In the eternal words of Russell Casse:

HELLO BOYS! I'M BAAAAAACK!

"Mirror Mirror, I need to see, the one who belongs next to me." Salem stared at her jagged, crystalline mirror as she sat alone in her throne room. While she knew there was no need to rhyme, she found it aesthetically suitable to do so. The lack of a reaction from the room around her made her recall why she was alone. Tyrian was in the battle hall, testing her Grimm. Hazel was in his room, sleeping more than likely.

She had sent Watts away on an important mission, to meet up with Envy. The Queen of Grimm lightly rolled her eyes as she mentally corrected herself. "To meet with Cinder." The young girl had not successfully hacked the CCT, and so she had Watts go to Beacon in order to 'increase' their digital security.

Salem smiled briefly, recalling that Lust and Gluttony were also out in the field, following her orders. The smile disappeared when she noticed the silence of the room. Salem couldn't believe that after everything she had been through, loneliness would sting the most. She returned her gaze to her corrupted mirror, which had yet to show her what she wanted.

"What was it Watts always said…?" Salem wondered, staring at the extremely blurred image. "Ah, yes. No matter how advanced the technology, if it's not working, just whack it a few times." She recounted her subordinates words, and then followed them through.

She smacked the mirror against her table of dark crystal, and the picture cleared. "So you didn't know about this?" A voice came through the mirror.

"I already told ya, I didn't know you were part of it." A gruffer voice responded. Salem's eyes widened, recognising the second voice. The mirror showed what appeared to be a set of doors, and the Queen wondered where the man she sought was.

"The mirror is supposed to show the reflection of the closest reflective surface, why can I not see him." She thought with a scowl, staring at the unmoving grey doors.

"I know. I'm just, concerned. If I'm involved in anything, it probably won't go well." The first voice said. His words caused the second to chuckle.

"You're scared?"

"I ain't scared o' shit. Except a wooden spoon." The image on the mirror shivered. "And for good reason."

"A wooden spoon? You told me you kicked a dozen White Fang members last night, but a wooden spoon scares you?" The second voice came again. The view of the mirror shifted slightly and allowed Salem to catch the chin of Qrow Branwen.

"Damn straight." The view turned back to the same silver doors. "How much longer until we hit Ozpin's office?"

Salem's eyes widened in distress. Ozpin would definitely be able to tell that she was communicating, or attempting to communicate with her Wrath. She brought a hand up and held it before the mirror.

"Farewell, my King piece."

...

"You say something?" Crue asked Qrow, glancing up at the hunter. Qrow let out an indistinguishable grunt, which the Faunus took as a no. He shrugged, and faced the elevator doors once more.

"Did he tell you where you were going?" Crue asked.

Qrow let out an audible sigh. "Kid, I know there's no such thing as a stupid question, but c'mon. I told you everything I know."

"Right, right. Just, hope my bad luck doesn't feck us over." Crue sighed, hands in his pockets. Qrow stared at the boy, red eyes wide. He was about to say something, when the elevator dinged open.

Both males eyes looked to the now open door, and Crue felt his eyes turn to pinpricks.

"Why is he here?!" Two males shouted at the exact same time. Crue strode out of the elevator meeting the other man halfway. Crue and Cardin glared at each other, neither backing down from their staring match.

"Because you and Cardin do not see eye to eye, aside from right now." Came Ozpins ever wise voice. The males broke eye contact, and stared at their headmaster. The rest of Team CRDL were stood by the desk, with Professor Goodwitch on the other side.

"Qrow, Crue, how nice of you to join us." The blonde woman said. The Faunus, as well as the Faunus hater, walked towards the headmaster, Cardin standing beside his group, and Crue standing a bit away.

"This is what you called me in for Oz?" Qrow called, waltzing up to stand beside Crue.

"Correct." The headmaster replied. He intertwined his fingers and turned his attention to his students. "Gentlemen, you are here with Professor Branwen for your mission."

"We're what?!" The students cried out, Crue in particular.

"You mean the mission we chose before the Breach?" Dove clarified.

"Yes, you have yet to go on your mission, and that is why this Huntsman is here." Ozpin told them all.

"But I went on mine!" Crue complained.

