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

70. Arrival at Shade

Well, the last two days have taken a turn for the crappy. My great aunt had a stroke and isn't expected to make it, and a young cousin (only 9 years old) on the other side of the family was involved in a bad car accident and has a broken back, so keep my family in your prayers, please.

Chapter 69: Arrival at Shade

The fleet of pirate ships sat anchored to the ocean floor a safe distance away from the maritime borders of Atlas, waiting for their respective captains' orders to strike at their assigned targets. The breeze was low and there weren't many clouds to block the light of the broken moon from shining down upon them, illuminating the busy decks which were filled with small numbers of crew moving around with whatever final tasks they'd been given. Captain Silvers stroke his beard pensively with the fingers of his robotic hand as he walked out of the captain's room, his steely eyes carefully surveying his ship and what crew were awake in the wee hours of the morning except for the sentries who were on night duty.

He saw his first mate dutifully coming up to him and asked, "Anything from Skarnage or the others? What about the Grimm girl?"

"We've received messages from the other captains, she's giving them the clear signal to stay a safe distance away while she brings in Sea Feilongs. Captain Lizbetha said she should be under our vessel as we speak." The first mate reported.

"Very good. Wake up the rest of the crew and get them ready to move out." Silvers ordered curtly. His second-in-command immediately saluted and went up to the bridge as Silvers moved over to the edge of the deck and looked over the railing beside one of the huge tri-barreled cannons on the ship's deck. Down below among the gently cresting waves he could faintly see the shapes of several huge Sea Feilongs, the deadly dragon Grimm of the oceans, swimming effortlessly below his vessel. He never thought he would be so calm around the beasts that were terrifyingly dangerous and strangely majestic in similar ways, but these were strange times.

Pirates and Grimm had had an unintentionally beneficial relationship for many, many years. Pirates would strike a coastal town, pillage and take whatever they pleased and leaving the people there in despair and panic, which would attract the attentions of the Grimm… It was probably only natural that the two groups would eventually come to some form of reasonable partnership, strange as it sounded.

Bubbles began to burst out from beneath the ship, catching Silvers' attention instantly and causing him to absently reach for his cutlass and baroquely-carved flintlock before the shape of a teenage girl burst out of the depths like a bullet from the barrel of a gun before she clung onto the side of the ship, water pouring off her lean body in steady streams while fat drips of saltwater ran down her raven-black hair as she began to climb up towards Silvers.

He knelt down and offered Mavis his flesh-and-blood hand, which she noticed and took once she was close enough. The scarred pirate captain easily hauled her up onto the deck, and asked in his deep voice, "Well lass, are we good to go?" He inquired as she landed onto her hands and knees, breathing calmly to steady herself after being underwater for a lengthy period of time.

"I…I think so. I checked with every Sea Feilong underneath the fleet, and I've made sure that as long as the crews aren't overly afraid or angry they won't attack, and that as the ships are moving they'll create the fog for us which will mask the fleet from the navy." Mavis responded as she stood up to retrieve her cloak which she had left behind on a nearby crate prior to going about gathering the aquatic Grimm. She tied the arm sleeves of the red sigil-embossed cloak around the waist of her one-piece clad, soaking wet body, which turned it yet again into a makeshift skirt.

"Good job, girl!" Silvers declared, clapping Mavis on her left shoulder, "Now we can get about teaching those high-and-mighty Atlesians a thing or two about carnage, eh?" He laughed before moving off, hollering loudly to his gathered crew, "Raise the flags and contact the others! We're ready to move out!"

Mavis sighed before she looked out to the open ocean, with faint outlines of rock formations visible in the distance. The plan was to have all the ships in the vast pirate fleet strike at the various coastal towns and cities along the expansive coast of Atlas. She, along with Silvers, Lizbetha and what was left of Stephenson's crew would attack the harbor port city of Margarite, the largest and busiest harbor and docks in all of Atlas. This also happened to be where Admiral Neo and her personal flagship Nautilus II were currently stationed at, so it was too valuable a target to pass up. Skarnage, Yunthao, and the other captains, in the meantime, would carry out diversionary attacks on the other remaining port towns and villages such as Halix, Abroal and others.

"All right, lass! We're ready to set sail!" Silvers called from the upper deck, the muscular old pirate grinning down at her from outside the captain's quarters, "Now's the time to work your magic!"

The youngest Grimm Commandeer nodded slowly before she made her way over to the impressive-looking bow of the pirate ship, a long metal bowsprit sticking out with a ragged and snarling figurehead resembling some horrible monster of ancient legend underneath it. She walked straight up to the tapered end, one foot onto the long horizontal pole as she reached out with both arms outstretched as though to embrace the ocean and allowed her given powers to reach out to the Sea Feilongs underwater.

Her eyes began to glow red as she felt their powerful urges, their hunger for fear and flesh. Her head loomed up and sure enough vast sprays of water began to burst out of the sea which soon turned into ominous clouds of fog that rose high into the night air, high enough to cover Silvers's ship The Bloody Hook, and the same effect began to affect the other ships nearby.

"Well I'll be damned." Silvers muttered to himself at the astounding display before his eyes before shouting out, "Now's the time! Move all the ships out!"

The helmswoman signaled down to the crew in the engine room to increase power, while the radio operators sent the messages to the other pirate ships in the fleet to begin moving out and use both their radar and sonar scanners to navigate safely to their designated target as the strange fog enveloped them all. As long as everyone stuck to their assigned roles, the various pirate ships would reach their designated targets in relative safety.

Silvers' ship sailed closely to Lizbetha's as well as the ship that had belonged to Stephenson, the three of them merging together to form a large, moving bank of fog.

Mavis allowed the Grimm to move about of their own volition, they weren't particularly intelligent but they were smart enough to perform a task their Commander had assigned them. After making sure that they were doing what she had commanded them to do, she walked back and sat down on the cold floor of the bow before she reached out and grabbed one of the thick steel cables attached to the bowsprit to anchor herself still as she leaned out above the pole, letting the thick fog, specks of water, and cool faint winds surround her body.

Just then, Silvers's voice came again behind her, "A fine job, girl. It's impressive that our allies can find such extraordinarily talented people, especially one so young as yourself."

Mavis nodded as she rose back up, one bare foot firmly placed on the bowsprit while the other was on the deck of the bow, "Our Mistress has ways of finding people like me." She said quietly.

"Like you?" Silvers asked as he clicked the metallic fingers of his robotic hand together.

"Victims. People who have lost everything and are lost themselves. Outcasts, orphans, thieves, freaks, rebels… She knows how much each of us has suffered, and she knows we all want a better world. That's why we're doing this, you know. She said that she will make this world a better place, all we have to do is help her." Mavis told him in a quiet, melancholy voice.

"Well, if it's for the sake of a better world then I'm happy to help." Silvers commented, though he honestly didn't really have confidence in what Mavis had said about this 'Mistress' character having the good of Remnant in mind. He was only looking out for himself and his crew, and if the world had to change for them to survive then so be it. Though using this chance to get rid of his hated enemies in the process was quite the bonus.

Mavis made no comment, she simply nodded. The captain of The Bloody Hook glanced down at her feet and could still see the transparent webs between her long, somewhat misshapen toes and a mere passing look at her neck made the gently gaping gills obvious to anyone.

Despite seeing many frightening seaborne Grimm during his adventurous travels across the oceans of Remnant, Silvers couldn't help but feel an involuntary shudder running through his body. He was not a good man by nature, he didn't even bother to pretend he was most of the time, but still… he knew what had happened to this young girl and to suffer through what Stephenson had done to her and then be mutated into an aquatic, half-Grimm, half-human hybrid… that would have driven anyone insane. He looked at her again, still visible despite the growing fog.

"You wouldn't happen to sing, woulda?" Silvers inquired.

"Um..., a little. But not really, I only sing to myself since I don't like to show off. I-I get embarrassed easily. Why?" Mavis turned her head to regard the pirate captain.

"Well, we sailors are somewhat superstitious by nature. And in the fog, young lass, you almost look like a siren, perched on the bow of a ghost ship moving through the foggy sea, aiming to lure foolish men to their demise with a haunting song." Silvers told her before giving off a booming laugh.

Mavis shuddered, "I… I don't kill. At least, not when I actually have to." She said hesitantly.

"Really? Well, you certainly keep murderous company." Silvers remarked, "I mean, Stephenson was planning to sell you into slavery and even though we pirates do have codes against that, but it still doesn't mean we aren't allowed to kill kids if we have to. Years ago, some of my crew mutinied against me, led by a scumbag named David and his wife, and while I managed to kill them their red-haired brat got away from me."

"Would you have killed him?" Mavis asked quietly.

"Yes, simply to make an example of him to the crew of how far my wrath will go if I am betrayed, which was something everyone on my ship keeps to heart." Silvers said as he aimed a metallic finger at her, "You've no right to judge others on revenge, girl. After all you didn't have to let that beast of yours eat Stephenson, but you did it because you hated him."

Mavis was about to retort, but couldn't find herself to say anything. Silvers might be a scoundrel, but he was right. She had hated Stephenson and watching him die painfully at the hands of Hazel, and then allowing the Sea Feilong to devour him entirely had felt so good. But she didn't like killing… especially if someone innocent had to get hurt.

"Well, you just mull that over, lass. But don't go thinkin' about running off or betraying us, because I get a feeling your bosses like Hazel, Watts, and this 'Mistress' aren't exactly the forgive and forget type. See you later." Silvers told her before he walked off to tend to his other duties as captain, his metallic leg producing dull clanking thuds on the deck plates of his ship.

Mavis said nothing as she sat on the bow overlooking the sea, alone with her thoughts.

She remembered being tied to her parents' corpses, sinking into the darkness of the oceans, letting fear, misery and hot seething anger take her. That was when a large Sea Feilong came at her, swallowing her parents whole and keeping her trapped in its mouth by her leg. When she next woke up she was in one of Watts's labs, alive but orphaned. The mustached doctor had allowed her to mourn her parents and weep quietly, hugging an old teddy bear that had been kept around for young subjects and giving her the space she needed. When she had recovered enough to be put on a wheelchair, he had then introduced Mavis to Salem herself, where the Mistress of Grimm comforted her and offered the orphaned child a way to make things right.

And she had accepted.

Mavis remembered lying alone in a bed within a room that was still hers, holding that child's toy to her. She had been too old for teddy bears even then, but she was a broken and miserable girl in need of any kind of comfort, toy or not.

She wiped away a wayward tear, and began to sing to herself in whispered tones as the pirate ships, covered by thick fog made by the Grimm accompanying them moved through the dark seas towards Margarite.

