Authors Note: Chap 7 is done just in time for college finals and the mid run of RWBY Vol 7. I'm excited when we'll get to visit Atlas in the fic, I have some fun things planned, especially for the Ace Ops and the current Winter Maiden hehe. And by popular demand the BBTAG joke chapter is in the works and about half way done (it will release probably after this) and so far it's been a roller coaster of emotions for the cast. Hahha...you'll are gonna like the ending I swear :))))) Just trust me k?

Combine117: Oh it well, it well…

The Crowned Reaper: Yes, it sure will. And I have a feeling papa Jacques will approve too considering Yu's standing in Atlas. Akira and Blake as of now are platonic. I can't see either of them loving again for a long time considering their pasts. As much as I want to add the PT and everyone else that would take way too long.

Mr. Haziq: I need to check TV Tropes, not too familiar with them

Matt: No, Salem pulled him back last second.

Emoprotagonist: Thank you so much for the long review and thoughts! The fic likes to go in different character arcs so Blake will get her turn. For Akira's summoning, it will be explained but sadly not in this chap. As for Minato's lines, they were more referring to SEES in general and that hopefully that will play a larger role later on. Yes, the protags will talk a bit about their world with the girls.

Your Saltyness: it is in the works!

Wendel Santana: Have fun reading

Smashgunnner: Oh hell yes! Bring it on!

Leo0074: do note the conversation in chapter 4 that will give you a good explanation about their shift in personalities. More will also be revealed regarding their backstories and why they changed so much from their original counterparts.

As always, tell me your thoughts.

Starless Skies

A guttural screech belted from all corners of the night, and along with it came a chilling wind that rolled and roared across the now battered plains of the battlefield, stopping the hearts of the many downed and injured in the chaos. Ears twitched, hairs raised, and pupils dilated at the sudden shift in the air. Weak hands reached out and clasped at one another in the confusion as several shivering bodies gathered for warmth. A young Faunus adorning a faceless mask sat tightly against an older female, who gingerly comforted a small group of her family.

Thump! Thump!

Their bodies jolted at the noise as deep growls sounded from the unknown. Some of the eldest picked up their guns, their vision trained on the opposite wall, with shaking hands barely able to handle the nearly depleted firearms.

Thump! Thump!

The younger members of the family retreated further back, brothers and sisters lining up in a small protective wall around them. They were the few survivors in this brutal, hateful assault. From the opposite wall, the concrete of the warehouse started to crack.

Thump! Thump! GRAAAHHH!

And now they were trapped.

Blurring gunshots of desperation and panic came to life as the noise of bullets, accompanied by loud explosions, filled the room. Sparks of yellow bounced off of the walls and into the empty dust containers that were messily splayed around the area. A canine-like beast shot out from the other side, flashing a ring of molten gold that glowed as bright as the blazing sun. It clawed at the ground, charging at the group while bearing its teeth. Its eyes filled with an infinite fire of bloodlust. Without another second to waste, the eldest of the White Fang all ran at the beast. Some attempted to cut it with blades that all bounced off of the Grimm-like skin of the beast. Others ran and shot from a distance, only to have their bullets shaken off as if they were mere leaves in the wind.

"GRAAAAAHHHHH!" The beast gave a powerful roar that sent everyone to the ground, the ring on its neck glowing as a raging stream of lava formed in its mouth. Wthin mere seconds, the room had heated up to an unbearable temperature that started to melt even the metals of their remaining weapons.

The youngest shut their eyes.

The older ones hugged tightly onto their family, for they knew, this was the end—

"Izanagi!"

A crackle of yellow sparks shot from the sky, eventually transforming into large plumes of electricity that showered the creature, interrupting its blast as it turned to its assailants, only to meet a white blur descending from above that severed one of its legs clean off with a glistening ice-coated blade. A high, deafening screech of pain rose from its throat as the girl in white prepared for another strike.

The masked Faunus all sat, watching while the angel in white slid and danced gracefully to avoid the beast's every attack, forming a glyph to the side and sliding away from a blast of fire that tore through a nearby pillar. She flipped onto a second glyph positioned in the air that sent her zooming downwards and sank her rapier into another limb of the strange Grimm, causing a spray of blooming ice and fire to fly into their surroundings.

"Hey! Are you guys alright?" Another figure appeared from the night, this time a hooded girl who ran up to the shivering group, a hand reaching out to the broken and injured. She frowned when she failed to get a response, seeing a few of the White Fang back away from what they saw as a human. "No, no. We're really here to help you out…." She saw one of them shake their heads, causing her to pull back.

"P-Please, I promise that we just want all of you to be safe." Blake was next to appear from the doorway as Ruby backed away. The dark-haired beauty felt eyes of hate and confusion lace their face at the sight of another human. In a brief moment of hesitation, Blake reached the side of her bow, earning bewildered glances at her head. Then, as if swallowing a hard pill, she gently removed the obsidian ribbon to reveal two dark feline ears. A small smile graced her face, "If you won't take it from a human, then how about from a Faunus…?"

"Blake…" Ruby whispered.

