"So what the hell is this all about?" Blake asked as they left the train.
"Give us a moment," Sam said to the pilot, closing the door to the cockpit. "What the hell this is all about, Ms. Belladonna, is that if you want to win the battle of good versus evil, you need to be on the good side."
"What are you talking about?" Blake asked, confused.
"You are fighting for change, are you not?" Sam asked her, knowing the answer already. When Blake nodded, he continued, "There are two ways to fight for change, the good way and the evil way. Fighting civilians and doing what the White Fang was doing has been the evil way. We need you and many other faunas to be a huntress and join the good side of the fight. That way, people could learn to respect you, rather than fear you."
"They don't listen! What will me becoming a huntress do to fix the problems between faunas and humans?" Blake asked.
"If you want to change things, you must become a leader. To best become a leader, you need to be trained as a huntress. Having that training will gain you respect with others. There is also a very important person attending Beacon next year that you may want to become friends with," Sam told her.
"And who could that be?" Blake asked.
"Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. One of the White Fang's top enemies. You want to change the relationship between faunas and humans? Well she does too. You two working together will be very useful for change, if that is what you desire," Sam said, searching Blake face for a reaction.
Weiss Schnee… at Beacon? Could that work? "How can I trust you when you say that?" Blake asked, not willing to believe, just yet.
"Well, let's just say that Ms. Schnee and I are… close," Sam answered. "She is tired of the conflicts that humans and faunas go through. This would be the best opportunity to fix the problem, Ms. Belladonna."
"Who are you, anyway?" Blake questioned.
"Commander Samuel M. Engle, of the Vale Defense Force," Sam said, saluting her. He returned back to his normal stance and sat down next to Blake.
"So what's with your clothes?" Blake asked curiously.
Sam had been wearing his blue military overcoat, as well as the black pants that went with it. The buttons on the front reflected the sun off their gold surface, and the orange "M" could be clearly seen over Sam's heart. "Oh, this? This is a uniform my family traditionally used. Each member of my family would get one, or a version of it to wear."
"And what's with that orange M?"
"The M is something of a symbol for my family. It's a symbol of power, strength, courage, and pride. The first born child in my family always has their first name start with an M. My father and eldest brother were the first born children, so they're names started with an M; Mark and Matthew. Everyone else in my family has the M in their middle name, like me."
"I haven't heard of a tradition like that amongst humans," Blake admitted, interested in the line of Sam's family.
"Well, that's not really a coincidence," Sam said. When Blake made a confused expression, Sam continued, "My family is no ordinary human. We are Tetharan."
Blake's eyes widened at that, Tethara had been destroyed a century ago. Of the 27 million that lived in Tethara, only about 3 million had survived the war, and that number had been shrinking, rather than growing.
"That doesn't leave this chopper, understood?" Sam ordered.
"Y-Yes sir," Blake responded.
"Commander, sir, just letting you know that we've landed at the forward commander center in Vale!" the pilot called through the door.
"Understood," Sam called back, opening the hatch of the helicopter to get out.
Waiting outside the chopper stood General Ironwood, Professor Ozpin, and Ms. Weiss Schnee herself. As Sam jumped out of the chopper, Weiss ran up to him, throwing her arms around his neck. "Thank goodness you're ok!" Weiss said after breaking a kiss.
"Of course I would be ok," Sam joked with her, placing a kiss on her forehead.
"Who might this be, Commander Engle?" Ironwood asked, interrupting Sam and Weiss' moment.
"Ozpin, I present you Blake Belladonna. She will be attending Beacon Academy next year," Sam introduced Blake.
"Ms. Belladonna… I have been looking forward to meeting you at last," Ozpin reached out his hand.
Blake took it and shook hands with him, "I've heard a lot about you Ozpin."
"Who is she?" Weiss asked Sam, confused.
"Don't worry, she's just a faunas looking for change. I thought I could help her by bringing her to Beacon instead of leaving her in the White Fang," Sam answered.
"You brought a White Fang soldier back here?" Weiss whispered to him fiercely.
"Calm down, I've run into her before. She was only misguided. She will need others help to fix what has been broken, which means she needed to come here. I'd much rather have more friends than enemies," Sam tried to calm her.
"If you say so, Sam," Weiss replied, calming a little bit.
"Ms. Schnee?" a voice asked, bringing Sam and Weiss out of their private conversation.
They turned to see Blake was trying to get Weiss' attention. "Yes?"
"I'd just like to say I'm sorry. I was a member of the White Fang, but I did not know of what actions they were taking until it was too late. I wish to work with you by fixing what my kind has been breaking," Blake told her.
Weiss was taken aback by Blake's words, and then nodded her head. "Of course, I don't blame you for anything the White Fang has done. I appreciate you talking to me about that."
Blake nodded her head and walked over to Ozpin. "If you will excuse us, Ms. Belladonna and I will be heading off to Beacon. We shall see you in three months, Ms. Schnee," Ozpin said, waving his hand in farewell.
"Goodbye for now, old friend," Ironwood called to Ozpin, as Sam and Weiss waved their hands back at Ozpin. Ironwood turned back to Sam, his face going back into one of seriousness. "I trust the mission was a success?"
"Yes, it was. The camp has been cleared out, additional VDF soldiers came into to help clean up the place. There were two stragglers that made it to the train, but we cleared them out. The train has been split into two though. I have a squad guarding the moving half, while I have four guarding the stopped half until your forces can go out there to secure it," Sam reported.
