Patriot-112: And here I am with another chapter folks. Though not a lot of reviews, I'm getting a good amount of favs and follows for this story, as well as on my profile, so I'm doing SOMETHING right. For those of you, having negative views on the Imperial Military of Drache...please hold your gripes until AFTER the story progresses a little more, not before.

Sigh... Sorry, just feeling a little salty right now. Now, I said that in this chapter, I will show what the Drache forces will look like. While that's true, it's gonna be a long list of stuff that 117Jorn put together, which won't come out for a while.

So, enough chit-chat, let's begin.

Chapter 2:

Grammí Aímatos

It was precisely 7:00 AM in the morning as Teams RWBY and JNPR arrived at the Bullhead Airship docks which will take them to Vale.

Though Pyrrha still looked to be tired, she assured her teammates and friends that she was alright, and could still help complete the mission. Of course, even though the others accepted it, Jaune couldn't help but be concerned for his partner/teacher.

But before he could think of asking what's going on, They had already arrived at the dock where they were to meet Qrow, and the said veteran Huntsman was there, waiting for them, with his back against the side of a Bullhead.

"You're on time. That's good," the man said, as he took another swig from flask which caused some of the group of friends, particularly Weiss, to frown a bit.

"Now, before we get going, I want ALL of you to watch other's back," Qrow began to say, "Sure it may just one girl we're going after, but this one girl defeated a whole platoon of White Fang grunts, by herself. From what we know about her so far, she's a skilled and ruthless fighter. So, my point being, don't underestimate her, not even for a second...is that clear?"

Everyone of the students nodded at that.

"Okay, glad we're on the same page," he said, before placing one foot in the Bullhead, "Well, all aboard kids..."

The said students all did exactly, with Jaune being a little apprehensive, before a little coaxing by Pyrrha helped him get onboard. Qrow noticed but didn't comment on it, verbally at least.

'This is gonna be a long ride,'

Meanwhile, Enroute between Vale and Drache

The ships of the IMD task force continued on their course toward Vale, all of them arranged in a convoy system meant to protect them from any seafaring Grimm. Especially the damn Sea Dragons.

In his personal quarters aboard the Erzengel, Admiral Blaive was looking through the reports that they were given to by the Council of Vale and their forward scouts in the area, pertaining to priority targets that would pose a problem, like Grimm nests, suspected White Fang meeting places and hideouts, and of course, same old political bureaucratic nonsense.

However, his full focus was on the one who they were covertly hired to apprehend, the one calling herself, the Maiden Knight. From what he saw from the footage they were given, this girl was by no means a pushover.

He was currently watching the footage, alongside the commander of the Ground Forces, one Brigadier General Albin Shirlitz.

"Remarkable...," the General said, as he watched the girl decimate any White Fang goon that stood in her path, "...such talent is rare these days,"

Blaive nodded as he continued to watch the footage, before his eyes squinted.

"You notice anything familiar in how she fights close quarters?" he said, and the General blinked and looked at the footage. It was a moment before his eyes widened.

"But that's...!"

Blaive nodded, "Yes, that's IMD CQC she's using, in conjunction with that Huntress style," he said, before Schirlitz turned to him.

"That must mean someone from Drache trained her...but who?" he said, while Blaive shook his head.

"We'll find out once we've captured her," he said and looked to the General, "For now, I want our forces to be ready once we arrive in Vale. I want our airships, gunships, and fighters to bomb every single nest of Grimm within a hundred kilometer radius of the city, and have our ground troops deal with any Grimm that survive. I don't want to see, smell, or even hear a Grimm while we're there."

Schirlitz nodded and saluted. "Consider it done, sir," he said, and Blaive nodded before telling him he was dismissed and the General did that leaving Blaive to continue looking at the footage.

"Just who are you, my dear?" he asked, before his eyes widen slightly as he saw her throw her shield and it impacted three WF grunts before it returned to her.

"No that can't be..." he said, thinking of one person who did a move like that.

Vale Royal Palace

Doré smirked slightly as she just finished her modifications. Which where her adding the stealth components from the Nightshade Armor to her own standard set. And now, all she had to do was see if it works.

After placing her armor back on she then stood in the center of the room.

"There's a 50/50 chance that this could either work, or...well, it probably just won't work," Anders said, which caused Doré to frown.

"You were going to say explode, weren't you?" she asked rhetorically.

"...Maybe," was the only answer she got, and the girl just sighed.

