A Cosmic Journey

A/N: Guess who just watched episode 1 of Volume 7? This guy! But in all seriousness, there wasn't really information that needed to be added in this fic, so rest assured that spoilers will not occur. In other news, I have some reviews to address, since a decent number of readers had something to say about this past chapter, so here we go.

DG2: Sorry to hear you didn't like the way this fic started, or the choice of timeline. It's a completely valid viewpoint to have though, so best of luck finding something you enjoy reading.

Gobert600: Good to hear from you again. I will state that due to Kouzai's training and experiences, he will most definitely have an edge on the canon characters, including Cardin.

Maxobb: I apologize if it looks like I wrote the chapter and Ilia to give the appearance that I intend to ship the two characters together. My intention is for a friendship between the two, rather than a romantic relationship. As Ilia has only been portrayed in canon thus far to have feelings for Blake, and given Blake's comment towards Neptune trying to flirt with Ilia, I will be sticking to the portrayal of Ilia as a lesbian until any further facts are provided in RWBY. Hopefully that doesn't upset any readers, but what can you do.

The Inquisitor: You know, your review sounds very similar to that of a certain guest posting reviews towards the start of the fic. As the current rate of increasing explosive magnitude, I shudder to think of what the solution will be after orbital bombardment.

Gizmo Gear: Always good to get your reviews. I also very much enjoy writing these omakes, and am glad others enjoy reading them, so definitely look forward to more.

Theepicmonsta: You're very welcome, and thank you for the compliments. I try to adhere to the philosophy of planning before writing as much as possible, though engagements such as grad school and work can put a damper on that. As for the direction of this story with Nora and Ren, I completely understand that some were surprised at the choice that won in the polls, given that fics with a major focus on Nora and Ren are nearly unheard of as opposed to Ozpin/Glynda or Roman/Neo. Like I've said in previous chapters, I had fun ideas for each choice, but it's good to know that this fic is well received enough to be more appealing than some of the Roman and Neo ones out there.

Raidentensho: Thanks for the compliment. Excelsior would be an interesting name for Jaune's semblance, but unfortunately Kouzai is already aware of Jaune's semblance name, as inane as it is.

Chapter 12: A Rolling Stone

Chapter Date 11/11/19

CLANG

'Superior sense of balance. Ability to lodge weapons between attached blades. Fine Aura cont-c'mon, I'm supposed to be thinking of a weakness here!...Got it!'

Weaving through controlled combinations of slashes, kicks and gunfire with Stormflower, I responded with parries, blocks and returned fire from Mirror's Edge. Ren wasn't making much progress in whittling my Aura down, but I wasn't making much headway on landing hits against the flexible fighter. Good with his limbs, he was a nimble striker, with a good combination of weapon and Aura skills. But outside the area of striking?

Chronometry active, I split Mirror's Edge apart, and did my best to deflect the flurry of shots from Stormflower capitalizing on the opening in my defense. Gritting my teeth, I pressed forward towards Ren, holstering one of my longswords and pointing the other at Ren. Twisting my body, I tossed my first longsword like a javelin, using the full-body momentum to rotate and grab my other longsword from my back. As Ren ducked under the bladed projectile, I dashed into his range and cleaved downward with the other half of Mirror's Edge, held in both hands. With impressive core strength, Ren leaned out of the way of the strike and made to hook my blade with Stormflower. As his weapons came in contact with mine, Ren's pink irises flared in mute satisfaction…only to narrow as a wide grin came over my face.

Waiting for the exact moment in the perception of Chronometry, I felt the slowed vibration of colliding metal travel up my arms, and heaved upwards as hard as I could with both hands pressed against the flat side of Mirror's Edge. With superior fast-twitch muscle control and the element of surprise, I wrenched Stormflower from Ren's hands as all three weapons flew skyward, though neither Ren nor I paid them any attention. Immediately recovering, Ren thrusted a pulsing palm forward and my head rocked back as the wave of Aura rattled my skull. As momentum started to force me back, I looked down and grabbed Ren's arm, locking it against my side. Pulling Ren with me, I dug my feet in and reached behind my back with my left hand. As Ren was almost chest-to-chest with me, I pulled Corona out and pointed it at Ren's head. A momentary widening of Ren's eyes was all the warning that he had, but a smirk on his face was all I had, as pain flared at my left side. A near-instant glance down showing one of Ren's knives digging into the Aura near-centimeters from my heart, I grimaced momentarily.

