Beta-ed by xenosaiyan

The Card Dealer. The Gunslingers.

Pain.

Keep fighting.

The Beast. The Iron Dragon.

More pain, but not enough.

Keep fighting.

The Demon.

Pain! So much pain!

Keep fighting. Keep fighting.

The Demon.

Agony!

Keep fighting. Keep fighting. KEEP FIGHTING!

The She-Devil who'd sharpened her steel.

Agony, her muscles collapsing, her vision consumed by her own blood.

KEEP FIGHTING! KEEP FIGHTING! KEEP FIGHTING!

The She-Devil she couldn't beat at her best, let alone broken.

KEEP FIGHTING! Fight for the family behind you—

The Demon smashed her into the ground. As she thrust her blade into her foe's (friend's?) stomach, everything dropped away. Even the pain.

Even the light.

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The light returned, cast down by a small cylinder in the hand of a man with a white coat.

"Aargh!" she squealed, scrambling back from the man, only to find herself smacking into a high back chair. Her arm shot out and snatched the man's wrist, twisting it until he yelped and dropped his cylinder.

"Wait, wait, calm down!" a new voice pleaded, a supple woman with a red bob cut and glasses. "He's a doctor. I brought you here after you passed out fighting those Grimm. Remember, from the woods?"

"Woods?"

Her head, everything, felt fuzzy. But she did think she remembered something about woods. A forest that she'd woken up in after dreaming about the demon, a bloody sword still in her hand. Then she'd heard a scream and ran off to help, finding some giant black scorpions bearing down on…

"You," she whispered, releasing the doctor as things clicked into place. "You were there. You were fighting them. Or… trying to fight them?"

The woman blushed, nervously scratching the back of her head. "Yeah, I'm not exactly an ace with a sword. You though, you were amazing! I've never seen footwork like that! Where'd you learn it?"

"I… I don't know."

"Oh," the woman replied.

"That's an understatement," the doctor said, rubbing his wrist. "The scans are still developing, but from the preliminary assessment I managed to finish, your friend here shouldn't even be standing, Ms. Nikos, much less as spry as she seems. Head trauma, lacerations all over, barely enough blood to remain functional, it'd be easier to list the injuries she doesn't have. In fact, if I'm guessing right, she's… I'm going to go check on those scans just to be sure. Do not leave this room."

The white coat rushed out of the room, leaving the two redheaded women behind.

"Well," Nikos cringed. She held out her hand. "Thank you, again, for saving me. I'm Rouge, by the way. Rouge Nikos."

She eyed the bespectacled woman's arm for a moment before stretching out her own limb to shake the hand. "It's alright. I'm just glad you're safe."

Rouge grinned. "How could I not be? Seriously, I've never seen anyone go through a pack of Deathstalkers like that. Whatever your semblance is, you must be an expert with it."

She raised an eyebrow. "Semblance?"

"Oh," Rouge smacked her face into her hand. "Sorry. Guess you really do have some bad head trauma. Maybe something simpler? Do you remember your name?"

"My… name…"

She tried to think back. It wasn't as if she'd forgotten everything. She knew how to walk, how to talk, how to fight apparently. But whenever she tried to think back to before waking up in the forest, all that came into her mind was a flash of dark fire, of the demon, coming for her with purple claws outstretched. Her head throbbed, as if it knew that something should be there but couldn't make the connection. Nothing rose up, no image, no fact, no scrap of information about who she was or where she came from.

But… when she tried to recall her name… a faint whisper fluttered through her ears.

'It was the color of your hair.'

Her fingers rose and tangled themselves in her chaotic locks, her eyes narrowing over their red shine. No, not red. Not just red.

"Scarlet," she said. "I think… I think my name is Scarlet."

Rouge grinned. "Scarlet. That's a beautiful name."

"Thank you," she replied. "I just wish I could remember anything else."

"Well, if you can't, maybe I can help you stay on your feet while you do? My family's… well… we're the Nikos."

"The who?"

"Right, you don't remember even if you knew," Rouge groaned, smacking herself on the forehead. "We're pretty well off. Anything you need while you're remembering who you are, food, clothes, lodging, you've got it."

"What?" Scarlet yelped. "No, no, I couldn't possibly impose!"

"You're not imposing. I'm offering."

"You don't even know who I am. I don't even know who I am."

"I know you saved my life," Rouge smiled. "Don't worry. Dad's an ex-arena fighter, been trying to teach me for ages. He'll love you."

"I…" Scarlet mirrored her new friend's grin. "Thank you. This is just…"

"Sudden?"