"No, you did not." Goodwitch sighed, as Ozpin began to smile. The Faunus turned to the deputy with a pleading look, not that she could see correctly with his glasses. "As Ozpin stated roughly two weeks ago, you were never officially a student until you completed the initiation."

Crue's face fell, as Ozpin smiled and continued. "Yes, and as you had originally gone to Mountain Glenn with Doctor Oobleck without being an official huntsman in training, you were simply tagging along for the ride."

"I'm going to kill you." Crue said, with the utmost seriousness. The tone he used made even Goodwitch grip her crop a little more tightly.

"Ah yes, through inaction was it?" Ozpin smiled, hazel eyes glancing over to Qrow, who looked at his companion in surprise.

"Never heard a student threaten to kill the headmaster before. Even back in my day, no one's that ballsy." He nodded.

"Thanks." Crue said shortly.

"Wasn't a compliment."

"Didn't take it as one."

Qrow let out a deep chuckle. "I like this one."

Glynda let out a sigh, as Ozpin smirked. "Either way, CRDL and Crue are going to the nearby town of Mentis. Think of it as both your mission, and a bonding exercise."

"Bonding exercise?" Crue and Cardin repeated at the same time, with the same tone.

"Correct." The headmaster nodded. "As I have noticed, the two of you have quite the opposing mind set."

"That, is because he's a racist. Against my race." Crue enunciated angrily.

Qrow turned to Cardin with a raised eyebrow. "You let racists into your school Oz?"

The team leader growled as he refused to look the hunter in the eye. "Mr. Winchester has certain, negative qualities about him yes." Ozpin nodded. "But I believe he will be able overcome those problems."

Cardin let out a short, dry laugh. "Not if I'm with this jerk. He's proving everything I already believe."

The other members of CRDL glanced at each other, then over at Crue. The Faunus glared at them, though the action went unseen thanks to his glasses.

"So basically, you're sending a Faunus, and a racist, to a town, with me?" Qrow clarified with Ozpin.

"Correct."

Every male there sighed, minus the one who was smirking in his chair. Mimicking each other's actions exactly, Qrow and Crue both took an arm, reached into their dress shirt, extracted a hip flask and drank at the same time.

"Oh dear lord. He's another Qrow." Goodwitch's eyes widened as she realised the similarities between the two males before her.

Qrow and Crue glanced to each other, while they still had their flasks to their lips. "What's in yours?" The Faunus asked.

"Whiskey. Yours?" The elder hunter responded.

"Rum. Trade?"

"Maybe when you earn it." Qrow chuckled, pocketing his flask. Crue did the same, turning back to his teachers.

"And only now do I realise I just drank in front of Ms. Goodwitch." Crue's eyes widened in realisation, as he took a few steps towards an open window.

"Yes, I wondered when that would connect within your mind." The blonde deputy gripped her riding crop, beginning to raise it, a purple glow emanating from the tip of it. Crue felt something from inside his shirt try to force itself out, and realised what it was Goodwitch was trying to do.

Crue's hand gripped where his heart, and his hip flask, were situated. "You can pry my drink from my cold dead hands." The Faunus warned. The momentary surprise that the threat caused the deputy was enough for Crue to free his alcohol from the telekinetic grip.

"Mr. Cullen. You are not allowed to drink alcohol on school premises." Ozpin said to the Faunus.

Crue said nothing, but gestured to Qrow. As the eyes landed on the huntsman, who looked as though he was just thrown under a bus, Crue took the opportunity to down the rest of his drink.

Qrow's expression went from peeved to impressed, as the others, all focusing on him, hadn't noticed the action. Instead of outing him, he turned to Ozpin. "I really, like this one."

They turned back to Crue, who was smirking, and holding his flask upside down, shaking it lightly. "Well, Ozpin. As you can see, there is no alcohol on the school premises."

Goodwitch began to shake in fury, whereas Ozpin chuckled. "I suppose you are correct."

Glynda glared at her employer, who conveniently avoided her gaze. "Now, get to bed and rest. You have a big day this week."

"It's this week?" Crue complained. "I only found out about this today."

"Yes, what a shame that is. Perhaps if someone had been a bit more polite when they talked about coffee they would have been given more warning." The grey haired man said dismissively.

