Big Issues

AN: Here we go again, though this is a shorter chapter than usual. Also, thanks to JorrvaskrnMusicWolf for the favorite of this series.

Getting into Action

"On your left!" Farkas calls out. Weiss shifted to her right as the wolf faunus charged around her to plunge his clawed gauntlets into a Sabyr. The beast of darkness was already starting to fade to smoke when it hit the ground with its 'guts' torn out.

"Thanks." Weiss was sincere. That Grimm had blindsided her while she was dealing with another of its pack, forcing her to hold off its claws and fangs with her sword until assistance arrived soon after.

The mission in Mantle was a simple one to keep the Grimm from using the hole in the defensive wall around the city. The section had collapsed from a combination of age, poor maintenance, and repeated Grimm attacks. The construction crews were busy, almost unaware that the latest attack had been thwarted by the Huntsmen and Huntresses of the Ace Ops and their cadets.

"That got the blood pumping!" Elm was riding the high of combat and was content to let it settle for a bit before reporting the incident to Clover back at the wall.

It was just four of them for the mission this time since they were taking shifts. Vine, Marrow, and Harriet were due to start in an hour. There was a platoon of Knights acting as a last layer of defense if any Grimm slipped past them and Clover himself, if needed. Winter would be taking his position when the teams switched.

"So… that was what? The third pack today?" Farkas asks as he looks around the churned up snow. Winter set in early this far north and already they had a few snow storms that left a layer that was knee deep on average.

"Fourth." Weiss responded immediately. It was almost a habit to her to correct the sisters from RWBY on questions like that as they often got too excited by fights to keep track of how many they were in. Yet somehow they had little issue keeping track of their ammunition….

"Anyway, the more Grimm we kill, the safer the world is." The wolf stretches his arms, claws glinting in the sunlight. That attitude reminded Weiss heavily of Yang, especially with their very hands-on approach to combat.

"That's true." She agrees readily. She had found that becoming friends with the faunus on the team was quite easy; simply treating them like everyone else since she had mellowed out. From conversations, she had noticed that both Farkas and Marrow had chips on their shoulders about the treatment of Faunus in Atlas but they took pride in beating the system to get where they are now.

Both were skilled enough to take down Grimm with ease that she admitted would be difficult for her to match. Add in their increased senses and they made for excellent trackers and they didn't need to rely on flashlights to navigate in the dark that could give away their position to Grimm or criminals.

"Okay! We don't have much time until our shift is done. Let's make one last run across the sector and head back for some food." Elm had gotten her orders from Clover.

The big woman had always been a big eater, her sheer size and workout routine demanded as much before the Issue. Now Elm simply joked that she's always doing strength training thanks to her bulk and would use it to make her even more immovable than before. Weiss had witnessed her stopping a Megoliath as well as a solid steel wall, though steel doesn't jiggle on impact anywhere near as much. Yet, not only did Elm stop the beast, but wrenched its head by its tusks so that it fell on its side, leaving it open to attacks from her teammates.

For Weiss, Elm was like a combination of Yang and Nora with the raw strength, attitude, and huge hammer. Plus, all three had large appetites and a love for training and fighting. She could only imagine the destruction the three could create if they ever met, either having a spar in the training room or in the field, making it a contest between them to kill as many Grimm as possible over the others.

Yet another reminder of the friends she had left behind in Vale.

The final trek through the snow was as uneventful as expected and the three made their way back into the shelter of Mantle where warmth and food waited for them. Almost the moment they stepped through to the inside of the walls, the temperature rose to be far more comfortable thanks to the Fire Dust heaters that were built into the curbs, buildings, and other surfaces near the ground to maximize the effects of the concrete engineered to retain much of the heat and so that it rarely truly snowed within the walls.

The debriefing with Clover was held over a hot meal but the mission would be continuing for the next two weeks as the wall was finished. The Ace Ops and their Cadets were to have no breaks until the wall was finished. Other Huntsmen were dealing with other parts of the wall that were damaged as a reaction to the Fall of Beacon, but the area that the Ace Ops were at was the biggest hole. Little wonder why the best Huntsmen and Huntresses of Atlas were sent to keep it safe.