---

Anna Allcroft, despite holding a container with three cups of coffee in one hand and a paper bag filled with three styrofoam boxes in the other, managed to wave to Raul the security guard currently on duty at the main gatehouse of Vacuo City's train yard, for letting her in. As she made her way past the gatehouse she noticed that there were also a couple of armed Rangers on patrol, a small turreted military jeep idling not far away from them, and wondered about the extra security.

Come to think of it, she had noticed more security patrols roaming around town, and all the recent, 'temporary' security measures kinda gave the impression that the Vacuo Council was a little too paranoid. However, after the Fall of Beacon, the battle in Haven, and the White Fang incidents, and every other thing that had occurred in the last few years, Anna couldn't blame the Council taking extra precautions to protect its people.

She jogged lightly across the train tracks as the sounds of early morning work rattled throughout the yards, staying clear of a medium-sized shunting engine which collected the coaches for the express from the capital while another moved empty freight trucks into place. Anna walked past stationery trucks, softly humming engines and under signal gantries as she made her way to the Allcroft's family train which was tucked away in a siding.

She placed the bag on the gravel-covered ground before opening the door of the leftmost coach, and then picking it back up again and heading inside. Reaching out with her fingers, she gently flicked on the lights in the passenger coach even as the first rays of morning seeped through the gaps between the window curtains.

"Tom, Clara… rise and shine!" She called out to her siblings as she placed the bag of food and cup containers on the table, and looked over to see her elder sister (by a few minutes) coming out from the next passenger coach in a light blue t-shirt and black shorts, stretching her arms and yawning.

"Whaddya get?" Clara asked as she scratched her back sleepily.

"Pancakes with syrup and butter from that fast food place a block away, managed to keep them warm." Anna told her before holding out one of the coffee cups, "And I got your favourite with milk and sugar."

"Love ya, sis." Clara said gratefully as she took the proffered coffee cup and began to drink it slowly, "Oh, that's the stuff."

"Where's Tom?" Anna asked as she took the food containers and placed them on the table.

"Still asleep. Big night yesterday, he managed to score one heck of a contract for us." Clara explained as she sat down.

"Really? Nice. I will go wake him up." Anna stated before she walked in the direction of the engine.

She opened up the door leading to the engine compartment and looked over to the right, seeing her younger brother sleeping in his hammock, his blanket wrapped around him and snoring softly.

Anna smiled and muttered, "Mama's baby…" before she shook him awake, "Up and at'em, little brother. Another busy day ahead of us."

"Uh, man… is that pancakes I smell?" He asked, sniffing the air a bit.

"Yeah, butter and everything. Clara told me you managed to get us an important contract last night?" Anna inquired, gesturing for him to elaborate.

"Oh yeah, you were asleep when I scored it. You see, I found out there's this major mining company that needs someone to transport some high explosives to one of their sites and there happens to be a train station on our route near that site. Apparently, the transport train it was supposed to be on didn't want to carry it." Tom explained as he pulled on his work trousers.

"Really, why? The cargo's not overly dangerous, is it?" Anna asked as she crossed her arms.

"Well, eh…" Tom replied, holding out his hand and moving it side to side in an 'unsure' gesture.

"What's that? So-so? What in Oum's name did you agree to carry?" Anna asked in a serious voice.

"Erm… two dozen containers of Hau Bakuhatsu." Tom confessed.

"Are you serious?!" Anna cried, which was loud enough to make the train operator recoil, "I thought that stuff was illegal!" She glanced behind her briefly to make sure that Clara didn't hear her outburst before looking at Tom again.

"Okay, calm down. It is if you don't have a permit, this mining company does have the license to use this stuff and they're extending that to us to carry it. As they need those two dozen containers urgently for their sites the company isn't very picky as long as someone can get the job done. Not to mention the fact they're paying us eight thousand lien to deliver it." Tom revealed to her.

"Eight thousand?" Anna echoed, surprise.

Tom nodded, smiling at her.

She pondered this information and replied, "We could actually have a nice night out for once. We could live it up for the first time in years and have extra money for repairs if we need it."

"Exactly! Look, sis… I know this stuff is dangerous but don't worry about it, I've made all the necessary precautions." He reassured Anna by giving her his usual confident smile, "As long as we take things easy and get there on time with our promised cargo, this deal will work out all cool and we'll get our money. After all, we just have to remember the three R's like mom and dad taught us; be responsible, reliable and really useful, and everything will work out for us in the end."

Anna let out a sigh, smiled and threw her hands up, "Okay little bro, consider me convinced. You are getting really good at smooth talking, one day you should score yourself a good girl. So, where's the cargo?"

"In a reinforced boxcar over in the siding by the cranes, I've told Mike to make sure everyone gives it a wide berth." Tom told her, referring to the train yard's eldest crane operator. Anna looked out of the nearest window and sure enough, said boxcar was across the tracks, heavily armored and sealed up with quite a number of danger signs clearly displayed on its metallic body. "There's also other mining equipment in it too, but the boxcar's got built-in sprinklers, shock absorbers and such to make sure nothing happens. This mining company we're working for definitely knows what they are doing. Now, let's get some breakfast because I barely ate last night." He said, eagerly leaping out of the engine compartment and into the first coach.

As Anna watched her brother go, she reasoned with herself that he was simply looking out for her and Clara like he always does. If this job assignment goes through smoothly, they would have at least enough money to replace any necessary parts for their train and also keeping a substantial amount for a rainy day. Sure, it might be dangerous transporting that kind of dangerous cargo, but as long as they are careful and follow all the necessary precautions everything should work out relatively fine for them.

So she followed after him, ready to enjoy breakfast with the rest of her siblings.

---

The sun was rising on the capital of Vacuo as Qrow's avian form landed atop the roof of the Last Chance bar. The establishment was normally closed during the morning, so it meant fewer people would spot him, but that also meant it made the approach of several bikes and trucks ridden by the lieutenants of the Black Vipers all the more obvious.

Qrow had considered staying around the night before, or even paying for the company with Alina to justify sticking around, but unfortunately for him his duty as Ozpin's agent came first. In this case he had to be slightly more cautious as he couldn't risk the dancer finding out his real motives and snitching on him. He had, however, made sure the bottom window in the basement where the meeting was going to be held had been unlocked and left just slightly ajar last night, so he dropped down to the ground of the alley and saw that, luckily, it was just open enough for him to get his bird form in without drawing attention.

He used his beak to ease it open a little further, and once he was sure that the basement was empty for the moment he flew in, transformed into a human, slid the window mostly shut again, and then shapeshifted quickly back into a crow and hid amongst the shadows and the large, unopened casks of alcoholic drinks and crates of supplies that provided much-needed cover for him. From where he was a few meters away, Qrow could see that the security cameras in the vicinity had been deactivated, the meeting table has already been set up, and the lights in the basement turned to full intensity.

Now all he had to do was remain silent and wait for the Black Vipers to arrive, and listen to as much information as possible.

He didn't have to wait long, as mere minutes later Black Viper members of various races, genders and body sizes belonging to different cells began walking down the staircase leading into the basement, talking among themselves. He paid close attention from his hiding spot, making sure to take note of their faces in case they were arrested today and he could confirm their part in whatever plot that was going on and listened carefully to pick up on anything that sounded like a lead or even remotely promising.

Unusually for a group of violent ruffians, the chatter wasn't anything to write home about; conversations about shipments of drugs, which prostitutes were the best, which alcoholic drink was worth their money, keeping the people on their turf fearful, and so on… There were a few mentions of murders committed by their underlings, so Qrow made sure to keep that in mind to tell Strider about later, but his train of thought was thrown off when the everyone in the entire basement fell silent, and four muscular men of varying skin colors came down the stairs flanking a tall, dark-skinned woman covered with snake tattoos while her sharp grey eyes surveyed the room as all her underlings fell silent and stood at attention for her.

Qrow, watching from the shadows, knew in an instant that the lean-muscled woman was Madame Viper and that he had been wise to be cautious. He could easily tell that there was a tangible sense of dread in the room as there was not a single one of these gangsters dared to say or do anything remotely disrespectful in front of her.

The various lieutenants, twenty-four in all, bowed their heads respectfully and raised their hands in which fingers were spread before they all let out a snake-like hiss, demonstrating some sort of greeting for the gang obviously. Ozpin's agent saw that there were a few empty spaces scattered among the lieutenants, which meant that at least a couple of the Black Viper cells had been eradicated by the Vacuo Rangers and the mysterious 'vigilante' who was cleaning up the streets.

"At ease," Madame Viper said unemotionally as she took her seat at the head of the table, the rest of her lieutenants doing the same, "Now, whatever money or turf any of you have scored for the gang can wait for later. Right now, this meeting is about one thing only, the upcoming attack on the capital city and our place in it."

The red eyes of Qrow's bird form widened as he resisted the urge to strike there and then, perhaps even call in the backup that Strider promised that was on stand-by. He could attack now, render most of these low-lifes helpless but there were far too many in the basement for even him to deal with. He couldn't risk being overwhelmed, captured or even killed, not when he had to get any additional information to Luna and the Vacuo Rangers.

Better to wait for now.

"Last night I had a meeting with Ante and his associate Tyrian Callows, and they gave me and the other gang leaders instructions on our parts to play in this strike against the capital. We and the other gangs are to be the first active members in the attack so we can distract the authorities from Callows's goals. Now I do not know if this attack will succeed, but if we play our roles well in the end we will survive the battle with minimum casualties while the other gangs are left crippled enough that we can simply overtake and absorb them into the Black Vipers. However, as a rule of war the spoils of it will have to wait until we are victorious." Madame Viper told her underlings before she took out her scroll, placed it on the table and hit a few buttons on the screen, bringing up a holographic map of the capital city that Qrow couldn't see particularly well from his position due to a large thug blocking most of it.

Several areas were highlighted with red dots and divided into segments, but the veteran Huntsman couldn't make most of them out as the leader of the Black Vipers continued, "These dots represent the areas where the Grimm will attack, so tell your subordinates to keep well clear of those areas. Shade Academy will be covered by Callows and his group, Ante's forces, the Red Fang and the Grimm, so we need not worry about it for the time being."

"Won't they need any backup attacking the Academy?" One heavily-set lieutenant questioned, "It's practically a fortress."

"Apparently, they have someone already working for them on the inside to help them gain entry." Madame Viper waved the question away, "Whatever they do inside the Academy is none of our business, as long as they destroy the place."

The red eyes of Qrow's bird form widened as he heard what the dark-skinned leader just said. He was instantly reminded of Ulysses Cy, who was another spy for Salem planted close to General Ironwood to feed information back to her and subtly control the Atlesian General's actions with mind-control technology. If Salem also had someone within Shade Academy working for her, then there's no telling what sort of damage that spy could do to undermine the security and stability of the Kingdom or the Summer Maiden.

