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

57. History Lessons

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Chapter 56: History Lessons

"...And that, dear students, is how Team RWBY and I spent a weekend hunting in the Emerald Forest, claiming the prizes you see on my walls." Port finished with his tale, gesturing to the stuffed and mounted heads of varying Grimm species such as a Beowolf, a Boarbatusk, a Beringel, and a Deathstalker.

Ruby smiled, blushing a bit as some of her fellow students looked to her, still in awe of her abilities to freeze a Grimm's body. The other members of Team RWBY rolled their collective eyes, as they not only lived through that hunt, but had already heard the enthusiastic professor retell the tale several times, even heard him practice it on the way back from the forest that day.

Several months ago, prior to the first snowfall, Professor Port had asked Team RWBY to accompany him on a hunting trip in the Emerald Forest to help Ruby use her powers, while under control, and claim some non-disappearing Grimm heads for him to get to his taxidermist friend, who had to have help from some scientists from the Vale government to do so.

Team RWBY and Penny were currently in the first class of the day, which they shared with Team SSSN. Team JNPR's first class was weapons training and maintenance, which was usually taught by Qrow, but since he was away, Taiyang had taken his place, and Team CFVY has survival class with Professor Peach.

"And so, what can you take from this story, my dear students?" Port asked.

Several hands shot up, and Port selected Sage's. "That there are multiple ways to destroy Grimm; brute strength, planning of both the in-advance and improvised kind, stealth attacks, carefully placed and swift strikes, Semblance-based attacks and so on. You cannot totally rely on just one kind of combat strategy, so you must try to change things up." He answered.

"An excellent answer Mr. Ayana! Be sure to take notes, as he is absolutely correct! There are wrong ways to vanquish Grimm, however, such as ways that endanger others, but if one is careful, swift, and precise, they can be an effective Hunter." Port stated as he strutted over to a corner of the room, which Sun bumped his fist against Sage's.

"As Mr. Ayana mentioned, Semblances are also important in fighting Grimm, if you paid attention to my story, you'll have noticed how Team RWBY used their Semblances to their advantages expertly several times. Now, we are going to go over how your Semblances can help in battle, and the ways you can use them to take out varying types of Grimm." The cheerful teacher announced, missing the hushed groans of a few students.

About half an hour later, both teams, as well as Penny, made their way to Dr. Oobleck's class.

"This is the third time he's told that story during our class." Weiss bemoaned as she walked next to Ruby.

"I don't think you want to know how many times he's told it all together, remember that he has like seven classes in one day." Ruby told her.

"Usually kids are happy when their teachers' brag on 'em." Sun observed.

"Well we would be, but it gets dull after a while." Blake retorted as leaned out of the way of another student.

"Add to the fact that their are several differences each time he tells the story. The first time Professor Port told this story two months ago he mentioned how Yang punched a Beowolf over to him so he could blast it with his blunderbuss but in today's telling he claims she sent three Beowolves his way." Penny stated.

"How would you notice that?" Neptune asked, a bit surprised.

"I'm very good at keeping track of things." Penny answered with a smile.

"Doesn't matter to me. Makes me sound more awesome that way." Yang voiced, before flexing her muscles and adding "Besides, I could totally do that."

"We know." Most of the group shot back.

"So Ruby, are you sure you're okay with those heads? I mean, one could say that Port used your powers to get those." Sage asked the girl.

Ruby shook her head before saying "Don't worry about that! He's wanted genuine Grimm trophies for decades, and I was more than happy to help him. Plus he even wanted to make sure I didn't feel like he was taking advantage of my powers."

"Professor Port is a lot of things, but a selfish person is not one of them. He's smarter than he lets on." Weiss agreed.

As the months went on, the members of Team Beacon had changed in appearances somewhat, but Ruby was the most noticeable, as her hair was now shoulder-length, she was now as tall as Penny was, and her body was maturing a bit, something Yang had been both proud of and eager to defend should any boy or girl make a perverted move on her little sister.

Weiss had also grown and filled out a bit, she was now only slightly shorter than Ruby, but was a bit jealous when she realized that Ruby had outgrown her in certain areas. Her hair was the same length as it had always been, as she had made sure it was never too long but never too short.

Yang's hair had grown a bit longer, but her real changes were in her prosthetic arm, which had been upgraded substantially; it now had a few more gadgets and tricks hidden inside, was easier to detach if need be, and was made of a stronger metal, which made it heavier but more effective in battle. Yang also had a spare arm made of a softer alloy for casual, easy going, average life situations, so her arm would be stronger than necessary. All it took to exchange the arms was to detach one and attach the other, and she had learned to withstand the modicum of pain that came with changing the arms.

Blake's hair had also grown a bit longer, and she no longer wore a bow on her head during the school hours, feeling no need to hide who she truly was anymore. Upon school starting up again she did get a few looks or surprised glances, but the clear support of the rest of Team Beacon put those to rest.

Sun hadn't changed much aside from his new mechanical tail, but Neptune was now a tad more muscular, but he was disappointed that it hadn't been noticed as much as he hoped. Scarlet's hair had grown back a bit, but his main scarlet lock was still very prominent. Sage hadn't really changed much, save for his hair growing slightly longer.

They arrived at Dr. Oobleck's class room, where they met up with Team JNPR.

"Hey guys, how's the day been so far?" Nora asked them as she plopped down into her seat.

"Just fine, Professor Port went on about the little hunting trip he went on, again." Blake responded as she took her seat.

"You know that means we're going to have to hear about it for the third time." Jaune said, shaking his head.

"At least Port integrates his stories into the lessons, Professor Crane just goes off on tangents sometimes." Ren stated as he got out his books and papers for the class.

Team JNPR had changed a bit as well, with Jaune becoming a bit more muscular, not overly so but he was nearly on par with Sun in terms of muscles and his hair was slightly longer as well. Pyrrha had barely changed, her hair was in a similar style and her muscles were only slightly larger. Ren had not changed much, save for a different hairstyle, but Nora had grown a bit, now matching Weiss in height.

"So give us a heads up, what can we expect in Port's class aside from the story?" Jaune asked Ruby.

"Another lesson on how Semblances and different combat forms and strategies can help you fight Grimm. It's a bit more advanced though, so you better take notes." Ruby advised them.

"Gotcha." Jaune said with a nod as Pyrrha sat down next to him.

"Do you have your papers?" She asked him.

"You know it." He said as he took his assignment papers out of his bag.

The bell rung, signifying the beginning of the period. "Right, come along. Sit down, sit down, students. Time for class to begin." Declared Oobleck as he surveyed the room, making sure all of his students had arrived or were arriving.

Once he was sure everyone was present he said "Very good to see everyone present. I trust you all had a good night's rest?"

He got a mixed response, with some like Ruby and Nora nodding positively while some didn't have such a bright outlook, with Sun muttering "I was until I was woken up."

"Ah, the usual answers then. I feel for those of you who wish for more rest, believe me, but time waits for no one. Now, please bring your papers up to my desk so I may go over them later." Oobleck gently commanded.

His students did so, some more nervous than others. Once everyone returned to their seats he said "Very good, all papers accounted for. Now, shall we have a brief reminder of what we went over yesterday?"

Doctor Oobleck was currently giving the second year students a history lesson about the three Great Wars, with the large academy board behind him fully covered with a huge map of Remnant, with slips of word and picture filled papers nearly covering the whole thing with red lines flowing to and fro in all possible directions and angles. To the untrained eye one would practically have to take several steps back to fully appreciate the scale and breadth of history the green-haired, fast-talking and coffee-guzzling professor was currently speaking about at the moment.

Since he had already covered the major events of the first Great War in the past week, in the current lesson they were now going over the events of the more significant second Great War since the events in that conflict shaped the fabric of Remnant's history socially, economically and politically for the many years which came after.

The first Great War had occurred nearly two thousand years ago, and while in the beginning it had been over territory and land disputes, but soon a host of other contributing factors such as Dust trades and economical contracts, army assignments, protection of various towns and cities from the Grimm and criminal groups and which took priority, the amount of taxes to be levied, and differing political differences eventually escalated matters into an all out war with dozens of individual factions all vying for control. The stronger factions defeated many of the less powerful ones before assimilating them into their own factions, some peacefully, other not so much. The process went on and on until only the strongest survived. The war lasted well over a century of bloody conflict and chaos, with many of those who fought not even knowing the real reason why the war was really being fought for. Many men and women rose and fell in power, with just as many lives lost, a good amount of them having died pointlessly. However, the Grimm thrived on all the negative emotions present among mankind while still remaining a perilous threat that opposed all sides of the conflict. Since the Grimm attacked all the factions and could not be reasoned with, fighting the horrifying beasts to protect whatever they had built was the only action all factions could agree on even as the conflict continued across Remnant.

When the fighting had finally died down there were only four major powers standing at the end of it all: Vale, Mantle, Vacuo and Mistral. The last ten years of the war were essentially an impasse, with the four great factions' armies and differing philosophical view on life and politics occupying whatever land they have conquered, yet all of them were still poised to clash at any moment. Tensions were high, and the situation was like a stack of dynamite ready to blow sky high. All it needed was a spark to set off the massive inferno.

Thankfully cooler heads managed to prevail as the leaders of Vale eventually proposed a meeting between them and the leaders of the other three major powers to settle matters peacefully. Mantle, Vacuo and Mistral carefully agreed, but not without hesitance and much deliberation with their own respective politicians and military leaders. The meeting was agreed to be held on a small island located at the north of Vale, and after a series of debates and discussions that lasted for two whole weeks, a peace treaty was finally signed and the governments of Vale, Vacuo and Mistral would reform into Kingdoms like Mantle was, with their leaders all becoming royalty to govern their individual Kingdoms.

One of the biggest things that had been decided out of that conference was the idea to create Huntsman Academies to train warriors to become Huntsmen and Huntresses to combat the Grimm that posed a threat to all life on Remnant, thus one academy was made per Kingdom, Beacon Academy in Vale, Atlas Academy in Mantle, Shade Academy in Vacuo, and finally Haven Academy in Mistral, all with the directive to train and prepare any and all students to become worthy Hunters.

Even though the first Great War was over there were still some debates to be had, such as the rights of the Faunus and the finalizing of Dust trades routes between Kingdoms, but the most important thing was that the fighting was over for the time being, which was something everyone was grateful for. After so much bloodshed, it was time for the four Kingdoms to heal their war wounds and rebuild what had been damaged by the conflict.

There had been some minor skirmishes and clashes since then, mainly between the different tribes and clans, but for the most part things were relatively peaceful, though not without shake ups every now and then. None came close to another full-scale Great War...

Until the second Great War erupted, which the entire class was currently studying. It began about two hundred and fifty years ago, and in the centuries leading up to it relations between the four Kingdoms were far from perfect. While Vale had maintained an overall positive relationship with all three of its fellow nations, Mantle and Vacuo were bitter rivals due to their many differences in the lifestyles of their people, ethics and even races, but it was mainly due to the fact that Faunus slavery was still legal, something neither of the other two Kingdoms were fond of either. Mistral, on the other hand, had a decent relationship with Mantle but a neutral one with Vacuo, as the two didn't care nor dislike one another too passionately. Nevertheless, Mistral maintained a strong alliance with Mantle, helping the northern Kingdom to settle the continent of Solitas while supplying them with much-needed resources which Mantle reciprocated by informing Mistral on how to settle the northern parts of Anima.

The Grimm, however, had become an increasing problem over the years, with untold numbers of people around the planet being injured or losing their lives to those monsters with each passing year, and it was all the Kingdoms could do to protect their people from meeting the same fate as those who chose to live outside the Kingdoms' walls. It was only a matter of time before drastic measures were undertaken, and thus the government of the Kingdom of Mantle, the richest and most militarily powerful of the four nations, put into place a way for their people to combat the Grimm in order to protect themselves after an unspecified incident involving those creatures.

The plan they devised was to force their people to suppress their emotions by abolishing the arts and repressing self-expression in its own Kingdom. Since negative emotions such as fear, anger and misery were what attracted the creatures of Grimm to its people, the King of Mantle decided that by controlling any and all emotions in their minds, even those positive ones that could lead to negative emotions like the love for one's child leading to fearing for that child's life should they be endangered, it would be safer from the Grimm. All works of art or entertainment that would encourage any kind of emotion were banned, and anyone who openly opposed these decrees were immediately arrested and locked away, and many of its population were forced to undergo special training or were prescribed a type of emotion-suppressing drug created by the scientists of Mantle, known only as Proziniumli which they have to take daily or be severely punished.

Naturally this was quite controversial to the other Kingdoms, especially Vacuo who was openly opposed to it and severed what little ties it had with Mantle. The Kingdom of Vale opposed it as well, but they were hoping that through further meetings and discussions it would resolve any difficulties it had with Mantle and hopefully seek less radical actions against the northern Kingdom, despite also having problems with the way how Mantle and Mistral run their Kingdoms.

Mistral, however, was split. While some of its people saw it as blasphemy and the elite of Mantle going mad with power and becoming tyrannical, others saw it as an effective way to keep themselves safe from the Grimm, since Mistral was larger than the other Kingdoms and therefore had, at times, suffered from more damaging Grimm attacks so they did not openly disapprove of the decrees of emotion suppression. There were those among the Mistrialians who felt quite unnerved by rumours of what was being done to those who resisted in Mantle, but since the eastern Kingdom didn't want to damage its alliance with Mantle who had graciously provided a large portion of their military to help fight off any Grimm incursions, they complied.

