The Random Hand of Fate

by TheMightyTeaRex

"Destiny is not set in stone. It only takes one grain of rice to tip a scale, one pebble falling into the sea to start a tidal wave; Every action, no matter how small has an effect on the future. So, tell me... do you believe in destiny?" Real-world SI. First-time fanfic. Rated M for violence, gore, swearing, smut (later on) and alcohol. Warhammer 40K characters in Remnant.

15. Red and Black and White and Blue

Prepare for battle, it's gon' get good in here~!

Also, +17,000 WORDS, JESUS CHRIST ON A BIKE CYCLING TO MASS ON A SUNDAY I NEED TO START COMPARTMENTALIZING!

Get the popcorn and get ready for a read-a-thon.

To answer the common question reviewers were asking about Jacob and Weiss... I'unno. If it happens, it happens, the only ships I'm definitely considering are Arkos and Renora. Possibly Eclipse too. Others are currently as guaranteed as winning a coin toss in a vacuum, so God only knows what I'll do long-term.

Zeus Carver: "Not even GOD knows what you're doing!"

Ohshutup.

---

Chapter 15: Red and Black and White and Blue

"All you have to do is hold your first soldier who is dying in your arms, and have that terribly futile feeling that I can't do anything about it...Then you understand the horror of war." ―Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf Jr., US Army

---

"What do you mean you haven't seen her!?"

"I'm telling you exactly what I know Ruby, we haven't seen hide nor hair of Blake since Friday night!"

"Oh, come on Ruby, you've been asking everybody on campus and the answer is all the same."

"Jacob, you're not helping!"

"Sorry, sorry, just trying to calm you down, Ruby; you can't exactly figure out a plan if you're running around like a chicken with it's head cut off."

It turned out that a glaring Ruby Rose was both adorable and kinda scary, especially considering what her Silver Eyes were capable of doing. Jacob simply sat back as Ruby continued to practically beg the members of Team CFVY for any information on her teammate, as if the last 4 times she'd done so were any different now.

While the remaining members of RWBY and JNPR were busy pacing about in their rooms that Sunday morning in concern over Blake not arriving back at her dorm either yesterday or today, Jacob had been feigning concern mainly to cover his own trail; He knew where she was in all truth, but he couldn't reveal that to them. So, he donned the metaphorical mask once again, except this time with the tone of "Worried" written across it in big black letters... up until about an hour ago.

Honestly, this shit is Goddamned exhausting to keep doing, Jacob bemoaned to himself mentally; He was no stranger to donning emotional masks before arriving on Remnant―Lord knew how often he'd used them as of late―but using them in the presence of those he called "friends" was a metric ton harder than it sounded.

"Ruby," Velvet began, placing a comforting hand on the silver eyed Huntress' shoulder, "No one has seen Blake on school grounds since Friday night, I don't know what else I can say to help you..."

Ruby took upon a look of disappointment; Jacob could tell it wasn't the answer she wanted, that was for certain. "...Right, right," she muttered under her breath, "I'm sorry. I'm just really concerned about her; I mean, why wouldn't I be worried about her, she's a part of my team... or at least I think she is." The last part was barely audible for normal human ears, so it was little doubt that Velvet heard it.

"I'm certain she'll be fine, Ruby; she's a Huntress, and a fantastic one at that," Velvet encouraged, though there was an audible tone of disappointment in that sentence. Velvet, as it turned out, had been well-aware of Blake's secret for some time and the very notion that something like this would put a crack in RWBY's cohesion was a worry that she and Jacob had shared yesterday morning over their breakfast out. Now it seemed to be manifesting to reality, and it was visibly egging a bit at Velvet; there was a look of concern in her eyes for the younger student.

Jacob felt an uncomfortable chill crawl down the length of his spine as he made eye contact with the rabbit Faunus. On the one hand, it could have been due to the sizeable wind chill this morning, blowing in from the sea to cool what felt like a warm day on the approach as the distant bells of a clock tower heralded the arrival of the 7:00 A.M. On the other hand he new damned-well what chilled him so much; it was the slight heartbreak that he could see in both their eyes and the beating his subconscious was giving him over the fact of his position. He had to admit that his behavior here and now was somewhat callous and perhaps a bit cold, but it was not helped in turn that he was at the very least well-informed of what, where and who Blake was currently with at the moment. He shifted uncomfortably against the shade tree he had leaned onto as the two Huntresses and the Huntsman stopped to talk in the Academy gardens, not far from where Jaune and Ruby first met an also not far from where Jacob first decided to visit Amber. Just as was the case that morning, the soft green glow of Beacon's main tower couldn't help but be noticeable to Jacob under his watchful gaze.

Speaking of Amber and the tower, Jacob reminded himself, I ought to go and check up on her later; perhaps today or tomorrow.

"Ruby," Jacob began as he watched the silver-eyed girl began to pace and fidget with the end of her cape, "It will do you no good to pace about and worry like a mother waiting for her child." He walked up to her and stopped her pace, resting his palm on her shoulder to get her attention. Her eyes darted to him, anxiety absolutely running circles in her head if the look in said eyes were of any indication. The comment however caught her off guard, as it finally dawned on her after a few seconds how she was acting. Sure, she had the concern of a team leader, but even for Jacob―who was used to being a follower and not a leader and by extension knowing a good leader when he saw one―wasn't necessarily taking the initiative like one.

After another few seconds, Ruby let slip a deep sigh of tire. "You're right. I'm sorry," she began, her head bowed in tire and perhaps a smidge of embarrassment.

"Tell you what," Jacob began after he let out a small chuckle, "How about you and the others get yourselves ready for the day and get some breakfast before you start looking for her. Meanwhile, I've gotten my breakfast and I'm all ready for today, so I'll head out and start the search for her, okay?"

Ruby seemed to want to protest the idea judging by her body language, but Jacob took his other hand and lifted his Scroll up from inside his pocket. "We'll keep in touch via Scrolls if that would help ease your mind," he offered.

After a few seconds, Ruby replied in a resolute whisper, "...Okay."

Jacob felt a small smile cross his face. Sometimes she reminded him so much of his little brother Luke; both were of similar age, though Jacob was already being outpaced in the height department by his little brother, and in contrast Ruby was around 2-3 inches shorted than he was. Granted, by the time she was done growing she would also outpace him as well, but that was of lesser concern. Both were headstrong and analytical, as well as perhaps being a smidge antisocial at times, though Jacob was not usually a social butterfly―the last few months notwithstanding―and were more tinkerers and builders than anything else. Hell, both were all about speed and the color red, as made evident by his choice of a Blood Angels army as his 40K army, and they both were both kinda goofy at times. Being around her, especially when she was all smiles and sunshine, it felt like his brother was with him, in a way.

Unfortunately, that left him with a bitter taste in his mouth when he'd recall the levels of shit that would be thrown her way pretty soon. And how much damage he could prevent if he succeeded in his mission.

And speaking of which, he had practically beat himself over the head with one of the pillows on his bed when he arrived back at his dorm. "Penny, Penny, sweet adorable cinnamon bun Penny, may God hit me over the head with the Stupid Stick for forgetting about Best Robo-Girl!" were the words used by him that night as he vented his frustration at himself, on himself. For the last few months he had been so preoccupied on Pyrrha and Amber that he had completely blanked Penny out of his memory. Now that negligence was beating over the head for his stupidity and alerting him to the additional pressures now bestowed upon him by his own mind. Admittedly, he was well aware he was starting to get an Atlas complex―or perhaps it was a messiah complex if his Psychology classes were correct in their definitions―but in all reality, what else would a person do if you had knowledge and by extension the power to change a character's fate?

Knowledge is Power, Gabriel Angelos' voice rang out in Jacob's mind.

While Jacob suppressed the urge to shudder at the additional memories of yesterday brought on by mention of that name, Ruby began to head back to her dorm, the look of worry never leaving her face as she walked down the pathway astride the cozy man-made pond, her red cape blowing gently in the inland-bound winds.

"Oh, I hate seeing her like that," Velvet said as she walked up beside Jacob, the two elders watching the young Huntress sulk away. "Do you think Blake's alright?"

The two locked eyes as Jacob came up with an answer. "Blake Belladonna? You kidding? That girl's seen more scheiße than both you and I could poke at with a lightsaber."

There was a pregnant pause as Jacob realized he let slip a reference to Star Wars AND liberally applied what little German he knew all at once.

"What's a lightsaber? And what's scheiße?"

Jacob felt the uncontrollable urge to slap himself for that Freudian slip. "Uh, local slang back home, sorry. I'll tell you about someday. R-Regardless, I need to start looking for her so Ruby doesn't give herself an ulcer."

"Well, in that case," she began, her ears perking up in confusion, "Where do you think you'll start?"

Jacob thought for a second in regards to that question; Vale was a fairly large city in square kilometers―granted nothing compared to his home city―and he only had so much time before things began to occur.

And about that time, his memory snapped back to yesterday morning.

"Actually, I have an idea where she could be. I'll call you guys and give you a heads up if I prove to be right. I'll see you around."

And with that and a gentle handshake with Velvet, Jacob took off for the city, walking his way back to the main walkway out of the campus and into the urban sprawl of the Kingdom of Vale.

Time to find a stray cat.

And check up on that order of mine while I'm at it.

---

Blake did not imagine that her weekend would be spent like this; on the run from her teammates with another Faunus and currently sitting having what amounted to brunch with said stranger Faunus.

Sometimes she wished that she stayed on Menagerie; live a normal life instead of this constant madness.

She had to admit, thinking about it all was making her stomach upset. Thank the gods that they served a good peppermint tea here.

She took a long sip from her teacup as she steeled her nerves. Blake looked across the way at her new companion―Sun Wukong, she had learned his name was―as he reciprocated. "So," she began hesitantly, "You wanna know more about me."

For a second, there was no response.

