a/n: ssj-Sega went and made a TV Tropes page for this story, and has been diligently updating it in the time it took me to write this chapter. If someone could give them a hand, I'd greatly appreciate it. I updated the prologue again to remove the elemental Glyphs and bring Winter's abilities completely in line with her canon skillset, and gave a more logical explanation for why Bumblebee would let off an energy wave after his Aura was broken. With that out of the way, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 3: Cultural Exchange

The Ursa Major tossed Yang's body aside and plucked Ruby off the ground.

"Y-Yang!" Ruby was four years old all over again, covered in dirt and completely unarmed, "Please, help m-" There was a splash of red as the Ursa Major's jaws snapped shut on the girl's head. It turned to face Yang, Ruby's blood pouring from its jaws as it tossed her headless body at Yang's feet.

"No…"

"No wonder she left you, Yang," the Ursa Major said, "You're weak and useless." Yang screamed and threw her arms back, riding the explosion to punch the Ursa Major. She passed right through it as it laughed.

"Yang?" Ruby's voice echoed. Yang whirled around to face the speaker, only to see a white, hooded cape.

"Mommy!" a now much younger Yang shouted, her pigtails trailing behind her as she ran towards the woman.

"You're not my daughter," the woman coldly replied. Yang paused in her step.

"W-Wha…"

"You're the product of the greatest mistake my beloved Tai ever made!" the woman turned around. Yang Xiao Long remembered how kind, patient, and loving Summer Rose had been. This Summer had nothing but contempt for the weak little girl kneeling in front of her in her silver gaze. "My daughter's name is Ruby Rose, and you nearly got her killed!"

The two of them now stood outside a familiar old shack, snarling Beowolves emerging from the shadows to surround a familiar red wagon.

"Qrow should have taken Ruby and left you to them!" Summer shouted, "I treat you like my own daughter, and you nearly get my real daughter killed in the name of some hair-brained scheme!"

"I-I didn't mean to," Yang cried.

"And even now you were too weak to protect her when it really mattered!" Summer continued as the Beowolves began to circle them, "Leaving Ruby's life in your hands was the biggest mistake of my life." Summer dissolved into white petals as the Beowolves snarled.

"No! Come back!" Yang shouted, "Please! I didn't mean to! I'm sorry! I-" The Beowolves pounced.

Yang awoke with a gasp in the darkness of her room. She sat up to steady her breath as she rose a hand to her head and wiped the sweat off her brow. As her breath evened, she hugged her legs to her chest and sobbed.

"I trust you understand the gravitas of this mission, Qrow," Ozpin opened, "Now that the Autumn has surfaced, we need to secure her before the enemy finds her…"

"Relax Oz, it's not my first escort mission," Qrow Branwen replied, "I'll keep an eye open for that muscle-brained traitor." The two men were in Ozpin's office in Beacon Tower, the sun just peeking over the horizon as Ozpin sat in his chair at the desk and the dusty Huntsman leaning against a wall by the elevator.

"Are you certain you won't be distracted?" Ozpin asked, "I can easily send for Glynda to carry out the escort."

"Until this whole bomb situation is sorted out, I'd best steer clear of Patch," Qrow replied, "You know I don't like testing my luck when my nieces are concerned. The farther away I am, the safer they'll be."

"Just making sure," Ozpin replied, "Amber's life depends on you being completely focused on the mission, and that means I need you to be sober for the duration." Qrow scoffed.

"C'mon Oz, I'm not that bad," Qrow lied.

Ozpin lifted an eyebrow.

"Okay fine! I'll steer clear of the bars until she's safe and sound," Qrow promised, "But the second it's over, I want my flask back!"

"You'll have to fill it yourself," Ozpin deadpanned, "Still, thank you for volunteering for this mission. It's certainly less of a headache than having to swear in a wildcard or trying to convince Ironwood to escort her here instead of into some kind of Maiden Strike Force in Atlas." Qrow snorted.

"Why did we let him in again?" he asked.

"Because we needed Atlas' headmaster to know about the relic he's supposed to guard," Ozpin answered, "Besides, if we're ever in the situation where we need a lot of manpower without recruiting a dangerous number of people, having the commander and chief of the Atlesian Military on speed dial could be the difference between victory and the end of the world."

"I suppose so," Qrow replied, "Anyway, I should probably head out before Jimmy decides to 'help' in that special way that never seems to actually help. See you!" Ozpin watched Qrow depart on the elevator before sighing.

"Between the bomb and the Fall Maiden, I think I've had enough excitement for one year," he remarked, "And yet more issues keep popping up." He took out his Scroll and looked over the message that he had received the previous night.

An issue that came up that we need to discuss in person. Can't leave Patch atm, would it be possible to come here?

"I'll see what Glynda thinks of this," Ozpin decided as he dialed her number, "This is a strange request for him to make…"

Yang groaned as she trudged out of her bedroom. It was hard to sleep when she saw all the creative ways a Grimm could kill her sister every time she closed her eyes.