"Yes. I don't know what my life was like before, but I'm not sure I've ever experienced a shock like this."

"Don't worry about it. A few happy surprises never hurt anyone."

The doctor chose that moment to burst back into the room, a sheet of papers clutched to his chest. "Ms.—"

"Scarlet. I think my name is Scarlet."

"What? Oh. How wonderful," the doctor said, looking no less frazzled. "Ms. Scarlet, I understand this is a low possibility, but do you recall when your last sexual encounter might have been?"

"Sexual…" Scarlet's face went beet red, her teeth gnashing against each other. "I most certainly cannot. Why do you ask?"

The doctor flinched back from her glare, tepidly pushing his papers forward. She snatched them from his grasp. Rouge leaned over her shoulder and gasped.

Scarlet couldn't see why. Granted, she had no idea what the faded white image on a black background meant.

"That is a scan we took of your abdominal area to assess your injuries," the doctor explained. "It also alerted us to an abnormality growing in the area that I can now confirm is a fetus in the very early stages of its growth."

Scarlet's eyes widened. "Fetus... As in…"

"You seem to be about a month pregnant."

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"… after I passed out a few more times, Rouge finally took me home. Father wasn't exactly pleased that she'd run off into the woods without telling him and come back with a pregnant amnesiac, but once he learned what I did with no memory, no aura, and pregnant, he was thrilled to have me around. Originally, he was just going to have me be Rouge's sparring partner, but she had no love for fighting and he didn't particularly enjoy pressuring her into the family legacy. A year later, I still didn't remember anything about who I was or how I ended up in those woods, but I had a new family that I loved."

A new family. Wendy couldn't even muster the will to flinch at the words, even though it felt as if she'd been slapped across the face.

After the reunions and confusion in the hallway, the group had settled into the Nikos' living room in an attempt to both get everyone up to speed on what everyone else knew and to suss out exactly who Scarlet Nikos was.

But Wendy knew. She knew Ruby and Carla knew as well. None of them could have mistaken the dark blue guildmark on the woman's shoulder for anything else. She was Erza, without even a wrinkle of age to mar her face.

She was Erza. After months of doubt and dread, after having Happy confirm her worst fears, after learning that she had lost the entire guild, she'd lost hope that anything would go right for her or her friends again. Even if Gray was in Atlas with Weiss, something would go horribly wrong, something would keep her from ever seeing any of her guildmates outside Carla and Team RWBY ever again.

But then she'd seen her. She'd seen Erza, the woman who invited her into Fairy Tail in the first place, who'd always picked her up from the depths of her dread before, who'd led and inspired the entire guild as their Titania. She'd seen her and, just for a moment, she had hope again.

But Erza had looked right at her… and she hadn't seen her. The moment had ended, and Wendy couldn't even muster the strength to cry.

"Chin up, little shrimp," Irene chided, floating in a spectral form only the Sky Dragon Slayer could see. "Would you rather have not found her at all?"

Wendy glanced down. "No."

"I'm not?"

The blue-haired girl's head shot up. "Huh?"

Erza… Scarlet… Erza raised an eyebrow. "I'm not actually a fairy from thousands of years ago? Was that not what you all are trying to tell me?"

"What? No, no, no, you are!" Wendy frantically clarified. "Well, not a fairy. A Fairy Tail wizard."

She glanced over at the ghostly Queen of the Dragons, who merely shrugged. It probably wouldn't be best to talk to her while other people were around.

"Titania, the Queen of the Fairies!" Ruby cheered, seizing the gap in conversation to further enthrall their amnesiac mentor. "You were the most awesome person in an entire guild full of awesome people! You taught me everything I know about Requip, got me to think about using everything in my arsenal, and you were always so confident and knew exactly what to do! Plus, you had an entire armory of super cool weapons and armor!"

"You were the seventh guildmaster. You were practically raised in the guildhall," Carla added, though the Exceed's face was uncharacteristically fragile, her marble white fur matted and wet. "Is none of this ringing a bell?"

Erza scratched the back of her head. "I'm sorry, but no. And honestly, even with magic and reincarnating wizards, I'm not sure if I buy the idea that I am this Fairy Queen you seem to think I am. I mean, how would I have even ended up in the middle of the Argus woods? Don't these Fairy Spheres need to be hit by a burst of magic to open?"

Qrow, leaning against the wooden support of the wall, wrenched his gaze away from the young farmboy Oscar and furrowed his brow. "Outside Argus… you said this was eighteen years ago?"

Erza nodded and the huntsman sighed.

