Endless Spring

by FandomPariah

Seven years after Salem's final defeat a de-powered Spring Maiden and Atlesian combat android with a soul attempt to find their place in a world that feels as though it's moved on without them. Part four of my "Spiral-Verse" and a direct continuation of the epilogue of FADE: Legacy. This story won't make much sense if you haven't read that first to give it context.

RWBY & All associated trademarks are property of Rooster Teeth (RIP Monty Oum)

I claim no ownership of anything except my own original characters.

I am making no money from this.

Endless Spring

The entirety of Nickel Polendina's life had spanned only a few short years, less than a decade in all and yet she both appeared far older than this and was wise and experienced far beyond her limited years; having lived a life that had been complicated and beyond the norm from its' outset.

Firstly she was, despite what those closest to her often told her neither truly human or Faunus, Nickel bore the Polendina name as she was the final iteration of Professor Polendina's life's work, a finalised version where Penny Polendina had been a proof of concept though the Professor that had made her in conjunction with the Atlesian military had never truly approved of her existence, or she supposed more accurately he had found the tasks Atlas intended to use her for to be entirely distasteful. Nickel had been conceived as first an infiltration unit intended to bring down dissident groups from within or sow discord within any Kingdom that posed a threat to Atlas prior to the first war against Salem and after that conflict had concluded she had been reimagined as a super-soldier capable of out-performing even Atlas's best Hunters and more importantly, bringing them to justice should such a thing ever be required; she had never performed either of those tasks however, her initial activation some years after the first war against Salem had seen her be dismissed as unstable and too dangerous to be utilised and so she had been deactivated and placed into storage deep within the bowels of Poly-Techs' main research and development facility in Atlas's Capital, a dirty secret that Professor Polendina had taken to the grave when old age claimed him.

It was there that she had been discovered.

She had been awoken and given fresh purpose by a man named Ozymandias Eldritch, a twisted and corrupted soul harnessing the powers of the Wizard who had played on the rage and resentment Nickel had for a world that had cast her aside and forgotten her, using it to his own ends and directing Nickel towards her predecessor Penny Rose, Polendina and, more importantly to Eldritch her wife Ruby Rose; the saviour of Remnant and Silver Eyed Warrior. Nickel had done things that she was no longer proud of, she had ended and destroyed lives as she unleashed her fury on Remnant until finally, at the climax of a fight to the death against Penny the younger android had been offered a chance to be more than a weapon, she had been offered a chance to truly live and be welcomed into their family and so when Ozymandias Eldritch was revealed to be a pawn and puppet of Salem herself in the most horrifically literal sense and the Queen of Grimm returned to the physical realm to wage war against all of creation Nickel had been amongst the forces that rallied against her, even fighting Salem in single combat in an aerial battle above the city of New Vale on one occasion.

And yet all of that had somehow led to her currently mundane position of watching television on the sofa, wearing sweatpants and eating potato chips that she didn't need for sustenance but simply enjoyed the taste and crunchiness of.

In appearance Nickel Polendina was, as was to be expected considering her origins very similar to Penny, though younger as the synthetic tissue that covered them both did in fact age albeit a little more slowly than true skin. Her freckled skin was perhaps a few shades paler and veered into being pallid a somewhat unhealthy, especially when combined with features that appeared a little sharper and more angular; she did however share Penny's emerald green eyes and coppery hair though the latter had been altered in one of Nickel's many attempts to differentiate herself, the android experimenting several times before settling on dyed black hair with vivid green highlights at the tips, a look she would begrudgingly admit was inspired by Ruby Rose, as was much of the clothing she wore when not lounging on the sofa of the Rose family home in the middle of the day.

"-Which brings us to our next story, Syneffo Nikos heir apparent to the Nikosi tribe has been making waves in Mistrali politics once again as she-" Nickel let out a low, wordless groan at that before finally turning the television off; her reaction was not caused by any particular ill will towards the young Nikosi woman whose efforts to unite the various tribes of Anima into a diasporic Kingdom of their own had both stunned and impressed the world, rather that the previous story had pertained to the latest absurdly heroic actions of Team FADE and their friends as they brought down yet another Grimm of colossal proportions before pivoting into the article regarding Syneffo by discussing the two parties' various associations and quite frankly there was only so much Nickel could stand to see of people she had once tried to kill on the news living their best lives.

Especially when her own was not going so well.

It had been almost seven years since Salem's final defeat at the hands of Team FADE and whilst Remnant as a whole and almost everyone Nickel knew seemed to have recovered, rebuilt and flourished into something greater as they moved on with their lives Nickel herself had not been so fortunate.

Whilst her actual age was dependant on whether or not one counted the several years she had spent deactivated and kept in a storage facility Nickel had always looked and largely behaved like an adolescent or young adult and so, following the end of the war and with Ruby and Penny's help and extreme enthusiasm she had departed for Haven Academy in Mistral to become a licensed Huntress in her own right, she had the abilities from the moment she was activated after all, it was simply a matter of her venturing out into the world to truly become her own person and make connections and relationships that lacked any of the baggage and history of those she currently had. It was not to be however and within less than a year Nickel had returned to the Rose family home on Menagerie dejected and ashamed after dropping out of the Academy, entirely unable and unwilling to be restricted by so many rules. Ruby and Penny had taken her in again, as they promised that they always would and Nickel had tried again and again to make something of herself, taking on missions for Qrow when her presence was called for, working beyond the boundaries of Menageries' settlements in the wastelands where legalities such as a license were often unimportant and taking on several small engineering projects with various degrees of success, yet never quite finding her stride or making any lasting connections around her until eventually she had simply given up, watching the world pass her by and Ruby and Nickel's twin children grow up and prepare to embark on their own adventures, they were sixteen now and though it was a surprise that neither of them had chosen to continue the family tradition of Grimm Hunting despite being capable of using their Silver Eyes Ruby and Penny were unspeakably proud of them. Summer-Pyrrha had grown into a renowned athlete, a baseball player with a steadily growing fan-base all across Remnant whilst Tai-Jaune would be attending college in Atlas where he joked he would continue his semi-successful career as a musician by bringing his Aunt Weiss out of retirement.

Leaving Nickel as the lone disappointment and feeling as though she made the family dysfunctional with her mere presence.

Before she could sink deeper into a depressive funk or find a, likely unhealthy outlet for said feelings she heard the front door of the house open and wondered briefly which of the twins had chosen to abscond from school today and more importantly if they had brought whoever they were dating with them, Ruby and Penny had told their children that they had no issue at all with them dating as long as they were responsible, but school came first and if any of their romantic partners or friends chose to become a bad influence on them Nickel felt she was entirely within her rights and remit as the older sibling to antagonise and intimidate as she saw fit.

Before she could find something suitably skull-sized to make a show of crushing in one hand however it became apparent that it was not the twins who had entered the house as Ruby Rose stepped into view

"Hey chief….aren't you supposed to be at work?"

Ruby Rose, now at forty-six years old looked every bit the imposing and awe-inspiring Huntress that she had as a younger woman and was, to the amusement of her colleagues still the object of many of her students' crushes. Being a Grimm Studies Professor at the Academy Coco Adel, Velvet Scarlatina and Yatsuhashi Daichi had founded meant that Ruby still found plenty of time to swing Crescent Rose and plenty of reason to remain in excellent shape, consequently her large biceps and shoulder strained against the fabric of the simple white button down shirt she wore with a red tie and her signature hooded cape; her black hair, tied back into a loose ponytail was now noticeably streaked with grey although she continued to keep the red highlights that had become a well established part of her appearance, all of this when combined with her various scars and tattoos along with the cybernetic right eye that replaced the one she had lost fighting Salem a second time served to give her a striking appearance, though it was as always contrasted strongly against Ruby's personality and demeanour

"Yep" she replied cheerily, popping the P as she often did "Penny's covering the class for me, she helped me make notes for it in the first place anyway….We need to talk Nickel"

"Damn it I didn't even do anything this time" the android huffed, suddenly oddly defensive though she was unsure why

"Yeah that's kinda the problem" the words escaped Ruby in a quiet sigh and her hands quickly flew to her mouth as she realised that the comment had been received a lot more harshly that it had ever been intended; where Nickel might once have raged or retorted with spite and vitriol at the perceived insult she instead crumpled under its' weight

"Well….RIP my self respect I guess Buddy"

"Nickel, I didn't mean it like that" Ruby tried to assure her, voice gentle and soothing "I'm just….damn it we're all worried about you"

"I get it, I'm taking up space; find a store room to put me in for twenty years-"

"That isn't remotely what I meant and you know it" Ruby interjected, kind-hearted and understanding she may have been but she had learned through years of parenting when to be firm "You've barely left the house for over a month, you're not even looking for work any more….Nickel you know Penny and I will support you whatever you choose to do, but please try and do something. You can't just waste away in here, not when you've got so much potential and so much to give" Nickel's initial attempt at a sarcastic response died on the tip of her tongue, as did her next three attempts to speak whilst a lump formed in her throat; whilst she was incapable of physically crying she did let out a single choked sob as she stepped towards Ruby and gave her a tight hug

"You're great Chief y'know that….I hate that you can make me look this weak this easily, but you're great-"

"It's not weak, it's being human" Ruby promised her "So is failing, so is struggling and so is getting back up and trying again….And if you want to get back up and try again, Qrow has a job that he thinks you're the best person for"

"Okay" Nickel managed to croak out, unable to give any of her usual biting sarcasm at that moment and after a moment she stepped back from Ruby, straightening herself out and promptly pretending that her previous moment of vulnerability hadn't happened.