But that didn't last for long. "Finally, she speaks! Nearly two days and you've given me nothing but small talk and weird looks!" He continued to hold his morning drink in the grasp of his prehensile tail, his only Faunus trait outside of the usual superior night vision found in all of their kind.

Blake stifled an exasperated sigh to the best of her abilities... but she couldn't control the annoyed furrow that made its way to her brow.

"Yeah, like that."

Neither could she resist the urge to roll her eyes at that. For a second, her eyes were drawn outwards to the pedestrians in the Wharf District that morning―however small they were in number―simply going about their lives as if there was nothing to worry about. The two had secured a table on the upstairs balcony of this local restaurant by the name of the Harbor and Hearth, and for the most part their morning had been fairly silent with neither of them really talking or even really acknowledging one another up until just this minute.

Might as well start from the beginning, she decided mentally. "Sun...are you familiar with the White Fang?"

She continued to drink her tea as he responded vehemently, "Of course! I don't think there's a Faunus on the planet who hasn't heard of them. Stupid, holier-than-thou creeps that use force to get whatever they want. Bunch of freaks, if you ask me!"

And now for the bombshell, she mused to herself. "I was once a member of the White Fang, actually."

Sun went cross-eyed for a split-second before mistiming his swallow of his drink and promptly began to choke a bit on his drink in raw surprise. "Wait a minute, you were a member of the White Fang?!"

"That's right. I've been a member of the White Fang for most of my life... You could almost say I was born into it..."" her mind began to trail off as she remembered some of her first rallies that she could remember going to with her father. Gods, that felt so long ago now; everything seemed so black and white, that they Fang were the good guys fighting to cure the injustices in the name of peace.

But everyone had to wake up from a dream eventually.

"Back then," she began, as she stared down at her teacup in contemplation, "Things were different. In the ashes of The Great War, the formation of the White Fang was meant to be a symbol of peace and unity between humans and the Faunus. And yet, despite this, despite being promised equality, we Faunus were still subjected to hatred and discrimination; Humanity still didn't see us as anything more than lesser beings."

She paused as her mind wheeled back to a myriad of instances she had seen this: human stores refusing to serve Faunus even when they were starving or down on their luck, human children being told that Faunus children were "not safe to be around", and even humans outright bullying Faunus into submission... like what happened with Cardin and Velvet.

"And from that," she continued, "the White Fang rose up to be the voice of our people. And I was there."

She started to remember her time in the protesting masses, just a little Faunus girl, armed with only a picket sign and a heart full of hope for a better future, shouting her lungs out for freedom and equality. she began again, noticing how small her voice seemed at the moment; small and meek, as if it belonged to a timid housewife rather than the Huntress she was. "I was there at the front of every rally. I took part in every boycott... I actually thought we were making a difference."

"But then," she continued, "five years ago, our leader stepped down, and a new one took his place. A new leader... and a new way of thinking." Her mind raced through the memories of her father Ghira stepping down only for Sienna Khan to rise up and take the reins. "Suddenly, our peaceful protests were turning into organized attacks... we set fire to shops that refused to serve us... we hijacked cargo from companies that used Faunus labor..."

like that one you raided with Adam, she thought to herself in disgust.

"And the worst part was... it was working; We were being treated as equals, but not out of respect... it was out of fear."

Across the way, the monkey Faunus simply sat there dumbstruck as he seemed to be processing it all. She took a sip from her tea as her stomach again threatened to rebel. "So I left. I decided I no longer wanted to use my skills to aid in their violence, and instead, I would dedicate my life to becoming a Huntress. So here I am: a criminal hiding in plain view, all with the help of a little black bow." She ended her tale with a little wiggle of her ears from underneath her bow for emphasis.

After a second, the stunned Wukong boy spoke. "So," he began in a low voice, "have you told your friends any of this?"

"Well, she hasn't exactly told her teammates verbatim, if that's what you're asking."

The two Faunus were well and spooked by the intrusion into their conversation. From out of the shadows of the doorframe stepped the stocky frame of Beacon's only solo act. "Jacob, what are you doing here!?" cried Blake in surprise. How did he find us?

"How did you find us?" Sun said with some faint venom to his tone.

"Call it a hunter's intuition," Muller replied. "So," he paused as he swiped a chair from its table at planted a seat at theirs, "Now that I finally found you, there's one thing I need to do..."

Jacob pulled his Scroll out of his pocket. Blake felt her stomach tie into a knot.

There was a faint ring. "Hey, Ruby?"

Please don't, Blake screamed mentally.

"Wanted to give you a heads up, I haven't found Blake yet but I think I'm on the right trail."

...What?

Blake continued to watch in surprise as Jacob essentially covered her trail. "I'm following it for right now," he continued, "but I don't have any guarantee at the moment; if anything changes I'll call you guys. Right, right, I will. Take care. Say hi to Yang for me." And with that he hit the disconnect button.

The balcony was silent for a solid 5 seconds. Jacob looked back and forth between the two, Blake standing with her mouth admittedly agape and Sun simply standing there confused.

"What?" was all he manifested, "you didn't think I'd seriously cut your little investigation short?" He smirked mirthfully at the pair.

"Who said we were investigating anything?" She snapped back at him venomously.

Jacob simply put his hands up in front of him. "What it sounds like, it sounds like," he added nonchalantly. "And with all due respect Blake, your venom's starting to get on my nerves, and that is a rare feat in and of itself."

Blake felt like she should berate him for spying on her... but for all intents and purposes she had neither the time or the inclination to deal with that. She took a deep breath and the irritation died down. "Sorry about that, I'm not usually the one being spied on... Uh, not that I did much spying or anything while I was in the White Fang..." She apologized before realizing how incriminating that sentence was at first; Granted she had spied for the Fang in preparation for upcoming raids, but even then it was on rare occasion when there were no scouts available.

"Regardless," Jacob added with a dismissive wave. A waitress quickly brought out a hot mug of tea and he quickly thanked her before she left, leaving Blake a second to assess her situation. Here she was, discussing her past with a stranger Faunus and a nosey compatriot in Huntsmanship over morning tea while her teammates were worried sick about her―well, sans Weiss probably―and her former colleagues were out causing more and more trouble for themselves... in theory.

"Now then," Jacob began as he finished a large gulp of tea, kneading his fingers together, "It's obvious to me that part of you is really hoping that the Fang aren't behind this nuttiness. I can understand that, maybe not on a personal level, but I can at least understand the reasoning behind it." He leaned forward in his chair, his elbows both resting on the tabletop.

"So in that case," Jacob continued, "What is your plan in regards to this... dilemma?"

"I still don't believe the White Fang is behind these robberies," Blake admitted to him, "They've never needed that much Dust before."

"What if they did?"

Both Blake and Jacob turned to look at Sun.

"I mean... the only way to prove that they didn't do it," Sun began mazing his way through what seemed to be a very complicated thought, "is to go to the place where they would most likely go to if they were to do it, and not find them there! Right?"

"...Makes sense to me, I guess," Jacob replied after a second of following Sun's train of thought.

"The only thing is, I've no idea where that would be," Blake added.

"Well, while I was on the ship, I heard some guys talking about offloading a huge shipment of Dust coming in from Atlas."

"How huge?" Jacob asked Sun.

"Huge. Big Schnee Company freighter," Sun confirmed.

"You're sure?"

"Definitely."

"When is it set to come in?"

Sun hesitated for a second before remembering the answer. "Later this afternoon if I heard them correctly."

Jacob turned to Blake after another gulp of tea. "That's probably your best bet. And if I had to venture a guess, if the Fang are after the Dust they'll strike after nightfall."

As much as she hated the notion that the proud White Fang would skulk about in the shadows of the night, it would make sense strategically with the advantage of Faunus' superior night vision. "Alright," she sighed, "we'll scope out the docks tonight. But in the meantime, what about the rest of my team?"

"In regards to them we simply lie low, scope out a spot and then just wait until night arrives," he replied back assuredly. "We avoid unnecessary contact and we simply... do what we gotta do," he finished with a accepting shrug. "I mean, I can wander about town a bit and throw them off a bit, if that helps. 'Sides, I put in an order for something at one of the stores to remind me of home, so I can stop by and check on that while I'm at it."

"Good idea, you'll look less inconspicuous that way," Sun agreed.

Blake felt a nervous sigh out. "Alright. We'll meet back up at the docks at, say... 7:00?"

Jacob nodded in agreement. "Let's see," he said to no one in particular as he looked down at his watch, "10 hours to keep the rest of Team RWBY off your tail and then a potential all-nighter in search of a potential terrorist organization―no offense―that may be stealing metric tons of weapons-grade Dust?"

Silence held sway as Jacob got up and set down a 5-Lien bill on the table for his drink. He turned to look at Blake, an unusually confident smile on his face before he delivered what felt in the back of her mind to be a reference, though what it was she wasn't sure.

"Groovy."

---

"Blaaake!"

"Blaaake!"

"Blaaake! Where are yooouu~!"

"Blaaake!"

"..."

"Weiss, you're not helping," Ruby Rose turned and bemoaned her partner.

"Oh, you know what might actually help? The police," Weiss practically spat back at the young Huntress.

"Ugh, Weiss..." Ruby fumed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"It was just an idea!"

"Yeah," Ruby muttered as she continued moving up the street, "a really bad one." It had been 3 hours since Jacob had taken off into the city to start looking for Blake and only 1 hour since he had called her to let her know about his lead on her, but she had decided that the trio should at least start hunting for her as well; after all, Blake was their teammate, she would feel awful if Jacob was the only one out searching. Currently the trio had made their way towards the west end of the Commercial District, not far from the edge of the Wharf District where the argument between Weiss and Blake had begun Friday evening, and they were making their way towards the docks in hopes that they might have some luck.

"Weiss, I think we should hear her side of the story before we jump to any conclusions," said Yang.

Weiss in turn replied, "I think that when we hear it, you'll all realize I was right!"

"And I think Weiss' hair looks wonderful today!"

