Welcome back to Volume III.

Hope you enjoyed the Fated Holidays.

For those wondering what those are.

Chapters Six to Nine, those in that slots, for they are not given the usual Chapter Titles.

I had to clarify that as, for some reason, stats started toward weighing chapters VI, VII, and VIII those chapters instead of the Fate Holidays.

I updated the story with chapters placed in Volume I.

Sometimes Reading Notes tells you a few things.

There will be a story explanation within a few updates.

So for those that haven't, you might want to go back.

There were important details in those chapters.

And they are going to start being referenced in the following updates.

Now it's time to resume the main course.

As the dust front wall of the building collapsed on them and the fire from the soldiers they were under attack came to a halt, Ren's eyes narrowed as he managed to jump in time when he called out. He growled as he watched Nora bounce off the wall and gingerly try to pick herself up. At the same time, Yang was haplessly buried under the rubble, seemingly unconscious, as the frame of a relatively young, tawny-skinned woman walked onto the scene with a cocky grin as she cracked her knuckles.

And they made a metallic snap as they did.

Narrowing his eyes as he eyed the mostly white uniform with the blue accents and the red ascot tied up neatly on her collar, Ren knew precisely who she was aligned to. There was no mistaking that uniform. "What? This makes no sense!"

"Atlas is supposed to secure and protect Vale for the festival!" Ren barked as he demanded an explanation from the tawny-skinned woman with two platinum blonde spikes sticking up and another curling down from her predominantly shaved head where only a brown tuft of hair remained at the top that connected to the spikes.

The girl's attention snapped to him, seeing he was still standing, and she frowned as she had thought she had got everyone with her strike. But seeing that she was recognized would cause issues. She would have to take care of this here and now.

"We are protecting Vale and securing it from all threats." She spoke as she took a step towards Ren, giving him an answer as her pink eyes gazed into his with conviction. "And its greatest threat is itself. So come quietly, and everything will go smoothly for you all. Your records will be sparkling clean after all is said and done, and no one will be none the wiser."

"Or we can do this the hard way, and we can break all of you."

"We?" Ren narrowed his eyes before sensing another aura signature coming from outside, and he immediately wanted to curse. "Of course! You didn't break the wall! That was a grenade!"

"Sharp eyes, kid. That was me." A very tall and muscular fawn-skinned woman with medium-length brown hair tied into a short ponytail behind her back grinned as she slowly stepped into the wrecked scene, holding a massive hammer on her right, and effortlessly glanced at him. "She sprinted in as soon as my explosion cleared. Didn't bother to wait for the all-clear or anything. What's the point of a spotter if we don't use him? Although, he didn't need to shoot to kill. That was excessive…"

The more petite tawny-skinned woman rolled her pink eyes at her partner. "Yeah, no kidding. These guys are hunters. The last thing we need is for Huntsman and Huntresses to vanish before the Vytal festival mysteriously…"

"Especially two youngsters that are competing in it." She grinned at the end while glancing over at Nora as she pushed herself onto her onto one knee and glared at the two women in the room with them. "So again, I'm offering to give you a chance here to surrender. I can take you to the General so you don't have to deal with these Mistral goons who would most likely do something drastic if we weren't here."

"It's the only deal you're going to get that's even remotely fair."

"Is that so?" Nora coughed as the explosion rocked her a tad harder than she would have liked while her aqua eyes gleamed, being drawn towards the rubble, slowly trembling and the flickering of red before she transformed Magnhild to its hammer form to push herself onto her feet. "Because I don't feel like that's a fair deal at all…"

The tall woman looked over at Nora with a soft expression before giving her a dismayed shrug and a pitying look. "I don't know what else to tell you. This may have all been by happenstance, but we must take you in. It's better us than them, trust me. I don't want anyone to be harmed unnecessarily. So come with us so we can sort this all out…"

"Yeah, I'm going to have to decline that." Ren gritted his teeth as he held out StormFlower defensively, prepared to defend himself as he drew the attention of the smaller of the two and drew her pink eyes to him. "Something is not right about any of this, and we are getting to the bottom of it here and now! Mistral soldiers shouldn't be here, and from a glance, whatever is going on down there doesn't look to bode well for the safety of Vale and its people! So I suggest you stand aside and let us do our job!"

Sighing as conflict seemed inevitable, the shorter woman rolled her pink eyes at Ren as her metallic arm-length gauntlets began to pump some sort of red energy through them. "Told you they wouldn't surrender, Elm. Should have just knocked them out from the start. It's not like they have a chance anyways, but still, I'd rather have done this the easy way…"

"Harriet, enough. Peace should always be the first option, especially considering this was all just an accident!" Elm snapped back as she looked, bringing her hammer off her shoulder, and shook her head at her partner's response. "We don't have to do this. Please. I don't want to have to hurt you. This is for the best, trust me…"

"I seriously doubt Mistral soldiers and a large amount of concealed or armored units stationed within Vale can be for the best!" Ren countered as his eyes narrowed at Elm's statement and immediately disapproved of it, not believing it in the slightest. "No amount of secrecy can convince me that whatever is going on here is right!"

"Yeah, this is as shady as that Grimm lady in… Oh, wait… Can't say that." Nora agreed with her energetic enthusiasm before she stopped as she almost gave information about Tealle, and she knew she wasn't supposed to do that.

It was a slip of her tongue.

Thankfully, neither Atlas soldier understood anything she said and was only confused for a split second by her statement. Then Harriet clenched her fist and lowered her stance, locking her gaze with Ren as Elm gripped her hammer tightly while focusing on Nora. The smaller of the two could only grin at the prospect of a fight as she knew the kid had to be good, considering she was a first-year being allowed to compete in the Vytal festival, which was rare for any academy. Now that they have changed the format to allow even fewer competitors in…

This would be fun.

"Shame, but still, I'll take it easy on you." Harriet grinned as she focused on Ren. "I don't want to rough you up too badly as you and your friend don't stand a ghost of a chance against real Huntresses."

"Is that so?" Ren let out a confident smirk as the odds had finally turned in their favor, and the Atlas soldiers were unaware of it. "Good thing we brought our own."

Rubble and parts of the building were ruptured and torn to shreds. Elm and Harriet were forced to turn around and shield their faces with their arms as they watched as a fiery aura of gold and red came to life. And at its core, Yang Xiao Long stood slowly, her aura blazing a brilliant red. With golden wisp of light burning off the red, she angrily snarled, her eyes shifting to the two women she had been listening to as she had slowly drifted back to consciousness.

"I have had enough of this! I'm figuring out what's happening here, and you are coming with me whether you like it or not!" Yang roared at the top of her lungs, her aura burning brighter and hotter as the room started to heat up from her presence.

"I'm about to pulverize both of you and make those blockheads regret shooting at us!"

"It's been so long, dear Ozma. Please sit. I would like to take in this new form of yours as it has been so long since I've seen you in person. What has it been? A century at least? Two maybe? I know it was well before the Great War, and I scant had a chance to admire you in person for quite some time. So allow me to indulge." Salem spoke through Tealle with a slight tone of lust in her voice, genuinely making the older man slightly uncomfortable seeing it come from such a young child.

