Amidst all the other things that were racing through Yang's mind, the word 'insane' more or less summed up her situation. Kebiin was now a wanted criminal, that woman from Atlas had reportedly been shot to death, and Ruby and Weiss had been hospitalized after surviving an explosive shot from one of those howling fighters. As much as she wanted to be by her sister's and Weiss's side at the moment, Ruby had the foresight to exercise her power as their leader.

'Hide his things!' Ruby ordered her. 'Atlas is going to want to take Kebiin's belongings away as evidence, but we have to go over them before they do. Maybe we can find out why he did what he did!'

Still scraped up and dirty from the whole fiasco a few hours ago, Yang made her way back to Beacon and slammed their dormitory door open, sighing in relief when she saw the room had not yet been ravaged by the white troopers. Gently closing the door behind her, she slumped and sat on the floor, finally allowing herself to catch a breath.

"Right, right… It's gonna be alright, Yang. RWBBY's tough, we can handle this…" Yang whispered to herself, despite being skeptical of her own words. "No!" Yang shot back up, quickly wiping some of the dust and dirt off of her arms and face. "We've got this! We'll get through!"

With that determined statement, Yang was ready to undergo the 'noble' work of rummaging through and more or less stealing Kebiin's personal belongings. Since the boy was so protective of what little he had, part of her felt guilty for even touching them. However, that was only a minor discomfort to her psyche given the situation. She walked over to his side of the room and inspected what little Kebiin owned in his pack. A small metal disc, some sort of of exotic firearm that was similar to the ones the Atlas military police carried, and… that was it?

Yang scanned the room for the other item she was sure Kebiin had and quickly spotted the white and bronze T-visored helmet Kebiin kept on top of his nightstand.

"Ah, that must be the thing I'm forgetting about!"

Yang slung the pack over her shoulder and held the helmet under her arm, ready to bolt out of the room. When she opened the door, she was surprised to meet a familiar scraggly blond boy on the other side.

"Gah!" They simultaneously yelped.

"Jaune!"

"So sorry! Now I guess you're going to ask why I'm here, but- hey, wait!"

Without paying his words much attention, Yang grabbed Jaune by the collar and pulled him into the room, shutting the door behind them.

"Jaune, how's the situation? Any Atlas troops coming our way?"

"Yes, but what are you-"

"How many, and how close are they?"

"I don't know, and I don't know. But Yang, if you're doing what I think you're doing, then you're forgetting-"

"Okay, Jaune, listen carefully. I need to get out and hide all this stuff. I need you to cover for me here at the school, so-"

"Geez woman, will you just listen!?" Jaune finally raised his voice, silencing Yang. "I could just... feel that something was wrong. It was like I heard you and what you were trying to do. I want to help."

"Wait, what?" Yang squinted at Jaune in confusion. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you want to help me out, but you… 'heard' what I wanted to do?"

"Pretty much." Jaune nodded. "It's hard to explain, but-" Jaune abruptly stopped moving. His eyes became super focused as he made an expression akin to something someone would make when trying to find the source of a sound.

"Jaune?" Yang waved her hand in front of his face.

"Hey, stop that!" Jaune gently swatted her arm away. "I think you almost forgot about something."

"What do you mean? This is everything I need, right here." Yang pointed out the pack and helmet she was carrying.

"No, it's…" Jaune slowly approached Kebiin's bed, his right arm stretched out as if he were probing the air for something. Yang looked at where Jaune was heading to, seeing the faint blue glow shining through Kebiin's pillow.

Without Jaune having to physically reach for it, an ornate golden and blue cube floated out of Kebiin's pillow and drifted into Jaune's open palm.

"Jaune…" Yang whispered, somewhat speechless. "What just happened?"

"I don't know…" Jaune said as he let his fingers glide across the mesmerizing designs of the cube. "But it's like this thing, whatever it is, wanted me to take it."

"Come again? It… wanted you to to take it? How is that even-"

Yang ceased her talking when she heard a distinctive marching sound getting closer and closer to her and Jaune. From the sound of it, there must've been six or so armored people making their way through the school's dorm halls. There was only one group it could be.

"Dammit!" Yang cursed under her breath. "They're here!"

"You mean Atlas!?" Jaune said worriedly. "But if they see us with the belongings of a wanted criminal, they might think we're accomplices!"

"At this point, we are accomplices." Yang said as she ran to the dorm's window. "Look, you keep that thing for now and find out why it likes you so much. I gotta go hide this stuff before we get arrested."

