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

CHAPTER 20

Alex waved as he and the others disembarked the transport they had flown in on. It was a calm and beautiful afternoon in Vale, the buildings tinted a soft orange by the setting sun. Dimitri was waiting for their group to return, along with Blake, Firo, and Carbon. Alex was surprised as he also caught sight of Barnes, standing a short distance behind the other four. The EDC General shot him a look that clearly said, "We need to talk."

"Luna," Alex got his blue-haired companion's attention with a tap on her shoulder, "I'm going to talk to the General for a moment. You, Ryland, and the girls go ahead and catch up with everyone else, okay?"

"Sure," she nodded. "Just don't keep them waiting too long, I'm sure that they want to welcome you back too."

"I'll be sure to make it as quick as possible." Alex quickly stepped over to where Barnes was standing. The General guided him away from the others, finding a quiet corner in which to converse privately.

"Alex, I need you to help me with something," Barnes whispered.

"Sure thing, General," the soldier nodded. "What is it?"

"It's nothing too out of the ordinary... but I need as many extra pairs of eyes as I can get. I just need you and the others to keep an eye out for anything strange." Alex quickly looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was there.

"Is this about whatever secret Ozpin has?" A look of surprise passed over Barnes' face.

"Yes. How did you find out?"

"Ruby and Yang's uncle, Qrow. He extended an offer to both me and Ryland to join whatever it is Ozpin's doing. We both shot him down because of his lack of information."

"Good man," Barnes patted Alex's shoulder. "While I'm sure Ozpin's not up to anything nefarious... it doesn't feel right to not keep an eye out if he's gearing up for something. I've already asked Dimitri, Carbon, Firo, and Cinder to help me keep watch."

"I'll be happy to join them," Alex nodded, taking a short pause as a thought occurred to him. "What's the protocol if we do notice something?"

"Hopefully, we'll find that Ozpin's just being paranoid and that there's nothing to be worried about... But, to be safe, inform everyone else as soon as you find something. And that includes Ozpin and whoever else he's got in his corner."

"Got it," Alex affirmed. "Should I ask anyone else to help us? Luna?"

"Miss Azure and Ryland would be fine, but we should consider keeping the kids out of it," Barnes motioned his chin in the direction of the three Beacon students. "They're capable and everything, but there's no reason to involve them if we can avoid it. However, I will leave that part up to your discretion." The General breathed a sigh, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "I won't hold you up any longer, Alex. I'll see you back at the Academy."

Luna's eyes perked up as Alex walked over to rejoin them. Ruby and Yang had quickly reunited with Blake, then dragged the Faunus girl off somewhere to catch up, leaving Luna and Ryland to speak to Dimitri, Firo, and Carbon.

"What did Mr. Barnes want?" Luna inquired.

"Nothing too important, I'll tell you and Ryland later," the blond soldier replied with a shrug. He exchanged a knowing look with the three adults that had stayed in Vale, causing Luna to tilt her head at him questioningly. A shared glance with Alex informed her that it was important, and not something that should be discussed in public. Ryland seemed to pick up on it as well, just as the trio of students reappeared, each holding a drink.

The three girls rejoined the group, quickly returning to catching up with their friends. Yang handed Ryland a soda as Carbon pulled them aside.

"So, how was it?" the Atlesian soldier asked. "You both have fun?"

"Yeah..." Ryland trailed off and winced at the memory of Taiyang's crushing hugs. "Though, in all honesty, it was a good trip. I'll just bring my body-armor next time."

"I thought it was great," Yang added happily. A smirk crossed her face as she leaned in. "Especially the parts where I got to spend some private time with Ry." The blonde girl winked as the end of the sentence. Carbon turned to Ryland with a grin.

"Please tell me you didn't ruin Yang's career by getting her pregnant." Ryland coughed on his soda.

"Wha- No!" the orange-haired soldier answered adamantly, though his cheeks blushed at the thought. Carbon and Yang both burst out laughing at his expression.

"Ever since you two started dating, you've become an easy target," the Atlesian man patted Ryland's shoulder. The younger man gave him a look of mock anger. "Anyway, enough of that. Good to hear you two had a fun time."

"You been getting lonely without us, Old Man?" Ryland smirked, taking a sip of his drink.

"Something like that," Carbon nodded, giving both of Yang and Ryland quick hugs. "Welcome back."

Later that evening, in one of Beacon academy's testing rooms, Alex found himself standing amongst his friends and teammates. He and Dimitri had quickly brought Luna and Ryland up to speed on what Barnes had spoken to them about. The two of them, of course, had agreed to help without hesitation. Once Arthur and Anika returned from their own trip, Alex planned to bring them in as well.

"So, on this subject," Alex started, "has anybody noticed anything out of the ordinary?"

"Well..." Firo said hesitantly, unsure of whether her thought qualified. "Dimitri and I already told General Barnes about this... but..." She trailed off. Despite her time with all of them, Firo still had moments where she had trouble talking to others. Dimitri put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and continued for her.