Jaune, who strangely stood to the side of the couch the rest of his team had laid claim to, cocked an eyebrow. "I take it you don't have good memories about then?"

"Nope, just the opposite in fact," Qrow revealed. "Eighteen years ago, a member of the inner circle named Hazel Rainart went over to Salem. With his defection, the identities of the maidens back then were compromised. Oz and James did what they could to protect them, but the Spring Maiden had just passed on and left her powers to her granddaughter in Argus. Team STRQ was dispatched to get her to safety at Haven."

Ruby's eyes widened. "You saved her? Didn't you?"

Qrow smirked. "Wasn't easy. Hazel got made a Gate in exchange for becoming a turncoat, and he came down on us in the forest outside the city. One Silver-Eyed Warrior, three ace huntsmen, and one terrified little girl who couldn't control her planet shaking powers against an Eclipse Etherious. It took everything we had just to survive, there was so much magic flying around I could hardly see. It was Team STRQ's finest hour to get that girl safely to Haven. But I wouldn't be surprised if a stray shot from Hazel's powers or Summer's eyes hit the sphere and none of us noticed in the chaos." His smile evaporated. "Wouldn't be the only thing to go downhill after that fight."

Irene chuckled. "Well, there must be a story behind that. Though, undoubtedly best left to another time."

Wendy couldn't help but agree. Though she was hardly unbiased in the matter, given she was unable to tear her eyes away from the guildmate she needed to remember her.

Oscar's eyes flashed green, his entire posture shifting, standing straighter, more proper. The farmboy, if that was all he was, took a step into the center of the room, drawing the attention of all the disparate mutterings of the group to him like a magnet.

"Whether the elder Ms. Nikos is Erza Scarlet or not, and what we can do to restore her memories if she is, will have to be something we table for now," he declared. "At least until we handle more immediate affairs."

"More immediate affairs?" Nora parroted. "No offense adorable farmboy, but who are you?"

Pyrrha, Erza's daughter, flinched at her teammate. "He's Oscar, a friend I've been training for the last few months. But he's also… well…"

The farmboy turned to Qrow and smirked. "I'd like my cane back."

The huntsman's eyes widened before a massive smile blossomed across his face. He snatched an intricately engraved shaft from his belt, one that Wendy had seen on his belt the entire journey but never bothered to ponder why he never used it, and tossed it to Oscar. The farmboy plucked it out of the air and flicked its trigger, a well-polished staff ejecting from the hilt. The weapon meant nothing to Wendy, but her Remnant native friends all gasped.

"Professor… Ozpin?" Ren stuttered.

Ozpin? The headmaster of Beacon? Qrow had told them he was capable of reincarnating, but she hadn't expected a boy younger than even herself.

The wizard smiled at them all. "It's a relief to see you all safe, my students. And Miss. Marvell, Miss. Carla, despite the circumstances, it is an honor. I've heard a great deal about you."

"Oh, thank you," Wendy replied, shooting her friends' teacher a short bow. "It's nice to meet you too."

"Quite," Carla said, her eyes narrowed. "What did you mean by 'more immediate affairs'? Are you suggesting we shouldn't focus on restoring Erza's memories?"

Erza cocked an eyebrow at the white Exceed, but Ozpin held up a placating hand before she could say anything.

"I understand how important such matters are, believe me," the former headmaster assured them. "But first we need to make sure we are safe to do so with impunity."

"Do you mean Happy and the Ophiuchus?" Ruby inquired. "Would they really come into the city?"

Ozpin scowled. "No. They are most certainly our greatest threat, but for now, they won't risk forcing a confrontation in the city."

"Why?" Carla asked. "From what you've all said, Salem wants to wipe out humanity. What would be easier than having her strongest follower slaughter a city? You don't seem to believe we can beat him."

"Because we can't," the wizard confirmed. "But their primary objective is to claim the Relic of Knowledge. If they burn Mistral to the ground, the Spring Maiden would go to ground and they'd never get into the vault. Which makes me far more concerned that they may have already taken Haven."

"You really think Professor Lionheart's on their side?" Erza said.

"Wait, what? Leo? Oz, you can't be serious," Qrow protested. "Sure, he can be a bit skittish, but he's no traitor."

Ozpin sighed. "I hope you are right. But Cinder and her allies infiltrated Beacon through Haven, and instead of keeping his defenses close as I instructed in the event of my death, his faculty and huntsmen have been scattered across the kingdom, his students kept away from the academy. It is possible that the Mistral Council somehow forced his hand, but in case they didn't, in case of the worst, it'd been best if we held a few cards close to the chest."

