Chapter 3: New Alliances and New Weapons

-/- A forest near the Rose-Xiao Long house, Patch, Vale -/-

"So what's up with him?"

Pyrrha looked at her friend, an eyebrow cocked up in confusion. Yang nodded at Ethan, whose back was turned to them as he was searching for something he had not told the girls about. "What's up with this guy? He seems to know almost everything that we know, healed my arm like it was nothing, and somehow, managed to bring you back to life! Who is this guy anyway?"

The redhead was quiet for a while as Yang anxiously waited for her reply. "Well, he's someone I trust, that's what I know," Came the calm answer, with Yang frowning in doubt as she pondered on those words. Who is this guy? Is he that trustworthy enough in order for Pyrrha to be able to trust him in a short time?

"Hey Yang," Ethan's voice broke her away from her thoughts. "If you have any questions... You could ask me, you know?"

"Ah! Uhm..." The startled blonde only laughed nervously, but before she could ask anything, the trio entered into a wide, grassy plain free from the trees. Apparently, this was what Ethan was looking for, because after running to the center of the plain, he bit his thumb again and began making seemingly confusing hand gestures. Pyrrha immediately knew that he was summoning a hawk for transportation.

In a matter of seconds, a cloud of white smoke spontaneously poofed out once more, summoning the large bird again. Yang could not keep her jaw from falling slightly ajar as Ethan got on the hawk with ease.

"I know it's your first time, but please stop staring," The boy said, averting his eyes away from Yang's amazed gaze. "I'm... Not really used to being given surprised stares."

Pyrrha nudged her friend before she got on as well. Hesitantly, Yang followed her friend on board the hawk, which then began to flap its wings, taking off quickly. Not much to Ethan's surprise, Yang had a very different reaction to flying on a large bird in contrast to Pyrrha; once the strong gust of wind hit her face, she raised her arms up in the air and let out a scream. "Yahoooo!"

-/- Somewhere in the sky above Anima -/-

"Ethan, I forgot to ask!" Pyrrha yelled over the wind after a while, despite being the one closer to the boy on the bird. "Who's next?"

"Huh? Oh, we're heading to Atlas to get Weiss," Ethan replied, raising his voice as to make his words clear to Pyrrha. "But we're making a stopover first." Seeing a village in the distance, the boy guided the hawk to another isolated area not too far from said location.

"This place is close to Mistral, so why not meet up with Ruby first?" The redhead noted once the hawk had poofed back into nothing and she had a chance to look around when the trio entered the large village. "Well, we need to tackle the harder people first," Ethan answered, before explaining upon realizing that Pyrrha and Yang did not understand him. "In other words, we need to get Weiss and Blake first, since they're farther from Mistral than Ruby and the others."

"Alright," Yang stretched her arms. "That's fine with me. Anyways, Qrow said he was keeping an eye on Ruby." The black haired boy looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Really?" All that he got was a nod before the blonde asked, "So... Ethan, what other stuff can you do?"

"Hm? I didn't catch you there," Was the reply. Yang sighed, before saying, "I mean, you were able to do a lot of unimaginable things, such as healing my arm, summoning a hawk, and even bringing back Pyrrha! What other stuff can you do? How can you do those?"

Ethan mysteriously smiled, before teasing, "You'll see." The blonde, much to his surprise, only hummed in thought.

The trio had entered the market district of the village while they were talking, and after some agreements, split up to find what they need. Yang went from stall to stall, looking for spare parts in order to recreate Ember Celica's other half; Ethan had nothing in mind to buy and was only browsing some swords and other weapons on sale; Pyrrha was looking for new weapons to use. However, none of them suited her style nor taste.

After some time, the three of them met up at a nearby inn. The leader of the group decided to address his companions first. "So, got everything?"

"Yep," Yang held out a bag of parts, answering, "For Ember Celica," when she caught a somewhat puzzled look on Ethan's face. Pyrrha nervously shook her head. "I... Couldn't find any replacements for Miló and Akoúo."

Ethan hummed thoughtfully before grinning. "Wait here," He said, leaving the two girls by the entrance to the inn. When he returned, he was bringing a sling bag that was slung across his body.

