(A/N) So, this chapter jumps around a lot, which is kinda expected as it's the hero's timeskip chapter. A lot of scenes don't really feed into eachother all that well, but I needed to cover a lot of small events before the finale arc.

And speaking of the finale… you guys remember when I said the Volume 1 finale arc would only be a chapter or two and it ended up being four expanded chapters? Now you remember when I said the Volume 2 finale arc was only going to be two chapters? Yeah, it'll be three at least. There's a lot to cover.

Aaaanyways, on with this chapter!


Volume Two

Chapter Fourteen – Normalcy


/-\ Weiss Schnee /-\


"So… where is this shop again?" My partner asked.

I rolled my eyes. "It's in a… remote part of Vale." I said, leading the team towards said shop. "I've been there a few times during my time as an heiress and I can personally vouch for the modiste's skill."

"Weiss, we're just across the river from the agricultural district." Blake deadpanned. "I doubt a dressmaker good enough for the Schnees to patronize would have a shop here."

I shrugged. "It's not my fault Mister Adel decided to run his business out of his house."

"Wait, Adel as in Coco Adel?" Ruby asked.

I blinked. "I actually don't know. I never realized they share a surname." I said, rounding a corner. Our conversation died on our lips when we saw a UNSC Troop-type Warthog parked in the intersection, waiting at a red light. I turned to my partner. "Is there… anything going on?"

"I don't know." She said, causing me to raise an eyebrow. She shrugged. "Just because I'm a lieutenant commander doesn't mean I know everything we're doing." She said. "Well, whatever it is, it's probably a noncombat op. Also, it probably has something to do with that crowd over there."

I looked to where she was pointing and sure enough, a small crowd was gathered around a squad of UNSC Marines. They stood at attention, weapons held in front of them as others assembled a chain-link fence around an enormous box. The crowd didn't look angry. In fact, many had their scrolls out and were taking pictures.

"Any idea what they're doing?" I asked.

"Let's find out." She said, marching off without us.

Blake and I glanced at each other before following. "Does she do this a lot?" Valkea asked from behind us. My feline friend hummed in affirmation.

Soon enough, we caught up to my partner, who was politely waiting for us before barging through the crowd. She didn't knock anyone over or anything, but she obviously didn't believe in being polite either.

Within moments, we were in the front and she approached the nearest Marine. He must've recognized her because he instantly snapped a salute. "Lieutenant Commander."

She nodded. "At ease. I'm off-duty, Corporal."

He relaxed. "Yes ma'am. What brings you out here?"

"Saw you guys from down the street; just wondering what's going on."

He jerked his head towards the box behind him. "We recovered a lot of archer pods from the wreck in orbit; Brass has us settin' 'em up all over the city."

She hummed. "Not my first choice of anti-ship weapons, buuuut I guess it beats having nothing."

He chuckled. "Guess the commander agrees with ya. Is there anything else I can help ya with? Not that I don't mind talking, it's just the locals are a bit skittish around us. I've been standing here for three hours and you're the first one to actually ask any questions."

"But would you actually answer their questions?" She said, chuckling.

"Actually, we're under orders to do so. Something about making them feel safer."

She shrugged. "That's a good point." Suddenly, someone tapped me on the shoulder.

I turned around and was met with a rather raggedy-looking man. "Hey, you're Weiss Schnee, right?"

"I am." I said, sternly, as my hand slowly drifted to the pommel of my Myrtenaster. "Do you need something?"

He smiled. "I just… I wanted to say thank you."

I blinked. "…For what?"

"For saving me. Hell, for saving us!" He shouted, drawing the attention of everyone around us. "You got us all outta Atlas. I honestly never thought I'd see a Schnee down on the front lines."

I was about to mention that my sister was a specialist, but then the people started murmuring about my identity. Inevitably, one asked for an autograph. Then another. And another. And. Another. I sighed; this was going to be a long day…


/-\ Valkea Khan /-\


"Ugh, I thought we'd never get away from them…" I groaned.

"Tch, you're not the only one." Weiss said, working out her hand. "I don't think I've signed that many papers during my entire time as the heiress."

I rolled my eyes. "How much further?"

"Only another couple blocks."

Ruby sighed. "Well, that's good. Let's just get this over with already." She said. "I still don't know why you're making us get dresses for the dance so early; it's almost a month away and none of us even have dates." She shrugged. "I wasn't even planning on going."

"Oh, hush. You don't know what you're missing."

"I've got a pretty good idea, and to be honest, I'd kinda rather spend the night at the range."

"Oooof course you would." She muttered. "Well, you're not. Given your umm… upbringing… I insist that you at least attend this dance."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine…" She said as we entered the quote-unquote 'shop'. "But I'm not wearing heels."

I glanced at Blake, who merely shrugged and started browsing. There was only one other customer inside the small garage-based store. She was busy talking to the man I assumed to be the owner at the counter on the other side of the store.

Weiss sighed. "Ruby, what else are you going to wear? And don't say your combat boots."

"I mean, she could go with flats." Blake said, holding up a dark blue dress.

She pinched her nose. "Not helping, Blake."

"Or sandals."

"Blake…"

"Or boots."

"Blake!"

"Actually…" Ruby interrupted. "I put in an order a while ago for a dress uniform… why don't I just wear that?"

"A dress… uniform." Weiss said slowly. "Ruby-"

"What's wrong with that? It'd be a lot more comfortable than some dress!"

She crossed her arms. "It's just a bit… unconventional."

"Heh, and I'm super conventional?"

She rolled her eyes. "Point." She said, resting her hand in her palm. "Fine, fine. I suppose I should be happy I convinced you to come at all."

I chuckled a little at the Schnee getting browbeat into-

I shook my head. 'She's a person, Valkea.' I reminded myself. 'She isn't her father.'

"Umm… e- excuse me?" I jumped a little at the unknown voice behind me. "Ah, sorry! I didn't mean to scare you." I turned around and saw a boy, no older than fifteen, staring back at me. "It's just… I recognized you from the news and… oh, who am I kidding? I probably sound like a stalker or something."

