The Game The Gods Play

by Izlawake

Magic & Gods AU. Ruby, Jaune, and others learn of their destinies to protect the world as Paladins, mystical warriors chosen by the Gods to fight against the evil Goddess Sheena who created the Grimm and started a war over a thousand years ago at the dawn of time. Can our heroes end The Game The Gods Play, or will they just be mere pawns in a seemingly never-ending war?

3. Times Are Changing

A/N: Judith Draconem and Iroiki Asphodelos belongs to Daryo Ouellette.

Chapter 3: Times Are Changing

The Paladins, having claimed victory in their battle against the Dark Paladin, turned and left Salem lying on the ground bleeding and unable to move. First, the Paladin of Iris, carrying the deceased body of the Paladin of Ashtul, exited the Dark Realm through the portal, and then only the Paladins of Oum and Sklor remained.

"Perhaps victory is in the simpler things you've long forgotten. Things that require a smaller, more honest soul," the Paladin of Sklor told Salem before he exited through the portal.

The Paladin of Oum extended his hand upon the portal and a surge of red Draíochta burst from it and struck the portal, making it blink a rapid set of bright glows. "You will never ever leave this place," he warned Salem.

Salem grinned. "But my Goddess can, and her hand extends beyond all reach of both this realm and the Realm of Light," she barked. "Enjoy your peace while it lasts, for Sheena will begin to set things in motion one day."

The Paladin of Oum gazed upon the fallen Salem for a moment, thinking over what she said. "You claimed there will be no victory in strength, but you forget that even in the darkest of times, when Mankind bands together, that is when we are at our strongest. You stood alone against us while we stood together against you, and we were victorious. Sheena can prepare her Paladins and her Grimm, and we will do the same, and when the time comes, we will be ready for her." The Paladin of Oum stepped through the portal, which closed behind him, trapping Salem forever within the Dark Realm of Remnant.

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October 2nd 1580

The City of Vale

Out in the streets of Vale, Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black were casually walking down the streets among the civilians. "So, we know where out little rat is, we just gotta hope no one is at his store when we get there," Mercury noted to Emerald.

"Don't worry, this job should be easy," she told him. They soon found the store, Tukson's Book Trade, and went inside, which was deserted, even at the front counter. Mercury strolled over to a bookshelf and started flipping through a book while Emerald went to the front counter and rang the counter bell. At once, Tucson came out carrying a large stack of books, which he set onto the counter before addressing his new customers.

"Welcome to Tucson's Book Trade, home of every book under the sun. How may I help you?" he proclaimed with pride.

"Hi, do you have any copies of The Thief and the Butcher?" Emerald kindly asked. Tucson answered positively, which got Emerald excited, but she declined a copy when offered. "What about Violet's Garden in paperback?"

"He's got it right here. Hardback too," Mercury told her from a bookshelf.

"Ooh, options are nice."

"Meh, no pictures. Do you have any comics?" called Mercury. Tucson directed him to a small comic stand near the front.

"What about Third Crusade?" Emerald then inquired.

"Um, I don't think we have that one. If I recall, I sold my last copy to someone yesterday," Tucson admitted.

"You know, for a bookstore that has 'every book under the sun,' you sure can't keep a promise, Tucson…" Emerald scolded, her voice turning sour as Mercury turned off the lights inside the store. "…Much like your promise to the White Fang." Everyone was silent for a moment. "You know who we are." It was not presented as a question, but as a statement.

"Yes," Tucson answered.

"You know why we are here." Another statement. Mercury joined his friend at the counter.

"Yes."

"So, you wanna fight?" This was a question, and one that Tucson was happy to answer.

"YES!" he leapt onto the counter with his claws drawn, forcing Emerald and Mercury to take a step back. He leapt at Emerald and swiped at her, but she simply ducked under his range and Mercury leapt forward and fired his leg guns into Tucson's face, sending him sprawling into a wall where he collapsed to the floor. Mercury strolled over and fired another shot directly into Tucson's face, making his body go limp instantly. The duo left the bookstore with a couple books tucked under their arms.

"So how long do you think it will take for someone to find his body?" Mercury whispered to his dark-skinned friend before he opened up the X-Ray & Vav comic he took.

"Probably a day or so, but the cops won't be able to track us, not with our fingerprints all over the books that countless other customers have touched. Plus, once they find his ticket to Vacuo and that he is involved with the White Fang, the police will simply shrug it off and ignore it," Emerald explained. She glanced at the comic. "Why do you read those?" she groaned, wishing he would read something more intellectual.

About an hour later, they regrouped with the White Fang at their hidden warehouse, where they met with Roman Torchwick. "Ah, look, she brought the kids along," he sarcastically proclaimed, throwing his hands around them and ruffling their hairs, which they quickly shrugged off. "Now, I would like to know where you two are, but I suppose this will tell me." Roman held up a slip of paper detailing the address to Tucson's Book Trade that he lifted from Emerald's pocket. She quickly protested at his sudden thievery. "Oh calm down, sweetheart," he chuckled. "I'm a professional. If you pay attention, you might learn something." He took a look at the address. "Now, what is this?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Emerald remarked.

"Yeah, I would. So where have you two been all day?"

"We've been cleaning up your problems. One of them, at least," Mercury remarked.

"I had it under control," Roman snarled.

"Well, two packed bags and a ticket to Vacuo said otherwise," Mercury shot back.

"Listen, you little punk, if I wasn't under orders, I would take you and your little street rat friend here and I would—"

"Do what, Roman?" called Cinder from the second floor. The clinks of her glass heels echoed around the warehouse as she stepped onto the lift and lowered herself down to their level, staring at the three with her burning eyes.

"Um…I'd…uh…not kill them?" he stuttered. Emerald was happy to see Cinder, however, and went to embrace her in a hug, but the fiery woman merely ignored her and went to Roman.

"I thought I made it clear that I wanted you to eliminate the would-be runaway," spoke Cinder.

"Hey, I was going to do it!" Roman protested.

"He was going to escape to Vacuo, so Mercury and I took it upon ourselves to kill the rat!" Emerald declared.

"I think he was some kind of cat, actually," Mercury quickly noted.

"What, like a puma?" Mercury agreed to that.

"Did I not specifically instruct you two to keep your hands clean while we were in Vale?" Cinder dictated.

"I just thought…" Emerald started.

"Don't think. Obey," Cinder interrupted, then turned to Roman. "As for you, why was this job not done sooner?"

"Sorry if I've been busy stealing every speck of Dust within the kingdom!" he argued.

"You're an inspiration to every punk with a gun and a mask," Mercury sarcastically complimented.

"Shut up, kid. Thanks to me, this whole's town is running scared with police camping at corners, Dust prices through the roof, and we're sitting pretty on a mountain of Dust crystals, vials, and ammo rounds. Speaking of which, if you let me in on your grand-scheme plan, it might make my next string of robberies go a little smoother."

Cinder gave a chuckle and went to him, placing her hand upon his cheek. "Roman, have a little faith. You'll know what you need when you need to know." Her ember eyes stared deeply into his, but he merely scoffed at her. "Anyway, we're done with Dust. Have the White Fang clear out this warehouse, and I will send you more details and coordinates tonight." She took a quick glance and noticed his confusion. "We are proceeding to Phase 2 of our plans." Roman fished out a cigar and searched for his lighter until he heard the clicking of it from afar. Looking up, he saw Emerald with it, who stuck her tongue at him before heading off with Cinder and Mercury.

Cinder sent Emerald and Mercury to prepare the car while she took care of something in the main office. There, she found a teenage girl with pink and chocolate brown with white streaks sitting idly in the comfy chair with a pink umbrella at her side. When Cinder entered, she looked up at her with her pink and brown eyes, which switched sides with a blink. "Neo, we are leaving now, but I want you to stay with Roman for a while longer. Understand?" The girl, Neo, gave her a smiling nod. "Let me see your mark for a quick moment." With another nod, Neo stood up, where she slipped her pants down, revealing her pale skin and a black tattoo on her left leg, near her hip, facing forward. The tattoo was an exact replica of the one on Cinder's back, appearing like two high heel shoes placed together to form a heart shape. Cinder ran a couple fingers over the tattoo before drawing away, allowing Neo to lift her pants up. "It is truly wonderful to meet you again, Cuthachsling."

Neo placed her two pointer fingers upon her head and gave a puzzling look. "Oh, Adam Taurus?" Neo nodded. "Yes, well, it was an honor to meet the Murtsling as well, though we both have different goals." Cinder saw the next question in Neo's eyes. "I know of one other Dark Paladin, the Bhrathsling, but Sheena has not chosen an Àrsling as of yet. I suspect she is waiting until she finds the perfect person for the role." She gave Neo one last smile and exited the office to the car.

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At that present moment, Teams RWBY and JNPR had just finished having a rambunctious food fight among one another while Team LOST and Sun and Neptune of Team SSSN watched from the sidelines, though Neptune and Tristan were covered in food splotches. "See why I love these guys?" Sun chirped to his upset friend. At that moment, Glynda Goodwitch entered with a very dark look upon her face. A tray of food came flying towards her, but she quickly rebounded it with her crop and set to work using her telekinesis to rearrange the cafeteria back to its normal state, minus the absolute mess due to the food fight. "Children, do not play with your food!" she fumed, staring at the two teams, both covered in food splotches and particles. Despite her stern words, all eight teens burst into laughter. Glynda growled until Ozpin came up behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Just let it go," he advised her.

"They're supposed to be the defenders of the world." she relaxed with a sigh.

Ozpin glanced over at the teens, who were still laughing and chatting with each other about the food fight. "They will be one day, but they're still children. Let them enjoy their youth now while they have it. It won't be a role they will have forever." Glynda gave him a concerned glance, sighed, then turned back to the teens. With a flick of her crop. a series of mop buckets and mops flew from the cafeteria closets and settled down before them.

"Now, since you children like to start food fights, destroy the cafeteria, and cause havoc among your fellow classmates, I feel it would be best that you eight clean up the cafeteria yourselves. I want it done by tonight before dinner," Glynda professed with a devilish smirk. She turned and left, passing by Team LOST, Sun, and Neptune.

It ended up taking the two teams several hours to spot clean the entire cafeteria, coupled with Nora often slacking off and getting nutty while Weiss complained nonstop about having to do "menial work that no Schnee should perform." However, they finished by three in the afternoon, so they went to the library to enjoy themselves. There, Team RWBY played Remnant: The Game while Team JNPR did some studying, though Nora spent the entire time sleeping, Ren spent careful time reading up on the various environments of Mistral, and Jaune read a little X-Ray & Vav until Pyrrha took his comic and replaced it with a book entitled Grimm Fighting Techniques. "I thought you could make better use of it over your comic," Pyrrha remarked when he gave her a disappointed look. He still opened it and found a passage detailing various tips and tricks when fighting against Ursai.

While in the midst of their game, Team RWBY were greeted by Sun and Neptune, the latter of whom introduced himself to everyone, though Weiss grew most interested in him, much to Jaune's disapproval. However, Blake soon departed, claiming that she was done playing the game, which bewildered everyone. "Women, amiright?" Nora chimed in after Blake had left.

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Blake spent the rest of the afternoon in her dorm room curled into a ball, thinking about what happened at the docks a couple weeks ago. Roman's words kept flickering through her mind, and all it told her was that the White Fang are up to something sinister, and Roman is playing a big part in it. After a while of sulking about, the rest of Team RWBY returned. "I told you we shouldn't have let him play!" went a disgruntled Yang.

"You're just upset Neptune beat you," Ruby teased. Blake got up and went for the door.

"Stop," Weiss ordered, making Blake freeze in her path. "Lately, you've been quiet, moody, and antisocial. And I get that that it is your thing, but Blake, you made a promise to me and to us that you would tell us if anything was wrong." Weiss suddenly jumped up upon a chair and jabbed her finger at Blake. "So, Blake Belladonna, what is wrong!?" She teetered on her chair for a moment before descending it and placing it back.

Blake took a deep sigh. "I just…I just cannot understand how everyone can be so calm…" she released.

"You're still thinking about Torchwick?" Ruby asked.

"Torchwick, the White Fang, all of it! Something big is about to happen and no one is doing anything about it!"

"Look, Ozpin told us not to worry. Between the Police and the Huntsmen, I'm sure they can handle it," Yang tried assuring her.

"But I'm not! They don't know the White Fang like I do!" Blake snapped.

"Look, between blowing up nightclubs, stopping thieves, and fighting for freedom, I'm sure the three of you think you're ready to apprehend these ne'er-do-wells, but let me remind you all that we're still students. We're not ready to handle this sort of situation," Weiss interjected, acting as the voice of reason of the team.

"Yeah, but what–" Ruby started.

"We're not ready!" Weiss repeated.

"And we may never be ready!" Blake shot out. "Our enemies won't just wait around until graduation day! They're out there somewhere planning their next move, and none of us know what it is, but it's coming, whether we're ready or not!"

Ruby stepped forward. "Okay! All in favor of becoming the youngest Huntresses to single-handedly bring down a corrupt organization conspiring against the Kingdom of Vale…say 'aye'!"

Everyone quickly agreed, and Ruby was set to create a plan of action, until she suddenly realized she left her Remnant: The Game board game in the library, causing her to dash out into the hallway and smack into someone, who caught her before she could hit the floor. "Geez, Ruby, where are you off to in such a hurry?" asked Senna Raleigh of Team LOST.

"Sorry, Senna, I was just in a hurry." Ruby quickly apologized, then she noticed the three Haven students behind her. "Um, who are they?"

"Oh, they are a team from Haven Academy," Senna explained as the leader, a young woman with long black hair and eyes the color of fire stepped. "She is Cinder Fall, leader of Team…what is it again?"

"Team CMEN," Cinder corrected with a small grin.

"Yes, that's it, thank you."

"Name's Mercury," Mercury introduced, stepping forward. Beside him was Emerald, who also introduced herself.

"Yes, I was showing them to the room that they're staying at for the Vytal Festival, and I thought it would be a nice gesture to show them through the Beacon dorms so they could meet some of us," Senna explained. "Anyway, we must be off before it gets too late. Bye, Ruby." Senna went past Ruby, with Mercury and Emerald behind her, but Cinder stayed behind to talk to Ruby.

"You look rather young to be a Huntress-in-training at Beacon," Cinder noted.

"Well, I kinda got pushed ahead a couple years," Ruby admitted.

"Wow, Headmaster Ozpin must think highly of you then." Ruby looked up into Cinder's eyes, which looked like burning embers.

"Well, he seems to think so, but honestly, I think I'm pretty ordinary," Ruby insisted. Cinder smiled and went past her. "Oh, and welcome to Beacon!" Ruby called to her. Cinder let slip an evil grin, content that Ruby Rose did not suspect a thing about her.

Soon, we can properly begin Phase 2, Cinder thought to herself with a low chuckle.

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The Next Day

From his office, Ozpin and Glynda gazed upon the courtyard of Beacon and the looming city of Vale as the Atlesian military hovered in the sky. A number of airships landed and both human soldiers disembarked and began deploying around Beacon and setting up operations. "Ironwood sure likes to bring his work with him wherever he goes," Glynda grumbled.

"Well, being the Headmaster of Atlas Academy and a military general makes him a busy man, so I can understand why he's bringing his army, but I feel it may be a little unnecessary," Ozpin argued. At that moment, the elevator opened and General James Ironwood entered, dressed in his Atlesian military uniform as always. "James, it's been a long time."

"It's been, what, five years? It hasn't been that long, Ozpin." Ironwood told him, then turned to Glynda. "Glynda, my, you're still as beautiful as ever."

"Hello, James." she smiled. "I'll be elsewhere," she whispered to Ozpin, dropping her smile and walking out and down the elevator.

"Well, she hasn't changed a bit," Ironwood chuckled.

"James, what in the world brought you down from Atlas? Headmasters don't typically travel with their students." Ozpin poured two mugs of coffee, one of which he handed to Ironwood, who fished out a flask and tipped some alcohol into it.

"Well, coupled with how much I love Vale during the Autumn season, and with you hosting, I thought it would make for a good opportunity for the two of us to catch up. However, I do wish Grace and Pecado could've come so we could've had a proper reunion." Ozpin nodded in agreement.

Ozpin swung around to his desk to sit down. "I can understand the need for quality time between old friends, but the small fleet outside my window has me somewhat concerned."

"Well, concern is what brought them here," argued Ironwood.