"What's that?" Pyrrha asked. The boy chuckled softly, "Some stuff I bought. We'll head over to a blacksmith later to get them fixed into your new weapon." Eyes and smile brightening immediately, the redhead offered many thanks to him, before Yang's stomach accidentally interrupted them with a growl.

"Whoops," Yang awkwardly laughed, before Ethan nodded to the entrance of the inn. "There's a great cafe inside, so why don't we check in for now and have something to eat?" Both girls nodded in unison as they followed him inside.

After checking in, and a hard time deciding on food, the trio were already halfway done with their orders when Yang decided to break the silence.

"Alright, so I have a few questions for you Ethan," Said boy froze involuntarily as the blonde spoke. Looking up, he forced a nervous smile on his lips. "Uhm... Sure, go ahead," He replied.

"Okay, first one: You brought Pyrrha back to life... And healed my arm-how did you just do those like they were nothing?"

Ethan gulped nervously before sighing. "It's... Really hard to explain," He began. "First of all, the power I use is chakra. Chakra requires an immense amount of both spiritual and physical power in order to use it at its real best, so you'd need years of training to accomplish feats like that."

"And this... Chakra was what you used to do those?" Pyrrha asked hesitantly, earning a guaranteed nod from Ethan. Yang, however, only narrowed her eyes. "I see. So what can you do with that kind of power?"

"That's where things get interesting," Ethan said. "Chakra can be used in order to perform elemental techniques that seem so extraordinary."

"Like ninjas?"

"Yeah, like ninjas..." The book [I]Ninjas of Love[I] immediately flashed through Ethan's mind as he answered, mentally sweatdropping at the word 'ninjas.'

"But doing the most impossible things... Chakra can really be used to do those?"

This was the hard part. Think, think, think, Ethan yelled in his mind, trying to come up with a convincing answer. Yang and Pyrrha waited for his answer with bated breath, sighing in relief when Ethan was able to reply. (Honestly, they did not know why they were holding in their breaths, but it seemed the most natural thing to do when they were anxious for an answer from a mysterious boy whom they were questioning all sorts of things.)

"Well, those occasions only happen once," Ethan showed them his palms, which, since Yang had got her arm back, had no traces of the sun and moon marks. "The chakra I had for those things took out a lot of my energy, and they were specifically for reviving Pyrrha and giving your arm back."

"Oh..." Was all that the two girls could say. Pyrrha decided this was the time, and took in a deep breath, releasing it as she said, "Well then, thank you, Ethan, for all that you've done."

"It was all I could do," Ethan replied, averting his gaze from the girls. "I mean, you guys deserved second chances."

"Speaking of us deserving second chances, how much do you know about us? About my sister? Our friends?"

"I can't say," He answered truthfully. If he said anything about how he really got to Remnant or anything else, he was screwed... Or at least, that's how he was feeling if he thought about it.

Yang and Pyrrha nodded in understanding. They had their own private shares of secrets, and they weren't willing to share them now. So if Ethan had his own secrets, then it was safe to say that no one should pressure him into sharing them.

"Alright," Ethan got up from his seat, leaving the Lien to pay for their meals on the table. "We need to go. Pyrrha's weapon isn't going to make itself."

"Over here," Yang pointed to a weapons shop-and-forge after a few minutes of her and the others searching for such a shop. "We can get Pyrrha's stuff made here. I used to frequent a branch of this back at Patch, so it's trustworthy."

"Hmm, alright," Ethan did not hesitate in pushing the wooden door open, hearing the bell above him tinkle in greeting as he and the girls entered the shop. They browsed around before a blacksmith approached them.

"Welcome, do you need something?"

"Uhm, yes, we do. My friend here-" Ethan motioned to Pyrrha, who shyly nodded at the inquiring blacksmith-"lost her weapons and needs new ones."

"Well, you've come to the right place," The blacksmith gestured to the nearby forge with his gloved hand. "I don't have any other commissions as of the moment, so I can get to work immediately. Do you have a certain weapon in mind?"

