Honestly the way back had been much easier on them than Sienna had thought it would be. They've run into more Grimm of course, but so far it hasn't been anything they couldn't deal with. They've also been dispatching them much easier now too, although that may just be because of V's new toy.

Sienna decided it would be much easier to just call him 'V' now as it's shorter and dealing with the creatures of Grimm requires them to communicate fast, well, the other creatures of Grimm anyway.

She still didn't quite know how she felt about V being part Grimm, on one hand it's scary as all hell as it means there could be more out there, not to mention the queen who supposedly controls them. But on the other hand V has acted just like any other person, meaning that these 'humanoid Grimm' might not be directly hostile, they might not have to worry about them as much.

She had no idea what to do as she still felt a little sour at having been kept in the dark, but the other side of her realized that she wouldn't have believed him anyway. Sienna was also lost on what to do with this information. Should she tell Ghira, so far V and him had gotten along, how would he react? And what about Kali, she would be completely unpredictable.

However a part of her told her that they might not have any bad reactions, not like she had. The Belladonna's were kind at heart, always wanting to see the good in people, Sienna was certain they would remain calm with that info... probably.

No, she was much more concerned on what would happen should the news that there was a humanoid Grimm get out to the kingdoms. How would they react? Would they send out anybody to confirm the rumors? Or would they jump the gun and launch an all out assault to try and take him?

Speaking of, what is the deal with his new toy anyway? So far it looked to be just a set of bone plating across his body. She'd seen him use it a few times as they fought Grimm on the way back. His skin chars to coal as smoke starts to rise out, only clearing about a second afterwards to show the new armor.

The plates covered most of his upper body from what she could tell, all smooth and angular. The only part that seemed different was his mask, the thing covered both parts of his face. Usually a Grimm's mask would only cover the upper half.

"Hey V?" She asked him as he turned to her.

"Yes?"

"What's it feel like? You know, when you put it on."

He looked to be thinking about it for a second.

"The best I could say is... warm. Like a soft heat just spreading across my body." He told as he turned his gaze ahead.

Warm? That's... odd. From the way it looked Sienna had thought it might be a bit painful. Then again she wasn't part Grimm so she wouldn't know. On that thought however she found herself with a few more questions.

"So how does it work?" She asked, hoping to get a little more about this new power of his.

"Well it's sort of like a boost to my abilities, mostly my strength and speed. From what I can tell it doubles each of them as well as my reaction time. the downside however is that I can't use my aura with it, or any aura based abilities." He explained, looking somewhat puzzled.

"Now that I think about it... What happened with you back there? When you were fighting me I mean. You seemed to get not only stronger, but faster as well." He asked her.

"Oh that? That was my semblance, 'Grudge'. It makes me stronger against those I deem enemies, making me more powerful as I weaken their aura or injure them." Sienna answered as he gave a nod of understanding.

"Makes sense, you were giving me quite the beating back there, you even managed to crack my armor." He told.

"Well I thought you were another of the Grimm. What was I supposed to do?" She spoke as she gave him a look.

"Fair enough." He told as they continued forward.

It had been a little frightening she would admit. What the dust were you supposed to do when a weird Grimm man crashed in front of you? He was lucky he had called out to her, otherwise she might have just killed him without realizing who he was. Still, she couldn't be blamed entirely for how she reacted, it's how anyone would have, any huntsmen or huntresses at least.

It wouldn't be long now, Sienna could practically see the edge of the clearing before them. The sun was high up in the sky, around a little past noon from what she could tell.

They had spent the night camping on the cliffs that had overlooked the ruins they left, deciding that there might have still been some Grimm left over from their fight the previous day and that they would be safer above. Of course they still awoke at around six in the morning, Sienna having wanted to get back by the end of the day.

She'd only been gone for about a day but she was already dreading what could have happened in her absence. Sienna may have left someone she deemed 'sensible' in charge but that didn't mean she wanted to leave it that way for very long. As much as Sienna was sure everything was still in one piece, she still had to see it to be positive.

Do I just have trust issues... no, no Perry is proof that I can't leave them alone for too long.

By now they had just passed through the opening of the tree line, the village entrance just before them.

She let out a sigh as they made their way through, Sienna herself getting some waves from the people going about their day. She returned them with a nod as they made their way along.

"V, we're going to drop by the Belladonna's first. They'll want to know what was written on the stone, afterwards I want you to come with me. There are some things I want to talk to you about." She told him, receiving a quick nod.

"Things?" He asked with a questioning look.

"Yes, things. The kind that should be behind closed doors. some much more... serious issues that we need to discuss." She answered as she got a nod from him.