"What about the Rangers, Desert Guards and the cops?" A Desert-Wolf Faunus lieutenant asked.

"We'll be taking care of them, I talked it over with the other gang leaders on our way out and they've agreed to work together with us to keep the law enforcers busy and unable to help the citizens. And if our rivals have any… unfortunate accidents then that's all the better for us." Madame Viper told her cabal, allowing a grin to spread across her lips. There were some murmurs of agreement from the gathered lieutenants around the table, and even a few chuckles.

She pointed to two of the lieutenants, "Keos and Vargs, you and your cells will be with mine in the main attack on the Vacuo Rangers precinct. The rest of you will be scattered throughout the city and deal as much damage as you can to the other areas. The bowery, Manchester street, the Jong district, the S.D.C.'s Vacuoan branch's headquarters, any of these are acceptable targets that need to be hit hard. We've also been encouraged to indulge ourselves in various violent crimes such as property damage, rape, robbery, causing explosions, and anything else that we can do to severely inconvenience the authorities. So if you and your cells want to get violent out there you have my permission to do whatever you please. Make the Rangers bleed for what they have done to us."

Qrow could see the vicious grins and eager looks of sadism on the faces of the thugs from his hiding spot, and from what he had heard spill from Madame Viper's lips it was very, very bad. He needed to get word to Luna, Strider and the Council to warn them about the gangs that were in cahoots with Callows and Ante, and Salem's assassin was also going to make his move on something within Shade Academy.

The Summer Maiden was in danger, and maybe even the Relic. Perhaps both.

He looked at the displayed holo-map, upon which the Black Vipers gang leader was currently pointing out the various areas where the other gang cells would strike. Madame Viper had plainly mentioned visiting Ante, so she definitely knew where he, and by extension Tyrian, was operating from. That made her capture necessary in order to acquire her scroll, and make her talk about what she knew about Salem's agents. While Qrow didn't doubt his own fighting skills, there was no way he would be able to strike now and subdue Madame Viper and all of her thugs, so he forced himself to be patient and wait for the right time to strike.

After the meeting was over, which didn't take long thankfully, Qrow noticed Madame Viper was talking to each lieutenant, giving them additional instructions for the attacks on the different districts and once everyone present knew of their roles and the signal that would start the Kingdom-wide attack, her lieutenants all left quickly and quietly. Once they had vacated the basement, she gestured for her bodyguards to cover the exits before picking up her scroll and called someone.

"Anguis, get the entire cell armed and ready to move out. We're going to need every weapon and explosive from the cache and all the Dust we have at our disposal if we're going to stand a chance against the Vacuo Rangers." She spoke into her scroll, possibly to her second-in-command at the hidden headquarters of the Black Vipers gang.

After pinning down some final details, she ended the call and barked, "All right boys, let's get back home so we can get ready ourselves." The four heavily-built bodyguards all nodded obediently before two of them led the way upstairs while the other two brought up the rear.

Once he heard the metal door at the top of the stairs boom shut, Qrow sprung out of his hiding place and darted towards the window, which he quickly nudged open with his beak and didn't bother to close, swiftly shooting up into the air with his wings flapping furiously. He circled around for a bit before coming down onto the front of the bar's roof overlooking the Black Vipers departing in their cars, bikes and trucks, while a tattooed thug that he didn't recognize stood smoking near the entrance, apparently as a lookout.

The avian Huntsman watched at Madame Viper and her bodyguard quartet got into a large black van with darkened windows, two of the guards in the front seat while the leader of the gang and her protectors climbed into the back before they slammed the doors close and drove off, with the lookout jumping onto a motorcycle and driving after them, acting like an escort along with some of the other underlings.

Qrow wasted no time and flew up into the air, silently pursuing his new prey as his namesake would an insect. The early morning wind was with him, breezing along his feathered body and outspread wings, allowing him to go faster as he watched Madame Viper's followers broke off in small numbers presumably heading to their own hideouts, which left less opponents for him when he finally made his move.

Soon enough the black van was alone on one of the streets heading out of the red-light district, and they were going fast enough that they would soon be back in their own territory, which meant he needed to strike soon before the chance slipped away.

He watched as the van turned a deserted corner, ignoring the red signal light and brushing past a couple of civilian cars whose drivers grumbled loudly. Qrow smirked inwardly as he dived towards the spot where the van would be while he transformed in the shadows of a nearby garden roof, whipping out Reaper as he plummeted towards the top of the van.

Inside of the van Madame Viper tapped and sent a text message to Ante, informing him that her forces were getting into position to strike and would help give them the distraction they required. All of a sudden, there was a loud thud atop the roof of the black van, almost directly above her.

She glanced up and her steely eyes widened to see two dents in the shape of boot imprints. Suddenly, a man had jumped off the roof and onto the hood of the an, one hand holding onto the roof while he knelt down with a scythe-like weapon in his other hand. The two bodyguards in front were stunned for a few seconds, before quickly reaching for their guns.

"You ran a red light, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to pull over so I can see your license." Qrow quipped with a smirk on his face.

The driver let out a snarl as he sped up, swerving the vehicle like a madman in an attempt to throw the Qrow off. He held onto the top of the van, doing his best to keep his feet planted on the hood, "Okay, hard way it is." He muttered before aiming Reaper's shotgun attachment and firing several shots into the engine of the van.

"Stop him!" Madame Viper shouted but it was too late. The van violently swerved out of control as the driver failed to hold it together. The bodyguard in the passenger seat next to the driver pulled out a battered pistol and began firing through the windshield at Qrow, who leaped into the air just as the van shot towards a streetlight pole in the sidewalk. The occupants in the van cried out as the vehicle collided with the firm pole with a loud crash, creating a nasty dent in the front of the van and shattering its windshield, while the pole was horribly bent and teetered for a moment before falling down onto an old wire fence.

The leader of the Black Vipers opened her eyes as her ears filled with the groans and grunts coming from her bodyguards, while she smelled the coppery scent of blood and smoke from the van's damaged engine. She moved around a bit, and found that she was unharmed save for some scratches and bruises, nothing her Aura couldn't handle. Cursing, she shook her head to clear away the effects of the crash and regain her bearings.

The situation was deteriorating rapidly, and this was the worst possible time for something like this to happen. She only got a glimpse of this stranger's weapon, but it was obvious he was a Huntsman and not some Vacuo Ranger or elite Desert Guard.

"Everyone all right?" She barked at her bodyguards, who all responded with murmurs that were somewhat positive responses.

Suddenly a barrage of Dust fire erupted into the front of the van, blasting both men who were unlucky enough to be in the front seats, burning them severely and causing them to scream loudly. Madame Viper drew back and undid her seatbelt before she climbed over the seat into the back of the van. "Kill him!" She shouted at her remaining two bodyguards, who kicked open the side doors and exited the van, eager to punish their attacker.

The one on the left of the van didn't get far, however, as Qrow stepped in from the side and kicked him in the gut and caused him to kneel over, before pummeling him with Reaper's pommel. He dodged the second bodyguard's punch and elbowed him in the face, breaking his nose and tripped him onto the ground. Then he scored a powerful kick with the first moaning bodyguard that sent him flying into a nearby building on the street corner, crashing through the windows and stuck there, the impact rendering him unconscious.

"Lookie here, asshole!" The second bodyguard shouted as pulled out a shotgun. Qrow whipped around once he saw the thug aimed it at him he leapt out of the way, avoiding a spray of dangerous bullets which whipped through the air he had been standing a second ago.

Qrow landed atop the ruined van again and swung Reaper out at the thug just as he racked the shotgun and fired again, slicing the shotgun apart as the shell began to exit the barrel, which created a backlash that sent the thug flying a meter down the empty road. The other two bodyguards managed to put out the fires clinging to their bodies, but two simple whacks from Reaper's pommel made them join their fellow thugs unconscious on the ground.

The thug managed to push himself up as Qrow charged him, the Huntsman tossing his weapon up into the air before he struck the last bodyguard with a vicious barrage of punches and kicks before grabbing his head and holding him in place as Reaper came down and bashed him on the head and knocking the bloody-faced bodyguard out cold.

The dusty Huntsman allowed him to drop onto the hard concrete of the road before he returned his attention to the back of the van, noticing that Madame Viper had not yet fled. Whether she was injured or thought her bodyguards can handle him, Qrow didn't know and he didn't care.

"You'll have to get better protection than that, my dear," Qrow called to her smugly as he reloaded Reaper with a Dust cartridge, keeping his eyes fixed at the rear of the van.

Just then, the back doors burst open and a dark, sleek motorcycle with an image of a King Taijitu wrapped around a helpless human woman painted on its side charged out and nearly ran him over, skidding onto the street and speeding to get away. Qrow cursed and moved to follow, before seeing Madame Viper looking back and firing at him with a silver and black pistol.

He recovered from the initial surprise and managed to dodge or block most of the shots, although one lucky shot had managed to blast through his jacket's pocket and shattering his scroll into a useless sparking piece of broken technology. Qrow examined it briefly and swore under his breath, knowing that despite having a backup of his all data stored elsewhere there were some things stored within his scroll that he cherished greatly, before looking back at Madame Viper who came to a halt some distance away and looked back at him.

"You're right, I will need better bodyguards than these pathetic fools." She sneered.

"Don't think you can just ride away from this, I will catch you." Qrow threatened as he shoved the ruined mess of his scroll back into his trouser pocket.

"Just try, Huntsman!" Madame Viper spat before she slew her motorcycle in the direction of a nearby street and sped away.

Qrow snarled and managed to get a few shots off at her, but none of them hit. He glanced around to make sure no one had witnessed the brief fight, and aside from a few pedestrians peeking from behind buildings and street corners to try and glimpse the carnage of the accident, no one was paying him any mind since they probably thought it was just another fight between rival gangs trying to settle some unknown score. It could very well be a daily occurrence in Vacuo City.

Ignoring their shocked faces, he ran forward and as he passed under a long rusty awning that hung over several closed businesses in this district, Qrow dashed into a long and rubbish-cluttered hall with walls made of flimsy cardboard crudely attached to the metal pillars propping up the awning which looked like a place for beggars and thieves to hold up in. He could still hear the sound of Madame Viper's motorcycle not far away, and abruptly realized that with his scroll destroyed he had no way of contacting Luna, Strider, Ozpin, or anyone else to warn them about the upcoming attack. So there left only one option; he had to capture Madame Viper himself and find out what she knew so he would have a way of stopping this attack.

Sprinting into a nearby darkened alley, he quickly shapeshifted into his avian form and took off into the morning sky, unseen by anyone below.

Madame Viper sped down the mostly empty streets of Vacuo City, taking sharp turns in order to lose her pursuer. Adrenaline-fueled sweat made the snake tattoos on her dark skin glisten in the early morning sun as her bike roared down the poorly maintained roads.