"The job is gonna involve being away from Port Alistair for quite a while" Ruby began, carefully assessing Nickel's expression "The acting Council of Menagerie is planning on developing a new settlement, they've found some deposits that they think they can mine. The Spring Maiden is being sent out ahead….Most of the island is still pretty desolate but she'll be able to grow stuff there so that whoever ends up living at this new settlement has food"

"And you want me to protect a Maiden?….who is probably orders of magnitude more powerful than me" Nickel asked, grimacing at the admission that her own strength and abilities were dwarfed

"She isn't a fighter" Ruby told her simply "And things are getting wilder out in the wastelands between the settlements, Qrow and I are both worried that her current security detail might not be enough and who knows….if you stick around while they're building the new settlement you might find that you like it, it's a new start for everyone there why not for you as well?" Nickel thought about that for a several moments, remaining silent as she processed the information and all the possible ways that things could go spectacularly wrong; she would be watching over someone powers that defied comprehension in a barren wasteland filled with Grimm, roving nomads and a seemingly inexhaustible amount of bandits among other things but eventually Nickel pushed all of those doubts and concerns aside; focusing on the faith and countless chances to be better than she had ever believed herself capable of that Ruby and Penny had given to her

"Okay, sign me up….tell Qrow I'm down" she grinned before faltering and fiddling absently with a friendship bracelet on her right wrist that had been made by a much younger Summer-Pyrrha "I mean….I'm not heading right now right? I wanna say goodbye to the twins first and-"

"You've got time" Ruby assured her "You didn't really think we were gonna let you leave without celebrating getting a new job with the family right?" Nickel fought against the heat rising in her cheeks but found herself entirely unable to control either that or the fresh lump in her throat and so instead she merely folded her arms across her chest and looked away, trying and failing to seem aloof

"Whatever I guess"

---

The life of Jade Rangifer had been complicated in ways that bordered on cartoonish absurdity ever since she had been a child and she knew that outside of a handful of people with access to information kept hidden from the public nobody would ever believe her if she tried to discuss it.

Firstly Jade was not of this Remnant.

The young Reindeer Faunus of mixed heritage, a native to the slums of Lower Atlas had inherited the powers of the Spring Maiden as a child, a life-changing event in its' own right that had been made all the more dramatic by the fact that it had coincided almost perfectly with Adam Taurus laying siege to and taking control of vast swathes of the Icy Kingdom she called home. Her human mother had been slain by White Fang insurgents as she tried to protect her and even the manifestation of her untamed and uncontrolled Maiden Powers had not been enough to prevent her from being captured and taken to meet Adam Taurus himself; the Bull Faunus recognising her for the invaluable asset that she could be had kept her close at hand in his seat of power, raising her to be a devout follower of his cause as though she could ever forget or forgive her mothers' death.

For years Jade had watched as her Remnant became a blasted and war torn hell-scape, Salem was defeated by the Wizard Oscar Pine and yet the war continued regardless; Adam took control of both Atlas and Vaccuo and the Creatures of Grimm ran rampant, thriving in the apocalyptic conditions that he had helped create until finally Jade, who had spent years being used to provide food for the White Fangs' war machine and kept as a symbol of their power was granted a chance to escape by Neon Katt, a double agent working for the still unbeaten resistance movement who had managed to find herself in Adam Taurus's inner circle.

Upon escaping and joining a resistance cell based in the ruins of Vale where she learned just how brutal and bloody war could be, experiencing it in person for the first time all whilst being hunted by the White Fang life became even stranger for Jade as she encountered individuals whose stories seemed to be utterly impossible.

They claimed to be from another Remnant.

Arctus Slate and Eagle Arc had been believed by Oscar however and eventually proven to be truthfully, more importantly Arctus Slate had explained to her that the Remnant he hailed from had a vastly different timeline as well as the fact that he came from a point roughly ten years in the future, one where the war had ended and pea had reigned for twenty years although her counterpart in that timeline had perished, a fact which still tore at Arctus's parents Gangrel Slate and Weiss Slate nee Schnee to this day.

The choice to leave had been far easier than she liked to admit but in the end Jade was not a fighter and she saw no prospects for the Remnant she had been born into, so instead of staying and fighting until a last breath that could come at any time she had chosen to escape to a better Remnant, telling herself that it was all to keep the Spring Maiden powers out of the wrong hands only to be stunned t realise that those powers had left her the moment she left her native Remnant, being passed on to Neon Katt whom she could at least admit was more capable of using them effectively.

None of which explained why Jade Rangifer was currently trudging out of a police station somewhere in Mistral with a blinding headache that was only partly caused by her hangover.

Now in her early twenties Jade had lost the gangly, almost mismatched proportions of adolescence yet had never quite escaped being slender and perhaps a little too small; something she privately attributed to being raised in war-time where conditions were less than optimal. Her complexion had become tanned after spending several years travelling, more so than it ever would have in her native Atlas and she had enough meat on her bones to not look underfed, her dirty blonde hair was tied back and reached between her shoulder blades whilst the reindeer antlers that were her Faunus attribute had grown to an impressive size. Overall Jade looked healthy, save for the spectacularly purple bruise forming around one of her pale green eyes.

As Jade staggered and trudged out into the glaring sunlight and dull drone of a busy city street, both of which conspired to worsen the pounding in her skull she began checking the pockets of her clothing, double checking that her belongings had all been returned to her before finally withdrawing her, mercifully still functional Scroll from within the cream coloured and lightweight jacket she wore with simple jeans and sensible boots, she never had learned to walk properly in heels after all.

Only for a hissed curse to escape her as she saw the amount of missed calls she had.

The Slate and Schnee family were a close-knit bunch, considered more than a little off and dysfunctional by the standards of their haughty and sneering Upper Atlesian counterparts though this mattered little to them or Jade herself who was simply grateful that they had taken her in beyond her ability to articulate. The family consisted of the Schnee siblings; General Winter Schnee, current head of the Atlesian military and head of Atlas Academy who was rarely if ever able to visit Schnee Manor, Whitley Schnee who had inherited the Schnee Dust Company once his sisters had been disowned only to reinstate Weiss as his joint heir upon their fathers' death at the hands of this timelines' Adam Taurus and finally Weiss Slate, head of research and development at the SDC, inventor of Eco-Friendly Dust and special consultant to several branches of the Kingdoms' government.

Weiss had married Gangrel Slate, a Bear Faunus originally from the slums of one Atlas's hive cities whom she had met at Beacon Academy, Gangrel himself had progressed from a disaffected member of the White Fang to a legendary Hunter and Winter Schnee's right hand as head of the Specialist Branch before retiring from active duty and taking on the role of Combat Instructor at Atlas Academy which he retained even at the age of fifty.

Weiss and Gangrel had three children; Arctus, member of the now legendary Team FADE, his younger sister Athena-Jade named for this timelines' original Jade Rangifer who would soon be following in her parents' and brothers' footsteps and attending one of the five Academies and finally Coral Scylla, a Crab Faunus who had been adopted by the family when a resurgent cell of the White Fang had attempted to use her as a child soldier; blossoming into a child prodigy in the fields of maths and various branches of science who Whitley had all-but officially named as his heir to the SDC.

Seeing the several missed calls from various members of the family Jade frantically debated who she should call first in an effort to mitigate whatever damage had already been done, only for the matter to be taken out of her hands as the device began to vibrate as it received yet another incoming video call, this one being from Weiss.

Jade gulped audibly before answering

"Hey Weiss" Jade managed to smile brightly as Weiss came into view, at forty eight the snowy white of her hair still refused to grey yet her brow now bore several notable frown lines in addition to the iconic scar that ran vertically down her left eyebrow and cheek.

"Don't you 'Hey Weiss' me Jade Rangifer!" Weiss snapped, using the exact same tone that any of her own children would have treated to as her sapphire eyes flashed dangerously "Do you have any idea how worried we've been?"

"Did Gangrel do something crazy like have a Specialist team sent?"

"No, he's at work" Weiss huffed "Oum have mercy on his students today….he panicked when you didn't answer your Scroll"

"I left a message" Jade mumbled back weakly, knowing that it would not be anywhere near enough to slow Weiss's momentum

"You left a message with the families' lawyers" Weiss countered swiftly "Telling them that you needed bailing out of a Mistral jail, that's how we knew something had happened….and Oum damn it what happened to your eye?"

"I'll pay you back for the bail-"

"You have no Lien, you're unemployed" Weiss noted pointedly, Jade had initially only intended to travel for a year before finding somewhere to settle down and perhaps study or look for work yet it had simply not occurred and she had continued to travel Remnant in search of something she couldn't explain and though her patience for the younger woman and her predicament had been seemingly boundless she was unable to stop herself from reminding her just who was funding her lifestyle before her expression and tone softened

"That's not the point here" she sighed "What happened Jade, can you at least promise me that you're safe?"