Two years went by until the King of Mantle officially went on a diplomatic mission to visit the Emperor of Mistral, and that was when Mantle made its opening salvo and its true motivations clear once it had sent enough of its troops to strategic locations all over Mistral and surrounding its capital, holding the entire place hostage by the legions of Mantle troops which were supposed to be there as a gesture of goodwill by Mantle. The other Mantle garrisons throughout the land also made their moves as well, swiftly turning against their Mistralian allies.

The royalty of Mistral were then given an ultimatum by Mantle: either follow the northern Kingdom's example by forcing the suppression of all emotions on their people, or refuse which would lead to the deaths of countless innocent lives that they were supposed to protect. The Emperor of Mistral, when faced with such a terrible choice, thought of his people and decided to save the lives of those under his rule and agreed with the King of Mantle, sealing his Kingdom's fate.

Needless to say, when both Kingdoms of Vale and Vacuo learned of the drastic actions Mantle had done to secure the alliance of Mistral they were horrified, with the latter Kingdom moving its military forces into position and deploying its navy out to sea in preparation for any conflict to come from the Mantle-Mistral Alliance in spite of its neutrality. The Kingdom of Vale also made it clear that they were not at all pleased with the actions Mantle had taken, as they knew that if Mantle made its move on either of the remaining Kingdoms, a new Great War would begin.

A brief period of cold war descended between the four Kingdoms, until Mistral and Vale both set their sights on settling the resource-rich eastern islands on the continent of Sanus, with people from both Kingdoms establishing many settlements there and making use of the resources they found. Despite the outcries from the people of his Kingdom, the King of Vale decided that it would be for the best if they tried to share the land with the settlers from Mistral, unless they attempted something hostile. However, tensions soon rose between the settlers from both Kingdoms, eventually culminating into a riot between both bands of settlers. While no one knew who started the riot, it swiftly escalated into the first battle of the second Great War. Mantle, using the excuse that it was assisting Mistral, brought large numbers of troops onto those islands and soon terrible battles erupted on both Sanus and Anima's soil.

Meanwhile, the King of Mantle and his military elite paid the warnings from Vale and Vacuo no heed, and moved onto the next phase of their plans by taking minor islands under the control of Vacuo, which caused the western Kingdom's sizable navy to attempt to fend them off, and when met with little success, created blockades to slow Mantle's progress. It appeared that the Mantle-Mistral Alliance was preparing to invade Vacuo, and then surround Vale from all sides to conquer all of Remnant.

The King of Vale was not one to give up without a fight, but his forces were hard-pressed fighting both forces from Mantle and Mistral. Despite Vacuo's best efforts, they were posed to lose ground and troops to the opposing forces. The King knew they needed to form an alliance or become hopelessly outmatched by the Mantle-Mistral Alliance. All in all, the royalty of Vacuo didn't hesitate to join forces with Vale, when the King proposed an alliance to fight against Mantle's tyranny and the enslaved Mistral.

The two Kingdoms worked together to fight against Mantle and Mistral, and for a whole decade the war raged won. Many lives were lost, and the balance of power shifting between both sides countless times. At times, the Mantle-Mistral Alliance had the slight advantage, due to the Grimm attacking the more emotional side of the war, but the warriors of Vale and Vacuo were not deterred by this development despite the odds stacked against them.

And so the war continued. Food and Dust rations were put into effect, and the development of technology to defeat one's opponents accelerated. Humans and Faunus grew close on the battlefield throughout the battles they faced together, and Grimm attacks worldwide increased drastically. Eventually, things got so bad that whenever the Grimm invade a battlefield, both sides would call a temporary ceasefire long enough to deal with the Grimm, after which they went back to battling against each other once more. Many towns and settlements were lost to the Grimm, as their best warriors were off fighting in the war, and very few of those abandoned or destroyed settlements were reclaimed.

However, while the Mantle-Mistral Alliance was fighting the war from without, it was also fighting a war from within as well. It appears that there were people who were willing to stand against them from among the masses of Mantle and Mistral...

Weiss raised her hand, and Oobleck adjusted his glasses before selecting her, "Yesterday, we studied the underground resistance movements that fought Mantle's reign from within, groups from both Mantle and Mistral who resisted the suppression of their emotions and fought to bring freedom to their homelands."

"Correct, Miss Schnee. Now, can anyone elaborate more?" The bespectacled teacher asked.

Ruby quickly raised her hand, and he pointed to her, "The in-fighting the resistance caused was something that helped out Vale and Vacuo, as they managed to score some important victories against the enemy thanks to the distractions by the resistance. After capturing one strategically important city General Calthrop managed to establish an alliance with the leader of one of the leading rebel cells, which got him in contact with the leader of the Mantle Rebellion, Jonathan Ironwood."

Ruby looked to her partner who smiled and nodded, a slightly proud look in her eyes. Yang gave her little sister a thumbs up while Blake smiled in her direction.

"Very good Miss Rose! Now what did the people of the Mantle Rebellion call themselves?" Oobleck posed the question to the entire class once more.

Neptune raised his hand, and was promptly chosen, "They call themselves the Dreamers, because they held hope for a bright future no matter how dark things got for them within Mantle, and specialized in both direct action and unconventional warfare. They took part in various operations, such as disrupting major supply routes and feeding crucial information on troop movements from within Mantle and Mistral to Vale and Vacuo during the second Great War."

"Excellent, Mr. Vasilias! Now, we shall continue from where we left off yesterday, so be prepared to take notes!" Oobleck gestured quickly in a commanding voice, which got him quite a number students having looks of dread on their faces since they had trouble keeping up with his rapid-fire talking.

"Now, the war went on for a long, brutal decade of fighting, until one final gambit was cast. The King of Vale himself led a mighty campaign to liberate the Mistralian capital, bringing a good portion of the army that wasn't protecting the remaining free Kingdoms with him. This made the King of Mantle to send out a bulk of his forces to repel the attack and attempt to kill the Valean King at the same time, thus destroying the leader of the opposition. It was an incredibly risky, daring move which ultimately decided the outcome of the war.

"The King of Mantle was confident that this would be the final battle, and that within a few months all of Remnant would be under his rule. Little did he know that the King of Vale's attack on Mistral, was actually an elaborate distraction for a crack team of over fifty Huntsmen and Huntresses, led by his daughter, a Huntress he trusted above all others to perform a sneak attack. They quietly infiltrated the Kingdom of Mantle with the help of Ironwood's resistance, which created another distraction by attacking several outlying outposts, robbing the capital of its main reinforcements, and allowing the strike team and Ironwood's top forces to secretly enter the capital and begin their attack in earnest.

"It lasted all throughout the night, with low fatalities despite the number of casualties being quite high. In the end, the Princess of Vale led the charge against Mantle's palace and managed to storm inside, only to find that the King of Mantle was dead, having taken the coward's way out by committing suicide when all of his escape routes were cut off by Ironwood's forces."

Scarlet raised his hand and when Oobleck nodded at him, he asked, "What was the cause of death?"

The bespectacled professor answered with, "Well, no one quite knows the truth. From what records say there were no visible wounds on his body, nor did he hang himself and the official autopsy found no trace of poisons or drugs, but it is possible he took one of the rare, undetectable poisons that a person of his position could have easily purchased. His council of advisors and the remaining military generals were confused as well of his demise, but once they realized that they were surrounded and outmatched they promptly surrendered and passed down the order for all of their available forces to surrender as well.

"However, the war didn't just end like that since there was quite a number of Mantle and Mistral generals who weren't eager to give up just yet since they were invading Vacuo to cut off its Dust supplies from the mines within the Kingdom. The Vale King personally led a campaign against the remainder of those who refused to surrender, and led his army alongside Vacuo's, thoroughly decimating the opposing forces. The Vacuo campaign was among the bloodiest events of the second Great War, as it showed how powerful the Vale King was when in battle, so much that he was known far and wide as the Warrior King when it was all over, despite other accounts saying that Vacuo's harsh climate played a huge role in causing Mantle and Mistral's defeat.

"Faced with such fearsome power from the King of Vale, the remaining generals of Mantle and Mistral finally agreed to surrender, after it was clear that there was no way to win the war. We will go over the more important details of those waning months later, as for now I would focus on the reconstruction efforts after the Second Great War." Oobleck mentioned while waving a finger with his other hand.

Everyone in the class wrote down their notes dutifully and made sure to record all the important details of Oobleck's lecture. For some, like Pyrrha, Ren, Neptune, and Blake it came rather easily, while others like Scarlet, Sun and Nora had a hard time keeping up with everything that came out of Oobleck's mouth, and had to seek help from other members of their respective teams.

"The first task at hand was to dispose of all the emotion suppressing drugs and allow the people of Mantle and Mistral the right to express their emotions however they saw fit, and those were days of rejoicing and celebration, as well as reestablishing the arts.

"And after that came one of the most important acts of the reconstruction; the people of Remnant wanted the King of Vale to rule over them as an emperor, reestablishing the government of the world so it was under the control of just one person, but the King of Vale humbly turned down this offer, as war had proven to him that power corrupts and the absolute power they were offering him would corrupt even the strongest of wills.

"No, he decided to completely reformat the governments of Remnant, so he called for the leaders of all four Kingdoms to gather at the island of Vytal, where they created a fair and just treaty to plan for the future of Remnant. Many, many important things came out of that treaty, such as reestablishing the Kingdom of Mantle into Atlas, as it is known to this day, as you all know.

"One of the most important things to come out of the reconstruction besides redistributing territories and abolishing slavery was the King of Vale deciding to completely restructure the governments of Remnant so that no one would have so much power over a Kingdom. After turning the offer down he discussed matters with the other royalty of the Kingdoms, as well as the regional governors, dukes, duchesses, lords, and ladies, and came to the decision to dismantle the monarchy and establish a form of democracy, where each of the kingdoms would be ruled by a council that would do its best to serve the people. The Faunus were given equal rights, and were gifted the continent of Menagerie for their own use due to their contributions in the second Great War and to make up for their previous mistreatment they suffered, though it was not something that was totally settled, as we shall see when we cover the Faunus Rights Revolution.

"The Vale King also felt that more academies were needed, so he founded several other schools such as Sanctum, Signal, Mistral, Oasis, and others. He placed trusted friends in charge of each academy, and told the people of Remnant to fight against the darkness, but never against each other. He then stepped down as King, but was elected by the people to be the head of the council for Vale." Oobleck finished before taking a moment to drink from his thermos and allow his students time to catch up.

The class went on for the next hour, with Dr. Oobleck going over the reconstruction and the various trials Remnant went through after the second Great War, such as the skirmishes with certain hardliners who oppose the reconstruction and the outcome of Mantle after the northern Kingdom had been reformed.

"And so, with the remaining Mantle extremists arrested it was decided that Mantle could no longer keep its name as it was deemed egotistical and assertive, meaning that it was above all others. After much deliberation amongst themselves, the reformed council decided that they would be renamed Atlas after an ancient myth about a giant who held the world above his shoulders. That is why the Kingdom, now renamed as Atlas, remained the biggest and most advanced military power on Remnant with no plans to conquer or dominate, but to protect their allies and remain vigilant against anything that could threaten the peace and stability of the world. Under the guidance of Jonathan Ironwood, who had been promoted to Major General for his heroic stand against tyranny, the Kingdom of Atlas rebuilt itself into a Kingdom with spectacular innovation and far-reaching technological advancements. It is a legacy that we all know which still lives on to this day."

The teacher allowed his students the necessary time to finish jotting down their notes, just before he could launch into another of his lectures, the bell signaling the end of his lesson rang out.

"That time already? Oh well, remember to study up on the trials the Kingdoms have to face during the reconstruction period after the second Great War, students! Tomorrow, we will continue our lesson on that particular subject, as well as going back and examining how the surfacing of certain dangerous Grimm types, such as the Nuckelavee and the Leviathans, affected the overall conflict. Class dismissed!" Oobleck reminded his students as they packed up their writing materials and began to leave the lecture hall.

Ruby quickly dumped her supplies into her slingbag when she noticed something peculiar out of the corner of her silver eyes. The normally calm and stoic expression that could be normally seen on Ren's face fractured a little when he heard the word 'Nuckelavee', and the fingers of his hand unconsciously curled into tight fists on the surface of his table even as his face ran through a variety of emotions: sadness, regret, anger and a flash of steel within those magenta eyes of his. Nora, upon seeing this reaction from Ren, had placed her hand gently on his shoulder, making him look at the comforting and reassuring look on her face and the concern she had shown in her jade eyes. The red reaper wasn't the only one who had caught the look on Ren's face, as the other members of Team Beacon, especially the other half of Team JNPR were also looking to the pale teen as well.

The silver-eyed girl felt concerned for her friend as she remembered what he had Nora had told her about their past back when they were Team RNJR travelling to the City of Haven, and it had also been something that was brought up when it was decided that Team JNPR, Fox and Sage should share in their own pasts as well since Team RWBY, CFVY, Sun, Scarlet and Neptune had already done so during their mission in Vacuo.

Slowly, Ren's face slipped back to its usual calm before he managed a small smile and nodded to Nora, and then looked at Jaune and Pyrrha who smiled back at him. He gently reached up and squeezed Nora's hand gently, before picking up his belongings and following his team to the next class. As Ruby and the other members of Team Beacon left Oobleck's lecture hall behind and made their way to Weapons Maintenance class, which was usually helmed by Qrow but today was being taught by her father Taiyang while the scruffy Hunrsman was away, the plucky huntress thought back to the day after the fateful secret meeting with the Remnant Knights...