"I understand that travel between the kingdoms has become increasingly difficult…"

"Oz…" Ironwood interrupted, silencing the aged headmaster. "…You and I both know why I brought those men."

Ozone took a sip from his mug and let out a heavy sigh. "We are in a time of peace, and showing off power like this will only give off the wrong impression."

"I can assure you that my soldiers will give off no wrong impression, but rather assure that everyone in Vale will be safe for the festival," Ironwood explained. He paced about for a moment while sipping his coffee.

"Even so, the Vytal Festival is meant for peace and unity between the four Kingdoms, and I don't want my people to become fearful of the Atlesian Military surrounding them," Ozpin warned.

"I promise that everyone will feel nothing but comfort from my army," Ironwood assured him, followed by a sip of his mug. "So…have we learned anything from Qrow since his communication silence?"

"Nothing yet. I sent Kyler to Mistral to look for him," Ozpin answered.

"Kyler?" Ironwood asked, almost baffled. "I thought those two hated each other? Why would Kyler…Oh…yes. Summer…" Ozpin nodded. "…Does Kyler still blame himself?" Another nod. "I understand his pain. I have been to blame for the deaths of many of my soldiers in the past…"

"Summer was different. You know what kind of person she was, and how much she meant to both Kyler and Qrow."

"Yes, yes, I know." Ironwood strolled over to the giant window and stared out onto the courtyard where his ships were docked. "Ozpin, I know you and the others may not have entirely agreed with my decisions in the past, and I know I have made a number of improper decisions before, but I promise you that I brought this army here just to be cautious."

"As am I, which is why I will continue training the best Huntsmen and Huntresses that I can, as well as the Paladins of Light." That last bit shocked Ironwood.

"The Paladins? They are here?"

"Yes, but only one has emerged as a Paladin. The other four are still dormant."

"So, the Gods have chosen their five, yet they haven't anointed them yet?" A nod from Ozpin. Ironwood laid his mug onto the desk and headed for the elevator. "Well, until the Paladins of Light and the Guardians of Remnant rise again, I will do what I must to ensure that everyone will be safe for the Vytal Festival. And let me ask you this: Do you honestly believe that these children—these Huntsmen and Huntresses of yours—can win a war?"

"I hope that they never have to…I pray every day that they never have to see war with their own eyes…" Ironwood gave Ozpin a silent stare and took his leave.

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In their dorm room, Team RWBY was dressing themselves in new outfits for the new mission. Ruby wore her Slayer uniform, Weiss wore her Snowpea dress, Blake put on her Intruder clothes, and Yang wore her Hunter outfit. "Okay, today's the day the investigation begins!" Ruby cheered, leaping off her bed in excitement.

"I'm glad you're taking this so seriously," Weiss sarcastically moaned.

"Hey, we gotta plan. That's…moderately seriously," Yang noted.

"Does everyone remember their jobs on this?" Ruby asked everyone.

"You and I will head to the CCT to check the Schnee records for any Dust robberies or inconsistencies. And seeing as I'm in the family, it shouldn't be a problem," Weiss dictated.

"The White Fang has regular faction meetings to distribute orders and recruit new members," Blake explained. "If I can get in, I can hopefully find out what they're planning."

"I have a friend on the shady side of town that typically knows everything going on in Vale. If the White Fang have been planning anything, he's bound to have heard it," Yang explained.

"Okay, we will meet back here tonight to share what we have found." Ruby concluded.

"Yeah!" called a voice from outside the window. Everyone turned to see Sun hanging upside by his tail. He swung his way inside and stood up. "So, you girls are gonna go after that Torchwick guy, huh?" Sun went to the window, where Neptune was perched outside. "You can come in, dude." Neptune shuffled inside, where he breathed a sigh of relief.

"We are investigating. As a team," Blake told him.

"Well, we can help out." Neptune offered.

There was a knock at the door, and when Ruby answered it, she found Lucas Dias standing at the door in his combat gear. "I've been listening in and heard what you girls are planning to do," Lucas told Ruby as he swirled a glass cup in his hand. "I want to help."

"What about the rest of your team?" Weiss asked.

"Olivia is around Beacon doing something, Senna had some errands to do, and Tristan went off to find a date for the upcoming dance," he explained.

"Well, we'd rather not get any friends involved if we don't have to," Ruby gently told them.

"Pft, that's dumb. You should always get friends involved; that's why I brought Neptune in on this," Sun laughed.

"And besides, my team and I are already stuck in this with you guys ever since the night at the docks," Lucas reminded her. Ruby let out a sigh and let him in.

"Okay, so Weiss and I will go together, as planned. Blake, you and Sun go together, and Yang, you can take Neptune with you," Ruby told everyone before pushing a rigid Neptune over to Yang's side. "And Lucas…well, you're not a Faunus, and Yang only has room on her motorcycle for two, so I guess you'll have to come with Weiss and I."

"No need. I will snoop around downtown Vale and the slums for word from the Vale gangs. If anyone is passing around gossip about the White Fang, the gangs and thugs would definitely hear them," Lucas told everyone.

"Actually, Ruby, why don't you go with Yang instead? After all, she is your sister," Weiss suggested.

"But who would go with you, Weiss?"

"Why not Neptune?" Neptune gave her a grin and a thumbs up in agreement, but Ruby merely laughed, where she then dragged Weiss off to go on their job, despite Weiss' protests. Lucas took a bus to the slums to start his search while Yang and Neptune went off for the same place on her motorcycle. Blake and Sun went off to downtown Vale, where they went in search for fellow Faunus to learn of any possible White Fang meetings.

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The Cross Continental Transmit System, Vale

Ruby and Weiss strolled down the sidewalk leading to the CCT building, which towered into the sky and was viewable for miles around. "Wow, I've forgotten how big the tower is up close!" Ruby squealed.

"The one in Atlas is much bigger, mind you," Weiss noted.

"That was the first one, right?"

"Correct. The Cross Continental Transmit System was a gift from Atlas following the end of the Great War to allow the four kingdoms to communicate with each other and establish a closer relationship with one another," Weiss read off.

"Oh, look at me, I'm Weiss. I know facts. I'm rich," Ruby teased her with a giggle, to which Weiss gave her a scowl.

"Don't be such a pest. Besides, we're only here because you like the tower so much. We've could've simply have made a phone call to gather what information we needed."

"Oh, I should take a picture!" Ruby hastily fished out her Scroll only to drop it instead, where it was picked up by Penny, who was nearby. "Penny!? What are you doing here? We haven't seen you since the night at the docks!"

"Um, I think you are confused," Penny stuttered, followed by a hiccup that sent the Scroll flying back into Ruby's hands. "Um, I have to go!" Penny turned and ran.

"You go make your call! I'll meet up with you later!" Ruby told Weiss as she dashed after Penny before Weiss could protest. With a groan, Weiss went inside the CCTS, where she headed up to the top floor where the communication computers were.

Outside, Ruby caught up with Penny on the stairs. "Penny, where have you been? It's been weeks. Is everything okay?" Penny attempted to leave, but Ruby stopped her. "Penny, please stop! Look, you gotta listen to me. Those guys we fought at the docks…we think they're up to something big, something bad! I need you to tell me what happened to you that night. Please tell me, as your friend."

Penny took a quick glance around to ensure no one was watching them, then crept close to Ruby's ear. "It isn't safe to talk here. Let's go somewhere else." Penny waved at Ruby to follow, and the two headed into the heart of Vale.

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In the CCTS building, Weiss made her way to the Communications Room, where she was greeted by a holographic AI at the main desk. "Welcome to the Beacon Cross Continental Transmit Center, how may I help you?" the AI, F.I.L.I.S., asked Weiss.

"I need to make a call to Schnee Company World Headquarters in Atlas," Weiss politely requested.

"Absolutely. If you can head over to terminal three, I can patch you through," F.I.L.I.S. told her as she typed onto her virtual keyboard. Weiss said her thanks and headed on over, where she passed by a couple exchange students on their own terminals, one of which she overheard talking to her mother.

Weiss sat down at the terminal and slipped on a false smile as the terminal booted up with an Atlas representative. "Thank you for calling the Atlas–Oh, Ms. Schnee!" the woman exclaimed, surprised to see the heiress calling her. "Would you like me to patch you through to your father? I think your sister, Winter, might be here as well."

"No thank you. I was actually wondering if you could find some files for me,. I've compiled a short list," Weiss stated, slipping her Scroll into the data slot, to which the list was sent instantly to the woman.

"I see…If you don't mind, may I ask what this is for?"

"It's for a school project."

The woman took a look at the list. "Um…There are some sensitive documents on this list, ma'am."

"Well, I'll be sure to treat them with care," Weiss said with a smile, ignoring her meaning.

"Right…Very well! The data is being transferred to your Scroll now."

"That will be all then." Weiss reached for the power switch on the terminal.

"Are you sure you wouldn't want me to patch you through to your father before you go?" the woman interrupted.

"Yes, I'm sure, but thank you anyway." The two bid farewell and Weiss's terminal powered down, where she quickly dropped her smile into a frown.

( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )

Elsewhere, in the slums, Lucas had wandered into a back alley bar named the Sniffing Beowolf after visiting several others asking for information regarding the White Fang. The bartender at this one had nothing to say, but a small group of thugs wearing matching purple jackets bearing a salamander insignia piped up at the teen, saying they might know something.

"How about I buy you guys a drink for the info?" Lucas offered to them. The gang, consisting of six young men, gladly accepted, and after a server brought them their drinks, Lucas sat down with them. "So, what's the word about the White Fang around here?"

One of the thugs suddenly let out a loud chuckle. "What an idiot! I can't believe he fell for it!" The thugs instantly jumped up and drew switchblades, chains, and one of them had a bat. "We got free drinks, and now we can rob this loser silly!"

Lucas remained calm and in his seat, sipping at his beer. "Well, you guys got me there. Blame me on that one, I guess. Now, I'll give you guys one last chance to tell me what I want to know, or else I will have to hurt you then ask, and I won't do it nicely." Lucas concluded, making them all laugh.

"Seriously!? You really think you can take us on!?" one thug yelled and lunged at him with his knife. Lucas quickly jumped to his feet with his glass in hand, which he smashed into the thug's head when he approached, then he socked him in the face, making him go down. Another swung his chain at him, which snaked around his arm, but Lucas tugged onto it, pulling the thug close and allowing him to knee him in the crotch, where he let out a squeal and went down convulsing. Two went at Lucas while the remaining ones stayed back to assess the situation; one went at Lucas with a bat, which he ducked under and grabbed the thug, where he head butted him. The other charged at him with his own knife and lunged at him, but Lucas blocked the strike, swung the thug around, and broke his arm with an elbow attack, making him fall to the floor in agony; a few customers winced from the sight. One of the last two thugs shrank to a corner in fear while the other scoffed at him before rushing at Lucas with his chain. He swung his chain round at Lucas—who ducked under it—then charged at him, where he pushed him against the counter while strangling him. Lucas tried prying the thug's hands off him, but he was strong. The bartender quickly slid a bottle of booze down Lucas' way, where the teenage Huntsman snatched it and smashed it into the thug's head, sending him spinning. Lucas sprang up and slammed the thug onto the counter and slid him down it while he screamed; the three customers at the counter grabbed at their drinks before the thug could take them with him as he slid to the end and fell off. With a sigh of relief, Lucas went to the last thug, who was cowering in the corner.

"I'll tell you anything! Just don't hurt me!" he whined.

"Are the White Fang planning anything tonight or soon?" Lucas coldly asked.

"Okay, I don't know the exact details, but I've been hearing word that they're having a recruitment meeting tonight somewhere in the slums district near Woll Street! That's all I know, I swear!" Lucas gave the thug a mean glare, which made him flinch, but he let him go, where he scrambled out the door and disappeared. Lucas went to the thug he slid across the bar and fished out the money from his wallet, which he tossed to the bartender. "Sorry for the mess," Lucas told the man, to which he nodded.

"You handled those Purple Salamanders rather well," the bartender complimented. "I guess the rumors of the Sinful Divided are true after all, huh? You guys really can kick some serious ass." Lucas gave him a silent nod and left.

Outside, Lucas called up Blake. "Blake, I just got info that the White Fang may be setting up a recruitment meeting somewhere in the slums around Woll Street," he relayed to her.

"Thanks. We'll take a look around there. Keep looking for anything else and let us know if you do," she told him before hanging up. Lucas brushed at his hair and took off down the alley towards the territory of the Blood Cross gang.

( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )

Elsewhere, Ruby and Penny met up and took a stroll down the street near center square of Vale. "I wish I can help you, Ruby, but I don't know anything about those men from the docks," Penny told her friend.

"Well, then where did you go? One minute we were all together, then suddenly you were gone. What happened?" Ruby asked with concern.

"Well, I've never been to another kingdom outside of Atlas before, and my father often has to keep a close watch on me and ensure that I do not venture too far out, and well, that night I did," Penny explained. She noticed the concern on Ruby's face. "Please don't misunderstand. My father loves me very much, but he just worries a lot about me."

"Believe me, I know the feeling," Ruby told her, thinking of how protective her father is of her and Yang. "But, you could've called us to let us know you were alright or something."

"Well, I was told not to talk to you, or Weiss, or Blake, or Yang, or anybody, really."

"Was your dad that upset?"

"Oh no, not him."

A few people cut in front of the girls to go to the center square, where a couple large containers stood behind a row of Atlesian Knights. A hologram of General Ironwood stood in between them facing a growing crowd of citizens and Atlesian soldiers. Ruby and Penny went over to the back of the group to watch.

"The Artesian Knights model 130 has been a fine standard source of security for Remnant for several years," the Ironwood hologram proudly stated. "However, the kingdom of Atlas is a kingdom of innovation! And 'fine' just isn't good enough anymore!" The containers slid open, revealing a line of Atlesian Knights clad in white and black, compared to the model 130s' black and red. These new white Knights booted online and kicked the black Knights down to the ground and stepped down. "Behold, the new Atlesian Knight 200!" Applause echoed around. "Their AI systems are much smarter, they are sleeker, and, admittedly, a lot less scary." The new Knights began making poses, which entertained the crowd. "These new models will be active in time for the Vytal Festival, so all of you will have nothing to fear or worry about when the time comes, but the Knights will not be alone…" The hologram of Ironwood disappeared and was replaced with one depicting a large bipedal mecha. "…The Atlesian Military has always supported the idea of removing men from the dangers of the battlefield, yet, there are still many situations that require undoubtably require a human touch. As such, our kingdom's greatest minds, in cooperation with the Schnee Dust Company, are proud to introduce the Atlesian Paladin!" Thunderous applause rang out. "We could not have these out for you to see today, but there mechanized battle suits will be seen defending the borders of our kingdoms within the year! And once we are finished with the prototypes, we will work on a series of self-piloting Paladins to work alongside the manned ones!" The hologram faded away, leaving the Atlesian soldiers stationed there to gather the Atlesian Knights back into the containers and tend to the crowd, all of whom had questions to ask about the new military defenses.

"Ruby, maybe we should leave," Penny wearily suggested. Two blue soldiers nearby noticed Penny and began running for her, to which Penny turned and gave chase. Ruby chose to follow after her friend, where Penny ducked into an alley and began picking up speed. The soldiers picked up speed, and fast, soon catching up to them both. Ruby and Penny dashed out into an empty street and into another alley, but when the soldiers came out, they were temporary stopped by a couple cars that drove in front of them, allowing the girls to gain distance. Penny turned around a corner, leaving Ruby behind, who noticed a scaffolding holding up a series of crates. She drew Crescent Rose and sliced at one of the legs as she sped past, creating a large mess between her and the incoming soldiers. Ruby used her Semblance to speed ahead to grab Penny and rocket themselves down to the end of the alley, but Ruby tired out and gave away, dropping Penny and spinning out onto the open road, just as a large truck came her way, blaring its horn at her. Suddenly, Penny shoved Ruby aside and took the hit for her, but instead of being squashed under the truck, the truck was abruptly forced to a complete stop, forcing Penny into the road and tearing it apart. "Are you okay?" she asked the shocked driver. A few people began gathering to observe what had happened. Penny dashed off past Ruby, who was still shocked at what she saw, but quickly snapped from her trance to chase after her friend.

Penny stopped at a garbage area behind a restaurant, allowing Ruby to catch up to her. "Penny, what is going on!? Why are you running!? How did you do that!?" Ruby gasped, trying to catch her breath.