She glanced behind her and was surprised to see a black bird of some kind flying right at her, nearly on her shoulder. Her head whipped back to the front, eyes blinking, not sure if they were seeing things correctly, but when the bird swooped by and rose into the air again she knew it had been real.

"Damn!" She swore as she swerved violently into an alleyway that led out onto another street, which she raced onto and sending bits of various junk and litter flying in her wake as her tachometer slammed all the way to the right. She looked around to assure her escape, when all of a sudden a crow swooped down at her once again, this time tearing off a bit of her hair.

"Fucking bird!" She shouted angrily as she took out her pistol and snapped off a few shots at it while it flew away towards the bridge overlooking the empty street. It seemed today was not her day.

It had appeared that she had scored a hit, as the crow rapidly plummeted down to the top of the bridge. She smirked in victory and drove towards the tunnel underneath the bridge, but when she emerged out from the other side, she heard a familiar gruff voice call out, "Hey snake lady, going somewhere?"

Madame Viper's head jerked up quickly to see Qrow standing atop the bridge with Reaper slung over one shoulder, looking very pleased with himself. Her eyes widen in disbelief at how quickly he caught up with her, she gasped in shock, "Wait… how…?!"

"I know these streets and alleyways like the back of my hand, and having a history with bandits means I tend to be very fast at getting to places I needed to be. Now, I know you're working for Ante and Callows, so why don't you save me some time by telling me where they are and what else they're planning, and I'll let you go back to your regular life of crime." Qrow narrowed his red eyes and warned her, "Trust me, these people are not the kind you want to get involved with, not even an infamous gang leader like you."

"Hmm..." She pretended to consider it for a moment before whipping out her pistol and fired at him, shouting, "Not on your life, Huntsman!" Qrow snarled a bit as he leapt off the lip of the bridge and onto the street below, expertly blocking her shots with Reaper's blade.

The leader of the Black Vipers whipped her bike around and charged straight towards Qrow, and while he managed to dodge aside at the very last moment she managed to land a small slash on his side with her sharp fingernails.

"Ah!" Qrow cried out, and as he glanced down at the wound he saw his aura glowing red, which healed the small cuts there. He then looked up again to see Madame Viper slewing her bike to a halt near the far end of the road in front of him, and mentally prayed that he didn't get poisoned by whatever concoction that covered her fingernails.

"You're lucky, Huntsman! I haven't put on my lethal nail polish yet for today. Had I known you were going to interfere, I wouldn't have saved it for the Rangers!" Madame Viper spat before she pivoted her bike around once more and charged at him with the bike's highest speed. Qrow didn't have time to shoot her, so he instead he jumped over the roaring motorcycle and her, throwing out a diagonal slash which she avoided by mere inches, and watched as she swerved into another alleyway and sped away deeper into Vacuo City.

"Damn." Qrow muttered, doing his best to ignore the pain at his side as he dashed into the nearest alleyway after her and transforming yet again. He was actually bluffing a bit earlier when he said he knew every street and alleyway in the capital, and he was sure that woman knew the city far better than he did and could probably navigate her way through its labyrinth of back alleyways and streets to disappear into safety if he didn't keep up, so he couldn't afford to lose her.

Not when she was his only lead to whatever Ante and Callows were planning.

Madame Viper tore down the long alleyway, the roar of her bike's engine making it hard to hear anything else, so she kept glancing back for any sign of her enemy but saw nothing. However, her gut instinct was telling her that she wasn't safe yet.

She needed to get out of the alleys and head for her territory, and although it was a good two miles before she reached the nearest Black Vipers cell, it was better than nothing. She heard a loud cawing sound and looked up instinctively, eyes wide, expecting to see the crow again, but still didn't see anything.

Her head turned to face her front, and that's when she spotted Qrow yet again, roughly thirty feet in front of her, standing next to a barely standing brick chimney atop one of the abandoned buildings that flanked the alley. With a mighty slash from Reaper's blade the entire chimney collapsed into a cascading pile of bricks which fell into the alley in front of her, blocking it and kicking up a choking cloud of dust.

Madame Viper cried out as she did a wheelie and managed to tear through the barricade of wreckage. She drove her bike out of the alleyway and tried to move left towards the nearby Black Viper cell hideout, only for Qrow to jump down onto the road and get a hit on her bike with a careful shot from Reaper's shotgun attachment. However, the shot did not do any lasting impairment other than some mild cosmetic damage.

She let out a scream of anger as she kicked out, managing to hit Qrow in the gut as she did her best to avoid his powerful blade that was aiming for her tires, which forced her to go the other way instead. Madame Viper drove away again, narrowly avoiding ramming into a couple of cars that were driving down the road.

Qrow sighed as he began running after her again, still doing his best to ignore the pain from the scratch inflicted on his side earlier and the kick to the gut he just received, as his legs speedily bounded over the pavement in pursuit of the gang leader. When Madame Viper swerved into yet another alley he moved into the adjacent one and transformed into a crow once more, taking into the air with the intent to end this chase quickly and find out what she knew.

He reminded himself that time was running out, for both Vacuo City and Shade Academy.

---

The City of Vacuo came into view of the Hyperion One, as the cloaked high-tech airship made its way through the morning skies above. Everyone aboard was awake and preparing for arrival, making sure they were presentable, their individual weapons were well-maintained and ready, and that weariness was no longer an issue for any of them with the exception of Penny and N1CK3L.

Ruby gazed out of the transparent view-port gallery and admired the magnificent, heavily diverse city of sandstone, brick, and steel which was partially hidden by the white clouds from above as Team Beacon's airship entered the capital's airspace. Currently, the rest of her team was still preparing since they spend a bit more time on their clothes and hair than she did (especially Weiss and Yang), so she decided to get a good look at the city when it finally came into view. She heard the sounds of Sharp Strike's armored boots entering the lounge from behind, turning to face him and said, "Now is that a view or what?"

"I'd admit, it's quite an impressive city. Perhaps not as well-blended together as the capitals of the other Kingdoms, but it's still nonetheless a breathtaking sight to behold." Sharp Strike agreed as he came up to stand next to her at the armored viewport, enjoying the spectacular view himself.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well last light?" Ruby asked, smiling at him.

"Well enough, but I am used to sleeping in different locations." Sharp Strike answered her, "What about yourself?"

"It was a little weird sleeping in a different bed at first, but I got used to it pretty quickly." Ruby told him, "So… if you don't mind me asking; do you sleep in your armor?"

"No, Ruby." Sharp Strike gently refuted with a slight hint of wry amusement in his voice, "While the Aegis armor I wear is an important part of me and I have slept while wearing my armor suit during some particularly difficult missions, I don't always wear it."

"Oh, so that's how it is," Ruby tapped a finger against her chin and nodded, "I guess that's one mystery solved."

Sharp Strike gave a small chuckle, "A small one, at any rate. You still don't know everything about me."

The hooded huntress nodded, "So… do you think something's going to happen? I mean, what are the chances Salem's actually going to make a move on the Maidens?"

"Considering what little is known about her goals, we know she will go after the remaining Maidens for their powers, but there's no solid way of knowing when and where they will strike. I'd advise not letting your guard down, but to be honest I do not know how likely the chances of a battle happening in the capital will be." The knight errant confessed, before looking directly at her and asked, "Ruby, I have been meaning to ask you a question."

"Sure, what is it?" Ruby said as she tilted her head a little while looking at the blue lenses of Sharp Strike's helmet.

The knight representative met the gaze of her silver eyes and inquired, "I'm curious about how your control over your eyes have been since my master Argentius helped you to gain better control over them during your meetings with him in the mindscape. What I'd particularly like to know would be that have your… half-Grimm friends reacted with any negative effects when in close proximity to you during combat situations or if your silver eyes' powers acted up around them?"

Ruby sighed and glanced down before saying, "As a matter of fact, yes. After Beacon Academy started up again my eyes did act up around Jaune and Pyrrha for a while, sometimes glowing a bit more brightly than usual, which made them wary of me too."

"I see no signs of this now, I assume you worked together with them to take care of that predicament?" Sharp Strike guessed.

"Well of course, we're best friends and teammates! After all we have been through, we wouldn't let something like special powers separate us," The silver-eyed Huntress told him.

"If you don't mind Ruby, I'd very much like to know how you overcame that unfortunate situation." Sharp Strike requested civilly.

"Sure!" Ruby agreed, "How about after this mission is done and we're heading back to Beacon Academy, I'll tell you all about it?"

"That suits me just fine, thank you." Sharp Strike agreed with a nod as a certain couple carrying a case with a certain relic crystal inside entered the lounge area.

"Morning Ruby. You too, Sharp Strike." Jaune greeted before he plopped down on the sofa, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Hello," Pyrrha said in her usual cheery and friendly voice, with a somewhat worried undertone to it as she sat down next to her partner, resting the Aura Crystal's case on her lap.

"You all right, Jaune?" Ruby asked politely, while Sharp Strike returned their greetings.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay. It's just… I had a weird dream last night." Jaune said a little hesitantly.

"Another nightmare?" Ruby guessed.

"No, not exactly," The blonde knight shot down with a shake of his head, "I mean… maybe? I'm honestly not sure what kind of dream I had."

"Well, at least it wasn't something that made you wake up screaming like in the past." Pyrrha remarked as she placed her hand atop his, and their fingers tightened a little around each other as though reassuring each other.

"So what was the dream about? Or was it just a weird dream like the ones I sometimes have?" Ruby inquired curiously.

"Well… it's hard to explain," Jaune began, "In that dream I had, there was this dimly lit cabin which looked like it was in a forest from the trees outside the windows, and there was this old, bearded man sitting in a chair in front of a fireplace."

"And?" Ruby prompted, encouraging the blond to go on.

"And… that's it, I guess. Nothing else happened in the dream itself, but there was just this weird but really powerful sort of sadness about that old man, then I woke up and felt tears in my eyes. I've cried after experiencing bad dreams before, but this was a completely different kind of dream. It didn't scare me, it just felt so overwhelmingly sad when I saw that old man, like whoever he was carried so much deep emotional pain within him." Jaune explained, trying to put his thoughts out with the best of his abilities.

Pyrrha gently put her arm around her partner and lover to comfort him and pulled him close to her body.

"Your dream sounds familiar, Jaune Arc. Perhaps the old man in your dreams was the Wizard from The Four Maidens story?" Sharp Strike carefully mentioned, which made the others look at him, "The old bearded man in a cabin by the woods matches the description of the Wizard in the fairy tale, and since you have encountered the Fall and Winter Maidens before there may be a connection."

"Wait, but if it was the Wizard, then why would Jaune dream about him? Why not one of the Maidens or even Pyrrha?" Ruby asked as she pondered about what she had just heard.