Six Months Ago

"...and so, that's my story. Nothing else to tell really, you know the rest." Jaune finished, having finally fessed up the truth about his admittance into Beacon with fake transcripts with assistance from Bianca, as well as how he attempted to steal the family sword Crocea Mora in the middle of the night rather than buying and forging another weapon, and how his parents found him out, only to allow him to go and follow his dream, so with their permission and best wishes he Cadia in the middle of the night to the nearest airship docks to make the journey to Beacon Academy. Looking back, Jaune was incredibly happy that they had, and that he had taken that leap of faith in the first place he might never had made it to Beacon and got to know the friends who would become his teammates and lover.

Before Jaune had started his tale, Pyrrha had gone before him and had wrapped up her tale of her celebrity life and her lonely time at Sanctum Academy. She had told most of them the tales of her horrifying experience while under the delusion of being Fotia Drakos, although she had left out the more gruesome parts so as not to scar them for life even though none of Team Beacon felt like reopening that particular painful wound. The majority of Team Beacon who had told their life stories on the train ride in Vacuo had repeated their accounts again for those who weren't there the last time, so that way all everyone within the combined team would have some understanding of one another.

The entirety of Team Beacon was seated in the living room of their shared dorm, all dressed in their sleepwear while the steel and glass table in front of them was covered with hot steaming mugs of cocoa and various snacks that they have managed to purchase from a variety of stores in Vale and in some cases, pilfered from the cafeteria's vending machines. Team RWBY occupied one couch with Jaune and Pyrrha, while Team CFVY with Ren and Nora occupied the other. Team SSSN pulled up chairs and cushions to seat themselves around the said table, and Penny simply brought out her swivel chair for herself to join the rest of her new team. Out of courtesy for those sharing their stories, the rest of Team Beacon remained mostly quiet until the speakers have finished.

"Okay, so that's Pyrrha and Jaune done." Coco stated and every else aside from the red-haired spartan and blonde knight nodded, now that they all know the truth about Jaune. It was only after some debating and a small argument before Pyrrha had convinced Jaune to finally decide on ultimately coming clean to his friends and teammates by telling them the truth about his entry into Beacon. Thankfully, they weren't hostile as he feared they would be.

"I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that we never realized that you faked your way into Beacon, it seems blindingly obvious in hindsight." Weiss mentioned to him with a slight look of disapproval on her face, while her hands were crossed in front of her snow white nightgown.

"Yeah, it definitely explains a ton of things about how you acted during the first semester." Yang added with a small smirk on her lips, her yellow-black robotic hand clicking softly as she gently moved the individual fingers of the prosthetic. She was dressed in her usual yellow top and black shorts which had lengthened to her thighs but did leave a glimpse of her nicely-built torso to the rest of Team Beacon.

Jaune slowly shook his head and covered his face, "I know, I was a total loser back then. I just hope I have improved slightly since I came to Beacon..."

"Not a total one." Velvet assured him kindly as she spread her small hands, "Anyone who could overcome such difficult odds with all of their available skills, hard work and determination isn't a loser." She was dressed in a nice, sleeveless brown nightgown which reached all the way to her knees.

The fashionista nodded her head, "Listen to her Arc. I might not approve of forging transcripts or lying... but I won't argue with the results. From what I have seen of you, you've turned out to be a decent leader, and I'm sure that your team wouldn't want to have anyone else as their leader. So stop putting yourself down and buck up." Coco told him in a stern voice, but there was a reassuring look on her face as the ends of her mouth quirked upward. Clothed in a shirt with a cocoa-colored scheme as well as dark brown shorts just like her usual wear, she somehow looked a little like a model no matter what she wore.

Jaune returned the smile to his fellow team leader before feeling Pyrrha place her hand atop his, "She's right, you know. We wouldn't want anyone else as our leader, and I wouldn't want anyone else to be my... partner." She told him, a loving smile on her face.

The leader of Team JNPR felt his cheeks flush a little red and he tried to say something, but before any word left his mouth he was interrupted by Nora who responded with, "That's our leader, he becomes kinda badass but is still our lovable dork."

The rest of Team Beacon, including Penny, laughed for several seconds before Jaune smiled and said, "I guess I'm happy with that description."

"So, I guess I now understand what you meant when you told me in the past that you knew what it was like to hide who you truly were." Blake said to Jaune, giving him an understanding look, which reminded the blonde team leader of what he told her when she revealed to Team JNPR that she was actually a Faunus.

Jaune gave the Cat Faunus a small but thankful smile, which she returned.

"Thanks for being so understanding, guys... to be honest, I was pretty afraid of how you would react, and I... I was pretty dead set against telling you all at first." He admitted while scratching the back of his head.

"Is that what you and Pyrrha were arguing about a couple of hours ago?" Neptune asked, tilting his head a little. He was seated on a wooden chair, a white and blue checkered cushion between his hands.

"Every couple has their spats." Pyrrha answered and the bluette gave a nod.

"You two have been acting the perfect couple since Haven, so I was actually surprised that you two were capable of fighting." Fox commented wryly.

Jaune nodded and replied, "Well, no one's perfect, especially not me. But you're right, that's what we were arguing about, but we eventually compromised between ourselves. I'm honestly surprised you guys aren't furious at me. I mean, I guess it makes sense for my own Team and most of RWBY..." he said, briefly pausing to look at Weiss who sighed and rolled her eyes. "...but I kinda figured that some of you would be so angry that you would want me kicked out of Beacon altogether."

"No way. After all we've been through together? After everything you've done and endured? Please. Even if you did lie your way into Beacon, I think you've more than earned your place here." Sun told the young knight, showing a rare side of maturity that surprised some of the teens present.

"He's right. You have demonstrated pretty good strategic and tactical skills when you led the team in taking out that Paladin back at the White Fang base, plus everything else like looking into Ante's little scam in Cadia, and figuring out how to get Ren to call for everyone's help. I'd say that you are worthy of being a leader, and your team most certainly thinks so." Coco added confidently.

"You bet your butt we do." Nora chimed in, getting some laughs from all of those present.

"So no hard feelings? I mean we're all cool, right?" Jaune asked them.

"While your past actions are morally questionable and not totally logically sound, I have learned that what's logical isn't always the correct path, so I have come to the conclusion that you are forced by circumstances which resulted in your actions at that point in time. Now that I have understood your reasons, I have accepted you as my friend, Jaune Arc." Penny told him and stuck out her hand for him to shake. Jaune accepted and squinted slightly in pain at Penny's powerful grip.

"Well, it was kinda shady of you to hide the truth from us for so long, but you have done more than enough for us to trust you, but I think we can let it slide." Yang said before playfully punching him in the shoulder and knocking him into Pyrrha.

"Ow..." Jaune muttered as he rubbed his shoulder.

"Ah, suck it up. You've had worse." Yang told him before giving him a mischievous smile.

"I'm completely fine with it." Velvet told him, hands resting on her lap, "I mean, it all worked out all right, didn't it? And yes, there's always the question of 'what could have been' but I think the important thing is that you did the best you could and you have come so far because of it. I, for one, don't think any less of you."

Jaune nodded gratefully at her when Yatsuhashi added, "Nor do I, Jaune Arc. You have endured much and recovered from tortures that would break a lesser person. That mere fact that you are willing to keep on fighting after the fall of Beacon is a sign that you are a worthy warrior to me."

"Ditto. A lot of people would have given up before then but you stuck around even when things went to hell. I don't see a problem with you staying around." Fox voiced casually, and nodded his head at Jaune.

"Yeah, I mean while what you did is kinda dangerous and a tad on the... illegal side, I think you've proved yourself, like they just said. I've got nothing else to say except that I won't snitch on you, and I don't think the rest of my team will, right?" Neptune said, before looking over to Sage and Scarlet, the former nodding and the latter making a zipping motion across his mouth.

"Thanks guys, I feel really relieved now. I've been pretty nervous about how you'd react for months. It's a big weight off my chest now that everyone's more or less fine with it." Jaune answered, his voice soft but happy. He looked to Weiss and asked "How do you feel about it'?"

The Schnee heiress sighed and said, "Were I a year younger I would probably have reported you without a second thought. But after everything that has happened, and not just to you but to Pyrrha, Ruby and all of us really... I don't think I can bring myself to do it. As much as a younger version of myself would have thought it impossible, you have earned my respect, so I will keep this secret as well." She looked to her team leader and said, "I still can't believe you knew about this and didn't tell us."

"A true friend never breaks a promise." Ruby said proudly as she beamed, before picking up another chocolate-chip cookie and munching on it.

"Did you promise me that you wouldn't tell? I mean, when we talked about not telling anyone else we got interrupted and had to start running for our lives from Ante." Jaune said, trying to remember their conversation atop the skyscraper.

"Well... little details don't matter. The most important thing is that I didn't want to betray his trust, so I didn't tell anyone about it." Ruby stated.

"Anyway, now that Jaune and Pyrrha have told us about their pasts, who wants to go next?" Velvet inquired, looking at the other half of Team JNPR.

Ren sighed and Nora quickly said "We… want to go last. Is that okay?"

Jaune, Pyrrha and Ruby all gave the couple understanding looks while some of the others were slightly taken aback by the serious tone in Nora's normally cheerful voice. They all knew that when Nora got serious it was something quite personal, and they obviously didn't want to offend a person who wields a giant hammer.

"I guess I'll go." Fox volunteered, sitting up from his seat on the couch he shared with his team. The rest of team CFVY looked at him with concerned looks, "Don't worry guys, I'm alright to talk about this. Well, I was not particularly special... I am just another Hunter-in-training like the rest of you. I grew up in a sleepy town in Vacuo on the desert border, and I lived with my family just like the rest of you, but my grandfather Todd Alistair was my hero when I was a kid."

He produced his scroll from his short pockets and presented it to everyone, letting them see the photo he had selected: the one which showed a young Fox, who noticeably lacked the scars on his arms, with his grandfather, a man in his late fifties with long hair that was very similar to Fox's own.

"Aw, you look so cute!" Yang teased.

Coco smirked while Velvet giggled and said "Isn't he?"

"But you didn't have the scars on your arms then. I know they weren't always there, but I never really asked where you got them." Blake observed, placing a finger underneath her chin.

"Well... they kind of factor into this. You see, my grandfather was a veteran Huntsman, even when my dad graduated he didn't really pursue the active life of a Huntsman since he chose to settle down and protect our town. The arm-blades I wear actually belonged to my grandfather, and if you look closely you will notice he has scars similar to my own. My dad does too, as he trained with these things the same as I did." Fox elaborated.

"So they're family heirlooms?" Ruby asked him.

Fox nodded, "I guess so. Anyway my grandfather was a decent and well-regarded Huntsman back at home. I mean he wasn't some renowned legend but he did a good job in protecting the border town. One day when I was about ten and my family was visiting Grandpa at his home town, we were out for a walk when we heard people calling for help and the sounds of roaring Grimm, which turns out that there was an incident on a nearby farm that led to a Grimm attack.

"My grandfather had his arm-blades with him, he was a bit paranoid when it came to Grimm, so he always insisted on keeping them when we went out to the surrounding woodlands for safety. They couldn't let them face the Grimm alone, so my dad and grandfather helped the farmers fight them off. Mom helped the injured people get inside the farmhouse, while I helped block the doors and windows, and I tried to watch my dad and grandfather fight them off. They called for help from the local Vacuo Ranger defense force but there were too many Grimm and my dad was injured. Grandpa ordered my mom to get him inside while he held the Grimm off for us and kept their attention on him. I'm not going to lie, it was pretty scary at that time since I honestly thought we were done for when the Grimm tired to smash through the barricades blocking the windows."

"But my grandfather managed to lure them all away. I guess he was afraid of losing us or angry at the Grimm... I don't know which, but it was enough to get their attention off of us long enough for him to kill a lot of them. After what apparently was only ten minutes, the Vacuo Rangers arrived and managed to mop up the remaining Grimm, but my grandpa Todd had taken far too much damage, and he had spent up all of his aura." Fox continued with a sad tone in his voice, "Then the Rangers came and said they found Grandpa, but judging from the Ranger sergeant's expression it wasn't good."

"He died to save you, your family and everyone else on that farm." Blake commented softly.

"Yeah. We came out and let the medics tend to the wounded, but my dad ignored both the medics and his own pain to get to Grandpa. The Rangers brought him back and placed him on the ground, he was all scarred up with... more blood than I had ever seen at the time. The medics couldn't do anything for him. apparently there are too many deep wounds and they couldn't stem the bleeding in time. I... I honestly didn't see much since my mom turned my head away and covered my eyes so I wouldn't have to see, but I did get enough of a glimpse to see his bloody arm. My Grandpa Todd died so that his family and everyone on that farm, a bunch of total strangers, could live, and that's what inspired me to become a Huntsman." The most silent member of Team CFVY finally finished.

Everyone present was saddened by his story, and felt sympathy for Fox who rubbed his hands together to calm himself, and Yatsuhashi placed a calming hand on his fellow teammate's shoulder to reassure him.

"So you used his arm-blades as your weapons as a way to continue his legacy?" Pyrrha speculated, knotting her hands in front of her abdomen.

Fox nodded, and Scarlet stated, "You must have worked hard to get good with those."