"Everything is…fine!" Penny said with a hiccup. "I don't–I don't want to talk about it!" Another hiccup.

"Penny, please, you can tell me what's wrong. I can help you," Ruby assured her.

"You wouldn't understand!"

"Well, let me try! Please trust me!"

Penny shifted back and forth, staring at both Ruby and various parts of the walls around them. "You promise you're my friend, right!?" Ruby nodded and Penny showed her her hands that she used to stop the truck. Ruby was expecting to see her hands torn up, with broken skin, blood, and perhaps exposed flesh, but she was not expecting to see metal underneath Penny's skin. "I'm not…a real girl, Ruby," Penny confessed.

Ruby stared wide-eyed in silence for a moment, attempting to take this all in before she uttered a single "Oh…" She continued staring at both Penny and her hands for a moment in absolute silence. "What…What do you mean you're not a 'real girl'?"

"Most girls are born, but I was made. I am the world's first synthetic person capable of generating an Aura…And yet, I'm not real…" Ruby closed Penny's hands with her own and gave her a smile.

"No, you're wrong. Jus because you're made of nuts and bolts instead of squishy guts doesn't make you any less human than I. You're nothing like those machine we saw back at the square. You have a heart and a soul, I can feel it." Ruby placed her hand over Penny's breast, where her heart would be located. Her skin was cold at the touch.

Penny smiled and took Ruby into her arms. "Oh, Ruby, you're the best friend anyone can ever have!" She cradled Ruby in her arms, who was plastered against her cold, metallic body.

"I can see why your father would want to protect such a delicate flower," Ruby moaned.

"Of course, he's the one who made me, after all. Well, him and General Ironwood."

"Wait, so that's why those soldiers were after you." Ruby concluded.

"Ruby, one day, it will my job to protect the world, but I'm not ready yet. That's why I'm here to compete in the tournament."

"Let's check down here!" called a voice.

"I'm sorry, Ruby, but I must go now," Penny told her friend before scooping her up and tossing her into a nearby dumpster. The soldiers soon arrived and escorted Penny away, leaving Ruby alone, hiding in the safety of the dumpster.

( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )

Elsewhere, Yang and Neptune arrived at Junior's Club by the time night covered the sky. There, Yang pressured Junior for answers regarding the night he met with Roman while Neptune did his usual thing: chilling out. In the end, Junior had nothing to say, other than that Roman paid him to borrow some of his thugs and he never got them back nor did he ever see Roman since. Yang left the club frustrated with Neptune following behind her, giving the Malachite twins a wink, both of whom scoffed at him as he left.

( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )

Over in the slums, Blake and Sun found a secret gathering of White Fang recruits hidden in a winding maze of alleys. The two donned White Fang masks and were allowed in upon proving their Faunus heritage, and they moved up front to get a closer look. Up upon a stage was a large object shrouded in a tarp, but it was clear it was something big, towering at least ten feet into the air, and there was a muscular White Fang member wearing a white mask painted with red that mirrored a Grimm's skull pattern, but Blake could not figure out what sort of Faunus he was. Near him off to the side was Neo, who stood silently, watching the newly-arrived recruits. "Is that a girl a Human?" Sun whispered to Blake.

"She looks like a Human, but there's something off about her," Blake answered. After everyone had gathered into the building, Roman Torchwick walked onto stage and was met with thunderous foul cries from the Faunus.

"What is a Human doing here!?" cried a young woman with deer antlers.

"I'm glad you asked," Roman answered for her. "Look, I'll be the first to admit that Humans are the worst, even though I'm one myself, but they hate me as well, so that sorta puts us together on the subject of hating Humans. I know a lot of you would like to see us imprisoned or even killed. However, our biggest enemies—the ones that you and I both hate equally—are the ones who pull the strings, sign the laws, all that lame political stuff! The ones who run our governments, our military, and even the schools! They're the ones to blame for why your kind are considered less than animals or even less than the Grimm!" Thunderous applause rang out. "And guess what? I got ourselves a little something to help us take those filthy Humans out for good!" Roman snapped his fingers and the masked man yanked at the tarp, revealing one of the Atlesian Paladin prototypes, though this one had the red White Fang insignia marked upon it. "These little machines are built to protect the Kingdoms from the scary things in the world, and thanks to an insider of the Atlesian Military, I've gotten ahold of a number of these prototypes for us to use. We've already sent some to your fellow comrades who are operating in the southeast, and we intend to help you fight your fight by giving you some of the prototypes here. Now, who would like to fight against Humanity?" The entire building roared with cheers from the Faunus, both citizens and White Fang.

"The southeast? What could they be doing down there?" Blake wondered to herself as citizens moved forward to an area to be recruited. "We better get out of here and report what we found." Before they could even take a step, Roman's eyes caught them, and he was quick to recognize them from the docks. He motioned his masked friend at the two and the masked man started his way towards them. Blake spotted an electrical box nearby and fired Gambol Shroud at it, instantly cutting the lights off and allowing the two to escape out a window. They mad their way atop a building and ran along the roofs, but then the Paladin piloted by Roman burst from the building wall and chased after them.

"Do we have some kind of plan!?" Sun cried as the Paladin gained on them, crushing parked cars in its path and sending the nighttime citizens into a panic. Police were quickly summoned to the scene, but all police cars were easily brushed aside by the Paladin, rendering the police practically useless. Blake quickly called up the other members of RWBY, Neptune, and Lucas. Ruby was excited to hear the news of a giant bipedal mecha and rushed to catch up to them. Weiss was somewhat annoyed that the two needed her help, but she went to go find them. Yang buckled up on her motorcycle and warned Neptune to hold on as they sped off in search of the Paladin. Lucas found himself a parked car in an empty lot, where he broke in and hot-wired it then drove out to find the others.

Roman eventually chased Blake and Sun onto the interstate highway, where the Faunus Huntsmen traversed across the tops of the honking cars before they were thrown aside by the Paladin. Yang and Neptune chased after the Paladin while avoiding the cars that was thrown in their way. Lucas drove onto the main interstate from an exit ramp and slammed the pedal down to pick up speed, soon passing Yang's motorcycle and catching up to the Paladin. Lucas rolled down the driver's window and locked the accelerator down with a small box that sat in the passenger seat. "Oh, damn, this is so stupid," Lucas told himself as he climbed out onto the roof of the car. Behind him, Neptune fired off a few electrical-infused bullets from his rifle, briefly stunning the Paladin in its tracks, allowing Lucas to leap onto its main body with an Aura-powered jump.

Roman's sensors picked up Lucas' presence, but there was nothing he could do at the moment, allowing the teen to use his Semblance, Astral Fist. Lucas raised a fist, which became enveloped in his cerulean blue Aura and he repeatedly slammed the fist into the body of the Paladin, dealing massive damage and jostling Roman in the cockpit a few times. Neptune joined him and leapt onto the Paladin with his rifle now transformed into its trident form, which he stabbed into its arm, tasing it with an electrical shock. Sun activated his Semblance, Monkey Tricks, where two clones of himself made of his gold Aura appeared and flew at the Paladin, striking it and disappearing upon impact. He quickly drew his bo staff and leapt at the Paladin, but Roman grabbed at Neptune and Lucas and flung them at Sun, where they collided midair and were flown off the interstate and out of the battle.

"I'm in position!" Weiss alerted everyone up on an overpass. She leapt down onto the interstate as the Paladin came rushing at her, where she froze the ground underneath her with an icy strike from Myrtenaster, causing the Paladin to lose its balance and slide across the ice, where it crashed into the interstate border and down onto the ground below the interstate, where Ruby awaited it with Crescent Rose drawn and ready as the rest of her team regrouped.

Together, with their combined teamwork, Team RWBY quickly destroyed the Atlesian Paladin and forced Roman out of it, thanks most in part to Yang and her Semblance (which Yang often jokingly calls S&M sometimes) that allowed her to destroy it with one punch of damage that built up over time. With Roman exposed and defenseless, Ruby fired a powerful shot from Crescent Rose onto him, but Neo suddenly dropped in and blocked the shot with her deployed umbrella. Ruby gave the strange girl a curious look, as if she recognized her.

"Well, I suppose we best be off. Red, Ice Queen, Kitten, and Blondie, ciao!" Roman chuckled as Neo leaned forward on her tiptoes and one arm extended out to her side as both remained motionless. Yang, still in her raging outburst, dashed forward and tried punching Neo with a firing shot, but upon contact, both Neo and Roman shattered to pieces like glass, only to reappear behind the others in a bullhead that took off. "How the hell did she do that!?" Yang growled.

"Looks like he got himself a new henchman though," Blake noted.

"Yeah, you could say she made our plans fall apart," Weiss joked, earning a snigger from Ruby, but disapproval from Yang for the joke being terrible and issued at an improper time.

Elsewhere, Sun, Neptune, and Lucas were at the A Simple Wok Noodle House, which they went to after landing into a street in a jumbled mess. "Well, that fight didn't go so well," Lucas commented before slurping down some noodles.

"You think the girls are alright?" Neptune asked his partner.

"Yeah, I"m sure they're fine," Sun answered. "Oh, Lucas, I saw your move with the car. Pretty gutsy, dude."

"More like stupid, really." The three continued having their noodles before they returned back to Beacon for the night.

( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )

In a rundown building deep within the slums district, Adam Taurus was meeting with the masked White Fang member from the recruitment rally. There were a few other WF members with Adam minding their own business while their leader spoke with the masked man. "Are you sure it was Blake?" Adam asked him.

"Positive, sir," the man answered simply. Adam scoffed and clenched his fist at his side.

"So, this is where she ran off to, huh? She abandons her people and our revolution to join those filthy Humans and their Huntsmen…" Adam gritted his teeth in frustration.

"With your permission, sir, I will be happy to capture her and bring her before you…"'

"NO," Adam said sternly. "We–I will deal with Blake personally when the time comes. However, I want you to go to Mountain Glenn in the southeast and help them get the train up and running in time."

"Thank you, sir, but wouldn't my expertise be a better use…"

"That is an order, Jaakuna!" Adam barked, making the man known as Jaakuna flinch. Adam let out a sigh. "Forgive me, my friend."

"Apology accepted, sir."

Adam gave Jaakuna a silent look for a moment. "Let me see your face for a moment," he ordered. Jaakuna slipped off his mask, revealing shaved-short black hair, tiny dark eyes, and tanned skin with a scar on his right cheek, but not one sign of Faunus trait, signifying him as a Human. "Jaakuna, you are my best friend, and the only Human I trust. Ever. I need you to go to Mountain Glenn in the morning to get our revolution started sooner."

"I understand. Forgive me for speaking against you." Jaakuna replaced his mask onto his face and took his leave.

( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )

October 11th 1580

Beacon Academy, Vale

In the week following the fight against the Paladin prototype, word got around about how the White Fang stole an Atlesian Paladin, which infuriated General Ironwood, who recalled the prototypes and instead made orders to have self-guiding AI Paladins made in time for the Vytal Festival to ensure that the same incident does not occur again. But, aside from that, the biggest concern on everyone's mind was the upcoming dance, where the students of the four academies gather to dance with one another and have a wonderful time.

"Well, I got myself a date for the dance! I'm going with Nebula Violette!" Tristan announced to the rest of Team LOST in their dorm.

"The leader of Team NDGO from Shade? Nice catch," Olivia complimented as she was cleaning her "Happiness is a Warm Olive" weapon set.

"You know, you guys should get yourselves dates before all the good ones are taken."

"Hey, I've been trying, okay?" Olivia answered.

"By 'trying,' do you mean stalking Reese Chloris of Team ABRN while being too afraid to approach her?" Olivia had no comment to answer with. "Tell you what, I'll help you get a date with her, same for you, Lucas. As for you, Senna, it's an impossible task." Tristan quickly ducked out of the room before Senna could throw something at him, but Olivia appeared stressed about what her partner was going to do.

"I really wish he wouldn't do this," Olivia moaned with a sigh.

"Why have you been stalking that Reese girl anyway?" Lucas asked. Olivia did not answer, instead going to her dresser, where she brought back the picture frame of her and Glas Radiance. She pointed to herself and the identical next to her.

"This is me and my twin brother Oliver from a couple years back when we were in Glas Radiance," Olivia explained.

"I didn't know you had a twin brother," Senna commented.

"Well, I don't like to talk about him much, really. See, Oliver died about a year before I came to Beacon…" Olivia wiped at her eyes for a brief moment. "He saved my life while we were on a contract mission about a year ago and died. See, Oliver always wanted to become a Huntsman since we were younger, but he never got to see it happen. I chose to become a Huntress for him after that and leaving behind the mercenary life. The reason I've been trying to avoid Reese Chloris is because we met her nearly two years ago and she and my brother kinda got a thing going during that time, and I cannot bring myself to tell her the news." Olivia took a deep breath and left the dorm room, leaving Lucas and Senna alone.

Lucas went straight to his Scroll and went onto the web. "I thought I've heard Glas Radiance from somewhere," he muttered before showing Senna his Scroll depicting a news article from a couple years back of Glas Radiance lined up for a photo with an article of how they aided a band of Huntsmen in protecting a small town in Atlas. "They are among the top ranked Lawful mercenary groups and are often recruited by Huntsmen for extra support, and they often went out of their way to protect people from the Grimm."

"Even if they weren't paid?" Senna wondered. Lucas nodded. "I guess not all mercenaries are just money-grubbing murderers…"

"It's the Lawfuls that are more good people. Neutral Mercenaries are in between the spectrum, and Chaotics are murderers who would be hired by terrorists, corrupt politicians, and criminals." Senna picked up the Glas Radiance picture frame and stared attentively at the smiling Marquette twins from a time when they were happy together.

( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )

Blake was currently in the library looking over a map of the Vale region, pinpointing any possible locations where the White Fang division could be hiding. She rubbed at her tired, baggy eyes and let out a drawn-out yawn. Ever since she got back from the mission, she has been tirelessly trying to find more information on the White Fang's excursions and plans nonstop, which lead to a lack of sleeping and a decrease in her everyday functionality. Her friends quickly took notice and tried to convince her to take a break by going to the upcoming dance, but she refused, choosing to work instead. Yang came and dragged her away to an empty classroom where they could talk privately.

"You need to slow down for a bit, Blake, before you collapse," Yang warned her as she sat upon the teacher's desk.

"We don't have that luxury, Yang," Blake argued.

"At this point, it's more of a necessity than a luxury."

Blake gave her a cold stare. "The necessity is stopping Torchwick. Every minute we waste is extra time allowing him to further his plans."

"We will, but right now, you need to sit down and listen to us for a moment." Yang patted the spot next to her. Blake was hesitant, but she sat down on the spot.

"Ruby and I live on Patch, a small island off the coast of Vale to the west. Our parents are Huntsmen; our father teaches at Signal and our mom would take missions around the Kingdom and she became somewhat famous. Her name was Summer Rose, and she was like a supermom, baker of cookies and slayer of giant monsters. Ruby looked up to her as a huge role model, and she ended up basing her combat uniform off Summer's, especially with the cloak. But then one day, when we were young, she left on a mission and never returned…They didn't even recover her body; said that she was devoured by Grimm…Ruby took it hard, but I think she was too young to really grasp the understanding of what had happened. My dad just sort of shut down, and I can understand why…Summer was his second wife. His first wife was my mother, Raven Branwen. I found out when we were older that our dad, both our moms, and our Uncle Qrow were all on a team together back in Beacon, and they were the top of the top. From what he told me, Raven left us when I was barely a year old, and no one has seen her since."

"Why did she leave you?" Blake asked with concern.

"No one knows, and everyone I asked always said that Raven kept close to herself. Not even Qrow, her own brother, knew anything…But one day, I found what I thought was a clue, one that I thought may lead to some answers or even my mom. It was a photo of a church that was located on Patch. When I discovered this clue, I waited for dad to leave for work and I set off with Ruby in a wagon for company. We must've walked for what felt like hours. I was covered in cuts and bruises, I was exhausted, and Ruby eventually fell asleep in the wagon. But I eventually found the church, but I soon realized that the photo had to have been very old, as the church itself was in ruins and half-collapsed, with its big emblem of some kind of hourglass in a globe hanging on its hinges. I was ready to turn and head home when…when they emerged from within the church. Beowolves quickly surrounded us. There we were: a stupid girl too exhausted to cry for help and a sleeping child in a wagon. I remember crying and biting my lip, thinking that our end was near, but then our Uncle Qrow appeared and sliced through those Beowolves. I can recall how he cleaved through each of them, but I saw that he wasn't alone; there was a big black wolf accompanying him, and that wolf keep close to me and Ruby, guarding us, and it leapt at any Beowolf that came at us, tearing their necks with ease and splattering their Grimm blood on itself and the ground.