"There are terrible, dangerous, and unusual Grimm here," The cat Faunus began, noticing the others soften. "The White Fang are not just a bunch of crooks. I know you guys have friends and family among you too. So please, take the route we've cleared out for you and run."

Ruby watched the huddled family slowly dust off their gear and hurry to the direction Blake had pointed to. She then turned to her friend.

"Blake… are you really a...?"

"A Faunus? Yes. But please keep this between the two of us—"

"Hello? Blake, Ruby? A little support here?" Weiss called out from the back, sending a shiver down the dual-wielder's spine at the sight of the white heiress staring at her eyes. Behind her, a large beast lay dead, fading into black dust. Two more pounced onto the scene, tearing at the remaining bits of the worn and battered concrete building.

"W-Wiess! I'm—! I can explain—!" Blake jolted back, her body freezing in place like a frightened cat.

"Do I look like I care if you're a Faunus or not? I almost had my head spliced open by one these things!" The heiress swung her blade to the side, slapping away an oncoming attempt to attack her right leg before dodging countless small fire blasts that threatened to burn her to a crisp by skidding in a zig-zag motion on the floor.

"She's right, Blake. We really should help her out." Ruby turned to her friend, her crimson scythe outstretched and ready to fire on command.

"Y-yeah! Ready?" The Faunus girl armed herself, her ribbon-blade outstretched.

"Now let's go get rid of these Grimm!"

"Why the hell am I stuck with the humanitarian side of things?!" Minato jerked back at the loud voice from the other end, almost losing his footing among a row of pot-holed rooftops, a glowing blade in hand as he watched a golden explosion of dust send several Grimm barreling down from the sky.

"Yeah, you're the only one who won't scare the shit outta the Faunus when they see us totalling a bunch of shadow Grimm." The bluenette felt a rush of wind beneath his feet and propelled himself into the air, spinning and twisting. Feeling the breeze in his hair and a wild uncontrolled smirk spread across his face in the empty atmosphere, he clashed with an oncoming winged Grimm who met his blade with great brown talons in the sky, sending lights of red, black, yellow and blue as the two exchanged wave after wave of slashes and cuts before Minato was sent rushing down below in an uncontrolled, chaotic wind Garudyne.

"Do you not remember the knife I pointed at thatidiot?" Another burst of anger emotion came through through the bluenette's earpiece as he cringed at the voice in his air cocoon.

"Hahaha!" Minato felt the raw wind slice and tear at his flesh in his ever deadly free fall, and yet he could only focus on his earpiece. The sheer force of the cyclone alone was enough to tear anyone else apart, but he only relaxed his body in the lethal vortex. "You know you're actually really bad at acting, yeah? Even Ruby can pull off better line deliveries than you!" He was now smiling madly, hearing the angry gibberish from the other line increase in volume.

Three seconds before crashing.

"And your shitty Looney Toons persona isn't?" His smile waned, though only for a moment. Minato lifted his free hand into the chaotic winds, cuts gashing at the exposed arm as streaks of red began to litter his pale flesh.

Two seconds before crashing.

"So what? 'Least I ain't denying it like you are." A bright, blinding light quickly gathered around his body.

"You're an idiot!"

One second before landing.

The feeling of a familiar energy surged through his veins as the drug of spirit energy blasted through his body, engulfing his surroundings. He began to feel rejuvenated by its warm, comforting glow. However, just as the healing wave had helped its master, it turned on his enemies as the soft white light soon transformed into a heavy burst of raw power that bombarded the remaining Grimm below in a deathly hot meteor shower as Minato himself shot into the sky like a stray missile with a flowing tail of white.

Quickly rocketing up into the clouds, he rammed headfirst into the nearest Grimm, forcing it to struggle and claw as its body was subjected to the beating of a sonic jet. Another of its kind slammed onto its back, then another, and then another until a final explosion pierced the heavens as the bluenette smirked and detonated another Megidolaon in the sky.

"Could you be any less conspicuous, you show off?"

"Nope! I like to be myself when I'm in battle!" Minato said, crashing into a pile of stray lumber. The sheer force of the landing had kicked up a significant amount of dust and debris and made a massive crater in the area. "Anyways, how's your part of the mission?" He leaned back and relaxed on his new throne of rubbish, fit for a rubbish king.

"Evacuation is an all clear. It looks like we've managed to save almost every last one of them. I'm surprised you even considered helping these dipshits." Akira chuckled from the other line.

"Well, it was kind of our fault that they were caught up in this mess. Besides, from what we've seen, these Grimm don't discriminate. I'd feel bad if we had blood on our hands." The bluenette said as he checked the coordinates of the others. It seemed that most of them had ceased combat completely. Those extra earpieces sure came in handy.

"Says the guy who had murder in his eyes just a few minutes ago." Akira joked.

"Hey, how'd you know about that? I swear I didn't kill anyone, ok?" Minato shot back childishly, a stupid smirk on his face.

"While exchanging evacuation information, Ruby told me about everything. Based on her description, I'm pretty sure she wasn't fully aware of how stupid you were really being." Recalling how he treated those Dust-gunners, Minato gave a long, drawn-out sigh.