It would have been nauseating hearing it come from her in her normal body. This made it even viler and degrading for him. He made a note to take an extended shower after this encounter, as it would take time to feel clean after this.

"Given who I'm dealing with, I would prefer to stay on my feet. Thank you." Ozpin retorted as he kept a wary eye on the young girl infested with the blight known as Salem while carefully walking over to his desk, examining the room with his other eye on the off chance this was a trap.

There was still no word on what had happened to the rest of her court. Arthur had vanished off the face of the earth, and no one knew where he was. Hazel was an ever-dangerous threat, and he knew to be the most loyal of Salem's minions as he was purely against him. Somehow she managed to find someone he upset due to his oversight due to something so simplistic. Then again, if he were to learn her true goal, it was quite possible he could betray her…

"There is no one here, Ozma." Salem echoed his thoughts as her red void eyes pierced into his. "I, like you, have lost my court due to Fate's meddling. Ironic, isn't it? Everything we've worked for is falling apart because the Brothers refuse to fight against her meddling. All the while, she has a champion who is actively parading around and accidentally enforcing her will despite his best efforts to do the opposite. Lucky for us, he isn't too keen on that and is fighting her for us. Otherwise, all hope would be lost."

"Forgive me, but I can never be too cautious after all we have been through. Thousands of years of memories cannot be forgiven so easily, my dear." Ozpin replied thinly as he gazed at the witch in the twelve-year-old's body.

Salem only snarled back at him, her eyes glowing with rage. "And who was it who truly betrayed who? My secret was never so heinous as yours, my love! To keep me from possibly forging a new, better world at that time for our daughters and us? Yes, I may have been cruel and callous. Discarded my humanity! But tell me, are they really worth any of this? After all these years and all the damages they have caused, are they still worth fighting for? I wouldn't say so as I would take the worthy with me and start anew with the world before giving myself the proper ending I deserve!"

"They still are even to this day, even if they are a self-destructive mess like they always have been. Those that are righteous and shine brighter than the stars in the night will lead this world to a better place. Just give it time." Oz countered flatly before he glared daggers at the witch as his eyes narrowed behind his glasses. "And, as I recall, I didn't kill our family in a blind fit of rage and destroy everything I loved when you didn't get what you desired."

"Because you ran away from me! You took all that I had and left me with nothing left!" Salem's scream echoed through the room as her petite body lifted from the chair as her tiny hands smashed against the desk, shattering it on contact as her magical strength transferred to Tealle's body. "You knew the life I lived! You had to know I was cursed simply by looking at me! I was a fucking Grimm when you returned to me the first time! Did you honestly think I was stable or could handle the love of my life fleeing with my children?!"

"Why couldn't you at least collect all of them and kill me then and there?! Be the hero you always were, just like the day you saved me from my father!" Salem questioned as she intently peered into Ozpin's brown eyes, tears building on the child's face as her sorrow overwhelmed the child. "It was just one more secret to keep. That was all you had to do. To keep us in the dark for a brief while longer, save all of Remnant, and grant me my sweet release. I may not have forgiven you then, but I would have been thankful…"

"That's not how they work, Salem. I couldn't have done it that way, even if I had tried." Oz spoke, his voice rigid as he looked at the child possessed by the witch before he took pity on her. "Why do you think I have kept them away from you all these years? Hid them, put magical enchantments on them that have weakened myself to such a state and given away my powers? It was to keep you from getting them as you didn't understand the consequences of using the relics, as I don't think they can rid you of your immortality! They've destroyed you once before and left you the only thing on this planet!"

As Salem's attention was drawn to this, Ozpin continued with animosity in his voice. "This has been their point all along, and you have never learned the lesson. Their powers will not bring you death! You may be the God of Darkness' Champion, but he cares not for your well-being! He only wants you to suffer! The God of Light only wants you to finally come to terms with what it means to live and understand the value of life!"

"And for once in my life, I think progress has finally been made, even if it has been made because of their mother's childish game that is causing us to lose our freedoms!" Ozpin almost wanted to shout to the heavens above and let the Brother Gods know themselves, but it would do no good as they had left long ago. "You are finally doing what's beneficial for everyone, and it's because you never knew I kept another secret from you, and once you figured out Fate's true goal, you would do everything in your power to stop it. Even if it meant protecting humanity."

Salem's moist eyes dried up as she sternly gazed at the reincarnated form of her lover, her slight frame shivering as she looked up at the man. "Why are you telling me this? What benefit does it have? Are you trying to dissuade me?! Are you mad? What hope do we have left, then? I need the boy freed, and this girl's father won't be around long enough to dispose of me when I return to my full strength! I want this to end, Ozma! I'm tired of this forsaken world! I've been locked away in this tower for too long! I need to be released!"

"I know." Oz gently responded in a whisper tone, closing his eyes before sighing as he pushed up his glasses and opened his brown eyes once more to look sorrowfully down at the young girl Salem possessed. "Like I was, you are trapped on this course, and there is no turning back from the direction it has been steered towards. All you can do is watch and hope you can direct it enough to cause a shift and something else to happen and force a change in Fate's plan. He's been quite adept at that already, and she's been the key to it all so far…"

"She will die," Salem announced and startled Beacon's headmaster, who was unprepared for her statement. "The death of the Faunus girl has been foretold. Fate rerouted shifts to kill her while staying her course, and it's only a matter of time before it happens. She's already had to intervene personally once before…"

"It will happen again."

Ozpin's face sank, and he visibly paled and turned away from the possessed young girl. "If she goes, Fate wins, and he falls in line without ever meaning to. We lose the last shot of retaining what remains of the Remnant we remember. It will become her Remnant."

Salem nodded as she visibly shook, her tiny hands clenching as she took a breath before she reached out and offered a hand to Beacon's headmaster. "Ozma, we need you. You know how the Relics work. We're going to get the Relic of Knowledge. We have the Spring Maiden. It's just a matter of you and I convincing Leo to open the door. If it takes a little more, I think I have a few heavies that might make him think otherwise."

Raising his head before looking down at the small hand being offered to him, Ozpin momentarily thought about what was being offered. His eyes narrowed momentarily before he sighed deeply. "It makes sense now why they came from Haven. You infiltrated and turned him at some point. Of course."

"Regardless, I see your point. Against Fate, that Relic is our best weapon against even her." Taking her small hand and shaking it, he sighed deeply, seeing the small girl smile almost deviously, he sighed deeply. "I hate doing this, but it's what's best for Remnant but…"

"Knowledge is the most powerful weapon. Now let's get to work."

"Thank the Brothers you can drive, Velvet!" Weiss sighed in relief as Velvet carefully drove the van Coco owned, and they were coming up to the small town on the north end of Patch that surrounded Signal Academy. "You don't know how much it drives me crazy not being able to travel anywhere besides coming to this place every day on foot! And it takes at least an hour or two! I don't know how Ruby made it seem like it was nothing!"

"I mean, to her, it probably isn't," Velvet answered honestly as she shrugged her shoulders while keeping her eyes on the rough road, wincing at every bump as she hoped the van wouldn't have a blowout as she took it as carefully as possible. "When you do it daily, it likely doesn't seem as terrible. It was probably so common for her to walk to Signal daily that it became a habit."