Wendy frowned. Ozpin's logic made some sense, but he didn't seem to have any hard evidence that this Lionheart had turned against them. And to lie to a friend, to hide crucial information from them based only on suspicion, it didn't sit right with her.

But that was the logic she'd used in her own time. She'd already seen matters were far more fraught than she was used to, faith less rewarded. If Ozpin had really been reincarnating on Remnant for who knew how many years, struggling to fight Salem for all that time, had his cautious mistrust, even paranoia, been earned?

"So far, I've been able to keep my presence hidden from Leonardo. He believes Oscar is just Scarlet's new student, a training partner to help Pyrrha get back on her feet," the wizard continued. "You say the Spring Maiden is with Raven? I suggest we keep that knowledge to ourselves, at least until we have secured the girl."

Ren tilted his head to the side. "You want the ten of us to take on the entire Branwen Tribe?"

"We can do that easy!" Nora declared. "They're bandits! We're wizards! It'll be simple!"

Pyrrha cringed, her hands clenching for just a moment. "Don't underestimate a maiden, Nora. If she sides against us—"

"Then Wendy can just kick her butt!" the other huntress cheered. "She beat down Cinder after all!"

Pyrrha's eyes widened and instantly latched onto Wendy. "You beat Cinder?"

"Um, yeah," Wendy murmured. "After I stabilized you on the tower, I was able to fight her off."

Pyrrha grinned. "That's incredible! Please, can you—"

"What do you mean by stabilized?" Erza suddenly cut in. "The doctors said Pyrrha was put through the wringer, but it wasn't life-threatening."

"That was because of Wendy," Ruby explained. "Pyrrha took a nasty hit for me on Beacon Tower, but Wendy is a healer. I couldn't keep Cinder and the Wyvern off her long enough for her to take care of everything, but she kept it from being fatal."

Erza fearfully glanced towards Pyrrha, who avoided the Fairy Queen's eyes. Soon, she turned to Wendy and the blue-haired girl perfectly understood the Mistral Champion's impulse.

"You saved her."

"Uh, yes," Wendy confirmed. "Don't worry about it. It was nothing."

"My daughter's life is the furthest thing from nothing," Erza proclaimed. She stepped forward and bowed from the waist to Wendy. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

The Sky Dragon Slayer couldn't hide her awkwardness at the gesture, not responding for several seconds, her eyes flickering between her guildmate's prostrated form and Pyrrha's kind smile.

"You're welcome," she eventually settled on.

"Would it be alright if we fought?"

"What?"

Pyrrha flinched. "Oh, I'm sorry. I meant spar. Would it be alright if we sparred? I mean, we won't be able to keep our entire group hidden from Professor Lionheart. But if we go up to Haven and let him know you're here, minus Professor Ozpin, we can either get his advice if he's on our side and at least make sure he doesn't think we suspect him if he isn't. And needing to use Haven's arena for a spar will make us seem even less suspicious."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense," Wendy said. "But, why me?

"Well, you beat Cinder," Pyrrha replied. "Professor Ozpin has been helping me improve my magic over the last few months, but since Oscar's body is still being conditioned… I just want to see exactly how far I've come. Is that okay?"

"Oh! It's perfectly okay," Wendy assured her. "It's just… I was able to beat Cinder because I was able to access a state called Dragonforce. It increases my magical energy output by several magnitudes, but it costs more ethernano to maintain as a trade-off. Without a maiden nearby, I can't maintain it here."

"Ah," Pyrrha deflated. "I suppose that makes sense."

"Don't worry, Pyrrha. Your plan can still work," Ruby promised, hopping to her feet with a grin on her face. "And if you need someone to fight, I can fill the part. You can show me what those new weapons of yours can do and I can finally see just what my armor can handle in a fight." She looked to Erza. "I based it off one of yours, so maybe it will help jog your memory."

Erza, having risen from her bow, shot Ruby a nervous smile. "Perhaps. I guess if I am this Titania, I might as well try to find out one way or the other."

"Awesome!" Ruby cheered. "You'll have your memories back before you know it."

"Yeah," Nora grinned. "Pyrrha won't even have enough time to finish kicking your butt."

"What? I can totally take her!"

"As if. Pyrrha's the best huntress in our year, you know that."

"But I've had magic for longer! I've got more experience!"

Jaune chuckled. "Ruby, your magic relies on summoning weapons."

"So?"

"Metal weapons," Ren finished with a smirk.

Ruby paled, incoherent words stammering from her mouth. "Yo… yo… you're ganging up on me! This is team prejudice!"

