For those of who you who might not have heard already, Monty Oum fell critically ill and subsequently passed away, on February 2th, I believe. Roosterteeth has assured that his death was peaceful and painless and that he was surrounded by people he loved when it happened.

For me, had it not been for Monty Oum, I would have never managed to develop myself as a writer like this. He was a unique person who served as an inspiration to many aspiring artists. I don't really know what else to say than "thank you" and wish the best of luck to his loved ones.

On a lesser note, I have rewritten this fanfiction from Chapter 1 to Chapter 45. Changes are more subtle later on, but can be considered really major from 1 through 26. I highly recommend rereading those ones, as they are now not only written in my later style, but also connect much better to the storyline I established. Story-elements have been changed, added or downright deleted. It should prove a much smoother read now.

RWBYbomb21: well, Summer Rose was familiar with Onyx, I'll tell you that.

Solar Jarl The Cannon King 44K: thanks. I have great plans for lovely Neo.

RedGozilla: believe me, that will come ;)

Mr Anonymous: that is a major compliment, thank you. Additionally, had it not been for you, I would have probably not even found out about Monty Oum's condition until it was already too late. Thank you for that, too.

Shazarakk: I am very proud, though I hope that the quality equals the quantitiy?

A Flying tomato: Nice, thanks! Let's just say that Will has his future planned for himself.

Cliffdiver: haven't heard that song, will definitely listen to it. And Monty shall be missed indeed, though never forgotten.

Tuutje07: if you don't understand, feel free to ask. Things are only getting more complicated from here on :)

"Testing. It has been two days since WALLSTORM and the Caralyst Procedure (now officially referred to as the Catalyst-Implantation, or CI, in short) has been completed. Subject Alpha of generation two, Alpha-II, gained consciousness about six hours ago and promptly started screaming like a wounded animal. This seemed to have unsettled the Staff somewhat, but that could also be because Alpha murdered three of them before he could be sedated. Of course, this is in fact the Catalyst screaming, not the soldier. Procedure 042-Vytal has been exceptionally thorough in creating her anker. It has also been exceptionally thorough in causing the defection of multiple members of the ones responsible for administrating the Procedure, but those were located and eliminated. Semantics.

Here's to hoping that she won't drive Alpha-II to suicide."

-FIELD RECORDING 7B, Professor K. Greene, Chief Scientist of Onyx's neuro-science division.

Day 75, Beacon Gardens, 21:15

General James Ironwood calmly walked alongside the small path through the gardens. It was dark outside, and the occasional clattering of gunfire could be heard all the way from the city. It was a shame that he couldn't see what was going on, really. To his knowledge, there shouldn't be anything going on in the city now. He knew that Vale was getting less stable every passing day, but this? This did not make sense.

But he had sent some of his troops to investigate and the moment they contacted him, he'd know everything that was going on. No doubt that Onyx was behind all of this. Shady corrupt organization messing around from behind the scenes. They had their claws in everything, everywhere.

And Ironwood had spent the last few days thinking that his authority could be threatened by the unknown paramilitary organization. But the very fact that they were only deploying a handful of troops betrayed their arrogance and their lies. Atlas's military prowess had no equal in Remnant. If Onyx wanted to play dirty, they were going to play dirty against the world's largest military power.

And a few dozen soldiers weren't going to stop thousands of battle-ready Atlesian Knights.

The General stopped at a nearby bench and wondered why Beacon was even trying to work together with the likes of Onyx. He could understand that they had been having trouble in the Kingdom without a proper military, what with the wars and the terrorism everywhere, but now that the Atlas Military forces had arrived in Vale, there was no need for Onyx anymore. What had Ozpin been thinking?

But that wasn't why he was worried. Right now, he had more important things than the mysterious and arrogant Onyx to worry about. The strange sounds of violence that were coming from the city, namely. Violence that had no origin. Any second now, his men would call in what was going on.

Any second now.

Something moved to Ironwood's right side and he quickly spun around, his hand going to his sidearm. This was a school for children, yes, but there were also spooks here. Nasty Onyx types that considered themselves above human law and ethics. Like that Fireteam Lima or even worse, that psycho-Operative. Greyhound or something. Ozpin was in over his head with those types.

"Who's there?" He called, preparing to draw his weapon. It wouldn't be children skulking around here.

No reply.

He stared at the bushes for a few more seconds, then exhaled in relief and placed his pistol back. Even the head of the world's most powerful military had to watch out; Onyx might be a PMC, but their soldiers had proven to be effective enough. Infiltration, sabotage…the stuff of shadows.

The next second, Ironwood felt the barrel of a pistol being placed at the back of his head. He sighed, realizing that he had been outflanked. Cursing himself for falling for such a simple trick.

"James Ironwood," said a soft, calm voice. It sounded male, but whether it was adult or teen, he couldn't tell.

"If you know who I am, you know you are making a mistake," the General calmly said. This had to be the disgusting PMC itself. "A huge mistake."

"I am going to ask you a question. I don't get the answer I like, I shoot you. We clear?"

"Do you really think you will get away with this? Threatening the General of Atlas armed forces?"

Extra pressure was put on the pistol and Ironwood cursed under his breath.

"What do you know of the ACE project?"

He frowned. "I don't know anything about an ace. But we don't negotiate with terrorists. If you want to talk, do so openly and-"

"You had communication with Onyx, regarding your constructs."

Briefly. Covertly. They had received schedules and, after thorough scans, Atlas had used them to improve their weaponry and droids. To advance their technology. He had thought that the gift had been strange, but the Grimm were pressing on everybody's borders and no questions had been asked. Of course, now he knew that it could have been sued as leverage. As blackmail. But he would not be intimidated. "Any and all communication with Onyx is classified as-"

The pistol was pulled back and smashed against his head, hard. "Need-to-know basis. I know." The voice was trembling with some emotion, but Ironwood could not identify which it was. "What do you know of the ACE project?"

"Nothing," growled the General. Another hit like that and he would fight his way out instead of talk his way out.

"Nothing? You don't know who helped you build your Penny? Your Knights, your Paladins?" The emotion was definitely anger. Uncontrolled, trembling anger.

"We were sent blueprints. Nothing more."

The pistol was retracted again and Ironwood struck. He spun around, lashed out with his leg at the armed man and attempted to go for the pistol. It didn't quite work out like that; he caught a glimpse of a skull-like face and a dark coat before something else hit him on the head. He fell to his hands and knees in the grass and by the time he had pulled his pistol out, it was already too late.

