Icy wind whipped through the air, a few stray snow particles dancing. It was a picturesque view, the blue ocean stretching off into the distance. Brilliant white snow draped across the ground, hiding the earth. The forest started some meters back, getting progressively thicker and thicker. The field itself was flat, lacking any gentle curves of the earth.

Standing near the edge was a figure. Tall, almost seven feet tall, the figures presence could drown out all others in a room. Thick, muscled arms, wide torso, the figure had been likened to a tank in his build. He was dressed in a simple olive green storm coat, a stylized 'E' on the shoulder. Black armored boots with gunmetal grey armor plates, he could be mistaken for a statue if you didn't look closely.

His facial features were unique, with steel grey hair and crimson eyes situated on a face that could have been sculpted from marble, an almost artificial symmetry to the face. His arms were clasped respectively behind his back, hands large enough to crush a man's head with a single fist tight with unseen emotion.

Before the figure was a simple stone grave marker. Sitting on an angle the granite surface was simple, clean, with a minimal amount of decoration on it's face. His eyes looked at the marker, his mind quiet for the first time in a long while.

Beside him was a much frailer looking figure. She appeared to be wearing a grey corset over a dark red shirt, knee length skirt protecting her pretty pathetically from the winter. Black stockings ran up from leather boots, keeping her feet warm. The most characteristic thing about the girl however, beyond her red tipped hair, was her cloak, a white so brilliant it blended in with the snow.

"Who was she?" The voice was quiet, but the man next to her heard it with perfect clarity. He was silent for a minute, thoughts spinning. How would he describe her, to a stranger? How could he encapsulate all that she had been inside but a mere sentence, when the woman was larger than life? Every being she came in contact with could go for days about her, describing anything from her bloodlust to her fascination with technology. How could he make evident what she was?

"She was my friend," he replied, baritone voice rumbling softly. The girl next to him didn't respond, instead just staring at the marker with him. His red eyes, almost glowing if you caught them right, flicked to the figure beside him. His mind strayed to his last command, turning it over in his head. She gave him a chance, an opportunity to change things for the better.

Taking a deep breath, he exhaled, a slight shudder at the end. With quick, precise movements, he brought his feet together, right arm snapping to his forehead, creating a perfect salute.

"You have earned your rest Soldier," he started. "Your war is over." Assuming a parade rest, he waited, the silence stretching into infinity. It wasn't until a few minutes later that he noticed the girl beside him was shivering. A soft grin pulled at his face, a memory from before placed itself in front of him.

Unshouldering his massive coat, he draped it over the girl, the retained heat instantly thawing her. He was now wearing a simple tan colored uniform, devoid of any markings beyond a stylized 'E' on the right sleeve.

"Come, young one." Turning, he headed towards the tree line, the small girl following, the edges of the coat dragging somewhat on the earth.


The weather had gotten colder, fall turning into Winter. Snow hadn't arrived yet, but Jane could tell it was coming soon. Animals were heading into hibernation, a concept she had only read about in old textbooks and stories. The simple act of sleeping for several months certainly held some appeal to the Wastelander, having not slept properly in over 2 years. Oddly enough, the cold weather wasn't bothering her. While other's bundled up, she just rolled up her sleeves and continued her work in the shed, slowly making her weapons, maintaining her sword, and overall keeping busy and out of Ruby's way.

Jane paused in her work, a sigh escaping her.

Ruby was still a bit of a sore point. Whatever had happened at the top of the tower, she was unwilling to part with, but at least seemed to not outright trying to kill her. A frown caressed her features, mind flitting back briefly to when she and the young brunette could almost be considered friends, Ruby's complete acceptance of people and Jane's love of kids blending easily. Now it was rare if she got a 'good morning' or 'pass the salt' during the day.

Blowing a strand of silver white hair out of her eyes, Jane refocused on her work, polishing metal components for her disassembled pistol.

