Decades ago, it was the death of one man that would ignite what would become known as the Faunus Revolution.

A fire that was carefully tended as the winds of those in power blew like a hurricane as they tried to snuff it out. Still, it burned brightly regardless. Steadily and carefully tended so as not to burn out of control. To do as fire tended to do and destroy all that it came into contact with.

But that would change today.

At least that's what Jessie's employers hoped would happen today. Whether they wanted to finally crush the spirit of the faunus or force another rebellion, another war, he wasn't quite sure. And, honestly, he didn't care. A job was a job, and this one paid well.

He watched as his hired muscle loaded crates of mining dust in a long-forgotten catacombs beneath a meeting house in Mistal's capital. Soon the man that bears that flame lit so long ago now will arrive. Ghira Belladonna, the leader of the White Fang and Chieftain of Menagerie. And soon to be dead man.

The last of the crates were placed and rigged to explode. Jessie took his time to look over the work. One couldn't just assume everything was done correctly, you had to double and tipple check everything. Each crate had a link that led back to a central blasting cap, which could be activated remotely. Everything seemed to be all right, except for one little problem.

"Torchwick," Jessie called out to his young protégé, "Who did you have setup the detonator?"

"Beardy," Torchwick said, leaning on one of the boxes.

"James?" Jessie said, and Torchwick nodded, "Well tell him he didn't fucking set it right, and it's coming out of his pay." They couldn't afford a fuckup like that.

Jessie set the charge himself as his team filed out of the catacombs. Just a few more hours and their target would arrive. Then they just needed to press a trigger and wait for their payments to come through.

It was a bloody business, but Lien never lies.

Another day, another shitty bar to drink in.

Which if you asked Qrow, is exactly where he liked to spend his time. Amongst the chain smokers and boozers. Broken hearted fools and losers. Smoke dancing in front of the neon moons and old songs about lost love playing softly in the background from an even older radio.

Nowhere he'd rather be, or at least that's what he tells himself and everyone else.

Just as Qrow had found himself a suitably lonely table to sit in, hidden in a dark corner of the room. Sitting his happy ass down and preparing to forget that he was ever in Mistral at all. The bar shook as a loud boom was heard. The lights flickered momentarily as some of the less drunk patrons of the bar figured that is was probably just another grimm attack and that if they were gonna die, might as well do it wasted.

Qrow, being the ever-caring huntsman he was, decided that he should at least check if there was an attack. Downing his drink and tossing the bartender some Lien his exited to bar and into the crowded Mistral streets.

The streets were as chaotic as one would expect them to be when things start exploding. Civilians racing towards shelters and bunkers. Some police and first responders were rushing to help. More than a few people panicked and there were some that were trampled. Qrow managed to slip into a back alley before transforming into his corvid form.

Flying above the building and crowds and towards the large plume of black smoke that even his bird brain could recognize as the result of an explosion. Though surprisingly, if one was expecting a grimm attack, the explosion was not at or near the outer walls. Instead, being in the near center of one of the outer rings of the city.

Definitely wasn't any ground based grimm then. Couldn't be anything large enough to simply walk over the walls. They aren't exactly the quietest of grimm and they tend not to blend in well. Not to mention the warning alarm would have sounded and the heavy cannons on the walls would have fired. Which considering they were currently still quiet, crossed that one off the list of possibilities.

Wasn't any flying grimm either. The AA guns hadn't gone off. Which meant that it was either some sort of subterranean grimm or someone just blew something up. Which Qrow had more of an appreciation for a fine explosion than the average person does, but interrupting his drinking time was just rude. So, when he found who, or what, ever decided to interrupt him and finished kicking their ass, he could get back to drinking his troubles away like a normal person.

As he got closer to the plume of smoke a thought crossed Qrow's mind. Wasn't something supposed to be happening today? Someone important showing up? Eh, it probably didn't matter. If they were really important, important enough to blow up, then they would have been staying in the inner parts of the city with higher security.

Unless they were a faunus.

Qrow landed in another alley before transforming back into his regular form. Walking out and finding more panicking people. Most running away from the scene, with a few people helping other's out of the rubble or providing first aide. And a few people just recording on their fuckin' scrolls.