"That's a good question. Maybe when you have the opportunity you should have a prognosticator from the Relentless Crusaders or the Eternal Warriors to look into your dream, Jaune." Sharp Strike advised.

"Uh…I don't exactly like the idea of someone entering my mind," Jaune said before quickly adding, "Oh! No offense, Pyrrha."

"None taken," She assured him with a smile.

"I understand, but it might be the only way to determine what your dream means and if it truly does have a connection with the Wizard." The Knight pointed out.

Jaune thought about it, then sighed and said, "Okay, I guess it couldn't hurt to try."

"Whatever your dream means, we will be there for you." Pyrrha promised, and planted a small kiss on his forehead which made him smile.

Sharp Strike nodded before he glanced down to the case on Pyrrha's lap and asked, "Are you two sure that bringing the Aura Crystal with you to Shade Academy is a good decision?"

"Yes, it would be with us as not only will we be performing our Guardian duties but we'll also be keeping a promise Pyrrha made to the Summer Maiden. And I am sure the Aura Crystal would be properly protected by everyone in Team Beacon plus yourself, N1CK3L, the two Maidens, and their knight detachments. Not to mention whatever security Shade Academy has." Pyrrha reasoned.

"She's got a good point," Yang said as she and the rest of Team RWBY entered the lounge, "With all of us there, that shiny rock's going to be a picture of safety."

"Don't go jinxing it, Yang." Weiss advised as she sat down neatly on a nearby chair.

"But they do have a point Sharp Strike, it would be just as safe with all of us as it would be in a vault." Blake told Team Beacon's newest member.

Sharp Strike nodded, "All fair points, I suppose the Aura Crystal will be well protected considering the nature of its guardians and the rest of Team Beacon. After seeing how you perform during the battle with Adam's White Fang, I have no doubt that you have the necessary skills to do so."

He looked at them for a few moments more before turning his attention to the view of the city outside the armored viewport, and Team RWBY joined their leader in appreciating the aforementioned stunning sight of Vacuo city as the Hyperion One steadily approached the capital.

"Hey, I missed you last night." Jaune told Pyrrha as he leaned into her a little more.

"You know I was right above you right?" She chuckled.

"Eh, it's not the same as having you beside me, in my arms." Jaune said quietly as he looked at her. Pyrrha's eyes closed but her smile widened as she snuggled into Jaune's arms, taking in his familiar scent. The blond knight breathed hers in deeply, enjoying the wonderful smell of his partner. With their Grimm senses and his emotion-based Semblance, the two Crystal Guardians were able to understand each other better than most couples, and Jaune loved the sense of Pyrrha's content, beautiful aura while his redheaded partner savored the positive emotions he wore like a badge of honor, letting his endless love for her brighten her morning.

"Is it me, or do those two act like a married couple already?" Blake whispered to her team quietly.

"Yeah, you'd think the wedding had already happened." Yang chuckled in response.

"Newlyweds is more like it," Weiss remarked as she crossed her robed arms, "Trust me, I have seen many couples far less functional than Jaune and Pyrrha. They're so amorous towards each other and hardly ever argued among themselves… it's almost unreal."

"Well, I think it's great everything worked out so well between them," Ruby said, "After all they suffered, Jaune and Pyrrha deserve that happiness. We can only hope the rest of us end up that happy." She looked to Sharp Strike who was standing beside her and saw him nod his helmeted head in agreement, "Do you think so too, Sharp Strike?"

The silver-blue armored knight answered quietly, "From what I have seen of their interactions, it's pretty clear that Jaune and Pyrrha are considered the best possible match with each other."

Blake and Yang glanced at each other, and the blonde allowed a bright smile to grace her gorgeous features which got a blush from the Cat Faunus while Weiss looked at the side of Ruby's face, and an immediate thought passed through the Schnee heiress's mind about how pretty her partner looked in the morning light.

She shook her head, blushing a bit as she returned her attention to the city and a certain building caught her light-blue eyes, "Look, there's Shade Academy. We're almost there." She announced, pointing to the immense and majestic-looking stronghold forged of stone and steel, standing proudly amongst the capital city and in front of a large landscape made of various rocky areas, small gullies and canyons, as well as lush green forests that were surrounded by an expansive wall which served as a survival training area and a place where the students of the Huntsman Academy would combat different types of Grimm during their education.

The surrounding cityscape was no less impressive as well, the majority made up of similar large blockish stone buildings with modern-looking ones constructed from steel and concrete inter-dispersed among them. Busy and lively marketplaces, temples and many places of worship populated the other districts, and not far away from Shade Academy was a grand and imposing sandstone temple that rivalled the Huntsman Academy in sheer size and magnificence. The district that had surrounded it was also quite extensive as well, even having its own inner walls and it literally formed another city within the capital itself, and there seemed to be some kind of massive pool or natural oasis in front of the massive temple that presumably provided the water supplies for much of the Kingdom.

"What's that big pyramid-like structure near Shade?" Ruby asked curiously.

"That's the Grand Temple of Vacuo." Sharp Strike helpfully answered, "It's the place where all the many varied faiths and religions of Remnant come to pray and worship."

"It looks really cool, I hope we can pay a visit there if we have the time." The red-hooded Huntress said, clearly fascinated.

"Perhaps, if time allows it." Blake mentioned, "But our mission comes first."

"Uncle Qrow's supposed to be on a mission somewhere in this city. I hope he's doing okay." Ruby spoke with some concern in her tone.

"Relax, Rubes," Yang began, "Uncle Qrow's fine, and I'm sure he's probably wrapping up his personal mission and kicking butt as we speak. I mean, this city sure looks nice but I've heard about all the different gangs down there in the slums that cause quite a lot of trouble."

"I have been here before, while this city is an important place and has an incredibly rich history with many cultures, it's also home to its fair share of crimes and horrors as well. I've seen its underworld before back when I was part of the White Fang, and trust me when I tell you that there are places in this city I'd rather not visit again." Blake commented, a little darkly.

"Indeed, father never brought me here when he had business to attend to with our mining facilities here." Weiss added shortly.

"Well, whatever bad guys that are hiding down there, they better not try to take us on… because we'll make them regret it." Ruby said with a brave and confident smile on her face, which was something that encouraged the rest of her team to look at the city in the same bold and confident manner.

It goes without saying that they were more than ready to face whatever problem they would find in Vacuo City.

---

Headmistress Luna Aria stood tall and dignified as she watched the Hyperion One descend onto one of the huge landing platforms built between the back of Shade Academy and in front of the entrance to the 'Wild Zone', which was what the students called the school's dedicated training area. She had seen many Atlesian-made airships before, and she could definitely appreciate the futuristic and functional aesthetic of Hyperion One's design.

Standing at her right side was the thickly-armored form of Fire Walker, who was there to greet his fellow Remnant Knight who had just joined Team Beacon as the Order's representative. His pristine gunmetal-grey with red-trimmed armor plates glinted slightly in the rays of the morning sun, and he was armed with his double-bladed sword and thickly-plated shield. Occupying her left side was her ever-loyal assistant Cedric, dressed in his smart secretary uniform and maintaining a calm but impressed face as he watched the high-tech looking aircraft of Team Beacon descend on its many maneuvering thrusters. Behind them all was a fully-armed ten men squad of Vacuo Rangers with various advanced scanning equipment to conduct the required security checks to make sure that there were no unwanted surprises, which was something that Luna was putting great effort into avoiding for the foreseeable future.

"If the enemy does try something at least we'll strong fighters who have considerable experience in dealing with them." Luna mused aloud as the Hyperion One's wheeled landing gear deployed from its underside to rest on the surface of the landing pad even as it finally touched down, while its huge VTOL engines and other thrusters whined smoothly from a deafening roar to a low idling purr.

"Indeed, from what I have heard from Argentius, Soul Seer and the others, Team Beacon are quite admirable for their efforts in fighting against our shared enemy. And I've also personally seen Sharp Strike in action, Headmistress, and he's probably one of the best warriors that Argentius had mentored. The Maiden are in the best hands possible." Fire Walker assured her.

She glanced at him and nodded, "I certainly hope so," In her heart Luna hoped that all the approved security precautions she had put forward to the Vacuoan Council would hold up against what the enemy would throw at them should the worst occur.

"Speaking of the best possible hands, Headmistress, have you remained in contact with Sister Rosea yet?" Cedric inquired quietly.

"I have spoken with her via the usual channels first thing this morning," Luna confirmed as she met her secretary's eyes, "She and Chief Librarian Vidya of the Grand Temple have informed me that the temple's library is adequately protected by its assigned guardians, and no one is allowed to access any sensitive information without the proper authorization."

Fire Walker nodded in acknowledgement, as he knew both Sister Rosea and Chief Librarian Vidya were highly trustworthy individuals who had earned the Headmistress's trust which was not given lightly. They had to be, if the Vacuo Council, the Remnant Knights, and the Guardians of Remnant had entrusted them with the information about the whereabouts pertaining to two of the four sacred Relics.

"Very good. Hopefully this day will end without anything disturbing the peace and stability of this Kingdom." The Knight Vanguard stated as the main ramp of Hyperion One unsealed with a hiss and began to lower itself to the warm surface of the landing pad as well, the sound of the airship's smoothly working machinery briefly filling the air even as its engines finally died down to mere background noise.

When the metallic ramp finally lowered itself fully, the original seventeen members of Team Beacon accompanied by the noticeable armored form of Sharp Strike and N1CK3L stood at the entrance of the large opening, all decked out in their Huntsmen and Huntress outfits and carrying their individual weapons with them. Luna recognized the brand new Altesian combat android, who Headmaster Ozpin and General Ironwood had informed her about the day before, and saw that he was standing next to Penny and Sharp Strike. Standing with them was the Robert Ross, the main pilot of the Mobile Airborne Command Ship, who she had met once or twice when Ozpin had previously visited Shade Academy in the past.

The group disembarked from the airship and walked onto the platform as Luna approached them along with Fire Walker and Cedric. She could see that quite a few members of Team Beacon were admiring her school and herself in awe, and told herself that it was nothing new since she was highly respected and well-regarded even before she had taken on the position of Headmistress of Shade many years ago. And then there's the undeserved reputation she had formed of herself as a formidable Huntress when protecting the people of Vacuo, which was pretty well known both to her students and others outside of Vacuo as well, and although she had accepted the awards and compliments humbly she didn't quite like how others embellished her actions which she saw simply as performing her sworn duty.

"Welcome to Shade Academy, Team Beacon. It's good to see that you have all made it here safely." Luna said as her caring dark blue eyes surveyed them passively.