The design had changed yet again, experience from her rather large caliber gun and the much more manageable 10mm merging into a sort of in-between. As of now, it fired sabot slugs, modified with a red dust core for explosion upon penetration. The slug itself could be comparable to a .50cal round, but with a gunpowder charge rather than a dust combination. She had settled on going back to gunpowder with Dust cores in part due to the ease of manufacturing weapons grade gunpowder. Because of this however, her pistol with a good sized clip could only hold 9 shots, with a tenth in the barrel. A small tradeoff, but it was better than the 6 the old gun had managed. The pistol itself was a dark navy blue color, a nice splotch of color on her otherwise black, silver, and grey outfit. The grip she had carved during her spare time, using a nearby dead oak tree to make a grip worthy of the Old World.

Her LMG was improved, swapping out the MG32 series with heavy modifications for the MG42. Her original goal had been to use the plans for the MG42, but a general unfamiliarity with the design led her to pick the simplicity of the 32. A little bit of work however, and the MG42 fit her purposes much better. This gun she had left gunmetal grey, with a leather grip being the only extra she had added.

Her attention was stolen when there was a knock at the door. Spinning around, Jane glanced at her pip-boy, having reclaimed it a few weeks back. The screen was off, but she was sure that Liberty was listening. Swiftly getting to her feet, she stepped to the door, opening it.

Taiyang stood there, a pensive look on his face. He was dressed somewhat normally, the only difference being his long sleeved yellow shirt and wool jacket. Glancing over his shoulder, Jane saw Ruby was standing some distance away, a suspicious look in her eyes.

"I'm taking Ruby into town. Hopefully there's some news from Atlas or Vacuo," he started. Jane only nodded. She hadn't told him, but she was planning on leaving soon. Vale was completely overrun from what she could tell, Grimm having swarmed upon the corpse of the Dragon Grimm. They had overtaken the city, reducing the population of Remnant by almost a fifth. The few survivors who had gotten out had fled to Mistral, the closest geographically that could support the influx of refugees.

"If you're getting supplies, I need some more Sulphur," commented Jane, pointing a thumb behind her. The father looked into the shed, seeing the small assembly area Jane had cooked up. Indeed, the sealed container of Sulphur was empty, lid ajar. Beside it was an older container of Sulphur, repurposed into an anti-static gunpowder can.

"I can do that," replied the man softly. "We'll be back either tonight or in the morning, depending on how long. If we're not back by sunset, don't expect us." With that, he turned, heading for his daughter. Together, the two of them headed down the path, weapons in hand. This area wasn't known for a large Grimm presence, but in this day and age, you couldn't be too careful.

Jane watched them go, catching Ruby's silver eyes one last time. She saw the look the young brunette gave her, distrust mixed with fear. It was a look she had known somewhat intimately in the wasteland, with few people beyond her friends knowing anything more than the legend that was the Lone Wanderer. With a grunt of frustration, she returned to her work, oiled cloth gently rubbing over the slide.


Jane stood before the dark oaken door of Yang and Ruby's room. It was dark out, the sun having set almost an hour ago. Clearly the dynamic duo that was Ruby and her father were going to be staying in town. Given that snow had started to fall shortly after they left, the snowfall picking up as the sun vanished, Jane figured they didn't want to brave the trip in the dark.

Without knocking, Jane twisted the wrought iron door knob, opening the portal. Glancing to the bed against the left wall, she gazed disappointedly at the blond lying there. Despite her previous and somewhat constant attempts to snap the blond out of her depression. There might be the odd encounter where Yang would be up and moving again, but those instances quickly passed without any serious results.

Now, like so many other days, Yang just lay there, right arm ending in white swathed bandages, a dead gaze looking at nothing. Her lilac eyes glanced towards the door, seeing Jane standing there. The two locked eyes, Jane's irritation growing. She idly thought back to what she would have done in the Wasteland with somebody like Yang. Ordinarily, Yang probably would have been put out of her misery, a bullet costing less resources than what she was taking up by simply existing. In this world however, she would need to go a different path. Thankfully, the months spent here hadn't been in vain.

"So this is how you're going to spend your days then? Watching the world pass you by?" Yang just huffed, the noise barely perceivable in the quiet of the room. Jane was somewhat aware of the snow gently falling past the window, disrupting the moonlight.