There was nobody there. He was alone.

The General bristled. Ozpin was going to hear about this!

Day 75, 21:17, western-sector of Vale

"Grace, are you sure about this?" Lisa carefully asked, eyeing her partner. The demolitions expert was kneeling next to the scorched hole in the ground, where a sufficiently-powerful explosion had been detonated, taking the entire bank with it. Only two walls had remained standing.

Grace sounded distracted when she replied. "White Fang and mercenary attacks leave Onyx distracted, she slips one of her bombs…yeah, easy."

"It could have been an airstrike," muttered Cho. "There were bombers in Vale's airspace." He shrugged. "Don't know what Atlas thinks of that."

"We all know Atlas doesn't have a thing on Onyx," Alessa said with a gesture that could have been a shrug.

"And normally, neither to terrorists. So what makes this guy different?"

"Girl, Lisa."

"Whatever. You sound gloomy. Why?"

With a heavy sigh, Grace sat down and ran her hand through the scorch-marks. The ruined building had been cleared and emptied and all that remained were the details of the explosions. And the less-sanitary things that couldn't have been cleaned in the brief hour that the Police had been busy here "It just…first this Sandy guy, now this. Doesn't make sense, you know?"

"It does. Ever since Beacon's had their first success in the expedition to the North, people flock to the city."

Lisa bent through her knees to ease the aching of her muscles. She hated having to stand still. "Come on Mauve, you don't seriously think this is because of our little trip in the snow?"

"There could be a dozen reasons. Two terrorists, both of whom Grace know?" The former cop plucked a piece of metal from the charred wall. "Sounds suspicious to me."

"What are you trying to say?" Alessa said with a hint of aggression. It was uncharacteristic of her, but Lisa could understand where the girl was coming from.

Cho wasn't fazed though. He crossed his arms, leant against the wall and said, "You and Lisa both cause explosions by sneezing. Only you can control it."

"Hey! Offended!"

"Sorry. Just imaging the likes of the White Fang getting their hands on Grace. I don't like it."

"Neither of us does! That's why nobody is getting to her!"

Yep. Alessa's aggression was definitely getting worse.

"Ease up. I'm not saying that, I'm-"

"Then just say what you are saying!"

"If you let me. Two terrorists, both of whom we have tracked down on our own. Suspicious."

"Yeah, well, there's nobody left who would want to recruit me. Both of them are dead, remember?"

"Onyx got to Sandy. This one is still alive."

Grace pinched the bridge of her nose. "I meant the other two."

"Right."

"And how do you mean, Onyx got to Sandy? I thought you promised him-"

"-not to tell Onyx, which I didn't. They have an intelligence network, remember? Last I heard some guy "Frost" got to him. By the time the VPD got to the safehouse, the guy was gone. No trail." Cho started observing the ruined frame of the door.

"Meh." Lisa shrugged. The amount of damns she gave about the hide of some terrorist asshole couldn't be lower. "Serves him. So, what do you think?"

"I think that whoever the is bitch used is dead."

So the roasted remains of what had once been a body were in fact not alive? "Gee, amazing observation." Cho, Alessa and Grace stared at her for a few moments, whereupon she started to think that she had missed something. "Wait one…"

"Yes, Adamant?" said Cho.

"You said 'used'…"

"Almost there?"

Lisa felt her cheeks getting warm. "This one used a civilian to deliver her bomb?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

Oh…that was just…nasty. It collided with everything she stood for. When they got that bitch, she was going to jam her rifle straight up the terrorist's-

"How many people died here?" Alessa asked, breaking Lisa's thought-processes.

Cho shrugged. "That's hard to tell. The Police have taped the area and moved the bodies. Remains are…difficult to identify. Which leaves me with a question…"

Lisa turned to face her childhood friend. "How do you know she used a messenger?"

"Eye-witness said that he saw a man with a cap enter the bank."

"Speaking of which, how do you know it's even a woman if a man entered?"

"Getting to that. This guy enters the bank, shouts something, a Policeman is present and tried to defuse the situation –no pun intended- and everything blows up. Witness was his buddy, who was out getting donuts on the other side of the street. Aura saved him from the explosion, which ruined all the glass in a radius of three dozen meters. Donuts were ruined."

"So?"

"So, three-dozen meters points out which explosive it was. Explosive magnitude of-"

"Yeah yeah. Skip to the part where you tell us why you know who our terrorist bastard is, please?"

Grace stood up and faced her. Despite her calm face, Lisa knew that there had to be turmoil inside of the girl's heart right now. "There were a few people that mother-dear used to run with, according to grannie. Sandy was their go-to guy if they wanted something more obvious to happen to take the heat off of them."

Cho gave her a skeptical look. "Your grandmother told you about the terrorist-partners of your parents?"

"As their daughter, I was either supposed to pick up the torch, or a threat. Grannie wanted to make sure I wouldn't be in any danger."

"So she knew what her daughter did?" asked Alessa.

Grace looked like she was about to kick at a nearby brick, but then she seemed to think better than to mess with the crime-scene and settled for shoving her hands down her pockets. "Of course. She might think Lisa being thrown through our window is equal to tea-time, but she used to be pretty badass in her time."

"So you know who our targets are?"

"Only how they worked. One of them, a psycho called Crystal, specializes in getting innocent bystanders caught up in her plan. Blackmail, threats, kidnap. Whatever worked to get a desperate father, mother or brother to carry a bomb into an official building."

"That's messed up."

"That's the extent of what I know, really. This looks like a Crystal-job, doesn't it?"

"So." Cho walked out of the destroyed bank and signaled at one of the officers responsible for keeping an eye on them, while the rest of team LACG followed him outside. "Now that we know that, where to next?"

Lisa ran her thumb along the edge of one of HE-rounds fastened to her belt. "Finding out why they are here. Leaders are dead, all two of them. Why attack a bank?"

"Money?" proposed Alessa. "Revenge?"

"More variables. Tonight, Onyx. Roman Torchwick. White Fang. Explosions coming from highway. Something was distracting the ones responsible for stopping these attacks."

"We find out who distracted Onyx enough for a bomber to get through, we get more details about the who's and the why's," said Cho.