The fact that I got any sleep at all is a miracle, she thought to herself, even if she wasn't sure how much sleep she had actually gotten. Yang didn't have time to dwell on her sleep (or the lack thereof) as she stumbled into a red, white, and black shape and tumbled to the ground, surrounded by what appeared to be a bunch of comics.

"Yang?" the shape, Ruby, remarked, "You okay? You seem kind of out of it."

"Just had some trouble sleeping," Yang replied, "I'll take a nap after breakfast, and then everything should be fine." Silver eyes looked over her in concern. "I'm fine Rubes, really. If I was able to recover from that Beowolf attack I can recover from this."

"Beowolf attack?" Ruby asked. It was at that moment that Yang remembered that Ruby had slept through the attack and been too young to really remember it even if she hadn't.

"Long story," Yang lied, "But how are you holding up?"

"I had one nightmare," Ruby admitted, "But after Zwei came in for cuddles I was out like a light!" Yang tried not to squee at the adorable mental image and picked up one of the scattered comics.

"Challenge of the Go-Bots?" she read aloud.

"Oh, I was thinking of showing these to Bumblebee," Ruby replied, "I mean, sure, the Go-Bots are technically cyborgs and not robots, but given that they're transforming aliens, I thought he might find the coincidence funny."

"Weren't you going to introduce him to Zwei?" Yang asked. The look of panic on Ruby's face was priceless.

"I knew I was forgetting something!" she dispersed into a cloud of petals that flew right back the way she came, leaving her comics to flutter around on the wind she left in her wake.

"I'd better pick these up for her," Yang remarked with a grin as she heard Ruby collide with something ("Ow!"). She then frowned as her stomach growled. "Then I need to get a bite to eat…"

.

Breakfast had been somewhat awkward. Taiyang kept glancing at his Scroll nervously, Ruby had scarfed down her food then parked next to Zwei to wait for him to finish eating so she could introduce him to Bumblebee, while Yang struggled to keep her eyes open as she slowly munched on her food.

"You okay Yang?" Taiyang asked.

"Just had some trouble sleeping," Yang replied, "Like I told Ruby, I'll take a nap once I've eaten."

"If you're sure…"

.

"Are you ready to meet Bumblebee, Zwei?" Ruby asked as soon as the corgi in question emptied his food dish.

Zwei yipped in response. Ruby grinned and picked up the corgi.

"Ruby," Yang remarked as she finally finished her breakfast, "You do remember that Zwei will follow you if you ask, right?"

"... But then I wouldn't get to carry him," Ruby protested as she hugged the corgi to her chest.

A few seconds of silence followed.

"... Never change Ruby," Yang replied, before yawning, "Never change."

Bumblebee woke up to the sound of someone knocking on the door to the Rose/Xiao Long garage. He resisted the urge to transform into robot mode, noting that if this "Atlesian Military" had tracked him down, it could easily be a trick to get him to switch into robot mode and face him down in confined quarters. Granted, he'd still fare better than one of his larger comrades, like Cliffjumper, Ironhide, Blaster, or one of the many other red Autobots the young scout knew. Bumblebee found himself wondering why they didn't go for more varied paint jobs, especially given the whole "robots in disguise" mantra that Mirage had drilled into his processor. Then again Mirage had a bad habit of impersonating rare and expensive vehicles.

"Hey Bumblebee, you awake?" Yang asked, assuring Bumblebee that he was safe for the time being.

"Yeah," Bumblebee replied as he shifted back into robot mode, "How are you holding up?" Yang Xiao Long shuffled into the room.

"I'm holding up just fine!" she very blatantly lied. Bumblebee shifted a metal plate resembling an eyebrow slightly upward.

"You sure?" he asked, "I haven't had the chance to interact with a lot of organic races, but I can recognize fatigue when I see it."

"I'll be fine once I've had my nap," Yang insisted.

"... If you're sure…" Ruby soon followed through the door, holding a small black and white mass of fur in her arms.

"Good morning Bumblebee!" she greeted, "This is Zwei!"

The adorable little mass yipped in greeting.

"Uh… Hi?" Bumblebee replied, somewhat confused. Zwei jumped out of Ruby's arms and scampered over to the Autobot scout, pawing at his big, metal foot. "... What?"

"I think he wants you to pet him," Yang replied, before yawning.

Zwei yipped, as if in confirmation. Bumblebee knelt down, still confused, and stroked Zwei's back with one finger.

"Good…" he paused, "Ball of fuzz?" He looked up at Yang. "Okay, what exactly is Zwei?"

"He's a corgi," she answered, "A type of dog."

"Oh…" he glanced down at Zwei, who gave him what looked like a dopey smile, his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

"You have no idea what that means, do you?" Yang asked.

"Not the slightest," Bumblebee confirmed. Yang sighed.

"Ruby, why don't you try and explain while I take my nap?" she asked, "It is way too early for this."

.

One extra hour of sleep made a surprising amount of difference, and as soon as Yang had showered and brushed her teeth, she was back in the garage with Bumblebee, repairing one of Ember Cellica's gauntlets on a workbench.

"I'm definitely going to have to go into Vale to get more ammunition," Yang remarked, "It looks like a lot of my explosive rounds were ruined when the Ursa Major bit my arm."