"Most of the time, I like to remain impartial. But if you harm my family, I'm automatically allowed to pass whatever judgement I see fit. If you live forever armless, so be it."

"You truly are ruthless."

Minato could hear his teammate give a small scoff and a sigh before someone else cut into their line. Countless relieved voices crackled to life and what was once a cacophony-filled battlefield of ravenous beasts and exhausted huntsmen-in-training had now settled down into an eerie, static wasteland, not unlike a dead world after a tragic disaster.

"Good news, bro! I think we've taken out pretty much everything here!" Yang briefed the bluenette.

"It doesn't look like there's any more of them here either." Weiss reported from another area.

"We just helped the last of the White Fang escape, too!" Ruby was last to come in.

Minato smiled, it seemed like the storm had finally dissipated. "Good job everyone. We should all regroup by the entrance. It'll be easier to meet there."

"Yu, are you doing ok?" Ruby noticed the male was paler than before. From the way he loosely gripped his katana to his sunken eyes and posture, the boy looked much more sickly than before. The walk from each area shouldn't have been long, and the battle shouldn't have lasted for more than an hour or so, and yet the Atlas heir looked as if he had fought for days on end.

"Yeah… I was getting a bit exhausted…." The gray-haired boy spoke in shallow breaths, which sounded worn down by the ongoing chaos.

"We should get you back to the dorms. You look like you're going to drop any second." Weiss carefully supported the boy's arm on her shoulder, letting him lean on her small frame. She felt her own legs start to give way under the weight, but it was the best she could do.

"What are you going on about…? I'm fine." She felt him try to stand on his own, only to feel the same weight from before push back onto her side.

"Yu, this tiredness you're feeling, could it be due to the entity you just summoned?" Blake pondered out loud, recalling back to the enormous amounts of power the floating apparition released upon the warehouses. It felt like something out of a high fantasy, filled with magic, wizards, and warlocks. Something that was not a part of this world.

"Oh yeah...was that thing a part of his Semblance or something?" If Yang could remember, Weiss's family was famous for their summoning. Having similar Semblances was not unheard of in the world of Remnant. It was just that this particular type was extremely rare.

"No, it's an entirely different power." Akira announced, stepping into the conversation. He took a look at his exhausted friend, who tried to stay awake.

"Then… what is it?" Weiss could feel her heart tighten. The more she gave thought to the idea, the more sense it started to make and the more it unnerved her. How could such destructive forces exist in the world? It went against everything she was taught to know: culture, religion, science, common knowledge, and so on. How should she feel about the matter? Should she embrace the existence of something she had wished for in her childhood, or should she be scared of the carnage it might cause if left in the wrong hands? Were there others like him? All audiences fell into silent contemplation over the matter, until a lone bluenette uttered a single word. A word they'd all been hesitant to confirm.

"Magic"

"You can't be…." Disbelief, astonishment, and confusion were written all over the blonde brawler's eyes as she turned to Minato, remembering back to how he had so easily stopped her punch earlier. Those electric blue eyes and solemn face conveyed that he knew much more than he let on. Then, everyone held their heads up high to see flames of brilliant blue form up in the sky and slowly morph into a pale, fair skinned woman.

"A… Faunus?" All of her bodily instincts told Blake that there was much more to this entity floating in the air. However there was not much she could convey. The long, glowing, and golden mane of the female before her floated weightlessly above, ignoring all rules of gravity as two large white horns protruded from the top of her head. Her entire figure was engulfed in a serene azure light, making their meeting feel as if it were from a distant dream.

"Mediarahan."

A wave of relief washed over the group, accompanied by a soothing warm light that traveled from person to person. Soon, all of their Auras began to mimic the same majestic glow, closing up any faults in the battered invisible barriers.

"I can heal back up your Auras, but I can't promise anything about severe wounds." Akira said, waving away the Persona with the motion of his hand.

"So that was the reason the Aura trackers went wild back then…." Yang mumbled to herself, crossing her arms. Throughout their talk, no one noticed the absence of a certain scythe-wielding girl.

"How about this? We'll answer any questions you all may have once we're back in the dorms. This really isn't a good place to talk" Minato felt eyes, several pairs of them narrowing in suspicion. It wouldn't be long before he would have to spill his secrets, and he could already feel Yang digging into his caged soul.

"Then you three better have a good explanation when we get ba—!" Something tightened around her heart. Her entire body was paralzyed and her throat burned in an agitation similar to swallowing bags of burning coal.

"M-Minato… I can't… move…." A weak whisper came from Ruby.

"Minato… please. Get everyone out…." Yu begged, a sharp, piercing pain beginning to ease its way into his skull as both Weiss and him collapsed to the floor.

"SHIT!" Realizing what was about to happen, pale and horrified, Minato immediately grabbed Blake and Yang and threw them by their arms, sending the two a far distance away. He saw Akira do the same for Ruby and Weiss as she went flying with Yu. Without much warning, he felt a familiar sinking dread build up from his gut as he looked down to find a wide, almost invisible circle of dark, blazing energy rapidly close beneath his feet. He reacted quickly, but he could feel his chest tighten and heart crash against his ribcage, his ears start to ring, and mind begin to melt at the pain of a thousand large needles being stabbed into his flesh. He gasped for breaths, and his vision turned red, for he knew that for himself, it was too late.

