A/N: What is up everyone! I am here with the fourth chapter of OOO! Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc., but no Birth [Maybe]). Anyways enough talk, let us begin the chapter now shall we?

Henshin!

Third Person View

'Thought'

Greeed/Yummies

REWRITTEN 10/1/15, 2:57pm

You know, when I first came here to Beacon and realized that this was actually a combat school, I never really had any illusions that the training was ever going to be easy. I was painfully reminded of that reality as I found myself being pushed back by the drone I was sparring with, my Medajalibur skidding to the side as I fell flat on my back.

"You got your ass handed to you by a machine for the tenth time already, pathetic." Ankh said, rolling his eyes.

"I can try again…" I groaned out, until I was floored for the second time. "Damn it…"

Ankh scoffed as he lifted me up before jabbing a finger on my chest. "Don't try to wear yourself out," he said, "just remember you'll be fighting more battles in the future. If things escalate into an all-out war – and if I know my old cohorts, it will – then Vale is gonna be in the center of it all.

I held my tongue as Ankh continued to sneer at me and my atrocious skills, somewhat sceptical that the conflict with the Greeed would even go that far.

Suddenly, Ankh blinked and pivoted his head to the window. "What's wrong, Ankh?" I asked.

"Nothing." He muttered as he walked on ahead.

"Uh…okay." Seeing that there was nothing else to do (and that my back was still sore) I sheathed my weapon and followed my de facto bodyguard

Little did we know at that moment that there was someone observing us from afar and was lounging languidly on a tree branch. The figure sighed as he stretched his arms up. "Okay, let's get this party started."

Remnants of Desires

Chapter 4: Saving a Friend from a Cat Yummy

The cafeteria today wasn't as packed as I had expected it to be, with the present students eating and going about their time through conversation. As me and my irritable companion walked through the tables lining the hall, we were able to attract some eyes and whispers.

I caught a faint clicking sound not unlike that of a camera going off; probably a scroll. I was curious as to why some of the students would take pictures of me and Ankh together; maybe they have something like Facebook here? If so, why would they…?

Wait…oh hell no!

"They're already gossiping. Never really understood why humans can be so fickle with small talk." Ankh muttered again. I patted him on the shoulder to help brighten his mood, before quickly drawing my hand back; the glare he shot at my direction sending chills down my spine.

When I finally came across the table that Team RWBY was occupying along with Team JNPR, the very first thing that caught my eye was a large stack of pancakes being heartily devoured by a girl that couldn't have been older than me. She had short orange hair, youthful freckles adorning her cheeks, and emerald green eyes. Her name escaped me since I barely interacted with the students; mostly thanks to Ankh, but I was sure that she belonged to JNPR as she was seated amongst them.

I leaned in closer to ask Ruby a question. "Hey uh, who's the girl with the pancakes? Can she…can she even eat that many? She might get sick."

"Who, Nora? Nah, you'd be surprised how much she can actually eat in one sitting. She can even slurp a whole plate up if she wanted." She answered with a smile. "I highly advise to not get in the way of her eating binge mind you. The last guy that did that got himself pummelled all the way to the infirmary."

Nora…oh that's right, Nora Valkyrie. Also, note to self: Do NOT grab the last pancake whenever she's around if still wanted to maintain feeling from the waist down. I shuddered as that thought came to mind.

After the two of us took a seat from across the four girls, I plucked a small loaf of bread to munch on it. I shifted my gaze slowly across both groups. It was obvious that the eight of them were close; it almost made me want to be in my own Team. I brought my attention back to Nora as she was chatting away while her mouth was full of her breakfast; the listener was a boy with pale skin, magenta eyes and long black hair that was done in a ponytail.

I suddenly remembered that the guy's name was Lie Ren. "Hey uh…Ren right? You and Nora seem awfully close." I inwardly cringed at how I stuttered.

He turned towards my direction to meet my gaze, staring at me blankly before shifting into a friendlier expression. "Yeah, we've known each other since we were kids. You helped during the initiation right? Thanks."

I scratched the back of my head, flustered by the compliment. "Nah, I was just doing what I could. You guys did most of the work. I'm Enrique by the way." I held my hand out for a handshake.

Ren's smile widened as he accepted it.

As I took another bite of my bread, I turned to Ankh and cocked a brow. He was twitchily whirling his head around for some reason, I had a feeling that the guy could be paranoid but this was just pushing it.

Suddenly, I felt a firm hand grab my shoulder. I looked back to see who it was and found a young man looking down at me with a glazed look. He had neck-length blonde hair, tanned skin and sported on a toothy grin; his coal black eyes scanned me briefly before he spoke up. "Mind if I sit with ya?"

I swallowed my chewed food to answer. "Uh, yeah sure." I inched to the side a bit to make room as the guy sat down between me and Ankh, whose eyes had widened to that of saucers as he noticed the newcomer. He quickly reverted back to his calm mask as the blonde regarded him in turn; the latter's grin widening at him.

It was only after he was settled that I noted that the kid wasn't wearing an Academy uniform. He had on a black jacket over a yellow flannel shirt, black denims and a baseball cap. He had a few accessories on him; a silver necklace and a few rings on his fingers. Either he wasn't a student, or he simply decided to forego the dress code for today.

Ankh managed to regain his voice after a few minutes. "I never thought I'd have to see that ugly mug of yours so soon…Kazari." Ankh whispered, but I was still near enough to hear the name, causing me to cough out another bite of the bread that I was eating. The girls quickly snapped to look at me as I held my chest to settle my breathing. Ruby was the first to stand up and walk up to me to pat my back.

