Hello all you Boils and Ghouls and welcome to another chapter of The Paradox of Remnant! Sorry for the delay for this chapter; I figured I could go ahead and take a break from writing for a bit but I'm not quitting it just yet. Please bear in mind that I have not done a filler chapter yet, because...

I can't decide on when and how I should start it... I mean I have the actual way of how things line up, but I don't know when it should be and how it should begin...

I know, I'm terrible...

Now, before I move on, I'd like to say thank you all for giving me another chance and I'm going to keep climbing this slope.

Since there are no questions this time around, I think it's about time we got back to the story.

I own nothing but Dichro/Steven and the Kuroto Copy.

)-Legend-(

"Yo!" - Speaking

'Is he an idiot?' - Thinking

"Dearest love," - Reading

"Kaishin no Ippatsu!" - Specials

)-Third Person PoV-(

For how long she stared at her bondmate, looking for any sign that he was lying or going to burst out and say "Surprise, I was joking," Yang couldn't tell... All she knew was that his face had a solemn sense of regret; as if he were delivering news that her sister had passed away unexpectedly. She had no idea when or why, but she eventually started to chuckle. Her chuckling gave way to an odd laughter that grew more manic by the second but then slowed down as she noticed no one was laughing with her. She simply looked to everyone around her before asking, "H-he's serious... isn't he? He-he's telling the truth?" At Ozpin's nod, the blond brawler glared at the dichromatic young man and was about to demand why he hid this from her, her sister, and everyone else until she was interrupted when Qrow put a hand on her shoulder; firmly gripping it as he pointed her attention to him.

"You need to calm down, Firecracker," Qrow said in a warning tone, "Otherwise, you're likely going to repeat what happened when you thought it was a good idea to take a toddler to a shed out in a Grimm-infested forest..." Her face immediately turned ashamed before she looked back to her bondmate apologetically.

"I already know what happened," Dichro said simply, without a trace of lying in his voice, "You were simply looking for your mother. You put yourself and Ruby's life at risk because you used up all your energy just to get there, but I can understand WHY you did it." Her eyes went wide in surprise at hearing this - only her uncle, dad and sister knew about that. She looked to Qrow who shook his head before saying, "Sorry, but I didn't tell him... Turns out Ozpin was telling the truth afterall..."

"Indeed," Ozpin interjected, drinking from his mug for a moment before speaking, "Dichro comes from an alternate reality; one where the world of Remnant is nothing more than a... 'web show', was it?" At Dichro's nod, the headmaster resumed his exposition, "Because of this, he has seen events that have yet to transpire as well as events that would have happened had it not been for his interference."

"I also know things that are currently happening RIGHT now and events that will happen in the immediate future," the Ant Faunus spoke in a matter of fact tone, "I also know, to some extent, WHY your mother left." Yang's eyes went wide at this and was ready to have him tell her when a thought hit her - she knew that he knew events that would have happened... But does that mean it would be safe to even talk about things like that? With that, she shook her head before saying, "You know what... I don't care; I don't care why she left. I just want to find her and talk with her - get to know her even a little."

"Good luck with that -not trying to be rude or anything, but you're the very reason she left, though not intentionally," Dichro said as he held up a hand to stop whatever comment she was about to make, "What I mean is, it's some arse backwards tradition from her and Qrow's old village that she still abides by - she's not really supposed to be in contact with you until she feels you're strong enough to survive on your own. If your life needs to be saved, she will only do so once and that's it. Once she catches wind that you're looking for her, if she hasn't already, she's going to make sure you NEVER find her; but she'll always be able to find you."

