"Alright! Everyone raise your pints, once more to our long lost cousin and nephew, to Richard!" Jarred proclaimed to everyone sitting around the table.

"To Richard!" They all responded clinking their cups together. Richard sat awkwardly at the end of the table, he watched everyone enjoy themselves, but he was still trying to believe for himself that these people were his family.

"Oi, come on, and have a drink why don't ya?" George happily said patting Richard on the back.

"No thanks," Richard replied.

"If you *hiccup* say so" George said before downing the drink he had in his hand.

Richard watched as the group enjoyed their drinks and began chatting amongst each other. He still didn't know what to think about his family, he never really knew his own father, Connor was the closest to any form of family Richard had. Connor, though, was more of what would be known as a mentor, but he was defiantly a caring one. Richard got up and walked out of the interior. He went out to the back of the boat and leaned on the rail, looking up at the setting. It wasn't anything new for Richard to move away for a while to find some quiet; it was natural for him and the moon to meet. He remembered back when he originally left the Homestead, those nights he spent on the rooftops just looking up. Back at Beacon he spent most of his nights with Ruby, he remembers her soothing touch as her hands ran through his hair. Ruby was always there for Richard, she changed his perspective of things. Yet, he left all so suddenly, he left her. Richard was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't realize he had company.

"Not a fan of drinking?" she asked.

"No, I never got into it you could say," Richard replied turning to her. There was a short silence between them as Richard turned back to see the moon.

"What's on your mind?" Jade asked.

"Just, remembering some things," He once again replied.

"Who is she?" Jade began to interrogate.

"What?"

"Who is she? You're obviously are thinking of someone."

"Obvious huh?"

"Women's intuition" Jade explained.

"It's nothing important," Richard shrugged off.

"C'mon, you can tell me," Jade urged, "we're family now."

"We've only known that for a short time."

"Regardless, we're still family, and by the looks of it we're the only family you got left."

Richard turned to her and looked Jade straight in the eyes. She was serious, no matter if this was small talk or not, trust was the main issue here.

He let out a small sigh, "Well, her name was, is, Ruby…" Richard began. Jade seemed to ease off and had a more caring mood. "She's a huntress, or I think she still is."

"So, she's a general now?"

"I think," Richard gave an unsure answer.

"Well, what do you know about her?"

"She was the light in my life you could say, before her I was a complete, what's the word?"

"Loner, castaway, no one ever talked to you?"

"More like what you would see as a cold hearted, self kept, person that never wanted to talk to anyone."

"And what changed that?"

"She did, something about her, it was like I found someone who didn't care what I did and still appreciated who I was and what I was trying to do."

"She was perfect." Jade stated.

Richard turned back around and looked out to the sea, "Yeah, perfect." Jade joined leaning on the rail next to him.

"Well, you might just see her again one day," she told him.

"Trust me, if I do, when I do I'll make up for being gone for three years."

"Oh you know, unless there's already someone else she found."

"Shut up," Richard said jokingly to Jade and giving a light punch to her shoulder. The cousins gave a chuckle to their jokes as the moon continued to move across the sky.

"I AM THE SEA KING!" a shout came from inside the boat along with a

loud thud. Richard and Jade turned around to find Sapphire face down in the doorway. Loud laughter followed as Jade covered her face with her palm at the sight of him.

Richard gave a slight laugh and asked, "I'm guessing he can't hold his liquor?"

"He's lost about twenty times or so to uncle George in a drink off," Jade stated.

"Just another nice family reunion."

"Oh, they can be much worse." Jade moved over to her fallen brother.

"Come on sea king let's go," Jade said picking up Sapphire and carrying him back inside.

"I'll order the sharks on you," Sapphire slurred out as the door closed behind them. Richard gave a smile and turned back to the ocean.

"Just another family reunion," he stated to himself.

About three days later the group managed to make it to the port of Vale, but Faunus are not so openly accepted. As soon as the ship docks a military squadron boards the ship and begins an immediate search for any thing that could be used as a means of terrorism. They had the nine of them line up and searched them one by one. Things went smoothly until it was Richard's turn.