"Well, duh," Nora said, sticking out her tongue. "Team JNPR is back together, baby!"

"Pyrrha, you think I can beat you, right?"

The redheaded huntress plastered on a smile. "I think we should both do our best, Ruby."

"That's not an answer!"

Carla sighed. "For goodness' sake, if you're so eager to fight, let's just go already."

"Good point, Carla!" Ruby shouted, pointing a finger towards her friend. "Let's do this!"

Ozpin chuckled. "Well, it's good to see that your spirits remain high. You'll need it in the coming months."

"Ominous warnings later! Fight now!"

At that, Ruby and Team JNPR piled out of the room, Qrow and Erza shaking their heads as they followed. Carla smacked her face into her palm.

"Honestly, we just crossed a continent and the first thing these fools want to do is fight each other," the white Exceed huffed.

Ozpin smiled. "Youth lends energy that seems unfathomable to those who have lost it."

Carla glared at the wizard. "Are you suggesting I'm old?"

A green flash spread over Ozpin's eyes and his posture sagged back to how it was before. Oscar, now back in control, did his best to smile at Carla. The Exceed huffed and followed after their friends.

"Crafty old man," Oscar muttered. "Leaving me to pick up the pieces."

Wendy couldn't help but giggle. "Sorry about that. Don't worry though, Carla knows his words aren't yours."

"I hope so," Oscar said, nervously rubbing his wrists. "Gotta admit, it'll be nice to see Pyrrha kick someone else's butt for once. She's a great teacher, but she's got a lot to work out."

"Right. A lot to work out," Wendy muttered. "Why don't you go on ahead? I'll catch up."

"You know the way to Haven?"

"I'll figure it out."

Oscar raised an eyebrow but nodded and walked off after a moment. He seemed to realize that she wanted to be alone. Or at least, as so much as he was aware she could be.

"What a cute little boy," Irene mused. "I wonder how long it will take the old man to destroy him."

Wendy frowned. "Ozpin doesn't want to hurt him."

"He won't hurt him. He'll destroy him. Don't mistake their situation for our own arrangement, little shrimp. I am but a passenger in your mind, and my ability to influence your body perished with my magic. But their souls are intertwined by the curse of gods. I suspect Ozpin doesn't really need his permission to take command if he really tries, and before long he won't even need to. Oscar Pine won't exist anymore, just another life of a wizard who cannot die."

"That's… that's awful," Wendy muttered. "Is there anything we can do to stop it?"

"Quite easily. As long as they haven't fully merged yet, you can simply use the same body possession enchantment to evacuate one of them from the body," Irene explained, an eager grin playing over her ghostly face. "If you didn't then have another body for the liberated soul to enter, it'd be the same as killing one of them. Would you be willing to do that?"

Wendy glanced away, the answer obvious even if the other woman couldn't read her thoughts.

Irene sighed. "You never were one for violence, were you? Even if your little friend hadn't drawn my granddaughter's attention, you would never have agreed to spar with her."

The Sky Dragon Slayer couldn't argue that. Even back in Magnolia, she was one of the few who'd never taken part in the guildhall brawls.

"How are you doing with all this?" she asked. She was being insensitive. Whatever her feelings regarding Erza's situation, Irene was her mother. Sure, their relationship was brief and hardly loving when they'd been together, but the Queen of Dragons staying her hand and laying down her life for her daughter had shown there was something there. Whatever it was.

Her ghostly advisor shrugged. "What is there to do? She's alive. She's safe. She's been happy and loved for decades while I wasn't there. Honestly, it's a familiar feeling. Though I admit I am pleased that she's maintained her youthful looks into age as I have. And to be a grandmother? Ha! I never thought I'd live to see the day."

"Technically, you didn't," Wendy snarked.

Her mentor rounded on her, and she instantly regretted her sass. She didn't even know why she'd said it, she wasn't usually so insensitive—

"I suppose the better question would be, how are you doing with all this, little shrimp?"

"Huh?"

"You're not nearly as good at hiding your feelings as you try to be," Irene informed her. "I don't need to read your thoughts to sense your despair. Or your resentment."

"Resentment?" Wendy gawked. "I don't resent Erza! This isn't her fault!"

"Wrong generation of Scarlet."

Pyrrha? What could she possibly have against Pyrrha? She'd just met her! And she seemed really nice! For goodness sake, she was Erza's daughter!

Erza's daughter. Erza's new family. The girl that Erza still saw.