"Umm… it's okay?" I said, leaning away slightly.

He sighed in relief. "Oh, thank the gods." He said. "I just… you're one of the huntresses that went to space, right?"

I blinked in confusion. "…Yeah? Why?"

"I just wanted to know what it's like up there. I mean, I saw the picture on the news, but… how can it be so beautiful?"

"I have no idea. And honestly, the picture doesn't do it justice." I said. "Seeing Remnant with your own eyes… nothing can beat it."

He sighed. "I wish I could've gone…" He muttered. "Hopefully I'll see it someday."

"Well…" Ruby said, suddenly joining our conversation. "Play your cards right and you just might. Are you a student at Signal?"

He shook his head. "No… I'm just some Mistralian farmhand who was at the wrong place at the wrong time."

She raised an eyebrow. "Lán Guānkou?"

He nodded. "Lán Guānkou."

She hummed. "How old are you?"

"Umm… fourteen, why?"

She frowned. "Damn. I'd've gotten you in contact with the UNSC if you were a couple years older. We could really use the manpower right about now." She said. "So… what're you doing now? Got any family here? A place to stay?"

"Not really. I've just been bouncing from farm to farm doing odd jobs."

"You didn't go to an orphanage?"

He shook his head. "It just… it didn't feel right." He said. "Even if they had any room left, I can work for my food and my bed... there's a lot of other kids who can't."

Ruby gave a satisfied frown, nodding. "Now I really wish you were a few years older. That's the kind of attitude we need in the UNSC." She said. "Y'know, if ya want, we can probably find a spot for ya in Reavia."

"Uhh… thanks, but... I've had enough of living in the wilds for now. I'd just like to see the city for a bit."

She shrugged. "Well, if you change your mind, just go to Beacon and ask for Lieutenant Commander Rose; I'll get ya in touch with the right people. Oh, and what's your name? Probably need to know that instead of just 'Mistralian Farmboy'." She said, smirking.

"Oh! I'm uh… I'm Oscar. Oscar Pine." He said, idly glancing at his watch. Suddenly, his eyes widened. "Oh, gods! I'm gonna be late!" He shouted, taking off.

I glanced at Ruby, who shrugged. "Good kid." She said. "Oh by the way, Weiss is probably wondering where you are right now. You should probably find her before she-"

"There you are!" The girl in question shouted. "We're already done picking out Blake's dress. You're next."

I glanced at Ruby again, who just shrugged. I sighed; at least it was just dress shopping…


/-\ Embra Autumnos /-\


I took a deep breath, holding my power within myself as I stood across from my teacher in the dimly lit vault of Beacon. Chrys's eyes ignited in their signature blue flame as she coated herself in an icy carapace similar in appearance to an Arma Gigas.

"Good." She said. "Now channel it."

I did so; closing my eyes as I felt my power pulse through my veins with every heartbeat. I took another deep breath, pushing the power into Milo. I could feel the wisps as they gathered around the spear-form weapon as the [Force] built up in and around the weapon, turning it into something… else. Something new.

"Strike." She commanded.

My eyes snapped open as I reached into Pyrrha's memories. My muscles acted on their own, calling upon the years of long, grueling training that my mother-of-sorts had gone through with this weapon. I, however, still had to think when it came to the power I now wielded, and as the spear's tip thrust forward, I commanded the [Force] to shoot forward.

What came out, however, wasn't just [Force], it was strong. [Gale], my memories supplied. Chrys's eyes widened at the sight of what I'd unleashed and tried to dodge. The [Gale] shattered the icy armor on her left arm all the way up to her shoulder, spinning her around several times over before she finally fell to the ground.

I gasped, dropping Μilo where I stood and rushing to her side. She groaned as I slid down next to her prone form. "Chrys!" I yelled. "Are you alright?!"

"Ugh, not so loud…" She said before sitting up. "Yeah, I'm good. Aura took the hit."

I glanced at her shattered armor. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't worry about it." She said as she stood up, dusting herself off. "You're getting a lot better with control. I mean, it's only been a couple weeks and you've already unlocked a second-level technique!"

I blinked, standing up and meeting her almost exactly at eye-level. I frowned when I realized I was wearing three-inch heels, but quickly shook the thought from my mind. "Second level?"

She paused. "Oh, sorry. That's just me and my dad's way of keeping track of things. There's a few 'levels' we've come up with; level zero is basic conjuring. Basically, can you make a basic elemental force? And not the force that you keep using, I just mean like… a flame, or some water, or wind. Level one is direction; can you take a level zero force and send it somewhere? That's what you've been doing this entire time; taking your force and directing it. Level two, though, that's focus; what we've been working on."

"Oh." I let out. "Where are you on this scale?"

"Only a level above you, actually. I can make armor and stuff with manipulation, which is level three, but I'm still working on… whatever's next." She said. "To be honest, I'm not all that good at the whole Maiden thing. I'm actually really surprised how quickly you're learning. It took me like… a year to go from level one to level two, and here you are doing it in two weeks flat." She shook her head, amused. "It's almost like you've done this… before…" A look of understanding dawned on her face. "Oh. Sorry."

I shrugged. "If it gives me an edge against my assailant, I won't refuse a little help."

She shrugged. "I wouldn't either; doesn't mean I can't be a little jealous, though."

I stared at her. "Two people effectively died to make me." I said. "If I were you, I would not be jealous."

She grinned sheepishly. "Right… uhh… sorry. Forgot about that."

I hummed. "Just don't bring it up again." I said, shaking my head. "So, what will we be working on next?"

"Actually, we've got something a little special lined up for you."

"We?" I asked, shortly before I saw the elevator door open in the distance. Two figures emerged; both cloaked. As they got closer, I recognized one as Ruby and the other as Professor Goodwitch.

"Embra." She greeted. "Chrysanthemum."

"Hey mom." Chrys said.

