RWBY is property of Roosterteeth! I only own my characters.

CHAPTER 8

The sun set over a frontier town with no name. The collection of buildings within a small perimeter wall beside a mountain stood as a testament to a failed mining endeavor of the Schnee Dust Company some thirty years prior. When the Dust mine had dried up far more quickly than anticipated, the SDC had packed up its bags and left the people it had promised a better life to fend for themselves within the dying town. Most had left immediately, but some determined settlers had attempted to tough out a living from the land, farming in the hard soil or scrounging whatever Dust they could from the abandoned mine.

Recently, however, a greater darkness had fallen over the town. In the middle of the night, cloaked men and women had taken the whole town hostage. The townsfolk were roughly shoved into cages, left to starve while the seemingly fanatical invaders raided their town.

"Brother Meurig. I believe it is time for the next offering, is it not?" a hooded Faunus said thoughtfully, his feet lifted onto the mayor's desk in the town hall. "We must thank our God for blessing us with this fine plunder."

"Indeed, Father Kaage. Perhaps we shall offer two today?" another man, this one Human, nodded promptly.

"That is a fine idea, Brother." Kaage replied happily. "Select the two most promising from our stock, and see them on their way." The Father and his follower rose from their seats, leaving the mayor's office and striding down a set of curved stairs into the lobby below. Over a dozen rusted cages lined the wall underneath the stairway, containing the captured townspeople, who cowered at the very sight of the two men. A pair of cloaked figures guarding the enclosures bowed deeply as the Father and his right-hand approached.

"Are you here to choose today's offerings?" one of them rasped.

"We are." Brother Meurig affirmed before stepping past them to observe the occupants of the cages. "Perfect. Those two, the children. They will do nicely." He pointed to a brother and sister with green hair. The other two cloaked figures nodded, quickly pulling the pair of frightened children from their cage. The townspeople began to beg for the lives of the twins, as they did everyday for every person taken. As usual they were ignored. With swift motions, their throats were cut, and a pair of bodies were left to bleed out onto the floor.

"May He feast tonight." Father Kaage chanted, bowing towards the bodies as he did. The crazed Faunus shot into a standing position as the double doors of the town hall were kicked inward. A pale youth dressed in black armor strode in casually. A pair of red eyes observed the lobby and its occupants from behind a curtain of unruly ghostly white hair. Despite the fresh blood on the floor and the general feeling in the air, the youth had a toothy grin on. A black wolf with glowing eyes padded in behind him, circling to his right. He locked eyes with Kaage.

"Goddamn. You lot are doing this all wrong."

"INTRUDER! OPEN FIRE!"

"Oh. Alright then."

"Welcome to Patch!" Ruby said, spreading her arms wide as she led her friends off the dustplane. Unlike the landing pads in Vale, Patch's airport consisted of only a small terminal and a large dirt-covered clearing, in which their transport was currently grounded.

"It's beautiful here!" Luna said enthusiastically, keeping pace with the rapidly bouncing cloaked girl while the other three members of their group trailed a short distance behind them. Alex found himself agreeing with Luna's sentiments towards Patch. There were no walls within sight, no tall buildings, and the air held a calm and clean feeling.

"Come on, Alex! I want to show you and Luna around!" Ruby called to the blond soldier.

"Shouldn't we meet with your Dad first-" Alex began, only to be cut off as Yang grabbed his bag from his hand.

"She's been going crazy waiting to introduce you guys to our home. I'll make sure the bags and Ry reach the house in one piece." Ruby's sister assured. "Though, I can't say whether or not Ry'll still be alright by the time you get there." Alex chuckled as he noticed how the orange-haired engineer's face visibly paled at Yang's statement.

"You'll be fine, Ryland. I'm sure Yang's just joking."

"I'm having a hard time keeping myself convinced that she is." the young man breathed heavily. A puff of air was knocked from him as Yang roughly hooked her arm around his shoulder.

"Don't worry! Dad won't break anything too important." She smiled.

"I'll take your word for it." Ryland said.