"Not to mention her mother's grave is set on this side of the island, and she makes that walk every day," Blake stated as if it was apparent, her eyes occasionally shifting as a particular blue light fluttered around, and she tried to resist swatting at it with all her might before sighing. "So, to her, it's normal. It's not like you can't do it, Weiss."

"Yes, I know that," Weiss commented as they finally came up to the town before she sighed as they came to the small gate. "But after the first few times, it got stale as there simply is nothing to do here. A simple grocery store. Some basic shops. Signal, an air airport, and the bridge. I'd use that if the airbus schedule were more convenient for us, but it intersects with our training times. Naruto has been such a slave driver…"

"For good reason too. How close to death did we come?" Blake bitterly responded before she frowned as a thought crossed her mind. "Seriously, how many times have we almost died around him? How has he not put us in bubble wrap, thrown us in a padded room, and locked us away?"

A fourth member of the van had stayed quiet until that point.

Kali had come along as it was rather peculiar that the small girl had disappeared like that, and while she wouldn't feel right if harm came to a child like that, she thought she was not an ordinary child if she could vanish in such a manner. And after what occurred with her daughter in her home, she would rather stay close to her. She felt she needed help as there were certain things she seemed to have forgotten over the years. Some of it was unfortunately conditioned out of her. Others from being out on her own for years, searching for answers, and now making several mistakes in her personal life as she had, and a significant one she did not like.

She happened to love Naruto. The boy was remarkable, and when her daughter spoke about him, she felt that spark with every word. She truly believed he was the best thing for her as he was bringing out the best sides of her once again, and she had never seen her daughter so positively aglow when she was around him. She knew from personal experience that it was more than adoration, lust, or crushing. There was genuine care and connection between them.

And he was genuinely the kindest, most sincere, and jovial young man she had ever met. Yet he had an air about him that exuded confidence and power, and he wasn't afraid to back it up if it came down to it, choosing instead to use his words. But he knew when to hold back, be silent, and let others take the lead.

He had learned a lesson that took Ghira decades to master…

But they were young and made such a foolish mistake. Blake already had made it, and Naruto followed along with Blake's decision when it was far deeper than they ever should have, having no family and desperately wanting one and having committed to waiting for her daughter until she was ready. That was heart-warming enough to hear, but…

This wedding…

If there was only a way to spare her child that pain…

Kali's ears twitched while listening to the conversation around her, and a sudden grin appeared. With a chance to raise everyone's spirits, she couldn't contain herself and purred, her golden eyes locked onto her daughter. And while it failed earlier, it was a tried and true method and only failed because she hadn't realized her daughter's situation.

But now…

"Darling, if my tastes are anything to go by, and I know you have inherited some, you would enjoy being tied up too much. And I can only imagine your friend's kinks, given her demeanor. She has that aura about her that screams she's into it but only if he's the one doing it. I say you three have a strange relationship," Kali slyly commented, earning a laugh from the floating blue light and a giggle from Velvet as she continued driving before she grinned as her daughter's eyes lifted and locked with her own. "Oh, I'm quite sure that one of you would even beg for it."

"Oh, I can see that. The stuck-up one seems that type." Puck sagely nodded after looking up and down at both Weiss in the front seat and Blake in the back seat.

Only for Weiss to swat him back into the windshield as she screamed at the elf. "I would never! That is demeaning. I would never dream of deposing and demoralizing myself to such a standard!"

"Someone seems defensive," Velvet muttered, seeing Weiss' reaction and feeling that there was more to that reaction than she let out, and tried to stifle her giggles.

Blake's golden eyes narrowed and focused on the blue splattered fairy on the windshield, before she glared at the originator of the conversation. Her ears then twitched, catching Velvet's comment, and immediately she turned and huskily whispered into Velvet's ear. "I don't beg. I claim my territory. And he marks his. All over."

"Whoa, wait a second. What?" Weiss immediately turned back and looked at Blake with her eyes wide as saucers, ignoring the shiver sent down the other faunus' spine. "I am learning far too much about your sex life than I ever wanted to know. So please stop saying these things around me…"

"Get used to it, Weiss! You're marrying my mate! Deal with it! You'll find yours soon enough, whether or not I want to hear about it, either! How do you have to consummate a wedding? Did you think about that?!" Blake hissed as she felt the vehicle come to a stop at the small store as the van fell silent from her counter, her ears dropping and her face faltering as he did not want to think about the consequences of what was soon to be.

Instead, she looked out at the small store, looked around at the people outside the van, and sighed. "All right, let's spread out and search for Tealle. I doubt anyone will have spotted her here, but it's the most logical place to start, as I don't have a scent on her. Maybe we'll get lucky."

"It's weird. She's done it occasionally, but each time she's returned shortly after, if not minutes after. She knows the strain she puts on Tealle's body. Something about not wanting either of them to be vulnerable. But she's never been missing this long before." Puck frowned as he removed himself from the windshield as everyone was about to get out of Coco's van. "The last time was when the witch took over to deliver a message to your friend, and then she came straight back to the hotel room after a short time. Maybe someone should have stayed back…"

"There's no guarantee that she'll return either." Blake shook her head, disagreeing with the elf's assessment. "This is Salem we're talking about, and while I have limited information about her, what I know is that she has plagued the world for several millennia. She will do whatever it takes to get what she wants. She's doing that right now, so I would not be surprised if this is just one big power play from her, and we're just caught in it. But we have no choice as much of an enemy she is…"

"An enemy of my enemy is a friend." Weiss sighed as she knew the old saying and wished it wasn't true. "We're stuck in between a rock in a hard spot in so many different ways. I don't know how it could get even…"

"It just did…" Kali hissed as she saw someone outside the van and opened the door, exiting to confront who she saw, leaving everyone inside stunned as she swept towards a chocolate-skinned man wearing black robes. "Corsac! You and your brother have some explaining to do wherever he may be!"

"Was it worth it? Leaving your brothers and sisters in need stranded without aid and guidance! You abandoned them, and most unforgivable, you and your brother took your faction and ran off to join those rebels in the Black Fang to destroy what semblance of peace this world has!" Kali hissed at the black-robed man, recognizing him despite the change of color in his clothing as a man nearby people in the town slowly began to turn and watch the scene, curious as to what was happening.

"Answer me!"

"Oh… So… Heavy…" Ruby gritted her teeth as she lifted with all of her might, huffing and puffing with each and every breath as she prepared a heated coal forge large enough for the massive blade known as Dragonslayer, as nothing else in the workshop could even contain the beast of a sword.

It was the only thing that would work.

The room was filled with the smell of fumes and cinders of various burnt materials and the sounds of metal beating on metal as a scruffy, blue-haired man with sun-kissed skin and well-toned muscles, worked at the burning forge on one side of the room, his intent solely on his craft as his apprentice, a very particular redhead watched in awe. Meanwhile, Ruby struggled to lift the massive sword onto her workspace as Guts had handed her Dragonslayer moments before.

In fairness, only a few forges were prepared for an eight-foot long, four-hundred-pound plus sword. But, luck would have it, the smith did work on great swords enough, so the armory could adapt, and Ruby could try her hand at resharpening the mighty blade.