I blinked, as did Ruby. "Wait… did you just call her 'mom'?" I asked.

She nodded. "Well, it'd be kinda weird to call my actual mom anything else, wouldn't it?"

Ruby and I both stared at them, my friend looking between them confusedly. "Wait, isn't Ironwood your father?" Chrys nodded and Ruby looked back at Goodwitch. "So you and him…"

"Yes." She said. "During a… ehem… a night in which far too much liquor was consumed."

"Oh." Ruby let out before studying Chrys some more. "Actually, I kinda see it; especially the eyes." Goodwitch cleared her throat. "Oh, right!" She said, turning back to me. "So!" She said. "You're probably wondering why we're here."

"That is one of the many questions I've asked myself in the last few minutes, yes."

"Okay, well, long story short… fight me."

I blinked. "Fight… you?" I said. "If I recall correctly, you beat Pyrrha quite handily. Why do you want to fight me?"

"Because it's not about winning against me. I'm here to see if you're ready to rejoin combat class."

My brows furrowed. "I don't understand. I've been attending that class ever since my team's break ended."

"Yeah, but have you actually been called on?"

I thought for a moment. "No."

"Then ya haven't really rejoined it yet, have you?"

"I suppose not." I frowned. "Any special rules for this spar?"

"Just one; no Maiden powers." She smirked. "Well, that and don't try to kill me, but that should be obvious."

I blinked. "Might I ask why I cannot use my powers?"

"Because you won't be able to use them in combat class, Miss Nik… Miss Autumnos." Professor Goodwitch said. "If you are unable to hold them back, you will not be permitted to rejoin. Miss Rose will evaluate your actual combat skill while I evaluate your self-control."

"Very well." I said, picking up Milo and assuming a combat stance. "I'm ready when you are."

She smirked. "We'll see." She said before charging me, not even bothering to draw a weapon.

My eyes narrowed. 'What is she playing at?' I wondered as she approached. I held firm until she entered my weapon's range, but instead of stabbing at her, I stepped to the side and swung the butt-end of my spear towards her face.

She ducked at the last moment, delivering a swift palm-strike to the back of my skull before I even knew what was going on. I gasped, striking out with my heel in a desperate attempt to get her away from me. I missed.

My opponent grabbed my leg and threw it upwards, sending me to the ground. I barely rolled out of the way of her punch, springing back to my feet in a move that even surprised myself. I got over my shock quickly and stuck out once more with my spear, this time with the bladed end.

Somehow, I managed to just barely nick her. "Lucky shot." She said, smirking. Instead of responding, I threw another strike, though this one missed. "Smart." She said. The next thing I knew, I was on my ass and my face hurt.

I groaned, trying to scramble to my feet. And now I was flying, a receding pain in my ribs. I shook my head, quickly shifting Milo to its rifle form and shooting a gravity round to my side, propelling me into the wall.

I leaped off it with the assistance of another round, loosing several more as I flew back towards Ruby. My eyes narrowed, suspecting she was up to something when she just stood there, unmoving. I changed my strategy, whipping the rifle around and taking shots at her directly.

The first round actually hit, catching her off guard, but the subsequent ones did not. However, due to the recoil, I landed fairly softly, shifting my weapon back to its spear form. Before the transformation was even complete, she was on me again.

Blow after blow came at me. I tried to counterattack, but she intercepted every one with a strike of her own. After one particularly hard strike to the head, I was back on the floor. She flipped me onto my stomach and pinned me down with her sheer body mass. I struggled and struggled but could not get free.

"Tap out." She said, calmly.

I sighed, ceasing my struggle.

She got off me and when I rolled over, saw she'd extended me a hand. I took it. "Y'know, you didn't do half-bad."

My gaze trailed to the floor. "But I'm not as good as Pyrrha."

She frowned. "Well, no, but we can fix that."

I blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I think you're good enough for combat class; at least against lower or maybe mid-tier opponents, right Goodwitch?"

She nodded. "Indeed. I did not see any usage of her powers. Though I would suggest she not be paired with low-tier opponents; she would beat a brainless brute like Cardin any day of the week."

"Good point." She said, shrugging. "But there's another thing, Embra. Do you remember attending Team RWBY's morning workout sessions?"

"You want to put her through that?!" Goodwitch shouted. "Miss Rose, need I remind you that Ozpin specifically asked you to tone it down with your team's workout intensity? In addition, isn't there a spy in your midst?"

"We're making significant progress on her, actually." She said. "Valkea's beginning to question the White Fang; at least enough to befriend a Schnee."

"And what if that's a ruse?"

"Weiss has spent her entire life surrounded by people who just wanted to use her. I think she'd be able to tell if Valkea was faking it."

Goodwitch crossed her arms. "Very well, but that doesn't dispel my concerns about the intensity of your training."

She shook her head. "Do you know how I learned how to fight?" She asked. "I got beat into the ground again and again. After each time, I got back up and said 'More, Sir!'" She chuckled. "You hold their hands too much around here. Hell, after a semester of my training, Team RWBY was the best team in Beacon. And even with Yang gone, the three of us could probably beat some fourth-year teams." She nodded to me. "Embra has enemies and she needs to get good. This is the fastest way to do it."

"Umm… don't I get a say in this matter?" I asked.

Goodwitch sighed. "I suppose you should, Miss Autumnos."

"Thank you." I said before glancing at Ruby. "I'd be happy to take you up on your offer."

My Professor blinked in surprise. "Excuse me?"

"Glad to have ya aboard! Be in the courtyard at oh-five-hundred tomorrow."

"You aren't ready for this yet." Goodwitch said.

My eyes narrowed. "I do remember the few times Pyrrha attended their sessions and, with all due respect, you're blowing it out of proportion, Professor Goodwitch." I said, turning to the elevator. "Now, I do believe I have class coming up soon. I should get ready."

Ruby nodded, turning to Chrys. "We've still gotta do that spar sometime."

"Well, I've been busy with Embra." She said. "She learns fast."