Kazari twirled a lock of his hair with a finger as he leaned on the table, still grinning as he looked over the rest of the hall. "These kids are supposed to be Remnant's future defenders? How droll can these humans be?"

Ruby blinked as she heard the blonde say this, her hand still clutching my back. "Excuse me, but what do you mean?" The rest of RWBY leaned in closer as they too had just come to see Kazari, studying him. Blake's bow twitched as her brows became knit into a small scowl; she didn't like this boy's presence.

After a few pants, I turned to Kazari. "Please, don't cause any trouble. This doesn't have to go out of control."

Now, Team JNPR (save for Nora) began to take notice of the growing tension. Ankh looked away from our direction as I continued to reason with the Greeed, probably having a very good idea of what was about to happen. "What are you doing here?" I asked.

Kazari seemed to hesitate as he licked his lips. He rolled his eyes in thought before answering. "I'm just here to grab a snack that's all."

I let out a relieved sigh at this; he was just trying to get something to eat. So, what better place to grab a snack than the cafeteria?

…

Wait.

Never in my entire life have I ever felt the need to smack my head against the table; there's a first time for everything I guess. "You wouldn't?"

Kazari slowly put the hand that was playing with his hair out forward into a fist, before drawing out a shiny silver coin; a Cell Medal. He twirled the trinket between his fingers before looking towards Ankh. I pressed my lips in apprehension; this was going to end out badly if I didn't do anything soon.

The blonde Greeed chuckled as he amused himself with the medal. "So Ankh, lovin' the new look by the way. Not as grand as what you used to walk around in, but I guess beggars can't be choosers, am I right?" Ankh scoffed irritably as he got up and spared Kazari a piercing glare, the coldness in his eyes evident for me to see.

"Tch, so I take it you've found a host to feed off of?" Ankh haughtily looked down at his old acquaintance, who continued to play with the medal.

I quickly glanced around and noticed that both Teams were already close to drawing out their weapons, seemingly getting the hint that this guy was more than what he seemed. Only Nora was still munching away at her food, blissfully ignorant.

"This school is filled to the brim with so much desire that I had trouble picking just one to make a host out of for today. But after relegating my options, I've decided to go with…her. " he lazily pointed to Nora with the Cell Medal in hand, causing Ren to react as he got in front of his dear friend.

"Whoever you are, you're not going anywhere near her." He stated coldly, I felt another chill as I caught his glare, even though it wasn't directed at me.

By now, Nora shot to attention and drew Magnhild out as she caught sight of everyone with their weapons drawn out. "Hey guys, are we gonna start breaking legs already? I thought we still had class."

I quickly stood up from my seat and held my hands up to reassure them. "Everybody just calm down, I think I can reason with him."

Weiss seemed to ignore me as she faced Kazari. "Are you a student here? Because you're not exactly dressed like one, well, there is him." She tilted her head towards Ankh, who didn't seem to care at all that the heiress had even mentioned him, his full attention being directed at the rogue feline.

"If you're not, then you're obviously trespassing. Get out before we call the authorities." I looked down at her hand and saw that she was gripping her sword tightly. I darted my eyes around the hall and back to find that a crowd was already forming around us. Great, this just keeps getting better and better.

I crept hastily to Ankh to whisper frantically, "Give me the Driver, hurry!"

"What did I say about giving me orders?" he admonished with a scowl, which I ignored. "We have to get Kazari out of here; this place is too crowded and I don't want there to be anyone getting hurt because of us. "

"And that is my problem, how?" he hissed. I was cut off from what I was about to say in reply as I heard a loud yawn escape from the other Greeed. After what felt like forever, Kazari slowly rose up from his seat before cracking his neck, an audible snap made Ruby and me wince. Realizing that diplomacy was now pointless, I unsheathed Medajalibur and drew it in front of me, ready to fight.

Kazari gave the growing crowd a once over before speaking again. "My, my, how cute. So this is what the humans have been up to for the past 800 years. Training children to fight the Grimm and prolong their boring, meaningless lives? Why, I'm actually kind of insulted that our old job has been taken over by such young kittens. Eh, Ankh?

The bird Greeed didn't give out any reaction as far as I could tell, but there was a spark of bitterness behind his eyes; however brief it may have been.

Everyone close enough to hear simply gaped at what had just been said. Even I was a bit taken aback by this revelation. The Greeed used to battle the Grimm? Guess that means I have to pry more answers from my avian friend.

As soon as Kazari finished speaking, his body became enveloped in a bright yellow light. The clinking of medals could be heard as they danced around him. Everyone backed away a fair distance as the light started to burn away at the table. There weren't any flames, but the edge was instantly seared off as the intensity could be felt throughout the hall.

After the light died down, we were all treated to a creature unlike anything that we had seen before (well, except me of course). Kazari's true form was menacing to say the least, his "hair" were nothing more than black tentacles sleeked back down to his shoulders. His head was feline in shape, with the ears to match (around the corner of my eye, Blake's bow twitched again) where several small holes ran down his forehead before stopping by the bridge of his nose. His mouth was open as he sighed, revealing his sharp canines. Heavy black armor adorned his torso up to his shoulders, with small sharp spikes jutting out and lining every inch. Larger spikes protruded out of the top of his arms, with his "hands" now transformed into paw-like knuckles, his razor sharp claws gleaming from what little light entered the hall. A simple belt with a hole in the buckle hugged his waist snugly, while his legs…

"So I guess that's what happens when you don't have all of your Cores, huh Kazari?" I asked, hoping that my voice didn't come out as shaken as it did. Indeed, Kazari's body from the waist down was quite repulsive to look at. Brown, tattered bandages were wrapped tightly around his legs and feet like a mummy, indicating his incomplete nature.