"Wait!" Jaune protested. "What am I supposed to do with-"

Before he could finish his question, Yang opened the window, and leapt out. Worried she might've broken her leg, Jaune rushed to look out and check if she was alright, but she was already making a mad dash away from the school.

"Right… Semblance." Jaune remembered.

The marching was getting louder now. Jaune didn't have the capability to make a several story drop and follow Yang, so he dashed out of the dorm room as fast as he could, and turned the nearest corner he could find. He ended up diving into a janitorial closet right as he saw a mass of white armor enter into team RWBBY's room.

Panting more out of fear than tiredness, Jaune let himself slump against the dark closet's walls, nearly knocking over a mop as he did so. Why was his first instinct to hide inside of a cramped and dirty closet again? The fact he was inhaling a strange mix of smells from various cleaning chemicals wasn't helping him relax much, either. But he figured it would be best to wait it out a little longer before heading to his own dorm room. The white troops were making quite the racket while trashing RWBBY's room, so he would definitely know the coast was clear when the noise stopped.

Closing his eyes and allowing himself to slow his breath, he began to focus the way Kebiin taught him rather than simply stressing out while waiting. He felt a calm overtake his mind, and he even stopped smelling the cleaning chemicals in the closet. When he finally opened his eyes, the space he was in was no longer dark. The cube he was holding was now levitating in the air, and a glowing blue holographic figure of a masked and robed man stood before him.

Kebiin was still in shock. He had been with his rescuers for a few hours now, but his mind was still registering the reality of his situation. His team was hospitalized, he was responsible for the death of an Imperial officer, and now he had been rescued by a group of what he assumed to be either vigilantes or regular criminals. The Empire had come to Remnant, and he still didn't know a thing about the status of his enemy. And to top it all off, he was without Revan's guidance.

Still laying on his bed in the spartan room his rescuers said he could stay in, Kebiin heard a knock on the door.

"Can I come in?" It was the voice of the girl Kebiin first met in the earlier fray.

"Go ahead." Kebiin said montonly.

The cold metal door slid open as the dark skinned girl walked inside, leaning against the doorframe once she entered the room.

"Hey kid, remember me? How you holding up?"

"You said your name was Emerald, right?"

"Yup, that's me." Emerald nodded. "But you didn't tell me how you were holding up."

"I've been better…"

"Ah, gotcha." Emerald shifted awkwardly, rubbing her hand against her other arm and not knowing what to say for certain.

"So, uhh…" She tried to begin. "I know a lot has happened, but-"

"Did you actually want anything?" Kebiin cut her off impatiently.

"Right, right. Yes, actually. Cinder said she wanted to talk to you."

"Cinder? The woman in the red dress?"

"Yup." Emerald nodded.

"Understood." Kebiin sighed as he hauled himself out of his bed, allowing Emerald to lead the way as he gloomily followed her out of the room.

The two of them made their way down the steel hallways of the underground bunker, Kebiin making surprisingly little noise has his boots trod along the metal floors. Emerald had to occasionally look over her shoulder to make sure he was still even behind her.

'He looks an awful lot like Rowand…' Emerald thought as she looked at the quiet boy. She had to admit, she did feel sad for the guy. She may not have known what his whole deal was, but the way the kid was presenting himself right now was like a beaten puppy. His clothes were still torn and dirty, his blue hair was a mess, and his amber eyes reminiscent of Cinder's were dull enough for her to tell that they should have been much brighter.

The pair reached the door leading to Cinder's reinforced office, Emerald knocking on the door to let her commander know that the kid was here.

"Well, here we are." Emerald opened the door for Kebiin to step in, giving him a gentle nudge forward. Kebiin did so with the same depressed expression from before.

"Hey." Emerald tapped his shoulder, prompting him to turn around to face her. "Chin up, okay?" Emerald said to him with a smile on her face. She wiped a bit of dirt off of his cheek and shoulders before shutting the door behind him.

"Kebiin Ceibur, right?"

"You wanted to see me?" Kebiin cautiously entered through the doorway. The room itself was rather sparse and not very ornate, not anything at all like the woman within it. Cinder herself stood out in such a way that it was impossible not to look at her first. Her red and golden dress contrasted the steel gray of the walls, and her overall frame and face were the textbook definition of beauty. But however eye-catching and graceful she looked, Kebiin felt more intimidated than awed. The empty nature of the room gave the feeling of isolation, and Cinder's tall frame and cool look gave the impression of power. Essentially, she was the only important thing in the room, and she wanted everyone to know it.

"Yes, I did." Cinder was sitting on an equally dull and plain table as the room, but the fact that it was her sitting there made all the difference. "Tell me, how do you feel?"