"I think so" the reindeer shrugged awkwardly before correcting herself "Yeah, yeah I should be….look I saw someone I recognised from my Remnant"

"Oh" Weiss mouthed out slowly, the pieces falling into place in her mind and her gaze becoming calculating as she continued in a businesslike tone "Whit Fang I assume, which means that they likely were in this timeline as well….I can contact the Mistrali branch of the coalition or speak to Blake and find out if they were ever pardoned for any crimes they may have committed in Atlas or were just-"

"Weiss….don't" Jade sighed with a shake of her head that did nothing to stop the thumping pain that dulled her senses "He's a middle-aged man, it was even longer ago for you than it was for me….he was working security at a club I went to with students on a gap year I've been hanging out with, I mouthed off, he said some stuff back so I tried to punch him and then things got hectic and I'm pretty sure I made an idiot of myself in front of a lot of people. I kinda wanna just ghost this whole city-"

"Going to run away from your problems?" Weiss noted, unable to entirely hide her disapproval. Matters like this were where Jade's relationship with Weiss and her husband became complicated, she was not the same Jade Rangifer that they had taken in as an orphaned six year old and there were times when their treating her like one of their own children felt smothering and unwelcome, even if there were far more times where she was endlessly grateful and loved them both dearly for it.

"I haven't run out of places to run to yet" she mumbled, managing a slight grin as she tried joke her way out of Weiss's disappointed stare; a manoeuvrer that was oddly successful as the older woman snorted and muttered something that sounded oddly like the name 'Blake' before letting out another sigh and giving a smile of her own.

"I can get you a ticket for anywhere you want to go Jade" Weiss told her before a pleading look that was painful to look at filled her eyes "But would you at least consider coming back to the manor, at least for a while?"

"There's no-" Jade stopped herself, to say that there was nothing there would be a lie and a needlessly cruel one at that "There's just a lot of bad memories for me there….I can't help thinking of it as Taurus Manor"

"I understand that" Weiss nodded, Jade forced herself not curse out loud as she saw the tears in the older woman's eyes yet Weiss continued "There are a lot of memories for me here as well….I've tried to make the home my children grow up in a happy one, but there will always be ghosts here" Jade paused, swallowed thickly and screwed her eyes shut for several seconds before mastering herself, Weiss and Gangrel had scattered the ashes of 'their' Jade Rangifer on the grounds of Schnee Manor and had still opened their hearts and home to her despite the pain it must have caused them and she knew that they deserved better than whatever it was she was currently doing to them

"I can pick my stuff up from the hotel I was staying in and be on a flight in maybe a few hours" Jade finally answered "Just give me time to get cleaned up before I head to the airship terminal"

"That's….if you're….that would be wonderful" Weiss beamed, happier than Jade could remember seeing her in a long time "Gangrel, AJ and Coral would all love to see you again, they've missed, everyone has"

"Can't wait" Jade noted with a wry smile, she had missed them too but the idea of the crushing hugs she would certainly receive from the two Bear Faunus possessed of incredible strength and the Crab Faunus who seemed to almost double in size every time Jade saw her made her wince in advance.

"I wonder…." Weiss murmured trailing off for a second before adding brightly "I could have Arctus pick you up? Then he and Diamond could join you"

"I definitely wanna see them" Jade answered, the Bear Faunus who had brought her to this version of Remnant and his wife and Hunting partner were great people in her opinion "But I'm not getting on that boat….every Hunter on it is nuts and they Hunt Grimm the size of small airships, look at my face Weiss I can't handle a security guard the size of a security guard!" Weiss laughed loudly at that before composing herself and asking

"So, do you have any idea how long you'll be in Atlas for?"

"I don't know" Jade answered with another shrug "Maybe until I figure out what it is I'm looking for in life"

---

Cardin Winchester had not, in all fairness and honesty had the easiest or most pleasant life and yet he was old and wise enough now, at forty eight years old to understand and accept that many of his struggles had been of his own making and he had reached a sate of acceptance of himself and inner peace that he had once thought completely unattainable.

Cardin was not, as he seemed at first glance truly human and was in fact born of a human mother and Faunus father, being one of the notably rare instances of such a union producing a child without any Faunus attributes, something that had until recently being sneeringly referred to as an 'Anthro' and this lack of visible heritage had cost him early in his childhood; Cardin's father had simply refused to believe that the child was his and had tormented and abused the boy daily until finally abandoning his wife and child for good; an experience that had allowed Cardin to internalise the bigoted beliefs that had been all to prevalent around him and left him despising anything Faunus, even himself.

This was where his ability to lay blame and responsibility at the feet of others' ended; Cardin could freely admit that he had been a bastard until the Fall of Beacon had forced him to be a better man.

Team CRDL had officially disbanded once the first war against Salem had ended, though they had effectively been working independently since the moment Russell Thrush had died over thirty years ago and after taking several missions in and around a recovering Vale Cardin had been amongst one of the first Hunters to sign up when the Kingdoms announced their join effort to reclaim and repopulate the island of Menagerie to wipe away the last of Salem's influence from it; seeing the Faunus motherland be rebuilt by human and Faunus alike and become a bastion and symbol of unity and a better future for all had healed wounds that he hadn't even been consciously aware of, though Cardin had never settled down, instead spending much of his life roaming the wastelands between the islands' various settlements and protecting travellers in need; with one such instance leading to him saving the life of a young Iris Ramal, who went on to become a legendary Huntress in her own right and a member of the famous Team CLIR. Cardin was the last member of Team CRDL alive however and that knowledge hurt him in ways that were impossible for him to put into words. Russell had died covering Flax Scarlatina in the ruins of old Vale, Dove had left a widow and children behind when he and Glynda Goodwitch sacrificed themselves to free New Vale from Salem's grasp and Dove had been murdered in cold blood.

By the very same woman that Cardin found himself working alongside right now.

Qrow Branwen, leader of a shadowy group of individuals including the heads of the Academies and key military and political figures along with several Hunters of renown had reached out to Cardin and explained to him that the efforts to make Menagerie a Kingdom in its' own right and build new settlements capable of sustaining themselves largely relied upon the efforts of a single woman with the ability to effectively terraform land blighted by Salem's influence, the Spring Maiden no less and Cardin had been honoured to take on the role of her protector; the woman was not a fighter and the wastelands were a dangerous place, however after protecting the Maiden from afar for over a decade Cardin had been forced to concede that he was no longer able to handle the task alone and had asked Qrow for help; only to be confronted by Nickel Polendina when he did.

Cardin had been kept from trying to murder her in her sleep only by the knowledge that he would be unsuccessful and had instead sent her as far away from him as possible under the guise of scouting though in truth it was simply that he could not stomach having to look at her; Nickel's weapon after all was an aerial drone larger than the average car that doubled as a battle-suit named the 'Omega Destroyer' perfect for tackling any Grimm ahead of them.

The attack had come from the side however and now Cardin found himself wishing that he had kept Nickel where he could see her.

"Polendina where you?" he roared into an earpiece, his own demand almost drowned out by the deafening roar of the Grimm that had attacked him and the Spring Maiden.

He supposed he could consider himself lucky that it was a lone monster yet against something so dangerous it seemed a cold comfort indeed; the Grimm was Stywrecker, a quadrupedal saurian beast comfortably twice the size of a man; its' jet black flesh was leathery and stretched over bulging and powerful muscles with thick plates of bone armour covering it, giving the thing a skeletal underside and a heavily reinforced back adorned with a row of jagged spikes that trailed down its' long, powerful tail. The Grimm's skull was a sloped and cruelly hooked beak surrounded by a wide crest that made the thing all but impervious to attack from the front whilst at the same time being covered in dozens of jutting and twisting horns that tore through the ground around it with each thrashing movement.

"I'll get there when I get there" Nickel's irritable voice snapped back and Cardin considered retorting before berating himself and forcing himself to focus on the matter at hand. The Grimm had charged into himself and the Spring Maiden in the wasteland, specifically a vast open stretch of blasted and craggy rocks where there was nothing to be used as cover; though the Spring Maiden was trying her hardest to improve the situation and as he watched the Stywrecker plough through a veil of trees that sprung from the ground in a matter of second Cardin realised that he needed to do something.

Unsheathing Jericho and unfurling his signature mace he leapt into the fray with a feral yell loud enough to demand the Grimm's attention and bring it thundering towards him; the head of Cardin's weapon was as always fitted with an almost fist size slab of Dust crystal though rather than the customary Fire Dust it currently bore a glistening black chunk Gravity Dust intended to turn his blows into devastating impacts that no Grimm could hope to withstand. With a mighty yell he prepared to deliver one such assault and brought Jericho out in a wide arc yet it was not to be as he had crucially misjudged the speed of the Grimm, the Stywrecker came to a skidding halt, the sound or barren ground cracking underfoot filling Cardin's ears before it lashed out with its' spiked and powerful tail.