"Do you feel anything? Your sister is pretty much ready to write you off, pretty sure your dad is just going to regress." Lilac eyes narrowed slightly. "Losing another family member might actually drive him over the edge," pondered Jane, holding a finger and thumb to her chin thoughtfully. "He might never recover from a drunken spiral."

"Stop."

Stepping towards the blond, she ignored Yang's command, instead coming to a stand next to her bed. She raised a fist, her other hand held nearby.

"Let's face the facts here Yang," she started. Pointing to one finger, she raised it from her fist. "One, you lost an arm. Big fucking woop. I've seen the prosthetics you can get and they are a far cry from making you helpless." She raised another finger. "Two, people got hurt. Yes, this is a tragedy, but in the grand scheme of things it's hardly important anymore." She raised a third. "Three, the team was forcefully disbanded, with Weiss being hauled away and Blake running. Now, considering we could talk about the heiress all day without complaint but the slightest mention of Blake gets you responsive, I can only assume that it feels like betrayal." She ignored the angry glare of Yang, opting to raise her pinky finger. "Four, rather than accept all of this like a calm, rational human being, you decide to shut down and ignore life." Her free hand gestured to the window. "God dammit Yang the seasons have changed! Even Ruby knows the time for recovery is over, hence her leaving tomorrow!" Jane smirked at the shocked look the blond had. She raised her thumb. "And point five. Now what was point five," she mumbled. A look of knowing crossed her face, the hand folding in on itself, becoming a fist. "Oh, right," she grinned.

WAP!

A sudden flash of movement, and Jane's fist flew, impacting the blond in the face. Yang didn't have her aura up, the lack of a brilliant gold flash evident. The impact threw her from the bed, a strangled cry escaping her throat. The room was filled with the sounds of a tumbling body, the wooden floor reverberating with the impact. Had she been in possession of her right arm, she could have easily stabilized herself. Sadly, her remaining stump swung out uselessly, her body continuing to fly off the bed. She impacted with a gasp, the air temporarily being thrown from her lungs.

"You're weak!" exclaimed Jane, moving around to the other side of the bed. "You threw up a brave face, hiding behind jokes and a smile, but in reality, a single crack in your armor and you fell apart faster than a deck of cards." Crimson eyes glared at the sprawling blond, attempting to get back up. "I have to admit, your mother made the right call in leaving. I'd be disgusted too if I spawned you."

Jane tilted to the left, the left hand fist of Yang flying where her head was. Previously lilac eyes were now a burning red, her body aglow slightly. "Shut up!" she growled, assuming her boxer's stance. Jane just backed up, hands readying.

"No I don't think I will," remarked the Wanderer. "Look at yourself! You can't even fight properly!" she laughed. Mockingly, she put her right arm behind her back. "Just to humor you, I'll fight one handed!" In response, Yang's fist flew forward, intent on taking advantage of the self-imposed handicap.

Jane smirked, watching the fist approach. When it was an arm's length away, her left arm flew forth, grasping her wrist tightly. Yang grinned, her stance shifting, moving to pull Jane forward. In response, her left hand flew out, striking Yang again in the face, this time clenching a set of brass knuckles. The impact seemingly ignored her aura, a loud crack echoing as what could only be her nose broke.

"You thought I was going to fight fair?" yelled Jane incredulously. To be honest, she hadn't actually thought Yang would believe her. Apparently she was far more naïve than expected. She would have to fix that.

"Life isn't fair Yang!" She pulled her up by her shirt, only for her fist to lance down again, striking her in the cheek solidly. Her aura held up somewhat, glowing briefly at the impact. Apparently she was actively fighting her now.

"The only thing that matters is life and death!" Another punch, this time to the gut. Not expecting it, the kinetic energy bowled her over, forcing the air from her lungs again. She tried to breath, but the rapid fluctuation of her diaphragm was making it hard.

Jane grabbed her free hand, pulling Yang out of the room. Despite her protests, Jane dragged her through the house, heading for the door. Pausing only to open the back entrance, she proceeded to drag her out, throwing Yang into the newly formed snow. A swift kick propelled the blond further, the steel caps on her boots unyielding against the soft tissue of her ribs.