"Akira!"

"Minato!"

Red. All he saw was red as something warm and metallic began to pool from the back of his throat and into his mouth. Burning hot sensations reaching thousands of degrees mixed with a heavy claustrophobic energy weighed and crashed into chest as his entire body involuntarily convulsed and twitched from the attack on his nerves. He heard them call. He could hear them cry, but no matter what he tried, he could not move in the slightest in this blazing hell of red and black.

"Minato!" He heard the pair call, but this time, it was mixed in with another voice. One that lacked any empathy or warmth. The more the pair called to him, the louder the other one grew and the more he was dragged away from the darkness. Soon, blurs of odd colors and shapes started to fill his vision. He felt someone gingerly propping him up. His eyes recognized the blobs of red and gold as his sobbing sisters both tightly embraced him in their arms.

"Hahahahaha!" And from the distance, a chilling, deranged cackle sounded in the darkness.

"M-Minato! Please! Please, wake up!" Wet, hot tears touched his skin, but it was still hard to move.

"Minato! I swear! I swear, i-if you die on us now, I'll—" He felt Yang's grip tighten her hands in desperation.

"I did it! I did it! I've finally killed that blue demon!" the other voice bellowed, screaming into the heavens.

"Y-you monster! What the hell did you do to my brother?!"

Rage, loathing, and wrath all gathered and settled in his mind.

"You're related to that demon?!"

"Answer my question, you piece of shit! Or I will end you!" A sharp boom was heard.

"Yang…"

"Ohhh, is that you, Little Red? Haha! Fancy seeing you again, isn't it? How'd you like my grand entrance, huh?! Feel welcomed yet? What…? Don't tell me you're related to that hell spawn too?!

"Do you know him, Ruby…?" He saw Yang turn to their youngest.

"N-no!"

"Lying little bitch! Of course you know! You know what you fucking did, you dumb brat! That explosion by the Dust shop almost killed me! " A clash of metal rung out from afar, shaking the earth beneath them as several pebbles flew in his face. "Why couldn't that shitty brother of yours just finished me right then and there, huh?"

A wall of red at once clouded his mind.

"What?!"

"Her! HER! DO YOU FUCKWITS NOT REALIZE WHAT YOU DID?! YOU SENT ME TO HER!" WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE ME?! HUH?! SHE ISN'T REAL! SHE ISN'T SUPPOSED TO EXIST!" The voice rambled on and on, each time amplifying in volume and insanity, subjecting the two sisters forced to the ramblings of a madman.

"H-her? Who is she…?" Ruby yelled back, shaking and unable to comprehend the voice.

"Fine! If you shits won't listen to me then I will personally send you all to the other side!"

"What are you even talking about?!" Yang sprung up, charging up her weapon.

"You're related to him right? I can't let people related to him survive! That would be a disaster! It would doom the rest of humanity if I did! You see? I'm not doing this because I want to, girls! I'm doing this to save Remnant!" Roars of a colossal Grimm rose up from the belly of the earth while massive fissures sunk the remaining gutted buildings in the area. In the center emerged a towering black-and-white masked giant carrying an old, stone scythe. Its monstrous call was enough to chill even the bravest of hearts and cause winds that raised everyone's hairs.

"You're insane!"

"Megidolaon!" A mammoth beam of light radiated from the monster, heading straight towards the specks on the ground who faced it head on, knowing it was too late to run. Yang and Ruby tightly held on to their brother, bracing for their inevitable ends. The world phased into a blinding white until it was all they saw. The wind started to pick up in a haunting hollow. All noise became drowned by the incoming end—

"No."

A blade pierced through the chaotic energy, parting the ocean of deadly white in half, sending the bisected halves expanding into the night on either side as pools of energy ravaged their surroundings and bulldozed the once jagged landscape clean in burnt patches of fissures and broken earth. Rocks loosened and melted into dust, foliage disappeared and burned in the light, and the Grimm of the forest were wiped into oblivion.

"M-Minato…?"

"H-how are you—?!"

"You mess with my family…" Silver eyes of wrath pierced through the figure atop the Grimm.

Minato raised his free hand into the empty night.

"T-the demon! It's alive! ALIVE!"

A dark energy pulsed and swayed until it shaped itself into a graceful crimson blade, grasping its grip. A river of black fire blazed forth from the sword, shooting miles and miles up into the air while its white metallic counterpart mimicked its motions in the opposite color. The concrete beneath Minato broke and exploded from the pressure, with dust and debris all being projected harshly into the atmosphere. Sparks of monochrome energy flashed around the bluenette in a lethal dance of death.

"You answer to me!"

RAAAAAHHHHH!