"That's the spirit." Yang leaned in and kissed the boy on the cheek. "He'll do fine, Alex. We'll see you later, okay?"

"Sure thing, Yang." Alex nodded. "I should probably catch up before Ruby and Luna get too far. See you both later." He took off after the pair of retreating crimson and azure girls.

"Hey, Bossman!" Ryland called, "If I'm dead by the time you get there, Carbon gets all my stuff!"

Peleus Nikos shuddered as he awoke, suddenly becoming aware of the frigid air around him. A slight rustle and brush of a soft hand against his arm alerted him to the presence of his wife. They were being held in a dark room, illuminated only by a single light on the ceiling. The Senator and his wife were tied back to back in a pair of metal chairs in the center of the room.

"Thetis, are you alright?" Peleus asked worriedly, grasping her hand as best he could.

"Y-yes." She leaned her head back into him. "I'm alright, just... shaken."

"That's relieving to know..."

"Indeed. It wouldn't do for the two of you to die before I was able to glean anything from you." A third voice announced from within the deep shadows of the room. Agony stepped into the light. "You two are going to tell me everything about your world."

"'O-our world'?" Thetis stammered at the man's voice. It had lost all sense of charm and tact, instead being replaced with a cold and calculating menace. "What do you mean by that?"

"All will become clear in time." Agony replied calmly. He hefted a small object in his hand. Peleus' scroll. "This device has given me some small amount of insight into your home... but, please..." He pulled up a third chair from out of the shadows and sat down, setting the scroll off to the side. "I'd love to hear more from the both of you."

"... Well. That was interesting." Chaos muttered, gazing over the blood-covered town hall. After all that effort in even finding a town not devoid of people, and he'd had to kill all of them. The cages were filled with the wound-ridden remains of the townsfolk, caught in the crossfire between Chaos and the now-dismembered cultists. His sole Fenrir looked at him expectantly, awaiting further commands. "No point in staying here, I guess..."

My God... All these years, and you're still as incapable as ever. You can't even restrain yourself property. A woman's voice whispered. After he had been injured in his fight with Greene and his friends, Chaos had been plagued by this voice.

"...Shut up..." the white-haired Bloodline's eyes narrowed as he hissed at the voice.

If you were half the Chaos I or any of your other predecessors were, you'd never have lost to that worthless excuse for a soldier.

"...Um...excuse me-"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Chaos roared. He stopped suddenly, realizing a new voice had traveled through the air. He turned towards the soft sound's origin. In the doorway stood a young woman with shining silver hair and sapphire-like eyes.

"Are you... the one who did this?" She asked, surprisingly composed in the face of the blood, viscera, and potential murderer, though her rapidly darting eyes betrayed at least a hint of fear.

"Yup." Chaos readopted his manic grin. The girl took a step back.

Idiot. Enough prattling and posing. Kill this one like the others and be on your way. We have to correct your failures.

"Shut up." Chaos' eye twitched as he tried to hold his smile.

"I didn't-" the girl started.

"Not you. Still... guess she has a point..." the ex-Lord sighed. "Usually I'd spend more time with you... but, I'm going to have to ask you to die quickly, alright?" Before the girl could respond, Chaos summoned his shadowy blades and sent them rushing towards her. She disappeared behind a wall of slashes in an instant.

Chaos sighed again. At least doing as the voice said got it to be quiet for a bit. Still, he'd been denied his chance at a little enjoyment, and that disappointed him. He suddenly became aware of the lack of blood and screams. For the first time in many years, Chaos was struck silent. His mouth hung open dumbly as the silver-haired girl stood completely unharmed where she had been. Something instinctual kicked on in Chaos' mind, causing him to back away from the girl.

"What the hell!? What are you!?"

"DA~AD! I'M HOME!" Yang yelled loudly as she pushed her way through the door of her childhood house. A blond man rushed into the entryway, throwing him arms around the girl and lifting her into the air.