"Ruby leaves tomorrow, heading to Haven. She intends on tracking down Cinder's path. What nobody knows is that I am leaving shortly after, but on a different mission." Reaching behind her, Jane grasped the handle of her new pistol, aiming it at the collapsed Yang. Thumbing the action, the soft, mechanical clicks echoed throughout the yard.

"I'm giving you a choice here Yang. Travel with Ruby, and grow a fucking backbone." She fired, the shot impacting the ground next to Yang. The somewhat explosive core superheated the earth, snow turning to steam instantly, charred earth flying into the air.

"Stay, and waste your live here taking up space, remembering better times if only because you lack the ability to move forward." She fired again, the shot landing on the other side of Yang. She scrambled away, the explosion of steam and earth buffeting her, forcing her free arm to shield herself, her stump absolutely useless.

"Or you can come with me. I have a decidedly different set of goals." Yang glanced upwards, wondering if a third shot was going to be let loose. "Let Ruby have the spotlight; it is often the work in the background that decides a battle." At her glance, Jane elaborated.

"Communications are down, Liberty is but a shadow of himself, the majority of his code being elsewhere in the world right now. The information we're working with is quite limited, and," she gestured at the towards Yang. "You need an arm. So there remains much to be done, and gallivanting around Remnant looking for an expired trail won't help us out." Stowing her pistol, she reached into her belt, withdrawing a knife. "You and I are far more alike than you might think Yang," she stated. Flipping the knife over, she presented the grip to Yang, the soft leather wrapped handle looking inviting.

"And so I offer you this, walk the Path of a Wanderer, and learn to fucking deal with the world." She threw the knife down, the blade glinting in the moonlight, sinking a good six inches into the half frozen earth. Turning around, she headed towards the shed, leaving the blond in the snow, staring at the knife buried in the earth, just within arm's reach.


She glanced over her assembled gear, running over another check. Her weapons were freshly oiled, ammunition stored, bag packed. Her armor was nearby, the only thing she had left to wear was her stormcoat and helmet. In the distance, she could hear Taiyang shouting for Ruby, frantically searching. She smirked, having seen the brunette leave an hour previously. She was actually impressed that the girl had snuck away in the middle of the day.

Hearing a knock on the shed, Jane walked over and opened it, a smile creeping onto her face. Yang was standing there, looking worse for wear. It's clear she tried to shower, but one hand made cleaning her hair somewhat difficult. She was dressed in an attempt at her regular clothing, but it was all angled somewhat. At least she was determined.

Jane glanced to her shoulder, seeing a bag slung over her back. "So you've decided to come with me then?" Yang nodded, but she didn't verbally reply. Glancing at her waist, she nodded appreciatively, seeing the knife from the previous night within easy reach of her remaining arm.

"Good. We're heading into town first. Gotta get transit to Vale. First step is to get the CCT up and running again." Reaching over, she grabbed her stormcoat, inserting her arms through the sleeves. Deftly clipping her helmet to her waist, she shouldered her MG42 and stowed her pistol inside the coat. Her sword hooked onto her belt, it's weight quite familiar.

Whilst this was all happening, Yang just stood there, watching. Jane could feel her eyes boring a hole into her back, unspoken questions hanging in the air. A frown of annoyance overtook her, remembering why travelling with companions sucked sometimes.

They always asked questions, constantly, for almost an entire week.

Stepping past the blond, Jane stepped into the yard, glancing at the path. Checking to make sure Yang was following, she started walking, thinking on how she could mold the girl into something useful for the future.

Yang fell into step behind her, the movement of her body helping to straighten out her clothing. From what she remembered, the town was almost an hours walk from the house. The two proceeded comfortably down the road, Jane's hand softly resting on the hilt of her sword, while Yang continually readjusted the strap of her bag. It must have been 20 minutes before Yang spoke up.