'Well played.'

BANG BANG BANG

Pulling the trigger as fast as I could manage, a trio of shots hit Ren's head, chest and shoulder, the combined force pushing him away as Ren managed one last wide slash across my torso. Both of us remaining on our feet, the clear sound of the Aura alarm rang, and we both paused to looked at an intensely focused Nora as our weapons clattered against the ground nearby. Both scrolls held in front of her face, furtive teal eyes darted back and forth between both screens. Then slowly, she rotated her hands so the screens faced us.

Kouzai Higure: 22%

Lie Ren: 14%

"…I won?" My dumbfounded face on full display, I was completely uncaring as I stared at the numbers on the screen.

Three and a half years. Over a thousand fights. And finally, finally…

"YOU WON!" A pink-clad meteor collided with me and proceeded to wrap life-squeezing arms around me. Inhumanly dense muscles were like silly putty when matched up to even more inhumanly dense muscles.

"Congratulations." Ren rubbed a likely sore spot on his forehead, gracefully glided over and clapped a hand on my shoulder. "It was well-fought and well-planned as well. How long have you been considering that strategy to disarm me of Stormflower?"

There was no way I could tell either of them that I'd been coming up with combat contingencies for nearly every character in RWBY since the last flower viewing festival. After our encounter with the White Fang, and nearly having to fight Blake, I came to the hard conclusion that I might not always have the benefit of being friendly with some characters in the show, be they heroic or villainous. Planning for the antagonists of RWBY wouldn't be enough, not when there was still time before canon began to encounter other characters on less-than-favorable grounds. Not to mention if those encounters occurred while on a mission as the Specter.

"I just picked up on things after fighting you for years now." Both true and false, considering that I knew Ren and Nora's fighting styles more intimately than any other combatant on Remnant, so coming up with countermeasures against them was theoretically the easiest. On the other hand though, facing me and each other in hundreds and hundreds of spars had led to all of us constantly evolving, covering our weaknesses and improving our strengths. As this point, I had no idea how much stronger I'd made them in the course of capitalizing on their weaknesses in canon.

They'd need it though. If not for the possibility of the Fall of Beacon happening, then… "I need to tell you both something…" Nora and Ren stopped their usual comedy routine to look concerned.

"Is something wrong, Kouzai?" Ren was the first to ask.

'Something will be. Something no one else knows about yet.' I'd spent so many nights in the months since encountering with the White Fang just wracking my brain. I'd been here three years already, and save getting Jaune's family to train him as a huntsman and getting Ilia to leave the White Fang, there wasn't much I'd contributed to helping prevent any of the atrocities that I knew were coming. And really, it was the one big one which led to most of the others. To nip such conflicts in the bud meant…

"I need to travel to Vale." I had to put my life on the line now to have a chance of making it later on.

Unsurprisingly, Nora and Ren looked dumbfounded, but Nora was the first to recover. "Vale? Why would you need to go there? We're still over a year away from being able to apply to Beacon. This is what was so important?"

I shook my head, mentally bracing myself for what I'd unfold. "No, it's not Beacon. I…I've been remembering things, bits and flashes about my past. Nothing substantive, but-"

"You believe your past, or some clue of it to be in Vale," Ren finished for me, and I nodded. He was silent for a moment, before giving a sincere smile. "Good. Do you require any assistance?"

'…What?...' "Uhh, you know I just dropped that I'll have to leave Mistral, likely sooner rather than later, to go to a whole new kingdom for the barest hint to my past?" At that, Nora nodded vigorously, her own megawatt smile now present.