The two continued along until they found themselves just before the manor, to which Sienna stopped Vermillion with a hand on the shoulder.

"Look, before we go in there's one thing I need to make clear. Don't tell them anything about what happened out there, just tell them what was written and leave it at that. Trust me, they've got too much to deal with already. They don't need this on top of it." She spoke as she let go.

"Very well." He answered as he knocked on the door.

.

.

We were met again by the servant from the first time I had been here.

"Mr. Rose, Ms. Kahn, you've returned. Please come in, I'll get Mr. and Mrs. Belladonna now." The servant spoke as we made our way in.

We took a seat as we waited. A few minutes went by before I could see both Ghira and Kali make their way in, taking a seat in front of us.

"Ooooo, you're back! So, what did it say?!" Kali asked with excitement, a savvy tone throughout.

Ghira gave a slight roll of his eyes, a small smile on his lips. "What she means to ask is what have you discovered."

The man appeared more calm than his counterpart, but I could tell he was just as excited as Kali, even if he didn't want to show it. I watched as Sienna reached into her pack, now sitting beside her legs. She fished out a small bit of paper before handing it to Ghira.

"It's right here, I wrote it down before we left." She said as Ghira looked it over, Kali peeking at it as well.

Ghira's face took on a look of thinking. "It... appears to be a rule, from the looks of it anyway."

Now it was our turn to be confused.

"A rule, what do you mean a rule?" Sienna asked.

"The statement itself looks to depend solely on the first two words 'left alone'. Meaning that the subject left unaltered by any outside force will remain true. The subject here being history." Ghira spoke.

Sienna looked to have the gears in her head turning, slowly piecing the puzzle together in her mind.

"Wait, hold on... 'history'. Are you trying to say this is a rule for time? As in, the time, like... the passing of time. You get what I'm saying right?" She asked, seeming to trip over her own thoughts.

Ghira gave her an accepting nod. "Yes, don't worry yourself. I understand what you're getting at. 'Time' is what this rule appears to be made for."

"Wait... wait hold on, I'm confused. How do you discover a rule for time. Like... who wrote it, who came up with it. Just, just what?" Sienna looked to be losing herself at the moment, confusing herself more and more as she seemed to think deeper.

"Calm down Sienna. I don't quite understand it fully either, but it's a great discovery either way." Ghira said as he waved her down, only to receive a scrutinizing look from her.

"What do you mean?" She asked as Ghira held a smirk.

"Think of it like this. The whole statement relies on 'history', the past as it were, being left unaltered. Meaning that theoretically, at least according to this, it could be altered somehow." Ghira told as Kali looked to grow a little more excited, just a little.

"You mean time travel! Like from the movies!" Kali spoke giddily.

Movies? What are movies? I never had time to ask as Sienna looked to be trying to lower the whole situation to a reasonable level.

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold up a second, let's not get too ahead of ourselves. Be reasonable here, this is just some old words on a rock. Anybody could have written it, that doesn't mean that it's true." Sienna told as Kali seemed to deflate somewhat.

"Yes, but that doesn't make it a total loss. This does however mean that the cultures and people of the past had at least some concept or idea of altering the flow of time. While it may not be entirely true, it does however lead into the beliefs of the past." Ghira spoke as Kali gained back a bit of her excitement.

Sharp. Ghira was a lot more clever than I thought, it was an interesting theory however.

But ultimately near impossible, I had learned that 'time manipulation' was not quite what it seems. When I was younger I always thought that those time based semblances I heard about actually let them control time. In reality I had learned that they were more or less sensory abilities, enhancing ones perception as well as speed one hundred fold for a short time. It gave the illusion of time manipulation while not really altering time at all, the queen assured me of that.

However there was one bit of information that Sienna had left out, the part about what had happened to me. This looked to be intentional as she gave a glance my way after finishing what she had said, a brief look but a look nonetheless. She understood she was lying somewhat but we had already agreed to that.

I sat there as Kali and Ghira carried on with Sienna, discussing the implications and effects this supposed belief may have had on the various cultures throughout history. Yet I found myself lost in my head once more.

That stone... the obelisk, had targeted me, at least according to Sienna. She told me afterwards that it shot some sort of tentacles into me, tearing me apart according to her. It left me thinking. Why?

Why had I been targeted, what made me different as opposed to Sienna. Was it because of my Grimm essence? My gift from the queen, had it been what had caused the stone to react? Was it responsible for my new power? Was the queen responsible for this somehow? No, no the queen couldn't know I'd end up here, on some sort of island.

Dust! This is hurting my head.