"Well, it's nice to be here Headmistress Aria," Ruby began, "I'm Ru-"

"I already know of your names and many other details about most of you," Luna interrupted by raising a signet ring-covered hand, "I have heard about your exploits from conversations with Ozpin, and read his files as well… or what he would pass to me anyway. I also know about Sharp Strike who was attached to Team Beacon as a representative from the Knight Order, and even N1CK3L who was permitted to be here by General Ironwood."

"Oh," Ruby muttered, a tad embarrassed. She felt someone placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Luna giving her a kind smile.

"There's no need to feel shy, Miss Rose. It's an honor to finally meet students like you, who are so capable and courageous, you've braved many difficult trials whereas others would have just given up. My students in Teams BRNZ and NDGO have told me about you all and the things you done and survived, and from what accounts Ozpin and Ironwood had collaborated I would say they certainly weren't exaggerating. Should the enemy make a move in the coming days, I'm sure Team Beacon will undoubtedly live up to its reputation." Luna told the assembled group of Huntsmen and Huntresses, bowing her head respectfully to them.

"Uh, we hope so too. Thanks, Headmistress." Sun said as he and the rest of Team SSSN returned the bow, which was something the others did as well while Ruby grinned back at Luna.

Fire Walker approached Sharp Strike and placed his right gauntleted fist across his chest-plate, "Knight Representative Sharp Strike, it's good to see you again."

"Knight Vanguard Fire Walker," Sharp Strike replied, mimicking the gesture, "A pleasure as always. Has anything of any particular importance happened while we were in transit?"

"Thankfully, nothing so far. Perhaps this was nothing more than the Spring Maiden having some bad dreams and a sign that she might need therapy to deal with them, but for now my detachment and I have been vigilant by stepping up on our patrols and protection of the Summer Maiden. Speaking of which, we should introduce you to her in person." Fire Walker stated.

"Soleil and I will just wait in the Hyperion One and monitor the situation, I guess. You can all reach me through your scrolls if anything comes up." Ross announced before nodding to Luna and to Team Beacon, "It's nice to see you again, headmistress Luna Aria. Good day to you all."

"You too, Mr. Ross!" Ruby called, along with other polite platitudes from her teammates as Luna and Fire Walker began leading them down the path from the large, circular landing pads where other airships were docked to the security booth manned by the Vacuo Rangers. After hearing Luna explain about the necessary security scans due to the new measures put in place by the Council, the various members of Team Beacon waited patiently as they each individually passed through the security booth and were scanned from head to toe carefully by the advanced scanning devices possessed by the security officers there. One by one the Vacuo Rangers confirmed that the visiting team wasn't carrying anything out of the ordinary that could be seen as a threat to the safety of the Academy, and all the weapons and personal items the various members of Team Beacon had with them were all in order, aside from N1CK3L.

"Is there a problem, sergeant?" Luna turned her attention to the Vacuo Ranger in charge of the security booth when an alarm pinged piercingly from his triggered scanning device which was held in front of N1CK3L.

"I… I'm not sure how to explain about what I am seeing, Headmistress. I've never even seen half of the tech this guy is packing. It's - I mean - he's probably even more advanced than the female android." The sergeant, who considered himself fairly knowledgeable about Altesian's technology, looked up from the red screen of his scanning device with a look of half-awe and half-nervousness plastered on his face and told her, "And his energy readings are in the red on the scanner…"

"If there is any danger that my presence might present to the security of Shade Academy, then perhaps I can rectify it by staying with Captain Ross and Co-pilot Soleil on board the Hyperion One," N1CK3L politely offered.

"But I don't want you to be left behind, little brother! That's not something a good older sister would allow." Penny argued while holding up her hands beseechingly, which earned an expressionless look from N1CK3L as he tilted his head at her.

"Don't fret about it, Miss Polendina. It's quite alright for N1CK3L to enter the school. I know James Ironwood, and unless he has been compromised again I don't think N1CK3L is a threat to anyone here except to those who would harm this Academy and those work and study within." Luna told Penny, and turned to inform the security officer, "I will take responsibility for allowing him into the school, and I will make sure he stays with Team Beacon at all times. You may let him pass."

The Vacuo Ranger sergeant nodded understandingly and waved for N1CK3L to pass through, and the combat android inclined his head and replied, "My thanks, Headmistress."

Luna stopped and noticed the case being carried by Jaune and Pyrrha after it had been cleared by the Vacuo Rangers and glanced up at the couple, "Mr. Arc, Miss Nikos… are you sure it is wise to bring that with you?"

"You know what's inside?" Jaune asked.

"Ozpin informed me and I have known about your duty to protect it since the aftermath of the Haven incident, but I didn't expect you to bring it here." Luna mentioned, skeptically.

"Let's just say we have some business to attend to here with regards to it, plus with the Maidens and the Remnant Knights it would be just as safe as it would be in a vault." Pyrrha informed her.

"Very well, I will trust in your judgement. Come along now." Luna instructed as she, Cedric and Fire Walker led the way into Shade Academy.

Fire Walker glanced back at Sharp Strike and said, "Stick close to me, we'll be taking the most direct path to the tower building where the Summer Maiden is right now, but we Knights will still need to avoid being seen by the academy's students."

"Understood." Sharp Strike noted and turned to face Ruby and the rest of Team Beacon, "I will see you all at the academy's inner precincts later." After getting nods from the members of his new team and N1CK3L, the pair of Remnant Knights smoothly merged into the shadows at the sides of the corridors, the younger knight following his senior's lead around the Academy.

"So, has the other Maiden arrived yet?" Coco asked Luna.

"I'm afraid not, Miss Adel. There has been a slight detour with her airship, though she and her Knight escort will be here within the hour or so." Luna answered.

"And we're going to have to be her bodyguards as well, right?" Weiss questioned.

"That's correct, Miss Schnee. Some of you may stay in the tower with the Summer Maiden while the rest of you assist us in escorting the Spring Maiden to the same place, so be sure to take note of the path." Luna told them.

"I'm already on it, Headmistress." Penny said as she activated her eye cameras to keep track of the path they were using, and told her team "I will be sure to send it to all of your scrolls, just in case."

They journeyed on into the illustrious Academy, passing through long vaulted hallways filled with various trophy cases displaying old weapons and historical artefacts, while framed paintings and photographs hung on sections of the wall showing graduated alumni and the various lecturers as well as many previous headmasters and headmistresses who had guided Shade Academy throughout the years since its founding. They walked through a certain long cavernous hall known as the Sanctuary of Heroes, and looking at the beautifully-painted murals of valiant Huntsmen and Huntresses who had graduated from Shade Academy only to fall in battles with the many types of terrifying Grimm while protecting the innocent, Ren, Yatsuhashi, Sun and Sage all bowed their heads respectfully which prompted the rest to do the same. They also admired the multi-colored stained-glass windows in one of the other hallways that were apparently hundred of years old and stretching all the way to the near the top of the ceiling and the overall image when taken from afar was that of the earliest ancestors of both humans and Faunus working together to build the Kingdom of Vacuo.

As the group kept going and gradually approached their destination, they reached a major junction in the halls with a grand wide marble staircase leading to the upper levels when they all heard some familiar voices.

"Is that…?" Came a feminine voice.

"Hey, what are they doing here?" Another female voice asked.

"Come on, let's go find out," Said yet another girlish voice.

Most of Team Beacon glanced back to see the familiar, friendly sight of Team NDGO who were just coming down one of the wide stairs from the upper floors where the student dormitories were located. Like the Huntsman Academy in Haven, Shade Academy was mostly made up of one single massive building where the students lived, learned and trained all in the same place throughout their educational journeys to become perfect Huntsmen and Huntresses. Whereas academies like Beacon and Atlaswere instead made up of multiple buildings that serve different functions to their students and were father away from the cities within the Kingdoms.

"Well, well, well! If it isn't our second favorite all-girl team!" Sun exclaimed as he high-fived Octavia, who now wore her red hair in a braided ponytail.

"Second?" Octavia asked while Dew shook Ruby's outstretched hand politely.

"Well… Team RWBY closer to us and we're around them way more, you understand." Sun reasoned as he gestured over to his girlfriends' team.

"Smooth move, Sun." Yang quipped snarkily as she shook Nebula's hand with her robotic one.

"Whoa! Nice grip, Yang." Nebula complimented as her olive-green eyes ran over Yang's modified arm.

"Thanks, this baby has really become a part of me." Yang chuckled as she flexed her mechanical limb to prove her point.

"So, how's your shoulder doing, Octavia?" Velvet asked the redhead.

"It's fully recovered, although there's still a scar but it's no big deal." Octavia replied with a smile.

"Well, that's good to hear." Sage remarked.

"You look good with long hair Violette, though I gotta say Octavia I think your hair looks better with it down." Coco commented as she shook hands with Nebula.

"Oh this? I'm just trying out a new style." Octavia gave an easy-going chuckle.

"Well, I think it looks good on you." Ruby complimented before she looked over to Luna, who was standing back with Cecil and subtly nodding towards the darkened shadows of a nearby side corridor, perhaps informing the hidden knights that the situation was all right.

"Yes, it does rather suit you." Weiss agreed.

"Nice to see you two have gotten better." Dew mentioned to both Jaune and Pyrrha as she eyed the Arc son's body up and down, looking at the well-developed muscles that his outfit allowed her to see, and apparently she like what she saw, "You also look pretty good compared to how we last saw you in Haven City, Arc."

"Yeah, going through near-death experiences and life-changing events tend to make you stride hard to improve." Jaune answered, oblivious to Dew's attempt at flirting while Pyrrha's quietly glared at the dark-blonde haired girl.

Dew, however, did notice Pyrrha's glare directed at her and quickly said, "You do too, Pyrrha. So glad you've recovered as well," She then leaned in to hug the redhead Spartan and whispered, "Relax, I'm already in a relationship myself, I won't make a move on him."

"Good, because he's mine." Pyrrha whispered back.

"I noticed. Pyrrha… all things considered, you're definitely one of the luckiest girls alive." Dew told her before drawing back.

"I know I am." Pyrrha replied, letting a smile grace her features as her attitude towards Dew became friendly again.

"Erm, what was that about?" Jaune asked with a puzzled look, as he turned his head between Pyrrha and Dew.

"Y'know what Jauney? You may have gotten stronger and smarter, but you can still be so clueless!" Nora commented, which earned some laughs from the others.

"So, who is this tall, dark and silent new guy?" Gwen asked as she eyed N1CK3L, who stood quietly off to the side like a statue all decked out in thick armor plates.

"Oh! This is my little brother N1CK3L." Penny introduced proudly, enjoying the pleasant feeling she got when she introduced him as her sibling, while not noticing the minor eye roll from N1CK3L which was unseen behind his faceplate.

"Pleased to make your acquaintances, Team NDGO." N1CK3L executed a polite salute.