"Where did you come from?" She didn't stop walking. This question had been a long time coming. While she had explained it to Ruby somewhat, to her knowledge the young huntress had never shared the details of Jane's origins.

Collecting her thoughts, Jane spoke. "Imagine a world, no Grimm, no Faunus, just humans. What does that look like to you?" Yang was silent, the only sounds the chirping of birds and their feet on the earth.

"It must be nice, no struggle for survival," remarked Yang, smiling. Jane laughed, turning Yang's smile into one of confusion. "Isn't it?" she probed. Jane merely shook her head.

"Not at all. If anything, Remnant is more peaceful than Earth." She paused, collecting her thoughts. "Where I came from, Earth, the world had split upon two political and economic systems. On the one hand, you have Democracy and free market capitalism, driven by a fierce patriotic loyalty. On the other, Communism, a belief where the government controls everything and the resources of a nation are divided equally unto it's people."

"Well that doesn't sound so bad," remarked Yang. Jane laughed.

"You might think that, but the problem was both sides hated each-other fiercely. Both sides painted the other as demonic, an enemy that had to be destroyed, nay exterminated to insure their safety. It didn't help that oil, the power source of nations was dwindling in supply. It just gave all the more reason to start a conflict." Jane turned around, walking backwards while looking at Yang, a maniac gleam in her eyes.

"Imagine it, entire economies rapidly shifting gears, focusing on a single war. Tens of millions of people mobilized to control energy. A similar conflict here would be the entirety of Remnant taking up arms to fight over a single Dust mine of low value." She enjoyed the horror on Yang's face, the mental imagery of war flying through her skull.

Jane's voice grew dim, silent, reverently speaking the next bit. Her eyes adopted a faraway look, and her gait slowed, eventually stopping. "And then in anger, both sides decided upon mutual destruction. Bombs powerful enough to wipe cities from the face of the earth in a blink of an eye. They scorched the surface of the earth with fire, poisoning the air and land with radiation. Human population jumped from 8 billion to a few million at best."

Jane spun back around, chuckling darkly. "And for the next two hundred years we scrabbled in the carcass of humanity, hoping to reclaim a fraction of the glory of the Old World." The proceeded in silence for a stretch, before the inevitable questions that Jane could feel hanging in the air were granted sound.

"But where did that happen? Even if it was in the unexplored badlands, surely we would at least hear about it!" Jane nodded. "Yes, the bombs would be noticeable," she commented. "Yang, how open are you to new ideas?" she asked, changing topics quickly.

"Uhh, I shared a room for 3 months with the richest girl on earth and an ex terrorist. I like to think I'm open minded," was the blunt reply. Jane nodded.

"Makes sense," she mumbled. "Yang, I don't come from this world. Mine is a parallel existence from this one."

"Bullshit," was the succinate reply.

"No it's true!" smirked Jane. "Before it all ended they were experimenting with ways to keep heads of government safe from an inevitable conflict. They wanted to make bunkers in other worlds, where the effects of bombs could not harm them. Interestingly enough they never finished, the world ending before they could test it. I am the one and only example of the technology working."

"Sooo, like an Alien?" Jane clicked her tongue.

"No, not an alien. More like… a long lost cousin. Like the difference between two species of dogs." Yang 'Ahh'd' in understanding. Again, more silence.

"So what is Liberty Prime? You've mentioned it a few times," was the next question. Internally, Jane breathed a sigh of relief. Going over the Great War wasn't high up on her list of things she wanted to do. Talking about Liberty was much easier.

"He is an artificial combat intelligence. Originally created to pilot a massive humanoid warbot about 40 feet tall. Sadly, during a later conflict he lost that body, now he lives on in whatever I can get for him," she replied smugly.

"Why would you need a 40-foot-tall robot?" was the reply. Jane laughed. "It's something that you needed to see to understand. I couldn't do it justice with mere words." Yang furrowed her brow, another question coming to mind.

"When you say artificial intelligence, you mean like Penny?" Jane nodded somewhat, one hand hovering in the air tilting back and forth in a 'yes and no' gesture.