Weiss couldn't deny that she was gaining a lot of combat experience from both field work and the training rooms. The training was intense enough that this first month left her feeling like a walking bruise. Her wide hips and rump seemed to be a target for many attacks, making her glad for the extra padding there when she was hit.

Jacques Schnee had learned that she was back in Atlas almost as soon as she had arrived and was doing everything he could legally to get her back into the mansion with him. Even rumored to be trying to bribe some people from soldiers to Council members. Weiss wouldn't be surprised if that was true, sad to say. But it was because of those attempts that kept her living with the Ace Ops rather than even visiting the home she had grown up in.

The only thing she wished for was for Team RWBY to be reunited.

She lay down in her bunk for the night with a full stomach and opened her scroll. It didn't require any thought to open a particular file, one that was a slideshow of her time at Beacon. From the moment that the four girls had been officially declared Team RWBY by Ozpin to the last time they were together in the hospital.

Weiss watched the video almost every night, nearly having committed every picture and short video to memory. Team RWBY and JNPR made up the bulk of the images, including those from the food fight. Teams SSSN and DAIT became prominent additions soon after that incident. The video showed her the friends she had made, tracked their weight gain, the fun they had… and she missed everyone dearly.

One of the last pictures was from the hospital room that her team had been kept in. Ruby was still sleeping in her bed, but she, Blake, and Yang were hugging. The moment that the three girls had declared themselves to be sisters from other mothers, sealed with an embrace.

Winter saw her sister with wet eyes by the light of her scroll through the cracked open door. She had found her sister doing this several times already since returning to their home kingdom and had seen the video during the flight back. Weiss had been able to push her troubles to the side to tell her about every scene. It pained her to see her sister that way but there was little she could do to help. Yet, she would be ready when Weiss came to her.

—-

Blake slipped the new clothes on that she had. On their way to the ship, Itazura had insisted that they stop to pick up some extra clothes. The three of them essentially had little more than their hospital gowns and the clothes they had been wearing the night of the attack. The fox had managed to find a few books on the way… and neither Blake or Sun were really going to ask, especially once the cat had noticed 'Ninja's of Love' among them.

Sun was simple with his wardrobe, getting more of what he already had. Itazura followed suit. But it was Blake who saw the need to change her appearance. Besides their new clothes, their biggest loads to carry were their ammunition and weapon maintenance kits.

As for Blake, she now wore a pair of black pants that were a little snug, the leggings underneath helping to smooth things out and added an extra layer of protection for her thick legs and buttocks. A pair of thigh high boots which had gold edges and her emblem in white against the purple, almost black material.

Her new top was a bit controversial though, seeing as it only covered her chest with diamond and rectangle cutouts that showed a hint of cleavage as they went up to the collar and shoulder straps. That left her belly free to hang unhindered over her waistband and white belt.

She had grabbed a white coat with long tails and purple lining on the inside to help cover herself and the healing scar on her stomach. She wasn't really a fan of the white but it was the only one available that would fit her, at least for her arms and shoulders as it would never close correctly unless she lost a lot of weight. She did find a large purple belt that she put over her shoulder to sit across her chest and held against her well padded ribs. That belt helped to keep her coat from billowing like a cape and held the coat closed enough to hide her scar from most eyes. It also served as a holster for Gambol Shroud on her back thanks to the magnetic plate she attached to the belt.

She may have had some very limited choices thanks to the attack and her size but she was making it work. She did find some amusement that Sun had gone silent when she first put the outfit on. Granted, that was also the first time that she had noticed that the shelf she carried behind her was accented by the contrast of the black pants and the white jacket that flared out to cover her. Removing the jacket while in their cabin elicited a similar reaction for a while, at least he wasn't turning away anymore now that he was used to her revealing more skin.

Her cheeks burned at the memory of walking in on Sun in the bathroom, thinking she had the whole cabin to herself for a while. Both were in their underwear but the boy had been meditating and thus as silent as possible as he sat still. She had shreaked at the startled monkey and threw everything she was carrying at him before using Shadow to jump back and slam the door closed.

Perhaps she should have thought of that possibility since it was raining.

That incident had left the two uncomfortable with being in the same room alone for a few days. They eventually got used to each other again and Itazura teased them relentlessly about it after she found out. Pulling the little fox to the top of the flagpole by her pants together did the trick for their trust.