I decided to let go of my questions for the moment. If this was indeed related to the queen then I could ask her when I got back. Until then I would simply have to stick with Sienna for now.

Speaking of which, I watched as she stood from her seat.

"Sorry, but we need to get going now. I have some things to discuss with V here, so we'll need to take our leave.

Ghira gave a nod as I stood as well, returning the gesture as Kali took on a more devious look.

"V? Sienna my dear I'm so proud of you! Finally able to to get on nickname basis!" She said as Sienna looked to hold in her irritation, it would seem that Kali liked to tease every chance she got.

"It's just for convenience, I assure you." She said as Kali gave a stronger grin.

Ghira could only give an apologetic look as we gave our farewells on our way out. Kali and Sienna seemed close, at least according to how pissed Sienna looked right now. Regardless I found myself following behind as Sienna led on, presumably taking me to where she wanted to talk.

We once again found ourselves along the edge of the town as I began to recognize the place. We were heading to the White Fang base, probably so Sienna could relax.

I followed her inside as we passed the yellow wall once again, I was still trying to guess it's purpose. Passing along we were greeted by several masked Faunus as we made way for the throne room once again. Looking at it the place appeared to be much busier than before, with Fang members moving about here and there.

We made our way up to the throne area where we were greeted by the Faunus from last time.

"Fennec, good to see everything's still in one piece." Sienna called as Fennec approached.

"Come now Ms. Kahn, have a little more faith in me than that." He told as he gave a respectful bow.

"It's not you that I was worried about. Still, I'm pleased you managed to keep things running smoothly. Well done." She praised him as his head rose once more.

"I thank you for the compliments. I take it that your trip went well?" He asked as Sienna gave a nod.

"Very, you are free to return to your regular duties now. As of the moment I have some things to clear away with our little friend here, ensure no one disturbs us. I'll have some new orders ready later."

With that Sienna carried on as I followed behind. Fennec gave only a nod as he went off, probably spreading the news to leave us be.

We walked through a door just to the side of the throne and found ourselves in a hallway. Delving through I followed as Sienna brought me to the room just at the end. I could see various drawers and cabinets, as well as a desk, papers spread about and neatly stacked.

"Welcome to my office. Take a seat, we have to talk." Sienna said as she shut the door, locking it.

I sat on one of the two chairs that lay before the desk as she took her own.

"Alright, we can get down to business. I'll cut to the chase, I want your help." She said, linking her hands together as they lay on her desk.

"Help? What do you mean?" I asked, wondering where this was going.

I felt something was off before. Back when Sienna had just learned I was Grimm, she had looked downtrodden. Even when I told her everything like she asked she still seemed at a loss. That had been understandable, I expected that.

What I hadn't expected however was what happened next. Throughout our whole trip back, that look of loss had disappeared, replaced with something else. Like she had just realized something, it put me on edge. Now however, it seems as though I was about to find out just what she had in mind.

"First, before I continue, I'm going to tell you the truth about the White Fang." She spoke as I listened closer.

"Several years ago our organization used to be completely peaceful. Our leader at the time Ghira had believed that we could make people see reason, that we could earn our equality from the humans by showing that we weren't so different from them. Unfortunately that didn't work out, no one would take us seriously. Time and time again they would just ignore us or worse, kicking us around like dirt." Sienna paused for a moment, reaching into a desk.

I watched as she took out what looked to be a flag of sorts. It had sported the same symbol as the inn token I was given by Kali, perhaps that was why she had it, Ghira had once been leader of the White fang.

"This used to be our symbol, something to rally behind. It was to be a sign of hope for all Faunus." Sienna told as I caught myself for a moment.

Hold on... 'used to'?

"What do you mean by 'used to'." I asked as she gave a serious look.

"It's exactly as I said. We used to use that symbol, we've changed it now. Eventually Ghira stepped down as leader and I had taken position. I'd seen how the world treated us, and I decided to take a new approach. We had tried to be peaceful, we had tried to be understanding and calm, hoping that they would understand. But still they saw us as nothing but a bunch of animals. I decided that if they wouldn't take us seriously when we offered them peace, then we would make them wish they had." Sienna stopped again, this time pulling out another symbol from her desk.

This one was similar to the previous, however it was a deep shade of red and sporting claw marks. It looked much more vicious than the one from before.

"I realized that if we stayed the same, we would only continue to be pushed around. So I decided it would be best if we fought back, to show them that we wouldn't take any more of their shit lying down. We would trash places that treated Faunus poorly, steal things, and generally make examples of places that harmed Faunus in any way." Sienna finished as I began to catch on.

"You became criminals." I said as she gave a slight nod.