"How do I feel?" Kebiin figured the question was supposed to sound a lot more warm than the way it was actually delivered. "I… I don't know." Kebiin admitted. "I'm still trying to figure out what just happened, if I'm being honest."

"Understandable." Cinder said somewhat dismissively. "I'm assuming you have a lot of questions, though."

"You have no idea…" Kebiin said.

"Then you get three for the start." Cinder held out the number of corresponding fingers. "Three questions. We're going to keep this brief."

"Only three? Why?"

"Like I just said, it's to keep this brief. That last one doesn't count, by the way. I want to make sure you're asking real questions."

"Okay…" Kebiin breathed deeply. "Who are you people, who or what do you represent, and why did you save me?"

"Perfect." Cinder purred, readjusting her sitting position. "First, I am Cinder fall. The girl that you met earlier is Emerald Sustrai, and the boy is Mercury Black. We represent… the true will of the Atlas people. We fight against the new regime because it seems no one else will. And we saved you because we were told you would do the same. Fair enough?"

"Fair enough." Kebiin nodded, despite having way more than three questions.

"Good. Now, I've been told that you are a very skilled and powerful boy, one who has reason to hate Atlas. Is that true?"

"Yes…" Kebiin said. "I do."

"Excellent. Then we have a mission for you. If you accept, we would be more than happy to have you join our crew."

Kebiin knew he had no other realistic option other than the one Cinder was offering him. However confused or skeptical he was about this situation, if Cinder was telling the truth, then he had an opportunity and group to fight the Empire with. If this was all for real, then it was exactly what he needed.

"Fine." Kebiin said. "What is it, then?"

"Does the name 'Blake Belladonna' mean anything to you?"

Kebiin's mood changed very noticeably. It was as if a shadow above him had shifted, his face beaming with color and hope about what this mission was going to be.

"Yes! She's my friend, but she went missing. We've been trying to find her, but-"

"But we found her." Cinder said. "And we're going to help you rescue her from the hands of Atlas."

"Oh no…" Kebiin felt a wave of dread return. "She didn't just run away… she's… she's been captured by the Empire…"

The word "Empire" made Cinder momentarily raise an eyebrow of interest, a que Kebiin didn't notice in his current whirlwind of emotion.

"Where is she!?" Kebiin practically demanded. "We have to go get her right now!"

"Patience." Cinder held up her hand, halting Kebiin. "We know where she is, and we're going to help you rescue her. When we succeed, we will shut down a secret Atlas prison camp, as well as rescue Blake Belladonna in the process. What do you say?"

"Yes! I'll go with you!"

"Good. And when the mission is complete, will you join our group?"

Kebiin hesitated. His mind fluttered to team RWBBY, the family he had hoped to stay with for as long as he possibly could. However, he knew he wouldn't be able to go back to them. He was a criminal now. But what he could do was join this new group to keep his family safe. Initially, he felt like he would somehow be abandoning team RWBBY, but this was for the best.

"Yes." Kebiin said confidently. "When the mission is complete, I will swear my loyalty to you and your cause. Your goals will be mine, I will answer your calls to action, and obey the orders you give me."

Cinder's lips curled into a smile almost too enthusiastically. "Excellent." She said, chuckling ever so slightly. "I appreciate how serious you take this. Very… formal."

"My people don't pledge real loyalty like this easily." Kebiin said. "But because of this opportunity you're giving me, I think it's the right thing to do."

"I see." Cinder said. "I'm flattered. Now, get some rest. The mission will be tomorrow. Mercury is preparing some gear for you that you might find useful. We can't have an agent like you running around in torn up clothes now, can we? If you need anything else, talk to Emerald."

Cinder made a waving motion with her hand, signalling Kebiin to exit the room. Surprising himself more than CInder, Kebiin bowed before the woman that would become his commander.

"Vor entye." Kebiin said as he left the room.

Ozpin did his best to not slam his head into the increasingly growing pile of paperwork and interview requests that had accumulated on his desk. Running an entire school of aspiring warrior monster hunters was difficult on its own, but avoiding an international crisis was an entirely different beast. The whole school was tense to say the least, but it wasn't just Beacon Academy that was on edge. Both the entire kingdoms of Vale and Atlas were on edge. The Atlas students would be arriving in Vale soon, following in suit of their military. Not only this, but the students of Beacon had been instructed to help organize a funeral for the late Kayana. Tensions between both the schools and nations would be far too uncomfortably high this year.

However, at least the remainder of team RWBBY wouldn't have to deal with this for the next few days. Weiss was still recovering in the hospital after being impaled by shrapnel caused by the Atlas fighter, and the doctors were keeping Ruby under constant care despite her comparatively less serious injury in the form of a broken left arm. Yang wouldn't leave their sides either, meaning that they were all kept conveniently away from what was likely an entire visiting school of pissed off students.