That wasn't either of them, and Ruby certainly hadn't been the one talking. All three of them whipped around to see who the speaker was. Sure enough, Penny had been following right behind Weiss. "Aaaah! Penny! Where did you come from!?" Ruby screamed in both surprise and annoyance at being surprised. How did she sneak up on us like that!?

"Hey guys! What are you up to?" Penny asked, ignoring Ruby's question.

"We're looking for our friend Blake," Yang answered forlornly

"Ooooh, you mean the Faunus girl!"

Ruby, Weiss, and Yang stared at Penny. What is she talking about?.

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Ruby asked.

"Uhh, the cat ears?" Penny replied, pointing to her own hair bow.

Yang let a small but nervous laugh loose as she replied, "What cat ears? She wears a... bow..."

The realization left them in silence, accented only by the blowing wind and the unusual sight of a tumbleweed that blew across their path.

"She does like tuna a lot..." Ruby thought aloud as the realization struck her with full force. Blake was a Faunus? How did Ruby never put two and two together before! Why hadn't she told anyone, especially her own teammates no less? Did she not trust them? Could they trust her now? Ruby's head was close to starting a whirling dervish of its own as possible as her mind processed all of it.

"So, where is she?" the odd girl asked somewhat absent-mindedly.

Penny's question snapped Ruby back to reality. "We don't know. She's been missing since Friday."

A massive gasp left Penny's lips. "That's terrible!" She approached Ruby and grabbed her by the shoulders firmly―practically a vice grip Ruby noticed―and resoundingly assured, "Well, don't you worry Ruby, my friend! I won't rest until we find your teammate!"

Ruby summoned up a weak smile to offer Penny, replying, "Uh, that's really nice of you, Penny, but we're okay! Really! Right, guys?"

She was met with silence. Looking over Penny's shoulder, she noticed that both blondes had gone AWOL, leaving her with the odd ginger girl. Oddly enough, the wind swapped directions, now blowing towards her instead of towards Penny and blowing yet another tumbleweed across their path.

"It sure is windy today!" Penny noted chipperly.

A sigh bubbled up from Ruby's throat, but Penny payed it no mind by all indication. "Alrighty then," the red-cloaked Huntress mumbled in defeat, "come on Penny."

The two girls continued to wander the streets of Vale, scouring the area as much as possible for their Faunus friend. They combed the easternmost edge of the Commercial District, asking store owners and the odd individual on the street whether they had seen her or not. Some had good leads at first, but then they would be contradicted by someone else a few minutes later. After an hour of wandering they finally crossed over into the Wharf District, and from there the crowds began to pick up again, if even a very miniscule amount. While the first wave of people from the other kingdoms had arrived Friday, more were due to come in in a week's time―word was that the Mistral fleets might actually arrive a week early putting them into port in 10 days or so from now―so these crowds might get even crazier soon.

"So, Blake is your friend?"

Another sigh escaped Ruby's lips. "Yes, Penny."

"But you're mad at her?"

"Yes. Well, I'm not, Weiss is."

"Is she friends with Blake?"

"Well, that's kind of up in the air right now..."

Penny paused for a second as it seemed she was trying to understand the implications. "But why?"

"Well, you see, Blake might not be who we thought she was..."

A massive gasp left Penny's throat. "Is she a man?"

Ruby spun on her heels and with her arms waving frantically replied, "No, no, Penny. She's..." Yet another sigh was let out in exasperation. "I don't know what she is. She didn't exactly talk to us before she decided to run off."

"I don't have a lot of friends, but if I did, I would want them to talk to me about things."

Ruby felt a sense of defeat at that. "Me too..." she murmured to no one in particular as the two continued to wander down the street.

What kind of leader am I that can't even keep her team together, she thought dejectedly, how did I screw up so much? I should have followed after her Friday night, maybe then she would have come back and talked with us... Oh, Weiss, why did you have to go and be like that to her? I mean, I get it, she was ticked off at the White Fang, but then Blake started defending them, and then it just got so out of control. Gods... I'm starting to think maybe I wasn't cut out for being a leader.

Some part of her mind noted that she was starting to sound like Jaune a few weeks ago. That same part of her mind started telling her to buck up and step up to the plate for this one.

She's my teammate. She's my sister's partner. I have to find her.

---

"...Thanks anyways! This is hopeless."

Normally, out of the two sisters it was Ruby that was a bit more the naysayer at times; rare was it for Yang Xiao Long to find herself to be the dour type in any given situation. Her partner was out there somewhere and here she was hunting high and low for her but thus far to no avail.

Part of Yang felt like it was partially her fault; Blake was her partner, yet she hadn't even been able to stick out her neck for her when things got hairy.

Not being able to help someone felt like watching her Dad after Summer all over again...

She looked over to her sister's partner, the heiress, who simply stood there with a nonchalant look on her face. Now Yang felt perhaps a smidge annoyed; it was her fault that Blake ran off in the first place with those remarks she made all throughout Friday evening.

"You really don't care if we find her, do you?" She asked Weiss with a hint of venom in her tone.

"Don't be stupid; of course I do," Weiss replied indignantly, "I'm just afraid of what she'll say when we find her. The innocent never run, Yang."

Yang turned her gaze downward as the heiress continued walking down the street. In her mind, she was fighting a war of opposing views; what Weiss said did admittedly ring true in most cases, bust still... she was Yang's partner. Sure, they hadn't really bonded as much as she had expected, but even then they had learned a fair amount about one another...

Until some part of her mind dropped a bombshell on that thought:

What if she was lying about who she is? What if the Blake she was projecting was just an act?

Yang forcefully shook the thought from her mind. No, Blake had never felt like she was putting on an act at anytime in the last 3 months. The Blake she knew was the genuine article... even if she had withheld some things from her.

The two continued for another 15 minutes before they found themselves in familiar territory.

"We're back in the Wharf District," Yang noted aloud.

"That's the general idea," Weiss quipped back to her, "Maybe she came back here in search of something."

Yang felt a sigh coming on. "I just hope she's okay," she lamented.

Just then, immediately following the sound of a ringing bell on a doorframe, a familiar voice reached her ears.

"...Oh yes, this is perfect ma'am, thank you!"

Weiss had apparently heard it too, as they both whipped around to find the source of the voice. Sure enough, 2 stores down from where they were standing now, Jacob was standing in the doorframe with a large bag in his hand. There was a genuine smile plastered on his face, but before she could get a good look at him in total, she picked up movement out of the corner of her eye. Sure enough, Weiss had begun heading his direction, trying to flag him down.

"Oh, Jacob!" Weiss cried out, "Over here!"

Jacob's head snapped around in what seemed to be surprise, though if there was any surprise to his actions he did a good job of hiding it. "Hey, Weiss! Yang! I was wondering where you guys were!" He started towards them at a brisk walk, an unusual pep in his step.

Part of Yang really hoped he had good news, yet part of her thought it had something to do with what was in the bag.

"Where have you been, you concussed dolt?" Wess chided him as they reached one another prodding an accusing finger at him.

"Nice to see you too, Ice Queen," Jacob deadpanned in response "But, I've got some good news! I'm hot on another trail and this one looks like it could be onto something; but more than that, I was passing through the area in my search, and it turns out my order got done in record time!"

At that, Yang realized that she was actually familiar with that store. Mrs. Holly's was a well-known local store in Vale that often commissioned sewing projects and the like of all kinds: Hell, Yang had spent the better portion of a month's allowance saving up to commission the elderly seamstress to come up with her signature jacket 2 years ago.

"Weren't you supposed to be looking for Blake?" Yang asked condescendingly. What was he doing screwing around in that store?

"Uh, yeah, that's why I went in in the first place," Jacob replied with a hint of snark, "I went in to ask her if she'd seen Blake, and she let me know that she saw Blake pass by here earlier this morning heading back the way of town. After that, she let me know that my order was done." He opened the paper grocery bag to let them see. Yang, curious as ever, leaned in to see what it was.

The midday light cast itself inside the bag to reveal what looked to be a sea of blue, peppered with white stars, and a pattern beside it of red and white stripes. It was folded up, but from what she could tell it was some kind of banner or flag. The markings she didn't recognize at all, but it did make sense considering that he didn't hail from the Kingdoms.

"A flag?" Weiss asked as she also looked down into the bag.

"My people's flag," he corrected. "Old Glory. I wanted something else to remind me of home, and I happened to remember the pattern and dimensions for her, so I put in for a copy of the flag that I can put up on my dorm wall." The smile on his face spoke of a pride that didn't need words to explain.

Wow, Yang thought, didn't expect him to be a patriotic type. "Nice," she hummed as she looked at it.

"Well," Weiss began, "it's certainly... colorful. I can admire the pattern somewhat," she admitted. "But anyways, you said she saw Blake heading back into town?"

"That's what she told me," he replied as he closed up the bag. "Before you ask, it sounds to me that she might be scouring Dust shops for Fang activity. You know how upset she was about them, maybe she wants to confirm it for herself."

"That's a job for the police!" Weiss shouted in aggravation, "Why would she even do that alone!?"

Yang felt a stirring of anger in her blood. Weiss was right; how dare she think only she can go it alone for something so dangerous? She was part of a team, and a team stuck together! If she did encounter the White Fang, she'd be on her own with no backup: she could get hurt, or captured, or even worse!

"Easy, easy!" Jacob pled with the seething heiress, "Mrs. Holly also mentioned that she was with a blonde Faunus boy. A blonde monkey Faunus."

Yang was taken aback. She's with that stowaway from Friday? Why would she trust some stranger over her own team? Yang didn't know whether she was hurt by that or angered by that.

Weiss on the other hand seemed a smidge outraged. "What!? She's with that delinquent ruffian instead of her own team!? Unbelieveable!" Weiss threw up her hands in anger, a vein starting to show along her temple.

"Hey, don't shoot the messenger!" Jacob pleaded as the Atlesian heiress looked about ready to skewer him on Myrtenaster.