"Well, here goes nothing," she said, as she pressed the activation button on her shoulder. And the results were what she wanted as her whole body turned invisible, including her whole head, thanks to the field generated by the components she modded to the mask.

The red streaked blonde's smirk then turned into a small grin.

"First test is a success," she said to herself, "I think this warrants a nighttime field test. Don't you agree Anders?"

"Of course. Though, I should advise to keep your activities minimal when the IMD Task Force arrives in Vale...which is, precisely, fifteen hours from now," The voice warned, which caused Doré to frown in worry.

She was hoping that she had more time before Drache came to Vale, but unfortunately, IMD ships are considered faster than Atlesian ships, and whoever quoted that, was not wrong.

'Still, I still have enough time in order to complete this field test and come back.' she thought to herself, 'I would need to stay low until the Vytal Festival, or, failing that, head to the second hideout. I hope Adler has kept it safe.'

The second hideout she was thinking about, was an old Valean Military base just ten miles outside of the city. It was abandoned five years for some half brain reason, but most of the equipment was still there, of course which she added a few things to. It was set up that if this hideout was compromised, she would pack-up what she could and head there.

But right now, that hasn't happened yet.

"We'll worry about that till after they arrive," she said, "For now, let's get ready for tonight."

"You're the boss, Doré. You're the boss,"

Meanwhile...

Team JNPR were walking through the old suburbs of Vale, after they were dropped off by the Bullhead, which our favorite Arc did not enjoy the ride one bit. After the said transport left them, Qrow, as the team leader decided it best for them to split up and cover more ground.

Thus, Ruby volunteered to go with him, while dragging a very reluctant Weiss along, to check out where the Maiden Knight was last seen, while Yang on the other hand volunteered to go downtown to meet with a 'contact', with Blake going with her. Thus Qrow instructed Team JNPR to check out the Old Suburb district, near the Old Vale Royal Palace.

As they looked around the area, and looking for clues, Nora decided to speak up.

"Ya know, I sometimes wonder why the Four Kingdoms of Remnant are called that," the Valkyrie said as she scratched her head in confusion, "I mean, we're lead by elected councils instead of kings or queens. How does that work?"

It was Ren who answered her, "The Royal families still exist Nora, if that's what you're implying. The reason why the monarchs are no longer involved with the government, was because that was one of the reasons why the Great War started. You see, during the time when Mantle was still the ruling Kingdom on Solitus, the last king never understood human rights, and individuality, and his people suffered greatly for it. Overtime, his oppression began to sow anarchy and distrust among the other kingdoms, and it soon became a free-for-fall which we know as the Great War. The councils decided that it was best that elected governments make the major decisions for the kingdoms, and overtime, the Royal Families were regulated to just a ceremonial figurehead status. But even though the Monarchs are no longer in charge, their mark on the kingdoms still stand."

"However," He continued, "as the war went on, the elite class of society still continued it's oppression of individual freedom, and soon enough was enough, and thus, the Huntsman and Huntresses rose to end the fighting, and thus tensions began to cool down. Though Mantle still refused to back, eventually they had no choice, due to them losing all their wealth and prosperity when Atlas became the new kingdom. Thus, everyone learned that power corrupts, no matter how you use it to do good," he finished and looked to Nora who had swirls for eyes as her head swiveled.

"Ugh, too many words...," she muttered, as Ren sighed.

Meanwhile, Jaune was looking at his partner with more concern, as he noticed the troubled expression on Pyrrha's face. He had noticed it this morning, and during the ride on the Bullhead, even though his motion sickness was hitting him like a sledgehammer, and now after they split off from the others.

Deciding that she needed someone to talk he walked beside her.

"Hey Pyrrha," he said, making the said champion look in his direction, "You okay? You had that look on your face ever since we left Beacon,"

Pyrrha blinked before giving a smile, "Y-yeah, I'm alright...nothing to be worried about," she said, though Jaune wasn't buying it. He then placed his hand on the redhead's shoulder, causing her to blush a bit.

"Pyrrha come on." he persistently said, "If something's bothering you, then you tell what it is. We're partners, you can trust me. An Arc never goes back on his word."

Pyrrha looked at Jaune for a moment, before looking at Ren and Nora, and then grabbed his arm and brought them a little forward ahead of their two teammates. When she believed they were far enough away, she turned to him to speak.

"Jaune, you remember when I said that I hadn't been sleeping well for a while?" she asked, causing Jaune to blink, before nodding.