"Look at the bright side," Bumblebee started, "Had your Aura broken a second sooner, the Ursa probably would've ripped it off." Yang winced.

"That would've definitely ruined my plans," she replied, "There's no way we'd be able to afford a prosthetic that would be able to match the amount of fighting I'd have to do as a Huntress."

"A what?" Bumblebee asked.

"A Huntress," Yang replied, "You know how this planet's crawling with the Creatures of Grimm?"

"Yeah," Bumblebee answered, "I can imagine it must make camping an extreme sport."

"As long as you have someone on guard duty, you camp in a designated 'safe area', and everyone's Auras are unlocked, it's not as dangerous as you'd think," Yang replied, "But anyway, they're attracted to negativity: sorrow, fear, rage, and similar emotions, and want to kill mankind: i.e. humans and Faunus, and their creations. To combat that, the best of the best train to become Huntsmen, Huntresses, and/or whatever the gender neutral term for that is."

"Hunter?"

"No, that's someone who hunts animals for food," Yang replied, "Regardless, we spend four years training at one of the four Academies to hone our skills, master our Auras, and eventually get set loose on the world. On paper, Huntsmen and Huntresses aren't really supposed to be loyal to any one Kingdom over another, instead serving as defenders of humanity as a whole. They choose their workload from Mission Boards, or get a job at a Combat School or Huntsman Academy to train future generations. A Huntress answers only to herself."

"So… You're training to become a bounty hunter?" Bumblebee asked.

"Not exactly," Yang replied, "Typically, missions on the mission board are to provide security on convoys, hunt down particularly troublesome Grimm, or to work with police to hunt down a particularly dangerous criminal. In some very rare cases, the local headmaster can call in all of the local Huntsmen and Huntresses in order to deal with an emergency, like a Grimm incursion, but I don't think anything like that has happened since I was born."

"Wait, you have Headmasters here?" Bumblebee remarked.

"Yeah," Yang answered, "Why wouldn't we?"

"I mean, I've never seen an organic race develop Binary Bonding before," Bumblebee opened, "Not to mention the odds of an organic being surviving the surgery needed to have their cranial structure merged with a smaller lifeform are incredibly-"

"Wait… What do you think a Headmaster is?" Yang replied, "Because I meant 'Headmaster' as in the lead teacher."

"Oh, I thought you meant like a smaller being becoming the head of a larger life form," Bumblebee replied.

"That's a thing?" Yang asked.

"It's usually only done in medical emergencies," Bumblebee explained, "Nebulos is where the technology really took off though! And… Wait, what were we talking about?"

"You were curious about what a Huntress is," Yang replied.

"Oh yeah, the privatized national defense," Bumblebee remarked, "I've never really seen anything quite like it before… Except for contract killers like Lockdown…"

"Bumblebee, this system was put into place after the Great War, which ended in the largest Grimm attack in recorded history," Yang explained, "It's a very dangerous job where you either die young, suffer an injury that forces you to retire, or do what Dad did and shift focus to training future generations. Huntsmen and Huntresses do work for groups and communities, not individuals. The very point of the system is to encourage peace and commerce between the four Kingdoms!" She sighed as the image of a silver-eyed woman in a white hood came to mind. "Some are only in it for the paycheck, but the job is just so dangerous that most are either in it to protect humanity as a whole or for the thrill of the hunt." Bumblebee glanced at Yang.

"Which are you?" he asked.

"I've always wanted to see the world," Yang replied with a shrug, "I don't really want a stable, certain life. I want every day to be an adventure, to have no idea what new mess I could find myself in when I get up the next day, to stare into the darkness and make it blink." She grinned. "Saving lives for a living is really just the icing on the cake."

"The what on the what?" Bumblebee asked.

"You'll figure it out if you hang around here long enough for a birthday," Yang replied with a wave of her hand.

"So saving lives is secondary to your thrill seeking?"

"I'd never deliberately put someone in harm's way to play hero, if that's what you're asking," Yang replied, an edge in her voice that made Bumblebee flinch, "That's a good way to get sued and/or jailed if you're lucky enough to survive long enough to be sued or jailed. But honestly, I just can't imagine being anything but a Huntress. It's what I've dreamed about my whole life. And it's a job I don't intend to half-ass." Bumblebee flinched a second time when Yang turned to face him for that last statement.

"Sorry for implying otherwise," the Autobot replied, hoping he hadn't already managed to irrevocably screw up with the Rose/Xiao Longs, "So… What's with those Grimm anyway?"

"Nobody knows," Yang answered, her tone and countenance softening (Oh thank Primus! Bumblebee thought), "They pretty much ignore plants and animals except when fighting over territory, and mindlessly hunt down humans and Faunus in order to kill them. They don't need to eat, but some choose to in order to scare their still living prey to make tracking them easier. There are recorded instances of some particularly smart Grimm watching two people fight to the death only to kill the victor immediately after it's done. That Ursa we fought yesterday was smart enough to keep Ruby alive to use her as bait! They never get tired, they never get hungry, they can't be reasoned with, and we don't know anything about where they come from!" She closed her eyes. "What makes it worse is that the Grimm either ignore each other or work together in order to kill their 'prey'! And if you capture one live and try to study it, it'll either bust out to kill you, or waste away to death if it can't do that! And given that they dissolve on death…"

"... Okay, even if they weren't a threat to civilization I can see how that would be annoying," Bumblebee replied, "Jetfire would probably short circuit from sheer frustration."