Yang took a deep breath. If Blake was really with that guy, at the very least she wasn't alone.

Technically, she was alone with a strange guy.

Something about that idea didn't sit well with Yang.

"Weiss, stop threatening him!" She said firmly to her sister's partner. "If she's headed back into town, we may be able to find her more easily with all the eyewitnesses."

That stopped Weiss in her tracks. She sat there and pondered for a second while Jacob took a few steps backwards towards Yang. "You're right," Weiss decided, "if anything the sooner we get there, the better our chances someone has seen her."

The two nodded before they turned around and began walking back towards the Commercial District.

Yang noticed that Jacob wasn't following them. "Jacob," she shouted over her shoulder, "you coming or what?"

"I'll catch up with you guys," he hollered back, as the distance between them grew. "I should find Ruby and let her know as well!"

Yang flashed him a thumbs up. "Sounds good!" was all she was able to holler back before the two blondes rounded the corner of the street.

"Now, time to find a lost kitty," She heard herself mutter as she took off at a jog to follow Weiss.

---

...

Jacob could confess many things he had never experienced in his meagre 20 years on Earth.

He had never visited another country on Earth that wasn't an island nation in the Caribbean, even though he lived a day's drive from the Mexican border.

He had never had a girlfriend, and by extension had never even gotten to first base since most girls his age had seen him in a more fraternal light, to such a degree if he wondered if he had been unofficially declared his high school's confidant.

He had never visited any of the major US cities besides the Greater Los Angeles Metro, Las Vegas and Washington DC.

And strangest of all, he had never spent a night on the town with anyone outside of his family at the annual luminaria lighting in Old Town the night of Christmas Eve.

Granted, his idea of a night on the town didn't include staking out a potential terrorist cell of humans with animal features stealing elemental gunpowder with a catgirl and a monkey-boy.

Just another 5 months 'til I would be legally able to drink back home, he thought to himself as he reflected on his situation, and it can't come sooner. Lord knows I need a shot of bourbon about now. Or rum, rum's good too.

At the moment, Jacob was perusing the streets on the way to the docks to meet up with Blake and Sun. By now the sun was closing in on completely disappearing over the horizon, the long shadows of the various shops and stores casting the street into darkness. The sky overhead had been burning a deep red―his model-painting side had wanted to say it was a Mephiston Red, but it was more akin to an Evil Sunz Scarlet in all truth―giving the overall look of the Wharf District something of a mix between a malevolent look and a romantic look up until about 30 minutes ago. Now, the sky was a blue-violet, the twilight casting the last few rays in hopes that someone may catch them.

You've just crossed over into... the Twilight Zone, Rod Serling narrated in Jacob's mind. He let slip a bemused chuckle that masked a sudden drop in his mood: he used to love watching Twilight Zone marathons back home on Halloween night, mostly the classics like The Monsters are Due on Maple Street and Little Girl Lost just to name two of his favorites; now he'd never get the chance to see them again.

He let a disdained snort of air out through his nose. One of these days you really ought to look into Prozac or something, he deadpanned to himself.

He rounded the corner of the street, his path now hiding in the shadow of the massive warehouses at the industrial dock. For the most part it seemed as though Sun was on the money: the Atlesian freighter lying in anchor with an all too familiar 8-pointed snowflake on its hull spoke volumes to that. A few dock workers remained within the immediate area, wandering about as they probably were finishing up their shifts and were soon to be on their merry ways home. Part of Jacob―most likely the sado-masochistic part of him that made him play Dark Souls and its ilk―missed being a working stiff. There was something somewhat satisfactory about coming home every week with a paycheck that he earned himself that school―be it college or now Huntsman academia―had a hard time competing with.

After 2 minutes of walking in the shadow of a warehouse, Jacob found his mark. A gate had been left just unlatched enough that no one would see it and he would still be able to get access in. Quickly and quietly as he could he slinked through the gate and shut it behind him before dashing to the wall of the warehouse. He hid behind a generator, hoping no one spotted him during his mad scramble for cover.

He glanced down at his watch, still bearing the date back home. 6:58 PM, Sunday, September 10, 2017.

A tired snort escaped his nose. Well, even if I'm another reality away it would be in poor taste to not remember tomorrow, he thought to himself. Good thing Old Glory was finished on time.

After making certain the coast was clear, he again scrambled along the back of the building before finally reaching his destination. A spindly, iron-wrought ladder reached up the height of the building and emptied out atop the building, where Blake was no doubt waiting for him and Sun both.

Oh great, that's a Health and Safety hazard if ever I've seen one, he nervously thought to himself, noting the lack of additional rails outside the basic handrail to help with the climb. Strapping the bag holding the Star Spangled Banner to his belt, he slowly and nervously ascended the ladder, hoping and praying he wouldn't take a long fall and a sudden stop.

Halfway up, a blur of gold fur zoomed by him at ludicrous speeds. Seconds later, Sun Wukong landed right beside him, hanging on with his tail by a random pipe jutting out from the wall.

"Hey, there you are...?" Sun began before trailing off as he had forgotten Jacob's name.

"Let's leave the introductions until I'm off this rickety thing," Jacob said shakily, "As much as I'm not afraid of heights, I really don't like the prospect of staying on this thing for too long."

Sun simply shrugged and launched himself back up the rest of the way, disappearing over the side as he landed on the roof.

Jacob felt a grumble rising in his throat. "Show-off," he huffed as he continued up the ladder.

Finally, Muller reached the top of the ladder, and after taking a few shaky steps onto the roof, plopped down onto his ass with a resounding thud. Sun walked up to him with an amused smile. "So, about that name, sir?" he laughed as he offered his hand to help Muller up.

Jacob felt a bemused smile and a chuckle of his own resound out of his throat. "Jacob. Jacob Muller," he answered, taking Wukong's hand in a firm grip not unlike the handshake in Predator and lifting himself to his feet.

A look of confusion was etched across Sun's face as he processed that name. "Jacob? Doesn't bear any resemblance to any color name I've ever heard," he noticed inquisitively.

"Let's just say that back home we didn't go with the color-name motif thing the kingdoms did after the Great War," Jacob replied. "Sure, some have colorful names," he continued as Sun let out a single sarcastic laugh, "but we've got more of a thing for religious names or names for old dialects. It's a long story, I'll regale you another time."

"Thank you," came the snarky voice of Blake, "I thought you might actually be attempting to reveal us to them."

"Nice to see you too, Belladonna," Jacob replied back as he looked over her way. Sure enough, she was lying belly-down, arms crossed in front of her as she continued to observe the Schnee Dust Company payload. "You'll be happy to know that through a series of misdirections, faux-Scroll calls and various other methods of trickery, your teammates are currently running in circles around Vale looking for you. I on the other hand will not sleep with a clean conscience tonight. Anyway, anything to report?" he asked, taking a knee by her side.

"Nothing yet, though the last few crates are still being unloaded," she answered. Though her voice remained calm, the worried furrow of her brow betrayed her true thoughts.

A shame that her worst fears were soon to be confirmed, Jacob reflected to himself. "It's gonna be a few hours at minimum before they would most likely engage," he announced with a sigh, "so we should for the most part try to keep ourselves occupied to some degree, unless anyone wants to catch 40 winks."

"Well, what do you suppose we do then?" Sun asked.

"I don't know about you guys," Jacob started, "but I'm gonna start rocking out on my music―" his train of thought was halted dead in his tracks as he looked down at his mobile phone.

15% battery. And he had forgotten his battery pack in the race to head out into Vale this morning.

"...Nevermind then," he sighed in defeat. "Not gonna waste the last 15% of my battery life for music, I'm not that music-addicted."

Silence gripped the rooftop for a solid minute as Jacob immediately got up and began to pace about, partially out of boredom and partially out of concern. In a few short hours, they would engage the White Fang, and with them Roman Torchwick, one of the fan favorites among the villains lineup. Just the idea of fighting the White Fang was a rather threatening concept―no doubt even their newest members had more real-deal combat training than even he had managed―but the potential asskicking he could get from Roman would no doubt be the stuff of urban legend.

"Can you please stop pacing," Sun moaned, "you're going and making me nervous."

Sounds just like my dad, Jacob thought to himself. "Sorry, I tend to pace while I'm thinking. Keeps the brain running on all cylinders, as it were."

"Well, it's not really doing anything for you man. Just sit down and... I don't know, talk or something."

"I would prefer it if there was another set of eyes help me out," Blake hissed.

Jacob found himself rolling his eyes as he returned to a knee beside Blake. For the next hour, they sat in silence mostly, only interrupted by the odd sounds of foot traffic as the last of the dock workers filed out and headed home. Overhead the sky darkened and the fractured moon returned from behind the horizon, casting its shattered light across Vale. The shadows grew long and jagged, the teeth of an animal hiding in the dark to strike. It admittedly did not settle Jacob's mind as he went from kneeling to sitting, to pacing ad nauseum with perhaps an occasional conversation with Sun to break up the silence.

Again, not his idea of a night out on the town.

Part of his mind wandered back to everything leading up to this... how, for the most part, he had been mainly an observer to the story, no different from a poor man's fanfiction if anything, yet at the same time it was perhaps his best method to maintain control of the situation. So long as things adhered to canon for as long as he needed, Pyrrha―and now perhaps even Penny, Ozpin and Amber― could be spared a premature death. By good fortune things had remained canonical thus far, not considering that the last 3 months had consisted of slowly building his friendships with RWBY and JNPR, and with the events presiding thus far, events were playing out right on time. Everything thus far had been going perfectly well, but even Jacob knew that any and all plans fall apart upon first contact with the enemy.

The enemy... Cinder and Company. The White Fang. Roman and Neo.

Salem.

Just now it occurred to him that she and he were both in the same reality now. The... queen, mother, whatever she was, of all Grimm as out there, plotting, scheming, conniving with her lackeys on how to bring Remnant to despair.