"Hey, Blake?" Sun stuck his head through the now open door.

"What is it?" She was engrossed in reading a book borrowed from another passenger.

"Dinner is about to start." He walks in to see the cat girl with the book propped up on her belly as she lay on her bed.

"I'm not hungry." She turns a page and her stomach growls now that food was mentioned. She glared at the organ for its betrayal then to Sun standing there looking amused. "Fine." She gives in with a huff.

"You know that skipping meals isn't exactly healthy." He says as he watches Blake pull her boots on.

"I'm trying to lose this gut." She scoffs, trying to ignore how many times she was stress eating on this trip.

A golden furred tail pokes her softened ribs. "And a steady meal plan will help." The tail trailed across her skin, making her twitch from the tickles. It pulled away before it touched her scar knowing that it was still sensitive.

"Alright, let's go. Just stop me from eating too much." Blake tells him as she slips her arms into her coat, 'accidently' hitting Sun's softened stomach in the process.

"Maybe but you're so happy with a belly full of fish." He teases, knowing that she couldn't refute that.

"Just go!" Blake shoves him out the door but there was no anger in her tone, she was simply embarrassed from being called on it… again. She also didn't want him to see that she was forced to shimmy her hips through the door as the portal wasn't much wider than the average person's shoulders.

—-

"You know, you're lucky to be on your feet." Nora reminds Pyrrha as they walk through the refugee camp.

The taller girl hobbled around on crutches with her foot in a thick brace as her heel had required surgery to put the shattered bone and tendons back together correctly. But she was out of the chair now and that was a relief for the young woman who was getting antsy from sitting for so long. She may not be able to do much of what she wanted such as assisting with defense of the civilians or the clean up efforts. Her Polarity would come in very handy in moving a lot of the debris.

But she was being restricted from helping with that by the doctors and her teammates, citing that she needed to rest and let her aura help her heal. Of course, one of her team would always be by her side for most of the day to keep her company, but they reached a middle ground on letting her patrol the camp to keep her occupied.

Going to a forge, the one in Beacon that was rumored to be fully intact, would be preferable to fix Milo. She kept the pieces under her bed in the team's tent for safety but knew that the weapon would need to be rebuilt from the beginning. But she was unable to go for a few weeks until she could walk again. She kept Akouo on her back out of habit and for comfort, even if it occasionally got hit by her arms and crutches.

"I know." The Spartan looked down at the reminder. She already had to keep an eye on the ground to watch for rocks and divots that could trip her up. Rising from the ground after tripping wasn't easy when one leg couldn't support her weight on it, not to mention embarrassing. But she had to move, to do something beyond sitting in the tent she shared with her team.

She and Nora stopped at the highest point of Camp Violet to look over the refugees they were in charge of protecting. The tents were set up in a rough grid formation where each block had a large tarp in the central area where many spent their free time to relax from their shifts at cleaning up the damage to the city. Those central areas were also where each block cooked their meals and could keep warm as the days grew colder as winter drew closer. Awnings were erected nearest the work areas to be a somewhat sheltered area from the weather and sun for those who sorted through what the recovery teams brought back, a small section dedicated to assessing the worth of salvaging appliances and either fixing or stripping a machine for the parts. Those barriers also doubled as a screen for those in the camp to block the sight of the ruined city from those in the camp.

At least there were a few buildings that were considered to be safe as their damage was considered minimal and easy to repair, serving as forward camps for the recovery and clean up crews. A few of them could be seen down the roads from the camp but without guaranteed safety from the debris falling on them, nobody was willing to risk moving the civilians into them.

The girls had heard of a club that served as a camp somewhere downtown, almost a luxury in these times with a solid roof and walls around those people. Likewise, some of the warehouses by the docks had been converted into shelters, building levels to house more refugees at a time and sharing warmth. One of the warehouses had been converted into a hospital of sorts, handling most of the basic medical needs for the thousands now living by the docks.

The girls stood in silence as they looked over the people they were protecting, hardly an odd occurrence between them lately. It wasn't as though their friendship was strained, they were tighter than ever, but they simply didn't have much to say as neither were in any mood for the banter they normally had between classes.

"Perhaps I should upgrade the materials for greater heat resistance." Pyrrha mutters as her mind turns to the future.