"Yup, and that's good." I wasn't making any effort to hide my confusion here. "I'm serious! For years, since we've met you, you've been almost adamant about not finding out about your past. I mean, the doctors said your memory might return with time, but it was almost eerie how unconcerned you were with having a majority of your life be forgotten to you."

"In more, polite terms," Ren continued while looking exasperated at Nora, "to see you focused on wanting to discover something, anything about your past, regardless of whether it might be a long shot, is a humane trait."

Now it was my turn to look dumbfounded. 'I know I haven't been playing the whole amnesiac front that well, but I didn't realize I was coming across as unconcerned about the whole thing! Maybe it's because I never actually forgot anything.'

Then their words registered. "Wait, are you saying that I'm inhuman at times? Like, moreso than the average superpowered Aura user?" Again, both Nora and Ren nodded.

"You have an atmosphere about you, a presence that appears unflappable to most things, even when it comes to topics like meeting celebrities, high-ranking military personnel and even terrorists." Ren counted off some fingers while Nora took over.

"Not to mention, you have know waaay more stuff than anyone would expect someone with amnesia to be able to remember or learn. That, and you've got a protective streak a mile wide when it comes to us and your other friends." Nora looked to the side at Ren with both hands covering his face. "What? I thought this was common knowledge by now."

'Not to me! Dust, I have not been covering my tracks well. But…' "Debates on my protectiveness aside, I only know a little more than the average citizen when it comes to most subjects, and a lot less when it comes to others. And what about you, Nora? You've got such a flair with Dust that you've been mixing your own explosive mix for your canisters! That's true genius there."

"Yeah, but I don't have amnesia," Nora pointed out matter-of-factly. "Plus, I may be able to do a whole lot with Dust, but it's not like I can explain it. It just kinda happens. You on the other hand, can learn subjects fast and teach them to others."

"That's just because I'm trying to learn about things that will help as a Huntsmen, and teach them to you two." I pinched my nose in frustration. "The point is, I have an idea of where I'll need to go, and it's something I'd rather find out for myself."

Ren nodded, his pink eyes gazing off in thought. "Quite understandable. Will you require our assistance in narrowing down the area?"

'Tempting, but I'm already looking far too suspicious as it is. If they were to track me to the area, or hear about what happens there, I'll have some very tough questions to answer.' Good thing I had an alternative. "I'll be alright. I plan on spending some time in Vale anyways, so locating the area in particular shouldn't be too difficult."

"Very well. And you mentioned you would rather depart sooner than later?" Ren's eyes narrowed at my confirmation. "Then let's make preparations then."

"Uhh, for what?" My shoulder then stung from a 'tap' of Nora's fist.

"To see you off, silly! We might not be coming with you to Vale, but we can at least travel with you to the coast! Think of it like a send-off mission, with the promise to reunite in the future!"

"Nora, I believe you've been watching too many of those romance movies lately…"

"Actually Ren, I don't think either of you have been watching enough."

"…"

… … …

The good news was that in the course of our impromptu missions over the past few years, we'd become adept at being quick on the fly. Supplies on hand, permissions and a stern warning by Ms. Fujiko, and a discreet order placed to Weylin later, we were back on the road en route to the western coast of Anima. Along the way, I mentioned we needed to make a stop in Mistral, so that I could get tickets on a ship headed for Vale.

The bad news was that it'd taken me a few months to make the decision, and a couple more to consider myself ready. Meaning that the leaves were already beginning to fall as autumn approached. And with autumn, came…

"So this is what the Vytal Festival looks like when held in Mistral," Ren murmured as we traversed the crowded streets, as Amity Coliseum floated high above our heads. Countless stalls were set in front of the proper shops, selling wares with the promise of more inside. Citizens, students and Huntsmen alike were present in force, and I kept a wary eye out for any familiar faces, or worse, any faces that might become familiar.

"This…is…AWESOME!" Nora exclaimed, drawing looks for all of two seconds as she leaped up in the air, before grabbing Ren's arm. "We need to see EV-ERY-THING!"