They kept talking, but I couldn't hear it anymore as the elevator doors closed. Soon enough, I'd be with my team again. I couldn't wait to tell Jaune all about my progress.


/-\ Emanuel Witherson /-\


I walked, hands clasped behind my back, towards the observation deck of this vessel. It wasn't my own vessel, no, instead it was the crashed destroyer, Road Paved With Red.

"Commander." Alice chimed in my ear. "I've finished the report you've asked me to compile. That, and by the time you're done in Reavia, I'll've finished sorting through that hard drive Penny gave us."

I tisked. "Bout damn time; it's taken us way too long to decode that thing."

"Well, sir, it wasn't our fault the connector got rattled in transit."

I shook my head, approaching the bulkhead. "Still, it gave us a lot more trouble than it should've…" I muttered, entering. There was only one other person on the observation deck; an off-duty sailor by the looks of him.

I strode up to the window, nodding to the sailor as I passed but otherwise paying him no mind. I smiled when I saw the progress on the colony. A large section of forest had already been cleared on this side of the crash site, a space almost large enough to fit an entire second destroyer inside the compound.

Our limited supply of tanks sat guard along the perimeter, a network of trenches connecting their positions. Behind them, earthen walls were being built, their fronts reinforced with logs and their backs sloping down into the new compound. It was temporary, but it'd work until we got enough titanium-A down from the Devil's Hand to build proper walls.

As I was admiring the new walls, a pair of Pelicans swooped down from above, a rampart five-centimeter turret slung between them. They carefully lowered it into position just behind the wall in between two tanks, a crowd of engineers directing them.

A few tents popped up as well, the beds in the Road not being enough to accommodate the four-thousand new residents of Reavia even with hotbunking in effect. A few buildings were already springing up, namely a security station next to what will become one of the city gates as well as an odd-looking building. Right now, it had no walls; only a roof, some equipment, and a connection to the destroyer.

"Alice, what's that building?"

"That's the hydrogen refinery, sir."

"Huh. I thought it'd look a bit different." I said. "I'd imagine it's just electrolysis, right? We can't've gotten a deuterium plant up and running yet."

"That's correct, sir." She said. "Oh, and your escort should be arriving in ten minutes."

I nodded. "Best be going, then." I said, turning around and exiting the observation deck. "It's nice to see us building something for once…" I muttered.

It was a short jaunt to the hangar bay, now converted into a garage. Inside was bustling with activity. A Valerian-made truck was unloading supplies with the aid of a pair of Cyclopes, a full half of those saved from Reach aboard the Odinsdottir. A quartet of Faunus gathered around an ODST with his helmet off, learning the ins and outs of a BR55. A Warthog pulled into the garage, my escorts acting as its driver and gunner.

They stopped right in front of me, the Spartan I was waiting for looking right at me. "Commander." She said, saluting. "Are we ready to go?"

I drew a pistol from my hip and made sure I had a round in the chamber before replacing it. I nodded, getting in the passenger side. "I'd say so, Lieutenant Commander."

"Alright, heading off." She said, backing out of the hangar and onto the makeshift titanium-A ramp. We spun around once we reached the ground, traveling through Reavia at a sedate pace as to not alarm anyone. As we passed the tent city, I realized that commerce was already establishing itself; one of the tents had a sign outside saying 'Pelts for sale'. I doubted he'd be getting any business anytime soon, but I couldn't blame him for trying.

"There's an awful lot of Faunus here…" My other escort observed.

"I'm as surprised as you are, Belladonna." I said. "After we did a headcount, we realized the immigrants from Vale were pretty much all Faunus; four-thousand of them to thirty-three Humans."

We rolled past a drill instructor marching around his class of two dozen Faunus, all singing the ODST cadence. "Conscripts?" She asked, a dangerous edge to her voice.

"Even if we wanted to, we already don't have enough D-I's to go around." I chuckled. "Nope; we're volunteer-only at the moment, and there sure as hell isn't a shortage of them after what happened in Atlas."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear." She said as we finally exited the gate. "Umm… you're sure it's a good idea to bring me?"

I nodded absentmindedly. "You know the White Fang better than anyone else here. You even knew their High Leader personally."

"Yeah, that's the problem." She said. "It'll be… awkward. She might think I've sold out to the Humans… or something."

"Well, too late to back out now, Blakey." Rose said. "Plus, I doubt she'd wanna see Weiss, and if you think it'll be awkward with you, try Valkea."

I could practically hear her cringe as we sped off through the forest. "Yeah… that wouldn't be fun for anyone."

They quieted down after that exchange, Belladonna idly scanning the forest as we made our way to the meeting point. The occasional small Grimm blocked our path, but the fifty-cal made short work of them and thirty minutes later, we arrived.

"Alice, status on the QRF?"

"Ready and waiting to drop feet-first into hell, sir."

I nodded. "Good. We're disembarking now." I said as all three of us continued into the woods. For obvious reasons, Rose left Wilt and Blush behind, though she still had Noble Rose and Onyx Rose; Belladonna, on the other hand, retained her signature weapons.

I kept my own pistol holstered through the short trek into the wilderness. Only a little ways off the path, we found a small clearing, the White Fang already standing within.

"Commander Witherson, I presume?" Their High Leader herself, Sienna Khan, said. I eyed her two bodyguards warily. One was easily as tall as Rose, a chainsaw at his feet. The other stood barely taller than Sienna's waist, the Faunus glancing over us as his snake tongue flickered in and out of his mouth.

I nodded. "That I am, assuming you're High Lady Khan."

"Indeed." She said, her eyes glancing to Belladonna. "So this is where you've been, Blake." She said. "Both myself and Adam were quite upset at your abandonment of our cause."

Her eyes narrowed. "I didn't abandon the cause, and you know that." She sighed. "But we're not here about that. Commander?"

"Belladonna's right, High Leader." I said. "I think we both know who the real enemy is here. The Covenant killed both Humans and Faunus indiscriminately in Atlas. They'll do the same everywhere else if they aren't stopped and the best way to do that is to band together."