"Ah, yeah." he said, "You said it was because of a dream, right?"

Pyrrha nodded at that, "Yes, I've been having the same one, over and over again, everytime I fall asleep. And for some strange reason, that dream has gotten more vivid, ever since we saw that footage of the Maiden Knight,"

Jaune's eyes widen at that.

"W...what was the dream about?" he asked and Pyrrha looked ahead of them.

"I...I was in some kind of ruin, like an old palace...not seen anywhere in the Four Kingdoms," she began, "...I was fighting these dark faceless figures who were attacking me, as I looked around the palace, though I manage to defeat them. But then...after I defeated the last one, that's when I heard it."

Jaune blinked at that, "Heard what?" he asked, and Pyrrha looked back to him.

"Crying...," she said with a solemn tone, "I heard what sounded like a child crying,"

Jaune didn't say anything, as he let Pyrrha continue.

"I immediately began following the sound, and searched the whole place until I suddenly found a room, with a dim light coming from it," she said, as her head drooped, "I...I then opened the door, and in the room, there was a single cot bed...but it was who was sitting on the cot that got my attention..."

The Arc picked up on Pyrrha's pause to ask.

"Who...who was it?" he said, and Pyrrha looked at him, her own emerald eyes showing a hint of sorrow.

"It was... a little girl." she said, "She looked no older than five years old, and...she was crying, the sound of it alone was just heartbreaking, along with how bruised and injured she appeared."

Her eyes closed tightly as she clenched her hand into a fist over her chest as she remembered that part of her dream.

"I, I approached her in order to comfort her, and when I called out to her, she raised her head up and then..." it was at this, she gulped, as she turned as white as a sheet, "...I saw her face, and it...it looked exactly like mine, when I was her age! And her eyes...Gods Jaune, even her eyes were the same as mine! The only difference was that her hair was blonde, with red streaks mixed in it,"

By this point Jaune's face, morphed into shock.

"But then, when she looked at me...she just, recoiled away from me, and pressed herself back to the wall. The look on her face, in her eyes, she...she looked like she was afraid of me! Before I could ask what's wrong...the dream ends right there at that moment." when she finished, she looked at Jaune, who was now looking disturbed by what Pyrrha just told him. "And ever since then, I've been trying to make sense of what I saw in that dream. I...I even heard stories from my mother how people in the past have had similar dreams... just before something bad happens. I'm not sure what my dream means Jaune...but, but I'm scared that if I don't find out soon, it will be too late!"

Jaune then took that moment to place his hands on both of Pyrrha's shoulders.

"Whoa, easy Pyrrha!" Jaune said, "Just calm down, and take a breath for a moment! You don't need to do it alone."

Pyrrha perked up at this, as Jaune gave her a comforting smile.

"You have me, Ren, Nora, and all of Team RWBY to help you," he said, "We're a team Pyrrha. If one of us in trouble, it's up to the rest of us to help them out. I promise, we'll figure this out together,"

Pyrrha looked at Jaune, with surprise, as the blush came back. Though she was still uneasy about the dream, just having Jaune close and talk to her, made her feel comfortable. She smiled gratefully, as she wiped the trace of tears in her eyes.

"Thank you Jaune," she said, while Jaune's smile grew.

"What are partners for?" he asked, causing them to laugh. Meanwhile, both Nora and Ren were watching not too far away. Though they didn't hear anything, they knew it concerned Pyrrha due to her body language.

They might not know what it is she was talking about to Jaune, but as teammates, they were going to help her, no matter what.

Downtown Vale, Junior's Club

"CLOSE THE DOOR! SHE'S COMIN'!" shouted a suited thug, as he and another ran through through the double doors and started closing them.

Hei "Junior" Xiong, the owner of the club, sighs in irritation as he hears the ruckus and stops in his observing of the damage done to his club months ago, and going to check on what was going on.

"What the heck are you morons doing!?" he shouted at the men at the entrance, who turned to look at him.

"Junior! She's back! She's just outside the-"

BOOM!

The henchmen was cut off as the door blew open. And coming in through the smoke, was the one person that entire club didn't want to see again for a long while.

"Guess who's back!?" Yang shouted merrily, only to have a large assortment of guns pointing at her.

"Uh, Yang, I don't think they're happy to see you," said Blake as she entered the club, and was on edge due to all the guns pointed at her partner.

"Stop! Stop!" shouted Junior as he came up the stairs, "Don't. Shoot,"

He pushes the thugs aside as he looks at Yang.