Okay, maybe she did resent her a little. But that resentment was stupid! Pyrrha was Ruby's friend, Jaune's partner! She'd saved the girl's life on Beacon Tower and she'd do it again in a heartbeat. Just because finding Erza didn't turn out to be the first step she'd hoped it would be in regaining some of her lost family didn't mean she wished that her guildmate had been alone and miserable during her time on Remnant.

She just… she wanted her to remember her as well. To remember Fairy Tail. Maybe it was selfish, but she needed her to remember! She… she needed her big sister back.

"How do we restore her memories?" she demanded. "Jellal lost his and then regained them sometime during the seven years we were away. There must be a way."

Irene sighed. "Not as simple of one as you'd think. The human brain is one of the most powerful, yet fragile tools in existence. Amnesia isn't as simple as finding a light lacrima switch and flicking it on, you can't just remind her about Fairy Tail and hope everything comes back. At best, it might gradually come back over time on its own. Jellal Fernandes' likely took all seven of those years to return completely. If Erza's hasn't over the last eighteen, then her mind may have lost the ability to access those memories permanently. And if that is the case, there is no natural way to change that."

Wendy paled. No, no, that couldn't be. After everything they'd been through, after all the enemies they'd fought, all the titans they'd felled, this couldn't be how it happened. Erza couldn't be gone because she couldn't remember. That was ludicrous! That was ridiculous! It was unfair!

She couldn't let it end like this. She wouldn't let it end like this. She hadn't come this far just to lose everything.

"You said there's no 'natural' way to fix this," she clarified. "What's the unnatural way? Is it some magic or enchantment?"

Irene frowned, glancing away from the Fairy Tail wizard. "There is… one enchantment. One that forces the brain to reconnect with all its memories."

"There we go!" Wendy said. "That's perfect! Teach me how to do it and Erza can remember before we leave to get the Spring Maiden."

"It's not that simple, little shrimp. The enchantment recovers all her memories once completed but that doesn't mean they all return once. They're split into categories, sensations. And the spell creates the necessary pathways in the brain by starting with those that hurt the most," Irene explained. "There is a reason it was never a widely used spell."

But Wendy couldn't keep the grin from her face. "She's Erza. She can handle a little pain."

The Maiden of the Sky dashed after her friends, a dash of manic hope in her eyes. This was the answer, the first step forward. The first step to see a way onward, out of the pit of her loss. She'd reunite what scraps of her family remained, whatever it took.

No darkness could keep Fairy Tail apart.

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"So, we'll have to look out for Cinder and the kiddies?" End mused, leaning against the gas station's pillar, the stone marred with melt scars from the touch of his right arm's flesh. If he really let loose, he could turn the entire thing into lava, but he had more control than that, even if the recent news would no doubt test that patience. "How soon until they arrive?"

"Their bullhead will reach Haven by tomorrow," Happy reported. "We send them orders by Keeper if you're really worried, but unless you're there, they might not follow them—"

"Cinder knows better than to disobey me," End said. "Ensure she knows to stay in the vault, keep the others from sensing her maiden power. If diplomacy falls through, hiding our numbers will be crucial to taking them to the Grimmlands without accidentally killing them."

"In that case, you might want to confine Emerald as well," Happy suggested. "If we have to do this with trickery, it'll be best that they don't know she's there."

"Emerald? What's the shark got to do with this?"

"That's Mercury."

"Right, right, Emerald's the one with green hair. I knew that," End muttered. "The Gate of the Twins… yeah, that's a good idea. Nice one."

"Thanks!" Happy grinned. "So does that mean I can stay with you when you're with Yang—"

"No."

"Aw, come on!"

End sighed. "I've explained this to you before. With any luck, Raven will side with us willingly, but just in case I need you in the sky keeping an eye on everything. And Yang's going to question if you suddenly shoot in the sky as soon as we find the camp."

"Well… maybe," Happy grumbled. "I want to see Yang."

"And you will. But we have a job to do first. Business before pleasure." End smiled, fudging a hand through his bag. "But, sometimes the two can be mixed."

He removed his hand from his bag, revealing a sizable fish glistening in his grip. Happy's eyes widened and he instantly snatched the stinky morsel, already salivating. "Argus trout! Aye, sir!"

"Don't eat it all at once," End chuckled.

At that moment, the doors to the gas station blasted open. A lean guy with shaggy brown hair and a missing tooth was launched across the concrete, screaming as pink flames danced across his body.

Happy chuckled at the sight. "You too."

His wings spread out behind and his partner launched into the sky.