'Now there's an idea.' "Speaking of which, why don't you and Ren take the time to check the festival out while I'm getting travel arrangements? Let's say, we meet up by the western gate in a couple hours?"

Ren looked simultaneously happy and horrified at the prospect of extended time along with festival-mood Nora. "Kouzai, I firmly believe-"

"Alright Kouzai have fun we'll tell you all about it later!" Already fading in the distance, Ren almost went airborne as Nora zoomed away towards the festival proper.

'I swear, if those two don't get together soon…' Shaking my head, I put thoughts of shipping on the backburner as I descended into the seedier part of Mistral once again. Now familiar with the route, I was inside of the Spiders' headquarters shortly, approaching the table of an amused Lil' Miss.

"Weeeellll, hello to you." Even partially hidden behind her fan, a crinkling of Lil Miss' eyes told me she was smiling. Or smirking. "I was beginnin' to think you'd been caught entering Mistral."

"Not while I have anything to say about it." I'd taken painstaking efforts to make sure the Specter and Kouzai Higure wouldn't be linked together, though I knew it wouldn't remain secret forever. Hopefully, the secret would last long enough for me to make my contributions towards lasting peace. "I trust you received my notification of intention to travel to Vale?"

"That I did, though I'm a bit surprised you're changing venues, in a manner of speaking." Lil Miss' eyes narrowed, her fan shutting with a snap. "You don't have any plans to jump ship for another employer, do you?"

I kept my gaze steady, not cracking under the various stares throughout the tavern. "So long as the confidential information I've placed with you doesn't make its way to other individuals, I have no reason to seek other work, given that you likely have connections in Vale as well. Besides, who would I even work for in Vale? Torchwick? With all his wisecracking, I'd be liable to strangle him."

Lil' Miss remained silent for a few moments, before cracking a smile. "Right you are, hon. Just had to be sure. After all, you've been doin' good work, what with the AK-130 blueprints and that heist you pulled off a few months back."

The thought of the experimental arm I'd taken from the SDC facility weighed on me for a moment, but I'd completed my objective of getting the core blueprints to Lil' Miss. As information on members of Cinder's crew and the White Fang trickled in, I took a few more jobs as the Specter to keep the flow of information steady. No assassinations or anything so dark, but still tasks that didn't sit well. Whatever the case, I made sure to keep Mirror's Edge at home during these missions, sticking to Corona and my base martial arts skills to eke out results.

"Well, I'd rather do work in other kingdoms for a while, make sure the fires in Mistral die down a little," I supplied to Lil' Miss. "I also have personal matters to attend to while in Vale."

"Oh? And are these matters business or pleasure?" Lil' Miss inquired, taking a casual sip from her cup.

"Perhaps a little of both," I answered honestly. Lil' Miss smirked coldly.

"The most dangerous kind of task. Well, if your plate isn't too full, I do have a mission of sorts for you while you're in Vale. Something best suited for a cute thing like yourself." Lil' Miss leaned forward. "Care to hear it?"

'With wording like that, not particularly.' I was at a dead end of my current research though, and needed to put forth more names to yield any results. Cinder Fall appeared to actually be a fictitious name given the complete lack of information on her, Adam kept operational matters locked tight among his personnel, and Marcus Black had gone off the grid a couple years back, stating something about 'a death in the family.' I tried very hard not to think about what that meant for Mercury. In the meantime, I need to expand my search, and to do that I needed to earn more favor with Lil' Miss.

"What do you have in mind?"

… … …

"…and there was this stand that sold huge legs of mutton, and there was another stand that had this Menagerian sandwich with super-soft buns! Oh, and we also had a giant bowl of noodles at this stand run by a really old shopkeeper." Nora gestured some hair tufts as I tried very hard not to think about the implications of an omnipresent Shopkeeper.

"Nora also took pleasure in meeting an individual shorter than herself," Ren commented dazedly, appearing to be mentally recovering from the whirlwind ordeal as Nora's eyes widened.

"Oh yeah! It was like the first time I've ever met someone shorter than me who wasn't a kid!...Well, a younger kid. Anyways, she also had an outfit in pink, white and black. A little too frilly for my tastes though, with that parasol of hers."