"Time for a game of wanna-bet-if-people-know," Lisa called while stretching. "We got a psycho-bonkers terrorist, formerly-affiliated with your lovely mum, out bombing banks. Possibly with goons hired to get Onyx off her back for a brief moment. Mauve, what do we need to know?"

"Why a bank, how did she get Onyx distracted, who does she work for, and where is she."

"There, pretty simple. You know what would be awesome? If this bitch ties in to that other bitch."

"Crimson?"

"Yup. We never found her, fox-boy never found her. I think she could be tied in to this."

Cho simply stared at her. "Crimson? Cassandra's sidekick? The one ex-Operative Mantis was looking for?"

"That's her. All of this fits into it, you know? The things we've heard? This shit between the Operatives and Onyx and all that?"

They started making their way back to Beacon. The violence outside seemed to have calmed down somewhat, though they could still hear the occasional Police siren whining in the distance.

Grace yawned. "It does fit. Ruby did say that this Cassandra-person was responsible for traumatic stuff. Got Greystone close to an emotional outburst. Most of it anger and hatred, but still. Wasn't it worse for Mantis?"

"So this Crystal can be working together with Crimson, who in turn works for Cassandra. Alice wants her dead, so does Will," Alessa summed up. "Either of three will work?"

But, Lisa realized, they'd be back at square one again. Onyx was still a looming threat, they had three people to chase after and in the end, an Operative was involved. They had traded one terrorist for another and one Operative for another. And one thing still didn't make sense. "Where do the Grimm fit in with this?"

"Why the Grimm?" asked Cho.

"Well…recently, all we've been focusing on is humans. First Torchwick, then tanks and choppers, then Torchwick some more. Then a Saboteur…Onyx, Sandy, more Onyx, Romero, more Onyx. Then Crimson and now Crystal." It made her head hurt, really. This was not what she had been trained for, this relentless conspiracy. Where did it all tie in, anyway?

"Saboteur was Will," Alessa told her. "That doesn't count."

"Point taken."

Cho didn't take Lisa's point though. "There's the Tormentor, and that Jugger-"

Grace interrupted him. "What thing?"

"Tormentor. Heard Professors coming together to give it a name."

"Right. Fits, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does," the ex-cop said without pulling a muscle in his face. "And the Juggernaut. Two new Grimm, both of them with Semblance."

"So what does that leave us on our holy-crap-o-meter?"

Cho blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

"Seven for terrorism and criminality, six for Grimm. Onyx decreased to an eight," Alessa quietly replied.

"Thanks."

"What did I miss?"

Grace chuckled. "Johnson has his badass grades; we can have the Lisa's scale of Holy Crap. The holy-crap-o-meter."

"That's not funny."

"It is kinda. It fits in with what we've been doing lately, right?"

Alessa nodded and Lisa grinned. "It has been democratically decided."

"I wasn't there when you did, was I?"

"You were sleeping."

"You know what? I'm not even going to ask anymore."

"Finally."

"No, what I want to ask is why all of these people are trying to come to Vale, of all places."

Grace and Alessa exchanged a glance. The girl was wearing a bright-new blindfold, so it wasn't really necessary to exchange glances like that. It had to be symbolic.

"Let's count, shall we?" Lisa then said. "In Vale, we have the military leader of Atlas visiting, the Adamant Clan, the Heiress to the SDC, the main activities of Onyx and Beacon Academy. I would honestly be surprised if any aspiring-baddie would step up and say, "hey, this place doesn't look like a place I would want to be!". Face it, our city is the most popular." She paused. "I thought you already knew this."

"It can't just be that. Every Kingdom has such academies, Onyx is the least active in Vale of all places and Ironwood's brought his entire armada. So again, why Vale?"

"Guess we're just unlucky," said Alessa.

21:59, Beacon Academy.

"I'm sorry," Blake muttered for what had to have been the tenth time that evening.

"It's fine," Ruby replied with the same amount of patience she had been mustering for the past hour. "Really, it is."

"No, it isn't. I should have asked f or help. I should have told you guys about what was going on."

"Yes," said Yang. "You should have. You could have gotten seriously hurt." Then she glanced at Blake's bandaged leg and added, "You still got seriously hurt."

Blake looked away. "It's just a fracture…"

The moment they had arrived at Beacon, they had rushed the girl to the medical bay to get her leg checked up. The medical personnel had told them that Blake had been lucky and that she had managed to avoid a fully broken leg. But Ruby didn't think that her friend had been lucky. On the contrary; it must have been something very unlucky that had pushed Blake to do this far. And she wanted to know why.

"Fracture or not, we had a deal!" Weiss angrily said, pointing at an unfortunate Blake with her index finger. A terrifying gesture. "If there is something wrong, you come to us. Your team."

"I couldn't burden you with this. I…something had to be done."

"What had to be done, Blake? What happened that you ended up chasing after the White Fang again?"

Blake seemed really uncomfortable. She refused to meet anyone's eyes and she kept looking down. "There's…remember, back in the North, when I told you about my friend, Tukson?"

Yang shrugged. "Yeah. Guy ran a bookstore, helped you get out of the White Fang and into Vale. Why?"

Blake had her left arm awkwardly around her chest, as if to comfort herself. "He's dead. White Fang killed him."

"Damn," Yang softly muttered.

Ruby felt something heavy drop down her stomach and she sighed. "Blake…I'm so sorry." So many things suddenly made sense to her; why Blake had asked Mantis to help, why she had left her team out of this and why she had been so reluctant to speak about it.

"Dead?" Weiss repeated with a shocked expression on her face. "How? What happened?"

Blake still didn't look at them. She was sitting on top of the bed, her leg stretched out in front of her. "His store was perforated with bullets. Windows blasted out, shelves burned. He was gone."

"That's why you asked Alice for help?" said Ruby.

"Yes. I figured that now, things would get bloody. I didn't want to get you involved in that."

Ruby nodded. "Do you still want that?"

"No," Blake firmly said. "After tonight, I'm not sure what I want anymore. I don't even know how many people died."

"Died?" said Weiss. "Did you and Mantis-?"

"We didn't. But there were humans after us as well. In vehicles. But they were all taken out."

"Onyx," said Ruby. "There were mercenaries in Vale, hired by Cassandra.

"Mercenaries?" Weiss gasped. "What?"

She shrugged. "I dunno. Granit said that he was hunting her down. I…guess that was Onyx killing their mercenaries off."

"And Torchwick?" Blake quietly said.