"When it was over, I leapt into our uncle's arms and cried into his shoulder while he told me that everything was going to be okay. I saw the wolf, with its gleaming silver eyes and blood-soaked fur, and I swear it scared me with just its gaze, and then it nuzzled close to Ruby, who was still asleep despite all that happened. I yelled at the wolf to get away from her, but Qrow made me hush up. The wolf nestled its head near Ruby and she instinctively put an arm onto it like it was her teddy bear. The wolf drew away from her, gave Qrow and I a nod—if you can believe that—and bounded off into the woods. Qrow took us home, told us to never go so far from home again, and kept it a secret from dad."

The two of them were silent for a moment. "Yang, I understand what you're trying to tell me, and I'm sorry for what happened to you then, but this is different. I'm not a child, and this isn't just a search for answers, I'm trying to save lives and–!" Blake started.

"Blake, I'm not asking you to quit, I'm just asking you to take a break before you hurt yourself!" Yang interrupted, silencing her. "Blake, I haven't given up trying to find my mom or find out why she left me, even to this day, but I'm not letting it control me like you're letting Torchwick control you."

"I'm not letting him control me!" Blake snapped.

"Yes, you are, Blake!" she argued. "You're constantly trying to figure out his plans when we learned so little already!" She pointed at the classroom door. "If Torchwick walked in here right now, what would you do?"

"I'd fight him!" she answered.

"You'd end up losing!" Yang shot at her, giving her a hard shove, sending her flopping onto the desk. Blake started tearing up and then she broke into sobs. Yang lifted her up and pulled her into a hug. "We're not asking you to give up, we're just worried about you," she whispered to her friend. "I get it, you used to be a White Fang member, and now you want to correct the mistakes of the past, but working yourself to exhaustion isn't going to fix anything. You gotta show everyone that you're Blake Belladonna, Huntress of Beacon and not Blake Belladonna of the White Fang," she whispered to her, making her cry even harder. The two broke up and Blake stood there, crying her eyes out. When she had finished, she looked at Yang with a faint smile now.

"There you go," Yang remarked. "There's our kitty cat smiling all happy now. C'mon, let me take you to bed so you can rest up. And you know, the dance is four days from now, and it would be a perfect time for you to relax some more." Yang put an arm around her and guided her back to their dorm.

( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )

Later that night, up on the balcony, Pyrrha was training Jaune in more swordplay. Both had their weapons and shields drawn and were poised to fight. Jaune ran at Pyrrha and swung his sword horizontally at her, which she blocked with her shield and counterattacked, which he did with his own shield. Jaune leapt back a bit with his shield raised to guard against Pyrrha's attacks and the two circled around each other. Pyrrha ran forward this time with her shield leading her, where she bashed into Jaune and shoved him to the ground. Jaune quickly rolled over and leapt to his feet, but Pyrrha was already upon him, swinging Milo down onto him, which he blocked by raising both his sword and shield up. He gave Pyrrha a smirk, as if saying he had won, but she returned the smirk and gave him a good kick, sending him back down to the ground again.

"Very impressive," Pyrrha complimented as she helped her partner up. "Your swordplay is improving nicely, though your defense could use a little more work besides rolling and dodging around."

"Sorry, it's just that I'm not that strong with my shield, so I…"

"No no no! I meant as in you have to find a balance between using your shield and dodging in combat!" Pyrrha gave him a comforting smile. "Look, I think we've practiced enough in combat techniques, so how about we move onto Aura training? Once you've learned a bit of that, you can start using your Aura to do things like make yourself more mobile, both offensively and defensively."

"Actually, I think I'll skip Aura training and go for a jog or something," Jaune responded.

"Is there a problem?" I don't understand why he is unable to control his Aura. I felt it, and it felt easy to use, so why cannot he?

"It's just…It's Weiss…"

"Oh…" Pyrrha had hoped that it was something different. "…Well what about her?"

"I tried asking her out to the dance, and she shot me down," he answered. Earlier that day, Jaune went to Team RWBY's dorm with a guitar and sang for Weiss, who responded by snatching his guitar and smashing it against him while he cowered in fear.

"Well…I've always said that there's…plenty of fish in the sea," Pyrrha mumbled.

"Oh please, I bet you have guys clamoring over each other to try asking you out!" he laughed, which she jokingly laughed back.

"You'd be surprised."

"PFT! Oh please, if you don't get a date to the dance, I'll wear a dress! HA!" he joked as he walked off. Pyrrha silently watched him go while feeling sad for herself.

( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )

In their dorm room, Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury were going over Pyrrha's file and transcripts. Earlier that day, Mercury discovered her Semblance is Polarity, allowing her control over metallic objects, during a practice fight they had together. "My my, Pyrrha Nikos has such an interesting record," Cinder commented. "I can see why many call her the Invincible Girl."

"Well, she doesn't broadcast her power like others do. She uses it in small increments just to make herself look untouchable," Emerald explained.

"Hm, she must be under orders from Aziela to hide her powers to appear like a normal Huntress, but I know that she's the Dànsling. Just look at her; she appears so much like Aziela and she shares the same emblem and yet people seem to think she's fated for victory, but really, she's taken fate into her own hands…Interesting."

"You should be able to take her with no problems," Mercury added.

"Oh, trust me, she may be Aziela's Paladin, and she may be the Invincible Girl, but I am the Olcsling and a Wytch. The years Pyrrha Nikos has spent in this world pale in comparison to how long I have lived."

"So then you should be able to overpower her with no problems."

Cinder chuckled. "Yes, it will be a simple task."

"And what about her other teammates, like her leader?" Mercury asked.

"I hacked into the computers and found his transcripts and it turns out that her leader snuck into Beacon with forged transcripts," Emerald explained. Cinder became mildly interested at the sound of this. "I don't know for sure if Ozpin knows about this or not."

"Oh, he knows. Ozpin has always showed compassion towards the unfortunate or those with potential," Cinder answered. "Did you find anything else about that boy?"

"There wasn't much in his family's history, which goes back to the days of the Great War where his great-great-grandfather was a soldier during the war." Emerald handed her Scroll to Cinder, who looked over Jaune's family tree, which dated back to his great-great-grandfather, Jaundice Arc.

"Given how close Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos are becoming, it's likely that she will choose this Jaune Arc as her Guardian and share her Draíochta with him, but he still won't be trouble to us."

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"Well, guys, wish me luck," Jaune proclaimed to his teammates. "I'm gonna ask Weiss to the dance and this time, I'm not trying any moves, pick up lines, or anything; I'll just tell her exactly how I feel about her and she'll fall head over heels for me. Like Pyrrha said, I can't get it wrong if it's the truth." Jaune dressed himself in some nicer clothes to appeal to Weiss and had a beautiful white rose to give to her. He gave everyone a wave before heading out.

"You give him advice to express his feelings and yet you don't practice what you preach," Nora told the redhead. Pyrrha gave her friend a silent glance, sighed and went to sit on her bed.

Jaune went down to the auditorium where the dance would be held, as Weiss would still be there to finish up any last minute set ups. However, he instead found Weiss outside the auditorium with Neptune. He hid behind a pillar and eavesdropped in on them.

"So, I know this is unorthodox, but I was wondering if you would like to accompany me to the dance?" Weiss asked of him. Jaune bore a sad look and gave a soft sigh, knowing that he was too late. He turned and left, leaving his white rose on the ground.

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October 15th 1580

Beacon Academy, Vale

It was the night of the dance, and the four Kingdoms have gathered in the auditorium to relax, build friendships, and, of course, dance the night away. Ruby was trying to have fun, but her social awkwardness combined with her irritability with wearing stiletto heels was driving her nuts. Weiss sat by herself watching the spectators, and Blake came and had a wonderful short dance with Yang before the two ended and Blake went to Sun. "You actually look happy for once," he told her, earning a light smack upside his head with a laugh from Blake. Elsewhere, Jaune was standing alone by the punch bowl sipping away while Nora was constantly attempting to drag Ren out onto the dance floor, but he soon gave up and showed off some of his expert dance moves, surprising everyone. Pyrrha was nowhere to be found.

Team LOST gathered together near a corner, but of them all, only Tristan had his date with him; Nebula Violette was garbed in a beautiful violet dress while standing beside Tristan and introduced herself to the rest of the team. Tristan soon waved his friends goodbye and went with Nebula onto the dance floor, where he swept her into his arms for a passionate slow dance. "He's got good moves," Lucas commented.

"Given that he incorporates dance into his combat style, it's no surprise," said Olivia, who was wearing a simple black suit and a green shirt, given her dislike for dresses and skirts, which somewhat irritated Senna in her fancy, expensive purple dress.

"Hello, Lucas," said Arslan Altan of Team ABRN as she strolled over to them in a dazzling gold and white dress, shocking the Vacuo teen. "Want to dance?" She did not wait for an answer before taking his hand and dragging him out onto the dance floor. It took him a couple minutes to get the hang of it, but he was soon gliding gracefully across the floor with Arslan in his arms, and the two began enjoying each other's company.

"Well, that worked out for him, I guess he needs to send Tristan a thank you card after this," Olivia commented before walking off on her own. A boy from Beacon, Iroiki Asphodelos, went up to Senna and offered her a dance, which she accepted with a smile.

Ruby relocated over by the punch bowl where she scooped up a cup and began sipping it while sighing to herself. "What's wrong? Not having any fun?" Ozpin asked, coming up from behind and surprising her with his smile.

"Ah, no no, everything's fine!" Ruby assured him. "It's just that I'm not much of a fancy-pantsy-dancy girl."

"Well, you cannot spend your entire life on the battlefield, no matter how much you may want to, and there will come a time when you wish you had such relaxing moments like these," Ozpin told her. "However, if you think about it, dancing and fighting aren't that different. Two partners interlocked together in a battle, though one wrong move in a dance will lead to just a swollen foot." The two shared a chuckle at his comment. Once they regained themselves, Ozpin turned to Ruby directly. "It's not everyday that friends get together like this, and peaceful moments like these are few and far between. Time has a way of testing our bonds, but it's nights like these that can help strengthen them beyond their limits, making them last entire lifetimes. So Ruby, I know you may dislike social interaction, but it would be best to make some happy memories for yourself; you will find that even in the darkest of times, a happy memory can keep you going." He gave her a soft smile and walked off while she stared curiously after him. A little later, Jaune joined with Ruby at the punch bowl, and the two named themselves the "socially-awkward kids."

Across the room, Jaune could see Neptune making Blake and Sun laugh. Frustrated, he began making his way towards Neptune, but his path was cut off by Pyrrha silently passing him, where she went up the spiral staircase up to the second floor. Jaune noticed that she seemed upset about something and chose to follow after her instead.

Up on the balcony above the stairway, Olivia looked down upon the dancing people enjoying themselves. From behind, Reese Chloris came up beside her wearing an elegant green dress. Olivia took notice of her, but looked away. "Um, hi," Reese mumbled to her.

"Hey." Olivia returned. "So, I guess Tristan told you how I was following you around?" Reese nodded. "Reese, I never meant to stalk you or anything. Hell, I never thought I'd even see you again, actually."

"Well, when Tristan came to me and told me your name, I barely believed it myself; I thought you were happy being a mercenary."

"Yeah, I was, but things changed after Oliver died…"

"Oliver's…dead?" Reese whimpered, tears welling up in her eyes. Oliver cursed herself for letting that slip.

"Yeah…he's…gone…"

"What happened to him?"

"It's kinda of a long story, really."

"I want to know." Olivia let out a sigh and took Reese's hand and lead her to a lonely balcony on the second floor to discuss more.

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Jaune followed Pyrrha out onto a lonely balcony, who was looking up at the twinkling stars in the night sky. "Hey, Pyrrha," he called to her.

She spun around. "Hello, Jaune."

"So, you okay? I haven't seen you all night up till now." He walked over to her side. "You look really nice, by the way."

"Thank you, and I was just running a little late, is all."

"So, where's your date?"

Pyrrha was silent for a moment. "I have no date, actually," she finally said, surprising Jaune. "Nobody asked me to the dance."

"Oh, c'mon, that's impossible! You're Pyrrha Nikos! Why wouldn't anyone ask you out?"

"Me being Pyrrha Nikos is exactly the reason why no one asked me out." Her answer seemed to only confuse him. "Jaune, you know who I am, right?"

"Pft. What kind of question is that? You're Pyrrha Nikos, member of Team JNPR, and my partner and best friend," he told her, which made her smile a little.

"Yes, that's true, but I'm also the Invincible Girl who graduated top of her class at Sanctum, and won the Mistral regional tournaments four times in a row. All my life, I've been blessed with incredible talents and opportunities that has me surrounded with love and praise, but when you're placed on a pedestal like that for so long, you become separated from the people who put you there in the first place."

"What do you mean?"

Pyrrha turned to face him. "Everyone assumes that I'm too good for them, that I'm on a level that they can never attain to, and it became impossible for me to form any sort of relationship with people…But that was before I met you," Pyrrha revealed.

"Wait…Me? What did I do?" Jaune was completely confused now.

"You didn't recognize me, that's what." Pyrrha smiled now. "When we met, you didn't even know my name, and even when you learned it, you still had no idea who I was and treated me like I was a regular girl. Even when Weiss was naming off all my accolades to you, the only one you recognized me for was posing for a cereal box, and you were the first to ever notice me for that. And even then, after finding out who I was, you still continued to treat me like anyone else. That's what I like about you, Jaune, and thanks to you, I have made friendships that will last me a lifetime, ones that have nothing to do with my accomplishments." Jaune gave her a blank look, as he was taking all of this in. "I guess…you're exactly the kind of guy I wish I was here with." Pyrrha left him there, but before she took a second step, Jaune grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.

"I'm sorry I was so stupid," Jaune admitted, Pyrrha tried to tell him that he's wrong, but he hushed her. "It's so stupid, really. I was trying to ask Weiss out to the dance even though she hates me, and here you were, always helping me, supporting me, guiding me, and always kind towards me…Pyrrha, if it isn't too late, will you be my date to the dance?"

"Yes, of course I will," she answered without hesitation as tears began welling up in her eyes. "We better get back before the dance ends, right?" He nodded and the two were about to leave when Neptune appeared before them.

"Um, Jaune, can I ask you something…something private?" he stuttered.

"I'll go on ahead," Pyrrha whispered to Jaune before heading off without him.

"What is it?" Jaune scoffed, still thinking about how he beat him to the punch with Weiss.

"I was wondering if you could…help me with impressing Weiss." This made Jaune nearly burst out laughing.

"'Impress Weiss'?" Are you serious? What, did your 'Mister Cool' attitude not work with her?" Neptune mumbled something under his breath. "What was that?"

"I can't dance," Neptune squeakily admitted, making Jaune go silent. "I turned her down because I have no idea how to dance."

"Un…be…lievable" was all Jaune could say. "So the coolest guy of his team doesn't know how to dance," Jaune playfully taunted. "C'mere and take my hands."

"Uh, what?" Neptune puzzling asked.

"I'm going to teach you how to dance, so put your hand in mine and your other hand on my shoulder. I'll lead." Neptune was hesitant at first, but gave in. Jaune guided him across the balcony floor while counting off numbers to keep the two of them in rhythm. After a while, Neptune soon got the hang of it and he began to enjoy himself. "There, that should do you just fine. And whenever you're dancing to any other music, just move your body in tune with the rhythm of the song," Jaune instructed. Neptune gave his thanks and the two headed off, but Jaune broke off from his new friend and went off towards the dorms, telling Neptune that he will be back as soon as possible.

Jaune raced to his dorm room and went to his closet. On the end of the line resting on a hanger was a dress that his sisters sent him along with his tuxedo as a joke. "Never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad they sent me this," Jaune said to himself as he took the dress down and began unchanging.