"Terrorists is the word most of the people use... but yes." She answered.

"Hold on. From what I've seen everybody here has only been friendly to you, shouldn't there be some people who disagree with your methods?" I asked, confused as to why everybody here seemed fine with this.

"They don't know, we try to keep the people out of our fight. Most of the Faunus here had come to Menagerie to escape the pressures of the other kingdoms. They just wanted to live their lives in peace, away from all the hatred and prejudice." Sienna answered as I nodded.

"So what is it that you want from me then?" I asked, curious as to why she would need my help if she had an entire organization at her beck and call.

Sienna took a darker look as she gave her answer. "Well, things have gotten out of hand for me. Slowly, bit by bit I've been losing my hold of the White Fang. When I first proposed the use of violence it was always in a sort of 'reactionary' way. We would only fight when provoked, wither it by directly or when a business or others would harm Faunus. We would never make the first strike."

I could kind of understand, there was no time to waste starting fights. It would be best to deal with those coming in and those that are ongoing.

"You've been losing your hold? Are you saying someone else is trying to take power?" I asked.

"In a way, it's not so much that they're trying to take power, they just are if that makes any sense. From what I know most of the Fang feel much more...inspired by him, they would rather get their orders from him than me." Sienna told as I gave a look.

"So you believe they might try to get rid of you and put him into power? Who is he anyway?" I asked as Sienna tossed me one of those mini paintings, a photo from what I remember.

"His name is Adam, he's currently working in what I've dubbed the 'Vale branch' of the White Fang. A group of the Fang that carries out operations in the main kingdom of Vale."

"So why not just ask him to say something? Have him tell the others that he is loyal to you?" I asked once more as she shook her head.

"It's not that simple believe me, I'm not quite so sure he's entirely loyal to me anyway. I've been keeping tabs on him and I've learned he's been doing operations behind my back. I don't quite know what he's up to and I don't want to put my only agent there at any more risk." She said as she gave me a look.

"That's where you come in. Adam's been doing missions on his own but I don't know what they are or why, and I'm certain Adam is already suspecting my initial rat. I want to get you out there with him, to see what he's up to." She finished.

"How would I help? Like you said he's already suspicious of the one you've got out there, wouldn't he just suspect me more?" I asked as a feral grin washed across her lips.

"Let's just say Adam is... passionate about the cause. He'll use whatever he can to see it through, no matter what it is. Sure he may be wary of you, but once he sees your abilities in action he won't be able to resist trying to pull you over to his side." Sienna explained as I thought about it, giving her a nod of acceptance.

"Makes sense I suppose, but what would I need to do?" I asked again as Sienna retained her look.

"Simple, I want you to go along with it. Question his reasons every know and then, but ultimately agree to whatever he says. We need to make it look like he's slowly earning you over. She continued.

"Fine, let's say I go along with this idea of yours. What's in it for me? I have things I need to do as well and you know that." I asked questioningly, I still needed to get back to the kingdom and figure out what happened back at the fight, as well as what was with that woman.

"I can get you to the mainland. The next ship arrives in about a couple months, it also has quite the fee. However I have ships and other transport at my whim, I could get you out of here by tomorrow. In exchange I ask for your help in dealing with Adam, afterwards you are free to do as you please." Sienna told.

I gave a questioning look, still not sure as to what I would choose.

Sienna seemed to understand this as she spoke once more. "Look, I'll be honest with you. If Adam takes control he would launch an all out war on the kingdoms, it'll be a blood bath. I don't want to risk a losing battle like that, the kingdoms would decimate us. All we've ever fought for was equality, not supremacy."

She was right, if there was a war between the White Fang and several kingdoms they would be destroyed. Most rebellions could barely hold their own against one kingdom, let alone several. It would be a death sentence, not to mention putting the Faunus as a whole in a bad light. People were already looking for a reason to hate them, they'd jump at the chance to use something like that as an excuse.

Not much of a choice is it? I couldn't risk it, if a war did happen then our kingdom would inevitably be dragged into it.

"Fine, I'll help you, but only this once. After Adam is dealt with I'm gone." I told as Sienna gave a sigh of relief.

"Thank you" She said as she looked to relax.

"However, there is one thing you need to know. There are only two people in this world who hold command over me, my king and my queen. If I should get word from them at all in any way, I will follow their command without fail. If they tell me to leave, I will leave, understand?" I told as I received a nod from her.

"Yes, I understand. I just don't want Adam to destroy everything we've worked for." She admitted as I took a gentler look.