Shards of blue glass materialized from the air, quickly manifesting into the shape of a monstrous humanoid as it howled up at the shattered moon. Raising its two massive blades into the heavens, it snapped open its several coffins while dashing forward with its master in the lead. Minato leapt forth with dual blades of darkness and light in hand, creating a sonic boom of energy as he zoomed ahead, transforming into a massive blur of black, white, and blue nearly impossible to perceive. Slashing, cutting, and breaking anything that stood in his way, he swung down at an oncoming stone scythe, causing a massive wind to flatten anything in their immediate surroundings and split the earth in two. However, this was only the beginning as Minato swung again and again, each successive blow spewing forth a stream of Hama and Mudo energy that cut into the massive Grimm. An explosive cut that severed one of its right arms and an unforgiving horizontal clash of flesh and steel where the bluenette circled the beast took out the entirety of its right side of three spider-like legs.

GRAAAAAHHHHH!

The giant gave an ear-splitting screech, which was then matched with an equally blood curdling cry by Thanatos as it followed its master's example, gripping itself onto the monster's upper half and mauling it's face with its own dual swords. The Persona suddenly cracked open its coffins to reveal multiple orbs of light that detonated in point-blank range, sending the Grimm flying back. Minato took this chance to leap onto the behemoth, digging his own blades into its dark flesh and speeding up its side. The deadly spells incinerated the monster from the inside out, spewing out pockets of boiled blood and meat. Dashing up to the very top and propelling himself into the air, he could see a speck of orange and a familiar face. A familiar and very horrified face. Raising and crossing the dual blades above his head, Minato gave the frightened figure one last glare before slamming down the two— now mixed— energies onto the giant's head, forming a massive X-shape that spread downwards into its body, completely consuming its monstrous stature whole until there was nothing left.

"Y-you! S-stay away!" Roman dropped, rolled, and tumbled onto the ground, his body now beating back the fire and debris, and crawled desperately, sheltering himself behind a beaten steel firm. His fearful emerald eyes reflected a speck of blue slowly approaching him. He raised his cane, shooting a few Dust rounds that were easily deflected by the bluennette's blades. Sparks flew and shots rang out, but he could do nothing against this… demon.

"..."

"No! No! D-don't come any closer, you demon! You're going to send me to her again, aren't you?!" He felt a harsh tug on his collar, his eyes widening as they met cold, steelish silver. Sweat rolled down the older man's back. He could make out a certain blankness and apathy in those dead orbs. His throat tensed, his hands shook, and then he heard him speak in a low, soft whisper.

"You're lucky I won't kill in front of my sisters…."

And with that, the man felt his entire world turn to black.

"Minato!" From the distance, Ruby could see a blue limping shape in the field. The feeling of relief washed over her as she wiped away a river of tears, sprinting toward the boy from afar.

"Hey Ruby! Wait up!" Yang followed right after while the others trailed behind.

"I'm so glad you're alright!" The small girl shouted, getting closer and closer to his figure, only to feel her smile disappear at the sight of the bluenette's broken state. His clothes were torn, his eyes were dead, and as she reached out a hand, he crumpled to the floor, a river of red liquid streaming from his mouth.

"Breaking into a dangerous White Fang hideout, sneaking off campus at night, dragging another team along with you, and injuring two of your teammates!" Glynda slammed a thick stack of papers on the desk, a hot green fire burning in her eyes. "How could you run off without informing either of us? What if the White Fang learned of the abilities you possess?! What do you think they would do?!" She eyed a single dark-haired student standing in the headmaster's office, her tone sounding more and more dire with each word revealed in the report.

"I understand. I take full responsibility for our actions." Akira uttered out, averting his gaze.

"Mr. Kurusu, if we were here to discuss your actions, then I would immediately drop all three of you from our student list. However, due to the nature of our situation and you and your team's… standing, there are much more… delicate issues at hand." Glynda massaged her temple, already feeling an migraine coming.

"So, Mr. Kurusu, will you kindly inform us of why you and your team, along with Miss Rose's friends, broke into a row of storehouses operated by the White Fang?" Ozpin put down his mug. Akira could feel the man's eyes digging deep into his soul.

"Yeah! We would like to know, too!" The three in the room turned to the elevator, finding a crimson-eyed Yang and three others trailing behind. All of them seemed downcast, if not shaken by the incident. Weiss's eyes drooped, refusing to make contact with anyone, Blake hid herself among the group, and Ruby was dragged along by one arm by her frowning older sister.

"Miss Xiao Long, please refrain from bursting into the headmaster's office unannounced. We can discuss this matter after—"

"No! We're staying!" The young girl flared up in a fiery display of anger, golden hair ablaze and fists raised to fight, taking Glynda by surprise.

"This is a priva—"

"My brother is lying unconscious on some dirty hospital bed somewhere because you asshats refused to tell me what's going on!" Yang slammed her fist on the wall. "You knew what really happened at that Dust shop, didn't you?!" She shot daggers at Ozpin, stomping madly on the floor, and her words were filled with venom."You knew and told Ruby to keep this a secret, didn't you?!"

"Yang, please… calm down." A small whimper came from Ruby, who stayed tucked behind her older sister.

"Why should I, Ruby? All three of you were keeping something this big from me this whole time?! That my adoptive brother was some kind of crazy magic user?! That my little sister was almost killed in that explosion?! That the headmaster of Beacon told everyone to shut up about this?!"