"He's still alive dummy, we saw him escape," said Yang. Her attempt at humor was a bit misguided.

The Faunus narrowed her eyes and frowned. "No. That big robot he had going on? He was throwing cars off the bridge with it. Cars that had people in them."

It seemed that realization was dawning on Yang. "Oh…"

"This is such a big mess…" Blake groaned and reached for her head. "Dozens of people are dead…the White Fang has military ordnance and it's all on me."

"I wouldn't say that," Ruby cautiously said. She just now understood that Torchwick was responsible for actual deaths now, but she had to focus on her team. "The Fang already had that ordnance and we managed to destroy one of those big things. The mercenaries would still have caused havoc even had you not been there. You can't blame yourself for that."

"But-"

Yang placed a hand on her shoulder. "But nothing. Look…do you trust us?"

"Y-yes!"

"Good. Because we trust you. If you think something is wrong, or something will happen-"

Ruby scraped her throat. "Or if you feel down."

"-or if you feel down…just come to us, alright? We took down Blackwood because we worked together. We survived the snowstorm and later, the Grimm and Romero, because we worked together."

"But what if I had wanted to kill the person responsible? What if I still do?"

"Then we will help you do the right thing," Ruby told her. "Killing won't solve a thing and it will stain your soul. When we find the one responsible, we'll turn him in. And then he can stay in jail for the rest of his life." It felt hollow to speak of justice, after all the injustice she had witnessed. But they had to start somewhere.

Before Blake could reply to that, the door to the medical hall opened, revealing a tall, slender person and a shorter, broader person.

"Ladies," said Professor Adamant, who was wearing a flashy suit, greener than his eyes. A large, red bowtie had been smashed onto his chest and his hair was a mess. Will was standing next to him, wearing half of his Beacon outfit over a skintight, black suit. Something rubbery was attached to his hip. "How are we?"

All four of them stared at the sudden Adamant with a mixture of wonder and horror.

Yang spotted Will as well and jumped up. "Where have you been this night?"

Ruby saw that the boy had a purple bruise on his cheek and that there was something wrong with his eyes, but that was all she could see before Yang grabbed a fistful of his suit and pulled him closer. "We could have used you, mister marksman! People got hurt tonight, including my partner!"

"Yang, it wouldn't have made a difference! It's not his fault!" Blake then loudly said, surprising Ruby by actually sticking up for Will.

Her sister grudgingly let go. "Sorry. Just on edge."

"Aren't we all," Will quietly replied. He turned to Matt and said, "I really need to meet her."

"I warned you. She doesn't like Onyx."

"I don't care. I just want to see her."

"Then go. We'll be fine."

The soldier glanced at Blake, eyeing her wounded leg without a hint of emotion. It looked like he wanted to say something, but in the end he chose to remain silent.

And then he was gone,

"So!" The Adamant said as team RWBY shared another concerned-team-glance. "What happened tonight? Well, White Fang, violence and mercenaries is what happened. Tell me ladies. Why is it that every time something interesting happens, I can bet my left hand that you four are involved?"

He made it sound like they were Onyx.

"We can explain Professor," Ruby hasted to say. "You see, we-"

"I was part of the trouble tonight, Professor Adamant." Blake was even quicker. "I…something happened that I couldn't ignore. The White Fang got themselves involved and so did the mercenaries."

The Adamant sat down on a nearby table and looked at Blake. "So what did you find out when attempted to infiltrate the White Fang again?"

Oh no.

Blake grew pale. "I…I don't know what you are talking about."

"What, do you think I'm stupid? Don't ever think that I don't know what's going on, RWBY. Better people than you have fallen for that. Now…I don't need to know why or how. I just need to know…what next. Did you get Torchwick?"

Yang and Weiss simply stared at the Adamant, their mouths half-open and their eyes incredulous. Again, it was up to Ruby to deliver the talking. "N-no, we didn't. Professor, I don't know what you mean by infiltrating, but-"

He looked at her with a piercing glare. "Careful, little Rose."

She swallowed. This was nerve-wrecking. "-but Blake is not with the White Fang." Technically not a lie. Very technically. Matt liked technically. It was how he had survived Goodwitch for so long. "And whatever happened tonight was for the sake of good people."

"Good people? I'll bet. So he got away? Did Onyx blow him up?"

What, he wasn't going to press it? The issue that he had just insinuated that Blake was ex-White Fang?

"No sir," said Yang, recovering from her Adamant-induced stupor. "They went after him, but they didn't even shoot him down. Morons."

"No," Blake sharply said. "That is what worries me. They specifically said they went after a "her". Not after Torchwick, but the girl he was with. "

Now they got him interested. He sat straighter, leant forwards and developed a sort of shimmer in his eyes. "He was with a girl? Who was she?"

"Pink hair, umbrella, smuggest smile I ever saw on the face of such a dwarf," Yang said with a venomous tone. "Did I mention that she was small?"

"Yes Yang, you did," said Weiss. "Professor Adamant, I don't know what you are thinking, but I can assure you that there is no need to worry."

"No?" he raised a skeptical eyebrow. "The worried faces of your teammates tell me otherwise. You aren't worrying about Onyx, the Fang, Torchwick, Cassandra or the fact that the military leader of Atlas is currently at Beacon?"

"You didn't list yourself as something to worry about," said Ruby.

The corners of Matt's mouth curled upwards somewhat, though the smile didn't quite meet his face. "No. Not yet, anyway. Now tell me, Blake, do I need to worry about you?"

Blake quickly shook her head, while Ruby imagined what kind of enemy Matt Adamant would make. Scarier than any Operative, that was for sure. "No Professor. Whatever happened is in the past now."

"Good. Now let me get this straight. Big Atlesian Paladin on the streets, mercenaries getting bombed to smithereens by Onyx and Beacon students right in the middle. Again, I should add."

Ruby glanced at Yang, who shrugged. "Seems pretty accurate to me," she said, hoping that her luck would keep up. Matt was the hardest professor to read, ever. "Did you record the part where we almost died, twice?"

"I did. And I recorded two young men called Sun and Neptune, both of whom were eating noodles when the violence had died down. Both insisted that team RWBY had everything under control. Funny how those things go, right?"

Ruby bent over to Weiss. "We should have taught them to say "classified"," she whispered.

"Oh hush. We don't want more Onyx soldiers, do we now?" said the Heiress.