This news shocked all, though Ozpin didn't show it as he simply stared at Dichro, but Qrow who simply stared at the midget as he pulled his flask out before popping it open and gulping down some of its contents. Glynda merely glared at the man before turning her attention to Yang in concern for the young student; said student's expression was blank and emotionless even as she sighed, but Dichro could feel she was hurt at hearing this - it wasn't the answer she was wanting or hoping for, but she finally had it... What she does with it now, though, was another story. Still, something was bothering her - quite a few things, in fact. 'I wonder,' she thought to herself, 'does this mean that gadget of his came from his reality as well? And what DOES happen in the future?' Soon enough, she realized that everyone was eyeing her expectantly before she spoke, "Look... I understand you're worried... But... I finally have an answer. It's not a GOOD answer, but it's more than enough for me to stop looking for her." She looked back at Dichro in curiosity as she asked, "Still... What DOES happen in the future? And did that Gizmo of yours come from your reality or something?"

"The GGD..." the Ant Faunus corrected, "And no, it did not come from my reality; but rather another one born from a TV show."

"So a Kamen Rider is supposed to be fake to you as well, huh? And you still didn't answer my first question," the blonde brawler interjected annoyed.

Dichro sighed in exasperation before reluctantly continuing, "It... It's hard to say... During the Battle of Beacon... You found Blake fighting her ex-partner, Adam Taurus, and tried to confront him... But... You wind up losing your arm... and your consciousness... The last time I saw you in the show was..." He stopped, unsure of how to say it... Yang sensed his uncertainty and put a hand on his shoulder as she told him to just blurt it out and get it over with - like pulling off a band-aid. He inhaled deeply before finally saying, "You practically bit off Ruby's head for trying to cheer you up."

The sounds of clockwork gears clicking were all that pervaded the room. Yang, herself, stared in disbelief before shaking her head as she thought, 'Maybe asking what happened wasn't such a good idea after all...' She looked down at the dichromatic young man as she said, "There's no way I'd ever do that," but the uncertainty in her voice was all the adults needed to know she was trying to fool herself. Dichro, however, could feel her own uncertainty and simply shook his head in a negative as he said, "Yang, don't lie to yourself like that... You know that you're just as liable to blow up at Ruby as you are your worst enemy. It was the situation you were put in that caused you to do so, though - a situation that I wish to avert if at all possible." This eased the blonde brawler's mind somewhat, but the uncertainty still remained. Steeling herself, she made a silent vow; 'I swear...' she thought to herself, 'I swear that I will not become that cold - not to Ruby, Dichro, or anyone else unless they deserve it...'

"There's even more," Ozpin finally spoke up, jarring the blonde brawler's thoughts from the prediction her bondmate gave her as he continued, "Do you believe in fairy tales?"

"What, like 'Peekaboo with Fluffy Bunny' or something?" she asked in return. This shocked Dichro, Ozpin and Glynda as the latter professors looked at her uncle for an explanation. 'Wait, Fluffy Bunny's actually a thing in Remnant?!' the Ant faunus wondered in shock. Qrow merely shrugged and said, "Taiyang was a little too overprotective, so I don't doubt that she won't know what you're talking about." With that, the headmaster nodded before turning back to Yang and asking, "Let me rephrase it, then... Do you know the legend of the Four Maidens?"

"Yeah, not word for word," Dichro interrupted a confused Yang, who was going to ask what he was talking about, "but long story short: There was an old man in the woods somewhere - I forget if anyone ever mentioned the place or not - who refused to leave his shack until one year he was visited by four women who came during their respective seasons; spring, summer, fall, and winter, coaxing and encouraging him to come outside and experience the world. When he does, he thanks the women by granting them a boon; their nature powers. That about sum it up?"

Ozpin stood stunned at the crass display towards their folklore and merely blinked a few times before simply saying, "Umm... It's a rather... 'Butchered'... telling of the story... But it suffices..."

"So lemme get this straight..." Yang interjected in a deadpanned expression, "Dichro is from an entirely different world than Remnant, has seen the future of our world, AND that these 'maidens' all of you are talkin' about are real?" Said Ant Faunus nodded as he replied curtly, "Yes. ONE possible future. And more than yes. In fact, there's one underneath the school right now." This little tidbit surprised Yang wholeheartedly as she tried to wrap her head around everything. "Okay... I have to say..." the blonde brawler began as her expression became more exhausted looking, "I can kinda see why you kept all of that a secret - that's a bit of a headache... I need to sit down; or... Lay down..." With that, the poor girl fell flat on her back though somehow still retained consciousness even after hitting the floor and saying, "One of the two, doesn't matter..."