"Blondie, you're back...why?" He said, a little on edge, since he didn't want her to mess up his club again.

Yang smirks, knowing she's got this guy by the balls.

"Well, for starters, Junior. You still owe me that drink," with that she marched up and grabbed Junior's arm, and dragging him away to the bar.

Meanwhile, Blake could only look on in bewilderment at how Yang has the situation handled, she then sighs before smiling.

"I got some interesting friends," she says, before going to join them.

Meanwhile

Vale Harbor

Dock adjacent of SDC dock

Qrow, Ruby, and Weiss were at the last known place the Maiden Knight was spotted last. They had already talked to the watchman, who didn't see anything because it was too dark, and were looking around the dock for any clue, that the girl vigilante may have dropped. As they were doing this, Ruby began to think on why the girl would be doing this. Targeting and killing people the way she does.

She then turned to her uncle to ask this.

"Hey, Uncle Qrow?" she said, making the said man turn to her.

"What is it, Ruby?" he asks, noticing the said Rose Reaper's frown on her face.

"I've been thinking about the Maiden Knight...," she says, before looking at him "...why do you think she does what she does?"

The man sighs as he takes out his flask and looks up into the early evening sky.

"Well kid, let me put it this way...," he began, "...vigilantes need specific reasons which make them do the things they do. For instance, if it was just Faunus she would've gone after every single one she could find, but so far, the only ones she's gone after are members of the White Fang. Not mention she's also been targeting humans as well, so the fact she's strictly anti-faunus is off the table, especially since she's gone after people who share the False Schnee, Jacques Gelee's, way of thinking,"

He noticed the said Heiress shift uncomfortingly at that, knowing it was true. Despite having married into the Schnee family, Jacques Gelee, was not a true Schnee, and in fact, his extreme ways. has sullied the principles that her Grandfather, Nicholas Schnee, had founded the company on.

"So, from what we're seeing so far, she's only going after hardliners, both Faunus and Humans. My guess is trying to prevent tensions from spiraling out of control, like it has been these past few years, despite the Councils' attempts to cover it up," Qrow continued, before sighing again, "But the number question on my mind is this...what is her true motive? What drives her to do this, despite the fact that the Councils and the White Fang either want her dead or in chains? Of course, the answer to that question is to ask her herself,"

"Hence, why we're looking for her?" Ruby and Qrow nodded.

"Yeah, not to mention she's painted a huge fat target on her back, since she's no doubt wanted either dead by the White Fang and other criminal, and imprisoned by the Councils of Remnant, since their pride is hurt. Of course the problem with that is that she's become a celebrity among the people, with the most superstitious believing that she is a reincarnated warrior from the past," he answered, chuckling slightly "And it's our job, to get her off the streets before anything bad happens, or she's arrested by the authorities, and that would cause quite the shouting match which will devolve into chaos. And that is a very big 'no-no'... You girls can guess as to why,"

The two girls grimaced at that, knowing what he meant.

Qrow then sighed, "Well, let's get back to finding this girl, we'll keep looking for another hour, then we'll head back and try again in the morning," he said, and the two girls nodded and went back on their search.

Meanwhile.

Doré smiled in satisfaction as she jumped from rooftop to rooftop, all while under the cover of the new Stealth feature of her armor, with no one on the ground even noticing. If anyone had good eyesight, or they were real close, they would've spotted a shimmer. Thankfully no one was following her, which meant she wasn't seen...yet. Still, with this added to her arsenal, her chances of succeeding have gone up, as well as her getting justice for Tukson.

"So far, so good. I'd say that tonight's been productive," Doré commented as she landed on another, before stopping to rest for a moment.

"Indeed," she heard Anders reply, "But still, we must be very careful. Even though you're invisible to the naked eye, you'll still be spotted by Atlesian robots or soldiers who use Thermal Optics. If they have those, your cover's blown,"

Doré nods at this.

"I'll be sure to remember that," she said, "Let's head back, I don't want to be out when the IMD arrive,"

With that she began her trek back to the Royal palace...

...However, she was unaware that she was being watched from a far distance, as the targeting reticle of a sniper's scope zoomed in on her, her body glowing indicating infrared.

"This is Omega 3, target spotted in downtown sector, heading north. Over."