A mouthful of takoyaki went down the wrong pipe and I nearly had a coughing fit. "…d-did this girl happen to have hair in two different colors?"

"Yup! It was such an eye-catching split, pink on one side and brown on the other." Nora's eyes suddenly narrowed. "Why?"

'Play dumb!' "Err, I happened to see her while I was waiting for you two." 'Not that dumb!'

Knuckles popped like thunder. "You didn't ditch us to flirt with random girls, did you?"

"…I would say something in my defense about how I'm not a womanizer of any kind and get Ren to back me up, but something tells me he's not in a supporting mood right now." A quick glance over to Ren confirmed my karmic suspicions, and I sighed with my arms spread wide. "Let's get this over with."

"Gladly."

… … …

"Nora, I swear I still feel that punch you gave me."

"Oh, stop whining! It's been weeks now, you're fine!"

"It's because I still feel it after weeks that I'm worried! Ren, back me up here."

"…On one hand, it is quite plausible for Nora's blows to have lasting effects."

"Ha!"

"On the other hand, the fact that you still feel the effects may be symptomatic of an injury, which you don't appear to have."

"HA-HA!"

It'd been weeks since we departed from Mistral. Continuing to head south, we passed by Kuchinashi, where we did our best to avoid the ever-present volatile atmosphere between the humans and faunus there. Further south of that, we passed through Oniyuri, doing our best to avoid exuding negative emotions as Nora and Ren worked to suppress the emotions from passing by Kuroyuri, despite giving it a wide berth. Thankfully, Tyrian had absolutely no reason to be tracking us before canon, and no such encounter occurred. Finally heading west, we had a short stay in Higanbana, where I kept my eyes peeled for signs of a superpowered bandit queen or drunken rogue swordsman. By some miracle, neither were present.

'About time I'm due some good fortune.' Now we neared Shion, and I prayed to the Brothers that the village hadn't yet been assaulted by the Branwen Tribe. 'That would be one hell of a timeline repercussion I caused.'

Thankfully, I hadn't made any lasting impacts so drastic quite yet, and the village stood as we neared it. A solidly built town in the sprawl of forest surrounding this region of Anima, it was both a welcome and unwelcome sight. Another village passed meant more progress towards the coast. Towards Vale. Towards…

I swallowed and plastered a smile on my face. "About time we got here. What do you both say to finding an inn to rest the night?"

"We could use a break from the extensive walking," Ren commented, as Nora lazed around out of boredom. Because that's all it'd been thus far; walking. There were shockingly few Grimm encountered in this area of Anima, even with regular patrols of Hunstmen and Mistralian soldiers in airships and bullheads. 'Then again, my knowledge of Grimm in Shion and Higanbana was based on RNJR's travels in Volume 4, after the Fall. Maybe this is what it's normally like.'

As we searched for an inn, we came across a few options, eventually selecting the smallest, most modestly priced option over the more lavish counterpart, or the inn with a tavern built into it. 'God, I miss being able to drink alcohol. Not even drinking it, just the opportunity to.' The past few years however, I had no chance to indulge, given that Ms. Fujiko would've had my had if she caught even the barest scent of a drink on me. I'd managed to sneak in a few chances while out on missions for Lil' Miss, but those were few and far between, and taken in moderation given the serious nature of my work. 'Not that it ever stopped Qrow though, somehow.'

After having dinner and getting cleaned up, I exited the inn for a breath of fresh air, or more importantly, the chance to examine the village in an intact state. Around me, lights shined through windows and families travelled the streets, signs of life present in a village that might perish in the future. 'The Branwen Tribe, and then Grimm. There's little to no chance anything that I do will stop the Branwen Tribe from attacking, but maybe if this village gets it's defenses boosted or has an evacuation plan, they might survive the attack and be able to repel the Grimm without the Fall. Just another reason that I have to head to Vale.'