Despair. Something he had known in the past perhaps one too many times to be healthy.

Jacob mind returned to the here and now as he realized that Sun had vanished. Probably looking to grab those apples, he remembered. Admittedly, his eyelids were starting to grow heavy despite the earliness of the night. The sleep schedule he was on for Beacon must have finally adjusted his circadian rhythm, giving his night owl habits the metaphorical boot.

He took a knee beside Blake again, and decided to run through his ammo for the evening: Knowing full well what was happening tonight, he had extra magazines for both of his pistols aplenty. In total he counted 20 magazines―10 a pistol fortuitously―each one loaded with basic Lightning Dust rounds. For the most part, he was content with sticking to the basic Dust types and getting an idea of how they work before he moved on to the more advanced types like Gravity Dust or the newly-coveted Plasma Dust rounds he had heard of from Nora in the aftermath of his duel with Weiss.

Oh yeah, Plasma Dust. Word was that it was only just out of the prototype phase and was only just starting to get into circulation, but it sounded like it was essentially akin to the Plasma weaponry of the Imperium: armor-breakers designed for the heavier-duty Grimm like King Taijitus and Goliaths.

Unfortunately that meant it would probably be a high-priority target for the White Fang.

Reaching into his back pocket, he located his other tools for the evening: his stiletto pocket knife and a trio of IEDs.

Hey, he promised not to use them in sparring, he never promised that he wouldn't use them in the field.

After making sure that the IEDs were secured and safe―lest he wish to turn into Remnant's first suicide bomber―he popped a clip into both pistols and chambered a round each.

Only he didn't realize that the sound of the slides chambering the .380 and 9mm rounds into Titan and Cadia respectively had snapped Blake out of her dozing stupor. She started, looking like she was about ready to spring up and arch her back like a goddamned alley cat before realizing what was going on. "Oh, hey. Why are you loading up your pistols?" she asked with a yawn.

"Something tells me we're gonna be in for a rough night," was his only reply. He looked down only to see a face of concern from Blake return his gaze. "Sorry," he quickly apologized, "Knowing my luck tonight's not gonna end pretty."

Just then, Sun hopped up over the side of the building, carrying with him a few apples.

And so it begins...

"Did I miss anything?" Wukong asked.

"Not really. They've offloaded the crates from the boat. Now they're just sitting there."

"Cool." He held out an apple to Jacob, saying, "I stole you guys some food!"

Normally, Jacob wasn't the type for taking stolen food, but he hadn't eaten since he had grabbed a cold-cut sandwich for lunch some 7 hours ago. He took the apple and quickly bit down, letting the sweet juices roll down his throat. "Thank you," he replied to Sun, "I haven't had anything since lunch."

"Do you always break the law without giving a second thought?" Blake asked with an arched brow.

"Hey, weren't you in a cult or something?"

Sun only received a death glare from Blake and aside glance from Jacob.

"Okay, too soon!"

Suddenly the wind kicked up from behind them as a plane descended from out of nowhere, searchlights flashing about to clear a landing zone. A Bullhead, Jacob realized it was: the impractical bubble-shaped body, the unfeasible VTOL engines, what else could it be besides the Metal Wailord as he had once called it? "A Bullhead, hah! Give me an Imperial Valkyrie or a Pelican Dropship over that thing any day," he distinctly remembered saying in an admittedly-juvenile Reddit argument once.

As the vessel landed on the concrete, the back ramp opened up with a sharp hiss, and a lone figure clad in black and white stepped out into the cooling night air.

A figure with a red insignia of a snarling wolf and a clawmark on the back.

"Oh no..."

"Is that them?" Sun asked, squinting at them.

Jacob looked down as Blake stared intently at the symbol, as if trying to mentally will it to change to something she didn't recognize. But it was exactly as she thought. "Yes," she sighed in defeat, "...It's them."

Down below, Jacob could barely make out the chatter as more and more White Fang grunts filed out of the Bullhead and began to work at breaking into the Schnee Dust crates.

"You really didn't think they were behind it, did you?"

"No," Blake replied to Sun, "I think deep down I knew. I just didn't want to be right." Her had balled into a fist as the two men watched on as she started to sink into despair.

"Hey! What's the holdup!?"

Jacob's heart skipped a beat. There's the magnificent bastard...

Coming down from the ramp of the Bullhead, came a relatively tall git―6'3" if he remembered the wiki correctly―clad in a red-lined suit of white and black slacks with black loafers. He was skinny as a rail, and had some rather effeminate features: heavy black eyeliner, long eyelashes, long carrot-top bangs covering his left eye, all set beneath a black and green bowler hat in a style that easily reminded Jacob of A Clockwork Orange.

"We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment," Roman Torchwick fumed to his subordinates, "so why don't you animals try to pick up the pace?"

That's racist, CinemaSins Jeremy again quipped in Jacob's mind.

As they continued to watch the heist in progress, Blake mused to herself, "This isn't right. The White Fang would never work with a Human. Especially not one like that."

"Could be the sign of some new coalition going on," Jacob hissed through his teeth, "and the implications of that are not comforting."

"So what do we do now?" Sun asked as he joined them in watching.

"There's too many for us three to take on," Jacob decided against his instinct to adhere to canon and turned to look down at his Scroll, "I'm calling for backup; maybe Weiss and Yang are somewhere near―"

"Hey, what are you doing?!"

Jacob was unable to key Yang's number as Sun's cry of alarm alerted him to Blake's impulsive charge-in. Looking over the side to the ground, he saw Blake land on the ground in a three-point superhero landing before taking off in a cold, calculated and yet still furious sprint to get into position, ducking in between containers with feline grace and stealth.

"Dang, she's good," Sun admired her from afar.

"Yeah, well she's lacking the 9 extra lives a cat's got last I checked," Jacob snarked, "So kitty only needs to fuck up once to get a one-way trip to the Pearly Gates." He turned to Sun and ordered, "Get to a high ground position overlooking her, if things get pear-shaped, drop down and start fucking them up."

Sun, whom was still acting a smidge surprised from Jacob's sailor mouth, simply asked, "Wait, what are you gonna do?"

"I've got two things to do," Jacob answered, holding up his Scroll. "One, call in for backup. And two, I'll provide fire support and work on the grunts, if not Torchwick himself. Now go!" and with that, Sun sprung from the rooftop and landed with ease atop the nearest crate, slinking through them like the monkey-kid he was. In the meanwhile, Jacob quickly punched in Yang's Scroll number, hoping to get through.

Damn, he thought to himself as he heard the familiar ding of a voicemail, not picking up.

"What the- Oh, for f-"

"Nobody move!"

Jacob turned to look down at the scene: Sure enough, Blake had unsheathed Gambol Shroud's blade and now held Torchwick hostage as the White Fang goons encircled her with their guns trained on her head. Frantically, Jacob turned his attention back to the Scroll and dialed up Weiss' number.

After a few seconds, an answer. "Hello? Jacob?"

"Weiss! Oh, thank God I got to you," she sighed in relief. "Listen, I found Blake earlier this evening, she was doing a stakeout at the industrial pier where your Company was unloading a huge shipment, do you know the one?"

"Yeah, I'd heard about it earlier today," she replied, "But why is she there?"

"She was trying to scope out the Fang, and it turns out we were right, it IS The White Fang behind these robberies, but they're in on it with Torchwick!"

He turned around and was greeted by the sight of the massive Mexican standoff starting to close in on its fever pitch. Pretty soon, Dust was going to fly.

"Listen, Weiss! Get Yang, get Ruby, get whoever you can and get here as soon as possible, Blake just engaged the White Fang and I need to help her! Get here now!" And with that, he hit the hang up button and dashed over to the edge of the building.

By now, Blake had just taken her free hand and pull loose the bow concealing her ears, showing them to her former cohorts in an attempt to sway them to her side.

"Brothers of the White Fang! Why are you aiding this scum?"

The White Fang members began to waver, no doubt some of them recognizing her as one of their former senior officers. Several began to lower their rifles in hesitation.

Meanwhile, Jacob was weighing the pros and cons of either staying up top or getting to ground level and engaging at point blank. After a few seconds of deliberation, he made his decision.

"Oh, this is gonna hurt like a motherfucker..."

With a deep breath and a quick prayer in his head, he leaped over the side to the ground below. For a few seconds, his brain thought back to his trips to Disneyland, remembering his rides on the Tower of Terror and how accustomed he had become to the sensation of falling.

What he wasn't accustomed to was the impact of hitting the ground at the speed of gravity's pull. He managed to do a superhero landing of his own akin to Iron Man, but even with his just-recovered body and Aura pool combined, the pain of the impact still echoed up his leg and his fist like he had just just punched a tank. Granted, technically he had punched Remnant, but semantics would have to be left for another time. With a barely concealed groan, he got to his feet and began to circle around the standoff, drawing both pistols so to begin raining hell on them.

"Oh, kid, didn't you get the memo?" He heard Torchwick snidely ask.

"What are you talking about?" Blake demanded just as Jacob reached a vantage point from where he could watch and engage. He took a knee and snapped off the safeties.

A part of him was realizing that he was about to enter a firefight. Him, in a firefight, in real life... sorta.

But that same part of him suddenly realized that he'd be firing on flesh-and-blood people. His stomach started knotting itself a little at the prospect.

If he's unlucky, he may have to kill someone tonight.

"The White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together!"

Gambol Shroud's blade pushed farther into Torchwick's neck. "Tell me what it is or I'll put an end to your little operation," Blake threatened.

Suddenly a pair of Bullheads zoomed by overhead, coming to a hover directly overhead of the group, Jacob noting the mounted guns on these ones.

"I wouldn't exactly call it a little operation," Roman deadpanned over the roar of the engines.

That's the cue for the fight to start, Jacob remembered. Now comes the time for action. His arms were shaking as the adrenaline prematurely coursed through his veins.