Crue's eye twitched. "Tea is better." He said shortly. Both Goodwitch and Qrow inhaled deeply, the latter biting his knuckle as he waited for Ozpin's reaction. The headmaster showed no sliver of emotion.

"That is your opinion. Now, if you and team CRDL could kindly leave my office to prepare for the outing in two days." Ozpin said calmly, gesturing to the elevator doors, which opened as they were pointed at.

"Creepy…" Crue heard Dove mutter. The team made their way to the elevator, Crue following shortly after. The Faunus stopped, realising he would be stuck in an enclosed space with Cardin. He spun on his heel and headed towards a window.

"I'm taking the shorter route." He told Ozpin, as he opened the window and jumped. Qrow coughed up some of what he had been drinking, looking to Ozpin with wide eyes.

The headmaster sat in his chair, calm as ever, sipping his coffee. "You really aren't gonna react to the fact one of your students just jumped out the window?"

Ozpin shrugged indifferently. "He has done it before. He's still learning to control his Semblance. He should be fine."

"Should be?" Qrow repeated. He felt a buzz in his pocket, and took out his scroll. He had received a message from Crue, which simply read: "Still alive".

"Ok, now that I know he's alive." Qrow pocketed his scroll and faced his employer with a serious gaze. "What did you actually call me in for, Oz?"

…

"Why is he here? And why I am going on another mission?" Crue questioned, staring at the sky as he leaned against the wall of the tower. "This makes no damn sense." He groaned, rubbing his eyes under his glasses.

"You talk to yourself a lot?" Crue heard a voice call. He turned, seeing Cardin exiting the building along with his teammates. The Faunus frowned, seeing the bully's cocky smirk.

"Have to. Only way to be sure of intelligent conversation around here." Crue shot back, seeing Cardin's smirk disappearing immediately. He heard a snigger, and saw Sky covering his mouth.

The bully glared at his teammate, before storming off to the dorms, leaving the four males on their own. "Why do you follow him?" Crue asked the three students.

"He's our leader." Russel answered. "Kinda have to."

Crue sighed, shaking his head. "Why do you do nothing but piss him off?" Dove asked the Faunus, with only a slight annoyance in his tone.

" 'Swhat I do best." Crue shrugged. "When he stops being a racist, I'll stop pissing him off." He thought for a moment. "Intentionally."

"You're, uh," Russel began to speak. "You're cool with us though? Right?"

"Eh." Crue waved his hand side to side. "Depends. Do you hate me?"

"We hate you cause you're kind of a dick." Sky said. "Not cause you're a Faunus." Crue smirked and clicked his fingers, pointing at Sky.

"That's the reasoning I like to hear."

"I'm actually cool with you." Russell raised a hand. "I like your taste in music." Crue blinked briefly, before smiling.

"Nice to see someone who appreciates the good things in life." The Faunus stood straight from wall of the tower and twisted his back, popping a few joints. "I'm gonna get some last minute training in. If Cardin wants to fight me, I'll be at the arena."

He began walking to amphitheatre, planning to grab his hurley and see if anyone wanted to spar. He quickly remembered the weight missing from his forearms and took out his scroll. "Did I leave my claws at the club?" He sent the text to Junior, and hoped that none of the others had not somehow gotten a hold of his lesser known weapons.

"And my tie. Still don't know where that is." The Faunus scratched at his collar, the piece of fabric that was usually tied around there missing, and causing him to feel uncomfortable at the lack of familiarity.

As he neared the amphitheatre, his ears twitched, picking up the sounds of a spar already underway. "Wonder who it is." Crue muttered, scratching his ear as he entered the large building. He entered through the doors that were closest to the seats, not wanting to be accidentally attacked should he go in the wrong door.

"Oh, there they are." Crue blinked, seeing the members of Team SSSN, as well as Jaune and Ren all holding their heads in their hands as they stared at the ground. In the arena itself, Ruby and Nora were fighting, the reaper doing quite well.

The other members of RWBY along with Pyrrha were sitting closer to the action, watching the battle unfold. Crue took a seat on the same row as the males. "Gentlemen." He greeted.

The row of heads turned instantly, and then proceeded to groan at the sudden shift in perspective. Crue shook his head, before taking out his pocket watch and checking the time. "Jeez, its one o'clock and you're still hungover. I'd say you must've drank more than me but…"

Jaune, who was sat closest to Crue, turned his head slowly to stare at the boy. "You are not human."