"Kinda. Penny, from what we could tell, had something of a soul to her. Liberty is different. He very well might have a soul, by the definition of your world. But his thinking is much more tactical. Penny seemed built towards blending in with civilization, to humanize. Liberty was built for war." She gently tapped her pip boy, rubbing the glass fondly.

"Sadly, when the communications network went down, he must have been divided between too many processing centers. Haven't heard a peep from him. What's on here," she gestured, slapping her pip boy playfully, "is little more than a fancy task manager. Once we get to Vale we can turn the comms back on and hopefully talk to Liberty again. From there we can plan. Now, enough talking, we'll be in the town soon."

During the rest of the walk, Jane deflected several more questions from a thankfully more active blond. The simple action of her asking questions and, at least somewhat, believing her story made things much easier.


The seas raged, black waters rolling and frothing, waves 5 feet high buffeting the small boat. The wind howled, rain tearing at every exposed surface. Lightning flashed in the distance, lighting up the blackness of the night. Onboard, two figures stood on the boat. One, armored from head to toe with silver hair, the other dressed fairly openly, golden hair plastered to her back and face.

"You know!" screamed Jane, making an effort to be heard over the wind. "I really like this gun!" Her random string of conversation helped to distract her from the current weather. "It's so much lighter! And the exchangeable dust barrels make ammo cheap as hell!" Yang just hunkered down, her only arm doing its best to anchor herself to the boat.

Glancing at the glowing green screen on her wrist, Jane pushed the wheel to the left, hoping to right their course towards Vale. It wasn't a large boat, more like a small fishing vessel. It was proven to be able to navigate the waters towards the mainland, even in this weather.

Didn't mean it wasn't terrifying.

"When we get there, hopefully, we've got to get to Beacon!" Yang's eyes widened, staring into Janes. Not for the first time she regretted her choice to come with Jane.

"Hopefully?!" she hollered incredulously, heart racing for an entirely separate reason than the storm.

"Hopefully!" laughed Jane, spinning the wheel.


Ruby sat against the hull of the bullhead, Crescent Rose laying across her lap, travelling bag clenched between her legs. Across from her sat Jaune, valiantly attempting not to vomit. In his hands, clenched between his knees was a paper bag. Thankfully, an hour into the flight, he hadn't needed to use it. Near the other end of the bullhead sat Nora, uncharacteristically silent, leaning against the stoic figure of Ren, who was holding a book in his hands. Occasionally he would flick his head, magenta hair strip flicking back across his head.

"How's Pyrrha?" questioned the brunette. Jaune held up a finger, prompting her to wait. Ruby obliged, letting him brace himself. Finally, after what felt like minutes, he responded.

"She's recovering," he moaned, keeping his eyes closed. Inwardly she grimaced, motion sickness can't be pleasant. "It'll take time for the arrow wounds to heal. I haven't heard much though, since communications are down." She nodded, glad that Pyrrha was on the mend. Hopefully when they got to Mistral they could visit her.

"The arrow tore her tendon, it will be a long recovery, but she'll make it." Both of them glanced to Ren, whom hadn't looked up from his book. "It is a matter of when, not if, we'll see her," he finished.

Ruby smiled softly. Closing her eyes, she remembered when she found Pyrrha on Beacon tower, moments from death. In her mind, the scene played out.

Cinder turned from Pyrrha, looking at something in the distance. She looked like hell, with an arrow through her ankle and poking out of her back. Blood mixed with dirt and grime, staining her back, but she ignored it. Not for the first time she admired the warrior. The sight of the normally invincible girl so defeated filled her with an energy, threatening to burst forth. Entirely different than anything she had felt, she had to brace herself against some rubble, the effect making her feel lightheaded. Shaking her head quickly, to remove the feeling, silver eyes glanced towards Cinder, intent on fighting the woman.

Her blood chilled. Jane's armor stood there, wreathed in ice and darkness. Sword clenched in hand, it advanced towards Cinder, an air of death and cold expanding as she strode forward.

"Your soul, it is bright, like a star. We will enjoy taking it from you." It advanced towards Cinder slowly, methodically. In response, a glowing ball of fire flew towards it, intent on scorching the figure from the face of the earth.