"Yang! I've missed you!" the man said, spinning once in place while still managing to hold up both the student and the heavy bags she was carrying with seemingly no effort. Ryland found himself smiling as he watched this exchange take place.

"Dad, stop! I've got someone important for you to meet!" Yang laughed. Her father chuckled and set his daughter down. Ryland's arm was quickly grabbed by his girlfriend, and he was pulled forward into the house. "Dad, this is Ry. Ry, this is my Dad, Taiyang Xiao Long."

"H-hello, Mr. Xiao Long." Ryland greeted. "I'm Ryland Felstrand. It's nice to meet you in perso-" The young engineer's left hand was suddenly being shaken by a very enthusiastic Taiyang.

"Great to finally meet the man who managed to capture my Yang's heart! I hope that-" Taiyang suddenly seemed to notice that the palm he had grabbed was not flesh and bone. "Oh. What happened?" Ryland noticed Yang flinch involuntarily.

"He... uh... lost it protecting me..." the blonde girl said guiltily. Taiyang looked from his daughter to her boyfriend. A smile broke out across his face, and Ryland suddenly found himself in a crushing hug.

"You're a brave man, Ryland. Thank you for keeping my Yang alive!" the orange-haired engineer struggled to make a sound of acknowledgment as his ribs were being crushed. "Be sure to let me know when the wedding is!"

"Dad!" Yang shouted, her face suddenly turning a bright red. Taiyang chuckled and set Ryland down, allowing the younger man to catch his breath.

"Y'know, when you said your Dad might break something, I figured it would be because he didn't like me." Ryland breathed.

"Well, if you're gonna be part of this family, you're probably going to have to get used to the cracked ribs." Taiyang laughed. "Alright, enough standing in the entryway. Come on in."

Yang's father led the both of them into a decently spacious living room, where two couches flanked a single large rectangular coffee table. The blond man quickly seated his daughter and her boyfriend on one of the couches. He was about seat himself as well, before being interrupted by the entryway bursting open.

"Behold! My house!" Ruby said dramatically, stepping over the threshold. Ryland and Yang both smiled at her entrance, while Taiyang quickly went to welcome his youngest daughter home. A slight jingling caught their attention as a black and white corgi bounced towards the sound of the cloaked girl's voice. "Dad! Zwei!" Ruby threw herself at the man and dog excitedly, wrapping her arms around both of them. Alex and Luna entered into the house behind the student, both politely introducing themselves to Taiyang.

"Well... judging by the noise... the kids are home." a tired voice stated. The stairs to the house's second floor creaked as a dark-haired man descended. He wore an odd mix of formal and casual clothing, with a buttoned shirt and black pants, but a tattered cape hanging behind him.

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby shouted excitedly, meeting the man halfway down the stairs. He pat her head gently.

"Hey, Kiddos. How've you both been?"

"We've been great!" the cloaked girl answered with a grin. Taiyang allowed Ruby to catch up with Qrow and turned back to his other guests. He caught sight of Ryland wincing slightly, as if he were in minor pain.

"Hey, Ryland, I didn't actually break something, did I? Your aura's taking its time fixing you up." Ruby bounded back down the stairs and came to a halt next to her father.

"He doesn't have an aura, Da-mmrph!" She started helpfully before Yang rushed up and clamped a hand over her mouth.

"What?" Taiyang asked, puzzled by his daughter's action.

"She was saying that Ryland's aura is usually run out because of the work he and Alex do. Right, Ruby?" Yang explained nervously, letting her sister go.

"Er-Yeah!" Ruby joined her sibling in grinning uneasily. She had forgotten that Ozpin had asked them not to spread the information about Alex, Ryland, and the others around too much. While quite a few "higher-ups" were aware of the people from Earth, the general public was not.

"Really?" Qrow inquired as he finished his slow trip down the stairway. "Then how come your blue-haired friend's still got her aura?" He nodded towards Luna.