"Are you seriously suggesting that the White Fang, an organization that has dedicated the past half-decade to fighting Humanity for the equality we deserve, suddenly ally with Humans?"

I sighed. "Ma'am, I'm going to be straight with you. The absolute least I want out of this meeting is a non-aggression pact between the White Fang and the UNSC. We won't attack you, you won't attack us, but we don't need to be allies for that to happen."

She shifted a little, eyebrow raised. "A non-aggression pact…" She muttered before her eyes snapped to Belladonna. "How have they treated the Faunus under their care?"

She blinked. "W- Wha?"

"I have sources that say a large number of Atlesian Faunus were relocated to Reavia." She said. "Seeing as you've joined them, I want to know how they're treated."

"Umm… well, as far as I can tell, they're treated just like Humans…" She trailed off, looking at Rose.

"She hasn't spent very much time in Reavia, but I might be able to answer your questions better." She said.

Khan frowned. "And why would I trust the word of a Human?" She scoffed. "Your people's words have always been so easily broken."

She shrugged. "That's fair, but how's about a half-Faunus?" She said, taking off her helmet and reaching into one of her pockets. Slowly, she withdrew the hand and revealed a picture, showing it to them. "Notice the family resemblance?"

Her eyes squinted for a moment. "Vermilion." She said, causing the Snake Faunus to nod and slowly approach.

He stopped a few paces in front of Rose, glancing between her face and the picture. "Is she a clone?" He asked.

I blinked, opening my mouth to respond, but the Lieutenant Commander beat me to it. "If I was, I'd've been dead for a long time now." She said. "Clones only last a few weeks; a month at best." She nodded to Belladonna. "How long've you known me?"

"Half-a-year, at least."

The Faunus nodded, retreating to his side of the clearing. "I think she's telling the truth, High Leader."

"Thank you, Vermilion." She said, nodding. "Now, soldier, how are the Faunus treated in Reavia?"

"Like citizens of the United Earth Government." She said. "The agreement with Vale was that any that wished to start a new life in Reavia were to be given citizenship. They're our people as much as yours and we take care of our own."

She studied her expression for a tense moment. "…Very well." She said, finally. "This… non-aggression pact. It is as simple as you said, correct?"

I nodded. "Yes ma'am; you don't attack us, we don't attack you. Nothing more, nothing less."

She sighed. "I believe those terms to be… acceptable."

The giant's form stiffened. "Lady Khan, you can't be seriously considering their words?!" He said in a hushed shout. "They're Humans. Their word means as much as a Grimmbone Peddler's!"

"They've kept it so far, Banesaw." She said. "I specified that only two guards were allowed. That they kept to that term at least bought them enough trust for us to not attack them."

"Sienna, you're making a mistake!"

"I am doing what I believe is best for our people, Lieutenant." She said, her voice low. "We're done here. Tell Brother Adam that nothing bearing the UNSC's emblem or allegiance is to be attacked." She glanced at us. "And also inform him that if they break the pact… no prisoners shall be taken."

He remained silent for a moment. "…Understood, High Leader."

"It will be, Banesaw." She said before turning back to us. "I have things to attend to. Good day, Commander."

I nodded. "And to you, High Leader." I said, turning back to the Warthog, my escorts in tow.


"Commander on deck!" I heard, entering the Odinsdottir's bridge.

"At ease." I said, sliding into my chair. "Alice, you mentioned your report was done?"

"Correct, Commander." She said, her nineteenth century naval officer's uniform-wearing avatar appearing in front of me. "Would you like me to send it to your quarters for later review?"

"As long as there's nothing urgent in there, yes." I said. "Anything else?"

"Ah, yes, I just finished decrypting the hard drive a few minutes ago… parsing now."

I raised an eyebrow. "Anything interesting?"

"The larger files are taking significantly longer to parse, but what little I have done of them suggests either something to do with the esoteric nature of the soul, or advanced robotics. I honestly can't tell at this point."

"Oh-kay…" I let out. "How about the smaller ones?"

"Let's see… mostly shipboard weapons. Several designs for shipboard pulse laser canons; some with a yield of fifty megajoules, but several have yields exceeding thirty gigajoules. And an air-launched torpedo capable of destroying unshielded Covenant vessels."

I hummed. "That'll be useful until we can get archer production set up. We'll have to get in touch with Ozpin and find an ordnance manufacturer we can trust."

"Indeed, sir." She said a moment before her avatar flickered for a moment.

"Something happen?" I asked, eyebrow raised.

"Umm… I do believe I've parsed the hard drive, sir."

"And? Anything to report?"

She nodded. "That girl we worked with, sir. She's… I'm having trouble putting it into words." She said, pausing for a moment. "For lack of a better term, she's an AI… somewhat."

I blinked. "An AI?"

"Not a perfect descriptor, I'll admit. Her creation, unlike a typical UNSC AI's, did not involve the scanning of her progenitor's brain. Instead, her very soul was mapped." She said, causing everyone on the bridge to stop what they were doing and look at her. "That's what the majority of the hard drive contained. Blueprints for her gynoid body and ones for the machine that scanned her soul."

I took a deep breath before standing up. "Everyone who heard that is not to repeat a word of it. Ever." I said. "That information is now classified as confidential. Do not repeat it. Do I make myself clear?" A cacophony of 'yes sir's sounded throughout the bridge. "Good, now back to your stations." I said, sitting down in my chair. "Alice, analyze her behavior. If she's rampant, we'll move to neutralize her. If not… we'll offer her a job sometime in the future."


/-\ Weiss Schnee /-\


I took a deep breath and pointed my Myrtenaster at an open section of the pavilion, summoning a glyph.

"Excellent form." My sister said. "Now, think to your foes. The enemies that forced you to move past who you were to become who you are. They are the easiest to summon."

I nodded, picturing the imposing and armored form of the Arma Gigas. I imagined its enormous greatsword swinging about. I imagined the monster so large it could crush any resistance beneath its boots…

…including the man I'd shot.