Kazari snorted in amusement as he looked at me; I mean really looked at me, his crimson eyes glowing menacingly as they tried to bear down deeply. Ruby quickly shuffled in front of me with Crescent Rose locked and loaded. She nodded to me as she glanced over her shoulder, with me nodding in kind.

"So I guess you're the new OOO huh? I never would have expected Ankh would associate himself with a human again, not after what happened last time. I take it you remember that experience quite well. Don't you Ankh?"

Ankh's frown deepened as he tried to penetrate through Kazari's smug, indifferent face, wanting nothing more than to drive his fist down the bastard's throat. Every student that had not vacated the hall to inform the staff or save their own skin was now armed to the teeth and ready to bring the Greeed down, even Nora was swinging Magnhild around excitedly. Probably half the student body of Beacon was now surrounding the lone Greeed.

With such odds against him, we might just get out of this unscathed.

The sound of several bodies falling to the ground simultaneously shattered me out of whatever spell I was in, as Kazari had instantly vanished from his spot. It probably took us about a second before everyone who was still conscious looked around in bewilderment. Several of their classmates were now lying stationary on the ground, their uniforms ripped and torn to show a multitude of cuts and gashes. They didn't even have time to consciously tap into their aura to defend from the attacks as the Greeed mercilessly clawed away at them before they fell.

"Wh-What the dust!?" Jaune cried out, his reaction being shared by everyone else inwardly.

I quickly darted my head around to see where Kazari went, until my eyes landed to across the hall, where he was lying on a table by his side with his arm cradling his head. It was the table that was near the exit, probably to stop anyone from getting out – or in.

Everyone soon followed my gaze as they looked on at the creature; either in fear or anger, I wasn't quite certain. But Weiss was the first to speak.

"Y-You monster! What did you do? H-How-?" the hand holding her Myrtenaster was shaking furiously as she pointed her weapon at the creature.

Ankh was the one who cut her off. "Kazari is capable of moving past the speed of sound. Out of all of us Greeed, he is the fastest." Apprehension seemed to creep up on all of the others as he trailed off, dreading this new information.

Only Ruby seemed unfazed as she smirked confidently. "Well then, if speed is this guy's game then I have this in the bag!"

Yang pumped her fist in pride at her sister. "You got this Ruby! Show him who's the fastest there is!"

Without wasting another minute, Ruby activated her Semblance and vanished as well. I gawked at the spot on where she once stood before reeling my eyes back to Kazari, who was still lying on the table wagging his foot in the air in bored contemplation.

"She's in over her head." Ankh muttered cynically, with Yang letting out a bark of laughter.

"You haven't seen anything yet bird man! Ruby's gonna cleave that guy-" the blonde bombshell was cut off by a sight that she hoped would never have to give her nightmares. It all happened in a span of – well – I'm not exactly well versed in how to measure how fast something goes, but in layman's terms it would have to be…fast.

Really, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, FAST!

It was like Kazari didn't even move as we saw what looked like a double jumping up to meet Ruby head on. I couldn't see her face, but it probably would have been gaping in surprise as she collided head first into what I could only describe was a maelstrom of slashes and strikes that the Greeed rained on her, with Crescent Rose being knocked out of her hands before lodging itself in the ground with a resounding clash.

Yang didn't even have time to call out her name as Ruby plummeted into the ground in a bloody heap. Letting out another yawn, Kazari rose up again and was now standing atop the table. He stretched and groaned as if he was just trying to pop out some old bones. Literally burning with hate as she activated her Semblance, Yang was about ready to pound the feline humanoid into a bloody paste before the latter drew his hand out without even looking.

Ankh's brows shot up in familiarity before he grabbed my arm and jumped us out of the way as a powerful cyclone of wind ploughed through the remaining students, tearing through that direction before it grew to encompass the entire hall. Some of the students had tried to resist and even deflect the attack, but what they didn't know was that Kazari mixed his own energy into the air currents to boost the power. Panes of glass shattered, tables flew and broke apart as they collided with one another, metal railings were dislodged and bent out of place or joined the flight of debris.

When it finally subsided, the cafeteria was nothing short of a disaster zone as a literal storm had just run through it. All but one (well, me and Ankh too) was standing defiantly as she held her ground against their adversary, unwilling to let the transgression of hurting her beloved sister pass by without some well-deserved retribution.

Kazari gave her a once over before jetting past the ruined furniture and rubble to hit her straight in the gut; he was too fast. With Ruby, she may have been able to anticipate the blow, but Kazari had proven that, if he moves, you better bet all or nothing that he's gonna hit you – hard – whether you like it or not. Yang buckled from the pain as blood spilled out of her mouth. Aura may be able to help the average Hunter withstand attacks that would normally kill a human being, but even that has its limits against a sufficient force. She went down when Kazari tapped her lightly on the forehead.

During all of the chaos, me and Ankh (well, mostly me) took the initiative and pulled at Ren and Nora to escape with us. We couldn't reach Jaune and/or Pyrrha on time, but they would have wanted us to retreat if it meant denying Kazari what he wanted (at least that was what Ren said). I still couldn't help myself a sharp pang of guilt as I looked back at the cafeteria, leaving Ruby and the others behind. I had failed them. I should have transformed when I had the chance. Maybe if I had been more vigilant, then none of this would have even happened. But as it all went, there was truly nothing I could have done without transforming. We ran and ran until we reached the promenade.