So engrossed was I in thought that I didn't notice the swaying figure that collided with my path. I tried steadying my footing, but a shockingly powerful core and legs kept the man upright, instead sending me to the ground as I bounced off the man's chest. Landing in a controlled three-point as opposed to my backside, I glared up. "You should…watch…where…"

Long gray dress shirt, black dress pants and dress shoes, a crooked cross pendant hanging from his neck. Three rings on his right hand glinted off the streetlights, along with the gear-emblazoned flask clutched in his hand. Half a greatsword hung at his back, as a tattered red cape trailed down to his knees. Spiky grayed hair hung limply near his dull red eyes, and pronounced stubble on his jawline shifted as the man's jaw worked.

"What? Y'got summin you wanna say t'me?" I mutely shook my head as Qrow Branwen snorted in derision. "Didn' think so."

Stumbling around me, Qrow ambled his way down the street towards a tavern, and it wasn't until he disappeared inside the building that my mind started working again.

'Does it count as jinxing myself if Qrow is here?'

… … …

… … …

Everything was soft shapes and dulled colors. Could barely see the liquor shelf in front of him if he squinted.

Good. Better this way.

Another greedy gulp of Huntsmen-strength whiskey seared his throat before numbness took over, a warmth settling in his stomach that drove off the tight coils that threatened to give him ulcers.

A scraping barstool was just barely audible in his haze, but the hand that snatched the unfinished drink from his grasp was certainly seen and felt. Gritted teeth and a glare turned sideways, before extinguishing at the vibrant red eyes that burned back at him.

"Pshh, whaddya want? Came to rub things in? Or lookin' to case this village 'fore you rob it?" A glance at his sister had her impassively taking a sip of his drink, before setting it down.

"Neither, birdbrain. Once upon a time, Shion might've made for a prospective raid target, but things have changed. Now we operate on a protection payment basis from Grimm and criminals."

"Heh, tsa damn protection racket isswa it is."

"Regardless, it comes at a much more reliable basis than Huntsmen or soldier patrols by Mistral. Much less death on all sides this way."

"Ooooh, lookie here, I'm Raven Branwen, saint an' savior of Mistral. I extort people for protection they already have, whoooooo."

"You know what's out-no, this isn't what I came for." The power of Raven's stare dialed down as, daresay, a hint of softness entered her eyes. "You should visit them. They miss you."

"Whassere to miss? They've got you, whenever you deign to visit. They don't want me around."

Fiery red irises returned to full power. "You know that isn't true, Qrow."

His stomach tightened without the warmth to ward it off.

The pipsqueak's teary face. The betrayal on firecracker's…

He wrenched the drink back from Raven and downed it one gulp, and the tightness went away. "Doesn't matter what's true or not. I stayed after you left, after Summer…because they needed someone, more than they could be hurt by Misfortune. Now though, they've got you just as often as they had me, without all the baggage my semblance brings. They shouldn't want me around. And besides, this gives me more time to do work for Oz. Y'know, work you abandoned."

Raven flinched, tensed, then relaxed after considerable effort. "I told you, there's no point in fighting, no way to beat her. Maybe even no way to save yourself. But…that doesn't mean that you-we, should abandon what we have, be for fear or for martyrdom."

Raven suddenly turned her head, imperceptibly glancing backwards, before slowly rising from her seat and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Don't make the mistakes I've already made."

He didn't reply, staring down into his empty glass. He didn't stop until he heard the soft thrum of her portal disappear.

Ruby…Yang…

"Hey barkeep. I need another double."

A/N: I reaaaally wanna go back to happy stingers, but this just wouldn't leave my head. Without the gaping hole in the Rose-Xiao Long household that Raven's disappearance and Summer's death left. With some involvement by Raven, there's no role that Qrow fulfills anymore besides the 'cool uncle', and with his opinions on his semblance, that's not a benefit that cancels out the harm he could do to the most important people in his life by being around them. Sorry for the short chapter, was slightly short on time this past week, and this is more of a setup chapter. Thankfully there's an omake.

OMAKE

"Are you sure that I'm not taking time away from your duties as headmaster, professor Ozpin?"