The two attacks connected with devastating results.

Jericho struck the tail of the Grimm and crushed the limb, the sheer concussive force and localised warping of gravity hurling the lumbering beast several dozen feet away to land in a crumpled heap with an earthshaking crash yet at the same time the Grimm struck Cardin's arm and weapon; the discharge of warping and fluctuating gravity tore through the air and uprooted what little of the Spring Maiden's hastily grown defences remained before flinging the woman herself backwards whilst the forces involved and the spiked tail of the Grimm managed to deplete the last of Cardin's Aura and break his right arm with a sickening crunch, leaving it dangling uselessly at his side.

"Are you okay?" he yelled, gritting his teeth and pushing through his own pain as he discarded a weapon he could no longer effectively wield and rushed towards the Spring Maiden. The woman was in her late thirties, of an average height, build and appearance so unremarkable that it seemed almost impossible at first glance that she could posses the powers she did; more importantly at that moment however she was alive and managed to drag herself to her feet, bruised, covered in dust and clearly in pain but still prepared to fight with whatever strength she had left.

"I'm okay" she managed to wheeze out, clutching at her side until, as if in response to her assertion two sounds filled the air in rapid succession; firstly the bellowing roar of Stywrecker as dragged itself to its' feet and began to stampede towards them for a renewed onslaught and secondly the sound of something approaching from the air at tremendous speed

"Looks like she finally showed up" Cardin muttered, almost able to manage a smile until the Spring Maiden pushed him aside, her eyes wide and fearful as she yelled out

"You're Aura's broken! Move!" in a burst of strength that surprised even herself she flung the larger and heavily armoured man away before leaping in the opposite direction mere seconds before the Stywrecker trampled her underfoot; from there she tapped into her powers once again, vibrant green contrails of light bursting from her eyes as thick vines burst from the ground and began to ensnare the beast and hold it in place.

Right where Nickel wanted it.

She soared into view above them wearing the Omega Destroyer in its' Battle-Suit form, with her weapon in place she was not as tall as Atlas Paladin but nonetheless substantially larger than the average person with the battle suit boasting loping and savage looking digitigrade legs and hulking upper limbs that ended in three pronged crushing claws, with each arm featuring a ranged weapon; wings fanned out behind her and her face was covered by an armoured and visored mask, all of which combined to give Nickel Polendina an appearance equal parts frightening and awe-inspiring.

"Good game buddy" she chuckled darkly before aiming the laser weapon fitted to her battle-suits' right forearm and firing, a bolt of searing light tore through base of the Grimm's neck yet still it continued to trash and struggle which only prompted Nickel to take more drastic measures; the android dove and hurtled downwards like a comet, claws at the ready as she prepared to tear it apart.

Then time began to move in slow motion and a sense of dread washed over her as things spiralled out of control in a mater of moments.

The Stywrecker tore its' forelimbs free of the Spring Maiden's vines and reared its' spiked skull up to meet Nickel's attack; in response the Spring Maiden tried to recapture the beast and in the single, fleeting moment that she was distracted the Stywrecker lashed out with its' crushed, mangled yet still spiked and dangerous tail to bat her aside and send her skidding across the ground.

Nickel collided with the Grimm, its' skull exploded into fragments and its' body began to fade away mere moments later whilst the Omega Destroyer took a considerable amount of damage in the process though likely nothing which could not be repaired; all of which was entirely irrelevant to Nickel as she ripped herself free of the Battle-Suit and sprinted towards where Spring Maiden lay.

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!" the words left her in a hissed and frantic stream until she skidded to a halt beside the older woman whose clothes were already sodden with blood where the spikes of the Grimm's tail had torn through her body

"No, damn it no" Nickel's voice trembled "Come on, talk to me Spring!" she cursed herself for never even learning the name of the woman she had been charged with protecting, rolling the woman who had landed face down in the dust over it became instantly and heartbreakingly clear that there was nothing that could be done

"Did….did we get it?" the rapidly fading Spring Maiden choked out, blood trickling from the corners of her mouth as the colour rapidly faded from her face; Nickel nodded silently and the dying Maiden's glassy and unfocused eyes suddenly became sharp as she used the last of her strength to grasp Nickel's wrist and whisper her final words

"They're yours now….use them well, use them to help people" with that she fell limp and silent, eyes closing as the light left them and Nickel felt herself become icy cold as she understood the pleading instruction that she had been given. She didn't need to hear Cardin's open shock as he trudged towards them, not did she need to see the countless readings that her own internal systems were trying to make sense of or wing-like contrails of light that burst from her emerald green eyes to know what had happened.

The powers had been transferred to her, Nickel Polendina had become the Spring Maiden.

---

The relentless dry heat of Menagerie had been intolerable to Jade Rangifer from the moment she had stepped off of the airship and it was all she could do to not seek out somewhere cool and shady and simply wait there until nightfall.

Currently she wore a simple cream coloured tank-top and light brown shorts adorned with more extra pockets and pouches than was likely sensible for most people long with her usual footwear choice of a pair of sturdy and reliable hiking boots whilst her dirty blonde hair was once again tied back, allowing her to tie a bandanna of a shade of green that she was particularly fond of around her head, highlighting her antlers even more whilst her eyes were hidden behind a round-framed and heavily tinted pair of designer sunglasses that were an admittedly frivolous luxury she had treated herself to before travelling to the island that had become the fifth official Kingdom of Remnant.

As she continued to trudge through the streets in the baking heat, sweating as she pulled her suitcase along behind her and taking in the sight of buildings whose architectures were a dizzying blend of styles from all across Remnant Jade's private thoughts were a mixture of amazement at what had become of Menagerie as the Faunus homeland had never been recovered in any meaningful way in the Remnant she hailed from along with grumblings that if the reason she had been invited here were not so important she would not have dealt with this climate.

The reason that she was here was because there was a new Spring Maiden.

Jade had returned to Atlas and had been staying at Schnee Manor, taking on whatever odd-jobs and busy work she could for a little over two months, reconnecting with people she had come to love and consider her family yet feeling no closer to finding anything that would fill the emptiness that she had been left with upon losing the powers of the Spring Maiden; whilst she had never cared for being a tool to be used by others there was certainly no denying that the Reindeer Faunus had, for much of her life based much of her sense of purpose around her identity as a Maiden and her ability to help people.

That had changed when Weiss and Gangrel Slate had called her into the study of Schnee Manor where they had been joined by Qrow Branwen, the partially paralysed veteran Hunter contacting them via a video call from his office within the campus of Halo Academy of Neo Vale where he had, for almost a decade now been a Professor and close confidant to Headmaster Lie Ren and his wife and deputy Nora.

Qrow had given Jade the courtesy of a full explanation of everything that she needed to know, Weiss and Gangrel insisting that to give her anything less whilst asking for her help was unfair and so the young woman had learned that the previous Spring Maiden of this Remnant had perished in a Grimm attack on Menagerie and passed on her powers to a woman by the name of Nickel Polendina, a woman who was in fact an android built by Atlas with a colourful and intriguing history and was rightfully considered one of the single most dangerous fighters on Remnant even before obtaining her new gifts; it seemed however that after weeks of struggling she was no closer to mastering the powers of the Spring Maiden and Qrow had thought that it might be best for all parties if Nickel was given an experienced mentor before her attempts to harness them could become dangerous to those around her. It was a role that nobody but Jade Rangifer could fulfil and one that called out to her, promising to give her some semblance of a sense of purpose and so she had accepted without a moments' hesitation.

Yet none of this could keep her from feeling more than a little nervous as she knocked on the door of Ruby and Penny Rose's home.

Nickel had apparently returned here for the time being as progress on the settlement her predecessor had intended to provide crops and workable ground for had naturally stalled, Jade had only a moment to wait before the door was opened to reveal someone who was, as far as Jade was aware too young to be her supposed student

"Oh, hey you must be here to see Nickel, I'm Summer" the silver-eyed teen with copper curls and a powerful, athletic build introduced herself wearing a jersey bearing her own name "Come on she's inside….I promise she isn't as mean as she makes people think she is" with that ominous warning Jade allowed herself to be led inside, setting down her luggage and taking stock of her surroundings; realising as she went that this house featured a vast amount of robotics grafted into its' structure and upon seeing the various photographs lining the walls of the hallway that Summer-Pyrrha Rose was an athlete whose performances she had seen on television before

"One hell of a family" Jade mumbled under her breath as she realised that Ruby Rose was by no means the only celebrity in this house

"Oh you have no idea" Summer chuckled before coming to a halt in front of a closed door that Jade was almost certain led into a sitting room and knocking "Mum!….Both mums! Nickel's teacher is here. Me and TJ are heading over to see Little Fox, we'll be back later!" with that Summer-Pyrrha flashed Jade one last smile and thumbs up before sprinting up the nearby stairs and calling out to her twin brother, leaving Jade staring at the doorway for a single moment that seemed to stretch out far too long before swallowing audibly and finally opening it and stepping inside.