Hang on, this was weird; where are all of the other students? That was just a part of what my scatter-brained head was pondering about as the four of us stopped to catch our breaths. Ankh however, seemed livid.

"Where in the hell is that damn Ozpin when you need him!?" he yelled out, causing me to snap out of my musings. Ren was the one to address the red Greeed. "Any of the professors should have responded to a disturbance at the cafeteria shortly after that Kazari guy appeared, but they didn't. I don't know how or why but-"

Ankh kicked a wall, leaving a small crack behind. "This is exactly why I didn't want to limit myself to this damn school! If Enrique would have just gone with my plans, we'd be swimming in Cell Medals by now and I would be able to regain most if not all of my full power!"

I reeled back in disgust at such callousness from Ankh's tone; how could he be so heartless? I slowly walked up to him and grabbed his collar, tightening my grip as my anger continued to boil.

"What?" he asked in irritation, before a punch from me graced his cheek. It didn't seem to faze him, but I felt him flinch a little before his face contorted into a hard frown. Ren and Nora could only stare in silence at the scene, not that I cared. The only thing that I cared about was saving lives. That's all what I wanted. That's what I decided to dedicate my life to after having lost everything that was precious to me, and seeing Ankh just talking about such lives as if they didn't even matter made me more than a little ticked off.

Okay, I was really, really ticked off.

He kicked me away, but Ren caught me before I could meet the ground. The black haired teen didn't seem all that pleased at what had just transpired, and was now glowering at Ankh in disapproval. I gave him a nod of thanks as he helped me back up to my feet. I then regarded my so-called bodyguard with as much vitriol as I was able.

"Don't you care?" I spat with venom.

"About what, them?" Ankh snapped at me as he pointed at the other two, with Ren standing protectively in front of Nora.

"Yeah, if what Kazari said was true, then weren't you guys like…the first Hunters or something? You used to protect people from the Grimm too, didn't you?"

Ankh paused before releasing a bark of laughter that was loud enough that it would have alerted Kazari to their location; did he want him to find us? Some part of my mind could only agree to that theory. Ren and Nora limited themselves to observing in silence, with growing curiosity as to what Kazari even meant with what he mentioned earlier pertaining to the Greeed. It would seem that Ankh was the only one available that could satisfy that curiosity.

"Protect? Defend? Stop with the idealistic diatribe kid. The people who created us only did so to serve their own interests, everything else was just collateral. In the end, it was man's greed that served as their own undoing, with our former masters paying the ultimate price for meddling in forces that they had no hope of comprehending."

I was about to lay down another retort when we heard the scraping of metal nearby. Looking around, I, Ren and Nora lurched back in dread as we found Kazari leaning against one of the pillars. He stifled a yawn as he seemed to be biding his time watching us. Ankh stepped forward to address him.

"So Kazari, I take it those humans weren't able to amuse you to your heart's content?"

Kazari straightened as he walked up to us slowly. None of us dared to run; it would have been a futile gesture either way. "I never really understood why humans continue to work themselves to the bone. Wouldn't it just be better if they all just lied down, did nothing and die like the sacks of flesh that they are."

I gritted my teeth. "Only someone without a shred of emotion would say that. I bet you've never even felt anything real in your entire life."

Both Ankh and Kazari stopped at that, with the three of us stepping back in caution. I bit back a curse at my loose tongue. Kazari was the first to break out of his stupor and chuckled lightly at my remark.

"I'm sorry, 'real' emotions? Tell me OOO, what do real emotions even feel like, hm? I certainly don't know; as you so confidently have claimed, so why don't you enlighten me, will you?" there was an edge of bitterness and anger in Kazari's voice, as opposed to the lazy drawl that he would usually pepper his speech with.

I glanced at Ankh, whose head was hung as if deep in thought before raising his eyes at Greeed.

"Do you still intend to make a host out of the girl?" he muttered noncommittally, driving Ren and Nora into a stance to defend themselves; the former being uncertain on who either of them he had to shoot first.

Kazari paused before tilting his head. "Of course," I narrowed my eyes; there was that drawl again, "fighting those children has really taken a toll on me, so I need the extra Cell Medals now more than ever. Now, if you don't mind." He drew out once Cell and held it up for all to see as he stepped closer to Nora. She drew her hammer to the side, ready to slam the monster's head in and crack it open. Ren was now pointing his guns directly at Kazari.

"Stop, I'm warning you!" it was a gamble he was willing to take, maybe these Greeed weren't really all that invincible at point blank. Kazari tilted his head before spreading his arms out invitingly. Ren was only too happy to oblige as he proceeded to feed an entire barrage of StormFlowers' clips into the Greeed's midsection. It didn't even push the rogue feline back, with him taking every shot like it was nothing.

We could only gawk as Kazari shrugged off what was essentially Dust enhanced rounds. Ren was the most flabbergasted; nothing short of a King Taijitu's shell should be able to withstand such force, especially at point blank.

Before he could even reload, Kazari grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up. Nora drew Magnhild back; ready to smash the Greeed into paste for all that he had done to her friends. The unscrupulous humanoid simply wagged his finger at her as he held out the struggling Ren in front of him as a human shield.

This was it; I had to act fast. I looked towards Ankh, who simply stared on at the scene with a blank look on his face. I fought back my anger as I held my hand out, silently motioning for the Driver.