Next to her, Nora heard what she was saying over the din of the families around them. It made her glad that Pyrrha was thinking of the future rather than breaking down over the actions of the past, things she couldn't control, events that were orchestrated. It was also the roundabout way of Pyrrha talking about Cinder, Nora had found out during their hospital and resting time, the other girl usually freezing up and her breath hitching when the woman was brought up. The hammer girl couldn't blame her for being afraid of the woman that hadn't simply beaten her in combat but had done so with surprising ease and tried to kill her, taking joy in the act.

Ren and Jaune weren't due to return for a few hours yet, and Nora had noticed the slight tension between Pyrrha and Jaune. She wasn't about to pry, not yet, following Ren's example of waiting for their friends to open up to each other or to them. That didn't mean that she wasn't going to keep a close eye on the two for clues to what was causing to act this way.

Team CFVY walked by, apparently having come together from their shifts of patrolling the city on their way to dinner. A replacement team was more than likely already on their way or out in the city. The older team gave the two girls a weary greeting as they passed, dirty from their day of hunting Grimm and moving debris but looking forward to a hot meal and a quick shower.

The Huntsman teams didn't really have days off, just days where they had less work to do. Their 'days off' from going into Vale or Beacon to assist with the cleanup and killing Grimm, they would patrol the camp to stop scuffles from the highly stressed populace and keep watch for Grimm looking for easy targets.

—-

"How are you feeling today?" Denko asks as he drops onto the couch next to Yang. It had been a week since their second checkup with Dr. Hemo and Ruby had been cleared for light training. So had Denko once the Doctor took off his cast in two days, leaving it on for the extra week as a precaution. Yang had been ordered, again, not to do anything too strenuous so she wouldn't risk the stitches coming undone that was holding her arm together.

Naturally, not moving much left the girl a bit grumpy as she couldn't release her energy as she normally would. The best she could do was housework and there was only so much of that to do. Even the laundry was light compared to before going to Beacon, not when they weren't sparring and exercising and needing to wash out the sweat, dirt, stains, and gunpowder residue.

As it was, the youth in the house were getting a bit tired of wearing the sweatsuits that Tai had gotten since they had next to nothing to wear beyond the clothes they were wearing during the Fall of Beacon. Denko had been able to grab a few clothes for himself in town but the girls had nothing at home that would fit them anymore. Even the sweats they had weren't exactly loose either, and it wasn't an exaggeration that during the time they had been home that the sweats had 'shrunk' a bit.

Tai found himself taking charge of this years graduating class from Signal to help with some of the cleanup efforts at Beacon and Vale. That usually meant that the group would be gone for two or three days straight to get as much work done as possible returning to Patch so they wouldn't strain the resources of the refugees. That also meant that Yang was in charge of the house during those days as she was the oldest family member.

To be fully honest, the most exercise that Yang was getting lately was climbing the stairs at home and the walk to town for shopping. Normally, that was to buy food for two teens, an early twenties, and a father. It didn't help that the trip that used to be so easy for the blonde was now much harder as she had to deal with the weather getting colder and having an arm in a cast and sling didn't lend to closing her winter jacket very well, nor did that help in carrying the goods. At least the new jacket that fit her increased size worked wonders at keeping her upper half warm, excluding her bum arm that she couldn't feel.

On the plus side, Denko would almost always be with her for the walk and they could usually get Ruby to come with them. Certainly useful for helping to carry the food and new clothes home. But it was looking to be a long winter this year with frost coming early and the temperature on the island remaining low. At least that meant that the ice cream they bought didn't melt from store to freezer at home.

But it was the next week that led to real excitement. Not only did Denko have his cast off and he began to train again to get his arm back up to normal, but Talon and Anya had stopped by. They hadn't come empty handed either, coming to the house in the Scarab filled with their stuff from Beacon. The duffle bags and suitcases that Ruby and Yang had used to bring their clothes and equipment to school were now filled once more and even had their books with them.

"I can't believe our stuff survived!" Yang was excited for the return of clothes that would fit her better.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! Yee!" Ruby burst into petals and her belongings vanished up the stairs.

"Yeah, you girls got lucky that your room was intact." Talon sat the case she was carrying on Yang's bed, allowing the owner to open it to find her Beacon uniform on top, a copy of her Huntress outfit right underneath. It was interesting to go through her returned clothes to see the size differences next to each other.

