A/N: T-8 before the end. And finally, we have the squad together.

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What We Call Home

"Damn, when Carob said he had a surprise for us, he wasn't kidding!" Caelus' smile couldn't have been wider as he crashed onto a ratty couch, patting the seat next to him fervently. "C'mon, c'mon!"

Nora and Ren chuckled and complied, taking a seat beside the joyful man. He bumped his shoulder against Nora's, pale eyes creasing happily as he quietly added, "I can't believe you two are here. I missed ya, y'know?"

She leaned her head on his shoulder. "We did too." She took a moment to wave at Oliver when he and Carob entered the room as well, finding seats on the other empty couch. "We tried to find you all around Anima, but-"

"You know you can't track us," Kalian said, crossing his arms as he perched himself onto a wide windowsill. "We're always on the move."

Jaune gulped, nervously taking a seat on a small chair next to Ren and glancing around the room. "Guys," he whispered, "why does it look like we've entered a warzone?"

Nora paused, ready to blow off his words when she finally took a moment to glance around. Jaune wasn't wrong. They had climbed two flights of rickety stairs to enter the empty, abysmal floor of the shattered apartment complex, the walls crumbling and the scent of mildew in the air. However, alongside that scent was the unmistakeable tang of gunpowder and Dust. She shivered, feeling her Semblance crackling as her eyes roamed the empty room they had all wandered into; away from all of them, laid out neatly on a long table pushed up against one wall, were rows and rows of close- and long-range weapons, boxes and boxes of ammunition piled in the corner.

Yeah, okay. This probably seems really weird for him. It didn't for Nora, though. The original Ember base had been doubly stocked.

"It certainly was unexpected to find you here," Howl murmured, tapping the bridge of his nose in thought. "When Carob arrived yesterday, we had thought all he had was intel."

Kalian scoffed, "Well, how the hell were we supposed to know you were here? You should've been back in Vale!" As he spoke, he dug through one of the boxes, pulling out some fruit and tossing it to Nora, Jaune and Ren. They all caught the offered food- some with more grace than others, with Jaune almost falling onto his face while trying to catch the apple and orange lobbed at him- and began to quietly eat, polishing off the food in a matter of minutes in the wake of Jaune's growling stomach.

Ren smiled patiently at the fired-up redhead. "We couldn't exactly stay. Not after the Fall."

Kalian's expression softened, brow furrowing in concern. He glanced away, unsure of what to say. In his silence, Caelus reached up and patted Nora's hair kindly. "…you all were caught up in that, huh buddy?"

Nora nodded, but she kept a smile on her face. "We can talk about that later! For now- what intel?"

"Has Carob informed you?" After a moment's hesitation, Nora and Ren nodded. Howl glanced over to Jaune. "Is he one of us?"

"Of course," Ren replied instantly. "He's our teammate- our comrade."

Howl hummed in acknowledgement, taking a moment to study Jaune's face. At last, he seemed appeased, leaning back against the wall. "Alright. This information doesn't leave this room."

"Protect the Embers," Kalian called.

"Protect the Embers," the rest of them murmured in unison, and Nora's heart wanted to sing. It had been over a year since she had last heard that phrase, and it had never felt more natural on her tongue than right then, now that she was stronger- now that she was truly able to help protect them.

We can help them now. The very thought was glorious. She and Ren were no longer liabilities. They hadn't been for years, but now, they had so much experience and training that she knew they could truly be assets in combat.

"It's Sotz," Howl began. Nora winced on hearing the name, but Ren's hand was over hers in a heartbeat, squeezing gently. She cast him a quick smile as the man continued, "We've been following his trail for a long, long time. Our search led us here." And with that, Howl strode over across the room to the boxes of ammunitions. In a small bag lying on top of one such box, he retrieved a rolled up paper. The paper was quickly unfurled on the ground in the middle of the room where all parties could see the diagram within clearly.

It was a map of Argus, different districts already marked up and annotated with words Nora would never be able to decipher. Howl had a way of making everything far more complicated than it needed to be, so it probably didn't matter whether she understood it or not. Howl kicked his leg lightly, and just like that, a dagger was extended from the toe of his boot. "He is not in these districts," he explained, quickly pointing to the northernmost areas of Argus with the blade, maintaining perfect balance on just one leg. "We have already had our people combing everywhere they might be operating out of. However, with the current embargo with Atlas, he is likely landlocked, meaning that his crew is probably operating out of the southern-southeastern side of the city."

"What is his purpose here?"