He turned to me and seemed to deliberate for a moment, before holding his Greeed arm out and releasing the OOO Driver from safekeeping. He threw the device at my direction and into my very willing hands.

Unfortunately, Kazari spotted me as I slapped the Driver around my waist. He cursed inwardly as this only meant that his entertainment was nearing its end; how he would have loved to prolong their suffering. Still, he needed the medals for his plans.

Sighing, he chucked Ren to the nearby wall, with the teen colliding just hard enough for him to be disoriented. Nora's cry of her friend's name got caught in her throat as Kazari grabbed her neck and lifted her up. Nora punched and kicked away at her captor futilely. I only had enough time to slot my medals and tilting the buckle before she froze as a coin slot appeared on her forehead. Damn it! At the same time that I took the scanner out of its holster, the rogue was already bringing the medal up close to her head. As I ran the scanner through as fast as my muscles allowed me to, the cell medal unceremoniously fell in with a clunk.

TAKA!

TORA!

BATTA!

TA-TO-BA TATOBA TA-TO-BA!

"No!" I heard Ren shout, a sentiment I would have shared if it weren't for the forming of my armor. As it finished fully materializing, Kazari dropped Nora on the ground. She writhed and convulsed in agony before grey bandages emerged from her skin – on her arms, legs, neck and even face – they clung to her like parasites giving off malevolent energy as the Yummy was starting to develop inside her.

Ren could only goggle on in abject horror at what was happening; this had to be a nightmare. It just had to be. Not long after, the creature that was possessing Nora stood up in a hunch, growling hungrily as she licked her lips; her eyes madly darting around as if in search of something.

Kazari crossed his arms as he regarded his spawn, before tilting his head to the side. "You know what to do. Now get going!"

The Yummy nodded dumbly as it/she sauntered away, before leaping high from roof to roof and disappearing over the wall. Ren's mouth hung in dejection at her disappearing form before closing his eyes tightly to fight back hot tears. As if he hadn't performed a series of grave crimes just now, Kazari leaned back against a pillar with his arms behind his head to relax.

"So…OOO, I take it you're ready to fight me now?"

The only answer I gave him was me pouncing on him, but he stepped aside in a flash to wag his finger again. "Ah, ah, ah! I can't just let you spoil my fun yet. You're still far too weak to even scratch the surface of what that armor can do. When you finally feel like trading blows with me, I'll let you know." He chuckled as he swivelled to face Ankh, who by now was just standing like an unmoving statue.

"Ankh, you seem quite frustrated with these humans. Why not join back into our group?" I gasped at the offer; with Ren still reeling in from the shock that his best friend and probably the only girl he had ever allowed into his heart just ran off to God knows where, doing God knows what to notice.

Ankh rolled his eyes, as if seriously considering; this was just like in that episode in the show. Goddamit, I hope this turns out exactly as that one did.

"I'll think about it." He responded, almost like he was simply talking about a business deal with an old partner. Ren turned to face the two Greeed; I never would have imagined those magenta eyes of his to flare with so much rage. He was ready to lunge at them when he was pushed back a few steps by a gust of wind.

Kazari was gone.

Still, that didn't exactly keep Ren from tackling Ankh over to grapple with him. Okay, Ren was the one doing the grappling; Ankh was just taking all of the punishment the enraged teen was dealing out without a care.

"You bastard! This is all your goddamn fault! You son of a bitch, now Nora's out there doing who knows what all because of that monster and now you're planning on joining up with more of them. I'LL KILL YOU!" Ren's fist met with Ankh's face for every word he spat out and was about to throw another punch when I grabbed hold to stop him.

Small tears rolled down from Ren's cheeks as I beheld the mask of despair on his face through the Taka lenses. I was already barely holding on from what happened to Ruby and the others, and this was all it took before I too broke down to my knees to help comfort him.

"Come on, we have to go…" I whispered to him as I held his shoulder firmly. It felt like a long time before he spared Ankh another glare before standing back up. I quickly caught sight of StormFlowers scattered near the wall where Ren was thrown against, and ran to pick them up before handing the both of them back to their rightful owner. He sniffed before quickly reloading them with new clips and holstered one, but keeping hold of the other. I whirled around in time to catch Ankh sitting up and wiping the blood running down his nose. He stared at the red liquid as if he was just seeing it for the first time. I walked up to him as I de-transformed, seeing no point to the armor right now.

"You okay?" I asked in concern, no longer mustering the nerve to stay angry at him. If anything, I may have just struck a sour chord when I made that crack about the Greeed not feeling anything. He shifted his eyes to meet my own from the spectacle that was Westborn's blood before lumbering himself back up.

We both heard a clicking noise as we turned to the source, where a stone faced Lie Ren was drawing his guns straight for the Greeed's head. Ankh just blinked apathetically at the sight before turning away to saunter off.

"Don't walk away from me monster!" he called out in fervour. I winced as Ankh stopped mid-step, before looking over his shoulder to eye the boy with disinterest.

"What's going to happen to Nora? How can we…how can I get her back to normal?" it was clear as day that Ren simply wasn't thinking straight as his hand holding up the other pair of his weapons was shaking. That made me all kinds of uncomfortable, as I had a feeling that he was a rational kind of guy. Never a good thing whenever they were the ones to lose it.

I waited for Ankh to answer before I sighed in resignation to answer for him. ""The Yummy is developing inside her even as we speak. That is the kind of Yummies that Kazari spawns. For it to fully mature, it will forcibly drive the host; meaning Nora, to do, live out, or consume whatever she desires the most."