Ruby by no means was a powerhouse like her sister, and something this massive, as a weapon, was not something to be trifled with while trying to lift. Of course, she could lift four hundred if she needed to, with her aura as she wasn't naturally that strong, but as a weapon and doing so carefully, that was a different story. She couldn't until recently when she was forced to train physically over the last year so much…

So she had that working for her.

Guts almost felt pity for the young girl after handing her his sword. He almost wanted to place it on the forge himself for her, but this was a test in his eyes. At the very least, she'd be able to move it on the forge like Rickert could, for unlike him or Godo, he was simply unable to lift the massive blade.

"Allow me." Pyrrha saw Ruby's struggle and came to her aid, knowing it would take some assistance to move the massive blade that snapped Milo in two and didn't want her friend to hurt herself in the process and gripped the handle as well. "Oh, that is heavier than I expected. Let me do this…"

Pyrrha's eyes glowed as her semblance took effect, aiding them as they carefully laid Dragonslayer onto the coal forge. Ruby gave her a bright smile as she huffed tiredly and gave her earnest appreciation as her eyes sparkled. "Thanks, Pyrrha… Needed that…"

Returning the smile, tilting her head, and closing her eyes, Pyrrha nodded and gently laughed. "Of course. That's what friends do. I'm going to be here helping my master with my gear, so if you need help, I'm right here to lend a hand. I've got more than enough muscle for both of us."

"I'll call." Ruby agreed as she laughed back at hearing her friend and nodded in agreement before she suddenly caught what she said at the end; she blustered under her friend's word choice, and her silver eyes heatedly bore upwards into Pyrrha's emeralds. "I'm not weak!"

"Wait, no. That's not what I meant..." Pyrrha suddenly found herself on the receiving end of two silver eyes glaring daggers at her, and she nervously held her hands before her, trying to pacify Ruby. "I'm sorry…

"What she meant to say is that your talents lay elsewhere, girl." Another voice came from the other side of the forge room as the clanging of other metal stopped before the sound of steam hissed in the smith and dunked the reforged Milo into a small vat of water to begin the hardening process before calling out to his apprentice. "Pyrrha, this is your blade. This should be your process from here on out. I've simply made sure she's reformed and whole again."

"Ah, yes, master, Ligryon." Pyrrha immediately but carefully rushed over to the blacksmith's side, taking the tongs from him as she prepared to take over the process of repairing Milo from this point forward and temper it herself.

Nodding in approval as he watched his apprentice take over and momentarily made sure her work was up to snuff, as it had been some time since he had seen her work, Ligyron returned his attention to the lithe huntress and explained further. "We all have our expertise. Mine happens to be with the sword and working with metal. She's physically gifted more than most. You…"

"Among other things, you are a technical marvel." Ligyron turned his attention and was drawn to an inactive Crescent Rose as she left it on one of the many counter spaces so it wouldn't get in her way while working, and he had time to admire the weapon. "I've only seen a weapon like that once before from a friend of mine. It was the deadliest thing I've ever witnessed, and yours may even surpass its design. Crafting that weapon was not a simple process and far beyond what my simple mind can comprehend."

"You know… Uncle Qrow?" Ruby tilted her head as she began the process of heating the charcoal forge as she prepared to work on Dragonslayer, making sure all the necessary tools were around that she was going to need.

Assisting in that, for he was curious about seeing such a massive blade in disrepair yet still so sturdy, but understanding why someone was so rigid about not letting just anyone touch their weapon, the blacksmith let out a light chuckle. "That explains a lot. Yeah, he and I go back to Beacon. That's why your mother immediately dipped out upon seeing me, most likely. Didn't like anyone that kicked her ass like my partner Glynda and I did. Never got along, and she holds grudges forever, it seems. So how is the old bag of bones?"

Laughing, as that was definitely why Raven had bolted from the scene and told Ruby she would be back later once she was finished, she wiped the building tears from her eyes as she double-checked all the tools around her. "Good. Less drunk. Home more often."

"Oh, he's attempting to sober up. Something must have changed since I last saw him." As he stepped back but watched the two younger girls work, making sure everything in his forge was correct but enjoying the company as it had been a long time since he had some.

And learning that the young huntress happened to be related to one of his good friends allowed him to catch up. He did note that she had an odd speech impediment, and with some thorough examination, he could see scarring through her hair. So it was very probable that she had sustained severe head trauma, which meant she was lucky enough to be standing, let alone be left the way she was.

That was a miracle in itself as a Huntress or Huntsman that withstood head trauma on the field usually did not survive, so she was a lucky one. Didn't matter if the opposition was human or Grimm. Mercy often wasn't shown in battle…

However, those eyes didn't seem like they belonged to Raven's or Tai's…

In fact, they reminded him of another…

"Raven's… Not my mom." Ruby muttered solemnly as she watched the embers heat the coals, and she prepared to get to work. "My sister's mom… Left when… She was young… Just came back. My mom passed… Long time ago…"

"Oh, I apologize for bringing that up." Ligyron gave a light bow and frowned as his thoughts were immediately confirmed, grimacing as a talented up-and-coming Huntress he knew from his youth was no longer among them. "Not that I think about it, Qrow mentioned something like that before. Must have slipped my mind. But for what it was worth, your mother was an amazing Huntress, from what I remember."

"Yeah… Dad and Qrow… Say the same…" Ruby smiled as she thought of everything she was told about her mother and her few memories, and her silver eyes shone brilliantly. "I want to… Be just like… Her… An amazing Huntress."

Seeing the massive blade beginning to heat up, Ruby's eyes glistened as she focused, grabbed the hammer, and started to get to work, huffing at the heat. Overseeing her, making sure her work was of high quality, Ligyron couldn't help but feel the fire and passion in her words. They felt so much like hers so long ago when he met the young huntress when she was in training. It was a shame he didn't seem to keep up with her as he did with Qrow over the years.

Assisting the young girl, being the muscle as Pyrrha was carefully working on her blade, Ligyron watched her work and was amazed at her mastery of the craft for such a young one. It made sense as those at Signal had to build and forge their weapons, so she had to have some skills, but she seemed almost unnaturally gifted. Like she instinctively knew exactly what she was doing. By giving her a few pointers and hints along the way, he allowed her to work while the black swordsman watched passively.

Outside the forge, crimson eyes burned before she softly sighed. Raven unclenched her fist as she looked up at the cloudy skies above, listening to everything said within. She never left and simply waited for everyone to finish, for she had nowhere else to go. She had nowhere else to be and knew her clan was here in Mistral. She didn't want to stray too far or be spotted by any marks. She was wanted because of the powers she held.

"I truly have made too many mistakes…" Raven looked up at the building storm clouds building above before closing her eyes and looking away dejectedly. "I know I don't deserve any of this, but…"

"Summer, I will make sure she's ready." Raven closed her eyes as she felt the rain droplets slowly splatter onto her. "She'll be the best of all of us. She and her friends will be the ones to change the world and make it a better place."

"I'll stake my life on it."

"Winter, your scroll," Qrow commanded as they walked down the streets of Vale, slowly making the round to his place for the moment since they didn't want to risk anyone following them back to Patch.