"Well you would have gotten nosy sooner or later," Dichro reasoned as he sat next to her on the floor, "Let's be honest, the bond would have made you suspicious of me if you kept feeling my guilt spike all of a sudden." Yang could only nod in understanding, but her bondmate wasn't done yet. "That aside... I also don't want any rifts between us. We're in this together until the end, Aibou." She chuckled with a small grin on her face as she looked over to him and nodded her appreciation. "Thanks," she said, uncharacteristically quiet. Dichro caught this and smiled as he said, "Just returning the favor; afterall, you didn't HAVE to unlock my aura."

A cough caught the attention of both students' attention as they turned to the source. Qrow gave the two a stern gaze as he spoke up, "While I don't wanna interrupt such a tender moment... We still have bigger issues to deal with..." He pointed at Dichro as he said his next part, "Like how YOU know who it was that attacked the Fall Maiden and how to deal with your training..."

"I'm afraid there's far more at stake than the identity of the Fall Maiden's attacker, Qrow," Ozpin interrupted as he nodded to the young Ant Faunus, who simply nodded back and pulled out the GGD as he and Yang stood up. "He's right, Mr. Qrow..." Dichro started as he held up the device, "This device... It's a LOT more dangerous than you think. Inside the Gashat Gear Dual, or GGD, lies a virus that is more dangerous than all the Grimm in the world combined..." As he explains what the Bugster Virus is capable of, Yang's eyes widen in realization when she remembers her bondmate snapping at Ruby for even trying to touch the device; she knew he was trying to protect her, but she didn't realize just how dangerous the situation her half sister was in really was until now.

"... How I survived using it, I'm not sure to this day, but I do know this; only I can use it without it instantly killing me... That's not to say it won't do so later on," Dichro finished his exposition as he awaited the other two adults' replies. Glynda merely nodded in approval at understanding why he was so protective of it, but, as he took a swig of his flask, it was clear that Qrow was annoyed at the concept of something more dangerous than the Grimm existing and made his opinion verbally known.

"I'm nowhere NEAR drunk enough for this..." the man said as he re-capped his flask, "Listen, the only reason I'm even here is to train you; and to do that, I need to know what you're capable of - as a Huntsman."

"So you're willing to take on the task?" Ozpin queried as he donned a soft smirk on his face. Qrow simply stared at the headmaster with a quirked eyebrow and asked, "After hearing all of that the kid has to go through? He'll be lucky if my training will help him at all. Besides, I still need to see what he's able to do on his own before taking him under my wing." Glynda shook her head before turning to look at Dichro as she said, "I'm afraid it won't be much; he's been trained in a rather intense version of Taiyang's style called 'kickboxing' which is essentially unarmed combat. What's more is he just recently got his weapons today and said that they are still 'incomplete'."

"All the more reason we need him to start using his weapons now; the more options he has to fight with, the better," Qrow explained as he walked over to Dichro and put a hand on the Ant Faunus' head, being that his shoulder was too short to reach, as he said, "See ya outside in a few minutes... I've had enough exposition for one afternoon." With that, he walked into the elevator and rode it down to the bottom floor.

)-First Person PoV-(

I watched as the dusty old crow left the office in concern knowing full well that I was in for a hell of a time. Turning back to Ozpin, I nodded at the headmaster before saying, "If that's all, I think I'll go ahead and leave..." Calling out Yang's name, I turned my attention to her and offered, "If you want, Yang, you can go do whatever you want to get your mind off of this." She hesitated as she opened her mouth to speak before finally allowing the words to form, "I'm actually going to just follow you around... It'd help me out if I did, anyway."