"Just tell him to focus on the best ways to kill a Grimm and how it fights and he'll probably have a field day," Yang replied as she reattached the gauntlet to her arm, "Alright, looks like I got all the dents out! Now I just need to check and see if Rubes and Dad need anything."

.

"Okay, so in addition to some more explosive rounds for Ember Celica, we just need to pick up an extra carton of milk, a bag of dogfood for Zwei, and some gravity rounds for Crescent Rose," Yang read off the sheet of paper she was holding, "Is there anything we need to get for you?"

"The engine that came with this alt-mode should let me use the local fuel source to power pretty much everything but my laser core," Bumblebee replied. Yang blinked.

"Your what?"

"It's the organ that keeps my body functioning," Bumblebee answered, "Some bots call it the 'Spark Chamber' because of how critical it is in keeping us alive. And once it stops… There's no way to really restart it."

"Oh," Yang remarked, then the implications of what Bumblebee just said hit her like a truck, "Oh…"

"Yeah, so while I will need to ingest some actual Energon eventually, this 'Combustion Dust' the G1-Dustfire is supposed to run on should buy me some time," Bumblebee replied, "Once I get my homing beacon back, it'll just be a matter of figuring out where on Remnant I need to go, and how to get there." The more Bumblebee talked, the more bleak his situation appeared to be.

"How long do you have?" Yang asked.

"I dunno," Bumblebee replied, "I don't feel that emptiness that used to be a constant back in Kaon, so we probably have plenty of time."

Yang let out a sigh of relief, glad that her new friend wasn't on death's door quite yet.

"Although if you're still worried, when I start to run low on energon, my body will shut down my ranged weapons and start rerouting all of my energon to my laser core," Bumblebee explained, "I'll end up becoming more lethargic and my electrical and magnetic sensitivity will become more, well, sensitive to help me locate more energon."

"In that case, we should probably stop by a Dust station on our way to town," Yang replied, "And I'm ready to go as soon as you are!" Bumblebee grinned and folded back into motorcycle mode, letting Yang climb on as the garage door opened. Bumblebee's engine began to rumble.

"Hold it!" Taiyang shouted as he barged into the garage, "Where do you two think you're going?"

"... Shopping," Yang answered after a brief pause.

"Not without this you're not," Taiyang replied as he held up Yang's helmet, "Remember what I said when we picked him up?"

"Oh… Right…" Yang blushed as she took the helmet from her father, "Sorry, we kinda started talking, I learned he could starve to death if we don't get him to his ship in time, and-"

"Relax," Taiyang interrupted, "As long as you remember to wear your helmet in the future, I'm going to let it slide just this once."

"Thank you," Yang replied as she strapped on the helmet.

"Don't mention it," Taiyang replied as he handed his daughter a water bottle, "I also thought you might be kinda thirsty."

"It was getting kinda hot in here," Yang remarked as she uncapped the bottle and took a sip, missing the mischievous glint in her father's eye.

"Just remember to always use protection when you're riding Bumblebee," Taiyang said. Yang Xiao Long sputtered and coughed up some of the water.

"DID YOU HAVE TO WORD IT LIKE THAT?!"

"If you had remembered your helmet, I wouldn't have needed to," her father replied with an all too maniacal grin.

"I don't get it," Bumblebee replied.

"And thank God for that!" Yang replied as she sped out of the garage to get away from that awkward situation.

"Dad, why did Yang just scream?" Ruby asked as she poked her head out the door.

"Can you believe we missed all the action the other day?" an Atlesian soldier asked his counterpart.

"I can't believe we got relocated from Mistral," the soldier next to him said as she cleaned her gun, "We were so close to finding Sienna Khan but no, we have to come here to diffuse a bomb from a bygone era! Except somehow the Valeans are too stupid to tell the difference between a bomb and a freaking motorcycle!"

"I don't get what's got Winter so worried about that thing anyway," the first soldier remarked, "I mean, how much damage can a motorcycle cause?"

"Hey, it's an easy promotion if we can catch it," the second pointed out, right as Yang sped past on Bumblebee.

"... What color was the motorcycle again?" the first asked.

"Yellow and black," the second answered.

"And what color was the bike that girl just drove past on?" the first continued. The second grinned.

"Just the right color for our paycheck," she answered.

.

"Oh grapes," Yang cursed as she heard the police siren and pulled over. She was soon approached by two Atlesian soldiers on white motorcycles of their own, the sirens seeming to come from them. "Can I help you officers?" she asked.

"Yeah miss, we're looking for a stolen motorcycle that matches the color scheme of the one you're riding," the male one remarked.

"My dad can verify that we bought this completely legally last week," Yang replied.

"Shut up kid!" the female one snapped, "We're soldiers, not cops!"

"Last time I checked, the local militia doesn't have the authority to make arrests," Yang replied.