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When Jaune walked into the auditorium wearing a dress, everyone's focus went on him, and the entire room filled with laughter and jeers towards him. The only ones who were not laughing were his teammates and Cardin Winchester (who ordered his teammates to stop laughing at Jaune), and a few others. Olivia and Reese, who were dancing together, broke into fits of laughter that sent them to the floor and Tristan Cortes was howling with laughter. Jaune ignored everyone and made his way to Pyrrha, who was shocked to see him in a dress. "Jaune, you didn't have to wear a dress!" she told him in between her giggles.

"Hey, I promised you that I'd wear this if you came without a date, and I always keep my word. So are you gonna just stand there and laugh, or do you want to dance?" he asked her, extending his hand to her, which she accepted.

"I would love to dance," she answered before Jaune twirled her into his arms. Everyone soon broke into applause as the two began dancing. Ren and Nora soon joined in with them as the entire room surrounded them as they danced to the current song. "I had no idea you were quite the dancer," she told Jaune as the crowd regrouped around them and resumed dancing once more.

"Well, you learn some things when you grow up with seven older sisters," Jaune explained, which they both chuckled about. Nearby, Weiss and Neptune were dancing together, though Neptune's idea of dancing appeared to resemble that of someone jerking their limbs about while having a seizure, but it seemed to be working for him. Scarlet David of Team SSSN was awkwardly dancing with Neon Katt of Team FNKI, who was giggling at his silly dance while she danced like a professional. "Scarlet, just relax a bit," Neon told him with a tried reasoning that he's never danced before, making him lose concentration and fall into her, where she caught him and hoisted him back up with a laugh. Tristan and Nebula soon joined with the two, where the two Faunus began a dance off against each other. Penny was dancing with two Atlesian soldiers who acted as her escorts, and she seemed to be having a good time. Elsewhere, Velvet was with her team enjoying a good conversation when Cardin Winchester came behind her and tapped her shoulder. Coco and Yatsuhashi gave him a mean glare, but Velvet had them calm down, to which Cardin extended his hand to her and asked her to dance. Velvet blushed a deep red, but accepted his hand, and the two went out onto the dance floor. Nora, who was still dancing with Ren, leapt into his arms without warning with a hoot, forcing him to hoist her into the air and twirl about while onlookers cheered. Sun and Blake were enjoying a little dancing jig together. Over in a corner, Lucas and Arslan were having a nice chat with each, learning a bit about one another. In another corner, Olivia and Reese were close, having a close chat with each other.

"Man, this dance is so boring," Ruby complained all by herself.

"Well, perhaps you need to learn to relax and have fun once in a while," said a voice behind her. Rub turned and gasped; before her was Cinder Fall, dressed in an elegant and beautiful black dress with small pieces of glass along it that shimmered in the lights. She extended her hand to Ruby. "Maybe if you danced for a bit, it would help." Ruby was hesitant, but she took Cinder's hand, who guided her onto the dance floor and brought her close to her, making Ruby blush a rosy red. Cinder and Ruby glided across the dance floor in tune with the music, and Ruby began to smile and enjoy herself. Up on the balcony, Yang saw Ruby and Cinder together. She stared curiously at Cinder, wondering why she seemed so interested in Ruby despite barely knowing her before then. She brushed the thought aside, instead taking satisfaction in that Ruby is finally enjoying herself at the dance.

Cinder danced with Ruby for a while, but had to leave her, much to Ruby's disappointment. Ruby asked where she was going, but Cinder declined to say. Cinder headed off outside the auditorium, where she ducked away to a secluded spot. There, she ran her hands laced with Draíochta over her body, and her dress glowed bright and changed into a black jumpsuit, leggings, and boots. She pulled a face mask from her pocket and slipped it on then headed off for the CCTS tower. Ruby, who was hovering near the auditorium doors, saw Cinder sneak away, but she did not recognize her.

Feeling curious, Ruby followed after the woman, where she caught up with her at the CCTS tower. From a hiding spot, she watched as the woman attacked the patrolling soldiers before going inside. Ruby summoned her rocket locker and grabbed Crescent Rose before heading inside. Inside the main area, she found more unconscious Atlesian soldiers lying around. Up in the main computer room, Cinder was at the main terminal, where she slid her scroll into the data slot, which made a queen chess piece icon appear on screen. This icon then appeared on the rest of the computers for a moment before disappearing. Downstairs, Ruby hurried into an elevator to head up the main computers. There, Cinder revealed herself to Ruby.

"Um, it's not a masquerade party, you know," Ruby noted to her. Cinder gave a chuckle and hastily waved her hand at her, making balls of fire appear in front of her, which she shot at Ruby, who deflected them with Crescent Rose and took an offensive stance, then fired several shots at Cinder, who blocked them with her hand, causing her body suit to glow with a fiery light. Cinder shot more fireballs at Ruby, who dodged them as they blasted into the tower walls, then Ruby dashed forward and struck at Cinder with her scythe. Her blade made contact with Cinder, but Ruby then gasped, for Cinder was holding the blade back with her bare hands on the blade. Cinder powered Draíochta through her hands, allowing her to knock Crescent Rose back and out of Ruby's hands, where it fell to the floor away from her, then she snatched Ruby up by her throat. Ruby kicked and struggled, but it was futile. Cinder gave Ruby a smirk and threw her to the floor. She had two black blades materialize from thin air, which she conjoined at the pommels to form a bow and had a black glass arrow appear and nocked it, pointing it directly at Ruby. Ruby shielded herself with her arms, but she did not feel the arrow strike her, instead she heard a door open. She looked to the elevators and found General Ironwood standing before the elevator. "General, sir, that woman! She's–!" Ruby exclaimed, pointing to where Cinder was, but she had disappeared.

"I've got soldiers outside searching for the intruder and medics taking care of the ones who were stationed here," Ironwood explained to Ruby before she could say anything. "Come, I will take you back to Beacon so you can enjoy the rest of the night." He beckoned Ruby to follow him into the elevator. "Thank you for taking some initiative and following that intruder," he told her on the way down, giving her a comforting smile.

Back at the dance, Cinder had already returned and back into her dress before Atlesian soldiers arrived. She mixed herself in with Mercury on the dance floor. "So, had any trouble?" he asked her.

"None at all, though Ruby Rose decided to follow and try to stop me, but she was no trouble at all," Cinder answered in a hush.

"So, what should we do now?"

"We wait for the Vytal tournament to begin, then we proceed with the plan. Right now, let's enjoy the night. It is a party, after all." Cinder spotted Ruby and Ironwood returning, and a smile crept across her face. Across the auditorium, she spied Pyrrha and Jaune dancing together once more, both of them enjoying themselves immensely, which satisfied Cinder. Enjoy it while it lasts, Dànsling, Cinder thought.

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The dance lasted until midnight, and when the clock struck twelve accompanied by twelve chimes, everyone headed back to their dorms with many of them escorting their dates to their rooms. Ruby returned to her dorm room straight away with her teammates to discuss what happened, but the team had to wait for Blake and Sun to finish talking with each other outside their dorm first. No one knew that Sun and Blake were sharing a loving kiss outside, however.

Olivia escorted Reese back to ABRN's room, and there, they said their goodbyes, but Reese gave Olivia a big hug first. "It's good to see you again after so long," Reese whispered to her. When they separated, Reese noticed that Olivia was wearing her dog tags around her neck; she spotted two tags: one with Olivia's name and information upon it, and the other bearing Oliver's. She dabbed at her eyes and gave Olivia another hug, followed by a kiss on the cheek, making Olivia blush a deep red. "I know you're not Oliver, but you know, it feels like he hasn't really left now that I've gotten to know you. See you tomorrow, Olivia," she whispered before entering her room. Lucas and Arslan soon arrived as well.

"Thanks for the nice night, Lucas," Arslan told him at her door. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and a smile. "How about we get together for lunch sometime and talk some more?" Lucas gave a silent yet shaky nod, which made Arslan giggle before she waved him good bye and went inside. Lucas stood silent for a moment before his knees suddenly gave away, forcing Olivia to catch him.

"Looks like Mister Big and Tough can't handle a cute girl, huh?" she laughed as she helped him hobble back to their dorm. "Looks like you had a fun time as well."'

Elsewhere, Tristan and Nebula were beside NDGO's room door making out against the wall with the two locked in a passionate kiss the involved them exploring each other's mouths with their tongues. Their make-out fest was interrupted by Dew Gayl, however. "Will you get in here or go get a room?" she huffed at her leader. Nebula broke away from Tristan, thanked him for the wonderful and fun night, and entered her room with Dew. Tristan headed back to his room while licking his lips.

Jaune and Pyrrha got back to their room before Nora and Ren did, and both of them were extremely exhausted from dancing most of the night away, having to lean upon each other for support so they did not collapse in the halls. Pyrrha guided the dazed Jaune to her bed, where she placed her circlet on her nightstand and began taking her shoes off. "Jaune, I can't remember the last time I had this much fun! Thank you so much!" she groggy told him before yawning.

Jaune swayed back and forth before Pyrrha's bed. "All that dancing…I'm just gonna…sleep…forever…" he mumbled before collapsing onto Pyrrha's bed and instantly falling asleep.

"Jaune…you can't sleep there…that's my bed…" she mumbled, sitting down next to him. "…Jaune, you're still in your…dress…" Pyrrha then collapsed onto the bed next to Jaune and instantly fell asleep. They both unconsciously twisted their bodies about to get comfortable and they cuddled up against one another, linking their arms into a jumbling mess and snuggling their heads next to each other's as light snoozes escaped Jaune. At that moment, Ren and Nora entered their room, and upon seeing Jaune and Pyrrha sleeping together, Nora smiled and gave a quiet gasp.

"Ren, look! Look look look!" she squealed, pointing at the two. Ren had her go change into her pajamas and warned her to be quiet about it, which she did, not wanting to ruin this perfect moment between her teammates. Ren quietly went to the dorm closet, where he pulled out a thick comforter and laid it over Jaune and Pyrrha, then went to change and headed to bed. "Good night, Ren," Nora whispered after the lights went out.

"Good night, Nora," Ren answered back. He soon heard Nora's snores and smiled to himself. He glanced over at Jaune and Pyrrha, who were still snuggled up to each other in bed and a comforting smile reached his face. "Good night, Jaune, Pyrrha." Then he rolled over and went to sleep.

In their room, Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury was dressing for the night. "So, I'm curious as to why you didn't kill Rub Rose at the CCT tower tonight. She's supposed to be one of the new Paladins, like you said, so why not kill a target early?" Mercury asked Cinder after he finished changing. Cinder waited until she had thrown on her nightgown before answering.

"If I did kill her in that tower, it would've raised suspicion from both Ozpin and the Atlesian Military, and I'd rather we remain hidden until the time is right. Besides, it would be a shame to kill her so early before she has a taste of the horrors of this world." Cinder answered. "However, it would be more fitting if the Bhrathsling kills Ruby one day, like he did with her mother."

"Are you even sure Ruby is a Paladin? She seems too…innocent to be such a thing," Emerald inquired.

"Then she takes after her mother." Cinder scooped up Emerald's scroll and brought up Ruby's transcripts. "Yes, she is so much like Summer…" She grinned as she stared at Ruby's picture.

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October 16th 1580

The next morning, Pyrrha awoke before Jaune did. She let out a soft yawn and blinked her eyes rapidly to wake up, and when she became coherent enough, she gave a small gasp upon realizing who was in bed with her, quickly leaping out of it and out of Jaune's entanglement, making him stir in his sleep.

"You two looked so cute while you were wrapped up in each other's arms," Nora called to her from her bed as she spun her legs back and forth while looking at her scroll. "I took a few pictures too."

"Nora, this was an accident. I didn't intend on…on sleeping with Jaune last night," Pyrrha hastily reasoned.

"Either way, you still looked adorable with him. He looked like a sleeping puppy next to you, the way he had his arms around you and your heads so close together. Pyrrha blushed a deep red from embarrassment.

"Nora, please don't tell Jaune about this?" she begged of her friend. Unbeknownst to Pyrrha behind her, Jaune stirred awake and was becoming conscious of what was occurring. He rubbed his eye, which Nora noticed, making her grin from ear to ear. "Tell Jaune about what, Pyr?" Nora cooed.

"That we sorta slept together last night." Jaune's eyes widened for a moment, but he quickly shut them, keeping them half-open so he could listen more. "We were exhausted, he fell asleep on my bed, and I was just so tired that I did the same. That's it."

"Are you sure there isn't more? I saw the way you kept looking at him last night, all dreamy-eyed and all. You like Jaune, and I mean like like. You want to be together together with him!" Pyrrha blushed again.

"No, it's not like that, really!"

"You like him! You want him to touch~ you, you want him to hug~ you, and you want him to kiss~ you," Nora teased, puckering her lips into a kiss face. "Admit it, Pyrrha, you love Jaune! Jaune and Pyrrha, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Under the comforter, Jaune buried his face into the pillow to hide his blushing face.

"Okay, okay, yes, it's true! Please stop before you wake Jaune up!" Pyrrha checked on Jaune, who was motionless in bed. "I admit it, I…I'm in love with Jaune…"

"Oooh, falling in love with your team leader, how risqué!"

"It's not like that. Jaune…He's such a nice guy to everyone, especially me, and yet he never holds me in high standing or thinks I'm super special or anything given my accomplishments. He's the first person to ever just see me as Pyrrha Nikos and not as the Invincible Girl, and even when he found out who I was, he didn't care."

"Aw, how sweet!"

Pyrrha giggled. "Yeah, it kinda is," she admitted, stealing another glance at Jaune. "He can be clumsy and goofy at times, but I like that about him. He was honest to me about his lack of skills and how he fabricated his transcripts, and he was quick to realize his mistakes and ask for my help not because I'm a star athlete, but because I'm his friend. Heh. How many times have I saved him on the battlefield, I don't know, but truth is, he saved me first." She glanced at Jaune and gave him a kind smile.

"You two would make such a cute couple," Nora cooed before skipping off. Pyrrha blushed for a moment, thinking it over, then headed for the dorm bathroom to shower. When she had gone, Jaune opened his eyes, but pulled the comforter tighter around him as Pyrrha's words echoed in his mind.

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October 18th 1580

Over the next few days, everyone began winding down from prom night, but for Team RWBY, things only seemed to become more concerning ever since Ruby explained what happened at the CCT. Up in his office, Ozpin, Glynda, Ironwood, and Kyler via video chat were discussing what transpired the night of prom.

"Our enemies were here, and they are up to something!" Ironwood argued to everyone.

"Thank you for stating the obvious, James," Kyler noted, earning a growl from the general.

"Shut it, Kyler! Ozpin, we need to enact an investigation into this! We can't just ignore this while it dangles in front of our faces!"

"And what do you propose we do, pull out every student and citizen in Vale and interrogate every one of them?" Glynda sarcastically asked.

"No, of course not, but we still need to investigate this! Whoever attacked the CCT could've been a Dark Paladin!" Ironwood snapped. Just then, the elevator chimed and Ruby stepped inside.

"Sorry I'm late!" she proclaimed. "Somebody pressed all the buttons in the elevator…It wasn't me." This earned a chuckle from Ozpin and Kyler, but eye rolls from the others.

"How are you feeling, Ruby?" Ozpin asked of her.

"I'm okay, though I wish my bad guy catching record wasn't 0 for 3, you know?" she joked. Everyone was silent, but she earned a short laugh from Kyler.

"Ruby, I am proud of what you did, and what you did is exactly what being a Huntress is all about. You recognized a threat, you took action, and while you did not stop that woman, you put a stop to whatever she was attempting to do," Ironwood complimented her.

"Ruby, now that you've rested, do you have anything to add relating to the events that transpired the other night?" Ozpin inquired.

Glynda offered some suggestions. "Was this woman with anyone? Did she look familiar to you?"

"She was alone, from the looks of it, and I couldn't recognize her; she had a mask on, and she said nothing to me. I noticed that when she blocked my bullets, she did it with her bare hand, and her clothes lit up like fire. Also, and I don't know how she did it, but she even blocked my blade with her hands as well. She conjured fire from thin air and she used glass."

"Kyler, I have a feeling this was the same woman we encountered the night we met Ruby," Glynda noted.

"I have a very good feeling as well, and judging by the demonstration of her power, I'm beginning to suspect…I think she could be a Wytch," Kyler stated, shocking Ozpin and making Glynda fidget in place.

"Weren't the Wytches were wiped out long ago?" Ironwood interjected, but Glynda hushed him up, nodding towards Ruby, who looked confused about what Kyler said.