"Whoa, a brother?! I didn't know robots could have siblings." Gwen commented with a somewhat confused look.

"Well we can, as I just learned yesterday." Penny replied simply, smiling as usual.

"Wait, you just met him yesterday?" Octavia asked with amused tone, "And if he's your little brother then why does he look older than you?"

N1CK3L calmly elaborated the situation to them.

"Eh, make sense I guess." Nebula accepted with a nonchalant shrug.

"But still, you only met him yesterday?" Gwen pointed out, "Aren't you two made in the same lab or something?"

"While we are siblings in a sense, that is theoretically true as well as we both share the same creator; Doctor Polendina." Penny's brother android mentioned.

"Yeah, Penny tends to form bonds pretty quickly." Ruby explained, "Like the first time she met me back in Vale."

Gwen nodded before inquiring, "So, what's up? Why are you all here?"

"Team Beacon is visiting Shade Academy while on a mission." Headmistress Luna explained, grabbing the attention of the four girls.

"Oh! Headmistress Luna! We didn't see you there…" Nebula greeted as the rest of the team straightened up instantly.

"It's all right, Miss Violette. I can imagine seeing your friends after so long took priority over me." Luna gestured dismissively, "As I said, Team Beacon is here on a mission and I am currently showing them around."

"Really? Well, how can we help?" The leader of Team NDGO asked dutifully.

"Yeah, we are on our way to grab some breakfast but if you guys are into something serious again we can definitely help out like in Haven City." Dew told her friends.

"I appreciate your initiative, Team NDGO." Luna politely stopped them, "While Team Beacon's mission is important, I'm afraid that we cannot get too many people involved for due to the confidential nature of their mission."

Nebula nodded but she looked a little disappointed, "We understand, Headmistress. We just thought we could offer our combat skills once more."

"Don't worry Nebula, if we need your help… well, let's just say you'll know." Ruby told her fellow team leader with an encouraging smile.

"Right," Nebula said with an agreeing nod, "Heck, I have made some improvements to my weapon." She gestured to her crossbow/sword hybrid which was in a holster on her back, taking it off and showing it to them.

"Oh, that's quite nice." Velvet said as she snapped a picture of it with her camera.

"Thanks Velvet, and I'm still eager to test it out… so be sure to get into some trouble." Nebula joked gently.

"But not literally, at least not in a flat-out war kind of trouble like the last two times." Octavia quickly added before the team noticed a minor look of impatience on Luna's normally dignified features.

"Well, good luck with whatever you guys are up to." Nebula said before she and her team bowed to Luna and then made their way to Shade's cafeteria.

Team Beacon waved goodbye to their friends as they parted ways again, and once Team NDGO rounded a corner in the lower floors Luna informed them, "We can't afford more delays, so come along students. We're not far now."

She continued to lead them on through the relatively empty hallways of the school, and within ten minutes time they eventually arrived at another hallway which opened up at into an open colonnaded boulevard opposite of the large sandstone building with a tall tower at its very summit that could offer a wonderful view at the entire Kingdom in all directions. It was especially a rather-beautiful looking place that had an extensive garden populated with many different kinds of flowers and tall dappled trees that provided cool shade from the slightly scorching sun. Visitor pavements made of small stones twisted through the entire courtyard, and a statue-lined fountain occupied the very middle of it. The members of Team Beacon noticed that there were quite a few Vacuo Rangers and Desert Guards patrolling the nearby buildings diligently, even as they walked through yet another security checkpoint and past the garden's outermost walls and into the guest precinct proper. It was clear to everyone that Headmistress Luna literally spared no expense in ensuring the Summer Maiden's continued safety.

"Hey, uh… Headmistress Luna? I was wondering if you had heard anything from Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked her a little timidly, "I know he was on a mission in this city…"

"Yes, I heard from Qrow Branwen last night. He's recently confirmed the location of a meeting involving the Black Vipers Gang and is currently spying on them. He apparently believes that there is a connection between that particular gang and your old adversary Damien Ante." Luna explained.

"If Uncle Qrow is close to hunting him down, I hope he makes Ante really run." Yang commented.

"Indeed." Luna said as they proceeded through the garden and approached the grand entrance to the tower.

Fire Walker and Sharp Strike, who had evidently reached the destination earlier, emerged from the shadows smoothly like a pair of wraiths and rejoined Team Beacon and Luna. "It appears that the Summer Maiden has decided to come and greet us herself." The Knight Vanguard noted, and true enough standing at the other side of the large elaborate glass doors of the guest building they could all see the tall striking form of the Summer Maiden. She was also visibly accompanied by the detachment's prognosticator Flame Weaver and a number of Remnant Knights from the Relentless Crusaders Legion who were all waiting patiently at the base of the campanile.

"Is that her?" Nora asked Pyrrha, who nodded.

"Oh yes, that is Heliosia Ainea." The female Spartan confirmed as they walked closer.

"Cedric, the cameras available to the main security bureau are all deactivated, correct?" Luna questioned her assistant secretary who nodded.

"Yes, Headmistress. Only those with proper passcodes can access the security cameras in this sector and the tower." He answered.

"Very good," Luna replied with a nod as two of Heliosia's accompanying knights opened the huge double doors for her, allowing she and Flame Weaver to come out to greet the new arrivals.

"Knight Vanguard, Sharp Strike." Flame Weaver greeted his fellow Knights with his gauntleted fist on his chestplate in salute to them, which they mirrored, "I apologize, sir… but she gets a little restless staying in the tower, so she told us she wanted to be down here to greet her protectors. I'm sure you know how she is."

"Trust me, after watching over her for more than six months I do indeed know what she's like." Fire Walker mentioned as Heliosia walked a few steps forward to greet Team Beacon.

"Hello there, Team Beacon." Heliosia greeted them warmly as she smiled at the group of Huntsmen and Huntresses.

"It's good to finally meet you in person, Sister Maiden." Pyrrha commented as Heliosia approach her.

The Summer Maiden was, for the lack of a better word, as beauteous as Pyrrha had first saw her in the Maiden's mindscape and clothed in the same outfit she had worn there as well. If anything else, Heliosia would have looked quite ordinary if not for her impressively-muscled and well-built figure that rivaled Pyrrha and Yang. She had healthily tanned skin that glistened a little under direct sunlight and her soft and silky long brown hair came in two long braids that framed her gorgeous and educated face while reaching past her shoulders at the back. There was a small bracelet of colorful beads intertwined around each lower part of her two braids, and her deep maroon-red eyes displayed both knowledge, kind heartedness, and the unwavering conviction to stick to her choices in equal measure. Her height and body figure, while not excessively chunky, was definitely quite strong and muscular in its own right as benefiting someone who was the tallest and physically sturdiest of the four Maidens. In addition to her sizable bust line comparable to Yang's that easily filled out her clothing rather nicely, she also possessed curves that complimented her figure in all the right places. There also didn't seem to be any signs of blemish or imperfection on any part of her body, which made the Summer Maiden's skin quite probably smooth to touch. Her movements were unconsciously natural, with a delicate poise and grace which a dancer would envy, and Pyrrha knew those very same nimble movements would easily translate into powerful and shocking fighting blows should Heliosia need to defend herself.

Pyrrha heard an assortment of quiet whispers coming from the various members of Team Beacon beside and behind her, such as Yang commenting on Heliosia's enviously muscular physique and well-endowed bust, Weiss wondering what kind of beauty products she used to keep her skin healthy and smooth, Coco musing over who had designed the Summer Maiden's huntress outfit and overall color scheme, and Sage mentioning that she would be quite a formidable fighter either with or without weapons. The red-haired Spartan gave a small chuckle of good-humored in response, because she had possibly mentally asked those questions herself when she had first met Heliosia.

"It was sooner than I expected, but who's complaining?" Heliosia shrugged in indifference as she embraced Pyrrha lovingly for a few moments before kissing her honorary sister Maiden on the forehead. She then broke from their embrace and surveyed the rest of Team Beacon carefully and continued, "While we haven't met in person, Pyrrha has told me about all of you and I have also gone over reports of your battles with the enemy. It's a wonderful pleasure to meet you all." She then courteously pointed out and naming each individual member of Team Beacon save for Sharp Strike and N1CK3L, although she saved Ruby for last, "…and Ruby Rose, I have been looking forward to meeting you in person ever since the Fall of Beacon."

"Well… I guess taking out a Wyvern was kinda awesome, even if I didn't do it in purpose." Ruby answered a little sheepishly, one hand reaching up to fiddle with her hair.

"Whatever the case, the fact was that you still did it." Heliosia told her gently while placing a hand on the smaller girl's shoulder before gesturing to the Remnant Knights standing behind her, "You've already met Knight Vanguard Fire Walker, on my right is the detachment's prognosticator Flame Weaver, and behind me are Steel Punch and Spear Dancer." The said Relentless Crusader prognosticator inclined his helmeted head in greeting as he gripped the haft of his force staff with one gauntleted hand, while the other two named Remnant Knights bowed tactfully.

After Team Beacon bowed back understandingly in return the Summer Maiden then looked over to Jaune, noticing the case he held in his right gauntleted hand, "Jaune Arc, Pyrrha told me so much about you. Especially how you struggled against, endured, and eventually overcame incredible odds…it appears that you are quite the talented Huntsman."

"I hope I am." Jaune said with a shrug.

"You wouldn't be the Guardian of the Aura Crystal if you weren't a worthy candidate, Jaune. Speaking of which, I suppose the case you're carrying contains the Crystal?" The brown-haired Maiden gestured with an outstretched finger at the said object, and all of Team Beacon nodded their heads together. The combined reaction caused a bright smile to grow across Heliosia's face, and the Relentless Crusaders standing behind her all perking up slightly at the mention of the sacred relic.

"It's nice to know my new friends keep their word." She remarked before looking over to Blake and mentioned sincerely, "And Blake Belladonna, I've read about your intriguing history with the White Fang and the indispensable part you played in Adam Taurus's downfall. I… I'm sorry for the things your friends in the White Fang have suffered through, and those of all Faunus as well."

"It's all right, Maiden… what happened is in the past. I have instead learned to accept the past and work towards a better future." Blake replied affably in return.

"There's no need to be so formal by calling me 'Maiden' every single time, I would prefer if we were less formal." Heliosia slowly spread her fingerless-gloves clad hands, "You may all call me by my name, Heliosia."

"Well, that's fine by me. It's nice to know that you didn't let the title go to your head." Coco told the maroon-eyed Maiden as she admired the latter's outfit and the specific materials used to make it.

"No, I don't Coco. I wouldn't exactly be deemed worthy if I let my ego inflate." Heliosia remarked as her eyes turned to gaze up at the tall green-armored form of Yatsuhashi and added, "Dear Oum, I have personally met large warriors before but you're a big one."