Dumbasses.

One particular onlooker caught Qrow's eye though. A frightened looking rabbit faunus covered in dust and holding a few bags of takeout. Sort of just standing around and staring at the wreckage though their glasses were completely covered in red dust. With a blue sash tied around his right arm with a familiar looking logo on it.

"Hey, kid." Qrow said towards the rabbit faunus, who almost jumped out of his clothes as Qrow spoke to him. "You with the White Fang?"

"I was just supposed to get the food, I promise!" The faunus said, holding up the bags. It was hard to tell if he was screaming out of fear or if his ears were damaged by the blast. "I'm not important or anything! I swear!"

"So, you are with the Fang?" Qrow said, the rabbit faunus nodding in response. Well, that made sense. There's plenty of people out there that would love to stamp out the White Fang. There were more than a few in Mistral alone. Qrow pulled out his Huntsmen's license and showed it to the faunus. "I'm a huntsman kid. Now, I need you to tell me who all you know were inside whatever that pile of rubble used to be."

"Most of the high council was…" The faunus trailed off, finally realizing how much the Fang just lost. And that kids, is why you don't get most of your leadership in the same place at the same time. It makes it really fuckin' easy to cut off the head of whatever you're doing. What the hell could they have even been meeting for? "They're all…"

"We just lost everything!" The faunus dropped the bags to the ground. "We just… It's all over! Oh gods, they just killed the chief of Menagerie. Those bastards!"

The chief of Menagerie. Ghira Belladonna.

Oh, shit.

This was bad.

"Several organizations have now claimed responsibility for the explosion that rocked Mistral's capital yesterday." Lisa Lavender reported, as Taiyang sat on the couch watching the morning news. "Including the HRO, HFTEF, and the RHR. Though some are claiming that the bombing that killed most of the White Fang leadership was a false flag attack meant to incite violence from Faunus communities towards humans."

"Dammit," Tai mutter to himself as he watched. Ghira wasn't exactly someone he considered a friend, more of an acquaintance really, but he still respected the man. Kali, poor Kali, she was more Summer's friend than his. And he hadn't seen or talked with either of them since Summer's funeral, but that didn't mean he couldn't send something. Even if it wouldn't be more than a token gesture. "I don't think I still have her number. Maybe I should send some flowers."

"Who are you going to send flowers to, daddy?" Yang said, peeking over from behind the couch. Tai quickly turned off the TV as he looked over his shoulder at his daughter. "You aren't taking some lady out on a date, are you?" Yang almost looked a little mad as she leaned over the back of the couch.

Tai put on his best fake smile and picked up his now nine-year-old daughter and he sat her down next to him on the couch. "No, I'm not going on a date with anyone. I'm just…" Taiyang paused, trying to think of a way to tell the truth without giving too many details. "I'm just sending an old friend of mine flowers because I know she's going through a hard time right now."

"Oh," Yang said, "So you're sending flowers to cheer her up. Maybe you can send some cookies too, that always cheers Ruby up."

Tai chuckled, usually Ruby was the first one up in the morning out of the two girls. "Is Ruby still asleep?" Tai asked and Yang nodded. Usually, Yang wouldn't be up till at least noon on the weekends. "So, why are you up so early?"

"You forgot!" Yang said, standing up and crossing her arms. She looked so much like Raven sometimes. "You promised you would unlock my aura and we could start training today!"

"Oh, right." He had promised her he would. A little bit earlier than when a child's aura was traditionally unlocked at the age of ten. Usually so that they would fully understand that dangers of having it unlocked. But Yang was anything if not impatient when it came to things like that and was much more mature than Tai was when he had his unlocked. Guess having a little sister will do that. "Well, I'll start after breakfast, so go get your sister up."

"Okay!" Yang said, with a wide smile before she ran up the stairs to wake Ruby up. Tai frowned when she disappeared from sight. It occurred to him how many moments Ghira would have shared with his daughter, whose name he couldn't for the life of him remember, that were just gone now. Dust in the wind.