"The Atlesian Military has ever since we merged with the police force," the first soldier stated.

"Does that include out of Kingdom arrests?" Yang asked.

"Quiet!" SMACK!

Bumblebee's engine rumbled with a near-animalistic growl as Yang rubbed her cheek and her eyes turned red.

"Now listen here," the soldier who had hit Yang continued, oblivious to Valean girl's fury, "We're dealing with a very delicate situation here, and if you're not with us." She cocked her gun for emphasis as a white car drove up on the road behind them.. "- You're against us. So I suggest that you think very carefully before you mouth off, and consider the position you're in."

"What the Hell are you idiots doing!?"

"Special Operative Schnee!" both soldiers shouted as they turned to salute the newcomer, who was just now stepping out of the car and looked about ready to tear out their throats with her bare hands.

"We found the motorcycle you put out an alert for," the male one shouted.

"This Valean brat was being uncooperative, so I was going to teach her to respect the Atlesian Military!" the one who had smacked Yang added. Judging by the way Winter's eyebrow was twitching, she wasn't amused.

"We're an army, not the Mystrali Cartel," Winter replied, "And we're in enough hot water with the Vale Council as is with this whole bomb situation!"

"But… The bike…" both soldiers were tackled to the ground by frosty Beowolf facsimiles.

"The motorcycle we're looking for is not a production model," Winter started, her stoic facade betrayed only by the furious snarling of her Bewolves, "This girl is riding a G1 Dustfire! A sports motorcycle!" She stepped over the soldiers (still pinned by her Beowolves) to approach Yang. "I am terribly sorry for their behavior," she started, "If you could let me handle disciplining them and not mention this to the local authorities…" She handed Yang a few Lien cards.

"Double your offer and we have a deal," Yang replied. Winter handed over a few more Lien cards.

"Again, terribly sorry, I don't know what they were thinking," she continued.

"Maybe they were jealous of my sweet ride," Yang replied, "Bumblebee is a pretty cool bike!" Yang rode off as the fake Beowolves picked up the two soldiers so Winter could shout at them some more.

.

"Wow… I never thought I'd be happy to see her," Bumblebee commented, "A second there I was worried I'd have to blow my cover."

"I could've handled it," Yang replied.

"You sure?"

"Bee, I'm training to fight monsters and regularly beat up criminals to get information on someone I'm looking for," Yang answered, "I could easily wipe the floor with a couple of Atlesian thugs and call the cops on them for impersonating local law enforcement. They might act like they own the place, but the Atlesian Military has very little authority outside of the Kingdom of Atlas. They can help local law enforcement, but if they start to overstep their bounds, the Vale Council can tell them where to shove it. Just… You know, politely and with a lot of legalese."

"That makes sense," Bumblebee replied, "I think. Why do you call them Kingdoms when there aren't any kings?"

"Because up until the Great War, they were run by Kings," Yang replied, "The Last King of Vale abdicated the throne and established the Council System in all four Kingdoms as part of the peace treaty, so that the people could govern themselves."

"Oh! Kinda like the High Council back on Cybertron!" Bumblebee remarked, "Granted, the High Council on Cybertron consisted of twelve elected seats who chose the Prime, but I'm guessing that things are kinda different here?"

"Yeah, for one, while I can't speak for the other Kingdoms, Vale only has three seats," Yang explained, "Two of them represent cities, one of them represents the Kingdom as a whole, and there's an election every couple of years to rotate them out. Each member of the council has certain legal powers that keep the other three in check. That way, none of them can become a king." The two of them turned for the bridge to Vale. "Alright, we're heading for the city. If you have any other questions, they'll have to wait until we're not surrounded by people."

"Consider my voicebox, muted," Bumblebee replied.

Bumblebee decided that muting his voice box was the both the smartest and the most frustrating thing he could've done, considering how lively Vale was. There were humans of all shapes, sizes, and colors walking around. A few even seemed to have horns, claws, or tails.

I should ask Yang about that later, Bumblebee thought to himself as he had other realizations. For one, a lot of the streetlights appeared to be holographic, while some airships rowed through the air overhead. The flag of Vale itself seemed to depict a half-circle of leaves surrounding an X formed of two battleaxes.

.

The duo's first stop was a Dust station, with Yang filling Bumblebee's Motorcycle Engine with this "Combustion Dust" the G1 Dustfire apparently ran on. Huh, it has quite a kick to it, Bumblebee thought, Too bad it's not as refreshing as energon. The next stop had been an ammunition shop named "A Shot in the Dark", which Yang spent roughly half an hour in. Their third and final stop after that was a "grocery store". By the time Yang walked out the door, it was almost noon and her bag was practically swelling.

"The downside to shopping on a motorcycle," Yang commented as soon as she and Bumblebee were back on Patch, "Nowhere to put the bag." The Autobot scout chuckled as Yang adjusted her bag.

"Maybe you should've gone with a backpack," he suggested, "Oh, by the way, I noticed something kinda weird while we were in the city."

"What's that?" Yang asked.

"Why did some of the humans have horns, tails, claws, and other extra parts?" Bumblebee asked.