"Copy that, Omega 3. Stay on her, though keep a safe distance. Over,"

"Wilco,"

With Blake and Yang

"So, what can you tell me about the vigilante that's been beating other thugs recently?" Yang asked as she and Blake sat the Bar, "Ya know, the Maiden Knight?"

Junior, who was in the middle of a swig of his beverage, began coughing as soon as he heard what came out of Yang's mouth.

"Wha...you're not serious right!?" the information broker said, his eyes wide in fear. As soon as he saw the serious frowns on the two girls' faces though, he knew they weren't kidding, "Oh Gods, you two are crazy going after her!"

The two blink as Blake was the next one to ask.

"Why is that?" she said.

Junior shuddered as he went down memory lane, which was relatively a recent memory.

"She came in here three weeks ago, threatened to castrate me with that sword of hers, while using her polarity semblance to shove metal shavings into the wound if I so much as talk to Torchwick ever again," he explained, his voice indicating how scared he was.

The two blinked at that, as Yang asked the next one.

"You said she used Polarity, right?" Yang asked, and Junior nodded.

"Yeah, and I could tell you all the freaky stuff she does to metal with it when I first saw her," he said, while Yang shook her head.

"No, that's cool. Anything else?" she said, and Junior shook his head no.

"Just what I told you," he said, "I don't want her coming back and actually going through with her threat,"

Yang nodded at that, "Right. Let's go Blake," she said, and the two students left the club, wanting to report their findings to Qrow.

Doré continued on her way back to the, using the same rooftop route to head back the way she came. Soon, the said complex was in her sight, before she began to speed and made a strong leap through the air, while in mid-flight, she deactivates the Nightshade System. However, the effort was heard, and before she even landed on the roof across the road, four pairs of eyes saw her.

"Eh, you guys saw that right?" asked Jaune as he thought he saw a shimmer fly through the air.

"Yeah, I did," Pyrrha answered, her eyes narrowed at what she just saw.

"We did as well," Ren complied, "We should tell the others,"

As team JNPR moved to follow their supposed target, they didn't notice the other figure making also it's way into the complex.

Meanwhile, Doré arrives at her building in the north-western quarter, of the Palace complex. She enters the building through the door, and down the staircase.

On the building just across from hers, the figure watches through their sniper scope, as Doré descends down the stairs and enters her room. The Thermal Optic feature still on, allowing them to see.

"This is Omega-3, found the Fox's den. Please advise,"

"This is command, your orders are to neutralize the target, and bring her in alive. Proceed with discretion, over,"

"Understood," Omega-3 complied, before the said stalker proceeded to open the bolt of his sniper rifle, and drawing what looked to be to a green glossed cartridge, with holes in the back and a glass bullet, with a green liquid seen inside it, with a needle on the tip.

After examining man, Omega-3 then loads the special cartridge into the rifle and proceeds to set up position. Waiting patiently for the right opportunity to strike.

Qrow blinks as he just finished hearing what Yang told him what she learned from her 'contact'. He mentally cringed at the castration and metal shavings bit, but was now more interested in the fact that the girl had a Polarity semblance.

"Hmm, I gotta admit, she's more vicious than I thought," Qrow commented, "Anything else aside from the Polarity Semblance?"

"Nope, my 'informant' was too scared to say anything else." he heard Yang said, along with a sigh, "Anyway, we're heading back towards you, hope you guys found something we didn't,"

The man sighed at that, "Unfortunately, nada," he said, "When you meet back with us, we'll contact your friends in Team JNPR and ask if they found anything."

"Right! See ya soon!" with that she ended the call, but not a second later, his scroll beeped, as the caller id of the said leader of said team appeared on the screen.

'Well speak of the devil...,' he thought as he answered, "Jaune, what did you and your team find?"

"Well, considering that we saw said Vigilante enter the old Vale Royal Palace, I think that means we found her...*Slap* Ow! Pyrrha!" Jaune's voice was heard, as Qrow blinked and his face turned serious.

"You found her?" he said, the tone of his voice wanting no bullshit.

"Yeah, we found her. She's hiding in the Northwest Corner building of the Palace Complex. We can see a light on the sixth floor." Jaune said.

"Wait till we get there, I'm calling in the Bullhead, and once we pick up Yang and Blake, we'll head straight to your location!" Qrow advised. "But don't try to engage, wait until you hear the sound the Bullhead coming, then head in."

"No problem, see ya in a few," Jaune then cut the line.

Qrow then turned to his niece and the heiress.

"Guess what, girls," He called out to the two partners who looked to him, "We found her."