"Well, whoever this woman is, we must take all precautions and quickly discover what she is up to."

"Um, actually…when I walked in on her at the CCT, I overheard her mention something about a hideout southeast of Vale," Ruby lied.

"I thought you said she said nothing?" Glynda questioned.

"Thank you for this information, Ms. Rose. Now, why don't you go spend time with your team? You have a busy day ahead of you," Ozpin interjected, to which Ruby smiled and left them. "We must thank Ruby and her team for finding this information regarding our mystery Wytch." Ozpin strolled over back to his desk.

"So she is a Wytch. I thought they were all wiped out during the Great War?" Ironwood inquired.

"We thought so as well, but it seems another one escaped the genocide that day," Ozpin remarked before sipping from his mug. "We cannot take this lightly. If that woman is indeed a Wytch, then we need to prepare for the worst, but we must ensure that it remains covert so we don't cause a panic." Ozpin turned to Kyler's screen. "Kyler, how is your search for Qrow coming along?"

"I haven't found him yet, but I might have to start tracking him," he answered.

"Do it, and be swift about it. If you find Qrow, I want you two to return to Beacon as soon as possible." Kyler nodded and the video feed ended.

"Ozpin, I can send troops out combing the southeast outside of the Kingdom for this hideout, and they can eradicate any forces they encounter," Ironwood proclaimed.

"Must you answer every problem with a display of your military bravado? You can't just march Atlesian soldiers across the Kingdom of Vale based on a girl's word!" Glynda argued.

"I would love more than anything to end this never-ending war, and before the new generation of Paladins must rise to defend the world themselves, but we must remember that this could extend beyond Vale and Beacon. All we know is that Sheena is planning something big for the next generation, and we know nothing of that plan; if we just charge in blindly, we could be playing into her hands. We cannot risk being so bold, nor risk causing a panic."

"Ozpin, I have served you for years and I have trusted your judgement in the past, but if your plan is to hold the defenses and wait—!"

"IT IS NOT!" Ozpin barked, jumping from his chair. He took a deep breath and calmed himself. "James, you are a general. When you prepare to go to war, which do you send in first? The flag bearer or the scouts?" Ironwood let out a sigh and decided to take his leave.

"Are you positive this woman could be a Wytch?" Glynda asked Ozpin once James was gone.

"I wish I was wrong for once, but it's possible," he answered. Glynda went silent for a moment.

"If there is another Wytch in this world, do you think Sheena will try to get to me?" Her voice turned soft and scared. Ozpin gave her a concerned glance before going to her and embracing her in a comforting hug.

"She won't hurt you, I will make sure of that," he whispered to her. "You are nothing like this Wytch or any of the others."

"But I'm…" Glynda started before Ozpin put a finger to her lips with a hush.

"Do you remember what I said to you while you were growing up? I always told you that who you are born as does not define your life, but it's what you do and the decisions you make that defines it. You wanted to be different from your kind, and thus you asked to be named Goodwitch, remember?"

"Of course I remember, but I was a child then. I had no clear understanding of who I really was then."

"But you do now, and while you know of the destiny your people had, you defied both that destiny and Sheena. You took the powers she gave you upon birth and you use them to protect people and fight the Grimm. You are a good Wytch, Glynda, and I'm proud of you."

Glynda sniffled a little as a few tears ran down her cheeks. Ozpin wiped at her cheeks and gave her a comforting smile, which she returned. "You are such a peculiar man, Oz." The two closed together in a loving kiss for a brief moment before breaking apart.

"Come, let's us have some coffee for a moment before we go to distribute the Huntsmen shadowing missions." He poured a mug of coffee and handed it to her, which she accepted.

( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )

In their dorm room, Ruby repeated everything Ozpin and Ironwood told her. "You think I made the right call slipping the info about the southeast?" Ruby asked her teammates when she finished.

"Well, they needed to know at some point, so I think you made the right decision," Blake told her.

"What do you think Mister Wolf and General Ironwood meant by that woman being a Wytch though? From the sound of it, it seemed rather important," Ruby asked everyone.

"I don't know, but from what you said, it seemed Ozpin and Glynda seemed most worried about it." Weiss pointed out.

"Look, we got the information to Ozpin, so let's let him handle things from here on, okay?" Yang suggested. At that moment, there was a knock at the door. When Yang answered, her father, Taiyang was there with a box and their dog Zwei perched onto his shoulder. "Hi, Dad!" Ruby came rushing over when she saw her father and leapt into his arms, followed by Yang, resulting in a big family hug. Zwei leapt from Taiyang's shoulder and trotted over to Weiss, who awed at how adorable he looked and scooped him up while Blake leapt up onto Yang's bed and peered at the dog from the edge.

"It seems you girls are having a good time at Beacon so far," Taiyang chuckled. "Anyway, I'm here to drop off Zwei with you girls while I'm away on a mission. Here's some food for him and a few of his toys, and he can sleep with you girls at night." He gave his daughters two big dad hugs and headed off, leaving the corgi with them. Ruby and Yang went through the box, setting up Zwei's belongings while the pup pawed at Blake's bed, gazing up at her with his beady eyes.

"Will all first-year students please report to the amphitheater?" came Glynda's voice over the intercom system. Everyone except for Ruby headed off while she stayed to make sure Zwei was comfortable, but instead, she stuffed him into a Beacon Academy backpack and slung it onto her and followed after her team. They met with Teams JNPR and LOST in the amphitheater and gathered together, where Ozpin and Glynda stood on stage. Once everyone had finished gathering together, Ozpin began.

"Today, we stand together, united…Mistral, Atlas, Vacuo, and Vale…the four kingdoms of Remnant," he proclaimed, surveying all the students before him. "On this day, nearly eighty years ago, the largest war in recorded history came to an end. It was a war of ignorance, greed, and of oppression. A war where our enemies were not just the Grimm, but ourselves. A war that was about much more than where borders fell, who traded with who, but about the very idea individualism itself. We fought for countless reasons, but among them, the form of art, self-expression, and history was the one we fought for the most, for our enemies sought to destroy all that, and they nearly succeeded, having destroyed much of our world's history and valuable art. You are all aware that that alone was something that no one could stand for, and thus took up arms against them. After many years of fighting among ourselves while battling the Grimm that began to resurface after their defeat so long ago, the fighting soon came to an end, and peace was achieved at last, and as a result of the peace treaty, those who opposed that tyranny of so long ago began naming their children after the core aspect of art itself: color. It was their way to demonstrate that not only would they refuse to abide by this evil, but so will the future generations to come, and this trend continues to this very day. We encourage individuality, expressionism, and unity through diversity.

"As I said before, we stand here today united, but this bond cannot exist without effort, which is why today, while the world celebrates peace, Huntsmen and Huntresses will work to upload it, as they have done for the previous eighty years since their formation. As first year students, you all will be tasked with shadowing a professional Huntsman or Huntress on a mission. Some of you may be taken outside of the kingdom for several days. Others may work within the walls for the rest of the week. And some of you will be chosen to escort families, traveling bands, and other travelers from the kingdom-controlled towns to the city itself, behind the walls where it's safest. However, no matter what path you choose, remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best." Ozpin left the stage with applause following him.

Team RWBY snuck off away from their friends once everyone began to scatter. "Okay, so we just gotta shadow a Huntsman working in the southeast, and we can work to find that White Fang hideout!" Ruby explained to her teammates with a squeal of excitement.

"Search and Destroy would make for a perfect cover for our plan," Weiss suggested as the four of them headed to a mission terminal. "Look, quadrant 5 needs some Grimm clearing out."

"It is in the southeast, after all, so that's our best chance," Blake noted as she read the mission's information.

"And look, quadrant 5 is located near…Mountain…Glenn…" Yang started before her voice suddenly died out. She suddenly remembered that Mountain Glenn was the last place her mother Summer was sent to where she never returned.

"Yang, you alright?" Ruby asked her sister, forcing her to snap awake. Yang assured her she was fine and Ruby selected the mission and entered her team's name, only for the screen to flash red and access to the mission was denied. "What? What's wrong with this thing?"

"Well, I had that mission locked off as the current concentration of Grimm in that area is too extreme for first year students," Ozpin answered as he strolled over to them. "Although, it seems that particular region has grown quite popular, especially with you four, and I have a suspicion that you four would head to that region no matter what." He gave them all a cunning grin. "You know, I'm still quite curious as to how you four as well as Team LOST found yourselves at the docks lass semester, and how you four discovered this secret 'hideout in the southeast…" Ruby gave the old headmaster a nervous smile. "…I guess I'll never really find the answers I'm looking for. So, how about instead of waiting for you four to break the rules, how about we bend them, just a little bit?" Ozpin tapped on his scroll and the mission became available for Team RWBY, which excited Ruby.

"Thank you, sir. We won't let you down," Ruby declared, making Ozpin smile.

"Just remember that while teamwork and persistence have carried you this far, the things outside the kingdom's protection will not care who you are, so stick close to your Huntsman and do exactly as he says. He will be leading you on this mission, and he can send you back here to Beacon should he find your skills to be unsatisfactory, so do not disappoint him." Ozpin headed off.

( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )

Team JNPR were at a terminal deciding over which mission to take, from working on the walls, clearing out an area of Grimm outside the kingdom, or defending a small town within the kingdom's protection area. Jaune voted that the town seemed like the best option and selected it. The mission's information was sent to JNPR's scrolls. "Okay, so we'll be heading out tomorrow morning at ten o' clock to the mining town of Début in the south where we will be staying for a week to watch over the town and defend it from any Grimm attacks, as well as patrol the area surrounding it for any Grimm nests. They will be providing us with rooms and food for the week, and our Huntress is…" Pyrrha gave a small gasp when she read the Huntress' name. "…Our shadowing Huntress is Pandora Nikos…" Jaune finished, where everyone turned to stare at Pyrrha, who was glaring down at her scroll while her cheeks were beet red.

"Pyrrha, I didn't know your mom is a Huntress," Ren remarked.

"I think it's super cool! Just think, mother and daughter Huntresses! " Nora whooped, making Pyrrha chuckle.

"You must hold a lot of respect for her, and I'm sure she'll be happy to see you," Jaune added. Pyrrha nodded at him and the four headed off to prepare for the trip tomorrow.

( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )

Team LOST was at a terminal where the four members were huddled around the screen gazing at the different missions. "I think this one sounds like a good idea," Senna noted, pointing to an escort mission. Olivia shook her off.

"Nah, escorts are fine and all, but you always get annoying dirtbags who like to brood you for everything. Besides, it's better we leave something like for a mercenary group," she told her.

"Geez, you're not a merc anymore, Olivia. Just let them handle themselves and stay out of that silly life," Tristan remarked, to which Olivia grabbed at one of his wolf ears and tugged hard, making him cry a little.

"How about you hush up, Trist, and don't badmouth mercenaries; they deserve the same respect and rewards the Huntsmen get."

Senna dragged the two apart and ordered them to stop their foolishness. "Okay, I've decided on our mission," Lucas proclaimed as their scrolls buzzed with the mission's information. "Well, we're going to the northeast, where a Class B Grimm, a Tsuchigumo, has been spotted recently, and we need to go kill it and our shadowing Huntress is Judith Draconem," Lucas read off. "We best prepare for the journey since we'll be out in the wilds for days."

"I'll bring extra guns then," Olivia added with a chuckle. Nearby, she spotted Reese with her team and gave her a wave; Reese answered back with a wave as well and alerted Arslan of them. Olivia in turn pulled on Lucas' sleeve to get his attention, and when he was looking, Arslan blew him a kiss, making him swallow hard and look away with red in his dark cheeks, making Olivia and Tristan laugh.

( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )

Later that day, Team JNPR had had their gear for the week packed, from clothes, ammunition, supples, and what not, and went out to the courtyard where they were to meet with Pandora Nikos to discuss the mission in greater detail. They waited on a bench together patiently, though Pyrrha was rather fidgety instead. "You okay, Pyrrha?" Jaune asked her. "Aren't you happy to see your mother?"

"Yes, of course I am, but it's just that things between us are kinda…stiff," she answered.

"How so?" Ren inquired.

"My mother has been a Huntress all her life, choosing to protect humanity from the Grimm and criminals, and she expected me to follow in her footsteps as well, which I wanted, but my mother had a high standard for me, and she constantly wants me to impress her."

"Well, at least you impress your family. My parents had no faith in me when I left for Beacon, only telling me that should I ever need to come home, that they are perfectly fine with it…" Jaune retorted back, earning a series of concern from his teammates.

"At least you two have family who love you," Ren started. "For Nora and I, we've been orphans since we were kids, and the only people who ever cared for us only wanted to use us…" Nora scooted in under Ren's arm and hugged him. Jaune and Pyrrha followed suit and gave them both big hugs.

"You have us though. We're your family, and we will always be there for you two," Pyrrha whispered to them. The four of them stayed in their team hug for a while until someone interrupted them.

"Am I intruding upon something here?" said a voice, one that Pyrrha quickly recognized. Looking up, Team JNPR were greeted by a tall, lean, and muscular woman with vivid green eyes and fiery red hair tied back into a ponytail, dressed in a skintight black shirt with a cyan combat jacket over it and skintight black pants with cyan cargo shorts over them. She had on black gloves and her jacket and shorts were lined with steel armor plates; the ones on her shorts served as holsters. There was a long combat knife tucked onto her black leather belt and a magnum pistol on her right hip, and a battle rifle and a large sledgehammer on her back.

"Hello, mother," greeted Pyrrha. She got up and gave Pandora a hug, which her mother accepted.

"It seems that you are doing well and I am pleased to see you are doing well academically, but how are you faring on the battlefield?" Pandora asked.

"I am still top of the class, as always."

"Very good." Pandora moved past Pyrrha and went before Jaune. "And you are Jaune Arc. Pyrrha speaks highly of you in her messages to home." She quickly noticed his puzzling look. "She speaks highly of you, and most recently, she spoke of how you wore a dress to a recent prom due to a promise you jokingly made with her. Impressive." Pandora moved onto Nora before Jaune could add anything to what she said about him. "Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha spoke lots about you and your…hyperactivity, but she also mentioned how powerful you are in combat. Hopefully I will see a demonstration of that power during the mission." Nora flashed her a kind smile before Pandora moved onto Ren. "Lie Ren, Pyrrha has told me a bit about you and your finesse in combat. You shall make for a valuable ally in the mission ahead." Pandora moved before the four of them. "We shall leave for Début tomorrow morning to defend the town from any incoming Grimm. Prepare yourselves for the week ahead. You four are dismissed." Pandora walked off before any of them, Pyrrha especially, could ask anything from Pandora.

"Well, your mom is an interesting woman," Ren noted.

( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )

Team LOST met with Judith Draconem, who was dressed in a black vest hoodie, short ash grey shorts, and long black combat boots. Her left arm was wrapped in bandages, and on her right hip was a coiled up metal whip. She gazed upon the team with her golden eyes and brushed her fiery orange hair out of them to see them better. She discussed with them the nature of their mission and ordered them to properly prepare for it, either with weapons, supplies, or research into the Tsuchigomu, then dismissed them.

( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )

Team RWBY packed and met with their shadowing Huntsman, who happened to be their professor, Bartholomew Oobleck. "Hello, girls! Who's ready to risk their lives?" he proclaimed, to which all four girls gave uneasy looks. "You won't be needing the gear you brought with you, for I have packed the essentials that we will be requiring for this reconnaissance mission. We will not be establishing a base of operations, instead we shall be traversing across miles of hazardous wilderness while eliminating any Grimm that crosses our path. I have everything packed, I have our airship course charted and ready to leave, and finally, it's 'Doctor Oobleck'. I didn't earn my PhD for fun, you know! Now, we're already three minutes behind schedule, so let's head off!" He zoomed off for the bullhead while Team RWBY followed behind him.

"So we're going to be saving the world with Dr Oobleck by our side. Gods, it sounds worse like that," Blake remarked.

"So, what sort of doctor are you?" Weiss asked Oobleck after they took off.

"I'm an archeologist, and I've dabbled in the field of history a number of times, and history is extremely important for our society. How would we not know how our world was formed without history? How would you learn from the past's mistakes if there was no history? After all, that's what our enemies from the Great War intended to do."