End smiled as he left and strode up to the burning man, frantically rolling across the ground as his crimson Branwen scarf slowly turned black. Normally the Ophiuchus wouldn't bother saving such scum, but this one could be useful. He opened his mouth and sucked in a deep breath, the flames heeding his call and streaking towards his maw.

Unfortunately, unlike every other fire he'd ever eaten, these flames didn't go down easy. They didn't burn, no blaze could burn him, but they hurt, even if it was more an irritating sting than actual pain. Of course, given that the blast that had hit the bandit hadn't had anything resembling effort behind it, things would have been rather embarrassing if it was any trouble. Still, the power within the fire was specifically made to kill demons like him, so it was probably best not to push his luck. He wasn't getting any extra power from his little snack after all.

He coughed a bit settling everything down in his stomach, but with a burp of smoke, the blaze was extinguished. The bandit kept screaming for another ten seconds before he realized he was no longer on fire. He glanced about the station until his eyes finally landed on End.

"You… you saved me?" he gasped.

"Don't be so dramatic, you would have been fine as soon as you activated your aura," End sneered. "What's your name anyway? I don't care, but just calling you bandit in my head is going to get annoying."

"Wha… what?"

"Name. Now."

"Ah… Shay! Shay D. Mann!"

"Great," End replied. He leaned down and lifted the bandit up by the scruff of his filthy shirt. "Fly home, Shay. And tell your little birdie boss that me and her daughter are coming to pay her a visit."

"Yes, sir—wait, daughter? Fly?!"

End denied to grace that outburst with a reply. Instead, he proceeded to heft the scumbag over his shoulder and chuck him into the forest. Shay screamed like a baby as he flew through the air, until the echo of a faraway crash signaled his landing. Hopefully, he'd taken the demon's advice and activated his aura, or he'd just wasted his time.

Well, not wasted. He glanced through the station's glass doors and spotted exactly the beautiful, one-armed blonde he'd hoped to find.

He took a deep breath and straightened the vest beneath his cloak. Time for a first impression.

RWBYRWBYRWBYRWBYFTFTFTFT

Yang smirked as the jerk went flying out the door. Teach him to listen when a girl tells him no. And doubly teach him not to make a grab for her hair. He was lucky she'd used her flesh arm.

The elderly store owner came forward and slid her water across the counter. "On the house. Been trying to get rid of that bandit for an hour."

"Thanks," Yang replied. She reached out and took hold of the bottle, exposing her empty right side to the gray-haired man.

"Oh," he said, his eyes widening. "I'm sorry, I didn't see. I'll open that right up for you—"

"No, no," she placated him softly. "I've got it handled."

She knew he meant well, but she couldn't the way he was looking at her. Like she was weak. Helpless. Broken. She wasn't. Life had dealt her a shit hand, but she had some bright spots too. Her pain hadn't broken her, and she would endure ten times worse if it meant helping her friends. And she would hit back with a hundred times its strength.

Her right side blossomed with dark purple fire, her flare arm forming into a demonic claw. Its fiery nail slipped under the water bottle cap and flicked it off. She smirked and poured the liquid down her throat. She was hardly feeling the heat outside, but dehydration was still a problem.

The storekeeper's eyes widened. "Woah. I've seen a lot of semblances but that's…"

"Awesome?"

"Creepy," the old man said. "Impressive, but creepy."

Yang glared at the storekeeper for a moment before shrugging. "To each their own I suppose."

"Indeed," a new voice chimed in. "And to me, it's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen."

The blonde huntress cocked an eyebrow and turned towards the new arrival, the glass doors chiming as he entered. Clothed in a black cloak with only scaled arms and devilish horn peaking out, the temperature of the already scorching day rose with his entrance, the scant water remaining in Yang's bottle bubbling and evaporating into wisps of steam. Even more than that, some instinct in the Devil Slayer, and she could feel that it was that aspect specifically, was screaming at her that this person was dangerous. Very dangerous.

She glanced at the storekeeper, who had already taken a frightened step back. If this got violent, she was confident that she could take care of this guy, but she had a feeling she wouldn't be able to take him down in one punch like that jerk bandit. And if the battle required her to bust out her magic, the old man and his livelihood could be in danger.

Alright, like Lucy always said, never hurt to try talking first. And like Natsu always said, never hurt to kick their asses after talking failed.

"Look, buddy, I appreciate the flattery," Yang said. "But I'm here for a job, not a good time."

"Of course, you're here for a job," the cloaked figure replied, a smile visible upon his shadowed face. "You're finally going to find your mother, fulfill your purpose. Isn't that right, Yang?"