His apartment was expendable for all he cared. The majority of the neighbors moved out due to all the strange and unfortunate events that took place every day so they would be free to let loose in case someone tried to track them down. Didn't seem like it. At least he couldn't sense anyone, although he could be mistaken. The kid's senses were even better than his anyways, and he was on high alert, so if something got by him, nothing was getting by the fox. He usually could say the same about the Schnee as she was dependable, but…

She was in a state of pure shock and utterly lost, bumping into him and Naruto sporadically. Several times they had to help guide her to keep her on track and keep her from walking into the road. Hearing the man you idolized, her general and someone she unquestionably had never truly doubted before, suddenly ordering your execution on the spot like that alongside your sister's future husband had to be jarring to your psych.

In her blank and broken state, as she ghosted alongside them, she absently reached into the right breast side of her coat pocket and pulled out her scroll, and handed it over to Qrow without a second thought. Her eyes were vacant and empty, hardly any light shining within the icy blue sapphires as the Huntsman snapped the scroll in two and tossed both pieces away, scaring several walking residents away from the group of hunters. "Won't be needing that anymore. Go buy yourself a new one so he can't track you on that Atlas piece of tech. Vale model, preferably. He can still hack it, but his mitts aren't dug deep into our company's tech."

Winter complied with a nod, bereft of any real emotion, and Qrow grimaced. Having at least dealt with the Schnee before through Ironwood in the past and on very, very brief occasions having to go through Atlas and dealing with that family, he knew something wasn't right. She was the epitome of the Schnee cold superiority that he despised, yet she held an air of aloofness to her. It was as if she was trying to hide what lay beneath. As if there was a vulnerability that lay beneath…

And now that shell had been shattered and laid bare, and she was simply a husk, and nothing remained as it was ripped away from her.

While wary of everything around him, as he knew something was up for there was no way they would get out of that situation cleanly, Naruto fidgeted. He inadvertently ripped apart Winter's world. He had never expected James to pick the nuclear option as he had. While he had expected something to transpire, such as why he was confronting him, the way everything broke down was far more volatile than he had planned. And unfortunately, her career was sacrificed, and quite frankly, her life was entirely in his hands.

He hated that. Not only did he have her sister's life in his hands that he was trying to save, but he also had the older sister's life that he partially ruined in the process. For that, he was responsible for keeping her safe from the general and being assassinated for working alongside him while keeping her from losing her license.

How did this happen? Did he need to become the new Schnee patriarch? Was that really the easy route in all of this?

Naruto was really beginning to hate Fate if that was the best option, as it made his relationship and mating with Blake difficult. Not to mention his relationship with her parents! He liked Kali and Ghira! How would they take this knowing how protective they were of Blake? This situation was all kinds of fucked!

"Hey, pull yourself together," Qrow commented as they arrived at his apartment building, and he used his scroll to unlock the front door of the building and held it open for Naruto and Winter to walk inside. "You're a Huntress. You're built of tougher stuff than this. Come on now. There's so much more out there…"

"Like what?" Winter spoke with her voice hollowed and cracked as they walked inside, and Qrow closed the door behind them, emotion finally engulfing her as her body violently shook as he tried to lead them to his apartment.

"I have nothing. I'm exiled from my family's inheritance. I will lose my license the moment my father is capable of stripping it from me. One slip-up, and I'm ruined, even if I'm not at fault. Unlike Weiss, my business sense is rusty. I'm not cut out to make it on my own without being in the military, as it was all I had. It was my only salvation to get away from that broken home…" Winter stopped in the middle of the hallway and hung her head, biting her lip.

"This family was always a business decision for him. If there was love, it was hardly ever shown except maybe to Whitley. He never loved mother. She was a means to an end to amass the wealth and power he has now. And the rest of our extended family rejoiced as now they sit on top of the world because of it... Fools." Winter said spitefully after she spoke in a mournful tone and her body continued to tremble. "For many years in my youth, as I was young, it was confusing, and I hated the man as it just seemed whatever I did wasn't enough. That Weiss didn't mean anything to him! And I hated myself for abandoning her, but I had to."

"But then, after fighting that woman when rescuing Weiss and coming back severely injured as we were and seeing the fear in his eyes, I finally realized it. Somewhere in him, he loves us." Winter admitted while shaking and clenching her fist. "It's twisted and colder than I could ever imagine, as he wants us under his control. He wants us to become spitting images of himself! And we were never that, and that's why he was disappointed in us! We were always like our mother! Always like our grandfather! And he couldn't stand it!"

"Well, that's something, but we shouldn't be doing this out here…" Qrow reasoned but came off somewhat insincere without intending to before motioning toward the other doors among the hallways in the apartments. "I might not have very many neighbors due to my luck rubbing off everyone nearby, but I still have some crazy enough to stick around. Probably because the rent is cheap…"

"I understand that hollow. sinking feeling you're suffering through right now." Naruto cut off Qrow in a low empathetic tone as he shifted Winter's gaze to his as he took a deep breath. "Everything you put your heart and soul into has been taken and stripped away in a single moment, and you don't know what to do. I get that even more. It's a void that gnaws at you, corroding your being, poisoning it. It just wants to suck you in and lead you into a spiraling depressive maelstrom of destruction even when there is still hope around you. You're just too blind to see it, stuck in your misery."

With her icy blues entirely focused on the blonde that had been forced into her father's schemes and could very unfortunately become part of their family soon enough, Winter narrowed her eyes. Then, gritting her teeth as the sorrow she felt within her soon was replaced with a bubbling pit of rage, she snapped at the blonde faunus as she threw her left hand beside her. "And what would you know?! I was betrayed by the man who gave me everything to escape the hell I tried to pry myself from! I finally made a name for myself on my own merits, not because I was a Schnee! I didn't need to use my name for anything! I was just finally…"

"Me."

"No, you weren't, kid. You were being used the entire time. You were scouted and brought to Atlas when you showed promise." Qrow responded gruffly and snapped Winter's enraged ire toward him as her eyes crossed into his reds. "Why do you think you always met with the old woman, Freya? Do you think that was just something odd he had you do? No, he had you earmarked, Winter. There's something more brewing with all of this, and I'll tell you once we're out of earshot. Too many prying ears here. Something that he, Ozpin, and the other headmasters all used to collude in, but as of now, things have changed. You should know that truth now that you've seen this side of James. The side I knew of him all along. The one willing to do whatever it takes to save Remnant."

Gnashing her teeth more violently than before, strutting up to Qrow and gazing into his eyes, Winter bit back a snarl. "Oh, you two think you know everything, don't you? That you are a couple of fixer-uppers? That with some magic words, and poof, everything is all better! Well, it's not going to be! I don't care! You think I didn't recently learn that he was up to something?! Of course, I did! I started digging soon after I recovered from the incident in April after finding it strange how those lackeys just suddenly vanished. No information was sent out to us until the last possible second when everything went wrong! I started to learn that the General wasn't as great as I realized!