"Salutations Jade Rangifer" the cheery voice of Penny Rose greeted her, the android clad in a casual green and grey sundress that seemed almost comically at odds with her reputation as a Hunter; she looked older than she once had though she had aged markedly less than her wide who sat close by, her coppery hair entirely untouched by grey.

Jade almost didn't see them however, her gaze was drawn immediately to the third figure sitting in the room.

Nickel Polendina looked striking whenever she wore attire that she come to consider her Hunting gear, an outfit that Coco Adel had helped her devise and Ruby had unknowingly inspired consisting of a pair of slim fitting and artistically torn black jeans held up by a plethora of belts that were worn at odd angles and tucked into heavy combat boots with vibrant and mismatched laces and heavy armour plating, both the boots and the armoured knee-pads she wore featured spikes that were almost cartoonish; she also wore a black armoured corset-like contraption over the top of a dark green hoodie with more spiked armour adorning her shoulders and several pouches and a bandolier kept in place by a black harness wrapped around her torso, her hands were covered with studded fingerless gloves and her black and green dyed hair was tied back whilst the look was completed by dark make up that the unmistakeable feeling of warpaint being applied around her eyes to make them even more prominent.

Jade instantly decided that this was one of the 'coolest' people she had ever seen and the freckles dusting her cheeks or the sprawled, almost boneless way she sat did nothing to detract from how imposing she looked.

"So you're the Mary Poppy huh?….we had a Spring Maiden who used an umbrella in this Remnant too. She's dead now" Jade almost choked on air, whatever she had been expecting Nickel's first words to her to be, it had certainly not been that.

"Nickel please" Ruby sighed in clear exasperation, indicating that despite her Summer's promises Nickel was often exactly as belligerent as she seemed.

"That was uncalled for" Penny chided, attempting to be understanding whilst at the same time being firm

"Whatever"

"I um….I can go" Jade offered, she had come here to help but she had been under the impression that her help was welcome, apparently she was mistaken

"Don't….stay….please" Nickel leaned forward and ground the words out as though they caused her physical pain, head buried in her hands whilst resting her elbows on her knees in a crumpled display of abject defeat and desolation "I need….everyone needs me to be better" there was something behind those words that Jade couldn't identify, some inexplicable bitterness which she chose not to analyse too deeply and instead clarified exactly what she was offering so there could be no misunderstanding

"Look….I can't promise anything, I don't know what Qrow told you, but on the Remnant I come from I had the Spring Maiden Powers; I know what they can do and I know what they feel like but nobody ever taught me, all I can do is try and show you what worked for me and see if it helps….if that's uh something that you'd be interested in?" Nickel regarded her carefully for several seconds, green eyes looking fierce as they regarded the Reindeer Faunus intently before finally the android shrugged nonchalantly

"Sure, what's the worst that could happen right?"

"Okay" Jade tried to sound bright and cheery before quickly realising that it would be a wasted effort and instead bracing herself almost unconsciously as she asked "What can you do with your powers right now?" in response Nickel rose to her feet and rolled her shoulders back whilst working out a crick in her neck, prompting to wonder if the android actually did suffer from such things; Nickel then raised her hands out in front of her with her feet apart and focused on a potted plant in a window behind Jade, causing the Faunus to stand back for her own safety.

Then the Maiden powers came roaring into life.

It was unlike anything Jade had experienced before, her own powers had manifested as winged contrails of light that shone like twin auroras whilst Nickel's Spring Maiden Powers spewed and surged forth like raging, acid green infernos that flared and crackled in a shockingly untamed and almost unstable display until the crackling light extended first to her palms and then to the potted plant that was the object of her focus; only for said plant to promptly explode outwards as it grew too large to be contained in a matter of moments, its' form warping and mutating into some monstrous mass of burrowing roots and gnarled thorns until Nickel released her grasp of her powers

"Shit" she spat venomously, clearly disgusted at her own failures whilst Jade on the other hand stepped closer to the now unrecognisable plant and studied it closely until finally she saw something that made her giggle

"Fuck you Buddy!" Nickel spat, taking the laughter for mockery directed at herself and taking a single step forwards until Jade frantically gestured to what had captured attention; the freckled android came to a halt with her arms falling limply at her sides as she saw that sprouting from the twisted mass of plant matter were apples, bananas and peaches; all undersized, somewhat misshapen and almost certainly inedible if not outright poisonous yet still each of them could be easily identified

"So….uh, it looks like you've got the basics down….kinda" Jade managed to stammer out weakly, a comment that caused Nickel to erupt into laugher

"Y'know what buddy, you're not so bad….I like you"

---

It had been almost two months since Jade had arrived in Menagerie's Capital City of Port Alistair and the Reindeer Faunus had progressed from training and teaching Nickel Polendina within the city limits, often in the back garden of the Rose family home or secluded areas within the grounds of the Kingdom's Academy to training her out in the wastelands beyond the cities' walls.

Though perhaps progress was too generous a term.

Nickel could bring her Maiden powers roaring and blazing into life on command without fail and without taxing herself too much though it seemed this was the extend of her progress as she was no closer to gaining any true control or mastery over her abilities once she had activated them and this, combined with the fact that her powers had grown exponentially in their sheer scope, far outstripping what Jade had been capable of as a teen had meant that training in the wastelands was the only truly safe option; as several previous efforts that had ended in narrowly averted disaster would prove.

The latest failed attempt at harnessing the powers of the Spring Maiden had left Jade face down in the dust after being flung from her feet and scrabbling for cover when the ground violently erupted beneath her and as she pulled herself from the ground, coughing and sputtering as she dusted herself off and checked for injuries she saw Nickel Polendina sat, once again a picture of utter dejection on a twisted mass of vines that reached and grasped for several feet in all directions; their surfaces cracking and flaking away with a texture not entirely dissimilar to bark though the creation was a far cry from the orange tree that the android had been hoping for and as Jade peered at the mass she decided that she had no intention of trying the blackened, undersized fruit that this attempt bore.

"Well" she sighed as she clambered over the various, surprisingly sturdy vines "I suppose it works as a bench right?" the growl that escaped through Nickel's clenched teeth made it clear that the joke was not appreciated and that the android would not be able to see the funny side for a while, so Jade quickly changed her approach

"Hey….you can do this" she murmured, pausing for a moment before daring to reach out and rest a hand on Nickel's shoulder and feeling nothing but warm skin beneath the fabric of her clothes despite what she knew of her origins; Jade's heart hammered in her chest as Nickel glanced at the hand and the Reindeer wondered if some line had been crossed with the contact until the android simply leaned into the touch in a display that surprised them both if the way she quickly looked away were any indication.

"I-um-I" Jade's words failed her for a moment and after several seconds of mentally kicking herself she managed to form a coherent sentence "You wanna try again?"

"Sure….time to get good I suppose" Nickel breathed out, everything about her voice making it painfully clear that despite Jade's best efforts to reassure her she was still struggling to believe that her goals were achievable

"Okay, remember….visualise; just focus on what you want to see happen and pour your power into that space" Jade said, her words slow and gentle as she tried her best to explain what she had been forced to learn without guidance, hoping that she was doing the right thing and that her methods would help at least a little. She watched as Nickel hopped off of the twisted and hardened mass of vines she had inadvertently created and braced herself on the dusty ground as she brought her powers blazing into life once again; the Spring Maiden powers still manifested as jets of vivid green fire spilling from Nickel's eyes and still appeared wild and uncontrollable, just as Nickel herself could be. Jade continued to watch as her student and protégé thrust her hand forward with an odd flick of the wrist in a gesture that she had seen Nickel make countless times now but was still confused by, especially the way that Nickel's eyes always seemed to dart towards the limb in question almost in disappointment as though she expected something else to happen.

The gesture once again caused nature to warp and bend to the will of the Spring Maiden, though once again not in the way that Nickel had intended; what burst from the ground were spikes of solid and sharpened plant matter entirely unrecognisable as any kind of tree at all.

"You uh….you wanna talk about it?" Jade asked hesitantly, Nickel's temperament could be a fickle thing at times like these and she was never sure if the freckled young woman would appreciate the sentiment or blow up in spectacular fashion and rage at her own perceived incompetence but it was all Jade could do to try and help her in any way she could, not only because it was what she had promised but because Nickel was clearly trying so hard and her unwavering determination, soaked in venom and self deprecation as it might be was truly inspirational to the Faunus

"Bruh" Nickel sighed bitterly as she collapsed backwards to sit on the ground in a dramatic huff that Jade would be lying if she said wasn't amusing "I am high-key, dead-ass whack at this" Jade winced, if Nickel was sliding into that particular pattern of speech it meant she was far more upset with herself that she was letting on and so she made her way over, hurrying but trying to seem as though she weren't and placed herself beside Nickel once again; realising that the android was taller, and unsurprisingly more toned that her. The two remained in silence for a while until Nickel finally spoke again, her voice a small and almost timid thing

"I'm sorry for wasting your time Jade, I know this must be cringey to watch"

"You're not-"

"I didn't want these powers, I didn't ask for them" Nickel cut off Jade's protestations "And fuck it….maybe I'm just not supposed to have them; I'm not meant to be growing stuff-"

"Don't you dare give up on me now Polendina" Jade spat indignantly, entirely unsure of where the sudden burst of anger had come from but unable to bring herself to regret it even as Nickel rounded on her, finally making eye contact

"Excuse the fuck out of you?"