"I'll do what I can to help deal with Adam, I just wanted to warn you. In our kingdom loyalty is a major part of our lives. If you're not true to your word, then what are you?" I told as she rose from her seat.

"Well now that that's settled, it's time to get to work." Sienna said as she sifted around one of the cabinets.

She grabbed something from inside before walking over, handing me something. I observed it before posing my question to her.

"What's this?" I watched as she gave me another look.

"It's... a scroll, you've never seen one before?" Sienna asked as I shook my head.

She pressed in on a small bump along it as it split apart, a sort of ghostly paper extended between the white piece of metal as it split apart.

"This button here opens it up, you can turn it off again by either pressing it again or just pushing the two sides back together." She told as she pressed the button, the ends closing in on themselves.

"What does it do?" I asked as she took another out, this time from a pouch in her clothes.

"It'll let you send messages to me, as well as call me." She answered.

"Call you?" I asked, wondering how this bit of metal could catch her attention. Did it make a loud noise perhaps.

"It's like... well, here let me show you." Sienna spoke as she opened her scroll.

This time she looked to be touching the ghost paper a few times before stopping. I then found myself startled as my own scroll started to buzz and shake in my hand. She motioned to the button she showed me before. I got the message and pressed it, watching as it opened up.

This time however the paper was different. Instead of the mini pictures and unknown text that lay across it before, I was met with a small picture of Sienna's face. There was a word below it, her name in this text presumably, as well as two colored spots. One was green and the other red.

"Touch the green button." Sienna said, to which I did.

The colored spots disappeared as only Sienna's picture remained.

"Hello." Sienna spoke, catching me off guard.

Her voice had not only come from her, but out of the scroll in my hand as well. I looked in wonder at the tiny device, leaning in to give a whisper of my own.

"Hello?" I spoke quietly into it as Sienna gave a slight laugh.

"See? this'll let us communicate with each other across long distances." She said as I began to realize the true implications of the device.

This tiny thing could revolutionize communication. No longer would they need to send carrier birds or couriers to deliver info at the risk of interception. This 'scroll' as it were would allow them to talk from anywhere.

Wait... this is too good to be true, what's the catch? I thought as I turned to Sienna.

"Are there any limits to this that I should know?"

"Aside from keeping it charged... you know what, we can deal with that later. Right now we need to get you set up." She said as she made to the hallway with me in tow once again.

I followed her along and back out to the throne room as she called for one of the two guards.

"Spread the word to transport, have a ship ready by tomorrow. I'm assigning our newest member here to the Vale branch, he'll be working under Adam's guidance." She told them as they gave a salute and went off.

We left once again, this time ending up in a much larger room. It looked to be filled with equipment, clothing and weapons all about. I watched as she took what looked to be a single pauldron from a pile of things to the side. It was a solid black and sporting the new White Fang logo. Sienna gave it to me as I slipped it up my right arm and onto my shoulder, securing it in place.

"Here, this'll let the others know you're one of us." She said as I gave a questioning look.

"Shouldn't I have a mask like the others?" I asked as she shook her head.

"The mask is to hide our identities, so we could blend back into society for when we're not fighting. You stick out like a sore thumb so it would be useless. Just stick with Adam and the Fang at their hideouts and don't go wandering around, alright?" She told as I gave a nod.

I watched as Sienna took a quick glance around, turning back to me.

"Now, I want you to bring up your Grimm armor for just a moment." She asked as I gave a confused look.

Regardless I did as she asked, feeling the warmth across my body as it made itself known. Sienna gave me a look over, a smile slipping across her face as she looked to my shoulder, the one with the pauldron. I turned my head to see that the piece was still there, my bone plates hadn't formed over it. I could see as it remained there, exposed and sporting the White Fang logo.

"Just as I thought, your armor only covers your exposed skin. You don't need to worry about removing the mark each time. You can change back now." Sienna said as I let it fade away.

I felt a small wave of fatigue wash over me as the armor left, my skin returning to it's pale white. From what I could tell I was left with a sort of energy loss after using it, I'd need to be careful. If I get too carried away I could get myself into some serious trouble.

"Alright, now that that's settled away let me show you how to use that scroll. Afterwards I'll give you a rundown on how things work around here." Sienna said as I took out the scroll once more.

This is going to be quite the hassle, isn't it?

Authors note's

...

Early update once again, I've learned to just accept it at this point. But hey, we're finally getting off of Menagerie right, that's exciting!

Now we get to start introducing more of the cast. However that doesn't mean the end of Sienna, oh no! I've still got things for her don't worry. She'll just spend a bit of time in the background, we'll still get her perspective every now and then.

Anyway I hope you liked this chapter, see you again Friday!