"There was a night where four stars in the sky began acting oddly," the Russian explained. "These specific stars have been linked to different legendary calamities, which we found out thanks to Blake. Shortly after, some people living in downtown Vale began displaying unusually fearful behavior. Whether it's because of the stars or something else, is unfortunately unclear." Firo nodded thankfully.

"Thank you, both of you," Alex said. "We should keep watch on the people in Vale, in case that leads anywhere. Other than that, everyone should continue to keep their ears to the ground. That means even rumors are potential leads. Keep each other informed."

"And we shouldn't bring the girls in on this?" Dimitri asked.

"I'd actually like to know your thoughts on that as well," Carbon nodded.

"Yeah, Bossman, doesn't it seem a little wrong to leave them out? Especially when it was Blake who tracked down Sarge and Firo's lead?" Ryland added.

"The General made it fairly clear that he didn't want to involve the students if possible," Alex answered.

"That's a little unfair..." Luna commented.

"However," Alex continued, "he also left the final decision up to me... And since we're going to try to bring in Arthur and Anika, who are both technically students... I personally don't have an issue with it. The girls have proven themselves time and time again, so I see no reason they couldn't help us now."

"Alright," Ryland nodded approvingly. "When should we ask them?"

"No time like the present," Carbon commented.

"Agreed," Alex stated.

Ruby was completely confused. Alex had sent her a message to meet him in one of the testing rooms after dinner. Apparently, both Yang and Blake had received identical instructions from Ryland and Firo respectively, and had joined Ruby after they had finished eating.

"What do you think they want to talk about?" Yang asked. "Ry's message seemed kinda... cryptic."

"Well," Ruby shrugged, "only one way to find out." The cloaked girl took a step forward and opened the testing room door. She stepped over the threshold, followed closely by her two teammates. The room was filled with people they recognized: Luna, Firo, Carbon, Ryland, Dimitri, and Alex. The six adults shifted from their positions as the girls entered.

"Dimitri? Firo? What's going on?" Blake asked.

"Take a seat first, Blake." the Russian soldier said kindly. "We'll explain in a moment." The trio of girls shared a look before seating themselves at one of two round steel tables in the room. Alex stepped forward to speak.

"Ruby. Yang. Blake. The six of us have a huge favor to ask of you. I'll preface this by saying that you don't have to participate if you don't-"

"'Kay, I'm in," Ruby chimed.

"But..." Alex sputtered, "Um... But, you haven't even heard what the request is."

"Doesn't really matter," Ruby said seriously. "I trust you to do the right thing."

"I- Thank you, Ruby..." Alex smiled warmly. "That means a lot. Still, you all deserve to know what you'd be agreeing to." He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "We want you to help us keep an eye out for anything strange around Vale, including doing digging into any potential leads we find." To the soldier's surprise, only silence answered him at first. Yang blinked a few times, as if she was unsure that she had heard him correctly.

"That's it?" the blonde student asked. "All that buildup, and you just want us to do what we spent most of our first year at Beacon doing?"

"Er... Yes," Alex nodded.

"I'm up for that," Yang stated cheerily.

"I'm assuming that this isn't exactly something that Professor Ozpin sanctioned?" Blake inquired flatly.

"Well," Dimitri started by rubbing the back of his neck, "that's half-true. The Headmaster seems convinced that there's something big coming. He asked a bunch of us in this room to join him in some sort of... secret society... or something like that."

"Problem is," Ryland spoke up from his spot leaning against the wall of the room, "Ozpin wasn't too forthcoming with details beyond that it might kill some of us. So, Ol' Barnes started us off on this goose chase, with the added bonus of actually exchanging info."

"I see," Blake nodded. "If that's the case, then I will assist as well."

"It's so nice to have the three of you on board!" Luna smiled happily. "Thank you!" Firo made eye contact with Blake, silently thanking her for deciding to help.

"What about Weiss? Or Arthur and his team?" Ruby wondered aloud. "Will they be helping too?"

"We plan on asking them once they're back," Alex answered.

"I believe Weiss should be back in a week," Carbon noted. "I think Arthur'll be back a bit earlier than that. Actually, Boss, should we ask Nikos to join as well?"

"Pyrrha?" Alex asked. "What does she have to do with this?"

"You didn't know? She tagged along with Arthur."

"Really? I thought she was headed back to Mistral," Ruby supplied. "She seemed really excited about it too."

"Perhaps something happened in Mistral?" Blake guessed. "We should ask her when she returns."

"Well," Alex shrugged, "Pyrrha's a friend and she now has a potential lead. We might as well ask her to help us if she wants."

"That sounds fair," Luna nodded.

"Alright, enough serious talk," Ryland groaned as he pushed himself off the wall. "I smuggled desserts out of the break room. Who wants one?" From seemingly nowhere, the orange-haired soldier produced a box filled to the brim with various sweet pastries. With the solemn tone of the night officially destroyed, the group sat down to eat and enjoy each others company. They could worry about saving the world tomorrow.

A/N: Huh, a full chapter without any real jumping around. This was a kinda middling chapter, I think. Not too great, not too bad.

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