A lazy swipe of the sword, and it vanished in a cloud of ice and lightning. That same cloud suddenly compressed, forming a black spear of ice. Without warning it flew forward, a sonic boom trailing in its wake. Cinder dodged, twisting her hips to avoid the projectile.

In response, she jumped forward, summoning her twin daggers and launching herself at Jane. She ducked, the blade coming up and slapping the twin daggers away. An armored fist popped up, slamming into Cinder's stomach, lifting the woman almost a foot into the air, driving the oxygen out of her lungs. Grasping the fist stll planted on her stomach, Cinder pushed off, bringing a blade down upon Jane's forearm. The knife skidded to the side, angry red sparks appearing where the armor plate met pointed tip.

A second armored fist came about, slamming into Cinder's shoulder. This threw her off of her impromptu stand, a twist of her legs allowing her to land on her feet. Slamming the twin blades together, she quickly drew an arrow, loosing it at Jane. Her free hand merely snatched it out of the air, carelessly tossing it to the wayside.

"Why do you resist?" Jane continued to walk forward, sword and hand lazily blocking strike after strike from Cinder. Arrows were batted aside with the flat of her blade or her fist. Stabs of her knives either landed unsuccessfully on armor plates, failing to punch through, or were cleanly dodged, met with punches and slashes.

"Ruby?"

Silver eyes snapped open, pupils narrowed at some unseen threat. Her body felt tight, coiled like a spring, Crescent Rose almost shaking, her knuckles white. She realized her breathing was quick and shallow, heart racing. Her head snapped to the right, seeing Ren looking at her with a worried look.

"You ok?" he asked, gently closing his book. Nora had apparently fallen asleep, snoring softly against the seat. Jaune had passed out, probably from attempting to not vomit. A mixed blessing then.

"Y-yeh," she stumbled, slowly releasing her weapon. "Just fine," she mumbled. Ren quirked an eyebrow. Her response wasn't clear on who exactly it was for, him or herself.

Ruby was silent, the gentle hum of the aircraft the only noise. She was aware of Ren staring at her, a question lingering in the air.

"When we were with Jane," she started, hands brushing the edge of her weapon. "Did you ever get a strange feeling?" she asked. Ever since the fall of Vale, she had been trying to remember what had happened that night. Brief flashes and glimpses came to her sometimes, and they painted a horrifying picture.

Ren took a breath. "You know, with my semblance, I am much more in tune with Aura than most?" Ruby nodded. "In order to manipulate Aura, I can sense other people's Aura much easier. This allows me to understand them far easier."

His thumb caressed the book softly. "Whenever I looked at Jane, tried to see her Aura, I couldn't help but stare." He breathed, as if remembering something unpleasant.

"Yang, for example, resembles a fire. Hot, golden yellow, with undercurrents of red whenever she was angry or stressed. This was most evident when she was fighting." He paused. "Or found out her hair was damaged." Ruby chuckled at the joke.

"Jane, however," he quieted. "Yellow. Not a golden yellow like Yang. More of a sickly yellow. The color of rot. But what worried be was what clung to it." Ruby stared, seeing his magenta eyes look past her.

"I can only describe it as a parasite, stuck to her, veiny tendrils latching onto her head." Ruby nodded. "If I looked hard enough," he continued, hands clenching the book. "I was sure there was something in that inky blackness."


I do not own RWBY or Fallout 3. All works belong to their respective creators.

So sorry this took a while, but work has been stupid. Nothing but closing shifts all day every day, running me until midnight sometimes. This used to be when I wrote regularly. Since there's things to do during the day. With my boss leaving for a month long vacation pretty quick, I'm only going to promise one Chapter during the month of May including this one. Maybe June will have more chapters. Ideally I'd like one every two weeks, but we can't all have what we like.

As always, Read and Review, enjoy the story! Also, The updated cover art is courtesy of askasknot. It's unfinished, but they haven't responded in a while to PM's, so I'm using this rough draft. If you're reading this, I enjoy the artwork very much! PM me if you get a chance!