Once they arrived at Mountain Glenn, the ruined city expansion of Vale, they went to work unloading the supplies Oobleck brought along. Ruby set her pack containing Zwei down and went to help, where the little corgi leapt out of the bag and wandered off somewhere. Once they finished, Ruby checked her bag and was surprised to find Zwei gone and began searching around nearby for him. "Ruby, is something the matter?" Oobleck called to her.

"It's just…um…I…" Oobleck threw up his hand and hushed everyone up.

"Nobody move! I hear something!" Oobleck tiptoed close to an abandoned building. "It's close! Small, but sounds deadly!" Whatever it was, it was scuffling towards them from within. "Whatever you're planning, forget it!" Oobleck called out. "We're Huntsmen! We are trained by the best to be the best! We are the upcoming storm, the destroyers of darkness!" The scuffling continued until the creature emerged from the darkness, which turned out to be Zwei. The dog looked up at Oobleck and gave him a happy bark. "And basically, you're just a dog."

Ruby went over and scooped Zwei up. "There you are, boy."

"Ruby, you brought a dog with you on a dangerous, out-of-the-kingdom mission set in an urban jungle that's teaming death and hostility?" Oobleck questioned. Ruby stuttered out an answer until Oobleck cheered and scooped Zwei into his arms. "Brilliant decision, Ruby! Canines are well known for their extraordinary sense of smell and hearing, making them ideal companions for missions!"

The team investigated the ruins of Mountain Glenn for the remainder of the day, eliminating any Grimm they came across until night fell, where they retreated to the top floor of a small building to rest by a fire they built for the night.

( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )

Back at Beacon, Ironwood was standing at the edge of Beacon, staring out longingly at the city of Vale. Glynda came up behind him. "Couldn't sleep?" she asked him.

"My arm was acting up, as usual," he answered.

"So you dressed up and came down here to stare at the city?"

Ironwood let out a sigh. "It's just…I've trusted Ozpin for many years, ever since I was made general, and I feel as though he's keeping secrets from us both. Secrets that he should tell us so we can help him. I understand that Ozpin has a lot on his shoulders, him being who he is, but he shouldn't keep us in the dark."

"We're not the only ones in the dark, you know."

"And that makes it worse! Kyler warned us that that woman that attacked the CCT was a Wytch, and yet Ozpin is acting so passive about it!"

"You're a good person, James. You've always done what's best for the people, even against strong protest. However, you need to stop talking about trust and start showing it. Ozpin has experience that the rest of us lack, so he knows what he is doing.

"Same goes for Kyler," Ironwood reminded her. "Kyler and I have different experiences, and we share different views on how we resolve our own conflicts, but I just wish he would trust me sometimes." Ironwood turned and headed back to Beacon.

( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )

Back at Mountain Glenn, Ruby was awakened by Zwei, who rushed outside their temporary home and out onto the street, forcing Ruby to follow after him, leaving her sleeping teammates behind. Outside, she found Zwei urinating onto a broken support beam and went over to him, waiting for him to finish up. Once he had, she scooped him up, but then she heard something.

"I really hate it out here. It's so dreary and full of Grimm," said a voice. Ruby crept over towards the source and saw two White Fang thugs armed with rifles. "Let's just finish our patrol and head back to base." The two turned and walked off. Ruby spotted two worn-out cardboard boxes and took them, placing the smallest of them over Zwei and the other over herself. "Follow me and keep still when I do," Ruby instructed her dog, answered with a shake of the boxed-covered Zwei. The two snuck out after the thugs, and anytime the thugs looked anywhere near their direction, they froze to the spot, lowering themselves to the ground to hide their feet.

"Hey, were those boxes there before?" one thug asked the other when he noticed Ruby and Zwei. His buddy glanced back at the boxes while he trained his rifle on them. "Relax, it's just a couple of boxes," his buddy told him. The two continued on and disappeared into a small building.

"Okay, let's go, Zwei," Ruby declared, throwing her box off of herself and taking Zwei's off. Ruby went ahead towards the building. She went inside the entrance, and that was when the two thugs tackled her, subdued her, and dragged her to their underground base, located behind a door leading to a staircase. "Dumb girl thought we were too stupid to not notice a couple of moving boxes. C'mon, let's take her down underground to the boss," scoffed one of the thugs as they carried Ruby down. Zwei, sensing that his master was in danger, rushed back to the others to alert them.

Down below ground, Ruby was lead through a small ruined city similar to Mountain Glenn's. Once they reached the train station, Ruby found a small army of White Fang thugs all packing strange devices onto a train using Atlesian Paladin prototypes. "Hey, be careful with that, or you'll kill us all!" yelled one thug at another as they stood around one device. Nearby, Neo was sitting upon the top of a train car, and upon seeing Ruby, she gave her a smiling wave. In an open train car, White Fang Lieutenant Jaakuna was pushing one device into the center of the car.

"Hey boss, we got something you might want to see!" one of Ruby's captors called out towards the front train car.

"Is it good or bad, Perry, because let me tell you, I have had a rough day," answered the familiar voice of Roman Torchwick.

"Um, it's a girl we found snooping around above ground," Perry told him.

"A girl?…Tell me, is she wearing a red hood and has silver eyes?"

"Um, yeah. Is that bad?"

Roman stuck his head out and confirmed that it was indeed Ruby. "That is bad. Leave her with me, I'll take care of her." Perry and his partner left. Roman hopped down from the train car and went to Ruby, where he plucked her weapon off of her and looked upon it. "Hey, that's mine!" Ruby yelled at her.

"You know, I'm starting to get real tired of you always showing up whenever I'm doing evil things. Honestly, I'm starting to wonder if you have a thing for me, Little Red." Roman gave her a smirk, which made Ruby stick her tongue at him in response.

"As if! Like I could like a guy who can't even use eyeliner on both his eyes!" she taunted.

"Hey, my hair is always in my other eye, so there's no point to lining it!" he argued. Ruby began to chuckle that she got Roman upset over his fashion sense. "Very funny, but listen up, kid, you're on your own down here. No one is coming to save you, and you've got no way to protect yourself, so if I were you, I'd be a lot nicer to your captor, who wouldn't mind killing you if you annoy him too much." Roman turned and headed back into the train car, leaving Ruby alone with Neo, who was watching her from atop the car.

( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )

Up above, the rest of Team RWBY and Oobleck followed after Zwei, who lead them to where Ruby was attacked. "Okay, tell us what happened, Zwei boy!" Oobleck demanded from Zwei, who began barking to him. "Uh huh…I see…Strange, the cardboard box trick always worked for me and my friend Snake back in the day…"

"Is Oobleck talking to Zwei…and understanding him?" Blake questioned. Yang shrugged her shoulders.

"…I see…And they took her underground? Of course! It makes perfect sense now! Oobleck exclaimed.

"Doctor Oobleck, what is it?" Yang asked.

"Mountain Glenn was originally an expansion of Vale that was inevitably destroyed by the Grimm! It was previously home to thousands of people, working people that would commune to the main city through a subway system that they built to reach Vale! Due to the increasing numbers of Grimm that attacked, the citizens chose a desperate action: to go underground and create a small village there and live in the metro tunnels!" He hastily explained to all of them, Zwei included.

"What are you saying?" Weiss inquired.

"Our hidden, underground criminal network is literally underground, hiding in the one place no one wanted to go back to! Mountain Glenn!" Oobleck retrieved his thermos, Hot Coffee, and pressed a button, where it extended out a handle bar and the thermos extended itself, and the cap opened revealing a gaping hole inside. "We're going underground and we are going to find Ruby." He lead them into the building, and after a little searching around, they found a hidden door that lead to a downward staircase.

"So what happened to this small underground town after everyone evacuated below ground?" Yang asked Oobleck as everyone descended down the long and winding staircase.

"During one of the many expansions of the tunnels, an explosion opened up a cavern of Grimm, which quickly overran the town. Huntsmen and Atlesian Military were quickly summoned to Mountain Glenn upon receiving a transmission from a Huntress stationed there, and they blew open a hole in the ground to airlift civilians out. Not many made it, and the Huntsmen stationed there were killed in their attempt to rescue the civilians, and after that, a decision was made to seal off all the tunnels and turn the underground city into a tomb." Oobleck had them hush up when they came to the end of the staircase, then they headed out into the dead city, hoping to find Ruby and quickly.

( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )

At the train station, Roman was entertaining himself by allowing Ruby to try attacking him, but without her weapon, Ruby's punches were widely telegraphed and often made contact with nothing but air as Roman simply sidestepped each punch. "Without your oversized gardening tool, you're not much of a threat," Roman teased as he went down onto her and held her chin in his hand. "So, how did you find us, Red? You obviously didn't happen upon us by accident?" Ruby's answer was to dash off using her Speed Semblance. Roman smirked and fired the handle of his cane at Ruby, which ensnared her by the neck and knocking her down, allowing Roman to retract the handle through its grappling cord and back in place. "Still a dashing bit of rose petals, I see, but we're not done here yet." At that moment, a loud explosion made the entire place shudder, causing dust and small rubble to fall. Nearby, a cloud of dust and smoke emerged from a building down the tracks. "Perry, go take care of that, whatever it is." Perry nodded and ordered some thugs to follow him, but they froze in their tracks when they spotted more White Fang thugs running towards them screaming and firing their guns behind them. Team RWBY, Oobleck, and Zwei appeared and blasted the thugs aside. Ruby leapt onto Roman's head and tugged his bowler hat down, blinding him and allowing her to escape and return to her team. Ruby notified everyone that the train was full of weapons and mechs, but then the train began moving and heading to the northwest direction, towards Vale.

Everyone leapt onto the top of the last train car and began making their way across. Several WF thugs emerged from within and fired onto them, but the Huntsmen and corgi made short work of them. "I saw them loading strange things onto each of the cars, so let's look for them!" Ruby notified everyone as the end car was suddenly detached and left behind. Everyone watched as it exploded, shattering the cavern walls with debris and holes. "What was that?!"

Oobleck checked within the train car they were atop of and found one of the weird objects Ruby mentioned, which she confirmed. "It's a bomb!" Oobleck warned. The bomb starting beeping red, ready to explode, forcing everyone to move forward to the next one. When this one exploded, Oobleck noticed a number of Grimm emerge from the cavern walls and follow after the train. "That's it! They intend to build up a herd of Grimm from the caverns and lead them straight to Vale!" he warned everyone. "Get to the front of the train and stop it immediately!" everyone but Ruby went ahead, ducking down into a train car as a few Atlesian Paladin prototypes moved towards Ruby, Oobleck, and Zwei. Ruby dashed ahead with her Speed and attacked the first Paladin while Zwei looked up at the doctor and gave him a questionable bark. "Don't worry, little fellow, I won't let anything happen to you, and I know you will keep me safe as well." Oobleck drew Hot Coffee and activated the flamethrower, making a small ember emerge from the nozzle. "Now, let's see what a simple dog like you can do with Draíochta, little Guardian." Zwei gave a determined howl. Oobleck ignited Zwei on fire—who was absolutely unharmed by the flames—then smacked him towards the Paladin, where Zwei went flying at incredible speed and smacked directly into the Paladin, suffering no damage and sending the mech down onto the tracks. "Impressive! I can see why you were entrusted to protect Ruby and Yang all these years!" Oobleck told Zwei before they focused on the remaining Paladins.

Down in the car, team RWBY headed forward, but were suddenly cut off by the appearance of Neo, who gave them all a devilish smirk with her umbrella in hand. "I'll take care of this one, you girls go on ahead," Yang told everyone as she cocked Ember Celica. Everyone dashed forward as Yang fired a shot at Neo, forcing her to dodge it and allowing the girls to zoom past her and into the next car. Yang walked up to Neo and the two stared at each other, Yang with a mean glare and Neo with another devilish smirk. Yang was the first to react with a punch towards Neo's face, but her fist was deflected by the deploying of Neo's parasol. Neo jumped back a bit and gave Yang a coy grin. "You're a weird one." Yang ran forward, swinging her fists at Neo, who ducked and dodged under each swipe like a graceful ballerina. Neo retaliated with a upward kick to Yang's face before she backflipped away and landed on a crate, where she deployed her parasol and crossed her legs with a smile, taunting her, and it only made Yang angrier. Yang fired off a shell at Neo in response, which she rolled off to the side to dodge as the blast blew apart a set of crates. Neo jumped back up and lashed at Yang with a kick, which Yang blocked by grabbing Neo's boot and dragging her closer, but Noe simply ducked under her and struck her feet outward, hitting Yang twice and performing a spinning kick, striking Yang even more. Neo jumped back up and struck Yang with her parasol; Yang tried hitting Neo at least once, but the mute girl merely swept around Yang, grabbed her, and threw her towards the ceiling with ease, where she collided and dented against the car roof and fell back down to the floor unconscious. Neo drew a thin sword from her parasol's shaft and aimed for Yang's heart, but then she heard a sound. Across the train car, a mysterious woman clad in red and black wearing a full-face was with a Grimm-like appearance appeared with a long odachi clad in red steel, and at her hip, a scabbard with a cylinder chamber containing various dust blades. The woman glared at Neo through her mask, staring her down with blood red eyes. Neo stiffened up and formed a stance to fight the woman, but she then gave a small gasp when the woman lifted her sleeve, revealing a tattoo depicting a black hourglass. Seeing this, Neo turned and jumped away, where she disappeared into thin air with a flash.

The woman sheathed her blade and went to Yang, where she placed two fingers upon her and confirmed that she still had a pulse. The woman removed her mask, revealing herself as Raven Branwen, Yang's mother. She placed her hands together and they began to glow black, then she applied them to Yang's stomach, making her moan a little, and then drew away. Raven brushed a couple fingers against Yang's cheek, making her stir, then stood up, replacing her mask back onto her face and drawing her odachi. She gave it a flick at the air, and a portal of red and black energy materialized and she stepped through it and disappeared, just as Yang came to, seeing Raven's backside for a brief second before her disappearance. Yang pulled herself off the floor and headed towards the head of the train, noticing that her body felt energized for some reason.

While Yang was fighting Neo, Weiss and Blake ran through a few more train cars, and in one, they encountered White Fang Lieutenant Jaakuna with a chainsaw blade, which he dragged behind him, scrapping across the floor. Weiss ordered Blake to go ahead, and the heiress struck at Jaakuna to distract him from Blake. Jaakuna quickly recovered just as Blake went into the next car and lifted his chainsaw blade up into his hands. "Heh heh, looks like I get to kill a Schnee. I have yet to add one to my list," Jaakuna muttered with malice in his voice. Weiss, unfazed dashed forward with a Glyph and struck his body several times before leaping back, where she primed red dust into her blade. Jaakuna swung his chainsaw at her, where Weiss deflected it, leaving a trail of fire around her, then she activated another Glyph, one to enhance her speed, and she conjured many normal Glyphs around Jaakuna before dashing and striking at him, bouncing off each Glyph in rapid succession, striking him more and more. On the last Glyph, she struck his mask, leaving a long crack in it and came to a sudden stop. "Gotta, princess!" Jaakuna purred behind her, grabbing her shoulder and throwing her to the floor, shattering metal everywhere. Jaakuna then lifted Weiss into the air and grabbed at her throat, slowly choking her with her unable to break free. Weiss suddenly flailed one of her legs out and struck Jaakuna in his face, making him stumble and letting go of her.

Weiss stumbled backwards and grabbed Myrtenaster and poised for battle. Jaakuna clutched at his face and pulled his hands away, which now held the shattered remains of his mask. When he looked up, Weiss gasped, for she recognized him; it was Yatsuhashi Daichi of Team CFVY. "Yatsuhashi? How can…" Weiss spat out, unable to form complete words. Jaakuna said nothing but gave her an evil grin before retrieving his chainsaw and heading towards Weiss.

At the head of the train, Blake had Roman Torchwick on the floor with her blade at his neck, ready to take him down when Jaakuna entered the train car with Weiss in his hand, where he tossed her near Blake and headed towards them both with his chainsaw raised. "So, whatcha gonna do, Blake? Stop the train or save your friend?" Roman questioned her with a chuckle, which she silenced by knocking him out. She dashed to Weiss and sped off with her and went atop the train, where she regrouped with the rest of the team who was there as the train neared the end of the stop, heading straight for a concrete wall. "I've got an idea!" Weiss exclaimed, having her team gather around her where she activated ice dust from her rapier, which enshrouded them in an icy dome shield. When the train hit, it sent all the cars in a massive crash killing and injuring many aboard it. The ice dorm containing team RWBY was flown straight into the air and through a hole in the ceiling, sending them flying straight into the main square of daytime Vale. The dome shattered upon impact in the square, sending the rattled, but alive members of RWBY onto the ground. Civilians gathered at the square to inquire what had happened, and that's when the Grimm that was following the train burst from underground and began attacking. Team RWBY jumped up and prepared to fight as Grimm surrounded them.