"Damn right. I'm Faunus." The Wolf Faunus smirked. Jaune groaned, and Crue was fairly certain he heard Sun chuckle. "I figured Ren would be ok, seeing as he was up when I was."

"The hangover hit me on the Bullhead. It was not pretty." The ninja explained. Crue leaned forward a bit to meet the raven haired boys magenta eyes. Said eyes were bloodshot as all Hell. Crue winced and took off his glasses.

"Here. You need these more than I do." He handed Ren the shades, the boy taking them gratefully and used them to hide his hangover. Crue turned his attention back to the fight, which was wrapping up.

While Ruby had her speed, she did not have much stamina. Nora's grenades littered the arena floor, blowing up the area around the reaper. Ruby skid to a halt many times, eyes widening as she quickly backpedalled and changed direction, only to be faced with another explosion.

A short while later, a buzzer sounded, indicating that Ruby was below the Aura limit. "Huh, Ruby lost. I don't think I've ever seen that happening." The brunette looked rather upset about the loss, but still picked herself up.

Nora bounded over to help her up, grabbing the younger girl under her arm and lifting her to her feet. The Valkyrie said something that Crue could not make out, but whatever it was, it made Ruby smile and nod her head determinedly.

Crue smiled, seeing Ruby feeling better. He wondered if he'd be able to get a spar with anyone, seeing as the boys were all out for the count, and there was an even number of girls.

"CRUE!" The Faunus, as well as the rest of the males, winced at the sudden shout. Crue looked to the arena, seeing a burst of rose petals where Ruby had previously been.

"Uh oh." Was all Crue was able to say, before he was unceremoniously tackled from his seated position and thrown onto the floor. He blinked a few times, seeing silver eyes looking down on him. "Hi." He groaned.

"Where have you been?" The leader tried to put on a professional tone, but failed rather miserably. Not too long after he had been tackled, the other females all made their way over to him, Yang picking him up from Ruby's grasp.

"Thanks." The Faunus groaned out.

"Don't mention it." Yang nodded, walking towards the arena, Crue still in her grasp.

"Uh, Yang?" Blake called after her teammate.

"Crue's here to spar, right?" The blonde turned to the male she was holding. Crue nodded uncertainly. "Well, then I'm happy to spar. After all, we still have to make up for that match that apparently had a handicap."

Crue turned pale, as he realised what exactly was going on. "W-When I said spar, I meant spar. Not a DeathBattle!"

"Shame." Yang chuckled as she chucked Crue towards the locker room so that he could grab his weapon. Crue landed on his feet and stumbled into the door, a loud 'CRACK' echoing through the arena.

"…Was that from the door or your nose?" Yang called.

"Probably both." Crue growled back, cupping his nose as he entered the room. The Faunus groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose, walking next to the row of lockers to get to his own.

"0. 3. 1. 3." Crue muttered, tapping the code in without looking. His locker swung open, revealing Setanta, its blue metal shining against the bright lights of the locker room. "I hate that day." He frowned, grabbing the hurl.

He swung it once in a circle, before gripping it tight and walking back to the arena. He sniffed once, the whack of the door still making his head ring. "Feels weird not wearing my glasses." Crue thought, scratching at the side of his head, a place usually covered by his sunglasses.

Crue entered the arena, hurl resting on his shoulder. "Whoo! There he is, the Wolf that can outdrink my uncle, according to the testimony of the hungover." Yang announced, smiling widely. Crue couldn't help but smirk at his words.

"Bring that up with your uncle and see how he feels." Crue chuckled.

"Wait. Do you know Qrow?" Yang lowered her arms in confusion. Crue sighed and shook his head.

"Are we talking or fighting?" He questioned. Yang blinked, before shaking her blonde hair and bringing her arms back up.

"Right. Need to keep my winning streak." The blondes smile widened. Crue rolled his eyes in response. "Hey! I saw that!" Yang called, causing Crue to freeze as he remembered that he wasn't wearing those glasses.

"Reeen." Crue called. "Gonna need those back in a bit." The ninja groaned in response, while having his back rubbed by Nora. Similarly, Pyrrha was rubbing Jaune's back, the yellow knight a rather concerning shade of green.