I simply nodded with a small smile before turning towards the elevator.

)-Outside Beacon Tower-(

It didn't take long to reach the tower entrance and leave through the doors when we both noticed Blake walking up to us; or more specifically, me. She waved as she greeted us, "Hey, Dichro; Yang. I was coming here to see if I could find you, but looks like that wasn't really needed. Turns out Weiss and I both had one ribbon each to spare." As she handed a pair of ribbons, one black and one white, I smiled as I realized my luck just barely got better; taking the offered ribbons and unhooking Plague from my belt loop, I wrapped the black ribbin around the shaft a few times before tying it in a knot. With that done, I tied the other end of the ribbon around my left wrist before clipping Plague back to my belt loop and repeating the process with Pestilence and the white ribbon. With both weapons secured, I looked up to see Yang giving me a perplexed look as Blake had intrigue on her face.

"That's... an interesting way of fighting..." Blake noted as she had watched me doing all that work, "Wouldn't bracers work better for keeping the ribbons secured, though? And not to mention a latch of some kind to keep the ribbon secured to your weapons." I simply shrugged saying that if I could get those done, I would - which wasn't a lie. I had every intention of finding something a little more removable for me to use on my weapons, but with no lien and already in debt; as far as I could tell at least, there wasn't much I could do.

"Besides," I began to explain, "I've got a training exercise to get to soon." Blake nodded in understanding before wishing me good luck as she left, with me barely getting a chance to thank her for the ribbon and to tell Weiss I said thanks as well. I looked around and found Qrow waiting by an open area leaning on a lamp post with his arms crossed. I walked over to him with Yang following behind me as I waved at him; his only reaction was to stare at me with a raised eyebrow and only spoke when I was within earshot, "Well took ya long enough. Let's get this going, then - this will be a spar between you and me." I cringed slightly at the thought of having to fight Qrow Branwen himself... He must have noticed this because he shook his head and said, "Don't worry; I'll keep my weapon in its sword form, just try not to be too tense or else... Er... Why do you have ribbons on your wrists?" I merely unclipped Plague and Pestilence from my belt loops and held them aloft, showing the other ends of the ribbons which caused Qrow to smirk. "Oh, that's why," he stated as he drew his weapon and turned it into it's sword form, "Now then... Ready when you are..."

'I am so not ready...' I thought to myself in dismal depression, 'but... Here goes...'

I slammed the blades of the axes together a few times before I stood with my legs slightly spread apart, my left in front of my right, as I held my weapons up close to my chest while my right foot was only touching the ground with the toes. As I got ready to fight, Qrow was already dashing towards me, his sword drawn back for a slash, but he simply went past me to my right and stopped just behind me. As I turned and tried to block with Pestilence, he made an upward slash at my back that connected and caused me to stumble slightly forward in pain before he moved to a downward horizontal slash at my front. His speed nearly prevented me from blocking, but it was only by the grace of luck that Plague happened to be in place that stopped the strike from connecting. I swatted the sword away with Pestilence before I threw Plague at him, without using much of my strength, with a vertical toss - to which he dodged by jumping into the air. I grabbed the ribbon before it gained too much slack and flung it up at him from his left; he blocked the strike effortlessly as Plague struck his sword instead of his side. I looped the tomahawk around before bringing it down on him as quickly as I could, but he deflects it to his right this time. Before it could hit the ground, and as Qrow landed, I pulled on the ribbon and tried to bring it back to my hand; this, however, did not happen... As luck would have it... It smacked me in the left eye with its shaft. "GAH! Damnit!" I cried out in aggravation as I covered my left eye. I didn't even notice Plague landing on the ground next to me until I started looking for it.