"So you're struggling" Jade continued "So what? Big deal! You think I had it easy, you think any other Maiden did?" Nickel regarded her for several seconds in stunned silence before eventually flashing the Faunus a wicked smile and a wink as she retorted

"Huh….didn't think you'd be that cute when you're worked up"

"Don't change the-I, what?" Jade sputtered, unable to keep the heat from rising in her cheeks "Damn it, focus….we've got to focus"

"It isn't working though!" Nickel shot back, annoyed once again but at least willingly engaging "I'm not a Maiden, I'm a fighter it's literally what I was built for chief; I don't know how to be anything else-"

"And I spent years trapped in Taurus Manor being used to grow the White Fang's crops with a maniac of a Locust Faunus as my bodyguard and jailer, guess what I still ended up in the resistance….do I look like a fighter to you Nickel?" the android looked ready to answer with something that would undoubtedly be sarcastic and Jade quickly cur her off "The point is you can be more than you think; just stop doubting yourself"

"Stop trying to hit me and hit me" Nickel snorted, quoting some film that Jade vaguely remembered existing in her own Remnant before war had destroyed everything, meaning that it would likely be a classic here. The two sank into a silence that couldn't truthfully be described as comfortable, yet it was easy and Jade watched in fascination as Nickel continued to flex her right arm in the way she did whenever she used her powers, still looking at the limb as though it offended heritage

"Hey" she began slowly, getting Nickel's attention and gesturing to her arm "Are you hurt? I see you do that with your arm all the time?"

"Not hurt" Nickel answered, a little too gruffly and a little too quickly before considering for a moment and softening as she explained, rubbing the back of her head with her free hand whilst placing the arm Jade had gestured to in the Reindeer Faunus's lap for her to examine "This uh….not to creep you out or anything but this isn't my first body; my old one didn't have synthetic skin like this one so my designer didn't have to worry about me tearing it open and draining my Aura fixing myself if panels and components started moving. I actually used to have wings in my back and a photon cannon in each arm, I still feel like I'm missing pieces sometimes" Nickel stared at Jade in an expectant, almost hopeful silence, watching as the Reindeer Faunus absently played with the freckled androids' hand and fingers gently, processing the information until she finally spoke

"That's um….that's kinda hardcore" Nickel couldn't help grin at that, privately refusing to examine why she felt the need to puff up with pride until Jade added "Wait, you could fly?"

"Yeah" Nickel sighed sadly "I miss it….it's one of the coolest things"

"I wouldn't know" Jade shrugged before chewing her lip nervously, not wanting to get her students' hopes up but at the same time desperate to give her some kind of victory "But, I remember hearing that the Winter Maiden in my Remnant could fly….maybe you could give it a try?"

"I don't know how?"

"Turn your powers on and throw yourself at something?" Jade shrugged "I don't know either, how did you do it before?" Nickel remained silent and simply pulled herself to her feet, almost reluctantly withdrawing the had that Jade hand been slowly lacing her fingers through, seemingly without realising and waiting until the Faunus had retreated a safe distance before bringing forth the Spring Maiden powers in a display of raging green light and taking a moment to steady herself. The systems and parts she had once had that enabled her to fly were simply absent yet Nickel simply focused her power into the place her wings had once protruded from and focused every fibre of her being on the single, simple directive 'Up'.

She blasted into the air with a blazing aura of acid green around her.

Jade let out a wordless cheer of shared joy and watched, wide-eyed and enthralled as Nickel tore through the air at impossible speeds, the sound of her delighted laughter reaching the Reindeer Faunus as she looped, banked and whirled through the skies before finally lunging into a steep dive that Jade quickly realised was aimed directly at her; she held her arms out in front of her body, gesturing frantically for Nickel to stop yet the collision never came, instead the android skidded to a halt in front of her and in a single fluid motion wrapped her arms around Jade's waist to lift her off of the ground and into a spin before setting her down gently

"That….was awesome" Jade managed to breathe out, two pairs of green eyes met and there was a pause of a single moment that seemed to last far longer before sudden bashfulness got the better off them both and Jade came crashing to the ground as the pair quickly broke apart.

"Okay, so um, I think I've got an idea" Jade said, clearing her throat loudly and pushing through the sudden awkwardness as she leapt to her feet "I've been trying to get you to use the powers the way I did, maybe you were onto something….you're a fighter, try using them the way you know how?"

"You want me to use them as a weapon?" Nickel used, raising an eyebrow quizzically "Like, hit you with a tree or something?"

"I mean it wouldn't be the first time a Maiden had used their powers to fight right?" Jade shrugged, privately hoping that her idea wasn't as stupid as it seemed when spoken aloud "You managed to fly, maybe if you use the powers as if they were your old weapons…." she trailed off and Nickel stared at her own hands in silent contemplation for a moment before the twin contrails of blazing green fire burst from eyes once again, seemingly larger than ever as Nickel thrust her hand forwards and let out a battle cry filled with unshakeable conviction

"VIBE CHECK MOTHER-FUCKER!" the ground exploded and Jade, who had initially been doubled over in manic laughter at Nickel's words quickly fell silent as she watched a beam of vivid green light tear through the air and in its' wake a row of small, yet perfectly formed and fruit-bearing trees burst from the ground.

"Holy Oum you did it" she managed to breathe out before a sound that was half cheer, half laughter escaped her and she sprinted towards the trees Nickel had created, carefully examining the fruit they had produced which appeared, by all accounts to be an entirely regular strawberry

Until Jade popped one into her mouth

"WHAT THE HELL?" she demanded "How did you even make a strawberry crunchy?" Nickel merely sidled up beside her wearing an expression that tried to appear smug, yet her pure joy shone through all the same as she plucked one of the fruits for herself.

"Gotta love the cronch" she shrugged, a moment later her bravado and feigned nonchalance failed her and Jade found herself pulled into a crushing hug "Thank you, thank you so much, thank you for everything"

"There's nothing else I'd rather be doing" Jade assured her as she happily returned the hug.

---

A further three months had passed and Nickel's training had rapidly accelerated, the Spring Maiden becoming proficient with her powers at a rate that had left Jade stunned; Nickel could raise acres of crops from entirely barren and desolate ground in times that put the former Maiden to shame and was developing a range and precision with her abilities that Jade had simply never had, combined with an ingenuity that was utterly mesmerising to watch.

In truth Jade's task of training Nickel had been completed some time ago yet the Reindeer Faunus could not bring herself to leave the new Spring Maiden's side, for reasons that were not entirely related to the sense of pride and accomplishment she felt whenever Nickel pushed herself even further and so, a little over six weeks ago the pair had left the safety of Port Alistair and set out into the wastelands of Menagerie to begin the task that had been left to Nickel upon her predecessors' passing and lay the groundwork for a new settlement.

The pair of them had been living in a truly massive land vehicle, something of Atlesian design that largely resembled a conventional truck save for the fact that it was almost two stories tall and the two trailers that it dragged behind it were each roughly the size of a small house; crossing the wastelands was not a quick or easy task after all and even with Nickel's abilities the job of creating enough farmlands to sustain a small city would take some time. One trailer was effectively a warehouse containing all the supplies that they would need for their expedition, Dust, tools, medicine, food, water and equally importantly a vast reserve of seeds so that Nickel could use her powers more efficiently and several colonies of bees and other pollinators to ensure that the Spring Maiden's work prospered once she had left; the other trailer served as an apartment for the two of them to call home, comfortable and surprisingly cosy and yet spacious enough that the two of them could have privacy, which Jade was thankful for as she began to realise that her feelings towards Nickel Polendina had grown into something far beyond what she had expected and she had no desire to make things awkward between them.

The fact was however that the former Spring Maiden from another Remnant found the combat android turned Spring Maiden to be one of the most amazing people she had ever met, awe-inspiring, determined to live every moment to the fullest and simply a joy to be around even when spewing obscenities and scathing remarks and Jade couldn't help but think from time to time that the two of them were just odd enough to be the only people who could truly appreciate one another.

She had been lost in the midst of such thoughts, watching Nickel grow eight different fruit from the same tree, the various colours forming patterns when viewed from afar when events had taken an unexpected left turn for them.

In fairness the encounter should not have been as unexpected as it was; the bleak and vast emptiness between Menagerie's settlements was known as the Badlands as often as the wasteland and was known to be rife with travelling bands of thieves and raiders, though they were far from its' only inhabitants and it had been one of these groups that had initially targeted Nickel and Jade, seeing their vehicle and clearly having visions of using it as some rolling base of operations or else seeing it for the sheer bulk of scrap metal that it would provide.

The raiders themselves had been little challenge at all, Nickel hadn't even needed to use her powers of the Omega Destroyer to leave the group of a dozen or so woefully underprepared criminals unconscious and sprawled on the ground for Jade to begin restraining.

What had followed them however was something else entirely.