I stiffened, immediately backtracking to the image of the Arma Gigas, but everywhere I looked, the man was still there. His face was inside the construct's helmet. His reflection shone upon its armor. His throat was bleeding through the gorget.

I shook my head and dispelled the glyph. "I… I need a break." I said.

She raised an eyebrow. "Having trouble picturing an opponent?" She asked, leaning in. "Or did you see something you didn't want to see?"

I looked away. "Just… having trouble is all..."

She frowned. "I see…" She said before turning away. "Come. I have prepared tea."

I did so, feeling guilty that I just lied to my sister's face. We sat down, each pouring ourselves a cup from the pot of tea on the table. It was cold by now, but Winter and I both preferred it that way.

"So, I'm told Beacon's annual dance is coming up. Are you going?" She asked.

I nodded. "Yes, though I don't have a date yet. Honestly, I don't even know who would go with me." I frowned. "Well, other than Arc, though there's a better chance of Whitley suddenly joining a huntsman academy than for me to say yes to him."

She took a sip. "It's not required that you specifically go with someone, as I'm sure you know, though I'm sure you will find the right man to take you." She smirked. "Or woman."

I nearly choked on my tea. "W- Winter!" I shouted, blushing. "You know I'm straight!"

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Weiss." She said, calmly sipping at her drink. "I myself have found the fairer sex to be quite attractive." A light dusting of red spread over her cheeks.

I blinked. "W- wait, you're a lesbian?"

"Bisexual, actually." She clarified; the blush already gone. "Though I doubt our dear father would care for such semantics should I fall for a woman."

I huffed. "What can he even do at this point? We're both disinherited, it's not like he has any leverage over us anymore." I said. "But… I had no idea you umm… swung that way, I believe the phrase is."

"Would you believe me if I told you I discovered it through a dare during my academy days?"

"A… dare?" I asked. "That… doesn't sound like you."

She shrugged. "I wanted to try new things and my then-teammates were more than happy to oblige." She said, finally finishing off the last of her tea. "I likely should have told you sooner, but it never seemed relevant."

"…I suppose not." I said, staring into my half-filled cup.

She suddenly stood up. "I believe that is enough of a break, let us continue practicing."

I fidgeted a little. "Umm… actually…" I said. "Could we just… talk for a while? I… I can practice on my own when you're busy, but even though we've been stuck here for the past month now, we hardly see each other outside of class."

She stared at me for a moment before her normally stoic face took on a brief flash of… guilt? "Of course." She said, sliding back into her chair. "Is there anything specific you wanted to talk about?"

I shook my head. "Not really…" I said. "So… umm… what have you been working on?"

She glanced behind her. "This is too open for my more… sensitive activities, but lately…" She trailed off, launching into an explanation of her non-classified assignments. I butt in with questions every now and again, but honestly? I was just happy to talk to my sister again.


/-\ Ruby Rose /-\


I held my head high as I arrived at my destination and parked my Mongoose, getting out with a spring in my step. A pair of VDF rangers approached, but a quick show of my UNSC military ID got them to let me into the fenced-off area. In the distance, I could hear the reason why I was so high-strung.

A tank.

An honest to god tank; not some hackjob that a redneck made. Funnily enough, said hackjob was rolling by in the distance, likely in the middle of testing out the few modifications the UNSC had given it once we'd accepted the redneck's offer. It was nothing extensive, a few smoke grenade launchers and a better mount for its weapons, but it would dramatically increase the quote-unquote 'tank's usefulness.

I chuckled; if we ever depended on that thing, we've already lost.

I shook my head, glancing back towards the hill I heard the tank coming from. All in the sudden, a flat slab of metal began slowly crawling out from behind cover, a machinegun poking out of the hull off-center.

My elation slowly turned to horror as the… monstrosity revealed itself. 'Holy shit, it's like the lovechild of a British Mark One and an A7V…' I realized, seeing the sponsons of the former bolted onto the boxy frame of the latter. Like the Mark One, it had four guns on each side, two cannons and two machineguns, but unlike that tank, its tracks didn't go all the way over the top of the vehicle; instead, being nearly invisible under the massive armored hull. Oddly enough, a large rotary machinegun that wouldn't look too out of place on a Warthog stuck up from the rear of the tank.

I sighed as it approached at a normal Human's powerwalking pace, the engines roaring as it propelled the monstrosity forward. It stopped a few meters away, leaving me staring at what was clearly a door; the Valerian twin axes emblazoned below the words 'VDF Little Red Bow'.

I shook my head. 'Who the hell let them design this?' I thought as the door opened. Out stepped a short middle-aged man in a green trenchcoat, a perpetual frown etched into his features.

"UNSC?" He asked, tapping a few things on his datapad. I nodded. "I thought the commander himself was supposed to be here."

"Things've been busy in Reavia." I said. "He thought it would be better if I just came."

"Very well." He said before banging on the door with his fist. "Come on out! UNSC's here for inspection!"

A few moments later, people started pouring out of the tank. I expected four, maybe five people to crew the vehicle, but as the people lined up, I realized that estimate was off; way off. As the last person exited the tank, ten men and women, including the one I'd spoken to, stood before me.

I hid my surprise as I glanced over each crewmember, all except for the one I'd spoken with wearing the uniform of VDF regulars. My eyes, however, hovered on a single person. "Oscar?" I let out, causing him to do a double take. "Since when are you in the VDF?"

"A uhh… a couple weeks ago?" He said, suddenly looking a lot more nervous than before. "I just thought that if the Covenant were driven back, maybe Mistral would open its borders again and I could go home." He looked back to the vehicle. "Then when I'm just about to enter basic training, they pull me out so I can work on these things."

I couldn't fault his logic, and even though I know he lied about his age to get in, I didn't care. Hell, he's almost three times the age I was when I joined the UNSC.

The Ranger cleared his throat. "I assume you two know each other?"