Ozpin took a much needed sip of his coffee as he let himself relax in his chair. He closed his eyes, thinking about what Kebiin had said to him on that fateful day.

'You can't trust anything they say! Those ships and stormtroopers aren't from Remnant, they're-'

"The Empire…" Ozpin guessed those final words. It was true, then. Kebiin's fantastical tale of an empire from another galaxy... A civilization capable of conquering entire plants and solar systems had come to Remnant. But why a slow takeover of Atlas? Did they see it as more preferable to hide amongst the native people of Remnant rather than wage a war? Why would that be the case for a nation that controlled a whole galaxy? Perhaps they came with insufficient resources? How would Ozpin even go about sharing this information? First contact had been unknowingly made, and the ultimate question had been unknowingly answered. They were not alone in the universe, but their intergalactic neighbors were far from friendly.

Now Ozpin was the one feeling helpless. Ironically, he needed the guidance of his rogue student. He knew nothing of his new enemy, but Kebiin knew plenty. Ozpin had no idea how much Atlas themselves knew about the Empire, what sort of technology they possessed, or how deep this conspiracy from space went. Was James Ironwood fully aware of this? Likely not, since both he and James had worked together for years not only as good friends, but against an ancient enemy that most assumed was a fairytale.

"The Witch… the Empire..." He whispered to himself, the thoughts of his friend reminding him of their seemingly simpler enemy.. "Which of you are the greater threat?"

Nora peeked through the slightly opened door leading to Weiss's hospital room, seeing that both Ruby and Yang were by her bedside. All three girls were asleep.

"They're all out cold!" Nora whispered to her teammates, who were all holding various flowers and chocolates as get-well-soon gifts.

"It's okay if we at least drop these off, right?" Jaune said, craning his neck to look through the door.

"If we're quiet, I doubt we'll disturb them." Ren said. "Although, that might be more difficult for some of us here…" Ren's eyes darted to Nora for just a moment, who simply smiled.

"You got that right." The group heard a tired murmur from inside the room. "Pyrrha seems to be the only one not making a racket…"

Team JNPR each stuck their heads through the door, finding a bandaged up Weiss yawning and rubbing her eyes. Ruby and Yang awoke and stretched out as if they were waking up on cue.

"Oh…" Jaune said, a little embarrassed. "Sorry about that."

"Nah, it's no biggie." Ruby said as she let out an exaggerated yawn.

"Weiss, it seems you're doing a lot better." Pyrrha finally spoke, optimism in her voice.

"Well, I feel better. But the doctor said I shouldn't even move from this bed for a while. He said I was lucky that shrapnel didn't kill me…" Weiss said as she lowered her hand to her stomach. "Still hurts, though…"

"I see…" Pyrrha said, this time a little more gloomily.

"It's not too bad." Weiss tried to convince her. "It's not the worst we've been through."

The room went quiet for a moment. How much more would team RWBBY have to lose? Near death experiences was something they all knew they would experience at one point or another, that was just part of being a Huntsman. But losing not one, but two friends… that was something else entirely.

"Actually…" Jaune said, breaking the silence. "I think I have something that could help us." Jaune began to reach into his pocket.

"What do you mean?" Yang asked him.

"Remember that cube you left me with the other night?"

"Yeah. Did you find out what it's deal was?"

"Sort of…" Jaune said. He pulled the object in question out of his pocket, and used his mind to levitate the cube into the center of the room.

"Wow…" Pyrrha gasped at the small demonstration. "I didn't think Kebiin taught you that much quite yet!"

"He didn't." Jaune said.

"He didn't?" Pyrrha raised an eyebrow, anticipating an answer. However, Jaune closed his eyes as he began to focus.

A subtle rumbling filled the room as the gold and blue cube held steady in the air. Its corners rotated, floated away, and orbited around the main body as though it were mimicking a solar system. A blue light overtook the room as the holographic figure of a masked man in dark armored robes flickered into being.

Everyone gazed at the figure in a mix of amazement and confusion, but the hologram itself turned to face Jaune.

"Are you sure about this?" Jaune asked the hologram.

"I am." The hologram said as it flickered more intensely for a split second.

"Jaune…" Yang said, her mouth still slightly agape. "What is this thing?"

"My name is Revan. I am the AI that resides within this holocron. You are all Kebiin Ceibur's friends, and for that, you deserve answers. If it will help protect Kebiin, I will answer anything you have to ask."