He took a long, deep breath, and his mind ran back to all the pre-battle cries he had ever heard, fictitious or otherwise.

He finally settled on one that felt... right for the occasion, what with him striking from the shadows. Just then, an explosion rocked the ground beneath him; Roman had fired off Melodic Cudgel at Blake's feet, signalling the start of the fight.

Let's rock, Jacob's mind rattled off as he felt a vicious snarl overcome his face. He rounded the corner and drew his guns, growling beneath his teeth the cry of the 19th Legion.

"Victorus Aut Mortis!"

---

A massive boom rocked the night air from behind her and Penny. Ruby spun on the spot to see a massive smoke cloud rising up from the area of the industrial docks.

"Oh, no..."

Ring-ring-ring!

Ruby's Scroll frantically called her attention. She picked it up and looked at the caller ID: It was Weiss.

"Weiss," she answered, "what's going on?"

---

It was absolute chaos at the docks.

Not Chaos, the proper noun, chaos the idea. All around him, White Fang members scurried after Blake as she retreated from the blasts of Melodic Cudgel. Meanwhile, a small crate of Dust had exploded on impact with one of his shots, sending up a wall of fire off to the side that appeared to have knocked out or even outright killed several other Fang grunts. Jacob had, at first been shocked by the damage that he had dealt―Did I just fucking do that, holy shit!―but he quickly snapped out of it when a trio of rounds had pinged off the side of the crate he was standing beside.

"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty..." Torchwick mused as he followed after Blake.

Time to get acquainted, Jacob mused to himself as he zipped and darted through the shipping containers, only to roll out from behind them 10 feet directly in front of Roman and immediately begin firing.

Suffice it to say, Roman was pretty quick with Melodic Cudgel, spinning the cane-cannon about with the speed of an Apache propellor and deflecting most of the shots. The few that made it past pinged off his Aura and only made him recoil slightly.

"Well now," Roman said as Jacob halted his fire, "Another snot-nosed kid getting in the way."

Jacob felt his blood pressure jump at that one. "Do you not fucking see this facial hair?" He seethed before changing Cadia into her cutlass form and charging.

Admittedly, his first and worst mistake.

Immediately, the two clashed, but unlike Jaune's more normal, rough-and-tumble sword-and-shield play that Jacob had at least trained somewhat against, Roman's style with Melodic Cudgel was more like fencing with extremely distracting flourishes. His cleaving swings left him wide open, and Roman―ever the opportunist he was―was taking advantage of that. Jacob received a battering from Roman while he only got a few swings in that succeeded in making contact, and even then Roman would successfully block the hit.

"Man," Roman cackled, "you are an absolute barbarian with that thing, kid! You sure you weren't trained to swing an axe, 'cause you are horrible at this swordfighting thing."

Jacob grunted heavily as blade and cane locked together. This fight was already wearing him out, even more so that his fight with Weiss. "Funny you should talk about a tree-chopping instrument," he huffed through his breathing, "Because Cadia's got some solid teeth on her!"

click!

And with an audible schwing, the razor-sharp teeth of Cadia locked Melodic Cudgel deep in her bite before yanking the cane out of Roman's hand as Jacob revved the engine and tossed the cane aside. Jacob leveled Titan and squeezed off another 3 rounds, but Roman was insanely quick, ducking below the shots as they streaked over his head by a hair's breadth and diving for the cane.

Instead of re-engaging, Jacob decided to make like a Genestealer and slip back into the shadows, giving him a moment to reload as Roman jumped back to his feet to discover his opponent was no longer there.

Unfortunately for the crook, Jacob had left a Dust-infused gift for Roman at his feet. The IED exploded at Roman's feet, masking the area in a quick blanket of steam that held long enough for Jacob to hide even farther in amidst the shadows.

"Well, well," the criminal mastermind mused, "looks like we've got a sneaky snake on our hands. I've been meaning to beat something to death for a while now," he snarled as he moved closer to Jacob's position.

Just then, a banana peel landed on top of his hat. Looking up, Jacob saw Sun coming down from atop a container, landing on Roman with an audible thud and rolling off of him.

"Leave them alone," Sun growled at Torchwick.

Above him, however, The Bullheads opened up to reveal more White Fang members, whom jumped and flipped their way to the ground in an overly-flashy style that reminded Jacob of that stupid Cirque du Soleil in Vegas. Can't people just drop from on high without flipping like a Olympic diver? he mentally bemoaned. Before he even had time to react, Sun was surrounded by Fang goons.

"You're not the brightest banana in the bunch, are you, kid?" Roman snarked.

With that, the White Fang charged at the monkey Faunus, mostly bearing crude cutlasses. But Sun was more than capable to taking them on, ducking and weaving his way through the attacks and even socking a few in the jaw with his fists and kicks. With another kick and a roll, he reached into his back pocket.

In one solid twirl, Jingu Bang and Ruyi Bang revealed itself at full size; 4 red and gold flintlocks latched together by the inner two's barrels and the outer two's grips―as well as a pair of chains between grips―to form a bo staff.

The word that came to mind in Jacob's head was... Awesome.

Sun continued to beat on White Fang members while Jacob struggled to make out what was going on overall. Sure, he could make out some details, but even with his eyes adjusting to the night, he wasn't exactly blessed with night vision.

But he did notice the two Fang goons with rifles lining up a shot at Sun.

Jacob's hands reacted of their own accord.

Time slowed as Titan and Cadia lined up their own shots.

He squeezed the triggers, and the flash of Lightning Dust told him all he needed to know.

Both shots made contact with their targets' heads, knocking both to the ground.

Jacob grinned as he thought he had downed them before he rushed off to find Blake.

"He's mine!"

Well, that wasn't hard.

Sun had just blocked an explosive Fire Dust shot from Roman, covering their immediate area in a quick smokescreen. From overhead, Blake careened into Roman and began to attack, using her Semblance to become a blur of afterimages, Melodic Cudgel meeting Gambol Shroud in a flurry of swings and sparks. But for every attack, Roman countered it with equal force, even the attacks from behind and above.

This level of combat's probably only achieved when you've completely mastered your Aura, Jacob reasoned.

But just as Roman dealt with Blake, knocking her to the ground with a couple counterattacks, Sun jumped in and detached the center of Ruyi and Jingu Bang, now becoming two flintlock-nunchaku. Soon, Sun's twin weapons were blasting at Roman, trying to break through his guard in a fiery storm of red and gold.

Jacob had to admit that was his favorite part of watching Black and White, just how awesome the flurry of shots was to see in person was worth a thousand words to him.

Suddenly, his observation was cut short as... something rang out in the back of his head.

It felt like it said, "Duck, dummy."

Just as he did so, a massive burst of Dust shots zoomed by over his head by a fraction of an inch. He spun around and unloaded two full clips into the perpetrator, catching what was clearly a White Fang goon center mass and flinging them back against a crate with a painful-sounding thud. There was an audible female groan as the goon slumped to the ground, hidden from the moon's light in the shadow of the industrial containers. Jacob felt his stomach drop out for a second as he thought he may have hit too hard with that barrage, ignoring the massive crashing sound behind him.

"Hey!"

Jacob's head snapped upwards and back towards the fight. Opposite side of the fight from him, atop the roof where they had begun their stakeout, Ruby and Penny were standing overlooking the battlefield, which seemed to have take a turn in Roman's favor: a shipping container had been dropped and it appeared as though both Blake and Sun had ducked out of the way, but Sun was currently looking down the business end of Melodic Cudgel.

"Well, hello, Red!" Torchwick maliciously crooned, "Isn't it past your bedtime?"

"Ruby," he distantly heard Penny ask, "are these people your friends?"

"Penny, get back!" Ruby warned, turning her attention away from the crime lord.

Long enough, as it was, for him to fire a shot and send the young silver-eyed Huntress screaming backwards.

Roman let out a Saturday-Morning professional-level evil laugh at his attack on the young girl. Penny walked up to the edge, an angry look on her face, before turning back as Ruby warned her.

Penny, he remembered her saying, wait, stop!

Oh, here it comes, Jacob realized as he scrambled to swap places amidst the containers.

And off in the distance, he heard her say it:

"Don't worry, Ruby. I'm combat ready!"

From behind her back, a single sword slithered out―held aloft by steel wires she could control―That blossomed outwards into a steel flower of an additional 9 blades. Leaping from the rooftop with the swords acting as wings, she landed with ease, taking out another 2 Fang operatives on the way down and then sending another into a wall with a sweeping strike, creating a barrier of spinning steel before leaping over a goon with her swords in tow, and finally making a wheel that she threw to knock even more Faunus off their feet.

it was like watching a machine go at it: She was like a Terminator, a walking wall of death and robotics inside a synthetic skin, a... P-800 if you will.

Another 3 Bullheads few overhead, firing into her but failing to connect as she spun her blades and formed a shield from the swords. Penny launched another two swords out into the warehouse behind her, yanking her along for the ride. She came to a grinding halt before spinning her blades into a neat forward-facing circle. Taking a knee, Penny summoned forth a massive green ball of energy―reminding Jacob way too much of the Death Star from Star Wars―and let it fly forward in a massive green energy beam that sliced two of the Bullheads and sent the pilots careening to the ground

...Awesome~, Jacob thought to himself as he pumped his left arm in excitement.

That same feeling from before suddenly returned, screaming the same as before, except from the left side. He rolled just as another volley came at him, forcing him to go to ground and hide behind the corner lest his Aura―and then head―get shredded by the bastards. Reloading Titan and transforming Cadia into her chainsword form, he opted to go the route of The Blood God this go around, roaring and charging into melee. 4 Fang goons returned his charge, two of his shots slamming into one and sending him tumbling to the ground. Another one was sent to the ground with an impact in his Aura field over his forehead.