He sighed as he got up from the couch and walked to the kitchen to start preparing breakfast. There was just too much tragedy for his old friends it seemed. Summer left a hole in his own, and Qrow, hearts that would never be filled. Old Nicholas Arc somehow kept himself together after Blanche died. Now Ghira was gone. It seemed that their old group got smaller and smaller with each passing year.

Too much tragedy, too much death.

Jaune smelt something he hadn't smelt in many months; something edible being cooked in the kitchen!

Which could only mean one thing, dad wasn't cooking! And that was a prize not only worth getting up before noon for, but something Jaune would give his left leg for on most days. Not that he didn't love his dad, and he was trying, but the man just couldn't cook.

So Jaune tossed his blanket to the side. Got up from bed. Put on just enough clothing to not get laughed at by his sisters. And ran down the stairs and into the kitchen of the Arc household. Almost managing to trip and fall flat on his face as he turned the corner to enter the kitchen, and he would have if Saphron didn't catch him.

"I was wondering when you'd be down," Saphron said, as Jaune stood upright. "You need to stop running around like the house is on fire. I swear, if I didn't know better, I'd think it was your semblance." Jaune rolled his eyes at his older sister.

"Don't you roll your eyes at me," Saphron huffed. Jaune couldn't stand it when she tried to play mom. She was only a few years older than him, and that didn't mean she got to boss him around all the time.

"Then don't tell me what to do!" Jaune said, another morning Arc sibling fight about to begin, before thankfully being interrupted.

"Both of you, cut the crap." Garnet, the eldest Arc sister, said. Wearing mom's old apron, her hair tied back in a low ponytail as she stood over the sizzling bacon. She pointed towards the youngest Arc sibling, Kelly, sitting in her highchair near the end of the kitchen table. "I swear to The Brothers, if either of you make Kelly cry, I will tie both of you to a chair and force feed you dad's tuna casserole." The middle Arc siblings moved a few steps away from each other. "Good."

He may have hated being bossed around by either of his older sisters, but Jaune wasn't dumb enough to cross Garnet if he didn't need to. That and, it almost felt right. Almost felt like it did before their mom had died. Maybe it was because, just like their mom, she knew how to wrangle kids like a pro. Or just that, well, Garnet and their mother looked so much alike.

The same darker blonde hair that mom had. Darker than the rest of the family. Same deep blue eyes, and a glare that could stun a death stalker.

Jaune grabbed a plate of bacon and eggs and sat down at his usual spot on their old dining table. Saphron sitting across from him and Garnet sitting next to Kelly, serving the youngest Arc her own breakfast of oatmeal.

"Shouldn't you be helping Dr. what's his name by now?" Jaune asked Garnet.

"Dr. Chamberlain, Jaune." Garnet said, before taking a bite of bacon. "And no, he got called to some conference last minute, so I'll have the next week free." Garnet had been studying under him for the last few years now instead of going to high school. She had wanted to be a huntress, but dad wouldn't train her and now that she was fifteen it was too late for her to late for her to have a decent chance of making it into an academy if he did start training her. So, she decided to be a doctor instead.

"Where's dad?" Jaune asked, he was usually up fairly early. Either getting some training in or maintaining his weaponry. "Surprise mission?" It had been long enough since their mom died that his grievance leave was up and he'd had to start taking missions again. He had to if he wanted to keep his license.

"He was out here earlier," Saphron said, "You'd know that if you woke up at a decent time."

"He got a call from someone he had to take," Garnet said, messing with something on her scroll. "Something Belladonna, I think it was. He said he had to take it in his office." Why did that name sound familiar?

"Belladonna? Like that guy who got blown up a few months ago?" Saphron asked, and Garnet nodded. "Do you think it's the same family? I think dad said something about knowing him when they were younger." Garnet shrugged.

"One of you should go get him," Garnet said, "He needs to eat too."

"Why don't you go get him?" Jaune asked.

"Thanks for volunteering Jaune. You always were a great little brother." Garnet said with a smirk, and he had to admit. He walked into that one.

Admitting defeat, he stood up from the table. Leaving his perfectly edible breakfast to waste away while he was gone for the two minutes it would take to get his father.

