumors about underground slave trades, so I contacted the United Anti-Slavery Organization to plan a way to capture one of the most notorious slavers in Remnant; Madame Fatalea. Using some... undesirable connections I managed to contact her and negotiated the purchase of every slave she had, human and Faunus. When she and her thugs came to the meeting place they'd be surrounded by the UASO's private task force, as well as my own private guards, and would be arrested and the slaves set free. That was the plan until two weeks ago, when their base was obliterated by parties unknown, who I assume were these 'Elite Guard' Faunus." He said, Weiss nodding in confirmation.

"Do you have proof of it?" Winter asked, her voice calmer now, thoughtful.

"Allow me to call Inspector Kim, she will confirm it." He said.

Winter knew of Inspector Kim, a woman in her forties who was dedicated to fighting any form of human or Faunus trafficking and was one of the United Anti-Slavery Organization's best agents. She had even worked with her several times in the past. "Very well, contact her."

He did so, and soon a holographic screen emitted from the table, showing the visage of a pale skinned woman with dark hair. "Mr. Schnee, I just now made it to work, what is it?" She asked.

Winter told her of the situation and Kim confirmed that her father's story was indeed the truth, that they had collaborated in an effort to ensnare the now dead slaver, and that the slaves would be set free once the slavers were captured.

"Is that all? Is something wrong?" She asked.

"... Some things need to be dealt with, but I expect you'll be getting some new documents and leads on various slave trades and slave buyers soon. Good day inspector." Winter said before the screen deactivated.

The sisters looked at each other before they looked back to their father who had taken his seat again. "You did that, just to make amends for Winter?" Weiss asked.

"Yes, but that wasn't the only reason. I knew she was right about me, I had let my pride and my own arrogance blind me to what I was doing to my daughters and to... other people by considering them lesser just because of genetic and physical differences. I shouldn't hate the entire race because of what a few did to our business or how the Rabid Ones took your mother from us..." He took a moment to collect himself and Weiss wiped away some tears as she thought about her late mother. Willow looked back to the his elder daughter and continued. "Winter, I know you have every right to hate me for what I said and did all those months ago, for leaving you to rot because you did what you thought was right, for ignoring your warnings... I just hope that someday you will be able to forgive me." He finished, with a tired voice that sounded older than he really was.

Weiss was stunned, shocked that her father could ever do something like this just to make amends with Winter, shocked that he could swallow his pride and try to change for the better. She looked to Winter and asked "Winter? What now?"

The elder Schnee child sighed and said "We'll tell General Ironwood about father's dealing with the UASO and that things weren't what they seemed."

"No, what about us? What about our family? What happens next?" The heiress inquired, her voice unsure and emotional, making her happy Ruby wasn't here to see her like this.

Winter sighed and sheathed her sword. "I'm sorry for disturbing you like this father. I... I honestly don't know where to go from here. What you did for those slaves was noble, as is your desire to improve... a part of me wants to forgive you, but half of me is still resentful for you leaving me in that cell without any words of comfort. I don't think I can forgive you yet... but I think someday I will." She said.

"I am sorry Winter, I hope one day we can be family again." He said to her.

"I do too. Good night, father." Winter said before leaving the room.

Weiss remained, trying to think of something to say. She walked over to her father and said "I'm sorry for thinking you were guilty, I didn't want to believe it but... everything I had learned..."

"It's all right Weiss, I understand. While I am proud of our family's company, I am not proud of some of the things in its history. I am sorry for everything." He said to her.

And for the first time in a long time, the two hugged as father and daughter.

A few minutes later Weiss found her sister sitting on side of the fountain in the family garden, staring at the fish that swam through the water. Winter sighed as she looked out at the rising sun.

"Winter?" Weiss called, making the elder Schnee child look to her. "Do you think you'll ever forgive father?"

"I don't know. But I hope I will be able to someday." Winter answered quietly before she looked down at the fish and allowed herself a smile as bittersweet tears fell from her eyes. "I remember when we were young, before mom died. We used to play in the garden and you... you loved to watch the fishes with us... I miss her Weiss."