Kalian cracked his neck from side to side, the sound resonating in the room. Jaune winced by Nora and Ren's side as the massive figure stood, all burly muscle and flaming anger. "With all the Huntsmen being killed off on Anima, there's been no one to keep villages and smaller communities safe," he said lowly, stalking to the center of the room. "In the middle of that, we've found that there's been a weird amount of kids missing."

Ren repeated softly, "Kids… missing?"

Caelus nodded, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands together. The cheery expression on his face faded, his thick lips pulled into a harsh scowl. "The disappearances keep bein' blamed on the Grimm, but we know it ain't so. But, after a lot of sniffing around, we figured out it was his network."

"Okay, wait guys- are you saying that kids across Anima have been kidnapped by this guy?" Jaune sat up, catching Nora and Ren's attention. "Guys, didn't we meet people who had lost children when we were trying to get to Mistral?"

Nora pouted. "Jaune, there were so many people over those months, I-"

"The blacksmith!"

Nora blinked for a moment, letting that sink in. The blacksmith who had made Jaune's armour had lost his niece and nephew soon before they had arrived at Midoyuri. "Wait," Nora murmured, "didn't he say it was because of the Geist? We took it down!"

Kalian perked up at that. "You scrawny kids managed to take down a Geist?"

She grinned, immediately getting ready to launch into a long list of their conquests. "And we took down a giant Nevermore pack, and a Manticore pack on the way here, and a bunch of Griffins, and-"

"Nora, later," Ren muttered, deep in thought.

"Sorry Ren." She stopped her list sheepishly, but still blew a raspberry playfully at Kalian. The man's expression quickly shifted from pure surprise to feral pride, sharp teeth glinting in the sunlight streaming in through the window.

Ren finally said, "There's no way to confirm if it really was the Grimm, or if they found the bodies. We never asked if they managed to find the children or not- we only knew the Geist tore through the woods at that time."

"Exactly," Howl affirmed. "It is impossible to tell for sure without more details on the incident, but his group has been finding areas crowded with Grimm- probably sourcing it from Huntsmen request boards- and using the Grimm as a guise to kidnap children. However, with the lack of a strong CCTS signal across the main continent, it has become exceedingly simple to slip under the radar with them."

Nora sighed, confused. "But why? There's no point in-"

Carob cut in, leaning forward and pulling out his flask. "Why did he take you two in?" he asked, slowly uncapping the container.

"My Semblance," Ren said, placing his hand on her knee.

"Exactly. Semblances give power. He probably regrets never getting to unlock yours, Nora- he couldn't use you fully."

She shuddered, her dream from the night before haunting her still. Sotz probably regretted a lot of things when it came to her. "So who's involved? Varin is dead, so it's him and Nick leading it?" The words tasting bitter on her tongue.

Carob held out a hand towards Nora, the gesture almost meaning to say, See? I told you, to Kalian, who stalked across the room to Nora, Jaune and Ren. Squaring up right in front of the trio, Kalian crossed his arms, peering at them down a nose broken so many times it was almost straight again. "You're sure it was Varin?" he asked, voice low and heated in warning.

Jaune gulped, mouthing at the other two, "What in the world is going on?!"

Ren simply nodded. Kalian's aggression meant nothing to him and Nora, after all. "We found him. It's confirmed. We don't know who did it, but either way, he's gone."

Carob cursed softly under his breath, tilting the flask back completely. The vessel was empty, however, and the man stood before anyone could stop him. "I'm getting myself another drink," he muttered, stalking out of the room.

Nora watched him go sadly. "He's gotten worse, huh."

"He always wanted to kill them after what happened to Cara," Caelus said, warm empathy etched onto his features. "Carob's not a bad guy, ya? He's just been having a bad time lettin' go."

With that thought hanging in the air, the room grew tense, dark. A cloud passed over the sun, blocking out the only source of light illuminating the room, momentarily casting them all into shadow.

Just as suddenly, Caelus clapped his hands together and jumped to his feet. He quickly grabbed Jaune's arm and all but tossed the boy onto the couch beside Nora where Caelus had just been sitting. "Well. That's enough for now."

"What're you talkin' about?" Kalian growled, lifting his eyes up from the map Howl had laid onto the floor. "We won't be lurking in this shithole forever, so we need to plan-"

"Lil' buddies, what's been going on with you two?" Caelus interrupted boldly, squatting in front of the trio. He sank his round face into his hands, watching them with adoration. "How was Beacon? What happened? This here's your teammate, right?"

"Hi," Jaune mumbled. "I'm Jaune Arc."

"The leader of Team JNPR. Based on the broadcasted initiation from roughly one year ago and the Vytal Festival Tournament, the weakest fighter on the team." Howl's expression remained absolutely impassively while he recited this information. "Strengths include moment-by-moment strategy in combat. Overall tactical prowess unknown."