"But! I guess you four have been through some pretty tiring events tonight. Did you know that the CCT was occupied by Onyx soldiers? Well I didn't and it ruined my day, I can tell you that." He paused. "Did any of you meet any new people?"

What an odd question to ask. Of course, both Weiss as Ruby answered at the same time, both in a wildly different intonation. "Yes, I did." Then they looked at each other, bemused. Ruby wondered when they were going to be alone again. Her moments with Weiss seemed like an eternity away.

"I met a cudgel, calling himself "Frost" in a sickening attempt at humor."

Ruby wanted to tell about the awesomeness that was Granit, but Weiss sounded way more serious. "What do you mean?"

Weiss crossed her arms and looked away, like she always did when insulted, or angry, or fed up, or….well, she did it a lot. "He was spewing all sorts of nonsense about my family. Insinuated corruption and slavery. And the worst thing…" she suddenly stopped, as if she were doubting whether it was smart to continue talking or not. "I once had a nephew named Frost. My age. He…died…eleven years ago. The White Fang got to him. And Onyx used his name for their…their pet! It is insulting and I will not stand for it!"

"You never told me about your nephew," Ruby whispered. She didn't want to know what Blake was thinking right now. This was one of the justified examples of why Weiss hated the Fang. Just one more crime to add to their list, she supposed. "But it is a common name. Don't you think they just…picked a random name for their guy?"

Weiss looked at her. "I suppose so…but he still has no right to talk about my family like that!"

"I know. We should talk to someone about that, but for now-"

"Professor Adamant," Blake suddenly asked, "can a person have two Semblances?"

"No," Matt immediately answered with a hint of amusement. "That's impossible."

As unexpected as that question was, it did raise a few questions. Barring the need for Blake to ask something like that, it meant that the person Ruby thought they were talking about was somehow defying known rules.

"Where did that come from?" Yang asked with a hint of confusion.

"Just…just an idea. Is it possible for a person to have rapid-healing as a Semblance?"

The Adamant looked at Blake with an expression that clearly said he didn't understand. "What, regeneration? As a Semblance?"

Yang wanted to say something, but Ruby bashed her in her side with her elbow. To someone like Yang, it would be the equivalent of a poke. Yes, she knew that it was Will's Semblance they were talking about. And yes, it wouldn't make sense to the ordinary observer, but that was not the problem now.

"No, don't be silly," the Professor then said. "Can you imagine a broken leg healing with an accelerated pace, faster than normal Aura can grant? Every single time the Semblance would kick in, there would be a fifty-fifty chance at bad healing."

"Bad healing?" asked Weiss. "What, like a bone that doesn't quite heal?"

"That, or a bone that heals through the skin, or without muscles attached, or in such a way that it needs to be broken again-"

"Yeah, we're getting the picture," Yang said and held up her hand as if to ward herself.

Ruby felt nauseous. Nobody had ever told her such things! That was terrible!

"And it would kick in every single time, because it takes a lot to concentrate the healing. Yang, can you control how much damage you absorb or store?"

"I…I guess so. I never really thought about it like that."

"Why not? "

Yang suddenly grinned. "Honestly? Because I get a headache every time I do. I can't imagine doing that in combat."

"Exactly. To regulate healing in normal life would require all of your concentration. To do it in combat…you might as well sit down, close your eyes and meditate, because that is what it's going to take."

"And this occurs every two times?" asked Blake.

"Roughly. And this isn't even considering the possibility of infections and obstructions. Fighting is more often than not dirty, sweaty and bad on hygiene. Imagine getting shot in the stomach and then having your skin heal over it, with the bullet and stuff still inside? Our Aura has evolved to prevent most of those problems, which is why Ruby doesn't tear her tendons or organs when in super-speed, but some things just can't be taken care of by evolution."

"That Grimm regenerated," said Weiss. "And so did-"

"But the Grimm aren't really human, are they?" Ruby interrupted her partner, giving her a meaningful stare to shut her up. What Professor Adamant just told her made perfect sense and that was precisely why it didn't make any sense. But she wasn't going to run her mouth about such things when it wasn't necessary.

"Yes, well, we're still on top of that."

Ruby risked glancing at Blake again, who didn't look very amused.

"Why the interest in Semblances?" asked Matt.

Blake gave him a sly glance, before saying, "Onyx was not after Torchwick, or even Alice. What does it mean that they have someone more important than an Operative to go after?"

Weiss looked back and forth between Blake and "They did?"

Ruby sighed again. Not quite no worries; it seemed like Blake was still not sure whether the real bogeymen were Onyx or the White Fang. And she couldn't disagree with that; every time something happened that made the paramilitary organization seem less shadowy, they did something terrible to cement their reputation back to zero again.

"Yes. They ran right past Alice, shouted about capturing a 'her' alive and didn't even shoot Torchwick. What does it say that Onyx is not willing to risk shooting someone?"

"Blake," Ruby gently said, "easy. You're wounded, you're tired and probably confused."

"I'm not," Blake loudly replied. She got upright and shouted, "Something is happening out there, and it's big. Why did Cassandra get involved, why didn't Onyx stop all of this and why is the White Fang still working with a human!"

In her desperation, it seemed that the girl had forgotten that there was still a teacher sitting right next to them.

"Cassandra?" said Matt. "I heard about her. History of abuse, flagged for possible…" he coughed and muttered something that ended in 'ism' and continued, "…either way, I agree with Blake. It's a tad odd that someone can bring in an entire militia underneath Onyx's nose. Underneath Ironwood's nose. I should rub it in someday…but right now, you should probably stay out of this. All of you. I heard the General is royally pissed and Yale isn't much happier."

"Professor-" Yang protested, but Matt didn't let her finish.

"I don't need to hear about it. I don't need to hear about Field Agents being mean, or wanting to talk, or White Fang being mysterious. Fact is, people got hurt tonight. Some probably died. I think it is high time for all of you to start thinking the people beside you and understand that getting hurt is not the solution. Am I understood?"

This was the one of the rare times that Professor Adamant raised his voice like that and it frightened Ruby. The last time had been when he had found out that she knew the name 'onyx' and that hadn't worked out so well.

They didn't reply to that. How could they, when the threat was so obvious? Keep your head down, or else. Ruby wasn't sure she could do that, but she didn't want to risk the dance being called off because off because of them. Personally, she had seen enough anyway. It was time to simply relax stop worrying for a while. Any and all sneaky things would have to be done in secret.