Ren paused in thought before comprehension seemed to dawn on his face. I caught on to it immediately. "Ren, what does Nora desire the most?"

"Sweets…Nora loves sweets, but mostly pancakes." He pointed out as he lowered his gun. I walked up to him to grasp his shoulders.

"Ren, I promise you. We are going to save her, alright?" I said with even more fervour, determined to follow through even if it might end badly.

The dual wielder remained steadfast. "What's going to happen when the Yummy matures?"

I pressed my lips tightly together. "Nora…will be consumed by the Yummy and…well, you can probably guess – hey, hey wait!" Ren was already marching off as quickly as his legs could take him. He had already recovered just enough of his strength to try his hand at tracking Nora's whereabouts when I ran up in front of him.

"Ren, wait! Look, I know you're angry and in pain. But I want to help, I really do!"

"How can I trust you when you're with…him?" he pointed a gun at Ankh's direction instead of a finger to emphasize his point, with me heaving a heavy sigh.

"Look, I know Ankh can be…okay he's a jerk. But I don't expect you to trust either of us. I…haven't exactly been doing a good job of earning it lately." I hung my head in shame, recalling how utterly useless I had been back at the cafeteria.

Ren seemed conflicted as he studied me for a moment, before gently resting a hand on my shoulder. I didn't bother looking up as I knew that that would only make me look like I was begging, and if there was ever one thing that I would never do to earn someone's trust or forgiveness, it was beg.

Ren let out a sigh of his own to help calm himself. "Well…I'm sorry too. I guess, I went a little overboard back there." He felt equally shameful for his outburst, but he didn't even need to show it for me to know, as we might as well have been in the same boat.

I beamed as I looked up. "There's no use moping about what's already happened. Kazari can wait. Right now, we take care of the Yummy and save Nora. Are you up for that?" I held out my hand out for a shake, which Ren easily accepted.

"Definitely! So uh…how exactly do we save her?"

I clicked my tongue as I tilted my head. "Well, if I recall…the safest way for that would be to draw the Yummy out of her body. The best way to do that is to provoke it; either with a fight or with bait. Ren, where do you think Nora would most likely go to eat pancakes?"

Ren didn't even need a moment to reply. "There's a pancake diner in Vale that me and Nora frequent. That would definitely be the first place for her to go."

I grinned, excellent! And I know just how to get there faster. I motioned for the other two to follow me, with Ren keeping a reasonable distance from Ankh. We made a quick stop to the cafeteria first to see how everyone was doing. To all of our utter relief, everyone was still alive save for having just endured a nasty beating. I walked up to Ruby as she was lying on a stretcher next to her still unconscious sister.

She was heavily bandaged, although unlike Nora, her's were more for actual medical reasons than any pursuit of desire. "You gonna be alright? I'm sorry I wasn't much help earlier." I grasped her hand gently, fearful that I might just do worse if my grip was any firmer.

She shook her head lightly through the pain she was in, a kind smile adorning her lips. "It's alright. We all did our best back there. Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough…where's Nora?"

My shoulders fell as I hung my head. "She's…been turned into a Yummy host." If Ruby would have allowed herself a gasp, she might have, but her condition had determined otherwise. I quickly reassured her though. "But don't worry, me and Ren will bring her back safe and sound, and to her old self. You'll see!" I put on my best smile, desperately hoping that she wouldn't see it for the façade that it was.

Her own smile widened a bit before wishing the both of us good luck.

After Ren had finished checking up on his Team (Jaune had suffered a mild concussion and Pyrrha was attending to him while sustaining only minor injuries), when he had informed them on what happened to their teammate, they were incensed; not only at what Kazari did, but at how Ankh had seemingly done nothing to convince one of his own to leave her and them all alone. He neglected to mention me however, even when they asked about what I had done, he simply answered with the truth; that Kazari was just far too powerful for either of us to take on before he escaped. While it was quite true, I still wouldn't have minded if I had shared the blame. Now, this may seem like me trying to martyr myself out, but I was just trying to take responsibility for my inaction. I still think I could have done more than just annoy the hell out of the feline Greeed.

Oh well, the important thing right now was to search for and save Nora. Ankh had opted to stay behind to better think on Kazari's offer, not that Ren was complaining. But it would have been nice if there were more of us to cover more ground in case things went south.

With only me and Ren on the case, we dashed at first opportunity to one of the vending machines that housed the Candroids. Handing Ren a Cell Medal, I let him do the honors. We then each took a can and pulled the tabs at the same time.

TAKO CAN

TAKO CAN

"Help us find any nearby Yummies in the city. If you've spotted one, inform us immediately." I ordered, which they obeyed without question as they flew out of sight to scour the city. I then took out another Cell Medal. Only this time, instead of ordering more Candroids, I pressed the Multi TaS Sensor to active its bike mode.

Ren couldn't help but whistle at the machine. "Nice ride."

"Thanks!" I offered him the second helmet before the two of us rode off to Vale, ready for anything.

We hoped.

Meanwhile… (Please play Kougami OST)

The man continued to gaze through the window at the city below as he was baking a cake.

"Kougami, you have a video call from Ozpin." his assistant informed.

"Put it up." he said as he placed the batter in the mini oven.

A screen lowered itself in front Koigami's desk before displaying the two people that he had been expecting to speak with the most as of recent. "Long time no seem Ozpin and Glynda." he said happily.

"Likewise Kougami, I see you are still enjoying that hobby of yours," Ozpin chuckled as his eyes wandered to the oven by the foot of the screen by his end.