That got the leader of the trio grinning widely as he fished out a blueprint from the sling bag and gave it to the blacksmith, who nodded in approval as he studied the layout of the weapon. "What about materials?"

"In here," Ethan held up the sling bag. The older man sighed and said, "It'll take a week. Is that alright?"

"Fine by me. Thanks."

The trio exited the shop after landing a quick deal with the blacksmith. Just as Ethan was about to ask the girls if there was somewhere they'd like to go (remember, the village was large), Yang had disappeared from view.

"Wait, where'd she go?" Pyrrha asked Ethan, who only shrugged in reply as they searched for the sunny dragon.

Then, in the midst of the crowd, dark sapphire eyes found a pink-and-brown head, closely followed by a yellow head.

"Over there," Ethan grabbed Pyrrha's hand and began to track Yang down.

A sly grin twitched itself to life on Neopolitan's small lips as she readied her parasol for battle. Cornering her in an alleyway was her nemesis, the airhead blonde known as Yang Xiao Long.

But right now, Yang wasn't looking like an airhead, though she was still looking like a blonde (Neo couldn't help but let her smirk grow wider with that mental joke). The taller girl was looking... Yangry.

The advantage, Neo noted, that she had over Yang was that there was only one of those blasted shotgun gauntlets equipped on the blonde's person. Just a few kicks here and there, she'll be able to get out safe and sound in no time.

At least, that's what she thought, because once she took a step towards her opponent, who immediately readied her own weapon, Neo found that she couldn't move another step forward, nor could she breathe normally. What the-

"Yang, step aside," A male's calm voice echoed throughout the darkened alleyway, and Neo could not resist the urge to see the voice's owner with her own, mismatched eyes. "Are you kidding me, Ethan?! That's Neo! She's an enemy!" Yang's voice burst out at a jet black-haired boy with dark red eyes and... Handsome features?

No, no, no, erase THAT, Neo thought, gritting her teeth as she tried to move, but something invisible was holding her in place and she couldn't figure out what it was.

"Something bothering you?" The boy asked the petite pink-and-brown eyed girl, grinning a little. "Sorry about the restriction of your movements, but I'm currently using my Sharingan on you."

Sharing-what, what? Neo tried to growl at him, but he only ruffled her hair with a hand, a chuckle leaving his lips. "Yang, don't," The boy said upon hearing Yang load her gauntlet. "I've got this." He snapped his fingers in an instant.

The next thing Neo felt was her head spinning as the boy transported her somewhere else. Blinking her eyes repeatedly as to let herself know that she was still alive, she looked up and saw the boy with his hands in his pockets, staring at her in all solemnity.

Looking around, she realised that they were in one of Beacon's courtyards... Except that everything around them had the colors of red, black, and white. Fear surged through her heart and she glared at the boy in front of her for an explanation, still not trusting herself to scream out her objections.

"Welcome to my, uhm... Interrogation room. It's called Moon's Eye," The boy explained, smirking at her. "You'll have to answer all my questions if you want to get out of here."

All that he got was a feral growl from Neo, who grit her teeth and lunged at him, her parasol still in her gloved hand. She jerked her weapon, allowing the sharp tip of her blade to slide out of her parasol's ferrule, before thrusting it at the boy.

The boy dodged her attack and managed to grab the cloth part of her parasol, easily lifting it up-which also brought a startled Neo with it-without even getting cut by the blade. He slammed it down, resulting in Neo painfully falling on her rump.

"Now... Are you going to talk or what?" He demanded. Neo looked up at him defiantly, narrowing her eyes in a reply that meant "No."

He sighed, holding out a hand to her. Neo suspiciously raised an eyebrow at his gesture, before hesitantly putting her hand in his and getting up with his help. After dusting off the imaginary dirt on her pants, she crossed her arms, still looking at the boy with the look that said, "Can I at least know whoever you are?"

Much to her surprise, the boy understood her once more, and answered, "I'm Ethan. And I know your name is Neo, so can we get to more important matters now?" A still shocked Neo only nodded, her mouth slightly ajar as Ethan narrowed his red eyes which had weird, spinning pinwheels that replaced his pupils.

"You work with Cinder, no?"