Was this another one of Matt's hidden tests? Pretend to be angry while giving lessons? That was his kind of thing, but she wasn't going to risk it. "Yes Professor."

"I said, am I –wait, what? Just like that?"

"After tonight Professor, all I want to do is get in my bed and go to sleep," said Yang.

"I second that," added Weiss.

Matt Adamant's face was a mask of suspicion. It was as if he had changed his name to Matt Suspicion Adamant. Of course, there was nothing to be suspicious about. If only Blake could stop glaring like that.

"Well then," he sheepishly said, "I'm off. Get some sleep, don't go after anything that isn't a pretty dress or a bowtie and all will be fine."

With that, the Adamant left, leaving a very confused Weiss and a bristling Blake.

"He knows," she said with a frustrated expression. "He knows about the White Fang and I."

"I don't think he really cares," Yang tried to reassure her partner. "Remember Jaune and Cardin? That went over really well. He won't tell anyone.

Ruby didn't think the Professor would tell anyone either, but it never hurt to be careful. "I'll ask him what he knows. Don't worry; I'll be really subtle."

"I'll come with you," said Yang. "I'm sure he won't be able to resist the both of us."

Blake looked really uncomfortable there. "You'll still do that for me? After I held out on you?"

"Hey, I for one am getting pretty used to friends keeping secrets," laughed Yang. "Besides; it's not like we don't understand it. You had a good reason."

"And," added Weiss, "you are still in one piece. I don't know about you, but that's all I really care about now. I'll wait here until the two oh-so charming sisters return from their…voyage."

"Love you too, Weiss," Ruby laughed and then gestured at the door. "See you soon."

"Real soon."

As she pulled the door close behind her, she heard Yang sigh explosively. "Why can't anything ever be simple?"

Yeah. There was probably a general rule by now; Onyx involved equals unhappiness. "The dance is in two days. We should probably ease up. Did you invite Cal, Lily and Ash yet?"

"Lisa said she would do that. I did ask Braunschweiger if he wanted to come though."

Ruby smirked. "And? Is he coming?"

"Of course he is. Johnson as well. Don't know about the others though."

Now it was Ruby's turn to sigh. "I don't think Blake will want to come like this. What should we do?"

Yang walked down the hallway with a pace that was difficult for Ruby to keep up with. It was times like these that she cursed her shorter legs. "Don't worry about that. I'll be getting everyone to the dance."

The two of them rounded the corner and Ruby could swear that she was starting to hear voices in the distance.

But that didn't matter now. "Right. But even if we can ignore the White Fang, them working with Torchwick and even Onyx, I still don't know about Miss Fetish and why she smuggled those mercenaries over the borders. Do you think Blake will ignore that just for the dance?"

Yang smiled. "We'll just have to improvise, right? We are still with twelve students, three soldiers and one Operative. Two, if you count Alice. We're an army on our own, Ruby. And we're damn more effective that the Fang or even Fetish."

The voices were becoming clearer now. Ruby could hear the rough, manly voice of the Sergeant-Professor as well as the feminine voice of someone she didn't recognize right away.

"Sounds like we're now the only ones out for a walk," Yang said as she crossed her arms.

As it turned out, it really was Johnson who was talking. Roughly a dozen meters ahead, he was engrossed in a deep conversation with one of their new teachers, Professor Seraphim. She was a Faunus who closely resembled Cal; puffy, light ears and spiky hair. Only her hair was dark blonde and even shorter. Military.

Ruby had heard that the Professor was in fact a Commando, a specialized soldier that worked alone. Just like an Operative, actually.

Said Operative was also present, completing the military picture. He was sitting in an open window in-between Ruby and the Professors, roughly one meter above the ground, watching the two converse. He was oddly swinging with his legs, like a child on a swing. The Faunus-woman was standing with her back to him and, by extension, Ruby and Yang.

And Braunscheiger.

…wait, what?

"Yang?" muttered Ruby. "Is that what I think it is?"

The Braunschweiger was suspended between two ropes, upside-down and holding a bucket of water with his left foot. He held a wiper in his left hand and a hanky in his right, both of which he was currently mashing against the window with jerky movements.

"That's the new cleaning-lady doing the windows," her sister replied without as much as batting an eye. "Why is Will spying the professors like that?"

She shrugged. "No idea. Ask him?"

"I guess-"

The Professors must have heard them talking, as they both turned to face them. When Johnson stared greeting them, something odd happened. Miss Seraphim glanced at Will, frowned, and then reached for her hip.

Gun! Ruby realized. It was too sudden; she never expected a Professor of all people to pull a gun at Will. The weapon was aimed and primed by the time she even realized what was happening and by then, there was nothing left she could have done.

Will was looking at her. Facing her. He had his own weapon at his side. He hadn't drawn it. Didn't make a move either. Why? Why was he presenting himself as a target?

"Wait-" Yang cried, but she was too late. Ruby could almost imagine the woman pulling the trigger and shooting the defenseless Operative in the face, without any Aura to assist him. No regeneration from that-

Braunschweiger appeared in-between the two of them, blocking the teacher's line of fire. He placed one large hand on top of her hand and said, "Allow me to clean that, Miss Seraphim. You don't want to shoot with dirty gun. That once nearly cost my toe. Also, no shooting students. That is bad."

The Faunus cursed. "Go back to cleaning, Arnold." To Will, she said, "What are you doing here?"

Ruby had to stop herself from whistling. If ever a person had sounded hateful and murderous, it would be Miss Seraphim. Blake didn't hold a candle next to that.

Will didn't reply. He just stood there, with sagged shoulders, unmoving.

Johnson frowned. "What, you two know each other?"

That was as far as he got before the Operative turned around and ran away, passing by Ruby and Yang so narrowly that he nearly that he nearly bumped into them.

"Will, wait!" Ruby cried, swinging the idea of Matt Adamant out of her mind as easily as she swung Crescent Rose.

Yang didn't hesitate a moment and ran after him, grumbling under her breath.

"Damnit! Why does everything have to go wrong tonight!"

Ruby had to agree. It seemed that everything that could go wrong was going wrong today. Why? Why did this Professor hate Will so much and why hadn't the idiot moved when he had seen the gun being pulled on him! It couldn't have been the first time someone had tried to shoot him, so what was wrong with him!

"Where did he go? Do you see him?"