Doré entered her room, sighing tiredly before walking into the center of the room and prepared to remove her armor.

"Doré, we have a problem," Anders spoke causing the young girl to stop what she was doing.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I detected a IMD signal nearby," he said, causing Doré's eyes to widen, "I'd only just now picked it up. The reason why I haven't detected it before now, was probably because running the new stealth mode interfered with my scanners. I've already identified the signal... Doré, it's a Ranger."

Doré's heart leaped into her throat at that. Rangers were skilled scouts and snipers, and were the first troops the IMD would send into a potential battlezone, in order to gather information or take out key HVTs. And now one of them was just outside, looking at her. She took a deep breath to calm herself down.

"Where is he?" she asked.

"Building adjacent to ours," Anders informs. "He sees you, and he's armed with a sniper rifle, but he is no doubt using non-lethal rounds in order to take you in alive. I advise staying away from the windows,"

Doré nodded before she calmly crouched down and carefully moved into the shadows of the room, which was near the last window, hoping to stay out of the sniper's firing arc.

The said Ranger watched as his target was preparing to remove her armor only for her to suddenly stop. He then watched as she crouched down, and moved to the other side of the room, outside his line of fire. He blinks, as he watches this sudden behavior, before realization hits him.

"She's know I'm here," he muses, before activating his comm, "Command, this Omega-3, target is somehow aware of my presence. Advise,"

"Continue observation of the target, Omega-3. Use any opportunity to neutralize," Command ordered.

"10-4 Command" the Ranger acknowledged, and continues to watch the target, watching with the Thermal feature of his scope, as he aims at the unprotected area of her neck. Once hit there, the tranquilizing agent in the dart round will act quickly.

However, he blinked as the sound of an airship's engines caught his attention. Looking up, he spotted a Bullhead fly over, before landing on the roof of the target building.

Doré blinked as she heard the sound of VTOL jet engines rumbling outside.

"Anders, what's going on!?" she said, now more concerned than ever.

"I'm not sure!" Anders said in concern, "I'm not detecting any other IMD signals!"

Doré was about to ask what she meant by that, but the doors of the room fly open admitting four people. She looked in their direction, and when her eyes landed on two specific people, one a blonde haired, blue eyed young man, wearing white armor over a black hoodie and armed with a sword shield with two wave arc emblazoned on the face, and the second, a girl, with her red hair up into a high ponytail, wearing a set of Mistralian gold and bronze armor, and a bronze circlet on her head, and wielding a short sword with a rounded shield.

Her eyes widened in both fear and horror, as she looked at the two. She was hoping not to meet these two so soon, in fact she wasn't planning to meet them in person ever!

'No. No, not them!' Doré thought frantically, 'Please Gods no!'

"Doré, you need to calm down!" Anders said quietly, but urgently. Doré didn't hear him, as she looked from the far door on the other side of the room. And then back to them, "No, don't even think about it. The Ranger is still out there!"

Doré still didn't hear him as her fear induced panic continued to rise.

'I have to get away...I have to get away!' she thought to herself as a memory played in her mind. A memory of him.

"They would only see as an abomination of their cells, you stupid clone. A monster, a thing! Remember that...REMEMBER IT!"

That did it, as she bolted up and began to run to the door, catching the group of four's attention.

"Doré, NOO!"

Just as she was halfway to the door, the breaking of glass, and a sharp sting in her neck, caused her to gasp, before she barreled right through the door to the next room and then into the hallway.

"What the hell!?" Jaune shouted as he saw their objective rush right in front of them toward another door, before one of the windows she ran in front of shattered, and she barreled right into the next room.

"Hey there's someone in the building across from us!" Nora shouted as she readied her Magnhild.

Ren also spotted them, before he turned to Jaune and Pyrrha.

"Go after her, we'll deal with whoever's over there!" he said, and the two nodded and went off in pursuit. Ren then turned to Nora who was already launching herself toward the other building.

He sighed before he went after her.

Meanwhile, the Ranger curses as he sees the two coming toward him, and pulls out his pistol and begins to open fire.

He managed to hit the Maiden Knight in the neck, but now that these Hunters showed up, he just made their job easier.

'Dammit! I was so close!' he thought angrily as he ran from his compromised position.

With Doré, she was swaying side to side as the effect of the tranquilizer now in her system was doing it's work. A hand on her head as she tried to fight off the effects.

'Dammit, of all the tranquilizers it had to be this one!' she thought panickedly.