"Not really. We met almost a month ago, but haven't seen each other since."

He hummed in affirmation. "Private Pine!" He shouted, causing Oscar to snap to attention. "Show her around the tank and answer any questions she has. Everyone else, grab a water!"

"Yes sir!" Everyone shouted. I sighed, getting into the tank with him and very quickly concluding that Remnant should never be allowed to design another tank unsupervised…


/-\ Blake Belladonna /-\


"So, do you think she'll actually show up?" I asked, trying my hardest to ignore all the ballgoers around me. Even if I didn't like the attendees, I could still appreciate how well Team CFVY did with the decorations. It still looked mostly like a formal ball, but the fog machines and occasional glowstick chain gave it just enough of a party atmosphere to make it interesting.

Weiss huffed. "She better be." She said. "If not, I'll cut off her grenade supply."

"Because that'll last." I joked. "Also, I still don't know why you insisted we all come; none of us even have dates."

She rolled her eyes playfully. "Because you uncultured cretins need to learn to appreciate the finer things in life."

I smacked her lightly. "Of course, your imperial majesty." I said with a slight bow.

We sat in silence for a few moments before bursting into laughter. "Honestly," She started. "those never get old. Especially since there's another princess here."

I chuckled. "Remember when we started here and you absolutely hated being compared to a princess?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but her expression darkened. "…She just lost her team." She let out.

I blinked. "What?"

"Noble, I mean." She said. "After I stormed out of our first class, I unknowingly compared her to a Brute simply because she called me a princess." She facepalmed. "Gods, I was such a princess back then, wasn't I?"

I hummed.

"Hey!" A masculine voice shouted from nearby. We both whipped towards the source, seeing an… oddly dressed Monkey Faunus. For whatever reason, he decided that blue jeans, a polo shirt, and a tie was the correct outfit to wear to a formal dance. He marched up to us. "You're the ones from the docks!"

I glanced at Weiss, who shrugged. "You'll need to be more specific." I said.

"You got me arrested!" He shouted.

"Ugh, do you have even the slightest idea of how little that narrows it down?" Weiss asked. I discretely moved my hand to the knife I'd concealed in my dress, my eyes flicking to his tail.

"Really? C'mon, I winked at you," He pointed to me. "then that big girl tripped me and the cops put me in jail. How can't you remember that?"

I frowned. "Well, if this is your way of getting a dance, I don't think it's working."

He looked at me as if I'd grown another head. "What are you talking about? I already have a date!" His eyes flicked to the ground. "Well… maybe, if she shows up… bu- but that's not the point!"

Suddenly, a flash of recognition washed over Weiss's face. "Oh, you're the stowaway." She let out. "Listen, it's great to see you've abandoned your life of crime and all, but we'd like to be left alone."

He sighed. "Look, I just want an apology."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. We're sorry for getting you arrested after you very clearly broke the law. Now can you please leave?"

"Fine, fine, fine, I'll- ah!" He let out, freezing up as a loud slap echoed throughout the ballroom. A girl in a neapolitan-themed dress emerged from behind him. She was pretty short; shorter than Weiss, probably. Instead of speaking, she made several hand gestures, a leering smirk on her face. "Oh, uhh… thanks?" He let out.

"What did she say?" I asked, curious.

He turned to me, a light blush on his cheeks. "Oh, uhh… she likes my shirt."

She rolled her green eyes, pulling out a scroll from seemingly nowhere and furiously typed out a sentence. {I said I can see his rock-hard abs through it.} She smirked as he shrunk back. {Now if you'll excuse us…} She typed before dragging him off.

We both watched them go, the sheer absurdity of the situation holding our attention. "I almost feel sorry for him." I said.

"Yeah, ditto." A familiar voice said from behind us.

"Wha- Ruby?!" Weiss shouted, whipping around, only to freeze in place at the sight of our leader.

The black dress uniform hugged her figure a little too tightly in my opinion, but honestly? It wasn't a bad look on her. "Hey Ruby." I said. "When did you get here?"

She shrugged. "'Few minutes ago. Also, I think Weiss is broken."

She stood up ramrod straight, blushing furiously. "Yes, hello, I umm… Need to leave go. Anywhere but here. Yes. Not here." She stammered, turning and marching away.

"And she's sure she's not gay." I said.

"Eh, she'll come around." She said. "Eventually."

I rolled my eyes. "Eventually." I agreed. "So, where's Valkea?"

"Hiding at the punch bowl."

"Should've figured." I said. "Think anyone's spiked it yet?"

She shrugged. "Night's still young; I think you're safe."

"Sounds good." I said, starting off towards my new destination. "I'm gonna go read." I said, earning a thumbs up.

After passing Jaune with a thoroughly entranced Embra in his arms, I made it to the punch bowl. Valkea was, indeed, hiding just off to the side, sitting behind the table somewhat hidden. "You know Weiss is going to drag you out, right?" I asked, pouring myself a cup.

She sighed, only grabbing a biscuit off the table.

I glanced behind me and saw some silver-haired boy, clearly drunk or high, chatting up Ruby. The second he tried to make a grab at her, he earned a swift backhand to the face, sending him sprawling to the floor. A mint-haired girl, probably his date, picked him up and rushed him out of sight.

I shook my head as I walked out, book and punch in hand. He'd probably be in the doghouse for quite a while after tonight. 'Not that he doesn't deserve it…' I thought, smirking.

Soon enough, I found a nice little nook to settle in, the night's pleasantly cool breeze blowing away the strong scents of the ballroom. I relaxed, taking out my book. I was only a few paragraphs in when my eyes caught a flicker of movement in the distance.

Peering over my book, I saw a masked woman in a black suit jumping from rooftop to rooftop. I frowned, closing my book and heading to investigate.

I dropped down into the courtyard, my Faunus ears hearing the clicking of her heels in the distance. My eyes narrowed. 'Why is someone trying to infiltrate Beacon?' I wondered, ducking behind some bushes.