The copper-haired youth nodded again and replied, "Yeah. I had to practice hard with those things for hours on end, sometimes I'd be too tired to even walk into the house after training. I got myself hurt a lot, because sometimes I would train so hard and wear myself out to the point where my aura was drained, and when I slipped up… well..." He gestured to the scars on his arms and the one across his lips, "...these scars stayed on me, but luckily my mom is a healer so although the pain would linger at times my injuries were never life threatening. I went to school, chose to become a Huntsman and carry on the family legacy, got into Beacon and eventually ended with these three who became my teammates." He gestured to the other members of his team, "And that's all there is to it."

"I'm sorry about your grandpa." Ruby said sincerely, and soon enough many others also voiced their condolences to him.

Fox gave them a small smile and replied, "It's okay. I came to terms with his sacrifice a long time ago. That's why I'm here, to keep protecting people like he did."

"I think he would be very proud of you, Fox." Velvet said to him.

"Well I, for one, know he definitely would be proud of you." Coco corrected, giving her partner a proud look.

Sage stood up from his chair and cleared his throat, "Well, I guess I'm next. Unless you have anything else to add?" He asked Fox, who shook his head.

"I got nothing else for now. You can go on." He permitted.

"Wait, what about your eyes?" Ruby inquired innocently, getting his attention. "No offense Fox, but I have always wanted to know if there's something special about your eyes, since they are all white. I have wanted to ask for a while now, but I didn't want to upset you."

Fox leaned back on the couch, a faint smile on his lips, "You wouldn't have, Ruby. I get asked this a lot. It's this hereditary trait from my dad's side of the family that affects our aura and Semblance, something that's kind of rare and not that many people are affected by it. My white eyes may give the impression to other people that some of our family is blind, but really it's a part of our genetic sight-based Semblance, which helps me to spot weak points on my opponents that I can exploit." He answered before looking to Sage and nodded, allowing him to take over.

Sage returned Fox's nod and stood up from his chair, beginning to pace around the room as he began to speak, "Well... my story isn't as dramatic as most of yours and while I have lost people close to me there's honestly no big tragedy that happened to me. My father is a Huntsman and my mother is the head gardener at the greenhouses of our hometown in Vacuo, which is a pretty important job since we lived in a large desert town that needed all the produce we can get. Now, I always wanted to be a Huntsman like my father since he always told me tales of how Huntsmen saved lives and helped other people, so I guess I got pretty much influenced by him, but he wasn't the only one that influenced me to become a Huntsman..."

He paused for a moment before casting his bright yellow eyes at his audience, "When I was young I made a childhood friend who was a Muskrat Faunus named Sanjay. He was the son of one of my mom's greenhouse employees and I met him when my mother brought me to the greenhouse to help gather the latest batch of vegetable produce, and we became good friends after a pretty awkward beginning.

"As you know, racism against Faunus in Vacuo was way less of an issue than it is in the other countries, no offense of course, but it does still exist. The hometown I came from was one of the richer ones in Vacuo, not a big town per say but still better off financially than other towns out in the desert, and for some reason it had more humans than Faunus so I wasn't all that used to seeing a Faunus up close... until I met Sanjay. He was a pretty shy kid and barely said a word to me when we first met and when I tried to talk to him or play with him he barely said anything louder than a whisper, and I was concerned that he didn't want to play with me because I wasn't a Faunus. So I decided to make him think I was one by tearing some long leaves off of a dying plant and..." At this point Sage couldn't help himself and laughed lightly, "...and I used some string to tie them around my head so that I would look like a rabbit."

Most of the other members of Team Beacon laughed heartily at this little revelation coming from Sage, with Velvet covering her mouth to stop her giggling.

"I am curious, what made you think that was a good idea?" Penny asked curiously, "Surely Sanjay could tell the difference between leaves and real rabbit ears."

"I was five at that time Penny, and logic works differently when you're young." Sage replied to her, which made the android girl hum in fascination.

"Ah, so the realization of reality isn't as obvious to a child. I understand now." She answered and the greatsword-wielder nodded.

"Pretty much. Anyway, my plan... didn't work at all, and he just looked at me funny. My mom caught me and scolded me for being insensitive to others, since she saw it as being a bit racist and maybe even offensive to Faunus workers at the greenhouse. Thankfully, Sanjay's mother helped me out by saying that I was just an innocent kid and didn't know any better. My mother eventually let me off the hook with a scolding, but Sanjay eventually warmed up to me and we often played games together and pretending to be Huntsmen." The aforementioned member of Team SSSN added.

"And I guess Sanjay is the other one that influenced you to become a Huntsman?" Ruby queried.

"Yes. it was years later after I grew up and had some doubts about what I wanted to be when I Sanjay got hurt pretty badly when he ran into some Grimm on the outskirts of my town. Thankfully he was saved by my father and gotten to a healer in the nick of time, saving his mauled legs. He's mostly recovered but still walked around with a limp, and when I came to visit him in the hospital we talked about me pursuing my dream of becoming a Huntsman he convinced me not to give up. He told me that people like my father was the reason why the common folk of my hometown can live peacefully, and after speaking with my family about my choice I eventually got my confidence back as well. So that's why I decided not to give up and entered the Huntsman Academy in Mistral when my family emigrated to that Kingdom." Sage finished before sitting down again and crossing his arms, "My sword is also inspired by a weapon of my family's, it's based on the weapon my father uses, but with some modifications of my own."

"And we are happy he talked you out of backing out, because Team SSSN wouldn't be the same without you, man!" Sun said to his fellow teammate, and slapped Sage on the back.

"That's right, my mate here is the guy with the most common sense, something the rest of us lack a bit." Scarlet admitted as he smiled at his partner.

"Well, someone has got to be the sane one of the group right?" Sage grinned back at Sun and Scarlet, fist-bumping them both.

"I understand why you are nervous about becoming a Huntsman, I mean we all have felt that at some point, but I am glad you eventually overcame that fear." Neptune congratulated his teammate, who nodded back at the bluette.

After Sage had finished his story the others also gave similar compliments to the green-haired teen it was obvious who haven't shared their life stories with the other half of Team Beacon. Jaune, Pyrrha and Ruby all looked at Ren and Nora who were seated opposite them, holding hands together.

"Are you sure you want to go along with this?' Pyrrha asked the both of them, "It's a rather sensitive topic for the both of you..."

"We can do it." Ren stated firmly, "We have talked about it in the past, but Nora and I have decided that it's only fair to tell our past to others since everyone here has already shared their own."

Nora nodded and added, "Yeah, if Jauney here had the courage to admit that he lied his way into Beacon, then I suppose we can tell you all of the story of how we first met."

Their teammates and Ruby nodded, and none of them missed the sad look in Nora's jade eyes, nor the grim look on Ren's face. Many of the other more attentive members of Team Beacon, such as Blake, Coco, Penny, Yatsuhashi and Weiss also caught those dismayed looks, and they kept silent while waiting for Ren and Nora to tell their past together.

"Before we begin, I have to warn you that it isn't a pleasant story." Ren said as his magenta eyes narrowed a little and his facial expression turned slightly solemn, "...since the circumstances of how Nora and I met are rather...complicated to say the least."

"I take it you two don't have the most pleasant backgrounds?" Yatsuhashi guessed as he inclined his head in the couple's direction.

"Not particularly." Ren confirmed, "I was born and raised in a town in the far east of Mistral named Kuroyuri. My father was a skilled archer named Lie Li, and my mother was named Lie An. My family wasn't particularly wealthy but we were content with what we have and lived a peaceful life. One day my mother sent me on an errand into town to buy a gift for my father when he returned from hunting and so I went to the roadside shops. I tried to get him something from the blacksmith, who jokingly said that he would only give a toy sword or a hammer to a boy my size. I tried to look for more choices, so I went to the nearby bakery to get him a pie or something. I was looking through the windows of the bakery when I heard some of the local bullies harassing someone behind the shop. Following the sounds I looked around the corner to see what was happening, and there she was." He pointed over to Nora, who took over.

Nora began to speak of her own beginning, "I was really young when this happened, so I didn't really understand why, but my family escaped from Mistral's capital along with me. My daddy was named Oliver and my mom was Eleanor, we were... well, we weren't rich exactly, and since I was so young and my parents barley told me anything about their jobs, I don't really know why we were running away. From what mom told me, daddy's boss was getting involved with some very bad people and my daddy tried to talk him out of it. Then things got bad, and someone wanted to kill off my parents and me, so my daddy paid someone discreetly to sneak us out of the capital. We were on the run for a while, maybe a few months, when we arrived to a safe place where my parents were going to meet with a friend who'd smuggle us out of the Kingdom, the town was Kuroyuri.

She paused for a moment before speaking again, "We spent a lot of money just getting there, and spent what we had on staying in the local inn, and daddy barely ate anything so that my mom and I would have enough. On the third day in Kuroyuri, I wanted to make sure he ate something so I stole a loaf of bread from the bakery and tried to escape with it once I made sure no one saw me, but those three bullies did. They surrounded me in the alley and tried to make me give it up, but I wouldn't so they started kicking dirt on me and pulling my hair. Then they started asking me questions like where I came from and why I wasn't dressed like them, and then one of them tried to take the bread from me, so I bit his finger."

The other members of Team Beacon, especially Velvet and Ruby, looked at Nora sympathetically, while Yang couldn't help but be a bit amused by the mental image of a cute, young Nora biting a bully's finger.

Nora continued, "They kept making fun of me, calling me a dog and that I might have rabies..."

"Little brats." Sun muttered under his breath.

"Some people..." Blake commented with a shake of her head.

"But then I saw Ren standing behind them, at the far side of the alleyway." Nora said, speaking a little louder.

"Did he try to scare them off or something?" Velvet asked softly.

"Well, I was actually more curious to see what was going on than be a hero. I wanted to do something, so I started to sneak up on them, but Nora saw me." Ren said as he glanced at his partner, "Our eyes met and we looked at each other for a brief moment, and then the bullies noticed me. I was only seven years old at that time and I didn't know much about fighting, other than copying my father as he trained, so I began to back away fearing that the bullies would beat me up instead. I mouthed to Nora that she should run, and then I tried to run, only to bump into my father who had seen me when he entered the town and had apparently overheard the boys picking on Nora. He asked what was going on and before I could talk he the bullies tattled on Nora. He glared at them sternly before asking me to confirm it, and I told him I didn't really know, so he ordered the boys to leave and they immediately ran off, leaving Nora behind with her dirty bread."

Nora took over again, "Mr. Lie approached me and I tried to run, but before I could make a move he managed to catch hold of my arm and kindly asked about my name. Since I was told by my parents not to talk to strangers I kept quiet, but that was when my mom showed up. She scolded me for running off and stealing, but when I told her why I tried to steal the bread, Mr. Lie stepped in and gave me a piece of fresh bread from his waist pouch and said that everything would be okay. Ren and his father walked with me and my mom back to the inn, and along the way my mom told Mr. Lie that my family were travelers from the capital visiting our cousins. She mentioned that we are short on lien and Ren's dad was really nice, he pressing some lien into my mom's hands and said that it was the least he could do for someone who's clearly in nee. He... he was really nice to us." She smiled at the memory, small tears beginning to form at the corners of her jade eyes.

Ren reached over to wipe away Nora's tears before taking over, "When I was walking beside my father, he asked me why I didn't do anything to help Nora, and was just standing there. I told him that I didn't know how to defend myself, and I was scared, but I wanted to distract them so she could get away. He didn't reprimand me for my actions, but he told me that sometimes the worst action to take is taking no action at all." Ren stopped, and allowed himself a small, bittersweet smile, "We went to the inn and our parents talked, even though Nora's own father was a little upset by her theft, but I think he was more touched by how much Nora cared about him than anything."

Nora smiled at Ren's kind words, her tears were more obvious even through her efforts of holding it in.

"I waited by the door while she sat on the bed of the room her parents had rented. We looked at each other, but she actually smiled and waved at me, thanking me for trying to help her, and I waved back. After my father exchanged a few more words with Nora's parents and we both left the inn, he sent me home because he needed to talk to the mayor of Kuroyuri about something."

The couple looked at each other, before Ren let out a heavy sigh and continued with a sad voice as his expression changed suddenly, "However, both of our lives were torn apart during the next night." The drastic change in attitude and the distressed tone that was completely different from the usually stoic, quiet and reserved Ren caught the quiet audience's attention in a tight grip.

"I was asleep in my room when my mother woke me up in the middle of the night, and I could hear people screaming and the roars of the Grimm coming from outside. The village alarm for the Grimm attack was shrieking its warning, and I could tell that although my mother was scared, she tried to keep her feelings in check, and told me that we have to leave as soon as possible. She then took me into the living room just as my father burst through the door, sweating and breathing hard. My mother desperately suggested that we go to the shelter, but my father said that 'the beast' had already demolished it and had killed any who tried to fight it off, and it was coming closer to the town. My father said he had seen it and they needed every Hunter available to even come close to fending it off. We ran out of the house and… I don't know what happened. I could see Grimm in the distance and my mother made me look at her as she assured me that everything would be okay, and then the roof of our home was smashed in by something that burst out of the wall that knocked my mother and myself down, and as I blacked-out I could hear my father shouting."

The ninja with black hair and a magenta stripe took a shuddering breath as his eyes turned misty. It was obvious that those awful memories were tormenting him at both psychological and emotional levels, but he managed to compose himself after a few moments and felt Nora hold his hands in hers, "When I came to I was being carried in one of my father's arms while he held his bow and arrow in the other, and he was bleeding badly from a cut above his left eye. Embers were falling from the sky, the people of Kuroyuri were screaming as they fled, and I slowly realized that my mother was nowhere to be seen."