The said tranquilizer that was now coursing through her system, was a special concoction which worked in three stages. And right now, she was suffering the effects of the first stage, temporary disorientation.

'I...I have t-to... s-stay awake... got to...fight it!'

As she said that, she felt her knees beginning to buckle, as she leaned against the wall.

'Come on...you're stronger than this...don't-,' she was cut off as she finally lost her balance and proceeded to crumple to the floor.

Her eyes widened in terror behind her mask, while gritting her teeth as she tried to will her body to get back up. However, it was too late as the second stage of the tranquilizer kicked, motor function shutdown.

"Hey! Are you alright!" a voice shouted. One of two that Doré recognized so well, both from her dreams, and from the scroll she carried. She began to tremble as she heard the sounds of their footsteps coming toward her.

'This...this can't be happening! Not now!' she screamed in her mind, as she felt someone's hands on her shoulder before she rolled onto her back, and held gently by none other than Pyrrha, herself, with Jaune right beside her as they looked down at her with concern.

"...N-No...P-Please...No...," she managed to gasp out fearfully, as the final stage of the drug began to affect her.

"Hey, it's alright. We're not going to hurt you," Pyrrha tried to assure her, but instead the girl kept on muttering the same thing over and over again, and soon, tears were seen coming from under the mask.

The two only looked on in confusion, before the champion, showing more concern, suddenly began to slowly reach for her mask.

As soon as her fingers grasped it, she made a small tug which resulted in the mask coming, revealing the face of the person they knew by the title of the Maiden Knight.

Her and Jaune's reaction was obvious as both their eyes widened, as they see a familiar face and familiar eyes staring back at them...both resembling Pyrrha's own. The matching pair of emerald green only looked up at them, fear seen clear as day of day, as she tried to talk...but what she said came out as mumbled gibberish, as she lost the fight to ward off the third stage of the tranquilizer...total shutdown.

As she gave one last whimper, Doré's eyes fluttered closed, as her head lulled to the side.

Jaune and Pyrrha only looked at the now out cold vigilante, as a thousand questions buzzed in their heads. Too many to pick up which one to mentally ask about the current situation before them.

The sounds of feet approaching were heard as Qrow, along with Team RWBY, along with Nora and Ren soon arrived.

"Hey, are you... guys... o...?" Ruby began to say as they ran up to them, but the last word died in her mouth as she and the others look at the now unmasked face of the Maiden Knight. Which caused some of them to look between Pyrrha and the girl on the floor.

"Either my drinking is making me see things, or I'm looking a blonde haired version of you kid," Qrow pointed out, motioning to Pyrrha, who didn't answer as she continued looking at Doré, more specifically, her hair, which made her remember the girl from her dream... blonde with red streaks.

She felt her fingers touch something, causing her to blink. She then proceeded to move the unconscious girl's limp head to the left, and she, along with everyone else, spotted what looked to be some sort of dart in the girl's neck.

"What is that?" Yang asked, as her uncle bent to get a closer look, before reaching out, and carefully removing it from the girl's neck.

Qrow frowned as he examined the dart like object, before it clicked into his head.

"This...is an Drachan Rifle Tranquilizer Dart, military grade," Qrow answered causing everyone, but Jaune and Pyrrha, to look at him, "These are commonly used by IMD Rangers to neutralize enemy HVTs on either the battlefield, or behind enemy lines, who will be later be picked up by a retrieval squad."

He then looked at the unconscious girl before them.

"And if IMD is after her, it means that someone paid them to bring her in," the experienced pointed out, sighing before pocketing the Dart, and grabbing his flask. "And if any of you watched the news, you know who I mean."

The students were all silent at that, until Ren broke it.

"We saw the sniper outside," Ren informed, "We chased after him, but he managed to escape,"

Qrow sighed again as he took a quick swig of his liquor, before placing the cap back on.

"Don't worry about at the moment." he says, "As a matter of fact, Drache just made our job easier. Let's get back to the room she was staying in, gather up what we can carry, and get it and her back to Beacon."

Everyone nodded except Jaune and Pyrrha, who were both still looking at the girl's face. Both wondering what the heck was going on.

"Command, this is Omega-3," the Drachan Ranger said, with mild anger, into his comm, "I hit the target, but a Hunter Team arrived before I could retrieve her. Judging by how inexperienced these kids, they must be students from Beacon Academy. Advise..,"

"Fall back for now, Omega-3...rendezvous with a Commando unit a few clicks outside the palace. Command, out,"

"Acknowledged...,"

"So, Ozpin's little children got to her before we could?" Admiral Blaive said, as a Lieutenant stood before him after he delivered the report.