But Jacob was not anticipating the last one―no bigger than himself really, lanky but clearly packing some muscle―to tackle him like a linebacker. In an instant, the two were grappling, Jacob revving Cadia in an attempt to scare the Faunus into backing off. The only thing it did manage to do was piss the Faunus off enough to toss Cadia aside, leaving him without his main weapon. The hand he held Titan in was pinned to the ground, though that didn't last long as the goon knocked Titan ount of his hand and just out of his reach.

The Faunus' hand snuck back behind him, and produced a wicked looking dagger; Jacob's subconscious would have called it a "Your Eternal Reward" with how the blade reminded him of Jafar's dagger in Aladdin.

Jacob's hand came up in the knick of time, catching the boy's wrist as he brought down the knife over Jacob's heart. For as scrawny as he was, this kid was unusually strong, as Jacob felt his strength slip once or twice in the struggle. His other hand had latched onto the goon's preventing it from coming to the other's aid to skewer his heart.

His grip slipped. the dagger dropped mere inches from his chest, the heart beating below its piercing gaze thundering in fear of its death knells.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Titan, just within the edge of his reach. If he could just reach it...

Jacob's strength was failing ever more so... The dagger poked at his skin, but he didn't feel that same sensation as he normally did when he had his Aura up. Did he take a shot or two when he wasn't paying attention? Did Aura fail after gaining combat fatigue? He didn't know and he didn't have time to think about it.

Was this to be his end? Did all his time training end up for naught?

Was his quest already coming to a close?

Was he about to fail Pyrrha?

And at that thought, the images came back.

The arrow, piercing her heart.

The strangled gasps as her lungs and heart failed.

The callousness of her incineration.

The image of Jaune, training like a dog by her instruction, recorded and brought to bear from beyond the grave.

A wild, frothing anger seeped into his heart at first.

But it soon careened into his mind.

I WILL NOT DIE HERE!

His legs thrashed wildly, his body strained against his attacker, holding both arms back with the force of an elephant and the grip of a steel vice.

Finally, he felt his knee make contact with something. Judging by the cries of pain, he had found the babymakers. The goon's strength wavered, giving Jacob the opportunity to reach into hi pocket and snapped loose the blade of his pocket knife. Without a second to hesitate, he swung ferociously and buried the 5" stiletto blade into the goon's side, freeing his hand and giving him a chance to grab Titan. His mind thundered its orders; Survival was being counted in milliseconds at the moment, everyone wasted meant the difference between him living and dying.

Without a second thought, he whipped the barrel underneath the goon's stomach, in the same motion angling it over his sternum.

Time screamed to a halt, and he pulled the trigger.

Titan roared with the ferocity of a lion.

The goon stiffened... but he didn't fly back.

Jacob's mind begged the question of what was going on... until her felt it.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Warmth.

The smell of iron.

something warm and liquid over his hand.

This goon didn't have an Aura. He was just some Faunus that joined up with the White Fang. They didn't even bother to train him, to awaken his Aura and they just sent him out like cannon fodder.

And now he was bleeding out.

"Shit, shit, shit," Jacob hissed as the Faunus began to go limp. He rolled the two of them over, holding the goon in his arms. The blood seeped from the wound, a gaping hole over his diaphragm―if he remembered anatomy correctly, judging by the fact that a morbid observation of his noted the edge of a rib poking out of the offending wound―and soaked his white vest in crimson.

Though he was no medical expert, he remembered that the best thing to do in regards to a bleeding would was to apply pressure, as much as you could onto the wound to slow the bleeding long enough for clots to start forming on the wound.

It wasn't much, but it was a start.

Hesitantly, he pressed down on the wound, only to receive a pained wheeze from the thug. "Easy, easy," he shakily said, "If you struggle you'll bleed out, and you're not bleeding out on me tonight." Somewhere in the background, a massive explosion rocked the battlefield: Penny had just downed the other 3 Bullheads that came in, and Roman was escaping.

"Please... gods―Aargh! It hurts..."

Jacob felt the blood drain from his face.

That was a kid's voice.

His free hand quickly but shakily removed the Grimm-styled mask from over the face of the goon.

It was a boy, a fennec Faunus if the massive ears were any indication, sky blue eyes and a mop of dirty blonde hair.

Not a man like him... a boy.

A boy who was probably no older than Ruby.

No older than his own little brother.

The look in his eyes was the most genuine terror Jacob had ever seen in his life. It was a primal panic that only the wounded and dying would ever truly know.

"Easy, easy," he said, trying his best to ignore the hot liquid bleeding out of his torso. "You're-you're gonna be alright―"

"Please," the kid cried through tears of pain, a small and fragile voice, "I don't wanna die, I don't wanna die―"

"Shh, shh, calm down," Jacob hissed in panic, "If you panic your heart will beat faster and you'll lose blood faster." Part of his mind berated him fiercely―like Hell that would calm the kid down!

The kid's fearful cries began to weaken. The kid was dying in his arms.

"Hey," Jacob panicked, "Kid, look at me, look at me! What's your name, son?"

"...Ferris..." the kid mumbled tiredly. He was fading fast.

"Ferris, like the word for iron, right? Good name, good name, I used to know a Ferris, bit of a slacker but he was a good kid at heart... Ferris? Ferris!?"

The kid wasn't responding. His pulse was faintly there, and his breathing was ragged, but he was no longer conscious.

"HELP!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, "I NEED A MEDIC OVER HERE NOW!"

Seconds later, the sound of high heels rounded the corner, followed by a string of horrified gasps. He looked up to see a horrified Blake, a shocked Sun and Penny, who seemed to take a second to process what she was seeing before the horror began to set in her innocent mind.

"Goddamnit," he roared as he felt panicky tears begin to roll down his cheeks, "Somebody help me get a tourniquet on him NOW!"

---

Blake felt unusually numb by the time the police and ambulances arrived. Between the tire of battle, the lack of substantial food for a few hours, and... that, she felt like she could fall asleep and not wake up for a week. The hot coffee offered by the cops helped a little, but it wasn't enough.

By now, the last few White Fang members were getting hauled off in police cruisers to be booked at the station downtown, and from the looks of it there were a lot more than she initially thought there would be. Strangely, while most that she and Sun had taken out were treated for only some minor bumps and bruises, the ones under Jacob had been... well, not as fine.

Two had bruised ribs from the high impact shots he had unloaded into them, another one―a girl Blake recognized from her time in the White Fang―had been knocked unconscious by his attack and had suffered a minor concussion, another two who should have been concussed by his attack received only minor bumps and bruises, and then...

Then there was the fennec Faunus boy.

Sun later informed Blake that he had to stop Ruby from rushing in beside them, knowing full well what that sight could do to a kid like her. Blake, sadly, did not have that luxury; she had been there on more than one occasion when another Faunus was struck down during a riot... sometimes for good.

And what's worse, was that she had to experience that feeling all over again.

The boy had passed on to The Hereafter on the ambulance ride to the hospital.

Of course, he was a local boy, and the family had been alerted much to their sorrow. Turns out he had been reported missing for 3 months. Well, now they knew where he had been, at least. Gods, even to her that sounded a callous thought.

Jacob had turned off in the aftermath of learning the news. Everyone who's fought a lethal battle turns off when they realized they've ended another life.

It probably didn't help to know the kid was 15... the same age as her fearless leader, whom Sun had not told about the boy's end.

And Penny... seemed to take it much better than most. Then again, that girl was weirder than most by a long shot.

Just then, she spotted her other teammates coming up the street at a brisk jog, both of them sporting worried faces. Oh no, Blake moaned mentally, not now. She glanced over to Jacob, who was now leaning against a wooden crate, head downcast, sitting on the cold cobblestone, and holding a barely-touched mug of hot chocolate, his hands still coated with the boy's now-dried blood. His eyes were red and puffy from crying, but looking into them he seemed to be... not there, really. Yang rushed over to him, taking a knee beside him and hugging him close. It seemed to snap him out of his funk enough to give her a fierce hug back, as if he were clinging to her for dear life.

Meanwhile, Weiss stopped to look forlornly at him before turning her attention back to the Faunus girl. Here we go, Blake sighed. Just then, Ruby―who was still unaware―came up to her partner and began to frantically vouch for her.

"Look Weiss, it's not what you think," she began, "she explained the whole thing. See, she doesn't actually have a bow, she has kitty ears and they're actually kind of cute..."

Weiss simply ignored her and approached Blake with a blank face.

"Weiss," Blake began as she stared down her teammate, "I want you to know that I'm no longer associated with the White Fang. Back when I was with the-"

Weiss held up a hand and said, "Stop! Do you have any idea of how long we've been searching for you? Twelve hours. That means I've had twelve hours to think about this. And in that twelve hours, I've decided..."

Yang and Jacob looked on, the worry in their eyes visible, even through Jacob's misted pair.

"I don't care."

That threw Blake for a loop. "You don't care?"

"You said you're not one of them anymore, right?"

"No, I-I haven't been since I was younger-"

Weiss silenced her again. "Ah-bah-bah-bah-bah! I don't want to hear it. All I want to know is that the next time something this big comes up... you'll come to your teammates. And not... someone else," she finished as she looked to Sun and then Jacob.

Blake thought she wouldn't cry tonight. Turns out she was just waiting until she felt some relief. "Of course," she agreed as she wiped a tear from her eye.

For a second, everything was quiet. Yang was still hugging one out with Jacob, who seemed to be doing at least a little better than previously, when Ruby quietly piped up with a, "Yeah! Team RWBY is back together!" as she raised her fists in excitement.

And then, a genuine chuckle from Jacob. A good sign, if anything, even if he still had a tear here and there.

"I'm still not quite sure about how I feel about you!" Weiss immediately turned and pointed to Sun, who simply chuckled nervously.

At that moment, Blake and Ruby both realized that someone had disappeared on them. "Hey," Ruby said, "Where's Penny?"

But they were interrupted as a series of cries reached their ears.

"Hey, guys!"

"Jacob!"

"BLAAAKE!"

"Nora, wait up!"