I jerked in surprise when I found resistance to my movement and upon further inspection, I immediately pulled out my scroll and dialed the person who'd know what to do.

A few rings, and an eternity, later, and I heard the voice I was looking for. "Yeah, Blake?"

"Ruby, someone's infiltrating Beacon. I found a body."

Her voice lowered to a whisper. "Call your locker and delay them. I'll follow your scroll's locator with the other professors."

"Got it." I said, calling my locker and running off after the assailant.


/-\ Ruby Rose /-\


"R- Ruby?" I heard a bleary voice ask.

My gaze focused on my friend, still bedridden after last night's… incident. "Hey Blake." I said. "How're ya feeling?"

She groaned. "Like I got hit by a truck."

"Heh, you're not quite that bad off." I said. "But you did break your leg in the fall."

Her ears flattened on top of her head. "…Right…" She let out. "Did you… did you at least catch her?"

I shook my head. "I came damn close, but I was just a split second too slow to grab her."

"Well… did you at least stop her from using the computer?"

"We've got Alice crawling through the CCT system right now. If she did anything, it won't stand a chance against her." I said. "But for now, assume comms are compromised."

"Makes seeeense!" She said with a wince. "Okay… don't move the leg… got it."

"Oh yeah, that reminds me." I said. "Doc says to stay off it for a week, and that means no mission today."

Her eyes widened. "W- What?!" She shouted. "B- but then you'll-"

"Actually," I interrupted. "Oz gave us the green light to go anyways as a three-man team. He also said that between the invasion, the trip back, and last night, he thinks you've more than earned an 'A' on your own mission grade."

Her gaze trailed to the ground. "But… I don't want you guys to go alone…"

"Blake, we'll be fine. You know that."

She sighed. "Yeah, I do, but still…" She trailed off, still not meeting my eyes.

"It's fine." I reassured. "We'll bring you your books and everything. Just rest up and we'll be back to kickin' ass as a team in no time."

She glanced up at me, her ears still flat. "…If you say so." She said. "But speaking of the team… did you sleep here?"

"Yep, and so did Weiss and Valkea." I said, giving a warm smile. "They're out getting us breakfast right now; they'll be back in a minute."

For the first time since she woke up, Blake smiled. It wasn't a full one, but it was genuine all the same.


(A/N) Kinda a slower chapter, but that's alright. The next few should pick up the pace significantly.

Remember when I said I was done with shipping for the volume? While there won't be any more introduced, the ballroom scene was just too perfect to not include something like that. Also, there might be an Arkos scene or two in the finale. Nothing too mushy, buuuut I've got plans for that ship.

Don't really have much more to say, so… Reviews!

FloridaMan772 said – "What was the point of Marrow dying like that? That felt really unnecessary, and rather stupid of him to do.

Rest of the chapter was good tho. It was just that part that bothered me."

Mainly to reiterate how hypocritical Adam is, but also to have something interesting happen on that boat. And on the topic of it being stupid to do so, yeah, it was, but Marrow strikes me as the kind of person to focus on what's in front of him rather than the bigger picture. Without Clover or Ironwood to do that for him, he kinda just threw his life away for no real gain.

Also, since this kinda became a FAQ for last chapter, here's something I said about it on SB. Someone basically asked what he was thinking and here was my response: "He kinda wasn't. I see him as more of a "deal with what's in front of me and leave everything else to the bigwigs" kinda guy. That's fine when he's in a team such as the Ace Ops, but when he's on his own...

A more strategically-oriented person with the same semblance would've waited for Adam to enter the ship, freeze and restrain him there, then wait for the grunts to storm in all single-file and deal with them piecemeal.

But yeah, Marrow isn't that guy, as the RWBY vs Ace Ops fight proved."

Guest001 said – "Surely the UNSC, can defeat the virus!?"

They've got a Smart AI. Even if it's a fragment, no regular program stands a chance.

Guest003 said – "Does the CCT even work with the Atlas Tower gone!?"

Not internationally, no. In V4 onward, we saw that there was a local comms function, so they're using that.

Guest004 said – "Hey if the spirit of fire comes to remnant would it be a spirit of fire after halo wars or halo wars 2 cause that just be awesome"

Might I recommend you read "A Summer's Harvest"? It's a sidestory that's canon to this one and only about 55k words. That should answer your question.

Guest005 said – "Who was the other team that went into space!? I hope that Blake is alright!?"

It was mainly just randos. Besides Team RWVB, the only other one I mention is Coco Adel. The others are just miscellaneous huntsmen-in-training.

Guest006 said – "That ship that Adam's group intercepted, where was it initially headed!?"

To Vale from Mantle. In this world, Jacques's greed doth not stop for the apocalypse.

RazorSwordNinja said – "Cinder: Disgustingly muscular. (To Ruby)

Well...the urge to brutally kill Cinder has just increased and it already was high.

Also wanting to see Spartan!Ruby and Weiss be a couple as well is increasing mostly for that image of Weiss with her canon height kissing a Spartan high Ruby. The comments of Ruby saying Weiss should let her hair down more and teasing of her possibly not being is also feeding that fire. Although the last could just be Weiss not wanting Ruby to have more material to tease her with. Still just a fun thought.

Ruby "bursting out" of her suit is making me think either she got that suit at the last minute or she somehow couldn't find a suit in her size. Thinking back to a similar experience Gus of Rooster Teeth had despite being in a tailor store. The other option is that she is wearing her undersuit under that suit, confusing thing right there, so that she can be ready for trouble, which did happen.

Definitely excited and interested to see the heroes' perspective next chapter."

Yep, the feeling to brutally murder the little Matchstick is kinda what I was going for.

At the wedding: "You may kiss the bride." Weiss: pulls out a stepladder. Can you tell I like Whiterose? Because I like Whiterose.

"Bursting out" was mainly just Mercury being a dick. I think that's his primary personality trait, tbh.


Aaaaand that's it for today! See ya next time for "Déjà Vu". Now what's that alluding to?