"Those… Weren't humans," Yang explained, "They were Faunus, a race humanity shares Remnant with… In theory."

"What do you mean 'in theory'?" Bumblebee asked.

"A lot of people… Don't think the Faunus are people," Yang explained as delicately as she could, "You see, Faunus are a lot like humans, except for better night vision and the fact that each one has a single animal trait, be it horns, a tail, or an extra set of ears or eyes."

"Go on."

"As stupid as it is, a lot of humans think that's reason enough to treat Faunus like they actually are animals," Yang replied, "They're not, but… Well, there's this Faunus in Ruby's class who very loudly wishes she shed her reindeer antlers every winter like her dad so random strangers would stop harassing her over them."

"Oh…" Bumblebee replied, "Reminds me of how Beastformers and Mini-Cons were treated back on Cybertron." Yang raised an eyebrow.

"What and what?"

"Beastformers are what they sound like, Transformers who base their altmodes off of animals rather than machines," Bumblebee replied, "Even if most of Cybertron's wildlife are machines, it was enough for some bots to treat them like they actually are those animals, even in robot mode. And you can probably guess from my story why Mini-Cons got a rough treatment."

"I can imagine," Yang admitted.

"Yeah, now imagine if I had been Ruby's size, and that's basically what it's like to be a Mini-Con."

Yang pushed the mental image of a battered Ruby as a giant robot's servant to the back of her mind, particularly the mental image of the likely and messy end result of that robot getting physically violent with her baby sister. Even if Bumblebee could take over steering while she adjusted her bag again, it didn't mean she could take it as an excuse to slack off.

.

"So… You live outside of Vale?" Bumblebee asked.

"The city? Yes," Yang answered, "The Kingdom? Not really. Patch is considered a part of the Kingdom of Vale. The water around the island is too shallow for large Grimm to get there, and the island's geography means that the smaller Grimm who dwell in the forests usually have trouble getting to where the people live."

"Usually?" Bumblebee replied.

"All this 'Mantlite bomb' nonsense has people scared and nervous," Yang explained, "Emotions like fear and nervousness attracts the Grimm. So instead of a couple of Grimm navigating the island to try and find someone in a bad mood, the entire population of Patch is basically one big Grimm magnet."

"... Sorry about that," Bumblebee replied.

"It's not your fault," Yang assured, "I mean, judging by the fact that your stasis pod was underground, you had to have been here for ages."

"Yeah…" Bumblebee replied, "I wonder if any of the others are okay…"

"Hey, if you survived the fall from space, I'm pretty sure the others could too!" Yang assured.

"It's not the fall that has me worried," Bumblebee replied, "It's whatever caused us to crash in the first place."

Yang fell silent as they rode down the road.

"Okay!" Ruby said as she put up the map of Remnant on the garage wall, "Even if you get your homing beacon back, you're going to need to figure out how to get to the crash site!"

"How long have you guys had that map?" Bumblebee whispered to Yang.

Yang shrugged as she took a bite out of her sandwich.

"Best case scenario, the crash site is somewhere on Patch!" Ruby explained, pointing to Patch on the map, "The worst you'll have to worry about is keeping the Grimm out of your things and hiding from Winter until the Vale Council kicks her out. However, it might also have landed here!" She pointed at a tiny island in the Southeast. "The good news is that the Atlesian Military is not welcome in Menagerie. The bad news is that we'd have to find a trustworthy Faunus willing to risk the Atlesian Military's wrath to get you there, given that a human on Menagerie would raise eyebrows at best and earn the wrath of the White Fang at worst. On the plus side, I hear that Menagerie's a very beautiful place to visit, even if you'd stand out like a sore thumb." Yang raised her hand.

"Ruby, how long have you been working on this?" she asked.

"Since you left!" Ruby answered, "Oh! That reminds me, how good are you at digging?"

"... What does that have to do with what Yang asked?" Bumblebee asked.

Ruby simply crossed her arms and started tapping her foot impatiently.

"Oh uh… Mediocre?" Bumblebee shrugged.

"Well then you might want to work on that, because if it's in Vacuo," she pointed at a tan spot on the Southwestern half of the continent Vale was on, "You'll probably have to dig through a ton of sand! Seriously, last time Uncle Qrow went there, he was tracking sand everywhere for weeks!"

"So it's like the Sea of Rust?" Bumblebee asked.

"Maybe?" Ruby answered, "Oh! You might want to work on your heating if it landed somewhere in Solitas!" she pointed to the northernmost continent on the map. "Aside from being the coldest place in Remnant, it's also where Atlas is, and we all know that you and the Atlesian Military aren't exactly on speaking terms at the moment."

"Understatement of the millennium," Bumblebee replied, "Anything I should know about the other continents?"

"Anima is basically just a warmer version of Solitas," Ruby explained as she pointed at the continent East of Vale, "Except there are a lot of villages, a lot of cities with diverse cultures, and the Atlesian Military has a bit more authority than they do here thanks to Atlas and Mistral getting along really well. The White Fang also has a pretty strong presence in Southern Mistral as well, so… Yeah."

"What about that one continent that looks kinda like a winged monster?" Bumblebee asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ruby replied.