Without a second to realize, Blake found herself tackled by a 5'2" wall of pink and black clothes and ginger hair.

"Nora," she began as she tried to recover from the glomp, "I'm fine, easy,"

"You had us all worried sick! What were you thinking woman!?" She cried as she shook Blake by the shoulders before Ren stopped her with a simple grip on her shoulder.

"Nora," he began, "Blake's been through enough trauma today; I don't think she wants to add brain trauma to that list."

But as the two partners bickered like a married couple, Blake's vision was more focused on the other half. Jaune and Pyrrha had taken a spot next to Yang and Jacob, both kneeling beside the boy. She couldn't make out what they were saying over Nora and Ren, but she could read their body language pretty well.

When Jacob showed them his hands, both recoiled in shock before looking to one another. Jacob began to cry again, though now she could hear his sorrowful blubbers.

"...That boy's dead because of me," he began to say as he continued to cry, "He died in my fucking arms.. the last person he saw was his Goddamned killer... He didn't even have his Aura and I just... I just shot hi-him..." and with that, his speech gave way to barely-contained sobs.

Pyrrha immediately closed the distance to him and hugged him tightly with Yang, shushing him in an attempt to calm him. Soon after, Jaune joined in too, followed by Weiss and Ren. Nora let go of Blake and soon joined in as well, and Sun attempted to get in before evidently deciding that he probably wasn't welcome in the group just yet... even if Blake would vouch for him.

And poor Ruby had only just realized what happened before she ran to him and joined in the hug, crying with him as the severity of what happened finally kicked in.

Ruby, who was no older than the boy that Jacob killed.

The White Fang were willing to send young children to their deaths now... and she felt disgusted at who was no doubt behind this.

Gods damn you, Adam...

Blake simply sat and watched as the stars shined overhead, and the wide smile of the fractured moon grinned over the hugging teens and their 9th compatriot.

---

Vulkan He'Stan breathed a heavy sigh as he looked out over the city. "A shame that even so far from home there is still such mindless bloodshed," he mused mainly to himself, "You'd swear that the Blood God still follows us wherever we go."

"We were warriors, Vulkan," one of his guests, mentioned, "We were built to make war for our people."

Vulkan continued to gaze out over the city from the hotel penthouse his old teammates had rented out, "for the Vytal Festival" as they had claimed to the bellhops. While it was true that they all had come to watch the Festival as well, it was his call that had brought all but one of them to this room. Their last member said he would arrive today on the Schnee freighter that brought all that Dust to Vale's shores, but he had yet to call in. A storm was heading in from the sea, Vulkan noticed, and would probably arrive in two or three hours from now, carrying with it a cascade of rain to wash away the blood spilled this night.

"But that's not who we are anymore," Vulkan added, turning around to look at his battle-brothers. "We protect people against the Grimm and the true evil-doers out there, we don't mindlessly slaughter heretics anymore. Or has some of your hypnotherapy come back from the grave to incite a crusade for The Emperor?"

There they were, two of his closest friends on Remnant, staring at him intensely as he bemoaned the news: Lisa Lavender had been the one to report of the fighting that broke out at the docks this evening, and while names hadn't been released, Vulkan had heard word from Ozpin of the details left out.

Currently, all three were sitting in the living room equivalent of the penthouse, the other two sitting down in plush seats as they listened to their team leader.

To his left, sat Gabriel Angelos, former Chapter Master of the Blood Ravens and Vulkan's Huntsman Academy partner, still clad in the same outfit as yesterday.. and the day before.

And to his right sat Titus Ultramar, Former Second Company Captain of the Ultramarines, with his wife of 10 years, former Astra Militarum 2nd Lieutenant Miranda Nero of the 203rd Cadian Regiment.

Gabriel bolted to his feet at Vulkan's remark, visibly fuming at it. "You know that is not something to joke about," Angelos growled from behind his teeth.

"Who said anything about it being a joke, Angelos?" Vulkan replied back.

"Brothers, brothers! There is no need to fight," Titus calmly reassured, "Not tonight at least." Titus tenderly moved his hand to stroke his wife's hair―even now it was scary how a former Marine could move so gently―as he remained in his own day attire: a pair of deep blue, well-kept jean pants, black combat boots and a navy-blue polo shirt emblazoned with the easily-recognized white Omega of the Ultramarines chapter badge across the chest pocket. In stark contrast, his wife had already taken to more comfortable attire for the evening, sporting a pink robe and fuzzy slippers over a white undershirt and sleep pants as she slept beside her husband.

The Salamander and the Blood Raven stared at the Ultramarine for a few seconds before looking back to one another and both backing off.

"Sorry about that, Gabriel," Vulkan offered in apology.

Gabriel sighed deeply. "It's alright Vulkan," he assured, "I've just been... tense as of late. Things feel as they are soon coming to a head."

"I know what you mean―"

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!

Only one person would smack a door like that. Vulkan quickly moved to the door, but stopped before asking through the door their team's question to prove their identity.

"For whom did we fight?"

After a second, the answer came from a gruff, heavily accented voice.

"For Russ, and the All-Father."

Vulkan grinned as he opened the door. "Logan Grimnar," he laughed mirthfully, "as I live and breathe, come in, come in!"

With a boisterous laugh and a massive step, in came the Great Wolf of the Vlka Fenryka―Space Wolves as it would have been said in Remnant Gothic―Logan Grimnar. Just as he was back in the Imperium, he was the eldest amongst their motley crew, though here it was but by an extra decade and a half rather than 2 or more centuries, putting him around the normal human age of his mid-40s while the rest of the team were just arriving at 3 decades biologically.

How strange it was to have your biological clock reset after centuries of service as an Astartes.

As befitting of a Wolf of Fenris, he stood fairly tall at around 6'7", standing higher than even Vulkan without either of them in armor. His hair, while still the dirty blonde found amidst many of the Sons of Leman Russ, had begun to dull with age, and an odd silver strand could be seen under the right light. He sported a thick beard that looked to be well-kempt if anything, though he hadn't knotted it like was seen amidst most bearded Space Wolves. His hardened, strong features were beginning to show signs of age, mainly in the form of the odd wrinkle here and there, though the strong chin and brow still made him look like he would happily introduce you to a Power Fist if you ticked him off. Besides that, he was clad in a fur vest of―what else―wolf pelts, obviously a more decorative version of his usual thick coats and cape that he wore with his armor, along with a well-worn pair of jean pants and a blue-grey t-shirt, sporting the mark of the Wolf that Stalks Between the Stars, a great wolf rearing up and bearing its claws and fangs.

But right now, he was sporting a jovial smile that brightened the room, showing off his lengthened canines. Of course, one would anticipate a lupine Faunus such as Logan would sport far more obvious signs of being a Faunus, but it would seem that The Emperor had been in the mood for a good laugh that day to make something about a Space Wolf sneaky.

"Vulkan," the Great Wolf cheerfully laughed with an accent not unlike that of the ancient Cottsmen of Holy Terra, "It's too damn good to see ya again, you bleedin' pyromaniac!"

The two came in for a massive hug, as the long-time friends shared a laugh at their return. After a second or so of holding the hug, they broke loose as the other two Astartes roused from their chairs to meet the Great Wolf.

"Titus, there ya are, my boy!"

Titus, ever the son of Guilliman, first bowed low with his hands making the sign of the Aquila before hugging the Fenrisian tightly. "It's great to see you again, Logan!" Titus laughed.

With a firm and brotherly smack on the shoulder, Logan ended the hug before turning to the still groggy but happily-smiling Lieutenant. "Lady Mira," The Great Wolf began with a smile, taking a knee before the Guardswoman, "it is always a pleasure to see your smiling face again."

Mira stifled a giggle as she replied, "No need to kneel before a humble Guardsman, Great Wolf, but the gesture is always accepted." She walked up to him and lunged into hug of her own.

"Oh―ho, easy with the old man, Mira!" Grimnar laughed along with her.

After a few seconds, the two rose back to their feet, Logan standing a good 10 inches over the Guardswoman. "How's the little man?" he asked of her and Titus' son.

"Kaleb has been doing great, but he misses his 'Uncle Wolfy'," she joked. The Lord of Fenris simply rolled his eyes and smiled. Finally, he turned his attention to the other Chapter Master in the room, and the smile took a more dangerous edge. "Ah, there's the Raven!" he said with a laugh, as he and Angelos closed the distance between one another.

"Logan, it's been too long," Gabriel calmly smirked before offering Grinmar his hand. Grimnar took it in what would have normally been a bone-crushing handshake for a normal human.

"Aye, Chapter Masters should keep in contact more often," Logan unsubtly chided the Master of the Blood Ravens, "Especially when one wants a rematch for our last match."

"We'll see if I can get one set up for us, Logan, but with Ozpin on high alert I can make no guarantees of my schedule."

The room was silent as the two continued their handshake for several seconds before stiffly letting go.

"So, Vulkan," the Space Wolf began with a thunderous clap, "before I start raiding the refrigerator for dinner... Tell me more about this Mr. Muller fellow ya mentioned over the Scroll..."

---

Jesus Christ this was tough one to write. Between deciding on whether the kid lives or dies, trying to figure out what length to go for, et cetera, this damned thing has taken me nearly 3 weeks to write.

Also, anyone who noticed the juxtaposition I intended with that ending, congratulations, you've got a solid sense of tonal awareness.

Sorry about that guys, but this might become the situation for the immediate future as college classes start up in a little over a week and I'm fully loaded. Don't worry, though, I won't abandon this story.

Next chapter, we spend a chapter cooling down from this last chapter and take time to mourn for those lost... and Jacob gets a little pick-me-up with some help from all 3 teams.

Review, follow, favorite, do as you wish, but I will see you all... in the next chapter... buh-bye~!

EDIT: Re-worked the fight scene between Jacob and the White Fang boy, added usage of both the pocket knife and the IEDs from previous chapters during the entire operation.