"You have trouble dealing with naturally quick opponents, I take it?" Qrow asked as he walked up to me while I picked up Plague. I merely looked up at him, with my left eye still closed, and shrugged as I said, "Hardly dealt with any to begin with... Doubt I'd last long against Ruby, to be honest." With that, he nodded before rushing up to me with his sword following alongside him before slashing diagonally from his left. I barely bring up my weapons in time to block the attack, yet this time he didn't just go straight into another attack; instead, he started to push against me as he said, "Then let's see how you do against someone your own speed." So he was holding his speed back in favor of trying to overpower me... In hindsight...

This was a mistake on his part.

With little effort, I literally fling him off my weapons, causing him to stumble quite a bit, before I flung Pestilence at him. Just as he dodges with a side hop, I flung Plague at him from the side while simultaneously pulling Pestilence back towards me. He ducks the attack, dodging it just as easily as he did the first, but my assault continued; neither weapon returning to my hand as I continuously fling both tomahawks at him as if they were makeshift boxing gloves, yet not a single attack hits as he continuously dodges me. I soon gave up and pulled both weapons back until only a single foot of ribbon was left before I started to spin them around; Plague being spun counterclockwise while Pestilence was spun clockwise. The speed at which they spun rapidly began to increase until all I could see where blurs similar to copter blades. Add to that a whistling sound I could hear and it made me think for a moment I was wielding some mystical artifacts or something. I soon let go of both weapons, not knowing exactly where they would go but hoping they would at least go for my target; they shot skyward and dragged me up several feet with them... 'Oh crapbaskets!' I mentally cursed myself, 'I'm an idiot!' I did something that, at first, seemed like the dumbest idea ever and curled into a ball. That action unintentionally brought Plague and Pestilence down upon where Qrow was standing and actually managed to destroy huge chunks of concrete as the unintended intended target narrowly dodged out of the way. I soon crashed onto the ground on my back, bouncing a few times, before finding myself facing a rather pleased Qrow.

"Nice moves there, amateur," he said with a chuckle and a smirk as he helped me up. While I was reeling my weapons in, I noticed the damage I had caused and turned pale out of fear and hastened my efforts to retract my weapons; this didn't last long though as Qrow put a hand on my shoulder and said, "Don't worry about the damage... We'll just say I did it." He smirked once more and said, "You've got potential to be a long range powerhouse with those weapons of yours. Problem is, you lack the precision and co-ordination necessary to make full use of them - at least for now." I nodded at his words as I rubbed my left eye once more, looking at Yang and opening it when I knew Qrow wasn't able to see. Channeling my concern for it through our bond, she nodded with a smile that I reciprocated as I made one final rub before turning to her uncle.

"That said..." Uh oh, there's the 'but'. "You need to also learn to use your weapon's other forms if it has any," he finished as he looked at Pestilence before asking, "Any reason why you didn't transform them?"

"No ammo," was all I said. At this, Qrow's face met concrete sidewalk in a face-fault. As he recovered, he rubbed his head and sat up before asking, "You're joking, right?! What kind of idiot doesn't carry ammo?!"

"The kind of 'idiot' that just made their weapons TODAY," I looked in the direction the retort came from and found the source of it was the very person I had tried to avoid for most of the day; a teenage girl with fair skin, short dark-brown hair with wavy locks on one side of her face; dyed with a gradient that starts in dark brown and transitions to caramel, and dark-brown eyes. Unlike her teammates, she wasn't wearing her Beacon uniform; instead, she opted to wear her long, cocoa-colored shirt with a dark brown waist cincher, long, dark brown trousers with ribbons on the left side and a brown belt with bullets, a CRAP ton of accessories I couldn't even name, black aviator shades, and her dark brown beret. There was no way I was getting out of this confrontation this time...

Coco Adel had laid her eyes on me, and she wasn't going to stop until she got her 'kill'.

xXx

And that's a wrap for this chapter. On the previous chapter, I just wanna say that... the whole AN for it was written before I got spammed to heck and back by you-know-who... Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this one and I also hope I didn't go TOO out of character with anyone... Oh well, until the next chapter... Wish me luck with that filler...

See ya next game!