Jaune deflated in his seat, sinking despondently into the terribly limp seat cushions. "Uh, yeah. That's me."

Then, Howl smiled ever-so-slightly. "Any comrade of theirs is one of ours."

Kalian, Caelus and Oliver all smiled at the blond. Nora elbowed him lightly with a grin. "That's our leader!"

Jaune sighed, but he couldn't stop from smiling. "Thanks."

"So? Tell us, buddies!" Caelus cried, the short man plopping down onto his bottom like a child waiting for a bedtime story.

Nora laughed, clapping her hands together delightedly, and then she began to speak.

It was indescribable, how good it felt to reminisce on their days at Beacon. Nora and Ren and Jaune all took turns sharing their favourite moments, from initiation to classes, to weekend noodle nights and board game parties, and all their ridiculously high-octane and low-key moments in between. Nora pulled out her Scroll with gusto, having been the avid photographer of the group. She showed the others every photograph of their adventures she had, giggling as even Kalian and Howl's expressions softened, seeing the easygoing, peaceful adventures of Team JNPR.

"I guess it was a good thing we let those fancy guys in Haven offer to pay your entrance fees," Kalian said. "I'm actually impressed by what you've managed to learn."

"Don't talk like we're just an investment!" Nora scolded, but she knew it was all in warmth and good fun. She was grateful they had been given the opportunity to go to Beacon, too.

However, there was one issue that no one brought up until Nora reached the end of her album dedicated to Beacon. "We managed to see the initiation broadcast, and most of the tournament," Kalian said, kneeling in front of them. It was clear that he wasn't sure what to say, but he wanted to be there anyways. "I… it shouldn't have happened."

"Pyrrha Nikos was your friend, huh, buddies?" Caelus whimpered. The dark-skinned man looked on the verge of tears at the mere thought of it. "She's famous around here. And the Tournament- the Fall- it was horrible to watch."

"We were in the middle of a mission at the time," Howl explained. "Then, due to the fall of the CCTS, a huge number of Grimm flooded into Mistral. We offered our services to do damage control for weeks."

Kalian slammed a fist onto the ground with such force that the concrete floor caved slightly, his red Aura appearing on his hands to knit split knuckles in an instant. "We wanted to come to Vale to help, but it was too much of a damn mess everywhere on Anima- even without those bastards and their damn trafficking line."

Caelus large, pale silver eyes were watery. "I'm sorry, lil' Valkyrie, lil' Ren. That's not easy." He sniffed long and hard. "I wish I coulda met her. She seemed like she was good to you."

Nora softened, leaning against Jaune. "She was," she beamed.

Kalian suddenly asked, "Have… have you all checked out the entire city?"

"You would do well to explore the residential area. The parks there hold something that may be of interest to you." Howl's expression remained as cryptic as ever.

The trio shared a confused glance, but they didn't get time to ask further when Kalian stood tall, crossing his arms and scowling. "Do you know who did it?"

Jaune let out a shuddering breath. "Yeah. We…"

On instinct, Ren squeezed Nora's hand, and Nora's hand shot out to grab Jaune's arm. She shook her head when he looked at her, his blue eyes widening as she silently chewed her lip. We can't tell them about the Maidens, can we?

Ren finally said, "We fought them in Mistral. Followed their trail, but it wasn't successful. They're either dead or missing."

Jaune added, "It was a woman named Cinder- Cinder Fall. Have you ever heard of her?" The three older Huntsmen shook their heads somberly, and Jaune sank back into his seat yet again, disappointment clear as day. "Okay. It's fine. We'll keep looking."

"One day you'll get peace." Kalian's voice softened, his voice oddly serious. Vibrant crimson eyes looked out of the window, the sunlight making his hair look almost alight. "Just don't forget what it felt like to lose your comrade. Keep her in here."

"Yeah. Just like with everyone else, right?" Nora stood, wrapping Kalian up in a hug. With his size, her head barely touched his chest, but she didn't mind, and he didn't move away.

"…like Cara." Nora released the man and glanced over her shoulder. Carob was recapping his flask and tucking it away, leaning against the shattered doorframe. Of course he would always remember Cara- the woman with whom he had gone for countless missions had died at Sotz's hand a few years earlier. Those wounds would always feel too fresh.

Caelus stood up. "And Snow and Star," he offered. Their former leader and their former heart- the two who passed in battle against so many bandits and, later, Grimm, that their bodies had barely been recognizable when the Embers had found them.