Jaune left the kitchen and walked back up the grand staircase and towards his father's office. Passing by paintings of his many ancestors. Weapons, both new and old, from every corner of Remnant seal away in cases. And more than a few dust bunnies before he reached the door to his father's office. The door being opened slightly. He grabbed the nob, but hesitated as he heard his father's voice from the other side.

"Really Kali, it's not trouble. You can stay with us as long as you need." His father, Nicholas Arc, said. He couldn't hear the response, so he must have still been in the middle of his call. Kali Belladonna. Why did that name sound familiar? "Yes, we have plenty of room. We used to have generations of Arc's living in this old house all at once. We can fit you and Blake in with little trouble. You both can even have your own rooms."

Sounds like they will be getting guests soon. That Kali women and… Blake? Wait, that's a boy's name! Well, a gender-neutral name, but it could be a boy's name! Hahaha! Jaune was about to do a little victory dance. He didn't know how old Blake was or how long they would be staying, but having another guy in the house would be awesome.

"Great. Then we'll see you two when you land." Jaune's father said, Jaune pressing closer to the door. "I'm sure the kids will get along just fine. And I'm sure Jaune will appreciate having someone his own age in the house."

His own age? So, a guy and his mom were going to show up, being staying with them for a while, and he was the same age as Jaune? This was a great day, a great victory, for Jaune. Finally, he would no longer be surrounded by girls. He would have Blake to back him up! Jaune was ecstatic.

In fact, he was so excited he didn't notice his father stepping out of his office. "Jaune?" He said, "What are you doing standing around in the hall?"

"Oh, I was just. Umm." Jaune said, "Garnet said to come get you for breakfast."

His father nodded. "Good lass." he said, as he and Jaune walked back towards the kitchen. "So, I'm guessing you heard about our houseguests."

"Just a little bit," Jaune said. "I wasn't trying to snoop or anything."

"Now worries son," Nicholas said with a chuckle, "It'll make it easier to tell the girls if anything."

"So, who is Kali?"

"She was an old friend," Nicholas said with that same far away look he always had when talking about the old days. "Moreso of your mother's than mine, but on old friend none the less. She recently lost her husband and will be staying with us after she and Blake sail in from Menagerie. For a few months while they look for house to purchase."

"Oh," Jaune said, it seemed like everyone he knew had lost someone. "What's Blake like? Do you know?"

"From what Kali tells me. Blake is a bit of a quiet one. Loves to read." Nicholas said, and well, he didn't exactly sound like the kind of kid that Jaune would normally hang out with. He only really read comics. But as his mom liked to say, it's always good to know all kinds of people. "She's about your age. A month older if I remember correctly." Only a month difference, that's…

Wait. "She?" Jaune said, his shoulders drooping and all excitement to meet his potential new friend evaporating in an instant. "We're going to have two more girls in the house?" Not that he disliked girls or anything, but it didn't mean that he didn't want to spend some time with his bros every once in a while. Or even just be able to have bros at all!

Nicholas simply laughed and gave Jaune a pat on the shoulder. "I'm afraid so, Jaune. I'll make sure we can do something together before I have to leave for my next mission. Just you and me. Guy time."

Well, that did lift his spirits a little bit. He still wished that it would have been a boy his own age staying over, but you just can't change some things. And what the heck, she might turn out to be nice. So, at least he would have another friend.

He didn't know much about Menagerie, except that some people didn't like that it was there, but he wondered why Kali and Blake had to leave. They must miss their dad and husband a lot.

Jaune couldn't imagine losing his dad too.

Kali looked over her home, her old life, for the last time.

Everything that she could manage to keep packed away into a few suitcases. They would take what they could and leave much for whomever was elected the next Chieftain of Menagerie. Her old life, their old life, packed away. With nothing left of Ghira but the memories and the words and ideals that his successors, here in Menagerie and in the White Fang, would hopefully carry on.

They didn't even have a body to bury.

What they did have was much support from those who worked with, respected, or followed Ghira. The kind words from old friends did little to dull the pain, but it was appreciated none the less.

She took a deep breath and grabbed her bag. "Okay Blake, do you have everything?" She said, receiving no response from her daughter. "Blake?" She turned to where Blake was standing a moment before. Finding nothing but Blake's bags. Kali frowned; she knew exactly where Blake had run off to.