Ironwood shook his head, "Understood, I will have troops sent immediately. Good work out there, commander. We shall see each other again, I hope."
"Of course, general," Sam replied, watching as Ironwood left.
"So what now?" Weiss asked Sam after Ironwood was out of sight.
"I don't know, I guess I need to get you back to your father," Sam said, looking her straight in the eye.
"My father…? Is he here?" Weiss asked him, knowing what Sam was thinking.
"He was on his way when I left the train. He should be here any minute," Sam replied, looking to the skies.
As if on cue, a large group of airships came into view. Several helicopters bearing the Schnee logo were surrounded by Atlas war ships, making their way towards the camp. Sam's uniform came with a helmet that covered his face, so he decided to put it on until after Anselm had landed. Weiss looked at him confused, but let he do so.
Eventually, one of the helicopters landed at an open helipad, and Anselm Schnee jumped out of the hatch with five Schnee Dust Company soldiers following him out. Weiss and Sam began to walk over to Anselm, and Anselm met them halfway, grabbing Weiss into his arms.
"Thank whatever god there is out there that you are ok!" Anselm said, pulling Weiss closer to him
"Well, this soldier was the one who saved my life," Weiss said, motioning to Sam, who still had his helmet on. "I was trapped in an alley, and a White Fang soldier gave me this scar. Then, this soldier came out of nowhere and dealt with the White Fang soldier like he was nothing. He also was the commander who destroyed the White Fang encampment today."
"I heard about the encampment invasion. Hell of a good job you did out there, commander. Thank you so much for saving my daughter," Anselm told him, reaching his hand out to shake Sam's. "But what is your name?" Anselm asked, after shaking hands.
"I think this would better explain it," Sam said. Sam pulled the helmet off, revealing his blonde hair, blue eyes, and face. It matched the uniform he wore all those years ago exactly, but something wasn't right.
"S-Sam?" Anselm stuttered, confusion overwhelming him. "That's… That's not possible! Oz-Ozpin k-killed you!"
"Well, he didn't. I ended up being trained by Beacon's teachers and being taught to do what I did today," Sam responded, looking Anselm straight in the eye, but showed no hate or anger.
Anselm was speechless for several minutes, finding it hard to meet Sam's gaze. Sam is Tetharan, and I ordered Ozpin to kill him! Ozpin must have told him, yet he doesn't seem to upset or angry with me at all! What is with this man?
After being silent for a while, Anselm spoke up. "Well I'm glad Ozpin didn't kill you. I'm sorry Sam, I really am. I was scared of what could have happened if you stayed with us. Ozpin told me about you being Tetharan, and I had heard stories. I'm sorry, Sam," Anselm repeated.
"It's fine Anselm. All that matters now is that we work to bring down the White Fang and fix what has been broken in Remnant. There is still much evil that plagues the land, evil that must be destroyed. We can start with fixing human and faunas relations and rights to be equal, once we take down the White Fang. Understood?" Sam told him.
"I agree entirely. I look forward to working with you several times in the future, Mr. Engle," Anselm said, reaching his hand out to shake Sam's again. Sam took it, and Anselm decided to ask, "So are my daughter and you an item now, Mr. Engle?"
"Yes, we are," Weiss answered for Sam.
"I'm glad for the both of you," Anselm said with a smile. "But I've come to take Weiss home."
"Father, please! Let me stay! You already took Sam from me once, don't take me from him now!" Weiss pleaded.
Anselm was shocked at her outburst, staggering a little. "Weiss, I'm sorry about what I have done before, but I need to take you home where you are safe."
"With all due respect, Anselm, she would be just as safe here as she would in Atlas," Sam stepped back into the conversation.
"What makes you say that, Mr. Engle?" Anselm asked.
"Well, we have just destroyed the only White Fang forces in the area. Not only that, but with the number of huntsmen and huntresses here, along with my forces, Vale is safe from any and all danger," Sam told him.
"Do you really want to stay that badly, Weiss?" Anselm asked her to be certain.
"More than anything I've ever wanted," Weiss responded, looking at Sam again.
"I guess we will have to see if what you say about Vale is true, commander. Weiss, you can stay," Anselm said, sighing in defeat.
"Thank you so much father!" Weiss squealed, throwing her arms around her father's neck.
"Just please be careful? I worry a lot about you," Anselm mentioned.
"I will be, father. I'll already have to be here for Beacon anyway, so I'll make sure to stay safe, or else I'll have you and Sam on me," Weiss said, laughing a little near the end of her statement.
"Take good care of her, ok Sam?" Anselm told him, looking him dead in the eyes.
"Of course, sir. She means everything to me, so I would never let her be harmed," Sam replied.
"I'm glad to hear it," Anselm said, moving back towards the helicopter he had landed in. "Make sure to call and check up with me! I'll make time to talk to you!"
"We will!" Weiss yelled towards the chopper.
Anselm gave one final wave, then the hatch to his helicopter closed and took off back for Atlas, leaving Sam and Weiss alone on the helipad.
AN: Hey guys, thank you so much for reading so far! I hope you guys have enjoyed it up to this point, because there will only be a little more before this prequel ends and my first actual story of Forsaken begins! You guys are the greatest people ever to me, and I really appreciate you taking time to actually look at what I write. Like I said, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you don't mind, let me know if you did! I will see you guys in the next chapter!