"I began asking my father where she was, but he didn't answer me. The ground shook, and my father tripped and dropped me. I went to him and tried to help him up, but he ordered me to run and hide for my own safety. And then I heard the terrifying roar that came from 'the beast' that was destroying my hometown. It was a roar unlike anything I've ever heard, and when I looked behind me, beyond the running people and blazing fire and dense smoke I saw a Grimm unlike any I had ever seen... and I still haven't. I came later to know about its name with some studying, it is an Elder Grimm known as the Nuckelavee."

There was a deafening silence in the room once the Nuckelavee was mentioned. Most of the members who made up Team Beacon only heard of the Nuckelavee in whispers and rumors about the Elder Grimm. It was said that some Grimm arise... different from the others. They are more vicious, smarter, and deadlier, they manage to live longer and take more damage, so they become smarter, and they claim a very high body count every year, and were experienced and cunning enough to outsmart even veteran Huntsmen.

"I looked at it. And those hateful eyes looked right back at me." Ren said quietly.

Nora laid her hand over Ren's and squeezed it, "When the attack began, some Nevermore demolished the inn we stayed in, and we ran out into the streets. My mom used Magnhild to defend us, it used to be her weapon, and it took everything she had to fight them off, while my daddy carried me in one hand while using his twin-barreled gun to blast away Grimm in the other. We ran through the town and when we cut across the main street we spotted Ren and his dad. My mom helped Ren's dad to his feet while my dad shot at any Grimm that came too close for comfort, keeping them off our backs as we hunkered down behind some steps. Thankfully the Elder Grimm's attention was occupied with other people who were running for their lives, so we were safe for a few minutes. They came up with a quick plan, in which my mom and Ren's dad decided that they would work together to fight off the Nuckelavee, while my dad would get Ren and me to safety."

Ren then spoke with an unusually emotional voice, "My father gave me his hunting knife and ordered me to go with Nora's father. When I refused he grabbed me and told me that I have to be brave, that I needed to take action now more than ever. I was crying and begging him not to leave me, but he had to in order to give the villagers a chance to run and survive. He t-told... he told me that he and mother loved me, and implored me to run even as the Nuckelavee appeared at the far end of the street, roaring and screaming at us. I had never been so scared, and nothing else has scared me like that since that horrible night. I begged for him to come with us, but he simply yelled for me to run before limping with Nora's mother to distract the Nuckelavee with his arrows. Nora's father grabbed the both of us and led us away down an alleyway while I heard the shouts and screams of my father and Nora's mother fighting it..."

"I could hear my mom calling to me, telling me how much she loved me, and asking me to never forget her… I just… I just couldn't… I was so scared and so…" Nora stopped and began to cry, which made Ren comfort her by pulling her into his arms. Pyrrha walked over and wrapped her arms around Nora as well, trying to comfort her friend, while Jaune placed a firm hand on her shoulder, and Ruby placing one on her knee with a concerned look on her face.

Ren continued once Nora had calmed down a little, "Nora's father managed to get us to the town square, where several buildings have been destroyed by the Grimm. He hid us in the blacksmith's ruined shop, which he made sure was secure enough. He told me to look after Nora and to use the knife I was given by my own father to protect her and myself. He was going back to help fight the Nuckelavee. Nora begged him not to go, but he reasoned that he couldn't let them fight it alone. I had to hold her back as he used his gun to distract the Nevermore that were circling overhead. Nora's father ran off into the town towards the main street, and after what felt like a long time I peered out of the blacksmith's shop to see that the Nuckelavee was still rampaging through Kuroyuri with no one fighting it, which meant..." He stopped himself with a soft sob, with tears forming in his eyes now. There was evidently no need to ask what had happened to his father as well as Nora's parents.

"I don't know what happened, but at that moment my Semblance activated with my Aura shimmering and my color graying out. I saw a Nevermore had landed on a half-destroyed building before us, and Nora's fear and misery was attracting it to us. I grabbed Nora and told her that we had to be brave so that we could make it out alive. So that our parents wouldn't have sacrificed themselves for nothing. The Nevermore came closer, so Nora threw herself at me and we hugged each other, and my Semblance affected her as well, graying her out and rendering her invisible to the Nevermore, which became confused and looked around for a few seconds more before flying away, just as we heard heavy clopping footsteps as the Nuckelavee approached."

"We were both scared to death, as it came close to where we were hiding and it stopped for a moment, Nora whimpered, admitting that she was scared and I couldn't help but agree. I saw the little toy hammer on the floor, knocked down by the destruction of the blacksmith shop, so moved away to pick it up and gave it to Nora to comfort her. I tried to be as brave as I could, telling her that we would be okay because we had each other, and that we would keep each other safe. Thankfully, the Nuckelavee finally left, and we just stayed there together, alone in the destroyed ruins of Kuroyuri."

"About a day or so later, a rescue team from the Mistralian Defense Forces found us and took us to safety. Our parents were gone, but they managed to find Magnhild which had been buried under some rubble, which Nora swore to make her own someday. We knew that both of us are the only survivors, and since we had no one else Nora proposed that we stay together, no matter what."

"And to this day, we have." Nora finished as she remained cuddled into Ren's chest.

"Hello? Remnant to Ruby!" Weiss's voice suddenly came to Ruby's ears.

The red hooded huntress was snapped out of her memory as she realized that her body had been on autopilot the entire way to weapons class. Everyone had taken their seats, but the class has yet to begun. Taiyang was standing in front of them on the aisle and looking at his daughter with apprehension.

"You okay, sis?" Yang asked laid her organic hand on Ruby's shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry guys, just thinking about some stuff. When Dr. Oobleck mentioned the Nuckelavee it made me remember the time when Ren and Nora told us about how they met. You don't forget stories like that, especially not when you hear it twice." Ruby told her team.

"You had me worried there for a second, bright eyes. You sure you're going to be alright?" Taiyang asked with concern still written on his face.

"Yeah, I'll be okay dad, I just got lost in thought there for a minute." She assured him.

Her father gave her a small smile and said, "I know what you mean. And don't call me dad while we're in class, okay? I got to appear professional."

Both Ruby and Yang laughed, but agreed. "Sure, Professor Dad." Yang joked. Taiyang chuckled before heading out to the hall to greet the oncoming students.

"What happened?" Jaune asked Ruby in a soft whisper, "You looked like you zoned out for a while."

"When Dr. Oobleck mentioned the Nuckelavee I remembered what Ren and Nora told us about it." Ruby explained. She looked over to Ren and Nora, who gave her looks of understanding, "Do you guys think we will ever see it?"

Both the green ninja and the orange-haired hammer-user both looked at each other for a few moments, before Ren turned to face Ruby and answered, "I hope we do, just so we can make it pay."

"And we will be there to help you fight the beast if that day ever comes." Pyrrha promised, and Jaune nodded to his teammates, a confident look on his face.

Ren nodded silently, but they could all tell that despite Nora's bravado, neither of them were in any rush to face the Nuckelavee again.

As the bells rang and class officially began, Ruby remembered something else about Ren and Nora's tale that had been included when they told her the story during the time the four of them were travelling to Mistral as Team RNJR and Pyrrha had later been told the story as well. It was one small detail that had been left out from the version they told to the rest of Team Beacon.

Nora's mother had apparently said something about the Nuckelavee's attack on Kuroyuri being their fault.

---

Back at Tarshta, Qrow followed Lt. Santaro to the small two story Dust warehouse where the raid had occurred a couple of nights ago. The building was officially off limits to everyone except those involved with the case, cordoned off with bright yellow police tape and barricades, and several officers on guard.

"What company was hit?" Qrow asked.

"A local business, moderate size, this is one of the four warehouses they have in town. They'll survive this hit, but they're still pissed about it." the ranger related to Qrow, who nodded.

The guards opened up the door for them and they walked inside, allowing Qrow to survey the crime scene in person. In the main floor of the warehouse there were seven chalk outlines of the guards who had been killed, with the other three being in other rooms. There were still blood stains on the walls, as well as bullet holes and cuts.

"And no distinctive footprints were found?"

"Several faint boot prints were made out, but too light to make any real identification, they made sure to leave as little of a trace as possible." Santaro reported.

"And no fingerprints found or you're sure there was no DNA evidence?" Qrow asked the ranger.

"Not that we've been able to find. Altogether there were a total of fifteen Dust containers stolen, as well as several containers of uncut crystals. Dust theft is always a problem, but this has been the first one in this town for a long time to claim so many lives." The ranger lamented.

"It's sick, I know." Qrow agreed before asking "There's signs of the alarm system being cut before the attack began, right?" Santaro nodded. "Show me."

Santaro led Qrow up the stairs, where the outline of another body was marked, to the main control room that overlooked the rest of the warehouse. Two more outlines lay on the floor.

"Here." Santaro beckoned to Qrow, who knelled down to get a closer look at the thing the ranger was pointing at. Qrow saw the wires that activated the alarm had been sliced apart, totally disabling the alarm system.

Santaro spoke up again, "That's not the only one, the silent alarm was severed too. The Red Fang must have kept a tag on this place."

Qrow nodded before asking "How many people have been in here since the raid?"

Santaro considered, "Well, about seven officers and five rangers, three people from the company, and the six paramedics that took the bodies out, not to mention the four forensics guys who went over the crime scene. So about twenty-five altogether."

"How many of them were Faunus?" Qrow asked.

"Two Faunus rangers, three Faunus cops, two of the forensics crew were Faunus. Why? You think one of them could be collaborating with the Red Fang?" Santaro inquired.

"Not unless they were here before the crime was committed. Can you do me a favor? I need you to exit the building and make sure anyone else in here does as well." Qrow said.

"What for?" Santaro asked, a bit stumped by the request.

"Let's just say my Semblance might help me out, and it works better when people aren't around, 'kay?" Qrow lied. His avian form had better senses than his regular human one, but there was no way he was going to use his Semblance here with other people around, he couldn't risk being seen.

Santaro sighed, a tad annoyed by the request, but agreed, "Okay, I'll make sure the place is empty."

He left Qrow and a few moments later, the Huntsman heard the ranger call to him that the building was clear and he was going outside. When he heard the door shut, Qrow activated his Semblance and changed into his crow form and began fly around the place, and his senses quickly kicked in, his vision going crazy with traces of various beings.

'No kidding, a lot of people came in and out of this place.' Qrow thought to himself, 'Might make it a little harder to get a read on them… wait a minute.'

Thanks to the enhanced sight his crow form possessed, Qrow could see traces and that stood out among those of humans and Faunus, while normal traces depended on what gender and race a person was, it also was differentiated by their aura, the reflection of their soul. Two signatures he was specifically seeing weren't normal, there was something off about them.

The first, and less off-putting signature, was a dark orangish-brown that felt troubled, angry, helpless, and slightly conflicted. Qrow was put off by the strangeness of it, it felt and looked like a Faunus, but there was something wrong with it, as if it wasn't natural, like it had been tampered with.

'Wait a minute, is that… reptile I sense? The hell is going on?' Qrow asked himself mentally.

The main signature, however, was an incredibly one that gave him an uneasy feeling. The trace of aura was a very dark purple, there was an aura of menace, one of violence and bloodlust, but it too felt as though it had been messed with, as now it felt somewhat like a scorpion.

'No doubt about it, Callows was here. Now that I know what his aura signature is like I shouldn't have a hard time knowing it when I'm close to him in this form… wait a second, that feels familiar…'

Qrow looked at another trace of aura, a dark brown one, one that reeked of violence, anger, and vengefulness. It took him a few moments, but he realized who it belonged to.

'That White Fang Lieutenant, Adam's lackey who got away. He was here too, so that's proof that the Red Fang are in league with Salem. Gotta report to Ozpin and then try to fly over the town to try and track 'em down.' Qrow listed off before landing in the middle of the room and shapeshifting back into his human form.

"Being me has its rewards sometimes." He muttered to himself as he made for the door.

---

Presently, it was lunch period at Beacon Academy, the massive hall that served as the cafeteria was filled with the students of first, second, third, and fourth years, all mingling, eating, and relaxing before it was time for the next period.

Team Beacon was currently sitting together at one of the ten long tables that served cafeteria, which had been rebuilt to repair the damage caused by the Grimm that had nested inside of it during their occupation of the academy. The mood was the usual mix of bright and relieved chaos that always occupied the lunchroom, relief that they were temporarily free from school work and could get some food, but a small tinge of dread due to looming threat of half the school day still to come.

As the members of Team Beacon ate their food, they also took this time to chat, read, or get a head start on homework. While Velvet and Fox were doing some light work on the assignment Professor Peach had given then, Ruby was helping Weiss out on some of the smaller details for the assignment Taiyang had given them for the weapons class, since Ruby was a prodigy when it came to weapons. Penny gave some pointers and helped out on the subtle, technical details that would really help them all out on their class work.

Blake, meanwhile, was spending her time reading something she had never expected to become a fan of; comics. Sun, with a little help from Jaune, had convinced Blake that comics weren't simply books for kids, that they could have intelligent and sophisticated stories. Jaune had lent her one of his favorites, 'The Long Year', and she had been surprised to find that she enjoyed it very much, appreciating the smartly written story, three dimensional characters, and the well-crafted mystery of the piece.

When she and Team RWBY had taken a trip to the bookstore some weeks ago, she had sought out a series that Jaune had recommended to her, 'The Dream Master', a series collected in twelve volumes. Blake had bought the first two books in the series, just to make sure she enjoyed them before fully getting into it and spending her money on the full series. Sure enough, she came to love the series for its beautiful and smart writing, and couldn't thank Sun and Jaune enough for helping her realize what she was missing out on.