"A pleasure to meet you, Heliosia. And yes, I get that a lot." The armored samurai said with a curt nod as he connected his bracer-covered hands in front of his chest and bowed his head respectfully to her.

The Summer Maiden smirked at the comment, only to hear the clicking sound of a camera. She turned to see Velvet bringing down her camera after quickly snapping a picture of her, "Sorry, I couldn't help myself, you're rather photogenic."

"It's quite all right Velvet, just give me a head's up next time." Heliosia told her before waving a hand for the Knights Steel Punch and Spear Dancer to remain at their positions. She turned a little to face Team RWBY, and looked at Yang who walked forward a step and offered her non-robotic hand outwards, which Heliosia accepted graciously and shook.

"It's nice to meet you too. You have no idea how nice it felt to me to meet another girl who knows the value of a good workout." Yang complimented as she eyed Heliosia's well-built body, especially the muscles that moved near-flawlessly all over her sturdy form.

"Not to mention bra size-wise." Weiss muttered under her breath to Ruby and Blake, the former doing her best to hold her laughter in while the latter failed to repress an amused smirk.

Heliosia glanced at the Schnee heiress, and due to the heightened senses that came with being a Maiden she distinctly heard Weiss's comment but decidedly not to give a retort, but simply look in her direction and said, "Weiss Schnee, it's good to hear that the Schnee Dust Company is clearly changing for the better through their actions. I was honestly astounded when I heard that a Schnee was behind the rescue of Penny Polendina from the Atlesian military, even more so when I was presented with the full details as I never thought a Schnee would be so selfless."

"Well, people change over time. I do whatever it takes to change the perception of others towards my family's company and myself." Weiss replied modestly.

"I'd expect nothing less from a member of Team RWBY." Heliosia said before she turned to face Ren and Nora.

"Pyrrha told me a lot about you two, your loyalty and bravery are inspiring." She complimented.

"Well, what can we say? Team JNPR is our family, and we never give up on family." Nora proclaimed loudly, while Ren solemnly nodded in firm agreement.

Watching Heliosia speaking briefly with the green ninja and the orange-haired hammer girl, Flame Weaver turned his hooded head towards Fire Walker and queried, "The Summer Maiden may be vulnerable out in the open, should we advise them to get moving into the tower?"

Luna interrupted before the Knight Vanguard could reply, "There's no need to worry, I have ensured that we're secure for the moment with all the security measures already put in place. It's perfectly safe to let them speak with each other and get themselves acquainted for now." The prognosticator and Knight Vanguard glanced at each other for a few moments as though exchanging some unheard questions between themselves, but eventually nodded in agreement.

Heliosia went on to speak to Team SSSN, she glanced down to see Sun's robotic tail curling and uncurling itself before telling him, "For a Faunus to lose their animal trait is to lose an important part of who they are. How are you recovering so far?"

"Honestly? I'm doing okay now, and with the rest of my team, my family and everyone else helping me… I can say that I am doing way better than most Faunus would be in my position." Sun responded happily, "I'm a real lucky guy."

"It very much seems that way." Heliosia nodded before moving on and spoke to Penny, who greeted her enthusiastically as usual and also introduced her to N1CK3L, who also announced himself politely and professionally to the Summer Maiden.

"To be perfectly honest with you, I haven't met an android before in my entire life until now. While I know of what happened to you during the Vytal Festival in Vale, it's good to see you fully repaired and doing well. I'm also glad that you're adjusting to a somewhat normal life, Penny, and that you now have a sibling." The Summer Maiden told the female android.

"As am I. Thank you very much!" Penny said cheerfully with a beaming smile.

"It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Summer Maiden. But is it wise for us to be out here in the open? From what I understand, there is a significant risk for you to be meeting us out in the open considering the many security measures to conceal your presence." N1CK3L noted bluntly.

Heliosia was about to answer when her Knight Vanguard chipped in with a polite cough, "I'm afraid the android speaks the truth. We've spent enough time on greetings and the proper introductions. It would be much safer if you continue your conversations in the tower."

"Wait, she hasn't really met Sharp Strike yet!" Ruby pointed out suddenly.

"I beg your pardon?" Heliosia pondered before Ren and Ruby wordlessly gestured over to the silver-blue armored form of Sharp Strike who lingered a little distance away from the group as if guarding the rear, "That Knight? I must admit I don't recognize him."

"That's Sharp Strike, we met him in another part of Vacuo last year during the White Fang mission." Neptune told her.

"He's our newest member of Team Beacon, and also the representative of the Remnant Knights." Ruby announced joyfully as though she was talking about some good news.

"Oh yes, I remember now, in the recent report I have read about Team Beacon." Heliosia casually said as she gestured a little for Sharp Strike to come forward, which he did with a barely-noticeable second of hesitation, "If it hadn't been for your timely intervention, Team Beacon might have suffered even worse losses and Adam Taurus's plan to sow more discord between Humans and Faunus might not have been fully prevented."

"I was simply performing my duty to safeguard Remnant and living up to the creed of the Order, Summer Maiden." Sharp Strike told her humbly.

The attractive-looking Summer Maiden held out her hand, but for several unusually long and very awkward seconds he did not take it, but just simply looked directly at her.

"Uh… Sharp Strike?" Ruby prompted, which seemed to snap the aforementioned Knight out of whatever trance he was in.

"Please accept my sincere apologies. My mind was elsewhere for a moment. I meant no disrespect, Summer Maiden." Sharp Strike hurriedly apologized as he took her proffered left hand, and instinctively felt that Heliosia's grip upon his hand was clearly more powerful than it appeared to be.

"Apology accepted, Sharp Strike. And please, call me Heliosia." She insisted tactfully as they shook hands, but Heliosia managed to hide the fact that something about Sharp Strike's voice and the precise grip of his hand felt… familiar, as though she had met him before. Left unsaid also was the detail that when her palm touched his gauntleted hand there was something akin to an electric charge tingled through her entire body, although it barely lasted a single second. There was a slight tightening from Sharp Strike's armored fingers around her hand, and the Summer Maiden knew that he possibly felt the same peculiar feeling as her as well.

"Forgive me, Sharp Strike… but have we met before?" She raised an eyebrow as she released her hand from Sharp Strike's gauntlet.

"No, my lady, we have not. I was never among your protectors, so I am afraid this is the first time you and I have ever met." Sharp Strike told her.

"That's true. Sharp Strike's mostly off on his own missions." Fire Walker confirmed, "Speaking of which we should stop standing around and enter the tower. I am sure we can discuss things further up there."

"Very well, I will leave their safety in your capable hands. In that case I will be returning back to my office for the time being and I will contact you once more when the Spring Maiden's transport arrives. Come along Cedric." Luna nodded to her assistant secretary who nodded faithfully before she bid goodbye to Team Beacon and departed back through the garden boulevard.

Team Beacon waved goodbye to the headmistress of Shade and her devoted aide before Fire Walker and Flame Weaver led them through the ornate glass doors and up the large, winding main staircase within the guest building, which presumably led to the upper levels and the campanile located at the top of the visitor building itself, while a couple of Remnant Knights stood guard outside at the glass doors.

As they made their way upwards, Jaune looked over to Pyrrha and asked softly, "So… seriously, what happened back there between you and Dew?"

For his part, Sharp Strike briefly glanced up just as Heliosia's head turned away. Despite his silence, his mind was reeling.

"Okay first off; nice unintentional rhyme there," Nora pointed out and causing them both to look back at her, "And second; Dew apparently thought you were hot so Pyrrha had to establish her dominance and the fact that she's your one and only girlfriend."

'Wait, what?!" Jaune exclaimed, clearly baffled by Nora's helpful reply and still finding the idea of women finding him attractive to be alien.

Half of the entire group laughed, even Fox gave a small chuckle. While Jaune was a much smarter man than the klutz he had once been when first entering Beacon Academy, he still wasn't used to the idea of other girls finding him attractive.

Up head of them, Heliosia chuckled to herself as she overheard Nora's comment about Jaune as well. However, she couldn't stop thinking about the vague sense of familiarity she had felt about Sharp Strike when she had shook hands with him. Turning her head a little as she glanced back down at the silver-blue armor-plated knight, she could see him bringing up the rear of the group beside the slightly more armored form of N1CK3L as they proceeded up the long curved staircase.

For his part, Sharp Strike lifted his helmet and briefly glanced up just as Heliosia's head turned away. Despite his silence, his mind was besieged with memories from a distant past , some were so well hidden away he barely knew of their existence unless he had just cause to revisit them again.

'It's her. It IS her. She's grown and matured so much since I last saw her all those years ago. Her eyes… she looks so beautiful. She… does she even remember me? Did she sense who I really was underneath the armor? Has she been searching for me as well?' Those were just some of the nagging questions rushing through his mind as he constantly put one boot in front of the other up the flawless marble steps.

"Sharp Strike!" He suddenly heard Ruby's voice, which snapped him out of the whirlwind of thoughts locked in his mind. He looked up to see Ruby dropping back behind a little to speak with him, and she was looking at him with a concerned look. The scythe-wielding Huntress then said to him quietly, "Hey, I know Heliosia is really pretty but you gotta keep yourself together."

There was no way he could disclose the truth to Ruby that he personally knew Heliosia Ainea, nor could he say that the Heliosia who he had been secretly searching for while performing his duty as a Remnant Knight was actually the current Summer Maiden. If Heliosia knew he was still alive, then she would know who exactly Sharp Strike was underneath his Aegis armor, which was something he needed to avoid at all costs since his true identity was possibly his greatest secret.

"I'm fine Ruby, honestly. It's just… I was just a bit disappointed that she wasn't the Heliosia I knew so long ago." He finally excused with a lie that had an echo of truth to it.

"Well, wherever that Heliosia is… I'm sure you'll find her one day. Now come on, we've got a mission to do." Ruby quipped and Sharp Strike nodded in agreement, before she flashed him a bright smile and ran ahead to keep up with the rest of her team.

Sharp Strike nodded and kept moving, doing his best to keep his mind on the mission at hand.

This chapter was co-written by Relentless Crusader

This chapter and the next were meant to be one and the same, but length got out of control, so I decided to cut them up.

Speaking of length, I have decided that this arc will be split into two as well, so this arc will simply be about the Maidens and will end with chapter 76 and the next arc will focus on the relics.

The incident between Ruby mentioned about her powers coming between her and Pyrrha and Jaune was originally going to be told during the trip to Vacuo, but it was cut for time but will be a chapter in the next arc.

If you liked this story fave, follow, and review, or leave a kudos, a comment, and hopefully bookmark it too. Some feedback on what's good and what's not would be appreciated, thanks for everything guys.