Crue turned his attention back to Yang. "Kinda have mixed feelings about wanting to win this one." He thought as he took a stance, gripping his hurl with both hands. A small countdown started, as both Yang and Crue's profiles popped up.

The 'ding' that signalled the start of the battle sounded, and both blondes rushed forward. Crue shifted his hurl into its sword form and raised it high above his head with both arms. The Faunus was about to let out a battle cry, when he felt a train hit him in the gut.

It may as well have been a train for all the force Yang put into the punch. With an added shotgun blast for extra kick, Crue was sent flying backwards. The Faunus landed on his back and skid a fair distance on the ground.

Crue lay blinking on the ground, his sword still held above him. "What… just happened?" The Faunus didn't move, focusing on his hands gripping the sword, and realised something.

"Uh, Crue? You ok?" Yang called unsurely. The boy sat up, still staring at the sword.

"I… don't know how to use this." Crue answered. Yang's lilac eyes blinked, and she held up a hand to Weiss. The heiress, who was in control of the battle settings, quickly pushed a few buttons on her scroll.

Both Yang and Crue's profiles turned grey and moved backward on the screen, the words 'MATCH PAUSED' flashing up in red. The strange occurrence was enough to get the rest of Team RWBY down onto the arena floor to wonder what was going on.

"What's going on?" Ruby asked.

"Crue doesn't remember how to fight." Yang explained. The girls expressions became more confused, as they turned to the Faunus. Crue wore a blank look as he stared at his sword.

"I don't remember how to use a sword." Crue corrected. "I don't know how to use a sword." He repeated.

"But, what about all the fights you had before? You were able to use a sword in those." Blake commented. "What's different now?" She asked.

Crue wondered that himself. "I- I don't know." He put his hand against his head, feeling a headache coming on. His eyes widened as he realised something. "Glasses."

"What?" Weiss asked in confusion.

"My glasses. I-I'm not wearing my glasses." Crue's eyes landed on a certain ninja up in the stands, who was wearing said glasses. "They must have a purpose or something."

"You think that if you put your glasses on, you'll know how to use a sword?" Blake asked. After hearing how strange the statement sounded out loud, Crue grabbed his arm with his hand and looked away.

The four girls blinked in surprise, never before seeing the boy act so… aloof. "Y-Yeah, you're right. It's a stupid idea. I'll just, fight without knowing how to use a sword."

"Is there anything you know how to use?" Yang asked. Crue thought for a moment, before staring down at his sword. He pressed a button, and it shifted back into its hurley form.

"I know how to use this. A-And my fists, I guess." The Faunus answered. Yang frowned, not particularly wanting to fight Crue if he didn't know how to use the other half of his weapon, seeing it as a handicap.

"Maybe we should call off the spar." Yang offered. The suggestion made her teammates eyes go wide in shock.

"No." Crue shook his head. "I'm gonna have to do this, sword or no sword." He sighed looking at his metal hurl. "Just, go easy on me?" He smiled awkwardly, making his way back to his starting place. Yang frowned, but did the same.

The other three girls made their way back up to the stands, Weiss starting up the battle once more. With trembling knees, Crue readied himself for the battle. "Why?! Why can't I fight?!" The Faunus' grip on the weapon tightened as the countdown neared zero.

Yang started the battle by firing off a single shotgun blast. Crue shook as it approached, before swinging his hurl and batting it away. The blast swung off into wall, not landing anywhere near Yang. The blonde shot another blast off, and started moving toward Crue.

Crue dodged the blast by scrambling to the side. He flipped his hurl around and took aim at Yang, the blonde momentarily freezing. Crue fired, and missed. And then he fired again. And he missed. And he missed again. And then he fired. And he missed. And then he fired. And then he fired. And he missed both times.

Yang, on the other hand, shot two blasts towards Crue, both of them hitting him in the torso. The two blasts knocked his Aura down to the yellow, the Faunus grunting out in pain. Yang winced lightly, but Crue held up a hand to wave off her worry.

"I just have to… pretend its hurling." Crue looked up to Yang, the brawlers lilac eyes laced with worry. Crue closed his own eyes, and took a deep breath, concentrating on the game he loved to play back in his world.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Yang wearing a helmet with a metal grid in front of her face. Her clothing had changed to that of a yellow and black jersey with her symbol over her heart. And in her right hand, Yang held a sliotar.