Withdrawing into herself and bringing her right hand onto her chest, Winter gazed down at the floor meekly. "But I cling to the hope that all those things were for the greater good. That he was doing these things for reasons I could not see yet. But now, I just can't…"

"When I was growing up, I had no family, or honestly, I didn't have any friends and took care of myself. I made like one or two friends before I joined the military a few months before the age of thirteen," Naruto interrupted Winter, his gaze looking down away as he recalled the story as he drew both Winter's and Qrow's attention to him. "At the same time, one of the only people who ever acknowledged me and was kind of my self-imposed rival throughout my childhood was put together on my team. As someone who was a pariah growing up, that meant the world to me."

"Dysfunctional as we were, along with our other teammate and sensei, we made it work despite butting heads all the time. He was always aloof, but if he saw something I could do and wanted to know how to do it, we traded or vice versa. It's how I learned how to breathe fire, along with a few other techniques. We bonded and were close as brothers, although neither of us would ever say such a thing. We both were desperate for that kind of connection as I had never had it. He spent three miserable years without family since that fateful night they were all assassinated under the cover of darkness…"

As Qrow raised his eyebrow, never hearing the exact details of this story, he wondered where this was leading, but started to see the point. He was making a connection with Winter. He realized the boy's identity and began mentally preparing for what would come next. And she was entranced by every word as she seemed to feel something from the tone of his somber yet genuine voice. And the detail of the kid's family being assassinated in a single night was a new wrinkle for him. That added a whole new layer of complexity to the equation.

The kid was quite messed up in the head…

"In the middle of our initiation test, something changed. I'll spare the details, but an intruder infected him with a powerful curse that gave him a buff in strength but also altered his mind. And giving him such a gift and promising him more power tempted him. He fought back against it at first, never telling me about it. So I was left in the dark as my brother suffered, and we kept training. Kept on going as if everything was normal when it clearly wasn't. He was changing, and I didn't know it. If I had only known at the time…"

Recognizing that the story was progressing a lot slower than he anticipated, Qrow had to wonder where this was going. This didn't seem to be leading to what he thought it was. If he was leading to his death, wouldn't he have gotten to the war and skipped many of the other parts? Unless there was something else he was missing here…

"He saw me get stronger and stronger under a new sensei's tutelage to the point I was defeating enemies he could not and out-matching him. And it drove him past the point of no return, so he fled the village to seek the intruder, and a team was sent to recover him. I was on it." Naruto sighed as he recalled the events and bit his lip. "Almost no one came back unscathed as they sent people to recover him. It was a bloodbath for both sides. We were lucky that no one on our side died, but it was extremely close. However, I ended up confronting my friend alone, and he refused to come back. So I was forced to do the only thing I could and try to bring him back by force. Unfortunately, I lost, and for my troubles…"

"The person I treasured the most and called my brother struck me in the heart before leaving me to die that day." Naruto finished, his cerulean gaze looking straight into Winter's stunned ice-cold blues while Qrow fumbled his scroll in his hand, barely able to catch it as that was not what he had expected.

He knew the two had fought from listening to the story from what he told in the dorms back in Beacon, but again he glossed over some key details! How the hell could he consider the person his brother and friend still after that?!

Winter was once left in a hollow state of shock. Initially, she was enraged at the interruption, as he was once again trying to argue with her that she knew everything, but his genuine and relaxed demeanor and tone contrasted with hers. And then, as she listened, a piece of her resonated with what he was telling her. Speaking of someone he genuinely trusted and had a bond with that meant the world to him. How his life before was harsh and brutal.

Everything spoke to her. From an emotional standpoint, it was very similar to what she was dealing with, and it stung. And then the climax came, and what little color she had left drained from her body. That level of betrayal wasn't just similar…

It was a step beyond as his friend had gone through with it. They, for all intents and purposes, succeeded, yet somehow Naruto still stood…

"I still have the scars despite my insane regeneration. Lightning does a number on you, I give you that, but thankfully I had already reflected most of the attack before it connected to my chest." Naruto sighed as he lifted his heavy shirt to reveal his chest and specifically show an old but scarred piercing burn that wounded the spot over his heart on his chest before putting his shirt back down. "So when you asked me earlier, what do I know? Unfortunately, I know a bit more than I would like about someone I trust, admire, and quite frankly love betraying and attempting to kill me…"

"And I still forgave them in the end as they lost, and I think James is too. He's lost and controlled, wrapped in something far beyond what he can comprehend, and I don't know if I can stop him before something desperate forces his hand. But I will do everything I can to try and save him. Just as I would for anyone else, as there is something worth saving in there." Naruto stated with conviction as he offered his hand to Winter, gazing into her eyes before asking her a simple question.

"Do you trust me?"

Lost for words, Winter wasn't sure what to believe anymore. Her body shook at everything she heard. The story she told was genuine. Those scars, that burn wound, even with his regeneration rate, had to be critical if it left that kind of mark. And she knew he was honest from everything Weiss would say about him. Sometimes he was all she talked about…

She was a little obsessed at times.

And to hear he wasn't ready to quit on the general despite what had happened. That he believed something else was happening that they needed to take care of. She knew Mistral was in play, but what else was there? She knew they were dealing with something more, but what were they dealing with? What could be a greater threat?

But knowing that detail, Winter slowly and gingerly accepted his hand, and she gave a feeble smile. "I trust you."

"Thank you." Naruto returned a smile and gently released her hand before turning his gaze to Qrow. "We need to change our plans. I think we made a mistake. They're not coming for us. If they were, they'd already be here by now. No one's calling us about being attacked, so I have a gut feeling, but I think I know who they're targeting."

"Qrow, go to Glynda and help her protect my witness!" Naruto growled as the realization dawned on him, and he wanted to curse. "Without her, my case comes down to this document, which doesn't stand nearly as well. Winter and I are heading to the only other place that makes sense, and oh, boy, that's going to be interesting if they send someone there…"

"Shit, didn't think about that!" Qrow bit back a growl of annoyance, knowing Glynda and the police could now be in trouble. "By the Brothers, Raven picked a beautiful time to have me commit to stop drinking. I could use one right about now. If my thoughts are correct about the other spot where the asshat will send assassins, he's got bigger balls than I would think. Does he realize the panic that would cause right now with all the attention and spotlight drawn onto him?"

"Not if Mistral Trade Company found a new Dust mine, which I fear is increasingly becoming a reality. They're making some bold moves, and it makes a lot more sense that they have a new resource to go all in like this suddenly. Get rid of the competition and those making their life more complicated." Naruto stated in frustration as he brushed his hand through his hand and ears.

Soon as the word Dust left his mouth, Winter caught on, and her body instantly became rigid. She knew exactly where they thought the other possible target could be. And her blood froze. "No, they wouldn't dare. The general wouldn't."

"James would. Even if it is warped beyond comprehension, he absolutely would if it meant protecting Remnant with the least amount of casualties. That I'm sure he has thought about." Qrow commented as he sighed and lowered his head before shaking it. "But in this case, it's Vester Gold. He's calling the shots, and Buckethead is simply allowing it. So we need to move. I need to get to Glynda and protect that witness, and you two need to move."

"As much as I don't want to do this as the man has been a thorn in my side, I'm not willing to let him just be offed by this bastard either." Naruto bitterly responded as his ears twitched in annoyance while Winter looked on, still horrified as she was processing what was happening.