Kali sat her bags down and started down the hall and up the stairs. Passing by Blake's, now, old room. Now bare of all decorations. Now being little more than an empty room with a bare bed. Memories of the old days when it was still Blake's nursery flooded through her mind.

How Ghira had doted over her when they found out she was pregnant. How little Blake had him in the palm of her hand from the first second he laid eyes on her. How proud he was of the person she was growing up to be. But now, those days are long gone.

Kali pushed open the door to what was Ghira's office, and what was now just the chieftain's office. A heavy mahogany desk sat in the middle of the room. Stacks of papers neatly placed on the desk. Pictures of the family. A thing or two gifted to Ghira on his travels as well. Walls lined with bookshelves as the morning sun shone through the window behind the desk. The old leather chair being pushed out and facing the window.

Kali walked around the desk, running her finger along the edge. Sitting down and leaning her back against the desk. Looking up at the sunrise and the clear morning sky. "Blake," she said, soft and sweet.

"I don't want to go." Blake said, her voice meek and hoarse. She sat under her father's desk, hugging her knees close to her chest. Her eyes red, puffy, and wet from her tears. Ears laid flat against her head.

"I know you don't want to go, kitten." Kali said, not making a move towards her daughter. "I know it feels like you're leaving your whole life behind, like you're leaving your father behind." She'd had the same feeling when she'd left home with her sister all those years ago now. "But it's something we need to do dear."

There wasn't an answer from Blake for a long moment.

"Why can't we stay here, at home?" Blake said. Kali didn't respond immediately. It wasn't exactly an easy thing to explain to a child. That Kali just needed to leave. To separate herself from her old life, those old memories, for a time. It wasn't healthy, it was selfish, but she needed it. If she let herself stay in Menagerie, she'd get suck in the grief. She'd seen that happen before to her friends.

She needed to be somewhere else. Somewhere with friends, with family. So, she could keep herself from completely falling apart. So that if that happened, Blake wouldn't have to go through the loss of her father alone.

"Kitten, sometimes you just have to go where you're needed instead of where you want to be." Kali said, "We can stay here in Menagerie and try to live our lives as close to the way we would have if Ghira was still here. Or we can leave. We can go out there and help people. I think that's what he would have wanted."

It wasn't exactly the truth, but if it helped Blake, it'll do.

Blake poked her head out from under the desk. "Do you really think we could help more if we left?" Blake said, Kali nodded placing an arm around Blake as she crawled onto Kali's lap. Kali kissed Blake's forehead as they sat in Ghira's study. Watching the morning sun.

"You'll be back here one day, kitten. I promise." Kali said, and she had no doubt that Blake would. Kali though, would never set foot on the sandy shores of Menagerie again.

The grief would kill her if she did.

Blake never liked leaving home very much.

Sure, she'd been happy to start going with her dad on his important trips, but it was more that she liked getting to spend more time with him than anything. And she always got to hold up very important signs during those trips.

But they were always a little separated from everyone else. Not that she minded that too much, she never much liked being around a lot of people and sometimes the people they met outside of Menagerie would be mean or call her names. It just felt weird to be apart from everyone else like they always were on those trips.

Leaving home forever, that she hated.

Now she just had her mom as they passed through the streets of the town that they were going to get a new house in. Strangers, all of them. They could want to do all sorts of bad things to her and her mom. After all, Blake and her mom were faunus and most of these people were human, and humans hurt faunus all the time.

Blake clung close to her mom as the people of this town passed by them. Domremy is what she called it. Their new home. Blake looked up as her mother stopped walking, standing in front of some restaurant.

"I think this is the place," Kali said, looking at her scroll. "Are you ready to meet the Arcs?" Kali gave Blake a reassuring smile.

The Arcs, the people that they were going to spend the next few months living with. Blake wasn't too excited to meet them if she were to be honest, but she nodded at Kali none the less.

The Belladonnas entered the restaurant. Blake had to admit that it smelt nice in there, she could even smell someone cooking some tuna, but there were just too many people. Most of the seats were empty, but there were still just too many.