Kougami could only laugh in agreement. "You know me Ozpin. When something is born…"

"It is considered their birthday," Ozpin finished.

"So what brings you to calling me, old friend?" Kougami asked.

"It involves…OOO." The headmaster uttered darkly, his mood giving way for a very amused chuckle from the President of the Kougami Foundation.

"I take it you've met the new one?" he rubbed his mitted hands together as he opened the oven door, revealing a steaming cake; freshly baked and permeating with its succulent aroma the old man's sharp sense of smell.

Ozpin smiled at his old friend's passion for baking. "I did, along with the Greeed that refers to himself as Ankh."

"I see. You have noticed lately that I have been contributing my assistance towards the boy's progress correct?" Kougami explained, "In fact, I seemed to have recalled my company making a delivery of vending machines to your school about a week ago."

"Indeed I have, and it was quite amusing when I first laid eyes on those…what do you call them? Candroids?" Ozpin's features quickly darkened again after a nod from the President. "Kougami, an incident has just occurred at my school. One of the Greeed had managed to infiltrate and blend in with the students before dispatching them with relative ease." Glynda narrowed her eyes in guilt as she had done nothing to help the students.

Ozpin and Glynda; along with the rest of the faculty, had been busy evacuating as many of the students and staff as they could earlier when the caught wind of Kazari, essentially leaving the remaining students to fend for themselves without informing them. While this may seemed cruel in plain sight, it was only natural that Hunters would be prepared to take such initiative and compromise. They were a combat school, and such a situation could be counted as training.

That mindset had backfired horribly when they came back to assess the damage. Part of the reason they took such a risk was that they had no clear idea how to personally gauge the Greeed's fighting prowess, and as opportunity might have it, it was as good a time as any to see how these creature's fared against a group of hunters-in-training. They got more than what they bargained for as they were forced to watch Kazari decimate through them and easily destroying a portion of the school.

Ozpin rubbed his eyes as he let it sink in deeper; another mistake…just one more to add to the list.

"Rest assured old friend, I am sure that OOO will handle the situation eventually," Kougami assured him.

The headmaster and mistress shared a look. "I hope so. Again, I thank you for compensating for the damages and medical fees involved. I simply cannot repay you enough." Ozpin bowed his head as he expressed his gratitude, but there was an edge of unease to his voice. The President waved his hand dismissively as if he hadn't just footed a rather exorbitant bill.

When the transmission ended, Kougami looked to his assistant. "Whose birthday is it today?" he asked as he began to make yet, another cake.

"Ah, let's see…" the assistant said as she scanned through a list of names.

Ren and I were driving on the road, keeping our eyes peeled and on the lookout for anything that could lead to Nora. Two hours had gone by since Nora was made a host, and by now the Yummy could have already matured. We managed to check out Nora's favourite diner. The place was thrashed beyond repair to say the least, with the patrons raving about a girl that had torn through the establishment and terrorizing the customers for their pancakes. The search consisted of other dead ends where we came upon similar scenarios.

I could tell that Ren was getting antsy about Nora, but I couldn't just ask him outright about it. I figured that the sooner we found her, the better it would be to fix this whole mess.

We were about to go turn around another corner when one of the Tako Cans hovered above us. It gave us the signal to follow it, and follow we did. By the time we reached our destination, the sight that greeted us made both of our jaws drop.

Nora; or who I hoped, begged and pleaded was Nora, had ballooned in obesity. Her uniform had long been torn open and was now close to snapping off completely judging from her massive girth; the only things that seemed to still be keeping her modesty were the bandages that had increased in number all over her body. She was salivating like crazy; crumbs and bits of food were latched disgustingly on her person, her eyes were glazed with madness as she eyed the other Tako Can as it kept jumping out of her grasp while in sleep mode to help lead her on.

"FOOD!" she bellowed, causing Ren to cringe at her sweet voice having been distorted by her state.

"Tallyho Ren! We might just reach her yet." I revved the engine as we sped to catch up to where Nora was.

We braked in front of the adjacent store that was next to the sweet shop that Nora had raided (I pity the fool that was struggling to untangle himself out of a large vat of taffy). By the time we got off, Nora had already grabbed hold of the can nice and tight, with the machine no longer fighting as it sensed our presence. With enthusiasm unlike that of a child, Nora unlatched the tab from the can, before reeling back as the Tako Candroid sprayed some ink on her face.

She spluttered in disgust before letting out a loud growl in frustration.

"Nora!" Ren called out loud, catching his maddened friend's undivided; and preferably unwanted, attention. "Nora, you have to stop. I know you're still in there, try to fight it. Let us help you."

He crept ever so slowly towards her, careful not to set any danger senses that the Yummy may have had. Nora just looked on with a dumbfounded expression before her eyes hardened; a bright yellow glow emanating from them. Uh oh! I just remembered that something like this happened in episode 3, with the glowing eyes only meaning one thing; it was powering up for an attack.

"Hit the deck!" I pushed Ren to the ground as Nora shot at us with a yellow burst of energy that was in the shape of a medal.

She let out a huff of annoyance before resuming her hunt for more food, before feeling two hands grabbing her leg. Ren held on for dear life; for Nora's life, as he tried to reason with it/her again. "Nora, please, you don't have to do this! If you want more pancakes, we have more at Beacon. Just come back with us so we can help yo-" a swift kick to the face was all that the Yummy could give in response, driving him back where he collided with me and into a heap.