"I'm not about to let Jacques and Willow be assassinated on my watch."

As the dust and smoke settled from the debris of the explosion below, a lone man kept his scope trained on the scene. He felt an impulsive twitch to pull the trigger as he saw a silhouette through the darkness. However, seeing the two Atlas special ops members move in, he held his fire in check.

Whether he liked it or not, they were in charge above ground. Their presence here was to remain a secret. So if they could be brought in peacefully or apprehended without the loss of their men, the better for them. After all, this noise didn't help and would attract unwanted attention, so they needed to wrap this up quickly. The longer this dragged on, the uglier things were going to turn out. And with the blonde one down, the one that seemed to be causing the problem in the first place, maybe the other two would settle down quietly.

"Delta Three." His commander's voice came over his comm line in his earpiece as he kept his eye on the situation below, his scope trained on the shaggy, long-haired boy as he had a clear shot on him now that the wall had been blown away. "I have received orders from the top."

"Eliminate the intruders." The commander's voice was ice cold as he gave the line, and the soldier frowned hearing that, seeing the two Atlas spec ops trying to talk down the hunters and keep this situation calm but ready to use force as they prepped their weapons. "Atlas is showing signs of weakness in this arrangement. Therefore, we shall deal with it personally."

Lining his crosshairs between the young man's eyes, exhaling a deep breath, and steadying his hands as he looked down the barrel of his scope, the sniper was on target. Distance wasn't a factor at this range. Neither was wind nor bullet drop from here. He would hit his target. "Soon as you have a clear shot, take it."

With an eruption of aura unlike anything he had ever seen before, the soldier's focus was snapped. What was this? An aura release of this magnitude? That ripped stone apart from the sheer volume of its release? What was the blonde girl?! And why could he feel the heat from her aura from here?! With a simple movement, he immediately trained his rifle on the release's epicenter and focused on her.

The boy and the girl weren't nearly as much of a threat as she was. And with her aura flaring as it was, a single round might not cut it. He would have to be precise and ensure she was taken down in a single round as he lined the crosshairs onto the flowing golden hair of the blonde's head.

She was too dangerous to let live…

"Why hello there?" He heard a voice chirp while he felt a cylindrical rod was placed firmly against the right side of his neck and collarbone. "Lovely day out today, isn't it?"

"Say, could you do me a favor and step away from that rifle? That would be much appreciated. Don't think my newly appointed boss would appreciate one of his girls' heads being splattered on the pavement." The soldier's eyes narrowed as he slowly turned to see that his guards had been silently knocked unconscious.

And a man in a white suit and a black bowler hat stood hysterically at his side, holding a cane pressed against his neck. "Who the hell do you think you are?! Do you think you can get away with this?!"

"Who do you think I am?! Is that a real question I'm getting right now?!" The man scoffed before smacking the soldier in the side of the face, knocking him down with ease, and before the soldier could even get back onto his feet, he pointed his cane at him and the bottom end popped open. "You Mistral dogs are all the same. Don't know a damn thing yet riding your high horse thinking you own the world!"

"I'm the best damn phantom thief there is, has been, or ever will be! I am Roman Torchwick!"

"Now, do me a favor and tell your boss I'm coming! I've got some scores to settle!"

An explosion ripped off the top of the building above, catching everyone off guard, and their attention turned as rubble fell. Many scattered in terror at the sudden explosion while others barked orders, trying to regroup and send others into the building to investigate.

Harriet's eyes narrowed at what unfolded. That was where the sniper was perched, and they held a distinct advantage because of that, but now things were a little different. However, it shouldn't mean too much. They were the most skilled Huntsman and Huntresses in Atlas, after all.

Turning back to the three hunters, her eyes widened as she suddenly had a right fist greet her face. Yang was on top of her, taking the distraction to her advantage and landing a clean hit. Next, Ember clicked and fired a round, bursting into the tawny-skinned woman's face. Still, her aura was durable enough to withstand the blow as she only stumbled back, reflexively knocking away Yang's follow-up underhand before backflipping and landing in a crouch.

Wiping her chin and lips from the burnt scuff from the ashes of the combustion round to her face, Harriet grinned as she stood up and gathered herself. "Nice hit. Won't happen again for someone that had to bring in backup to score a cheap shot."

"Wasn't cheap if you weren't paying attention!" Yang countered, bouncing side to side as she rushed over to Harriet to keep from giving a clear shot while she came in with jabs and forced the stocky, well-built woman on the defensive, occasionally counter-striking as she became used to Yang's style and aggression. "And I have no idea what you are talking about! If someone else is here, that's on you to deal with!"

"I want answers to what's happened down there! Naruto took those mechs months ago! Why are there more down there?!" Yang demanded as she guarded with her left, Ember taking a strike from Harriet's metal gauntlet before she grinned, feeling the force of the blow behind it as she parried it to the side with a slight shift of her weight and slide of her feet.

Losing her balance from this movement, stumbling onto her tippy toes, and being carried into the blonde striking range, Yang came up hard with a left uppercut as her aura burned golden for a brief second. Only for her to punch through the air, causing her to stumble forward as she heard a crackle burst past her. Although off balance herself, her eyes widened, having seen it for only the briefest moments, she regained her balance and turned as quickly as she could.

But it wasn't fast enough as Yang felt a metal gauntlet connect to her cleanly to her chin as Harriet returned in a blur of motion, striking her hard.

But it wasn't the most brutal punch she had taken before. The benefit of sparring with Naruto. And her father. They hit way harder than she could ever dream of throwing at her, especially when her father was treating it seriously.

Those hits really hurt!

And she dealt with speed like this all the time. Benefit of having a sister with a super speed semblance and sparring with them constantly. So she could keep up. And Naruto probably could move as fast, too, and that was scarier than anything she could throw at her altogether.

This was chump change she was being hit with!

Absorbing and rolling with the hit but focusing on the left knee coming up, Yang took the speedster's knee straight into the center of her chest as she was moving too quickly for her reaction. She wasn't fast enough to block it. The same was true when Ruby punched and kicked at her using her semblance. Again, she was too fast to stop her from making a clean connection.

But if she knew it was coming, she could catch it.

And Harriet's eyes opened wide as she felt latch her right arm firmly around her left thigh, holding it tightly into her chest. And her pink eyes looked on in fear as Yang's eyes burned gold as the fiery aura blazed golden as she cocked her fist back. "I deal with super speed every day of my life! It doesn't mean shit if you can't get away from me!"

Even putting her gauntlet arms up to protect her face, both arms recoiled from the blow, and Ember fired into them and bounced into her face, stunning her with the force of the impact. The second time it happened, it broke her guard, and the third punch came through cleanly, catching her in the jaw and leaving her bloodied and bruised as her aura started to crackle around her, slowly fading. This girl's blows were extremely potent…

Suddenly she was dropped as Yang was forced to let go as an orange and pink blur burst between them, and the blonde dragoness' eyes widened. "Nora!"

"Woah! You got some freakish strength!" Elm claimed as she was able to turn in time, her hammer meeting Magnhild's handle as metal clanged, and she skidded a foot back before a light green aura pulsed from her foot, stopping her momentum, and she swung around, slamming back into Nora's block.