Red, red, red. All she saw was red. Not only did her crimson eyes light up in that brilliantly violent color of passion, but so did the whites of her eyes, growing pinker as tears started to roll down her cheeks.

"Professor, let them stay. They at least deserve an explanation." Observing the older man, Akira could see the gears turning in his head. He was definitely assessing the ups and downs of the situation. Not once did he bend to emotion.

"If you are comfortable, Mr. Kurusu." The graying headmaster nodded, then turned to Ruby. "And Miss Rose, I believe you have informed your team of the happenings of that particular night?"

She nodded silently.

"Very well." Ozpin took another sip from his mug. "Starting from where we left off, Mr. Kurusu, could you please tell us what peaked your interest in the White Fang in that area?"

"Bullets."

"Bullets?" Yang cocked an eyebrow, bemused.

"To put it bluntly, bullets that hold foriegn magical energy." Akira spoke up in hesitation.

"What?!" Glynda said with shocked eyes, paling from the implications. "And you neglected to inform us?"

"How… destructive are these bullets?" Ozpin's grip on his mug tightened. From the very back, he could see Blake also tense up.

"At maximum power, I believe that they can take down a large office building. It's why we decided to investigate their warehouse." His feline ears twitched. Someone in the back was definitely unnerved.

"And did you find what you were looking for?" The headmaster pressed further, "Our recovery team did end up fetching some interesting artifacts." The older man's eyes widened when he saw his student casually reach into thin air and plop out a few candy-colored Dust rounds.

"These are the ones I found while looking into one of their storage units. They blend in well with the other dust rounds, but there are a few minor differences. And before you ask, yes, we all have a weird pocket dimension." Akira sighed. Once he discovered that he could use his soul as a storage house in his old world, he was infinitely relieved. It was how he was able to take hundreds of Chewing Souls and other assorted items into the Palaces without dragging his team down.

"Since you and your teammates decided to investigate the origin of these anomalies, does that imply that they may have originated from a source similar to the one your own abilities come from?" Glynda questioned.

"Yeah, we'd like to know more about those powers too." Yang added, still extremely bitter.

"From the reports of the Schnee Dust Company… the White Fang don't appear to have had anything nearly as destructive in the past…." Weiss mumbled.

Akira began to feel a migraine. "That very well might be the case." From his words, he observed the headmaster paling ever so slightly. In fact, the entire room had come to a standstill. No more questions, no more talking, and no more complaints as the frozen group processed what this new piece of information might mean, until someone finally asked for confirmation of the unspoken realization that hung above their heads, similar to that of a storming gray cloud.

"D-does this mean there might be other magic users like you out there…?" Blake blurted out, her voice cracking in the process.

"Remember those strange Grimm we fought back then? I'm afraid there's little chance those beasts would have naturally come to exist on Remnant." Finally assessing the gravity of the situation, Akira could feel a heavy weight being placed on his chest, causing him to tense. Fears, nightmares, and other twisted imaginations began to bubble from his unconscious. What if something had truly followed him from his world? What if the same threat now knew of where its true foes were? He saw the four girls before him huddle closely together as if caught up in a brutal winter storm then he turned to the speechless adults standing in the room. In a way, he felt sorry for everyone involved, because it seemed like they were all innocent victims swept up in what was otherwise his problem, and his unresolved mess.

"This is starting to snowball into something bigger than even I originally anticipated…." In a once-in-a-lifetime display, the headmaster let down his guard, even if only for a few seconds, showing his worn out face and exhausted eyes. For thousands of years, he had fought tooth and nail with that immortal witch for the world, but now all his efforts appeared to slowly crumble before his eyes. First it was the loss of Raven and the others, then the Fall Maiden, and now an entirely new threat that had oh so carefully snaked its way into his realm. He shook to think of what that women might do if she got her hands on abilities this otherworldly. Perhaps in some ways, she already has.

It was as if he was destined to fail. And so he silently cursed the gods. For centuries, he had silently cursed the two bastard gods.

"Sir?" Glynda watched weary-eyed.

"Professor Ozpin…?" Ruby saw his act crumble, stepping out of her team's embrace and into the cold of the room.

"Yes, Miss Rose?" She feel the stress in his voice, the heavy pressure to not break.

"What are we going to do about this…?" Words escaped from her throat in something of an involuntary action. If she hadn't, she was sure she would have choked. The eyes of a helpless child stared back at the two adults for a sign of assurance, hope, or guidance. In this unforgiving world of huntsmen and Grimm, children had always turned to their parents, and students to their instructors for where to go or what to do.

"I… I'm sorry, Miss Rose. For now, I will… try to formulate a plan." Pent up frustrations from hundreds of years crushed his mind, tortured his soul, and sapped away his spirit. Ozma was once a wise soul that guided humanity out of the darkness. He built civilization back up from the bottom and gave hope to the people of Remnant. He was their beacon. He was their light, and for every question, problem, conflict, or situation, he would always have a solution. However, for once in his life, he had none.