Her first answer was a shake of the head. She narrowed her eyes at him to say that she had worked with Cinder, but wasn't working with the devil of a woman now. The boy got her message and asked, "If I gave you a chance, would you work with us heroes? The good guys?"

Work with the good guys? Neo frowned at this proposal. She didn't want to switch jobs now; she was currently working as a bodyguard, and she was always paid with some good coin. What would she get out of this if she helped this guy? Definitely not money.

"Look, I'm not forcing you," Ethan said, trying to convince her. "I... Well, we need help. I need someone to look for certain people that may aid me and my friends. You're a criminal, which means you have connections which could help find these people."

"Kid, I think you've been watching too much TV," Neo snapped in an instant, managing to catch the black haired boy off-guard and earning a mumble with the words, "You do talk." The multicoloured girl didn't mind this, but continued on with her serious stare. "Just because I'm a criminal doesn't always mean I've got connections."

Ethan's face fell, and a pang went straight to her heart. Trying to cheer him up, she stuttered, "B-but you c-came to the right person... So... I-I'll h-help..." The hell, she was BLUSHING so hard. She hadn't stuttered and blushed like this in a long time!

Much to her initial discomfort (but to her later happiness), he brightened up. "Then you'll help us?" He asked with a hopeful tone, and she couldn't find the guts to say no. Neo nodded, though with a little more eagerness than she had planned to give away.

"Thank you..." The boy faltered, before he held out a list to her, saying, "You'll help us find these people, and tell me when you've got them. Deal?"

Immediately she took the list and unexpectedly shook his hand. "Deal. Now can you get me out of here?"

"All right... Just a sec..."

"Yang, we don't know that. She might just be a harmless person."

"Harmless? She was on the train that caused the Breach back in Vale! I fought her there! She worked with Torchwick, so she might know where our enemy is."

"But-"

"No buts! Trust me," Yang said, readying herself to fight, but stopped short of using Ember Celica when she saw Ethan shaking hands with Neo, just before the latter left via Semblance. She gave the boy a bewildered look, raising her eyebrows in confusion as she asked, "What... What just happened?"

"Hm? Oh, I managed to talk to her. She's... She's with us now." Ethan replied, a casual look on his face. "She'll be helping us find other people whom we need."

"That quickly?" Pyrrha asked, joining the conversation. Prior to Ethan and Neo exiting Moon's Eye, she and Yang had been arguing about whether Neo was part of the evil that they were fighting (since Pyrrha, nor any of her teammates, had ever seen Neo) or not. The special thing about Ethan's "interrogation room" was that time moved more quickly there than in the real world, so what seemed to be only five minutes or more in Moon's Eye were actually mere seconds in Remnant.

Ethan nodded, a small smile making its way onto his face. "Yeah. I have my methods."

Both Pyrrha and Yang weren't sure if they could ask him about his methods though.

-/- A week later... -/-

Pyrrha gazed in amazement as she tried to find words to describe her joy. In her hands was Miló, or, well, an exact replica of the javelin-like weapon. Instead of having its recognisable red and gold colours, it had black and silver tints to the metal. Despite that, it worked as perfectly as Miló itself. Her small shield had also been made again with its signature design, and shared the same new colours of her weapon.

"The metal you provided... Where did you get it? It was hard to break down before I managed to forge the weapons," The blacksmith inquired while Pyrrha tried out her weapon. Ethan shrugged, having an unusual dark look on his features as he answered, "You don't want to know."

"But I'll have to admit, it's a great metal for weapons," The blacksmith quickly replied upon seeing the dark look on the blue-eyed boy's face, which immediately changed into a brighter look when Ethan said, "That's why my weapons were forged with the same metal."

"Whoa, Ethan, you have actual weapons?" Yang asked in disbelief while the black-haired boy paid up for the weapons. He nodded, removing his katana from its sheath. Yang and Pyrrha looked on with wonder as they examined the blade of the sword, which had the same tint of colors as Pyrrha's new weapon.

As Ethan put away his katana, Yang, now with both of Ember Celica attached to her wrists, pumped her fists. "All right! Let's get going!" She yelled, before the trio left the shop, ready to head to Atlas.