"No!"

If he didn't want to be found, would they even find him? Wouldn't he just jump out the nearest window and hide, until everything and everyone had gone away? Could she even pretend to be capable of thinking like him, when he was clearly acting unlike he had ever done before? What was with tonight being so terrible?

They reached the stairs, where they could go up or down. Ruby had no idea what to do; she had her mind set on too many things, too many variables. Where would she go if she were running away from a Faunus Commando that clearly knew her, who had attempted to murder her in full view of witnesses?

…Of course she had no idea what to do!

"Up," Yang said with more confidence than Ruby could muster at the moment.

"Excuse me?"

"I said up! Let's go!"

"Wait, why up? The dorms are there!"

"Exactly." Yang didn't wait for Ruby to respond and ran up the stairs. Outside, droplets of rain splashed against the windows. "He'd expect us to find him in the hangar. So he flees somewhere we can't find him."

"The dorms," muttered Ruby, more to herself than to anyone else. Now that she could think about it, it made perfect sense. He most likely wanted to hide from them, so where would he go? The place they were least likely to find him. But she knew that right now, they were closer to something than ever before. At least since his fit in the North.

The rain was getting worse. By the time they reached the end of the hallway, it was pouring out of the sky. Of course they found the troubled soldier in the least healthy spot he could have chosen for himself. He was standing at the edge of the roof, mere inches away from a multi-story fall. He had his back turned to them and though his posture was relaxed, Ruby just knew that something was very wrong inside of his head. The topic of their conversation in the North echoed through her head; how the PTSD stricken soldier in the book had committed what was basically suicide. It had haunted her for days. This couldn't happen. This wasn't happening.

"Will, get away from that edge," Yang told him sharply. Though her tone was sharp and to the point, she did not get closer. Yang too had to be fearing what would happen if any of them interfered.

Ruby couldn't move. Couldn't say a thing. The worst thing that could have possibly befallen the young soldier was now happening. She didn't know that it was this bad. Why hadn't he ever talked to them? Why hadn't she ever asked him?

"I told you to get back here, now! Don't be stupid!"

The rain was making this more terrible than it already was. It was like a cover of smothering depression, choking them all. This couldn't be real; something had to be wrong. Amiss. Could she risk activating her Semblance? Pluck him away from the roof before he did anything to hurt himself?

"Someone very wise once told me to listen to my heart." Will chuckled quietly, still not turning around to face them. He was giving off some creepy vibes there, even though his voice was totally calm. "But my heart told me to stop fighting a year back. And I ignored it."

"Come back inside," Yang urged him, though she kept her voice soft and gentle this time. "It's raining. You'll catch a cold."

Ruby could feel her heart pounding. There was no way Will would just jump…he was too tough for that. He had weathered wars and death and torture…but if he did…if he did…they were high up, really high. Would he survive?

The words of Matt echoed through her head. About healing and how impossible it was. Would Will heal if he tried to jump?

The Operative was fingering a small, shimmery object. It didn't look like a weapon. Why? What had pushed him this far so suddenly? "You know, we weren't allowed dog-tags or personal items. I wanted a dog-tag. Feel like the killing was worth something. Feel like I was a soldier. She told me to make one. So I did."

A dog-tag? The identification-chains that soldiers used? Why was he holding that? And was the 'she' he was talking about the same one he had talked about in the North? His partner?

"Don't know what I'm fighting for anymore. I've got nothing left. Ever since she died, my life's been one bloody hopeless war." His bare fist tightened around the object and he looked over his shoulder, looking at Ruby and Yang with an abnormally calm face. Pale, wet, but utterly, utterly calm. "I'm done. I'm can't do this anymore."

No. He couldn't do this. Not now, not ever. Not now they were getting so close to understanding each other. Yang, do something!

Her sister took a few steps towards him and extended her hand. "You don't want this. I don't want this. Just…just take my hand, alright? We'll get you warm again."

But Will didn't take her hand. His body was quivering, shaking, but as usual, it didn't reach his face. Nothing ever did. "I…" It looked like he was going to say something ,but he fell quiet and turned back to the edge of the roof again. "Never thought it would go like this…"

"No!" Ruby screamed.

Yang leapt forwards and Will… he didn't jump. Instead, he threw the self-made dog-tags in the air and watched them disappear in the rain without moving an inch.

The next second, Yang grabbed him by his shoulders and pulled him away from the edge. The two of them fell into a pool of water and Yang yelled, "What is wrong with you! Why did you do that? Why scare me like that!"

The soldier didn't reply. He just started chuckling again while the rain kept pouring on. He smiled oddly as Yang held him closely, his laughing bitter and mirthless. His body was still quivering and his fingers were clawing at things that weren't there. Ruby didn't know what to do; she had never, ever even thought that Will could act like this, let alone prepare for it.

Had he not realized how dangerous it was? Had he just came up here to throw his tags away? Not…not to jump? It made sense, as it wasn't like him, but…there was something off.

Then the chuckling slowly changed. And Ruby could only watch as the Operative progressively broke down in soft, heart-wrenching sobbing, caused by some hidden trauma. But she couldn't see if it was tears falling to the floor, or just rain. It was so strange to see someone crying without anything that indicated sorrow.

It was often said that laughing and crying were very close to each other. That they were as closely related as good as evil, separated only by a thin line. Ruby had never understood how two such distantly actions could be related together. It was as if his body was crying, but his real tears had long since dried out. There was trembling and shaking, but no sounds, no tears. Just a confused face and a crying body.

"She doesn't know me," he muttered as he tried to get free from Yang's embrace. "She tried to kill me…and she doesn't know."

"Who is she, Will?" Ruby asked, kneeling down next to the boy as he tried to recollect himself. Tonight seemed to be a special night. "Who was she to you?"

Yang calmly let him go and he fell backwards into the pool of water. He reached for his head with both of his hands and took a deep, shuddering breath. When he spoke again, his voice was steady. Strong. Familiar again. Why was he so scared of showing his emotions for more than a few seconds? He always defaulted to his unfettered appearance. "My sister. Jasmine Seraphim. I grew up with her. I loved her like a sister. Back then, she loved me back. God...I've been so long…"

"She is your sister?" Yang said. "The Faunus?"

Ruby couldn't respond. She knew she would tear up if she did. She couldn't have that. She needed to appear strong. Confident. Knowing.