Bumblebee pointed at the dragon-shaped continent South of Solitas but Northwest of Sanus.

"Oh… Yeah if it landed there, you're screwed," Ruby replied very bluntly, "All I know about that place is that everyone who's tried to live there long term has never been heard from again. Ever."

"So… Like a more extreme Tsiehshi?" Bumblebee asked.

"Pretty much!" Ruby replied, "Now, we should also consider the possibility that your ship might have landed in the ocean, in which case we should probably make sure you're waterproof…"

"Now then, you remember what I told you?" Taiyang asked as the sun set.

"Turn right around if we see anyone, especially Atlesian Soldiers, don't get into a fight unless we absolutely have to, we're not to follow the beacon's signal until your friend arrives, and I need to keep my helmet on while riding Bee's alt-mode," Yang answered.

"Good, and Bumblebee?" Taiyang turned to the giant robot who lived in his garage.

"If I let anything happen to your daughter you'll dismantle me with your bare hands," Bumblebee replied.

"Good," Taiyang replied, "Now, I want both of you to be careful and get out of there at the first sign of trouble. There was a Nevermore sighting earlier and nobody's reported its demise, so make sure to always have something over your heads."

"Yes Dad," Yang replied, "Relax, I have a giant alien robot backing me up, what's the worst that could happen?"

"The Nevermore could rip you right off of Bumblebee's back and fly away before he's done transforming, eating you alive in its nest," Taiyang answered.

"Like I'd let it get that close to me in the first place," Yang scoffed.

"Don't worry sir, I'll keep an optic on the sky at all times," Bumblebee promised.

"I'll hold you to that," Taiyang replied, "Now, both of you be careful, and good luck." Bumblebee shifted into motorcycle mode and let Yang hop on.

"Don't worry Dad," Yang replied, "We'll be back before you know it!"

"Don't worry Mister Xiao Long, this isn't my first rodeo," Bumblebee replied, "I have a couple millions of years of experience."

"That's good to… Wait, what?" An equally surprised Yang rode off on Bumblebee as Taiyang processed what Bumblebee just said. "A couple millions of what?"

"Wait, his name is literally Rusty?" Bumblebee asked.

"Yeah, it's why the shop's called 'Witwicky Automotive', would you buy a machine from a shop named 'Rusty Automotive'?" Yang asked, still trying to process just how old her alien robot motorcycle friend was.

"After I caught a bad case of the Cosmic Rust, frag no!" Bumblebee replied.

"Cosmic Rust?" Yang questioned.

"Does your planet have any ailment that causes your flesh to rot and eventually fall off?" Bumblebee asked. Yang's eyes widened in horror.

"Dear God…"

"Is that a 'no' or did I accidentally strike too close to home?" Bumblebee asked.

"Don't worry about it, we're coming up on the auto shop here anyway," Yang replied, wanting to change the subject to get the mental image of her arm decaying away out of her mind. She pulled over to the side of the road and put down the kickstand. "Where did you say you put it?"

"Under a tree, in between the roots, covered by a rock," Bumblebee answered as Yang put her helmet on his handlebar, "If it won't budge, you've got the wrong rock."

"Got it!"

"Oh! And the tree was closer to the cars," Bumblebee added before Yang could take off, "I had to dash across the lot to get to where you found me."

"Got it!" Yang repeated, "Anything else?"

"Nope!"

"Then I'll be right back!"

.

Yang glanced around the woods, shooting occasional glances at the sky for bird-shaped abominations.

"Maybe I should've asked what side of the tree the rock was on," she remarked, "That could've saved me some ti-" she tripped over a rock. "Oh son of a- Wait a second." She pushed herself to her feet and glanced at the rock she had just tripped over. "There's no way it's that easy," she muttered as she pulled the rock free from the roots. She put it aside as soon as it was out of the way, and noticed a futuristic metal disk. "Maybe it is?" she pulled it free with a grunt of effort, and flipped it over to see a screen covered with strange symbols she didn't recognize pointing to the Autobot logo she did recognize. "Huh, guess it's time to head home now."

"Excuse me," Yang whirled around to face the unfamiliar voice, trying to hide the shield-sized disk behind her back to no avail. The speaker was a girl her age with golden eyes, black hair, black and white clothes, and a black bow completing the ensemble. "May I see what you have there?"

"Sorry, I don't really have time to chat," Yang replied, her mind trying to figure out why some random (yet admittedly attractive) girl she'd never seen before would be out in the middle of the woods at this hour of the night.

"Really? Now why would you be in a hurry?" the girl pressed as she walked up to Yang, "And I can't see why one look would hurt."

"My friend needs it," Yang replied, hoping that would be enough.

"Would your friend happen to be Specialist Winter Schnee?" the girl asked, "Because I know Atlesian tech when I see it."

"Who's asking?" Yang asked. The black haired girl actually smirked in response.

"You're obviously not one of Ironwood's underlings," she replied, "Atlesian Soldiers are far cooler under pressure."

"Hey!"