Weiss hugged her sister from the side, and Winter instantly returned the gesture. "I miss her too Winter, but I want you to know that you'll always have me." Weiss promised.

"And you will always have me, little sister." Winter said as she hugged Weiss tighter.

Winter didn't know when she could forgive her father, but she knew the day would come eventually. For now, she just hugged her sister and enjoyed the feeling of being home.

---

Razor stood on the bridge of the ship, looking out to the formerly abandoned town in upper Mistral, he had stumbled upon it some years ago, and read that a terrible Grimm attack took place there that forced the residents out. Eventually the Grimm left with no prey, which left it ripe for the picking. Nearly all of the maskless Faunus had agreed to be a part of the reborn White Fang, and were currently using some old construction vehicles and parts of old cars were to work on the ship and to build upon it, expand it, make it a mobile base with enough room for everyone. Those who had declined would be taken home in time, but for now, everyone was helping out on creating the base for the new White Fang.

Piper stood beside him and smiled as a ship landed just outside of town, the ramp descending to reveal three familiar figures. About ten minutes later Kane, Selena, and Thayer arrived on the bridge to see Jinty, Babara, Russell, Misha, Morgan, and Kong had all joined Razor and Piper in looking over the sight.

"Good to have you back Thayer, I'm glad you agreed to return." Razor greeted.

"Well, I'd get bored without you lot." Thayer joked.

"So what is this place boss?" Kane asked.

"Our new base, a new start for us all. We'll lay low for a couple of months, and once we're safe we'll begin doing some good work. As for now; we're movin' in." Razor answered with a smile on his face.

The old White Fang was no more, but the new White Fang, a better one that would stand against all forms of tyranny, was just beginning.

Special thanks to RelentlessCrusader for co-writing this chapter and creating the Remnant Knights.

I hope this chapter is okay, I was suffering from some weird writer's block and I'm not sure if it's a good chapter or not, but I'll let you decide. This isn't the end of the Schnee family drama, but for this 'season' the White Fang's arc is done. I hope you all enjoyed it.

I have now been writing this story for over a year, and I honestly never thought I'd come this far. I originally envisioned this fic as a one-shot about Cinder's brother in the events of V3 out to stop Cinder, he befriends Ruby as the events play out and he dies to save Pyrrha, which activates Ruby's eyes, but it evolved into so, so much more than that. I also never planned for it to go beyond the first arc, all of the White Fang stuff was simply going to be a two part chapter about Blake, Yang, and SSSN fighting the Fang alone but I scrapped it since it made more sense for them to go help Ruby and so I could get to the big battle of Haven part, and that eventually led to the White Fang arc and plans for more arcs.

I want to thank each and every person who has contributed to this story's success, thank you so much to all of those who have faved and followed and those who have left a kudos and bookmarked it, thanks to all the reviewers and thanks to all the readers. Special thanks to all the friends I have made in the year since this fic began like RelentlessCrusader and smstanton, both of whom have helped co-write this fic at one point or another. They have both helped out so much and shaped this story into what it is now. As odd as it sounds, I guess Pyrrha's death in the show, a move so awful, contrived, insulting, and stupid that I became determined to write a fic to fix it, actually did one good thing; it gave birth to not only this fic but so many others that have been great.

A lot has happened to me in the past year: I became an uncle, I nearly lost my grandmother (the most important person in my life), my old computer died and I had to get a new one, I've made a lot of friends, I nearly killed myself due to the awful hostility of some toxic RWBY fans, but I think I've been able to come out of all of it as a better, wiser person with more friends, thanks to all of you.

Please help me continue this story and give me some feedback. Please fave and follow this fic and leave a review if you read it on fanfiction . net. If you're on An Archive of Our Own then please leave a kudos and a comment. Tell me what you liked and what you didn't, and how I can improve. Please guys give me some feedback, as it keeps me and this story going and if you want me to keep writing please tell me what you think, please! For those of you on the RWBY Reddit please give this fic a mention, thanks. Please guys, help me out here, let me know if you enjoy this story, what's good and bad about it, tell me if you liked it or tell me if it sucked, please, I work really hard to make this story good so please give me some feedback, please let me know that my efforts aren't wasted. Thank you all, once again.