"Next," the Sergeant ordered his troop currently finishing their shake down of Jade, and moved on to Richard. Instantly he took out his two side arms and handed them over to the Sergeant. He continued his search and found nothing else.

"All done sir," the troop stated as he moved back from the line. The Sergeant then moved in front of Richard.

"Where'd ya get these?" He asked trying to intimidate him.

"I built them," Richard simply stated with no hesitation.

"Really?" The Sergeant doubtfully said, "And I suppose you expect me to believe you?"

"It's the truth," Richard blankly stated.

"Truth," the commander said mockingly, "Anders! Detain him." A soldier went behind Richard and kicked under his knee, causing him to fall. Immediately the soldier grabbed Richard's wrists and cuffed them together. Richard attempted to look up into the Sergeants eyes to use him semblance, but once he began to move the hilt of a gun smashed into the back of his head.

"That should make him easier to handle, take away him boys," the Sergeant ordered.

"He doesn't mean any harm, he's innocent," Jade began to vouch on Richard's behalf.

"You stay right where you are unless you want everyone here to be detained as well," the Sergeant said looking Jade in the eyes. His intimidation strategy worked as Jade was silenced on the spot. Right after the Sergeant stepped off the ship as the rest of the troops continued their search. He met with a figure that was standing nearby, overlooking the shake down of the boat.

"What's the status on these fugitives?"

"A group of nine Faunus in total, eight identified as cat Faunus, the other was a dog of some sort."

"And their cargo?"

"Mainly comprised of food and fuel for their trip, but we did find weapons on the dog Faunus, I had him detained and taken to the holding cells."

"Any association with the White Fang?"

"No direct association, but I'm not so sure about this." The Sergeant held up Richard's sweater with his symbol on the back.

"Might be a branch of their army, secret service of some sort."

"Calm down Sergeant I know this symbol, anything else that you identified as his belongings?"

"These perhaps," the Sergeant handed over the pair of pistols, "We also found a bag full of dust tipped arrows, a bow, and some articles of clothing."

"Have these things brought to the interrogation room; I'll be there shortly,"

"Yes ma'am!" the sergeant replied and walked back to check on the search.

Meanwhile Richard was only semi conscious, his vision was blurred as he saw various frames pop in and out of sight. He kept walking though, being pushed by the soldiers currently escorting him. Their destination was a small holding cell somewhere Richard hadn't taken notice of. They pushed him inside and locked the entrance behind him, just as Richard got up.

"Hey, what am I being held here for!?" Richard demanded from the two troops.

"For suspicion of being a part of the White Fang, and for suspected acts of terrorism," one of the soldiers answered.

"That's it? You're keeping me here for assumption made by your paranoid sergeant?"

"You're being kept here so you don't kill anyone," the other soldier simply stated.

Richard sighed, "Oh no my one true intention has been revealed, why don't you just strike me down now for being a heretic?" Richard mocked at the soldier standing in front of him.

The soldiers shrugged it off and walked away, though Richard could tell they didn't take his acting very kindly. Richard took a seat on the floor and leaned back into the corner, attempting to nap.

A loud thumping woke Richard as a new pair of guards approached his cell.

"Rise and shine princess, the commander wants to see you,"

Richard reluctantly got up and followed the two guards out of his cell and down a corridor further into the building. He was thinking of what to do, whether he should make a move now and try to escape, or let this whole thing play out and hope that he doesn't get executed. Another thought ran through his mind, the thought of his family back on the boat, if they would suffer at all.

The guards opened a door at the end of the corridor and pushed Richard inside, with his hands still cuffed behind his back. The room was simple with a table and two chairs at the center. Richard slowly walked towards them and took a seat at one end of the table. After a few seconds the door on the other side of the room slid open revealing a blonde haired woman walking in.

"So the big bad wolf is back?"

Clion818: BOOM! Cliffhanger, new update in two weeks Clion out. PEACE!

N204: Peace out girl scouts.