"But to answer your question," a dozen figures dropped out of the trees as the girl pulled a weapon from behind her, and then unsheathed what appeared to be a katana with a ribbon and a built-in pistol, "The White Fang would like to have some words with you." Yang glanced between the figures, each one clad in a white hood and Grimm mask. Eight of them wielded guns, the remaining four chains, and all twelve of them had knives strapped to their hip.

"Yang! Get down!" Bumblebee shouted. Yang ducked without a moment's hesitation as a red blade sliced through the air where her head had been a second ago.

"Adam! I had it under control!" the black-haired girl shouted.

"Then grab the bomb before she gets away," a new voice added as Yang dashed away from where she had been standing and shot a glance over her shoulder to see a red-haired bull Faunus in a Grimm mask, "And I want someone to find her lookout!"

Adam's call was answered by the revving of a motorcycle engine as he whirled around to face the noise, just in time to slash across the front of a riderless motorcycle and divert its course.

"The Hell?"

The black haired girl took that as her cue to dash forward and yank the dish from Yang's grasp while slashing across her Aura with her katana.

"Hey! Bumblebee needs that!" Yang shouted as the girl in question grabbed the ribbon of her katana and threw the blade into the treetops.

"Sorry, just following orders," the black-haired girl replied.

Yang growled and threw a punch, the girl dissolving into shadows on impact. "What the-" she glanced up at the trees, just in time to see the girl jump away. "Oh no you don't!" she threw out her arms behind her, launching two explosive rounds that kicked up a lot of dirt and propelled her into the air, only for a metal chain to wrap around her foot. "Oh grapes."

"Hang on!" Bumblebee shouted as he unfolded into robot mode, startling all of the White Fang goons present and nearly causing the girl in the trees to lose her footing in shock. Before anyone had anytime to react, a glowing, blue blade cut through the chain and Bumblebee caught Yang with his other arm. "Think you can get my homing beacon back while I handle these thugs?"

"Hey!" one of the thugs shouted.

"Probably a good idea," Yang replied.

"Do you have enough Aura to survive getting thrown?"

"Of cour- wait wha-" Bumblebee threw Yang at the girl in the trees without answering her, before turning to face the thirteen thugs left behind.

"It's not too late to talk this out."

"Any friend of humanity is an enemy of the White Fang," Adam replied as he sheathed his blade and detached his blade from his hip, "I don't know what you are, but I refuse to let a machine ruin my plans!"

"Buddy, I've been fighting monsters far larger for far longer than you've probably been alive," Bumblebee replied as a wasp-like mask covered his face and he traded out his Energon blades for his wrist-mounted shotguns, "But if you want to embarrass yourself, don't let me stop you."

Adam replied by pointing his sheath at Bumblebee, and pulling the trigger.

a/n: And that's it for this chapter! Not really sure how much I like the final product, but hey, it moved the plot forward and I can get to the part I've REALLY been looking forward to: the inherent UST of a rivalry! And Taiyang was just being a troll, I meant what I said about Yang and Bumblebee not becoming a couple. Even if Yang WAS attracted to Bumblebee, she's still a minor, and Bumblebee isn't into Protoforms.

Additionally, I'm going to be sharing some of the behind-the-scenes information on this chapter on my tumblr page: .com. ssj-Sega, you might also want to check it out.

Now for responses to reviews!

AssassinAkame: There's no way to answer that question without spoiling the story, but I'm glad to see that you're enjoying it so far! I was actually going to namedrop some more female Autobots in the last chapter, but in the end I only ended up hinting at Solus Prime and Star Drive wound up being the only one to appear. You know, the triple-changer who doesn't even have a toy. I want to do better than Hasbro when it comes to female characters.

Angron: Thank you for providing the perfect example of how not to review this story! I was going to delete your review, but then I figured "Why not let Angron embarass themself" because CLEARLY you have nothing better to do with your time than complain about imaginary plotholes (he was only going to move it to Remnant's upper atmosphere and Patch is a PART of Vale), whine about your pairings not being canon, and then make comments that have no relevance to the story in my reviews. Unless you can say something I can actually use, I will not be letting anymore of your anonymous reviews through. Have a good day.

merendinoemilliano: I know that Primus is the creator of the Transformers, I was referencing Primon, who prior to the first 13 Primes were introduced to the meta-lore, WAS the first Transformer. I had him predate the 13 as an homage to that backstory. As for why I didn't show off more Semblances, I showed off Megatron's (the ability to alter the potency of Energon) and Deadlock's (Yang's Semblance, but with speed instead of strength), but ultimately decided to focus on the backstory and flesh out the cool powers of the others when it becomes relevant.

ssjSega: I've already responded to most of what you had to say, but I will reiterate this right here: Just because Bumblebee brushed over losing his voicebox in the summation of his backstory doesn't mean that it won't be important later. Additionally, I'm going to be making a "Behind the Scenes" post on my Tumblr in a bit, so feel free to check that out!

Next time: Yang and Bumblebee have their first fight as a team, and chekov's gun will fire. Have a good day everyone!

Update 7/20/2020: Did some clean-up to a few of the sentences and paragraphs.

Update 12/1/2021: Turns out that Ozpin doesn't have a Council Seat. That's just an Atlas thing. My bad.