"No, Professor." The girl shook her head, standing tall among the broken crowd, her eyes still red from the tears. "I was asking what we were going to do. It's not just the adults caught in this…." She shifted her gaze to Akira and then her teammates. "It's all of us."

"Thank you, Miss Rose, but as much as I want to find a solution, I would never want to involve students—"

"Can I remind you of how you literally admitted my sister to the school early to keep your little secret?" Yang called out the headmaster. He was speechless.

"Then what do you propose we do?" The ancient man looked to the next generation for a solution.

"We may not have all of the information, strength, or manpower, but we still have to do what we can to help the people." Seeing the horrific wonders of what such powers could do, Weiss was sure that there was no logical way they could win; however, that didn't mean they could leave hundreds of millions of humans and Faunus to fend for themselves. After all, a certain someone had taught her to hold her head up high, no matter how bleak the situation seemed.

"What about the hopes and dreams of the people attending Beacon? I doubt a little magic can crash them that easily." Yang perked up, reminding everyone of the resilience of the human soul to stand up to almost anything.

"And the lead we have. We know the White Fang has something to do with it, for starters. If we investigate more, we'll have more to work with in the future." Ruby added last, earning a genuine look of surprise from her professor. "Hm?"

"Something up?" Akira cocked an eyebrow, along with the rest.

"I apologize for seeming unprofessional," Ozpin cleared his throat, "but it feels a bit surreal relying on my students for answers. Please don't take this the wrong way." He corrected himself. Experiencing a tinge of light-hearted innocence was refreshing for the man. "However, the next few steps you all proposed are all valid points, especially yours, Miss Rose. First, we make sure the people are safe. Continuing to educate our students will prove vital in saving countless lives in the future. Second, we closely monitor the White Fang for their future plans and activities."

He couldn't believe it, but through sheer stupidity, he had sunken into the deepest depths of his darkness, needing a few children to pull him back. And yet, this was all they had, all he had, to work with.

"Akira?" The raven-haired Persona user felt Ruby tug at his jacket, "Can you please tell us all you can about your magic? Or anything helpful that we can learn?" He could see that she knew more than she let on.

"Yes, Mr. Kurusu. It's essential that we use all available resources on hand," Ozpin nudged, quickly latching onto Ruby's plan like a savage animal.

"Fine." He finally caved. There was no other choice, and they all deserved to know, anyway. "But I want the rest of my team with me before I do. They can fill in any holes I may have." Delaying the explanations were best, it gave him time to nitpick a speech.

"Then it's settled. Once Mr. Arisato and Mr. Narukami are awake and back to full health, we will continue this discussion." Ozpin watched the group leave one by one, all departing in the tower's steel elevator, and soon leaving him alone with Glynda by his side.

He sat up straight, then relaxed, and then slumped in his chair, staring up into the empty starless sky.

Ruby collapsed onto her bed, dark bags under her eyes. Wiping away the last of her tears, she could only retreat to the safe space that was the back of her head. She closely hugged her bed sheets, curling up warmly within them, and hid away from the cold darkness. Monsters, beasts, and Grimm all came prowling during this hour in her past, but she could always rely on the company of her siblings to keep her safe. Now that she was alone, though, all of the creatures of the night known as stress, anxiety, and her dark imagination came to play. She promised to protect her family, and yet her brother was now stuck unconscious in the hospital. She promised to keep him out of trouble and ended up nearly sending her entire team into a death trap full of otherworldly beasts. Gingerly, she closed her eyes, hiding away under her covers. Hiding away from the monsters of her mind's abyss.

As the small team of girls slept into the soundless night, no one noticed the single dark figure awakening from her sleep and exiting the room.

Blake gently closed the wooden door behind her and snuck down to the courtyard of the silent campus. Hiding away by a large stone pillar that obscured her figure, she made sure no one was around to see her cowardly run away, but something made her jump.

"Are you going to run?" A familiar call had caught her off guard. She raised her weapon only to find a loosely-dressed Akira writing in the dirt.

"W-what are you doing?" The dark-haired girl backed away, unable to process the bizarreness of the situation.

"Tending to the plants. Planting more seeds." He never once raised his head, his hands working tirelessly in the dirt.

"Do you… do this often?" She couldn't help but wonder what possessed someone to go gardening at three in the morning in the school's yard.

"I do it when I'm trying to get stuff off my mind." The same rhythmic motion of digging into the earth and tending to the greenery reminded him of his days spent on that distant rooftop. A vague memory, but a memory to treasure nonetheless.

"So does this mean that you're frustrated with the situation too?" For whatever reason, Blake felt the need to keep the conversation going, maybe due to how uncharacteristic it looked for someone like Akira to be doing something so… selfless.

"Of course I am. All those words exchanged during that clusterfuck of a meeting? Talk about spewing hot air. Ozpin even looked close to snapping." He carefully picked a pile of sunflower seeds, not minding the Faunus company next to him.

"I'll have you know that those "puffs of hot air" came from my teammates." She frowned, but didn't sound too hostile.

"You're running because you know that what they all said was bullshit, right? It doesn't take a genius to figure out how scared they really were. They're all barely holding it together…. I saw all of them cry for a long time in that hospital" Akira continued to dig with his hand.