"Get the ball." Crue focused on Yang, as he gripped his hurl, and sped towards the blonde. Yang's eyes widened as she backpedalled away from a swing that was aimed at her hand. She briefly wondered what had gotten into Crue, before shaking the thought away and focusing on the fight.

Crue swung his hurl once more, getting Yang to duck. The blonde threw out a punch to Crue's stomach, causing the Faunus to cough up spit. To Yang's surprise, Crue brought an elbow down on his opponents head, sending her crashing into the floor.

Crue backed up immediately, an imaginary ball in his hand. He blinked, and Yang was back in her usual outfit. Crue swapped his hurl around and held the trigger down, as he waited for Yang to get back up.

Crue caught the Dust sliotar with his gloved hand, tossing it up and down to get a feel for it. Yang got back to her feet, her eyes flickering red. "I thought you didn't know how to fight!" She called out, annoyed at the Faunus.

"I don't know how to use a sword. I know how to use this." He held his hurley aloft. "Thanks for going easy on me."

"Yeah, I'm a real saint." Yang said sarcastically, before firing off a shotgun blast towards Crue. Steely blue eyes widened, as he dodged the blast. Yang shot continuous blasts, Crue moving at awkward angles to avoid getting hit.

While Crue was playing a rather deadly game of dodgeball, the other members of team RWBY were huddled together and talking. "Why can't he fight without the glasses?" Weiss wondered.

Blake, who recalled trying on the glasses, thought of an answer. "Have you ever heard of a magic feather?" She asked.

"What do birds have to do with this?" Ruby asked, tilting her head.

"It's not an actual feather." Blake deadpanned. "It's a term for an item that helps a character do, something. Fly, win… fight." The other two females eyes widened as they looked at their well-read Faunus teammate.

"You think the glasses are magic?" Weiss asked suspiciously. Blake shook her head.

"No, a magic feather isn't actually magic. But the person who's using it thinks it is and therefore it helps them win." The raven haired girl explained. "I read about it in a story about a flying Goliath." The other two blinked.

"I remember reading that." Ruby recalled. "Jumbo, right?"

"That's the one." Blake nodded. Weiss still looked between her two teammates with confusion.

"What?" The heiress asked in confusion.

"It's an old children's tale. One that was supposed to make us think of Grimm of less terrifying." Blake explained. "But, the point is, maybe Crue only thinks he can fight with the glasses because he's always been wearing them."

"But, what about that time he took on all of CRDL? His glasses fell off then, didn't they?" Ruby pointed out. Weiss and Blake nodded, before the heiress spoke up.

"Yes, but after his glasses fell, he used Russel as an impromptu weapon. Then, instead of using his hurl against Cardin, he threw it in the air to distract him." Weiss recalled the battle.

"What about the Breach? I think they fell off there." Ruby tried.

"He didn't use his sword during that." Blake told her leader. "At the start, he was just shooting and using his hurl. He wasn't really going for accuracy with the gun, so I guess he didn't notice."

The three girls huddled together as Crue continued dodging Yang's blasts, the only thing he could actually do at the moment. "Thank God I was good at dodgeball!" Crue thought as he leaped away from another blast.

"Crue, I get you can't fight any more for some reason." Yang called. "But you aren't gonna learn anything if you keep dodging." The Faunus' grip on his weapon tightened at her words. The blonde sent another blast rocketing towards Crue.

"Guess you're right." Crue murmured, as he swung his hurl at full force, connecting with the shotgun blast. The blast was sent spinning back towards Yang, changing from red to blue as it spun in the air.

Yang's lilac eyes widened, as she ducked under the blast. The blue blast exploded behind Yang, causing a small bit of damage to her Aura. Yang looked up to Crue with a small smirk. "Lucky shot."

Crue smiled back. "Yeah, let's hope the luck keeps up." Crue's grip on the Dust ball tightening as he tossed it in the air, and brought his hurl back. The hurl connected with the ball, and sent it hurdling towards Yang.