"Gregory." Oliver stood and joined Howl, smiling gratefully up at the Huntsman. Ever-gentle to the son of his former mentor, Howl nodded back, a tiny, welcoming grin on his own lips as he placed a kind hand on Oliver's head.

"We've all lost people. But that doesn't mean we can give up." Kalian finally looked away from the window, snapping out of his reverie. He patted Nora clumsily on the shoulder until she let go completely, shooing her back to her seat on the sofa. "So. It sounds like you're all on a mission."

"Yeah. We're trying to get to Atlas. It's complicated, but it's important- not just for us, but all the kingdoms."

Carob wolf-whistled. "You've tried every place I listed?"

"Yeah. Everyone turned us away," Ren said with a sigh.

Carob strode forward a little too forcefully, steps a little too measured- the alcohol was getting to him badly if he was concentrating that hard on appearing sober. While he settled onto the chair beside Ren, Howl tapped the bridge of his nose once more, activating his Semblance again. After a moment, he reported, "The base may be your best way. You have two options: either convince the Atlesian military to grant you safe passage on one of their vessels, or steal one."

"Howl?!" Ren and Nora yelled in unison.

Howl shrugged. "I'm not sure which would be more perilous."

Ren stood, walking over to the map and taking a closer look at it. "Either way, we have some time. We're waiting for our friends- we were separated on the Argus Limited."

Caelus' eyes lit up and he dragged Nora to her feet. "Hey, you can stay with us with us while ya wait, right?"

Nora smiled ruefully. She would've loved to, if it weren't for the fact that Jaune was looking more and more out of his element by the minute. It was growing late, too. If they wanted to get back to the Cotta-Arc house before nightfall, they would need to leave soon. "We promised we'd head back to our host's place for dinner, at least."

The man pouted, but didn't fight. "Oh, okay. But make sure you come back again, ya?"

Kalian nodded, appraising her and Ren carefully. "Yeah. You're not children anymore- you've grown strong. You don't need us to take care of you anymore, but…"

"But?" Ren asked.

To everyone's surprise, Kalian's cheeks flushed a bright pink. He awkwardly cleared his throat and looked away. "We- we're comrades, now."

Comrades.

"We'll be back!" Nora saluted playfully. The members of their old team nodded, smiling proudly as she hugged each of them in turn. With Ren, they each grabbed his forearm and shook arms before pulling him in for an embrace as well. With a high-five to Oliver and a nod to Carob, it was time for them to head home.

As they turned the corner from the apartment building and headed towards the main street with their first tram, Nora's heart was fuller than she had felt in months. All of her anxiety and concern about her mentors was gone-

"Guys, what was all that?" Jaune's voice rang clear across the street, sounding as if he'd been holding it inside for days.

"What do you mean?"

The blond lowered his head, clearly grasping for the words to say. "Guys, I- that was…"

Nora pulled him across the street hurriedly before he could stop in his tracks dead in the middle of the road. "Jaune?"

"I- I thought we were going to your, like, adoptive parents or something. I knew they were Huntsmen, but how did it end up like that?" Nearly hysterical, breathless laughter bubbled out of his mouth. "Like, why did we just end up in a broken-down apartment building in the middle of Argus with a bunch of people armed to the teeth and hunting some kind of- of human trafficker? And you knew the guy they're trying to hunt down? The guy who you thought was dead or something? How would you even know him-"

"It's… complicated," Ren cut in, worry etched clearly on his face.

"They raised us, it's true," Nora added.

Ren ushered the three of them along. They were going to miss the tram if they dawdled for too long. "We've always helped them on whatever they were doing on the road. They've been on the trail of those guys for… I guess three years now."

Jaune sighed as they finally arrived at the street stop. "You've all lost so many people. I just… I had no idea." There was a clear sense of guilt in his words.

"Jaune, it's okay!" Nora cried. "Why should you have known? It isn't your fault!"

"It doesn't mean it's gotten any easier to handle loss," Ren added.

"I know. I'm sorry." As the tram rolled up, its headlights blaring in the rapidly-descending nightfall, Jaune added, "Are you sure you're okay with not telling them about the Maidens and Oz and everything?"

Ren shrugged, pulling out their tram fare. "They've already got their mission. I don't know if we should tell anyone we don't have too, to be honest."

"Besides, they've already got a goal. And our goal is different. No point distracting one another," Nora sang, leaning out of the open window of the tram. The breeze felt cool on her face, lifting her hair off her neck, soothing her.

Jaune let out a long, weary breath. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess so." He flashed them a trembling smile. "So. How does it feel to have met them again?"

Nora beamed, looping her arms through both Ren and Jaune's. "It was perfect."

And she meant it.