Currently Blake was reading the fourth volume of the series while she took bites from the fish she was eating while Yang devoured her chicken.

"It's still a little weird to see you reading out of a comic." Neptune commented to her.

Blake allowed herself a small smile before saying "I prefer to call them graphic novels. Each issue is like a chapter released individually."

"Eh, graphic novels, comics, sound like the same thing when you get right down to it." Sage observed before he continued eating his sandwich.

"I'm just happy I got you to try something new." Sun said to his girlfriend.

Blake nodded, "I admit they're far better than I thought they'd be. I didn't have that much of an opportunity to read many when I was a child, considering my situation, but I guess I can make up for lost time."

"What do you think about 'Dream Master', Yang? I've read it, and I like it but not as much as Blake does." Jaune asked his fellow blonde.

"It's fine, but a bit too wordy for me, I prefer action comedy stuff." Yang confessed, giving her secret girlfriend an apologetic look.

"No harm in having different tastes." Blake stated before biting off and savoring a tasty piece of fish.

Yang glanced over and said, "Oh boy, don't look now, but some others are coming our way."

"So?" Ruby quipped, "There are more than enough seats for..."

"Those kind of others. You know..." Yang hinted while gesturing with her robotic hand.

"Fans and admirers." Weiss clarified for her partner.

"Oh, well that's not so bad." Ruby said optimistically.

"As long as they don't beg for autographs or attention." Sun sighed, with the rest of his Team agreeing with him.

"Trust me, I know the feeling all too well." Pyrrha shared a look with the rest of them, the look of experience from her time before Beacon plain in her green eyes.

Ever since the reopening of Beacon Academy, the very first unified team named after the academy had become a well-respected and admired group, with students ranging from the first-years up to the seniors calling them inspirational. Besides getting considerable attention from the student body, many of Team Beacon's followers would often request to hear about their adventures and missions, as well as asking for autographs in which most of Team Beacon's members had been happy to give, seeing as Pyrrha and Weiss in particular were quite used to the outpouring of attention due to their prior careers. Though to be honest, Ruby's hand had never been as sore as it had been the day she managed to sign a grand total of three hundred and eighty-six autographs.

Some of Team Beacon, especially Jaune, Ren, Blake, Velvet, Fox and Yatsuhashi had gradually grown tired of the attention, and Penny had been made uncomfortable a number of times by people asking too many questions about her robotic nature, and while Ruby, Weiss and Coco thankfully managed to put a stop to that quite firmly, the robotic girl still got sidelong looks and harmless questions from other students every now and then which she simply took in stride and answered cautiously unless they were too personal. While the initial storm of reverence and awe had died down in the following months since the school year began, they still had fans approach them nervously and politely requested to talk to them.

This was not one of those times, however. A small group of Huntsmen-in-training walked by, their expressions clearly showing how nervous they were due to their vaguely flushed cheeks. One brunette girl clad in a green and grey outfit in particular, who was about Ruby's age but was slightly smaller than the red-hooded Huntress was, noticeably looked at the red reaper with awe as if she was seeing a living legend.

Weiss gently elbowed Ruby and made a gesture towards the freshman, and the latter looked up from her meal, giving the young student a bright smile and a small wave, saying, "Hi there, can I help you?"

The brunette girl initially looked shocked, but slowly compose herself and raised her own hand to wave back, "H-h-hello…I'm s-sorry, I'm not good at this… socializing stuff."

The silver-eyed girl gave her fellow student a kind and understanding look and nodded her head, still maintaining a warm smile on her face. Ruby had gotten used to the slightly younger students, which were around her age as she had to keep reminding herself, looking at her like she was a physical manifestation of some divine being after they have witnessed what she could do during the battle to retake Beacon Academy from the Grimm more than half a year ago. It wasn't uncommon for her to get a lot of questions regarding her silver eyes over the many months, and due to the fact she wasn't allowed to share whatever things she had learned with Argentius due to the Oath of Secrecy she had taken along with the rest of Team Beacon, Ruby instead gave answers that either deflected those questions directed at her or simply mentioned that she wasn't quite sure herself repeatedly.

"Don't worry, I know what's it like to be awkward." Ruby assured the brunette girl.

"She certainly does." Weiss said with a small smirk.

"Well... thanks for all of your hard work and heroic stuff." The aforementioned freshman student managed to say awkwardly before returning the smile to Ruby and quickly following her friends to their seats.

Ruby sighed and said, "You know, I kind of wish being the clumsy girl who just got lucky getting a chance to join Beacon. I remember starting out just like that freshman student."

"With the friends you got? Who says you aren't lucky?" Yang teased her younger sister.

"And no one said you're not clumsy. Well, outside of a fight, anyway." Weiss stated.

"Oh cut it out!" Ruby said, "And you have to, I'm still your leader!"

Yang chuckled while Weiss gave her partner a look before asking "Is that an order?"

"You bet it is!" Ruby said boldly.

On the other side of the table, Pyrrha giggled at the scene, "It's amazing to me that after everything she's been through, Ruby still manages to be so… so…"

"Ruby?" Jaune finished for her, a smile curling on his lips

"I suppose that's a good enough answer." Pyrrha said with a smile.

"It is, and I don't think any of us would have it any other way." Weiss said sincerely, resting her hands on the table.

"And I'll take it as a compliment!" Ruby said to them, making her friends chuckle at her optimism.

Jaune smiled at his friend before something in the corner of his blue eyes caught his attention; a familiar team was sitting just a few tables behind them, one which he had suffered bullying from when he first came to Beacon Academy, Team CRDL.

After Beacon had reopened, Ozpin and Glynda were faced with the task of reassigning the teams who had lost their members for a variety of reasons, reorganizing and reforming teams wherever they could so that those reduced teams could be back to full strength once more. Due to Cardin's sacrifice during the Battle of Haven, Team CDRL was in need of a new leader, and there just so happened to be one available.

Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing and Sky Lark sat with their new leader, a tall, pale but dark-skinned youth around the age of nineteen with very short auburn hair and sharp, dark brown eyes known as Cassandra Aguila. She had previously been the leader of Team CARD up until the Fall of Beacon, in which her partner had been tragically killed by one of the rogue Atlesian Paladins, and the other two members of her team were so severely injured by the Grimm as well as the hacked Atlesian Knights and they had become traumatized to the point where they decided it was best to abandon the idea of becoming Huntsmen, which left Cassandra the only one left.

Glynda had assured her that she wouldn't be alone, and reassigned her to join Team CRDL as their new leader and take Cardin's place. To say that it was awkward at first would be an understatement, not only did the rest of team CRDL have to cope with the fact that they had a new leader to replace Cardin, then there was the fact that Cassandra was slightly older than them as a senior student and she wasn't unattractive, while she didn't quite match up to the likes of Yang or Pyrrha.

Cassandra had her reservations about this as well, as not only would she be the only female but she was quite reluctant to get attached to another team after what happened to her old one. Additionally, she hadn't got out of the Vytal disaster unscathed either, as she had to go through grief counseling for months afterwards due to witnessing vicious Grimm attacks and people being shot by the robots and it took every ounce of her own courage not to follow her teammates' example and quit. It was only after much consideration that she eventually agreed to take Cardin's place on the team and do her best to lead them.

While the trio of boys had slowly warmed up to her presence and gotten used to the reality that a section of their room had been covered up with newly attached rods and curtains to give their female leader the privacy she needed. It had been quite uncomfortable at first, since Cassandra had never been a very social person and the awkward mood surrounding the team didn't help matters, especially for Russel since she was now his new partner. Things were strained between them at best, and while left unspoken it was clear that the remainder of Cardin's team were still unhappy about his death.

Jaune looked in their direction, while Pyrrha gave them a kind smile while waving to them. Cassandra, Sky and Dove all nodded casually back to acknowledge them, except for Russel who gave a small glare before turning his head away to look somewhere else.

Jaune sighed to himself as he knew what they were unhappy about. It had been a year and Russel still held a grudge against the couple as well as the rest who were there that night at the Battle of Haven for what happened to Cardin. Jaune couldn't bring himself to blame the mohawked teen, as he knew what it was like to lose a partner and there was still a part of him that felt like he should have tried harder or if he had done something differently, Cardin would still be with them.

Pyrrha gently squeezed Jaune's hand and whispered to him, "We know that look, don't blame yourself."

Jaune briefly wondered what she meant by 'we', that was when he noticed the other half of his team were looking at him with unease, and Nora had even stopped eating her latest plate of food.

"Jaune, what happened to Cardin wasn't anyone's fault but Ante's. While we all wish we could have saved him, there's no point in blaming yourself." Ren told his leader in an assuring tone.

Nora nodded, "Yeah, Renny's right Jaune."

"They are right, Jaune." Velvet spoke up and causing him to look at his Faunus teammate, "I feel just as bad over Cardin's death as you do, but keep in mind that the rest of his team are still mourning. Healing takes time, we all know that."

Jaune smiled and nodded at her, before glancing back to Cassandra who gave him a slightly apologetic look, and he remembered the first time he and Ruby had spoke with her...

Six Months Ago, A Week After The Reopening of Beacon

It was a few hours after the school day had ended. Once they were dismissed Ruby and Jaune packed up their things and got up to leave the auditorium in which a seminar for all team leaders had been held in when they saw Cassandra sitting in an isolated corner with a look of uneasiness on her face, and both of them felt like they could perhaps lend some assistance if possible.

"I can't believe we didn't try to do this sooner." Ruby bemoaned as she tucked her books away.

"I know. I still feel bad about history that has happened between me and CRDL." Jaune stated as he zipped up his own schoolbag.

"Yeah, but Cassandra didn't have anything to do with what happened between you and them, so I say we should at least talk to her." Ruby pointed out.

Jaune nodded and then turned to see that the new leader of Team CRDL was gone from the auditorium, and he quickly gestured for Ruby to follow him out into the school grounds. It wasn't long before both of them found their target and quickly spotted her sitting on a bench in the corridor which had a nice view of Beacon's gardens. He nudged Ruby and gestured to Cassandra, who had a knuckle against her forehead as she slumped over in thought with her eyes closed.

The silver-eyed girl took charge and approached the girl with dark skin, and quipped, "Hey there! Cassandra, right?"

Said girl looked up at Ruby with a dull expression, "Yes. You're Ruby Rose. Heard a lot about you."

Ruby chuckled and replied"Yeah, I'm really in the center of attention lately."

"Hey, I'm Jaune Arc…"

"I know, the boys of my new team told me a little about you when we began to share a room." Cassandra said as she adjusted her posture on the bench.

"Oh... what exactly did they say?" Jaune asked while privately wondering if they let her know about his and Pyrrha's... unique condition.

"Not much, apparently you used to be some dweeb that Winchester managed to get blackmail on and made you a lackey, until you grew a pair and stood up to him, and then he left you alone." She replied cordially.

"Well, that's not wrong." Jaune admitted with a soft sigh and a shrug.

"Russel still holds a bit of a grudge against you for Winchester's death. I don't totally understand it, but I know it has something to do with what went down in Haven." She said to Jaune before adding "I will do what I can to keep him in line."

Jaune nodded, "Thanks, and it does have something to do with the battle in Haven. Hey, we just wanted to talk to you, everything okay with your team?"

It was Cassandra's turn to sigh, and she averted her eyes before saying, "Honestly? Not so good. I don't blame them for not wanting to replace their friend, but it's obvious that they having a hard time accepting me as their new leader, and they act so nervous about it and they clearly don't want to say it, as if a girl can't take it."

"Well, you know how some boys are, no offense Jaune." Ruby said as she sat down next to her fellow team leader.

"None taken, I'm not even gonna deny it." He replied with a small chuckle before he looked to Cassandra and queried, "Have you tried talking to them?"

"Tried being the key word. I tried to make them put more effort into their training and homework, but then Russel lost it at me and we got into a shouting match the other night. While I expected that leading them won't be easy, it honestly feels like I am hitting a paper wall that should be easy to break through, but it won't tear no matter what. Do you know what I mean?" She answered, holding up both her hands like a supplicant.

"I think I might." Ruby said as she rested her hands on her lap, "Ever since I became the leader of Team RWBY, I've been in situations where I felt like I didn't know what to do. Sometimes I felt helpless when things got tough, but the rest of my team managed to guide me along the path to being a good leader. And trust me, we both know that it's not easy being a good team leader."

"Yeah, if this was easy we probably wouldn't grow as people or as better Hunters." Jaune told her with a faint smile on his face.

"I know that, but I had it much easier with my old team than with Team CRDL, and now it's just... awkward." Cassandra voiced before sighing again, "I don't even know where to start."

Ruby rubbed her chin in thought, "Well, since our team team have been combined with a few others to become Team Beacon, we took time off to talk to each other about our pasts and that helped us bond and get to know each other better, which helps us to work together more effectively. How about you try it with them?"

She shook her head and told them "Been there, done that. Dove suggested something like that a few days ago. However, I wasn't really in the mood for it, neither was Skye and especially not Russel."

Ruby and Jaune looked at each other before the Arc brother confessed, "Well, I gotta admit that I didn't really know what to do when I first became a leader. I just kind of relied on the other members of my team to help me out so that I would know what to do, because I honestly didn't have a clue."

"And I wasn't exactly the best team leader either, but I did my best even though Weiss doubted me at first." Ruby added, "So I think you need to take charge with those guys, and get them to come to terms with having you as their leader."