"Oh- I- Well-" the Atlesian woman stammered as she tried to find an explanation. Alex sighed and placed a hand on Luna's shoulder to let her know she could stop trying to find an excuse. Ryland leaned his head back to look at the ceiling with an exasperated breath of his own. Ruby smiled sheepishly as an awkward silence fell over the house.

"Well? Explain." Taiyang said, crossing his arms.

"Oh, boy..." Ryland spoke up, "have we got a story for you."

"... So... Yang... you're... dating a boy from another world." were the first words out of Taiyang's mouth once Alex and Ryland had finished explaining their origins from Earth. After their tale, Taiyang and Qrow had sat in silent thought for several minutes while the rest sat across from them at the coffee table in abject silence.

"Er... Yes." Yang admitted.

"... And you and Ruby both went on a dangerous mission without telling me... to defeat an organization of crazed maniacs with powers that made semblances look like jokes... alongside a bunch of people, some of which didn't have any aura or power of any kind? Did I get all of that?"

"Y-yeah..." Ruby answered, pushing her two pointer fingers together. Her father nodded his acknowledgment.

"... Well, all that's going to take a while to process..." Qrow commented from his seat beside Taiyang. The blond man sighed and rose from his seat. He took a deep breath before readopting a pleasant welcoming grin.

"Ah, well, there's no point in worrying too much about it. Alex and Ryland both seem like good people, regardless of whether they've got auras or not. So, girls, gentlemen, and lady, before I disappear to get us all some food, let me officially welcome you to Patch."

"He's taking this exceptionally well." Ryland quipped, only for Yang to lightly slap him in the side.

Back in Vale, Blake sat herself down next to Firo and Dimitri at a table in the dorm building's common area. It was a comfortable place, with several large tables and bookshelves scattered about atop a fluffy rug.

"You weren't too bored without your friends today, were you?" Firo asked Blake worriedly.

"I was fine, Firo. I know you and Dimitri can't spend every waking moment with me, so I just took some time to catch up on my reading."

"Read anything interesting lately?" Dimitri inquired, giving Blake a light hug.

"I found a fascinating old book about the tales behind Remnant's stars in the library." the student explained. "For example, the ancient people of Vale used to believe that every star represented someone's life."

"That sounds like a story my father used to tell me." Firo said thoughtfully. "He used to tell me a version of the Tale of the Seasons where the maidens became a cluster of four stars in the night sky to watch over Remnant."

"'Tale of the Seasons'?" Dimitri asked.

"An old story about four sisters granted great power in exchange for helping an old man." Firo quickly explained. "Here, I can show you both the stars I meant." The rabbit Faunus led her two companions to a large window and pushed it open. Cold night air flooded the common area as Firo pointed to the sky, looking for her stars. "Huh?"

"What's wrong?" Blake inquired as Firo let out a confused gasp.

"The stars... they're..." Dimitri leaned his head out the window and followed his companion's gaze. Hanging in the sky were the four glowing orbs Firo had been searching for, but something was off. Instead of gently twinkling like their fellow stars, the maiden stars slowly dimmed and brightened. It was as if they were dying.

Barnes' Log: A Message to Cinder Fall

"Cinder, I realize that I've been leaving you on your own a lot recently without much explanation, and I apologize for that. However, despite my absence, you've done a brilliant job keeping your head above water in terms of the amount of paperwork I left you with."

"Two years ago, I saw a great amount of potential in you. I can say with certainty that you've lived up to that potential and gone even further than I could have hoped. You have displayed tactical genius to rival some of Earth's best strategists, and have proven yourself to be a true companion to the members of the EDC."

"... I have a confession to make. James and Ozpin still don't completely trust you, and they asked me to conduct a rather thorough series of checks on you. I told them that you've dedicated the last two years to making up for your mistakes, but I guess their bad blood with you runs pretty deep. They will probably conduct investigations of their own, and I just thought it would only be fair to give you a proper warning ahead of time."

"On a slightly happier note, and as an apology for being unable to do more, you should take the rest of the week off. Young folk like yourself deserve to spend some time doing as you wish. Take care, Cinder. Barnes out."

A/N:

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