"Of course not. At the current stage, all that's left for the headmasters of the academies to do is to observe the Vytal Festival Tournament, along with monitor the behavior of our various students. Really, such work is mostly handled this year by headmaster Leonardo."

'And that fills me with such relief.' I glanced around nervously as I walked alongside Ozpin, both of us taking the time to enjoy the festival, of all things. "And you're positive that I'm not interrupting time used to say, meet with the other headmasters or contact professor Goodwitch?"

Ozpin affixed me with a look. "Kouzai, you know as well as I do that should Glynda wish to contact me, scheduled or unscheduled, no force on Remnant will prevent communication from reaching me. In addition, I have made it clear by now that you needn't refer to her official title when we are conversing."

'Damnit old man, I'm trying to keep a sense of distance from you!' "…I'd rather not call her 'Mother' in front of you, if it's all the same." My cheeks burned as I looked away, the smile on Ozpin's face barely encroaching into hints of a smirk. Then the thought occurred to me. "You didn't answer my question on whether you have meetings with other headmasters today."

The smile promptly dropped away, and Ozpin took a heartily long sip of cocoa.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…There may…be such a meeting amongst headmasters later, in preparation of the Vytal Festival Tournament."

"And how much 'later', is later?"

"Approximately one hour from now…"

An Aura-enhanced push into his back had him moving. "One hour? And you're still here? Get moving! I don't need any of the headmasters putting me on their 'lists of animosity' or what have you!"

As Ozpin disappeared into the crowd, and I recovered from the fact that I just shoved Ozpin, and that he let me, I turned to gaze at the various stalls. 'So this is what the Vytal Festival looks like in person, and not on fire and stuff. It wouldn't hurt to look around until I have to return to Haven.'

As I stopped by various stalls, including a noodle stand that I swear was run by the Shopkeeper in Vale, I was still lost in thought. 'Why did Glynda want me to attend the Vytal Festival this year, instead of waiting until Beacon's? I mean, I know I didn't go to Vacuo's since I was training, and I 'don't remember' any of the ones before it…okay, I can see why she insisted I tag along to this one. But accompanying Ozpin? I'm trying to not get sucked into his inner circle, or get manipulated like a puppet by him!'

I sighed, before turning to an Atlesian ice cream stand nearby. 'Might as well enjoy what I can while I'm here.' As I neared the stand and got in line, the vendor's conversation caught my ear.

"…I'm sorry, did you mean you want two pints of this ice cream?...No, you actually meant two gallons? Umm, I'm not sure…" Not hearing any reply to the shopkeeper as the conversation progressed, my breath hitched.

'No…no no no…absolutely not…here?'

"For that much lien? I suppose I can make an exception…"

"Why would she be here? Her and Roman were only at the last Vytal Festival to steal a bunch of Adamantium, which I still can't believe is a real thing here, right? Doesn't matter, I need to warn Ozpin." I turned to leave the line, but ran smack-dab into the person behind me. Looking up, I couldn't help but freeze.

"Well well well, and here I thought our disguises were good enough. Guess not, if you could spot me at a glance. Oh Neo, could you be a dear and come over?"

The bowler hat was missing, the hair was swept a different way, and his white coat was swapped for a different white coat, but there was no mistaking him. To the side, Neo in her future black-and-white disguise appeared, carrying two large gallon tubs of Atlesian ice cream. At seeing my surprised and fearful look, green eyes blinked into pink and brown, as Neo licked her lips in anticipation.

"Why don't we all take a walk, huh kid? After all, I'd hate to cause a scene, if you know what I mean." Roman Torchwick smiled a dastardly straight smile.

A/N: Yup, it's happening. Beaconpoint Kouzai is meeting Roman and Neo for the first time, and without any of the good graces that Kouzai in Neopoint (just coined) earned from his time with them. This, this could be bad, huh.

Again, I apologize for the short chapter length, but the good news is that things get better from here on out…better for the readers, I mean. The characters? Hmm…

-SE

Next Chapter Date: 11/18/19