The Fairy Tail wizard tensed, her eyes narrowing at the mysterious guy who knew her name when she hadn't given it. She took a step forward, making sure she was between him and the storekeeper. "Who are you?"

"A friend," he said, his claws rising to the sides of his hood. "Though I warn you, I am not the one I appear to be."

The hood fell and the shadows fled his head, revealing a mop of wild pink hair at the base of the devilish horns. Yang's eyes widened, a gasp rushing out of her mouth. However, it didn't even take a second before an enormous grin split her face, all feeling of danger evaporated.

"Natsu!" she cheered. She rushed forward and engulfed her old friend in a hug that would have crushed Ruby. As it was, it merely alerted her to the fact that the supposed Dragon Slayer before her had tensed.

She ended the hug early, looking up to find her recipient breathing hard. Licks of flames came out of his nostrils, his claws clenching and unclenching for several seconds. Yang glanced down and saw the floor of the store had melted around his boots.

"Natsu?"

"I… understand your confusion," the devilish figure said, tensing his jaw. "But as I mentioned before, I am not Natsu Dragneel." He extended a scaled hand towards her. "I am End. It's a pleasure to finally speak to you."

Yang's eyes narrowed. She unfurled her single remaining Ember Celica and raised her arms into a boxing stance. "Charmed. Why do you look like Natsu with devil horns and how do you know my name?"

"Everything that Natsu saw, I saw. Everything he heard, I heard. And so on and so on for the rest of the senses. Except now, I have my body back," End explained, gesturing to his form. "That's why it looks so familiar to you."

"Right," Yang muttered. "That's… neat? Still doesn't explain why you look like him."

"Someone who loved your teacher very much made me as a vessel just in case something ever happened to him. As such, my body was modeled to be as close to his appearance as possible," the demon continued, frowning at the final statement. "I would have preferred he hadn't been so obsessed, but there's nothing that can be done about it now. I assure you, I'm here to help."

Yang kept her glare locked on him for another moment before letting her stance down and shaking the still offered claw with her flame arm. If he'd wanted to fight, he'd already passed up a dozen perfect openings to throw the first punch.

Still, she really wasn't sure what to say. Shock aside, a fire demon who looked almost exactly like her magic mentor from another world suddenly showed up in front of her in the middle of nowhere talking about how he had all of said mentor's memories. Her grades may never have been as good as Weiss', but even she could tell that there was something fishy about this situation.

That said, End had been perfectly aware that she would mistake him for Natsu and had gone out of his way to correct that mistake. He had all of the Salamander's memories and no way of knowing that Wendy had told her about the anti-dragon transformation antibodies, so pretending to be him having undergone some Dragonforce mutation to get under her guard would have been a simple matter. But he hadn't. That was worth something. Not blind trust, but… she'd hear him out.

"So, you know I'm looking for my mom," she said. "I don't suppose you've got a clue where it is?"

End grinned. "Even better. My nose is just as good as a Dragon Slayer's. And I've got the scent of one of her rats that's scuttling back to the nest. Wherever Raven's holed up, she can't hide from us."

"Raven? You're looking for Raven Branwen?" the storekeeper gasped. "Missy, don't do it! You don't want to go messing with bandits!"

"Your concern is appreciated, old timer," End said. "But finding that woman has been my friend's purpose for quite some time. A bit of danger is hardly cause to retreat."

Yang frowned. He wasn't wrong about her desire to meet and confront Raven. Her talk with Qrow at Beacon had only confirmed that the woman had loved her once, which meant for her own peace of mind, she needed to know why she'd abandoned her. And if it was a shitty reason, that was fine. She already had a kickass super-mom, and she'd take great pleasure in burning the womb donor into the dirt.

But that was something to take care of later. She could sort out her issues with the past after she'd safely reunited with Ruby, Wendy, and the rest of their friends. Qrow was with them, so the fastest way to catch up would be to make the person with the portal semblance give her a lift. And the fastest way to track Raven down was to go with the person who had a way to her camp, instead of aimlessly searching the woods. The person who claimed he 'just wanted to help'.

… Well, End wasn't wrong. A bit of danger wasn't going to stop her. Whatever he or Raven or Salem threw at her, she'd hunker down through it and hit back with everything she had. Hell, he'd practically admitted he had some link to Natsu. If she kept him around long enough, maybe he would lead her to her missing guildmates.

"We'll take my ride," she said, marching past the demon. "You any better than Natsu on a bike?"

End smirked. "Don't worry. I won't puke in your hair."

Yang glared back at him. "You better."

The demon's grin only widened at her threat and the two set out on their way.

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Go Forth and Conquer!