Instead of hitting the brawler as Yang expected, it hit the ground just before her, exploding in a shower of debris. Yang positioned her arms in a cross across her face to prevent any serious damage. She cracked open an eye, and her instincts kicked in, her eyes turning red.

Yang crouched down, and Crue's hurl went soaring over her head. The brawler followed up the duck with the punches to Crue's stomach, giving the last one an added shotgun blast, sending the Faunus flying backwards.

A buzzer sounded out, and Yang's eyes blinked back to lilac. She looked up to the screen, seeing that Crue's Aura level had fallen into the red, signalling the end of the match. She walked over to the panting Faunus, who was staring at the ceiling angrily.

"Crue? You alright buddy?" She questioned, her hands on her knees as she looked at the boy.

"Peachy." Crue grunted, sitting up and wrapping his arms around his knees. "…why can't I fight?" He spoke softly. He saw a hand enter his vision, so he reached up and grabbed it. Yang pulled the Faunus up to his feet.

"C'mon. Let's get your glasses back on, see if that helps." The blondes made their way back up to the seating area, joining the rest of RWBY.

"Why can I only fight with my glasses?" Crue wondered as he sat down. "Is there something different? It's not like I suddenly become smarter when I wear them or something." As he waited, he saw the subject of his confliction appear before him.

"Here, Crue. You can wear your glasses now." Ruby handed the object tentatively to the Faunus. Crue took them and stared at his reflection, not putting them on. "Aren't you gonna put them on?"

"If I put them on, I fight without knowing how. That means, that somehow, you're controlling me with these." Crue's grip on the glasses tightened, as he folded it and hung it on his waist coat. "No." He shook his head.

"Wha? But, you said you can't fight without them!" Weiss exclaimed, looking at Crue like he was mad.

"Exactly!" The Faunus stated. "I can't fight without these!" He gestured to the glasses, before his hand fell to the side. "That means… That means I have to learn how to fight." His head fell, as he stared at the ground.

The others all looked at each other solemnly. "We'll teach you." Crue looked up to see Ruby's bright silver eyes staring at him. "We'll help you learn how to fight. Right guys?" The leader looked to her teammates hopefully.

"Yeah!" Yang threw a fist into the air. "We're not letting you lose your skill just because you aren't wearing glasses."

"Letting someone in Beacon be here, without proper training, well that just isn't right." Weiss said adamantly.

"You're our friend, Crue. Of course we'll help you." Blake smiled at her fellow Faunus.

Crue felt liquid build up behind his eyes, so he forced it back. "You guys are terrible? You know that?" He laughed, rubbing his eye with his knuckle.

"Yeah. We're the worst." Ruby smiled, as she hugged Crue, prompting the others to do the same. It also prompted another person to join in on the hug.

"GROUP HUG!" Nora exclaimed, practically tackling the group as she hugged them. The males that were hungover winced at the sudden shout, covering their ears and groaning. Pyrrha looked sympathetically at Jaune, before joining the others.

"Why the hug?" She asked politely.

"We're gonna be training Crue." Ruby smiled, before she gasped and broke the hug, rushing over to Pyrrha in a flurry of rose petals. "Pyrrha! Do you think you can help us train him?"

The four time champion of the Mistral Regionals leaned back in surprise, her emerald eyes darting over to Crue, and then to Jaune. "I think she's got her hands full with training." Crue commented.

The redhead looked to Crue in confusion and slight fear. "What do you mean Crue?" Weiss asked. The Faunus realised that the others did not know about Jaune's training with Pyrrha. And that he himself shouldn't know.

"I-I mean, look at her. She's Pyrrha Nikos." Crue gestured a hand to the Spartan, causing the group to look at her. "She's probably got people constantly asking her to train them. If someone saw her training me they could accuse her of, I don't know. Favouritism or something."

"Y-Yes." Pyrrha agreed. "Though if you picked a discreet time I would not mind. I would prefer to choose the time, if that's alright with you." Emerald met steely blue, as Crue sensed a hidden question behind the request.

"Yeah. That's fine." He smiled. "I'll take any help I can get, at any time." The others seemed surprised at his statement, but did not comment on it.

"I will design the training schedule, we can all take turns training him, and perhaps even bring in Jaune and Ren." Weiss decided, before her eyes fell on the hunched figures of SSSN. "I'm sure they can help as well."