Suddenly, Nora flew from the contact, shattering against the wall, bouncing off of it, landing in a crouch on her feet and charging straight back as she shielded herself with her aura. "I've got more where that's coming from!"

Ren was on Elm, slashing with StormFlower with his left and forcing her to block with her handle. Lifting his right hand from the hip, he fired several rounds into her armored chest, catching her off guard as the bullets knocked her back but focused her aura. It kept them from doing any lasting damage. She grimaced as the armor was enough to give her the protection she needed. Then, planting her left foot with aura, she threw a right elbow into Ren's chest, knocking him back to create some distance before giving a mighty horizontal swing of her hammer as Nora flew in.

And as Nora grinned as she hit her hammer beneath her, seeing the swing coming and fired the pin in her hammer to bounce herself over, Ren rolled with the blow and trained both StormFlowers guns to help his partner. But neither was ready for what happened next.

Elm hit her hammer's trigger. And two rockets burst from the back end, increasing her swing speed dramatically, catching Nora in her torso mid-boost jump with the head of the hammer.

Nora's eyes blanked from the sheer impact of the force as her aura crackled and shattered around her from the power of the blow. She was launched from the building at high velocity and sent careening back into the street, Magnhild flying out of her grip and away from her as she bounced off the concrete and creating small crater cracks as she did until she skidded to a halt against the building on the other side, bricking into it hard.

"Nora!" Ren cried out in anguish seeing his lifelong friend be launched across the street and knew she was in trouble, seeing several soldiers quickly rounding up on the spot where she had landed.

But he was forced to dodge a rocket-propelled hammer swing and use his speed to jump over and slash at the brutishly large and powerful woman and make her put her guard up. And as he shot several rounds at her chest once more, Ren took the opportunity to dash away and get to Nora's position.

"Dammit, you're not going anywhere!" Elm roared as she jumped on her hammer and propelled herself toward him in a similar move to Nora.

But having seen the rockets already, Ren had predicted such an outcome and used his aura in his feet to sustain a mighty jump, leaping himself over Elm as she launched past him and towards the rest of her men. And flipped mid-air, he trained both of StormFlower's guns onto her back and unloaded every round he could into her in the brief window of opportunity he was offered.

It was enough as she couldn't control the landing of her hammer, and she crashed into the soldiers, giving him the opportunity he needed to get to Nora. Striking one soldier in the back of the neck with the back of StormFlower, grabbing him by the collar, and tossing him into another to throw them off balance. Yang was on top of them instantly, blasting each with a single punch and sending them away, forcing them to retreat. Ren finally came to a sliding stop on his knees as he reached her side and grimaced at her condition.

She was in terrible shape.

Nora was tough as they came, but this woman seemed to have heavy striking power behind her blows. Nora was groaning and weakly moving as she was cradled against the wall and concrete. Her chest was battered, and he could visibly see the indent of the hammer strike on the left side of her chest and stomach. It almost seemed her chest had collapsed in on itself. Blood was dripping from her lips, smearing onto her cheek, dripping on the ground beneath her, and there was no doubt internal damage was done. How severe, he wasn't sure, but he needed to get her out of here and fast.

Her aura absorbed a lot of the strike, but it seemed at the last moment, she managed to shield herself. And if she hadn't, so much more damage would have been done…

"How's Nora doing?!" Yang rushed over, clearing the last of the standing guards with a few more shots of Ember, and came over only for her body to grow rigid at the sight of her friend.

Red.

The dripping.

The pooling of crimson ooze.

Not again. Not this. She had to be stronger than this. She couldn't freeze and lock up now! Not now! They were in danger!

"At least you'll be a tasty treat."

"No, no, no…" Yang trembled as she started swaying from side to side, her vision blurring as she staggered and tried to keep her balance. "Get out of my head. Get out of my head!"

"Yang?!" Ren was alarmed seeing his friend's reaction; it brought back memories from last night.

She came out to everyone that she had hemophobia. That she was still dealing with post-traumatic stress. And while she may have looked like the same Yang, he remembered from before, even during that fight against the Nuckaleeve and everything he saw on the island.

Yang wasn't. She was broken inside, and this was not helping her heal. He knew that there wasn't much of a choice in the matter, and she wouldn't be one to sit on the sidelines but maybe…

She should be forced to sit down after this.

"Yang!" Ren called out, his eyes widening as he caught movement in his eyes at the last second as he saw Elm come in, striking hard with her hammer.

But she was too disoriented to be able to put up a guard, her aura catching the entirety of the blow and absorbing it. Even as it sent her flying, it was still potent as ever as she could take more, but a streak of movement burst beside her as a metallic hammer fist came down onto her face, driving her down into the concrete below.

Air gasped out of Yang's lungs as Harriet landed hard into her chest cavity with her knees at high velocity. She then transferred into the mount, raining down punch after punch onto the defensive and still disoriented dragoness. "Yeah, how did you like it when you're cheap shotted! Not so fun, is it!"

Yang's aura slowly began to fade and burn away, her aura crackling around her as her eyes started to roll in the back of her head as strike after strike pounded her into the concrete.

Was this what it was like?

Was this karmic justice?

She couldn't even move anything now.

Everything was numb.

She could hardly feel a thing.

All she knew was…

This wasn't how she wanted things to end.

She wanted so much more!

Yang wanted to spend so much more time with her friends!

Get to know each of them better! Forge stronger relationships with them! Apologize to Blake and Naruto for bumbling into their mating and wanting to stay good friends! Wanting to get closer to Weiss!

Wanting to watch her baby sister blossom and grow up into the woman she knew she was destined to become!

But this time, no strength came to her. Only tears filled her eyes and streaked down her cheeks, mixing with the foul and paralyzing crimson elixir pouring out of her broken nose. She didn't have anything more to give as she felt her aura shatter and give way.

The next punch would do it.

It would end her.

But a crimson ember caught Harriet, carrying her off Yang and into a nearby building, exploding on impact as the area around her blew up in smoke. And someone in all white lifted her and groaned in annoyance as he did. "My word. Thought you were better than that…"

"Kid, grab your friend and get! This will only last for so long! I've got her! Just go!" A voice echoed through the smoke as it filled the street, and Ren instantly knew it was someone on his side.

So carefully lifting Nora, knowing this was his only chance, he bolted from the area, using the smoke to cover his tracks and his senses to avoid all nearby personnel. He could hear Elm cursing loudly as she searched for him, but he was too quiet and stealthy for someone like her to find. Always had been.

She would never find him. Nor would the soldiers. By the time the smoke lifted, he would be long gone, so he hoped that the stranger who helped Yang would be too.

It was the only thing he could hope for.

I will be returning to updates every two weeks foreseeable future.

The update schedule is on my profile.

Next update is on January 27th.

And I'm currently backlogged into March.

And one small favor.

Since you made it this far, why don't you check out Blazeraptor54's work?

Got quite a few good Naruto/RWBY crossovers if that is what you are looking for.

I am sure you'll find one you will enjoy.

The story Perfect Time is one of the few Naruto/Blake stories that brought me back to writing.

So with that, I like to bring back an old tradition in my old stories for now...

Peace Out.