"How… how bad was it?" The blonde asks, catching the attention of Ruby and Anya in the room. Denko was in his room going through his own bag.

"Your room? It got a bit dusty from the room next to yours being torn up from a shell hitting it. Luckily there wasn't a fire or anyone in there or the room next to that or across the hall. Wasn't much left to salvage. Your wall took most of the hit and collapsed but that was the worst of it." Talon shrugged.

"What about your room?" Ruby asks out of curiosity.

"The dorm caught on fire but it didn't reach our end before the automated systems put it out." Anya told the girls.

"I- I guess that's good." Ruby wasn't sure how to feel about that. She was glad that her friends didn't lose their things but she felt bad for those who did.

"We didn't have much in our room anyway." The older girl shrugged off the concern.

"So… are you two staying on Patch?" Yang asks as she walks towards the window.

"If you don't mind us staying the night, we can." Talon had no problem with the possibility of a softer bed. She was also starting to really get tired of the colder weather. The temperature of the deserts of Vacuo could easily drop below freezing at night from scorching during the day, but a constant cold was wearing on her. She was looking to get some new clothes to cover her exposed skin, and she had a lot of her tanned chubby body on display.

"With Dad out on the mainland with his students, we have the room for now." Yang was willing to put them up for the night. It would give them a chance to hear what was going on in Vale and Beacon since Taiyang didn't want to talk about much due to being tired.

"You know, we do have another surprise." Talon was smiling at the blondes with her hands behind her back and rocking on her heels.

"Oh?" Denko says with a raised eyebrow.

"Is it good or bad?" Yang asks, sharing a quick look with Ruby.

"It's… more one that I'm more surprised wasn't spotted when we showed up." Anya seemed ready to laugh at the confusion. "Come on down and we'll show you."

A minute later and the five were outside walking towards the Scarab. But it was what was on the back of the vehicle that got them excited, or rather one of them extremely so.

"Bumblebee!" Yang screamed as she ran towards the bike that was attached to the larger vehicle thanks to a carrier that suspended it sideways nearly against the bumper.

Yang gave her motorcycle a one-armed hug and rubbed her chubby cheek against the paint, getting a large smear of dirt on herself. It certainly looked like it needed a thorough washing, the yellow and oranges looking muted through the smudges of soot and dirt.

"We have your tools in the back too." Talon opens the rear door of the Scarab to reveal the tool kits on the floor that Yang had used at Beacon for maintenance of the bike.

That still left Anya looking at the larger girl awkwardly thanks to her antics. Ruby was the same for different reasons; being embarrassed for the love that her sister had for the bike, though she knew she acted the same with her scythe. Denko had seen how well she had taken care of the machine frequently during their time at school, enough that he had met her in the garage often enough when he would check up on Scarab. But his vehicle had weapon systems and other features he had helped to build into it that her bike simply didn't have. But maybe since they had some down time, they could upgrade Bumblebee…

"I'm surprised it survived the attack." Denko comments to Anya.

"The students' garage wasn't near where most of the attacks happened. There were nearby buildings that caught on fire but that was one of the few buildings that had little damage. Right now, they are starting to use it as a base to clean up Beacon. Getting these two out of the way simply helps them do more." Anya explained as she watched the other three girls pull out the carrier's ramp and roll the bike to the ground so Yang could get a different look at it.

"How bad is everything? Tai doesn't say much when he comes home."

"Put nicely, I was surprised Beacon Tower was still standing after dealing with Cinder. Most of the buildings were destroyed completely. The library survived mostly intact, it didn't burn but some Grimm knocked over most of the bookshelves and smashed a bunch of the desks and computers." She sighs. "Half of the dorms will need extensive repairs from the White Fang, Grimm, and stray shots from the walls."

"What about Vale?" Ruby had overheard the conversation and redirected her attention from her sister obsessing over Bumblebee.

"It's seen better days." The older girl begins. "Most of the people are in camps in the parks or taking shelter in warehouses or the few buildings with minimal damage. But they are enduring and getting things cleaned up slowly but surely."