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Teams JNPR and LOST were heading out of Beacon with their shadowing Huntresses, ready for their week-long mission with their gear on their shoulders. "Do you think you have enough weapons?" Lucas asked Olivia, who had a bag of guns and ammo along with her pack.

"I like to be prepared for any situation," Olivia replied.

"So, you guys are going out to hunt down a Tsuchigomu Grimm, huh? Sounds like a tough Grimm to beat." Jaune asked LOST.

"I think we will be fine," Tristan told him. "We've studied the Tsuchigomu in the Grimm Monster Manual last night, as taught by our lovely Senna, and we've devised a few strategies to fight it."

"I brought my bomb to blow it up," Olivia chirped, fishing out her globe bomb.

"Please keep that packed away," Senna warned, biting her lip at the fear of it going off.

"Well, we're going to be defending a small mining town for a week, plus, we got Pyrrha's mom shadowing us." Jaune pointed to Pandora, who gave LOST a wave.

"Wow, Pyrrha, your mom is hot," Tristan woofed, earning a roll of the eyes from Pandora and a disgusted look from Pyrrha. "Speaking of hot, how are you and Arslan getting along, Lucas?" Tristan bit his lip and grinned, excited to hear more.

"We are doing fine," Lucas simply answered.

"Reese and I are getting along pretty well, Olivia interjected.

"Nebula and I are planning a date when our missions are over," Tristan told everyone.

"Aren't you two taking things a bit too quickly?" Senna asked him.

"Says the girl without a boyfriend," Senna poked him in the butt, giving him an electric jolt, making him howl while Olivia and Nora laughed.

Suddenly, air sirens went off in Vale, and smoke began rising above the buildings. "That is definitely not a good sign," Olivia noted as she dropped her pack and fished out two CPW submachine guns and a M319N IGL and slung them onto her with her Happiness is a Warm Olive set before slinging her gun pack back on.

Pandora quickly recognized that the city was in danger. "We need to…"

"Change of mission, everyone! We're going into Vale!" Jaune declared to everyone and ordered them onto JNPR's bullhead and followed them in. Pandora smiled at his choice of response and followed him onto the bullhead. Nearby, Team CFVY heard the sirens and headed onto a bullhead and it followed after the other. On the airship platform, Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury watched the city.

"They're not supposed to attack for another few days, what should we do?" Emerald asked her mistress. Cinder stared out at the city with a cold glare, but then a smile emerged. "We go and defend Vale, what else?" she remarked before the three boarded a bullhead and headed into the city.

Out in Vale, RWBY had already began their assault on the Grimm just as Teams JNPR, LOST, CFVY, SSSN, and others arrived to assist. Ruby dashed in between many Grimm, slicing them to pieces with Crescent Rose. Weiss streaked across the ground with Myrtenaster, attacking Grimm with her dust and stabbing them with rapid jabs. Blake shot down Grimm with Gambol Shroud's gun and entrapping them with its cord, allowing her strafe around them and strike them down. Yang charged various Grimm head on, smashing them into the ground with shotgun punches.

For JNPR, Jaune found himself facing against a large Ursa, which was quick to attack him. He raised his shield from flinching and the Ursa struck it with its claw, but Jaune found himself still standing. He looked up and saw a white dome surrounding the front of his shield, holding the Ursa back. Jaune forced the Ursa back a bit and lunged his sword directly into its face, killing it instantly. Unbeknownst to Jaune, the tattoo on his hand was glowing while the shield barrier was active, and now it had ceased. Nearby, Nora smashed up Grimm with Magnhild, then leapt atop a Ursa and rode it around, firing grenade shells at nearby Grimm. Pyrrha expertly slashed and shot down any Grimm that came her way and beside her, Pandora demonstrated her expert marksmanship with her battle rifle and magnum pistol. Ren ducked under the swipe of a Stage 3 Beowolf and slide under his legs, where he let loose with Stormflower onto it.

Lucas of LOST, upon landing, drew Fida'an and fired shells at a few Ursai, taking them down. A Beowolf drew near and he switched his gun to its machete form, dodged a claw swipe from it, and ran his machete into its neck. Olivia drew her CPWs and dual fired onto a couple charging Beowolves, then switched to Eclipse and took down a few more. Senna fired off bolts of lightning at a few Grimm. Tristan merged Dank Steel Shootah together and fired off a volley of aura arrows onto Grimm and sliced them up up close.

Team CFVY was faring well against their swarm of Grimm, with Coco ripping and tearing any Grimm that entered her gatling gun's path, Fox slicing down and punching a few Beowolves, Velvet kicking down any Grimm near her, and Yatsuhashi cleaved through any Grimm, big and small, that dared to challenge him. Team SSSN took a number of Grimm together, Team ABRN laid waste to many Grimm, Team NDGO took down their fair share as well, and so did everyone else.

"Hey, Tristan, how many have you killed? I'm on thirteen!" Olivia called to her teammate as she shot down a Stage 2 Beowolf.

"Sixteen for me!" he answered before driving one of his twin blades into a Stage 1 Nevermore. "Seventeen now!" Olivia grew pouty and tossed a dust grenade at a group of Grimm, killing four in a fiery explosion. "Now we're even!" Olivia shouted.

"Will you two quit your stupid completion?!" Senna ordered before slicing off the head of an Ursa.

Elsewhere, where no one was around, Neo appeared out of thin air with an unconscious Roman in her arms. Emerald and Mercury soon found her. "We're gonna have to take him off your hands," Emerald told her as Mercury scooped Roman into his arms. "You best head to Beacon while we take care of things here." Neo gave them a frown, but obeyed and disappeared.

Oobleck soon emerged from the hole in the ground piloting an Atlesian Paladin prototype with Zwei on its shoulder. The two began attacking Grimm together and the swarms began dwindling.

When it was all over and Glynda had repaired the square and destroyed buildings with her telekinesis, everyone rejoiced and celebrated while Roman was escorted onto an Atlesian bullhead for imprisonment.

At the end of the day, Team RWBY was awarded full marks by Oobleck for an excellent job well done. Teams JNPR and LOST's missions were delayed until the next day so they could recover from the attack as well.

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Up atop a building, Cinder, Emerald, Mercury, and Adam Taurus were together. "I believe today was a success, despite Team RWBY interfering with our plans," Cinder purred with delight.

"They did ruin everything and became a pain in our butts though," Mercury noted. "And considering all the Faunus that got trapped in the tunnels, I doubt the White Fang will listen to us again."

"No, they won't, but as their leader, they will listen to me," stated Adam. "Are you positive your plan will succeed?" he asked Cinder.

"Trust me, it will. I am the closest to our Goddess and she gave me powers that will aid us. When it's all over, Vale will be in ruins, we will have eliminated at least three Paladins of Light, and the world will fear the White Fang after seeing them lead Grimm into the city to slaughter innocent civilians."

"So long as I get what I want, do what you want with the Paladins, I don't care. However, do not kill Blake Belladonna. She is mine to kill," he ordered, which Cinder happily agreed to.

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Up in Ozpin's tower, the headmaster was in a video conference call with the Vale Council, Ironwood, Headmistress Grace of Haven Academy and Headmaster Pecado of Shade Academy. The council declared that due to Ozpin inability to keep the Grimm from attacking inside the kingdom walls, they have chosen to elect Ironwood to act as protector of the Vytal Festival, who will be issuing Atlesian Knights, Paladins, and soldiers to act as security for the event. The conference ended, leaving only Ozpin, Grace, and Pecado still online.

"This isn't the right decision, Oz," Pecado stated, glaring at the headmaster with his dark, beady eyes. "The Huntsmen have always acted as protectors for the Vytal Festival, even when it took place in Atlas."

"It is the council's decision," Ozpin argued.

"Damn the council, and damn Ironwood too!"

"Pecado, please calm yourself," Grace told him. "Ozpin, knowing you, you'd trust Ironwood with protecting the Vytal Festival, but us both don't, especially since he's not one of us."

"The council has already made their decision, and there is no changing it," said Ozpin. His screen beeped and he touched it, where Kyler's face appeared onscreen. "Kyler, what is it?"

"I have found Qrow, and we are heading back to Beacon," he announced. "Qrow says he may have found something, but he won't tell me. We'll return within a couple weeks or so." Kyler hung up.

"And I think it would be best if we do not trust Kyler anymore. He violated the law we established between us and he has grown more unhinged since Summer died," Pecado stated. Ozpin was silent, unsure if he should defend his friend or not.

Grace chose to change the subject. "What about the next generation of Paladins? They have been anointed, but when are we to begin preparing them?"

"The Gods are waiting for the proper time, which we believe will be after the Vytal Festival is over," Ozpin answered.

"Seems like a good time to do so, after everyone has had their fill of fun and enjoyment," went Grace. "What about the break in at the CCT? We heard that it was a woman, whom Kyler suspects is a Wytch."

"That's impossible! We wiped out the Wytches long ago! The only one left alive should be Glynda, and only because of you, Oz!"

"I already have a few Huntsmen on a search for her within Vale." was Ozpin's answer.

Grace let out a long sigh. "For now, let us just enjoy the Vytal Festival and the temporary peace in this world. Pecado and I will come to gather our successors when the festival is over." The two signed off, leaving Ozpin alone in his office to muddle over the recent events.

Far over in the east, in Mistral, Headmistress Grace Evergreen left Haven Academy for the day and went home. There, she undressed and went into the shower, allowing hot water to cascade down her silky caucasian body and wetting her long silverly blonde hair. Grace's vibrant green eyes stole a glance out a small window located slightly above her head in the shower, staring out into the eternal summer of city of Mistral. Her hand brushed over her cleavage and over her shoulder, where her fingers touched at a tattoo on her back shoulder of a black tree. "Dark times are ahead…" Grace mumbled with nothing but the sound of the shower to accompany her.

In the west, Pecado Midnight sat in his shabby office of Shade Academy. He stared down at his desk and groaned. "I hate my job sometimes." He leaned back in his swivel chair and fell asleep.

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Down in the tunnels underneath Vale, the destroyed train sat in a heap amidst the rubble with Grimm rummaged through the debris looking for bodies to feast on. An Ursa shifted aside a boulder and found Jaakuna's corpse underneath. "HALT!" ordered a voice, making all the Grimm freeze in place. A young beautiful woman clad in robes with a pair of black wings sprouting from her back mysteriously appeared and walked among the Grimm, who did not dare touch her. She glanced at Jaakuna with her gleaming green eyes and ordered a couple Beowolves to pull him out of the rubble. Pushing the blonde hair out of her eyes, she knelt down to his side as the Grimm surrounded them. "Jaakuna Daichi…such a peculiar life you have chosen for yourself to tear yourself from society and give into your inner demons, to become the creature knowns as 'The Man Behind the Mask' that people grew to fear, and yet you were never caught. And now you mingle with my Murtsling nowadays and have earned his friendship…You have earned the right to be my Àrsling," Sheena stated. She stretched her hand over him and his body glowed with a black aura and jerked a bit, then Jaakuna's eyes shot open and he drew breath.

"WHAT?! HOW?! WHO?!" Jaakuna spat out in confusion before Sheena hushed him.

"Take it easy, Jaakuna. I just saved your life." SHeena pressed a finger to his forehead and injected his mind with information as to who she is, his new destiny, and his new enemies. "Return to Adam Taurus and continue to take orders from him." Sheena ordered an Ursa to approach and had Jaakuna climb atop it and she ordered it to guide him out of the tunnels and outside the kingdom. When Jaakuna had set off, Sheena disappeared into the air.

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October 26th 1580

Beacon Academy

Team JNPR and Team LOST returned from their shadowing missions a week following the attack on Vale. For Team JNPR, the mission was a success, with the team and Pandora defending the mining town three times and destroying two Grimm nests, one of which was located within one of the mines. Team LOST came back battered, bloody, but alive and in high spirits, with having the Tsuchigomu Grimm destroyed thanks to their combined teamwork, as well as Olivia's globe bomb, which when shoved into an exposed hole in the Grimm, proved to be quite devastating. Both teams received high marks though for JNPR, Pandora reported that while Jaune's abilities as a leader were astounding, his combat prowess paled in comparison, and for LOST, Judith simply stated while they functioned well on the battlefield, especially given that the four share leadership duties and responsibilities, off the battlefield, they were incompetent, brash, and simply a wild bunch, with Lucas not caring half the time, Olivia being far too tricky and carefree, Senna being their "team mother," and Tristan and his perversions constantly getting him into trouble.

Pandora finished her report on Team JNPR with Ozpin and was finishing her coffee that he offered her. "So, how well did Jaune and Pyrrha perform on this mission?" he asked her.

"Excellently," Pandora answered. "They functioned well as a tag team, and I quickly noticed them sneaking out at night to train together, though at first, I thought they were sneaking off to do…something else. He is learning quickly though, thanks to Pyrrha's lessons…Ozpin, Jaune has no control over his Draíochta! He's supposed to be the Dànsling, yet it's inexcusable at how weak he is!"

"I can understand your worry, Pandora, I do, but Aziela chose Jaune for a special reason, and we must respect that decision and help turn him into a proper Paladin when the time comes, and when the time comes for the new Guardians, I expect you to be there to train them alongside with the previous Guardians," Ozpin told her.

"I will be there, I promise." Pandora turned to leave, but stopped for a moment. "You know, I wish you would have told me seventeen years ago that my daughter would be destined to serve the Dànsling as his Guardian though."

"Well, I was afraid you'd kill me if I told you," Ozpin chuckled, earning a chuckle from Pandora as well.

"Well, the Gods work in mysterious ways, don't they?" Pandora turned and left Ozpin's office. Before leaving for home, she went to visit Team JNPR, where she gave her daughter a big hug and wished the team, Jaune especially, the best of luck.

Team LOST, having returned from their mission, all agreed to just rest and sleep the rest of the day away, so after unpacking and putting their weapons away, they went to bed; Lucas put on some pajama pants, got into bed, and hugged the wall his bed was facing. Olivia stripped down to her underwear and crawled under her covers. Senna took time to change into her pajamas and quietly got into bed and got comfy. Tristan tossed his clothes (keeping his boxers on) onto his desk and chair and flopped into bed, where he soon fell asleep with a snore.

Team JNPR all unpacked and rested up from their mission as well. Ren silently crawled into bed and went to sleep while Nora energetically jumped up and down on her bed for a bit before collapsing to sleep. Pyrrha instead stayed awake, where she sat on her bed and twirled Milo in midair using her polarity. "That's pretty nifty, Pyr," Jaune commented as he sat down next to her with a block of black metal in his hands.

"Thanks. I do it to help pass the time and keep me occupied," she explained as she made Milo twirl in all sorts of directions. She quickly noticed the block in his hands. "What's that there?"

"Oh, it was a gift from one of the townspeople before we left. It's a block of malleable metal." Jaune poked the block with a finger and it left an indention in it. "I was thinking of giving it to you so you can play with it with your polarity." He handed her the block and she took it into her hands. After a bit of concentration, Pyrrha shifted the block to form into a pyramid, which impressed Jaune.

"Thank you so much, Jaune," she cooed, giving him a hug, making him blush. "I best head to bed, I'm pretty tired."

"Yeah, same for me." Jaune went to his bed, where he changed and got into it. Pyrrha did the same and before getting into bed and dozing off, she placed her metal pyramid on her nightstand. Jaune stole a glance at her then rolled over so he was facing her. His mind was racing with what she told Nora the morning after the dance, and he was unsure of how he truly felt for her; sure, Pyrrha is his friend, but since the dance, he has been second-guessing that, wondering if he too loves her. Jaune did not think of it much as sleep soon overtook him. In the world of dreams, he kept seeing a small island located to the east of Mistral, and on that island, he saw four young women looking at him, as if they personally knew him, and two middle-aged men who resembled him. Jaune awoke with a startle, and after he had calmed down, he fell asleep again, this time having no bizarre dreams.

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Times are changing, and darkness is steadily returning to Remnant at last. And soon, I shall return stronger than ever. And when I do, nothing will stop me.

Next Chapter 4: The End of the Beginning