"Nickel what do we do?" Jade all but sobbed as the monstrous Grimm that had been drawn to them by the fighting burst from the ground with enough force to rock the massive transport that they travelled in. It was a Sand-Worm, a colossal thing that appeared to be comprised of a single mass of densely packed muscle with jet-black skin stretched taut over it and vast armour plates encasing much of its' form to create the appearance of segments; it was serpentine in shape save for its' total lack of a head and instead the wider end of its' tapering body simply opened out into a vast chasm lined with hundreds of rows of fangs attached to various sets of mandibles.

Most concerned of all however was the fact that the thing was comfortably over a hundred feet in length and sent tremors through the ground with every movement it made, dust and debris raining down from between its' armoured plates.

"I'm working on it chief" Nickel replied through gritted teeth in a less than effective attempt to assuage Jade's fears. The Reindeer Faunus glanced upwards and saw Nickel, clad in the Omega Destroyer tear through the air above the vast Creature of Grimm and unleash a volley of laser-fire that would have been devastating to any lesser opponent, yet the Sand-Worm seemed to shrug it off entirely

"We need a bigger weapon!" Jade called frantically into her Scroll, desperate to do something to help before Nickel was forced to make any reckless or potentially dangerous choices

"I just need to draw it away from us….I think if I fly into its' mouth and pull a few of its' teeth it'll definitely notice that"

"Absolutely not!" Jade near-screamed "If that thing closes its' mouth you're screwed I don't care how tough you think you are….Hang on I've got a plan" with that Jade hung up and bolted across the ground that had been barren hours ago and was not a ruined mess of upturned earth where Nickel's work had been undone, her idea was a simple one and one that Nickel would no doubt ridicule Jade for in the near future yet it was one she was determined to try, if only to keep the android from doing something foolish herself.

Jade was going to use their transport as a battering ram to stop the Sand-Worm.

Her plan, dangerous as it was never had a chance to be tested however as a particularly violent jerking motion from the Sand-Worm as Nickel tried to get its' attention sent Jade crashing to the ground a few dozen feet away from the cab of their massive vehicle and as she crawled and scurried forwards, pushing through the pain with single minded determination her entire world became darkness as a vast shadow fell over her.

"Oh no" she whispered weakly as she rolled onto her back only to be greeted with a sight that left ice in her veins; the Sand-Worm loomed over her, its' monstrous serpentine body arched high over head as it prepared to dive down and swallow the transport, or more likely one of its' trailers in a motion that would see Jade crushed into certain oblivion and yet, despite seeing her impending doom her body simply refused to cooperate and she remained frozen in sheer, primal terror as the thing came hurtling towards her.

"NO!" Nickel's voice echoed unnaturally, a cacophony that sounded as though it had been bellowed by a thousand people at once a moment before Jade's entire field of vision was consumed with vibrant green and the Reindeer was left stunned by the sheer power that the Spring Maiden could unleash.

The ground erupted around Jade's prone form and vast trunks surged upward all around her, branches twisting and intertwining to first create a solid and impenetrable shield and then a spear of living biomass that hurtled towards the Sand-Worm, spearing it through its' gaping maw and continuing through its' impossible length, vines and branches wrapping around its exterior whilst yet more plant life tore through it from within until finally, under the force of a single attack the thing disintegrated into a plume of darkness that threatened to blot out the setting sun.

With limbs that trembled so much she feared that they might give out beneath her Jade pulled herself free of the mass of branches and tree-trunks only to be left open mouthed by what she saw;

A vast arch in the shape of the Sand-Worm rising into the air, the unnaturally shaped trees that formed its' basis interwoven with hanging vines and ivy along with flowers of every size and colour that continued to bloom into life even as Jade stared at them in amazement.

Then Nickel collided with her.

"Are you okay? Jade come on talk to me, not again, no please not again!" the freckled android had still be freeing herself from the collapsing form of the Omega Wing as she hurtled towards Jade and subsequently tackled her with enough force to send them both toppling backwards

"Hey, hey, I'm okay…..You saved me" Jade managed to answer after finally orienting herself enough to get her bearings, bringing a finger to the terrified androids' lips whilst using her free hand to grasp one of Nickel's in an effort to ground her; Nickel's eyes slowly focused, losing their wild expression as the Maiden's power faded away and after taking a moment to steady herself she finally managed to speak again

"Well that was iconic….are you suitably shooketh?" Jade couldn't help but collapse into a fit of hysterical laughter at that and promptly buried her face in the fabric of Nickel's hoodie

"I am most definitely shook" Nickel's arms wrapped slowly, uncertainly around the Faunus's waist and Jade took a moment to simply melt into the contact, realising just how badly she had wanted a moment like this albeit perhaps under different circumstances until finally she pulled away and simply gazed up at Nickel's handiwork in admiration

"The town planners for this new settlement had better change their designs….that has to be the big 'welcome to whatever-ville' sign" Nickel gave a comically wide grin at the idea before considering for a moment

"Hey if Coco and her buddies get to name Port Alistair then why don't we get to name this place?" her grin widened "Worm-gate?"

"That's what you're going for?" Jade teased "How about Maiden's-Gate….just a shame you're gonna have to re-do so much work"

"Yeah" Nickel sighed before her expression turned into something that could only be described as devious "But I've got an idea though"

"I'm listening" Jade replied slowly, not entirely sure she was ready for whatever Nickel might suggest.

"Look we're already gonna be behind schedule now, plus we've gotta take the idiots that tried to rob us back to a settlement to hand 'em in" Nickel rolled over so that she was atop Jade and staring down at her with what could only be described as puppy-dog eyes "You were exploring before all this right? Surely there's still places you wanna go and see….let's go somewhere, together?" the answer was out of Jade's mouth before she could even truly think

"I'd love to"

---

For Qrow Branwen life had a peculiar and infuriating habit of making itself difficult in ways that even he, in his position of shadowy protector of Remnant after taking up Ozpin's mantle over thirty years ago did not expect; such unexpected difficulties included, but were by no means limited to, learning that he had a daughter when said daughter was eighteen years old, having his back irreparably shattered several years ago, sentient Creatures of Grimm leading hordes that more closely resembled armies, a steady stream of political upheavals and organised criminal activity with the occasional assassination attempt against himself or another famous Hunter thrown in almost to break the monotony, terrorist factions including the resurgent White Fang attacking the Vytal Festival in Atlas, a corrupted Wizard, alternate realities and even the return and subsequent war against Salem herself with the latest unforeseen problem to rear its' head and provoke him being the fact that the Spring Maiden, a powerful and potentially highly dangerous individual whom he had kept close tabs on even before she had gained her powers had simply vanished without warning.

Such were Qrow Branwen's thoughts as he tore his eyes away from the various screens of his computer setup.

"One day I will be able to retire" he grumbled to himself as he took several mouthfuls of a steaming cup of coffee, a blend sent to him by his old friend Bartholomew Oobleck that could be described as 'Potentially lethal' whilst his other hand reached out and picked up a small trinket from his desk, one of many such items he had been given that had allowed his apartment with the campus of Halo Academy of New Vale where he continued to teach to feel more like a home and less like the foreboding lair it had once been described as; the trinket in question was a small statuette with oddly misshapen proportions yet there was no mistaking the pristine white and gold armour, blonde hair, crimson eyes and sleeveless black leather jacket of his daughter Eagle Arc, this particular variant of the collectible had been an exclusive to a comic book convention and Eagle had been ecstatic for days, declaring it the moment she had truly 'Made it' as a Hunter.

Qrow chuckled to himself as he remembered the moment and considered calling Eagle; primarily because with Team FADE and many of their friends with whom they often worked currently outside of both the city of Neo Vale and the Kingdom of New Vale as whole he hadn't seen his only child or indeed her partner Felix Xiao Long in several weeks and secondly because they and their friends were amongst the first people he would call if transpired that he needed to track Nickel down for some reason. That train of thought was brought to a premature halt moments later when Qrow heard his Scroll vibrating and quickly cast his still-keen eyes around his work area to find it, spotting it beside a series of framed photographs that lined his desk, including images of Team STRQ, FADE and CLIR's graduations and Ruby and Yang's weddings though at that moment he chose not to linger on the photographs.

The incoming call was a video call from Nickel Polendina himself and Qrow sensed that this would likely require his full attention

"'Sup chief!" the freckled young woman flashed him a bright smile the moment her face became visible on the Scrolls' screen, which Qrow repaid with a scowl

"What did you do?" he made no effort to keep the accusation out of his voice and as he spoke the many limbs of the spider-like robotic chair that allowed him to keep some of his mobility shifted and readjusted with a barely audible hiss of pistons and servos; many things had been forgiven over the years but Qrow would never forget who had crushed his spine and would forever treat Nickel with the caution he believed she deserved.