"R-running? How did you—?!"

"That bag you're carrying behind you is a big hint. Another would be how you were the quietest of them all." He finally looked up.

"Then, are you going to call my team?" Hiding her right hand, she silently readied her weapon, sweat rolling down her back. But his next words came as a surprise.

"Do what you want. It's not your mess anyway" He stood up, "You're the only smart one, Blake. What me and my group might have dragged into this world could be something that the people of Remnant won't fully comprehend. I suggest running back to your family and spending what time you have left with them before everything blows over."

"J-just how powerful of a being are you talking about?" From the way he spoke, it sounded like the end was practically assured for Remnant. It scared her, it truly did. If even someone wielding an unbelievable wealth of magic sounded grim, then what was left for the rest of them?

"I don't want to alarm you. Go."

"No, I at least want to know what will happen to my home." she said stern, unlike her usual skittish self. Thinking back to her family and the island of Faunus that were shunned by the world, what end would they all likely meet?

"A god. A god focused on bringing humanity to its knees. An immortal being. An impossibly powerful tyrant that can wipe the world clean with the snap of its finger." His face softened, a certain sadness in his eyes as he felt sorry for the girl and her world. "I'm sorry Blake, but I'll try to fix the problem I've caused for all of you, along with my buddies". Dark clouds hung overhead, covering any signs of stars in the sky, obscuring all hope.

"Wait, are you saying you're going to try to take on this… god?" Confusion laced her face, "But you just said a second ago that it was unkillable—"

"I'd rather die trying than let that thing do what it wants." His fists tightened hard enough to show the whites of his knuckles as his eyebrows furrowed, but he relaxed with a bitter smile, "I have no dreams in this world anyway. I've done enough drifting around." He was born into a world that did not welcome him into its ranks, chasing, accusing, and berating him to no end throughout his entire life.

"No desires or dreams at all?" Even as a young Faunus, she had wished for a world where humans and her kind would live as one. Even in the White Fang, the people there had stories to tell, dreams to fulfill. To her, everyone had a dream.

She saw him shake his head, "Not for a long time, no." Leaning against a grand Greek pillar, the two stood against a solemn sky.

"Then, what about back then? You said you dragged that god here. Does that mean you come from a… different place?" The more they talked, the more Blake felt her fear become dwarfed in the bigger picture. The White Fang now felt so miniscule against the likes of an immortal god and other worlds.

"I wanted to study Aerospace engineering and go into their astronautics branch." He turned to the dark girl, earning a baffled look at his wording. "Basically, building spaceships." Now that he thought about it, as advanced as Remnant was compared to his own world, they never went to space.

"As in, building something that can go past the atmosphere? Is there really a type of Dust that'll work up there?" She asked, gazing at the shattered moon and wondering what it was like to visit such as a celestial body. Then she heard him chuckle.

"Nope. Dust doesn't exist in my world" He saw her face redden. "We used something called fossil fuels instead and most of our technology was powered by our own way of generating electricity,"

"T-then what about the Faunus? Do they live equally there?" She wasn't sure just how different their worlds were, but she was desperate to know.

"Instead of a human versus Faunus struggle, we had struggles with other humans. Wars, civil rights, government, law. In some ways, my version of humanity maybe even worse than Remnant's. And no, Faunus simply didn't evolve into existence where I'm from." He saw her eyes droop but then fill with questions of why other humans would have conflicts with each other. She quickly realized why.

"Even if we come from different places, humanity seems like it doesn't really change, does it? Always fighting over something, always starting pointless conflicts." It was hard, living as a Faunus. Sometimes, it made the dark beauty loath humankind and their actions. "Say, is having no dream the only reason you want to save Remnant? Do you want to help humanity here as well? Even being a Faunus?"

"No. I hate them all. Human, Faunus, they're all shit." He huffed, looking disgusted.

"W-what?"

"Every single one of them is either a dumbass, imbecile, retard, or idiot. If weren't for the fact that the threat was partly my fault then I would have gladly watched them burn." The shocked expression of Blake's was almost amusing. "But I do want to help them."

Still stunned, she could only marvel at his logic. "How exactly…?"

"Help them from that stupid threat. Help them be less dumb shits, guide them to be less annoying and oboxinous," he contunied, igorning her bewildered gaze, "And you'll be amazed once I'm done."

"So you do care…."

"I thought you were going to run."

"Well, I changed my mind,"

"How?"

"Because running is useless at this point."

"So you've realized?"

"If it means facing the end, I want to show the humans that a Faunus also fought to save the world". Blake untied her black bow, uncovering her two dark feline ears, mirroring Akira's.

"Humanity is shit, isn't it? But shit can still learn too."

It got pretty dark didn't it? This chap is more of a build up and damage control for what happened with the White Fang. It was originally supposed to be glazed over but the more I thought about the psychological impact it would have on the cast, the more I was tempted to write this instead. Ruby and the girls are in shambles along with Oz, so it was a good opportunity to look deeper into their thoughts. Of course this is gonna deivate the entire cast from canon of how paranoid they were compared to the actual show and will change how they react quite a bit.