"Over here Kali." Said a tall blond man as he stood from his table with four other, shorter, people.

Kali walked over to the blond man, who Blake guessed was Mr. Arc, and hugged him. "It's been too long, Nick." Blake stood behind her mother as the two finished greeting each other.

Blake peaked her head around her mother to look at the five humans in front of her. "It's okay Blake," Kali reassured, "This is Nicholas Arc. The man who I told you about."

Nicholas was big and tall, not as big as her dad was but still big, he bent down to get closer to eye level with Blake. "Hello Blake," he said in a low voice, "I was a friend of your father. We worked together before you were born."

"Really?" Blake stepped up next to her mother.

"Really," Mr. Arc said with a smile. "And as an old friend of his, I'm happy to help you two out as much as you need." He did seem nice.

"These are my daughters," Mr. Arc said after standing straight again and gesturing towards the other humans. "My oldest, Garnet."

Garnet smiled and waved at Blake. "It's nice to meet you, Blake." Garnet said. She was wearing a red jacket with two moons sewn on the breast pocket. And her hair was darker than the rest, but still sort of gold. "We're a bit of a weird bunch, but you get used to it after a while."

"This is my second oldest, Saphron." Mr. Arc continued.

"We aren't that weird." Saphron said. She was wearing an orange tank top with some weird necklace thing. "Don't let Garnet scare you. She's just gets grumpy sometimes." Garnet rolled her eyes.

"This is little Kelly, the youngest." Mr. Arc said, gesturing to the toddler sitting in the highchair.

"Kitties!" Kelly said, clearly excited and partially covered in food. She wore a green shirt with a frog on it underneath overalls. Her hair was the lightest out of the girls and done up in pigtails.

"And this is my son, Jaune." Mr. Arc finished.

"Hi, I like your ears." Jaune said, walking up to Blake and holding his hand out for her to shake. Blake awkwardly held her hand out and Jaune gave her a flimsy handshake. He was wearing a gray hoodie.

"Thank you," Blake responded, "I like your… hair?" There was little confidence in the compliment. Both of their parents sharing a chuckle as they prepared to eat together and get to know each other.

The Arcs seemed nice to Blake, but she couldn't help but think something or someone was missing.

A broken promise.

The huntsman wondered if that would be their legacy as they tended the fire. That's all they would ever be to those they loved the most. A liar and a failure. A failure who couldn't end the war, and a liar who never came home.

That would be their legacy. What they would be known for in the grand story of Remnant's history.

Not for a lack of them trying. But whatever strange dimension they had found themselves in didn't seem to have an escape. At least, none that they trusted.

They looked up towards the night sky, instead of the familiar broken moon of Remnant, they found a massive tree that seemed to be the center of this world. Something about it seemed terrifying and comforting all the same.

Ears perked as their guide through this land returned. A rusted knight that didn't seem too much like a knight at all. He never told the huntsman his name, just his title. The Rusted Knight. And the huntsman never told him theirs. So, why was he so determined to help?

The Rusted Knight took what was to be their meal tonight from his jackalope's, Juniper, back. Juniper was about the size of a more moderately sized dog, and from what little the knight had told them, it was his only companion here for some time now.

From the little he said about himself, the huntsman knew that he was waiting for someone. Who? He wouldn't say, but something about the look in his eye made him seem trustworthy. It almost reminded the huntsman of a look they'd seen on one of their old friends. And if he was truly as much like their old friend as he seemed to be, then the huntsman knew one thing.

He would never go back on his word.

Author's Note:

Another day, another fic.

This one heavily featuring everyone's favorite feline faunus and out beloved dorky knight. As well as a few other pairs of siblings eventually.

Here's just some information on my version of the Arc family while we're here.

Garnet: 15yo

Saphron: 13yo

Jaune: 9yo

Kelly: 2yo

But we'll get some more info on them as we progress.

And another thing, I'm the oldest sibling in my family. So I think I can do at least half decent sibling bickering, but I haven't exactly been on the younger sibling end of it. So if something doesn't feel right there. Tell me about it.

Thanks for reading. Comments and feedback are always appreciated.