Will assumed a sitting position, dragging a wet leg through the water. His greyish hair was drenched in water and stuck to his face like seaweed. Pieces of the puzzle fell together. She, the teacher, his sister. The scars. The Commando. It was all related. All the same woman.

"What happened?" Ruby asked, trying to keep her own emotions out of this. It made her feel infinitely more thankful with Yang as her sister.

"After I was born, we lived together for five years in the same village." He paused. "When they last met …I was so happy…I lowered my guard. My partner felt happy. It cost us. Me. Her."

What was he talking about?

"Wait," said Yang. "She is the one who scarred you? The Commando?"

"She promised," he whispered, holding his head as if he was being tormented by migraines. "She promised she would keep me warm…keep me safe. She always was the motherly type… she thinks I'm dead. That she failed."

"Why? Why does she think you're dead? Why don't you simply tell her-?"

But Will shook his head and turned away. "Don't ask that. Please. If you care even a bit about me…don't ever ask that."

Ruby glanced at Yang, who blinked a few times and glanced back. What could possibly be bad enough to warrant a continuing-hatred between two people who could easily be brought back together? It wasn't right! If Professor Seraphim simply found out that her "brother" was still alive, everything would be fine. She didn't need to keep hating him, it wasn't necessary!

The Operative slowly got back to his feet, shaking the water from his face. The three of them didn't seem to be bothered by the cold in any meaningful way; Yang had her internal heat holding her warm, Will didn't feel it and Ruby had no problems with the cold. But the rain wasn't very healthy and Ruby had had enough experience with the young soldier to know that he had some nasty self-destructive tendencies. Even if he hadn't been aiming to jump at all, there was still a certain mindset that went alongside it.

So she grabbed his hand –cold, wet and larger than hers- and said, "At least talk to her. You wanted to see her, right?" She couldn't have all of this tonight. She didn't want her friends to go through all of their ghosts all on their own. Blake had gotten hurt for it and she was pretty sure that Will would soon follow.

He didn't pull away from her grip, but neither did he meet her eyes. "I can't. After me, it took her years to get close to another human again. The one she cared for the most. One she wanted to marry. And he died."

Yang groaned and shook her head. "Please…don't tell me you are responsible-"

"No," Will sharply said and pulled his wrist free. "Never. But she thinks it was me and that is all what counts. An Onyx soldier, responsible for the death of her loved one." His tone grew bitter and aggressive and Ruby couldn't help but feel like he was pushing them away again. After they had gotten so close to finding out what lied underneath, he still felt like he needed to be tough. "It doesn't matter." And with that, he started walking away.

"What do you mean, it doesn't matter?" Yang shouted, clenching her fists. "You were there, right on the edge! You ditched your tags, we saw what it did to you!"

Will clutched his head again, slowly shaking it. "A moment of weakness, nothing more. And you! You shouldn't have followed me! Both of you!"

"We were worried!"

He whirled around, scowling. Glaring. "Don't! Just don't! Let me sort my things out on my own!"

Yang growled. "You can't sort it out on your own! You don't know how to!"

Ruby softly touched her sister's shoulder. There was something going on and she was aware of it. After months, she was finally starting to understand how these people thought.

"Just…just let me find out, alright?"

The mood whiplashes, the sudden change of subjects, the explosive emotional outburst…all were signs of repression and bottled-up feelings. Professor Adamant –who also seemed to be suffering from that- had told that rapid changes of emotional responses were signs of mental instability. And Will running up all the way to the roof just to dump his tags was pretty much an assurance of that. But it was also a sign of something else; whatever this thing with his sister meant for him, it was enough to push him over an edge long since coming. And it had to do with this mysterious partner of his, whom he had not once mentioned before when he talked about his past.

Ruby pulled at Yang's shoulder and muttered, "Let it go."

"What-?"

"Not now. Sleep over it." To Will, she said, "You should sleep as well. There's no war in Vale; no need to go three days on nothing but rainwater."

He halted, hesitated for a few seconds and replied, "Noted." Then he walked away. Just like that.

"What the hell!" Yang shouted, joining Ruby and escaping from the rain as well. "What was that about! Why did you just let him go away like that! He was going to jump, Ruby!"

"He wasn't," she replied. Of course there was no sign of the soldier anywhere; he was as gifted as Blake in the arts of sneaking away unnoticed. "On some level perhaps, but this was symbolic."

Yang was still bristling. She was very close to Will and she had been on the verge of being able to help him with some of his issues. And then he had turned around and rejected them again. She could basically feel her sister's frustration at this point. "Symbolic how? To mess with us? He was crying, Ruby. Or nearly there. What is wrong with tonight for everyone to snap like that!"

"In case you missed it, he just quit Onyx."

Yang stopped and spun around so fast that that Ruby could have sworn it would cause neck-complaints the following morning. "He what? How –what- explain!"

"The dog-tags," she said. "His partner told him to make them. Why would else would he ditch them?"

"But…that still doesn't make sense. Ruby, he has gunned down hundreds of people for Onyx. For the greater good and all that stuff. He even fought LACG and CRDL and us just for a mission. He told you that it is literally all he lives for. What could possibly be important enough for him to quit that?"

"Not a question of what, but of who…"

"I can hardly believe it, but the Themeluesi was right all along. The readings we received during the tests are…absolute. A full Bond, permanent, more intense than anything we have seen with other subjects. The optimality-curve lies in female civilians, age category fourteen to sixteen, with the added traits of being untrained in body and untainted of mind. Filtering the population of Remnant with those readings, including rare Aura mutations or manifestations, still puts us at roughly one-hundred potential candidates. With even a dozen Operatives with Catalysts, mankind need never fear anything ever again. Unfortunately, survival-rate is not that high.

On a lighter note, Subject Alpha-II's Catalyst has still not stopped screaming, which seemed to have overridden all of his control as well. I suspect that she will move on from the feral part of the mind to the human one in about two weeks, with an additional three weeks for her to regain her sanity. Alpha-II just needs to be monitored closely for those collective five weeks, as he might find himself unable to properly control his own body. It's not that strange, seeing as he now has to share it…"

-FIELD RECORDING 13A, Professor K. Greene, Chief Scientist of Onyx's neuro-science division.

Next time: The girls are really eager to get the dance party going on, and it will be an event filled with emotions, flirting, sexual tensions and Ash sneaking around like a matchmaker. He makes a good shipper...or so he believes.