"So you mean I need to get though with them?" Cassandra shook her head, "No, I don't think that's the best move. After I first met my partner in the Emerald Forest during initiation we talked to each other about ourselves and we got to know each other better over our first year and developed a solid dynamic but now… now she's gone and the rest just gave up. A part of me wonders if I made the right choice coming back."

Jaune and Ruby gave her a moment of silence before Jaune asked, "What was your partner's name?"

"Alexis Periwinkle."

"Cassandra, I don't think Alexis would want you to give up. I understand mourning her, trust me when I say I've been there, but you shouldn't give up. I once thought I had lost my own partner for a while when Pyrrha was taken by Cinder and her lackeys. She left me with one heck of a kiss, but then she was gone, and I felt lost for a while, like I just wanted to lay down and die." Jaune spoke gently, "But I knew I couldn't let her death go unavenged. I had to keep going for her, for my friends and family, and maybe even so I could redeem myself along the way. I hope you get the point I am trying to make."

"Yeah, but you got a miracle handed to you and your partner came back. Alexis isn't." Cassandra shot back.

"No, I didn't get anything handed to me." Jaune answered, a small hint of anger seeping into his tone, "I got tortured physically and mentally, I was forced to fight against Pyrrha when she was brainwashed and nearly died in the process. I also got a flaming arrow shot through my chest when I threw myself in the path of the arrow to save her. Yes, Pyrrha coming back was a miracle, but getting it wasn't easy. I literally went through hell to bring her back to normal, I put every bit of effort I had in me to save her. I probably didn't deserve to be the leader of Team JNPR at first, but I know that I have earned that right by now."

"I'm… I'm sorry about what I said," Cassandra apologized, "I don't totally get what happened to you guys, but when I think about Alexis I just feel so… so…"

"Guilty." Ruby interrupted, "I've been there too. When I saw Penny get torn in half by Pyrrha's Semblance, I felt like I could have stopped it had I been faster. When I saw that Yang's arm had been cut off I also felt like it was my fault, since a team leader is supposed to take care of her teammates, and I failed. Then... when I saw Pyrrha dying right in front of me, or at least I thought she died, I was crushed by the sense of helplessness and guilt at that moment, and I felt that I was unworthy of being a leader. But I kept on going, and while I can't put away all the guilt, I handled it much better than I could before."

Jaune nodded in agreement, "But you can't let the loss loss of Alexis stop you, or the fact that your other teammates quit. You chose to keep going, so I think you at least want to try to start again. It's not easy, trust me when I say that both Ruby and I know, we had to become Team RNJR so we could keep going after the Fall."

"Yeah, since members of my team was either gone at that time or...not ready, I joined up with what's left of JNPR. It wasn't easy at first, but we did our best and in the end everything turned out to be okay. So I personally think that if you try a little harder to be their leader, getting to know them better instead of avoiding them. Maybe then things'll start working out for you." Ruby suggested with a smile.

Cassandra was silent for a brief while, thinking about it before allowing herself a smile, "Okay, I guess I'll give it a shot."

Jaune and Ruby walked with Cassandra into the dorm building towards Team CRDL's room. There were muffled sounds coming from behind the door, which clearly meant that the rest of the team was apparently talking about something. When Cassandra opened it up, both Ruby and Jaune could see the three surviving members of the original CRDL turning their heads to look at the now open door, and while they weren't surprised by the appearance of their new leader, they sure weren't expecting Jaune and Ruby to be with Cassandra.

"Crap! I knew we were running out of time." Dove muttered under his breath.

"Time for what?" Cassandra asked casually as she walked inside.

Russel looked past her at Jaune and Ruby who were still standing in the doorway. He shot them a glare and asked, "What are they doing here?"

"We met up after the seminar and had a little chat, they helped me out with something. Speaking of which... listen guys, we need to talk." Their new leader told them.

"Yeah, we do." Dove agreed while he crossed his arms, before looking at the two visitors, "But not in front of them. Would you mind closing the door?"

Jaune gave a nod and pulled the door shut with a click. He was just about to make his way to the staircase when he felt Ruby tugging at his hand as she pulled him back.

"Ruby, what are you...?" He began, but was interrupted by his friend.

"Ssshhh! I want to listen to see if they're going to be okay." Ruby whispered to her friend before pressing her ear towards the door.

"You know we're eavesdropping on a team who probably hates me for what happened to Cardin right?" Jaune whispered back even as he gestured for Ruby to release his hand.

"Just a bit wouldn't hurt right?" Ruby argued softly, "Besides, I want to know if Cassandra took our advice to heart."

Jaune thought about it for a few seconds before relenting since his curiosity also got the better of him, "Okay, just for a couple of minutes, and then we are both leaving."

Ruby nodded and they both leaned their heads against the door, faintly hearing the dialogue taking place at the other side of it, "Okay guys, we've been a team for over a week now but I'm sure we all know there's still a divide between me and the three of you. We can't stay this way if we're going to make it to graduation."

Dove's voice was heard next, "You have a point there, Cassandra. While you were gone I talked with Sky... and we both made Russel sit down and listen to us. Speaking of which, I think he has something to say to you."

There was a deep sigh which was definitely Russel's, "Look, I am sorry for snapping at you the other night, and... the things I said. I was way out of line and it was really a dick move. I just... it's just so weird to have another partner after losing our leader Cardin."

"I know how you feel." Cassandra said, "I feel the same way about having you guys after I lost my team. But if we keep on acting like this, we will never work as a new team since we can't work together like a proper one. I don't know much about how Cardin ran things, but we're not going to do things like forcing others to do our homework or belittle and antagonize others which will destroy whatever reputation Team CDRL has left. I'm not asking you to accept me all at once, but at least give me a chance to prove to you that I can be a leader in my own right... and perhaps we won't act as though we're complete strangers to each other, okay?"

There were several moments of silence before the replies came.

"That sounds reasonable to me." Sky voiced hesitantly.

"Same goes for me." Dove agreed.

Russel sighed again before stating, "You're right. I'll give you a chance, I can at least try."

"And we are going to try our best to restore this team and we're going to do it. I expect you three to put in actual effort to make this happen. Alexis wouldn't want me to give up, and I don't think Cardin would want you guys to either." Cassandra said, conviction clear in her voice.

"No, he wouldn't have." Dove confirmed earnestly, "Now, we're... not the easiest guys to get along with, so this road might be a bit bumpy, so to speak."

"I've been on a ton of bumpy roads before, I think we will be alright on this one." Sky answered.

"If you can prove that you're a good leader, I guess we can work with that." Russel eventually said.

"Thanks for giving me a chance. Alright then, I guess we should start with getting to really know each other..." Cassandra began.

Jaune and Ruby nodded at each other before drawing themselves away from the dorm door. "Well, that's one problem solved. Let's go." She smiled and quipped to her fellow team leader before taking off down the hallway.

'You think they'll be okay?" Jaune asked her.

"Well, if they work really hard together and bond with one another, I'm sure they'll be fine." Ruby answered optimistically.

Sure enough Team CRDL's performance had improved after that night, especially in their assignments and combat classes, and Cassandra seemed to be less distant with the rest of her team after managing to engage in some much-needed conversations with them.

Russel and her had slowly bonded over the pain of losing a partner, and it appeared that the both of them turned out to have similar taste in music, and she had also talked it out with Dove and Sky over the grief they felt about losing their friend and leader. She also helped Sky improve upon his combat techniques among other things, and though their behavior bothered her on occasions, such as the time she described the rest of Team CRDL to Coco as 'afraid to be normal horny teenage boys around me', and she didn't know whether to be happy or fuming mad with that fact.

Jaune felt pleased with the improvement, and was happy that their team dynamic had vastly improved, and was still hoping that he could someday be on better terms with them. After checking how much remaining time before he had to attend the next lesson, he put those thoughts aside for the time being and went back to eating his lunch, while listening to the rest of Team Beacon converse among themselves.

---

The remaining classes of the day flew by quickly, with Professor Peach's survival class going over the various situations that could befall Hunstmen and Huntresses in the field and went through lengthy and detailed lectures on what herbs that could be used for medicinal purposes in the wild. Professor Crane's science class went over the dangers of, and how to prevent, a Dust overload in weapons, in which he explained with large diagrams and various equations which nearly put most of Team SSSN to sleep, only to be awoken by Team RWBY.

The final period of the day was Professor Glynda Goodwitch's combat class, which she still managed to teach alongside her new tasks as the co-Headmistress.

Currently, Ruby was currently engaged in an intense match with Cassandra to demonstrate a lesson for Glynda about how two complex weapons would perform in a battle as well as about battle readiness. The students attending the combat class were seated as usual on benches around the circumference of the raised stage where the match was taking place, their faces focused intently on the two Huntresses battling against each other.

Alongside Ruby's Crescent Rose, Cassandra's weapon was a giant balisong knife that transformed into a hunting rifle with an additional underslung bayonet, which made it an adequate peer for Ruby's beloved weapon.

The new leader of Team CRDL, now in her combat gear that consisted of a dark brown t-shirt with camo-pants, dark combat boots and grey gloves, pounced off the ground and aimed to use the blade of her weapon to weaken Ruby's aura, but the silver-eyed girl parried her strike easily. As the older teen came down with a sweeping kick, Ruby ducked under the leg before using her Semblance to rush her opponent and knock her back a certain distance, before firing off a couple of rounds from Crescent Rose. Cassandra blocked the shots rather quickly with her knife, before transforming her weapon into its rifle mode and loosening a number of shots at Ruby who spun her scythe in a circular motion to deflect them.

Cassandra rushed forward and leaped into the air, transformed her weapon again and slashed down vertically at Ruby who managed to bring up Crescent Rose's blade in one swift motion to strike back, which produced a sharp clanging sound which echoed around the room.

"As you can see, the more complex weapons need to be quick in their transformations during a fight." Glynda spoke to the class, and a number of students were jotting down her words on their notepads or typing on their scrolls, "Otherwise, they would be useless as the enemy can use the precious seconds between the transformations to launch another attack. A smart Hunter needs to have both swift reflexes and a swift weapon. In this case, Miss Rose and Miss Aguila possess both."

CRDL's new leader leaped at Ruby again with a series of slashing strikes, forcing the leader of her to sidestep the attack while parrying or deflecting her strikes. Cassandra swerved around and leaned back as the sharp edge of Crescent Rose whispered mere inches past her throat, turning Ruby's weapon aside before landing smoothly on one hand and bringing her legs around to knock the red Huntress down. She then moved forward to finish the match by delivering a thrusting blow with her weapon's melee form, only for Ruby to expertly block her swing and then leaped back to put some distance between them with Crescent Rose held defensively in front of her.

"While being knocked down can be a fatal loss at times..." Glynda lectured while gesturing with the fingers of one hand, "...however, with careful timing it can potentially be used to one's benefit."

"Come on Ruby." Weiss whispered carefully.

"Score another win, lil sis!" Yang called out excitedly.

"Quiet down Miss Xiao Long!" Glynda scolded, "Distractions are not something Miss Rose needs right now."

The bombshell quickly apologized, and resorted to rubbing her robotic and organic hands together as she continued to watch the match. Blake laid a hand on Yang's shoulder and nodded at her while looking into those lilac eyes of hers, "Don't worry, Ruby's doing her best. We all know she can handle herself easily." Yang nodded and smiled to her partner.

Down in the combat floor Cassandra gave Ruby a small smirk as she brought up her weapon in a perfect duelist position, "You're living up to your hype, kid."

"I hate to disappoint." Ruby said cheerfully before she jumped upwards and opening up with a volley of attacks, driving Cassandra back as she deflected the shots coming her way.

She blocked the last shot and managed to parry Crescent Rose's blade as it slammed down on her weapon's haft, and grinned at Ruby, "Not bad, but I have a few nice moves of my own."

With a sudden movement, she kicked outwards which caused Ruby to jump back, and brought up her giant balisong knife and began to fling it about in a fierce and speedy display before charging forward and launching a series of rapid strikes which Ruby barely dodged even with her Semblance, and while the RWBY team leader dodged most of Cassandra's strikes she barely repelled the last one, which allowed the CRDL team leader to use one side of the massive handle to pin Crescent Rose's scythe blade to the ground while using the other side to hit Ruby in the chin, which caused her aura to flare for a split second before vanishing.

"Gotcha." Cassandra stated triumphantly as she levered the blade of her weapon dangerously close to Ruby's face, but for some reason the younger girl didn't look defeated, instead she had a small smirk on her face.

"Not yet!" She responded before pressing a button on the side of Crescent Rose's handle, and a thin bar shot out of her weapon towards her opponent's face, causing Cassandra to recoil reflexively. Ruby allowed herself a smile, pleased that her foot bar was more useful for more than just making Crescent Rose easier to hold onto while in a free fall.

Even as Cassandra jerked back, her weight pressing down on Crescent Rose loosened and Ruby moved quickly and adroitly, using the foot bar to knock her opponent's weapon out of her hand and sent it sliding across the floor. Spinning her weapon upwards, Ruby sent a quick jab to Cassandra's chin with the blunt end of Crescent Rose, knocking the CRDL leader down. Cassandra opened her eyes, but saw Ruby had already brought the sharp edge of her scythe blade to her chin.

"Sorry, but I'm not beaten easily." She told her, grinning in triumph.

"I can see that." Cassandra muttered, disappointed that she had lost, but nevertheless impressed with how someone who had just turned seventeen performed so well in battle. "Very well I surrender."