"Rude" the android snorted, her utterly lack of concern plain to see

"Damn it Nickel what's going on?" Qrow demanded, voice softening the merest fraction as he added "You just took off, you've been gone for days….Ruby and Penny are worried" Nickel hissed out a curse at that and looked away, allowing Qrow a moment to try and discern her whereabouts from her surroundings, all he managed to learn was that she was outside, possibly on a roof somewhere in the cool night air before she spoke again

"Okay I'm fine, Jade is fine….everyone is fine" Nickel assured him, fidgeting in the most bashful display Qrow could ever remember seeing from her as she added "Okay so things were kinda hectic and we didn't get chance to check in before we left, that's why I called you….'cos I know Ruby's gonna be mad, you're the go-between"

"Not mad, worried" Qrow corrected, far too tired and far too used to Nickel to bother being offended by the idea of her using him as a buffer "Now tell me what's going on, you said Jade Rangifer is with you?"

"Yeah, so we were working out in the wasteland where they're planning on building that new mining settlement, exactly like you wanted us to; then we had a problem with some raiders, that led to an even bigger problem with some Grimm….don't worry I trapped it in a ton of trees and stuff, like an actual ton"

"That's what that was?" Qrow noted, openly impressed; checking the area where Nickel had been working had been his and Ruby's first idea and he had seen the gargantuan arch of plant matter that had been left behind along with the devastation beyond it that had pointed to a Grimm attack.

"Yeah, so obviously that's put all the development plans on hold anyway right?" Nickel shrugged, surprising Qrow by blushing, her freckled cheeks turning an impressive shade of pink as she continued "So we kinda decided that we may as well take a vacation, then we kinda decided that going exploring would be fun and ended up on an airship and it kiiiiiinda turned into date-night on the way"

Qrow's jaw hung open

"So you're telling me" he began, forcing his mind to make sense of what he had just heard "That you took off without saying a word so that you and Jade could go on a romantic getaway together and you want me to pass that information on to Ruby and Penny because you don't want to tell them yourself?"

"Precisely" Nickel nodded enthusiastically, having the sheer audacity to finger-gun at Qrow with the hand not holding her Scroll; the grizzled veteran Hunter simply sighed

"Okay fine, I'll do it" he finally answered, a grin of his own splitting his face "Only because I want to see their reactions, I can guarantee they're going to be priceless"

"Bet" Nickel replied, nodding sagely before ending the call and leaving Qrow wondering whether he should call Ruby immediately or spread word of Nickel's exploits as a petty retaliation for her attitude.

Eventually he decided against it, the android was finally making her way in the world and he supposed he should be happy for her even if it was by far one of the most mind-boggling things he'd heard in years.

Author's Notes:

Well hello ladies, gentlemen and esteemed others; I have returned and I come with gifts….
THE SPIRAL-VERSE AINT DEAD BABY.
Seriously, I only finished FADE: Legacy a month or so ago and writing this made me realise that I was already missing writing RWBY; as you may have noticed by the fact that several of the scenes in this story were double the usual length.
RWBY Vol.8 is here and the fear is real, although that means there's a chance of me writing some one-shots set in a universe closer to canon depending on what ideas hit me and what ever tricks my work schedule has up its' sleeve in the hell year that is 2020.
On a related note I posted a guideline for what I want to write and post for the rest of 2020 and at least the start of 2021 on Tumblr; long story short it's "Finish my Power Rangers story, venture into My Hero Academia stories and, just for the people reading this….the fifth story in the Spiral-Verse"

But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:
Now I know that this story is intended almost entirely for people who read FADE: Legacy because at this point the lore of the spiral verse is a little too dense for people to be starting with part four, but recapping exactly who Nickel and Jade are felt like good ways to start their scenes and the story as a whole.
Yes Nickel still has the black and green hair.
You really thought I wasn't gonna throw in at least a passing mention to characters like Team FADE and Syneffo?
Okay as far as age goes, because I feel like someone is going to bring up an age gap argument where it really isn't applicable; Jade was "early to mid teens" when she was introduced in FADE and whilst Nickel had only recently been activated she was described as acting and appearing "Mid to late teens" looking just too young to be a student Hunter, seven years has passed so it's safe to consider them both to be in their early twenties.
I felt like Nickel's story didn't fit in with the theme of everyone else's epilogue, she had a rough start, she's effectively a college drop out living at home and struggling to find a job and a place in the world, but at the same time it's a story that a lot of Millennial and Gen Z kids can probably relate to; hell I'm thirty and I am painfully acquainted with that feeling of the world just passing by and leaving you behind.
On a lighter note the twins, Summer-Pyrrha and Tai-Jaune Rose are sixteen (So a year younger than Athena-Jade Slate and Astra Mars, hint hint) and are both doing great; Summer being a baseball player is actually a nod to a story written by the user "Air Force Muffin" whose writing I would recommend to anyone craving some quality Nuts & Dolts content.
"Leaving Nickel as the lone disappointment and feeling as though she made the family dysfunctional with her mere presence"…..I hit MYSELF in the feels writing that, 'cos shit, same.
Yay for responsible parenting and intimidating older siblings.
"Something suitably skull-sized to make a show of crushing in one hand" just take a moment to enjoy that image, let it percolate.
Ruby is forty six, the rest of Team RWBY are forty eight, my first RWBY OC Gangrel is fifty now….this was one of the reasons I was honestly hesitant about writing anything else in the Spiral-Verse after FADE, the idea of these characters growing old makes me confront my own mortality in ways I don't really want to.
Ruby is buff okay, she can twirl that scythe with a Grimm on the end of the blade, she can BENCH Penny and RT are cowards for not giving her arms and shoulders to show that….On a related note, in FADE Ren was the teacher that every student had a crush on, at the Menagerie Academy you'd think it would be Coco, but nope it's Ruby.
Ruby giving the pep talk I wish I'd gotten….shit, I really am just writing this for my own catharsis aren't I.
And now for the recap on Jade, any explanation that starts with "She's from a parallel Remnant" and then gets crazier is gonna involve a lot of baggage; obviously anyone who is confused by the brief recap should reap the stories "The Downward Spiral" "Our Happy Ever After" and "FADE: Legacy" in that order.
The juxtaposition between the origin stories and what they're doing at that precise moment is great, it's just a distilled record scratch effect.
When you have missed calls from Weiss Schnee in the double digits you're screwed.
A quick reminder of who the Slate family consists of and a look at how they're all doing; the idea of them being basically the Adams family of Atlas work at this point and the comment about Coral growing huge is based on something my regular reader SumoSnipe said about the way crabs grow.
I feel like Jade is in a similar predicament to Nickel in terms of finding herself, she just has better funding, which doesn't really deal with the root problems she's dealing with and everything she's been through.
There has definitely been a lot of "Your not my parents" moments in Jade's relationship with Weiss and Gangrel.
"I haven't run out of places to run to yet" of course that got a comment about Blake in reply.
Cardin was living the Old Man Logan lifestyle throughout all of FADE and he was only ever alluded to, never actually seen.
R.I.P Iris, that wound is still fresh for my dear readers right?
The simple reason Cardin never tried to kill Nickel the second he saw her is because he knows he's passed his prime and totally outclassed; she'd break him in half.
The fact I didn't even give the Spring Maiden a name or description should have been a big red flag that she was doomed….still for someone described as not a fighter, she had a good showing.
The Stywrecker is a Styracosaurus Grimm.
I named Cardin's weapon in 2016 and I'm not retconning because RT released some new material.
The Grimm went down but the Maiden's dead….call that a Pyrrhic victory.
And now we have Spring Maiden Nickel, which I will freely admit was inspired by Winter Maiden Penny.
So yeah, Jade took the job for a sense of purpose.
Nickel looks bad-ass in her hunting gear; she looks honestly like what the press expected Ruby and Penny's twins to turn out like, sans Silver Eyes.
Mary Poppy was a nod to Jade being here to help get Nickel's life in order like Mary Poppins and also Neo, who was the Spring Maiden for a while in The Downward Spiral.
I don't know why but Nickel's powers just being more explosive and looking rough around the edges makes perfect sense.
Uh oh, the hand on the shoulder and comforting…..you knew they were in too deep at this point.
She's trying so hard, but you know it's a bad day when she goes full cliché Gen Z.
That confrontation was needed and did more for Nickel than anything else.
Yes the Matrix quote was absolutely necessary.
If you read FADE then you'd know that the second someone told Nickel she could use the powers to fly again then she'd be all in.
So that's how Nickel works as a Maiden, she lasers fucking fruit-trees into existence.
Is it gay to go on a road-trip in a diesel-punk rolling fortress and farm with the power of magic together?
Also Jade has a point, her and Nickel are the only people who can match each other in terms of "What the fuck"
All the craziness that happens in Menagerie is definitely me teasing the next big story.
Sand-Worm Grimm….because of course.
I love that they both tried to out-crazy each other with their plans.
That big finish from Nickel looked cinematic as fuck in my head.
The Settlement of Maiden's-Gate….it won't be built by the time the next story starts but it's definitely got a nice ring to it.
Let's be honest, Qrow has seen some shit.
Yes, there is a comic-con exclusive Eagle Arc Funko Pop on Qrow's desk; you are all welcome.
When the Spring Maiden and former murder-bot that you're looking for calls your phone you know shit is about to get interesting.
So yeah, there's no on screen kiss but I didn't feel it was really needed here; Jade and Nickel is canon; anyone wanna throw a Ship-Name out there?

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review