Denko noticed that she had neglected talking about the Grimm Wyvern in the middle of Beacon. Just because he had broken his arm didn't mean he had missed the white light from Ruby's Silver Eyes or didn't know why that had happened. And it was really hard to miss the massive Grimm that had been turned to stone as a result of that power.

Maybe he should talk to Taiyang about letting Ruby into the power she held. He knew full well what the Silver Eyes meant as his wife and daughter had or have them, respectively. Qrow should be brought in for that talk as well as he was well acquainted with the forces those Eyes were so scared of.

Bumblebee was moved to the family's shed that had housed the bike before with the tools returned to their old places on the shelves. Talon offered to cook for the night, leading to a small argument between her and Yang over that, eventually ending with Yang conceding to having the night off. A quick inventory of the kitchen led to Talon driving to town for what she needed.

The five of them wound up having a meal of salad, garlic bread, tea, and lasagna with strawberry and chocolate milkshakes for dessert. But it was a night of being able to relax and be themselves as much as possible. The Vacuoan sisters were happy to take the couch and recliner chair, not wanting to intrude on Taiyang's room for a night. It still beat the simple cots they had back at the camps.

—-

The next day saw the Eaglewing sisters leave the Xiao Long-Rose house for Vale, leaving the Scarab to Denko to use in his patrol of the island of Patch. Somehow, they had woken up before Yang's alarm could wake her to try getting a jump on cooking breakfast, only to find that the meal had been prepared. That had left her open to an odd combination of irritation and amusement. But the very filling meal of pancakes and sausage with orange juice was worth it for all five before they parted.

Then it was left for Ruby to do some training at home, Yang to take care of the house, and Denko walked down to Patch to get to work defending the island from the Grimm. There, he went into the building next to Signal where the Watch gathered to share intel and get their assignments.

"Denko? You're cleared for duty?"

The blonde man turned to find Iris walking up to him from a table in the corner. She was still taller than him and her deep purple hair was tied back in a fancy bun. But it was her Huntress outfit that he hadn't seen her in that caught his interest.

Consisting of a dark green bodysuit with a high collar, she wore a pair of flared shoulder pads of a lighter green color with similar leaf-like sectioned skirt around her waist, around her collar and wrists, with a pair of brown leather boots on her feet. Her weapon, Mora, a short sword with a longer than normal hilt that was painted brown at one end but faded to green by the blade that was a deep purple that matched her hair. A few pouches hung from the belt around her waist over the skirt, brown leather standing out from the green.

But overall, she looked to be quite capable of concealing herself within a forest or flowerbed with ease while ready for combat at any moment.

"Oh, hey Iris. But yeah, Dr. Hemo cleared me last week but I needed to get back into shape." Denko told her as he flexed his left hand, she knew the arm had been broken over the weeks he had been back on the island. She may not have been working at Hestia's much where he and the Xiao Long-Rose family had been to at least twice, but had found out through the grapevine and from seeing them in town.

"That's good. The Grimm are still pretty active lately. We still have no idea how they keep appearing on the island but we've been getting surges every now and then."

"Damn, I've been kept out of the loop with that stuff."

"I guess so, but it may have been for the best with you, Ruby, and Yang hurt." Iris shrugged. "How are the girls doing?"

"Been better." Denko admits. If he was going to say anything else, it was interrupted by an alarm going off. The pair and anyone else in the room turned to the large screens around them to see that a map of the island of Patch was displayed with a section on the northern cape illuminated in red, signaling that Grimm were concentrated enough to be a problem and agitated; needing to be dealt with as soon as possible.

"Ready for your first field mission since Beacon?" Iris turned to him with a small smile.

"We can stop at home on the way and get there faster in the Scarab." Denko tells her with a grin, ready to cut loose.

"Good idea!" Iris agrees before bringing up the nearest holographic interface keyboard and entering their information into the system to mark their claim on the hunt. In that time, there were a few smaller spots along the edges of the island that lit up and were claimed by the other members of the Watch before everyone scattered for their areas.

AN: This may have been a shorter chapter than what I normally aim for, but it sets things up for the next one. Seeing as it's the big 50, it might as well have a big bang to celebrate that milestone. I'm also working on a picture for the next chapter which will be up on DA next week when I post the chapter there. It will also be my first attempt at digital art, so I'm learning the ropes as I go.

As always, reviews are welcome.