Glynda nodded approvingly and said to her class, "As you can see, Miss Aguila had the sense to know when to concede, rather than to grab Miss Rose's leg and flip her over, thus prolonging the fight and even risking harm to herself given the close proximity of the blade. You have no doubt noticed that while both combatants still have a decent amount of Aura left, so the fight could go on, but as an old proverb says, you must know when to fight and when not to, so one must be ready to make that choice in a real combat situation. Fortunately, Miss Aguila has demonstrated the appropriate time to make that choice. With that said, I hereby declare this duel over."

Ruby withdrew Crescent Rose from Cassandra's neck and offered her hand to help her up, which the leader of CRDL accepted while brushing dust from her pants.

"That was a good fight. Your weapon is also pretty great too, and the way you moved with it was..." Ruby began, only for Cassandra to raise a hand to cut her off.

"Thanks, and you weren't so bad yourself kiddo. Next time, I guess I'll have to try a little harder to beat you." She said to the younger girl before they took their seats even as the other students were turning their attention to Professor Goodwitch as she began to speak.

"Now students, before we are dismissed for today I would like you all tonight to go over and discuss with your teams about various possible combat scenarios, and how you would deal with them. There will be a test on this topic tomorrow, so be sure to study for it by going over some of the situations I have listed in your textbooks and discuss them among yourselves." Glynda instructed her students before the bell rang informing everyone of the end of her lesson, "And with that, you are all dismissed."

The students all poured out of the class and into the hall that was flooding with other students from other classes in the vicinity. Some of them were making their way to their lockers, some to various after-school activities, others to their dorms, but a few members of Team Beacon had one special destination in mind.

"You sure today's the day?" Ruby asked Jaune as she followed him and Pyrrha down a less crowded hallway.

"We're sure. It has been officially one year since he died and that means the fragment of his soul has joined fully with the crystal, which means we can speak to him according to what the avatar and the books tell us." Jaune replied to her, "If all goes well I'm sure we'll be able to talk to him."

"To be honest, I personally don't know what we would talk to him about, but maybe he can tell us more about the crystal itself and its abilities." Pyrrha suggested with a thoughtful look. "And perhaps he can tell us what he knows about the... those warriors."

"We can hope." Jaune agreed, nodding thoughtfully.

---

It wasn't long until Team JNPR, along with Ruby, Weiss, and Penny, had arrived at special section of the dorm building which belonged to Team Beacon. In accordance with the newly-implemented security measures, every student studying in Beacon Academy had been issued with their own security keycard to unlock their own dorm rooms. While it was a bit of a hassle at times, the members of Team Beacon accepted it since they know that it was to prevent another infiltration of Beacon Academy by those who had evil intentions.

Team CFVY were on their way back as well, but they weren't in as big as a hurry since they wanted to look up some information at the library for an upcoming test in Port's advanced classes. Blake and Yang were currently joining Team SSSN at the gym, where they were helping Sun strengthen his balancing issues with his tail so he could get back to using it as actively as he had when it was flesh and blood.

Jaune entered the security code to their room and the door unlocked, allowing him to open it. After taking some time to undress from their school uniforms and into more casual clothing, the four of them were finally able to get some much-needed rest after another busy school day. Jaune got into a gray sleeveless shirt and jeans while Pyrrha wore a black t-shirt and knee-length blue skirt over her black shorts. Nora had changed into her usual dark grey T-shirt with her hammer emblem and the word 'Boop' written on it and pink shorts patterned with white thunderbolts, while Ren had simply worn a long-sleeved dark green-shirt with his personal emblem on its sleeves, and white pants.

"Ah, another day over and done with." Nora sighed as she rested comfortably on her bed.

"But we still have homework to do and an exam to prepare for." Ren reminded her, causing his partner to let out a childish whine.

"Don't worry Nora, it can wait until we are done with this Aura Crystal session. Besides, we will have to wait for Sun, Coco and the others to get back." Jaune pointed out.

"Give that man a medal!" Nora declared in a faux-serious voice.

Ren smiled at her before asking Jaune and Pyrrha, "How long do you think this session will take?"

Pyrrha thought about it and answered "We don't know, it would depend on how quickly we can find Ashe and how long we talk to him."

"I don't see it lasting longer than a couple of hours, though time kinda passes differently within the Aura Crystal, but I want you two stay on guard while our minds are in there, okay?" Jaune requested as he looked at Ren and Nora.

"You got it, fearless leader!" Nora agreed, giving him a salute.

"We won't let you down." Ren promised even as Ruby, dressed in more casual clothing, pushed the door aside and poked her head into Team JNPR's room.

"Hey, are you guys about to start?" She inquired.

"Yeah, and with any luck Ashe will be ready." Jaune told her.

"I think he will, and he will probably want to hear about all the events and stuff we have been through since his death. Just... uh, can you guys do me a favor?" Ruby requested in a soft voice as she fidgeted a little nervously.

"Certainly Ruby, what is it?" Pyrrha asked kindly.

"Please tell Ashe that I, and the rest of us, all say 'hi', and that we all hope he's okay in there. I know it's only a fragment of his soul, but that still counts as Ashe in my book. Tell him...tell him that I miss him a little." Ruby said while gripping the whistle which dangled around her neck, "...well, actually more like a lot."

Both Jaune and Pyrrha smiled at their younger friend, and the former answered, "There's no need to worry Ruby. We will be sure to do that."

"You can stay and watch if you want, Ruby." Pyrrha told her, "Just don't make too much noise or you could break our concentration."

"I won't, I promise." Ruby assured the Mistralian as she sat down on the bed Nora was occupying.

Ren closed the curtains on both of the windows as Jaune and Pyrrha moved their beds apart, revealing a small, thin gap in the carpet. Jaune sat down, grabbed it, and slid it upwards and revealing the secret compartment the Aura Crystal was kept in. He keyed in a numerical code and Pyrrha followed suit, which unlocked and opened up the compartment to reveal the case in which the crystal resided in.

They removed it and placed it on the floor of the room, before they both pressed their thumbs on the case's print scanner, which unlocked with two soft clicks. They then used their own respective keys to unlock it and open up the case fully, revealing the Aura Crystal to the world once again.

Ruby went to the door and could faintly hear Weiss talking to Winter on her scroll in Team RWBY's own room, but she saw Penny sitting in the common room, and said to the robotic girl, "Hey Penny, Jaune and Pyrrha are going to start their Aura Crystal session. Can you make sure that none of the other's disturb us, okay?"

"No problem Ruby, I will be sure to inform everyone else of what they are doing and that they shouldn't be disturbed. You can count on me!" Penny stated while giving her best friend a thumbs up.

Ruby smiled and gave Penny a thumbs up gesture back at her, "I know I can." She said before she closed the door.

As soon as she closed the door Weiss exited Team RWBY's room in more casual clothing, but even her casual wear was clearly more expensive than what the others would consider casual.

"Friend Weiss, Ruby has told me to..." Penny stood up and started to speak.

"Yes, I heard, Penny." Weiss cut her off with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Very well, but friend Ruby told me to make sure that no one else disturbs them, so I must make sure that I inform everyone. Anyway, Jaune and Pyrrha are about to..." The Schnee heiress pinched her temple and let out a sigh as she sat near the robotic girl and let Penny carry on with her appointed task.

"Thank Oum that patience has become one of my talents since I came to Beacon Academy." Weiss mused to herself as she flicked on the television just to drown out Penny.

Inside JNPR's room; Ruby, Ren, and Nora all watched as Jaune and Pyrrha sat on the carpeted floor in the center of the room, with each of them on one side of the crystal which was now suspended in mid-air by the anti-grav system of the case. There was some quiet anticipation in the air, and the tension in the room increased substantially as the new crystal guardians prepared themselves to enter the Aura Crystal once more.

Over the months they had made great improvements on their meditation skills, so it didn't take as long to enter the Aura Crystal anymore. It wasn't long before their bodies relaxed, their breathing was steady and synced up, and soon their minds were open as Jaune and Pyrrha reached out with their aura to the crystal, which in turned opened up the aura within it to receive them.

Thin beams of light shot out of the crystal and ended at both Jaune and Pyrrha's foreheads, granting them access to the crystal. Their physical bodies slightly tensed at the sudden rush of power they felt from the opening granted to them by the Aura Crystal. Faster than any of them could have expected, their aura and their minds, possibly even their souls, went into the crystal itself, and the physical world fell away.

Inside, shapes of aura that took the form of Jaune and Pyrrha dropped through a seemingly endless abyss until they came to land gently on something that served as ground for them to walk on, but it was smooth, cool and bright. All around them various shapes of multi-colored light moved about, and while some were humanoid in form, others were simply shapeless things that moved about energetically, and there were also others that were slower and more concentrated. Some of the more opaque humanoid figures had distinguishing features, different shades of color on their bodies that resembled skin color, and flowing locks on their heads that represented hair.

One of the humanoid shapes which resembled a young boy, gave them a welcoming look as he flew past the couple as they walked down the never-ending pathway, and so they waved to him in return.

"I can never get used to this, it's kind of always similar but at the same time it feels different from the previous times." Jaune voiced mentally.

"I know, and everything in here seemed to be in a constant state of change. You never see the same shapes twice, but I suppose that since the since the aura of five billion people reside in here it only makes sense we get to see different things each time." Pyrrha replied back as she noticed some small bright lights hovering around them, as though inspecting them or playfully them out.

"I wonder if the aura of these people have just made do with their situation? Like maybe they've come to terms with this new life and made peace with it. "Which makes me wonder just how sentient these lights of aura are?" Jaune posed the question as he held his hand out, allowing for a certain blue light to land on his hand, only to take off a few seconds later and fly up to his nose like a firefly,

Pyrrha giggled at the sight of Jaune with a brightly glowing nose before saying "They certainly have enough personality to be people."

"That they do, Guardian Pyrrha Nikos." Said a voice.

Both Jaune and Pyrrha turned and saw it was the Avatar of the Aura Crystal who had appeared behind them and this time it had had taken the form of an old woman with dark skin and long, braided, gray hair and dressed in long, brownish-red robes.

"Greetings, it's nice to meet you again." Pyrrha greeted courteously, giving the figure a polite bow.

Jaune followed his girlfriend's example and bowed as well, "Avatar, we are here to reunite with a friend."

"'We know, Guardian Jaune Arc. The fragment of Ashe Kasai has joined the collective of the other Guardians long past. He has fully integrated himself into the essence of the crystal, mingling with the collective aura and learning of the world that was before The Shattering, listening to the tales of those people whose aura make up this relic. Now, he is ready." The Avatar told them in a neutral voice.

"May we please see him?" Jaune asked politely as he told hold of Pyrrha's hand for support.

Meanwhile in the real world, Ruby, Ren, and Nora all watched as Jaune and Pyrrha physically took hold of each other's hands.

"Is that normal?" Ruby asked in a hushed whisper, having never seen it before.

"Sometimes." Ren answered in an equally hushed voice, while Nora simply remained uncharacteristically silent.

Back within the Aura Crystal, the Avatar smiled and said, "You may."

The couple watched as the world around them began to turn and before they knew it they were standing on a new surface which resembled a rocky hill that ended at a cliffside. An never-ending expanse of an ocean made up of lights and shapes spread far and wide beyond the cliffs, but a single individual was sitting on the cliff looking out to the 'ocean'.

They looked at each other for a moment, before Pyrrha smiled and gestured for Jaune go ahead. He nodded in return and began to walk upwards to the cliffside. Once they were close enough, the figure sitting at the stone bench turned his head towards them, before turning around to reveal Ashe Kasai himself, looking exactly the same as he had during the night they became the Guardians of the Aura Crystal.

"Hey, kids." He grinned at both crystal guardians as they stopped a few paces from him, "What took you so long?"

This chapter was co-written by RelentlessCrusader with advice from jkphantom9 and additional edits by GojiGrimlockSaurus.

Next time we join a certain dead parent and get a glimpse of what exactly it's like to be a guardian of the dead.

It's Halloween time! For my favorite holiday, I'd like to offer you guys some good scary times: On YouTube, you can find an overlooked chiller from 1980 called 'The Changeling', I won't give the plot away, look it up, sit back and get spooked, I highly suggest you give this a shot. Other underrated horror flicks I recommend are 'Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight', 'Candyman 1 and 2', and 'Pumpkinhead'.

I want to thank those of you who care to review and comment for your reassurance and kind words. I'm sorry guys, but the fact is I'm afraid this story can't be that good. It'd be way more popular if it was and because of how low the faves and follows numbers of this fic are compared to others. Maybe I should have split the arcs apart into different fics, or something but I am still happy with my work and I will keep working on it and do my best regardless.

Attentive readers might notice that Ren and Nora's backstory contradicts how it was originally written in the first chapter. Well I think that Ren and Nora's backstory was one of the few things V4 did right, so I decided to alter it and have rewritten parts of the first several chapters. I wanted to flash back to the talk about the pasts of Ren, Nora, Fox, and Sage, as I want to develop them. The problem with having a cast so big is that sometimes a writer could easily forget about someone or have some characters be a bunch of bland nobodies with nothing to do, which is something I want to avoid. I want to make Team Beacon, and most of the characters, be believable and likable people with strengths as well as flaws, but sometimes that's hard to do, but I hope I'm doing an adequate job. I also wanted to develop the backstory of Remnant a bit more, taking what the supplementary vids have told us and expand upon them.

Also, Team CRDL's back and with a new leader, hope you're all okay with that. They won't have a major role in the story, in fact I think they'll only appear a few more times after this.

If you enjoyed this story, then please consider faving and following 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 so 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.