"Yessir," the younger man said, which caused the man to sigh.

"Disappointing," he said, before he dismissed the junior officer, who quickly did so, before a smirk formed on his face, "This could somehow work to our advantage."

He said as he turned around to look at the screen, showing a split screen of two different recordings. On the right was of Pyrrha Nikos, during her third win at the Mistral Regional Tournament, and on the left was of the Maiden Knight.

He noticed the similarities between the two women, seeing as they have the same fighting style, and that they use a Polarity Semblance. However, he noticed that while Pyrrha didn't broadcast her powers like a bonfire, the Maiden Knight had no such qualms.

Another fact he noticed, that while Sanctum's Champion was quite a formidable opponent, she wasn't as ruthless, compared to the Maiden Knight. And he was determined to find out who exactly the vigilante is, and who was it that trained her.

'Either by politics, or by force. I will get you in Drache's grasp,' Blaive thought to himself, 'The skills you possess, are wasted on the Hunters who abandoned us so long ago. Either we have her, or no one will."

A/N: And another chapter done! But before I go, a little short scene...

Short Scene: 'Why didn't you just tell him?'

Doré was standing in the clearing she picked in the the forest north of Vale, as good place to hone her skills. It was isolated, quiet, and no signs of any Grimm. And if there were, she had dealt with them quickly.

She had it literally beaten into her skull that practice will keep her mind sharp, and her body strong. And she took it to heart.

She took out a scroll from the pouch on her belt and placed it on tree stump, before she turned it on and looked for one specific file.

After she found it, she pressed the play icon, before drawing Aurea Mors.

Soon, a young woman who had a perfect resemblance to her face and eyes, with the exception to her hair, appeared as the video began to play.

"Alright Jaune, just like we practiced. Follow these instructions...,"

Doré took a deep breath as she waited for the session to begin.

"Shield up,..."

The round shield rose into position.

"Keep your grip tight,..."

She gripped the handle of her sword tight.

"Don't forget to keep your front foot forward..."

The said foot shifted slightly, as emerald eyes narrowed.

"Ready? Go!"

With that, she thrusted the long-sword forward, giving a shout as she did.

"Again...,"

She then swung her sword in a frontal arc, causing a wave of air to flash forward from her.

"And again...,"

She then spun around, slashing the air with strong force as she did.

"Okay...*giggles* now assuming that you're aren't cheating, we can take a break,"

Doré stood up straight, panting a little, before turning to the recording on the scroll's screen.

"I know this can be frustrating...," the woman said, "...and it can feel like so much effort to progress in such a small amount. But...I want you to know that I'm proud of you. I've never met someone so determined to better themselves. You've grown so much since we started training, and I know that this is just the beginning."

Doré closed her eyes as she took a shaky breath, listening to this woman's caring voice has helped to comfort her when she was depressed...but, she knew that this message wasn't meant for her...it was for the young man she loved.

She then watched as the woman's face turned apprehensive.

"Jaune...I...I...I want you that I'm just happy to be a part of your life," she said, crossing her gloved hands over her chest, while Doré winced as she gritted her teeth, "I'll always be here for you, Jaune,"

The video then paused, as Doré shook in sadness, anger, and frustration.

"But you weren't in the end, you idiot...," she ground out, as a tear trailed down her face before dripping from her chin and landed on the ground, "...instead you sent him away and got yourself killed. And then he died later on, anyway! So what you did was die for nothing!"

She then snapped her head up as she glared at the face of the young woman.

"You hypocritical COWARD!" she snapped, "Why the hell couldn't you just tell him how you felt!? You fought Grimm and won a tournament FOUR times in a row, and you didn't have the spine to tell a boy how you felt about him!?"

With an angry scream, she threw her shield toward the line of trees, the strength behind the throw chopped down four in a row, before being lodged in a large rock. The said trees fall to the ground with a crash, as Doré collapsed to her knees, her body quivering.

"Why...?" she mumbled, "Why didn't you just tell him?"

And short scene done. Now this event occurred before the beginning of this story, and as you can see, despite being trained to be a badass warrior, Doré is still human. A human that is desperate that many people are unfortunate to have...a parent's unconditional love.

Well, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and short scene. Until next time!