"This is… I…" Crue sighed, not being able to find the words. "Thank you. All of you." He said with a smile. His eyes suddenly shot open as he remembered something. "Uhh, how much training could we get done in like, two days?"

"Very little." Blake said with a raised eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because, I kinda have to go on another mission." There was an instant chorus of "WHAT!?" which was repeated when Crue mentioned: "It's going to be with CRDL."

"Why do you have to go on another mission? With CRDL!?" Blake exclaimed, her usually calm demeanour broken by the information.

"Because Ozpin is a fecking Troll." Crue rubbed his head. "You know how I 'wasn't an official Beacon Student' until I completed the initiation?" The six girls before him nodded. "Yeah, that also means the mission I went on didn't count."

"Ohhh." The group before him said. "It makes, sense in a way." Pyrrha thought.

"I know. Which is why I hate it." Crue complained. "Not like I can go against him." While the others assumed that Crue was speaking about Ozpin, in reality he was talking about another person could not defy easily.

"So who's training him first?" Yang asked the group.

"Dibs!" Ruby cried, her hand shooting in the air. When the others turned to look at her, the hand lowered slowly. "What? It was my idea."

"Yes, but what could you teach him? You use a scythe, Crue uses a sword." Weiss questioned, gesturing to Myrnaster that was attached to her hip.

"It's also a high impact, customisable sniper rifle." Ruby folded her arms and nodded to Weiss. "Which is what I was going to teach him. How to shoot. You saw how often he missed when he was fighting Yang."

Crue's expression fell at that. "Oh! Sorry Crue! I didn't mean-"

"It's fine Ruby." The Faunus cut across her with a wave of his hand, a comforting smile on his face. "You're not wrong. I'll be happy to train under you."

Ruby's eye lit up at the prospect, a wide smile growing across her face. "Yes! Don't worry Crue! By the time I'm finished with you, you'll be able to hit the wings off a fly."

"Instead of not being able to hit the broadside of a barn." Yang chuckled. "Ow." Her ear was tugged by Weiss, who looked upon the blonde sternly.

"Don't be rude. You agreed to help too. Now come on. We have to discuss the training schedule while Crue trains with Ruby." The heiress instructed, pulling Weiss by the ear as the others followed, leaving the two that would be training to themselves.

Along with six hungover males. "Maybe we should go somewhere else so that we don't disturb them while we're practicing." Ruby thought.

"They should be fine." Crue hoped. "Let's just get down and start this up." The Faunus headed down to the arena, Ruby following right after, her weapon tucked behind her cloak.

"Ok, so first, show me Setanta." Ruby requested. Crue looked at his hurl, and then back to Ruby.

"Can I see Crescent Rose?" He questioned. Ruby instantly gripped her weapon tighter, holding it close to her. "You don't have to if you don't want to." Crue reassured her.

The reaper relaxed slightly, before handing her weapon to Crue. "It's folded up right now, I wouldn't really recommend turning it into its scythe form." Crue nodded, giving his weapon to Ruby.

The leader took the weapon and looked down its sights. The handled of the hurley doubled as a pair of iron sights, which Ruby thought was a good idea, but also not good for distance shooting. "It's so small." She murmured, comparing it to her own weapon.

'BANG'

Ruby turned, seeing Crue lying a fair distance away from her on his back, the barrel of Crescent Rose smoking. "Ow…" The Faunus murmured. Ruby sighed lightly, lowering Crue's weapon.

"This… may take a while."

About. Fucking. TIME.

That's probably what you're all thinking right? I agree. Writers block hit me like a damn truck I'll be honest. I thought I'd be able to write a bit in Barcelona. I was mistaken. But hey, it's hear now. And a bit more plot develops.

Crue needs to go to a nearby town with Qrow and CRDL. That is going to be fun. Qrow will probably spend most of that trip drunk so he doesn't have to deal with the shit that will go on between Cardin and Crue.

Or will there be shit? Considering how Crue's personality has suddenly shifted. A lack of fighting ability and a tamer Crue is what's being shown right now. How did this come to be? Will it change? How will Cinder react to this Crue? How will Crue react to this Cinder? Well, maybe we'll find out in the next chapter.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed, leave a review if you did, and as always

Until Next Time

-Friday