For a brief moment, we feared that it was going to charge up another attack, only for Nora to convulse violently like she was being pulled apart. It was then that the Yummy revealed itself as it literally oozed out of her body; fully formed, but still leaps away from being mature. The heavy clinking of Cell Medals accompanied its arrival. I had to fight back the urge to rub my eyes in disbelief – it looked just like the Yummy from the show. It sure as hell wasn't a guy in a costume if that's what you're thinking. It was large and hulking as opposed to how fat its host was, the skin was blue in color with sandy gold trimmings, with the only article of clothing it seemed to have aside from the belt on its waist being yellow gloves and boots.

He was cruelly holding Nora up by her arm tauntingly, with her being just conscious enough to wheeze in pain at the added weight she gained like she was close to vomiting.

"Ren…please…it hurts…"

Both of us drew out our weapons; my Driver and his StormFlowers. It was only after rifling through my pockets did I recall that Ankh still had my Cores. I bit back a curse as I was limited to my Medajalibur again. "Nora, fight him back!" I yelled out encouragingly. I knew it was no use, but maybe she could try.

Nora coughed as she struggled to escape from the Yummy's grasp, who was now leering at us hungrily. Oh God…

"Damn it, I can't get a clear shot without hitting her." Ren gritted out, while I too could only standby helplessly as the Yummy let out a throaty chuckle before re-entering Nora. Gone was the pained wheezing, which was now replaced by a throaty growl. Her eyes glowed bright yellow again as she roared.

"Food, more food!" the Yummy possessed Nora bellowed as she ran off in search for more food (you know, even as she was now, damn that girl could move). I raised a hand up to massage my eyes; this just can't get any – oops! OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH NO! I am not going to say that, not even think it!

"We have to get that thing out of Nora! If it keeps forcing her to overeat she might-"

"Less talking more running Ren!" we both exchanged nods before sprinting behind Nora's trail.

The chase was on, with Nora ramming carelessly through the crowd of civilians to get away. Ren was faster than me as I lagged a bit behind, until I could no longer resist the urge to stop and catch my breath. The dual wielder looked back as he sensed that I stopped and goggled at my hunched form.

"What's wrong?" he ran a hand through my back to help ease my breathing. I wheezed before I got my voice back.

"I'm not…too cut out for this." Ren's brows furrowed as I was panting in exhaustion. Considering everything we've been through today, I was beginning to wonder how he could still be standing.

"Well, you did just fine when you were wearing your armor."

"That's just it…I can only do my best because of the armor. I don't have aura or semblance like the rest of you guys."

Ren gaped at my revelation. "Then, if you can't use aura and don't have a semblance, how can you fight?"

When I finally managed to get my breathing under control, I heaved out a deep and tired sigh. I rose up to look him directly in the eyes; eyes that weren't holding back in scrutinizing me. "To be honest, I don't know. But it's better than doing nothing. I'm here aren't I? I wasn't able to do anything back at the cafeteria, which is why I'm doing everything I can right now to make up for all of it by saving Nora. If there is a hand reaching for help, and I don't reach out when I can, the regret would make me wish I were dead...I reach out my hand, because all I want is to help."

Ren seemed to consider me as he paused in thought, before his lips curled into a small smile. "Come on!" he patted my back as we moved on to make up for lost time. As luck would have it, the Tako Candroids shortly hovered above us again to follow them.

Our search led us under a large bridge near a canal. The Tako Cans were sure that they had tracked the Yummy here. We whirled around as we crept quietly, keeping our guard up. It was only when I felt Ren's arm grab my shoulder tightly that he pointed me to where he was looking; leaning against the wall was Kazari in his human form, eyeing us lazily.

"Yo OOO! I see you and your friend have been busy." He grinned toothily at us, a sentiment we did not return.

"No thanks to you!" Ren spat out with venom, both of guns cocked and ready as he pointed them at the blonde. Kazari pursed his lips as he straightened and started to walk up leisurely to us. For every step he took, we backed away; ready to fight to our last breath if it ever came to that.

"Come on, you two don't need to be so nervous. I can be a pretty amiable guy once you get to know me." The both of us inwardly scoffed, and hardened our glares. The blonde Greeed's eyes gleamed in mischief before swivelling around and snapping his fingers. Out of nowhere, Nora jumped down with a resounding thud as she landed, with Ren gritting his teeth at how this monster was treating her like some pet.

With his back towards us, Kazari cupped his ear. "Do you hear that? No? That would be the sound of payday. It looks like my Yummy's gathered quite a haul." He spun on his heel and walked up to the possessed Nora, only to drive a hand through her chest.

I was sure as hell that this was more than what Ren could take as a mad glint crossed his eyes, his teeth audibly clenched in anger.

As I tugged on his sleeve to calm him down, Kazari drew out a Cell Medal from his progeny and held up with his fingers pointedly. "You see this? This is what we Greeed thrive on when we don't have enough of our Cores. To compensate for our loss, we need a substantial amount just to fuel our power."

"Is this going anywhere, and why are you lecturing us on about this Kazari?" I grunted out, seeing the inanity. He was toying with us.

A chuckle escaped the blonde's mouth. "That's just it, if I am ever going to return to even a fraction of my true power, my Yummy will need to accumulate even more medals. Of course, the only way for it to do that is for the host to follow through on their desires. And what, pray tell, is this sweet kitten's desire again?"

Nora joyfully answered him, "FOOD!"

Uh oh, there was that hungry gleam in her eyes again, and I bet Ren had already put two and two together.

Kazali closed his eyes, almost elated by the implication. "Exactly, and since we're under a bridge right now with little to no food at all…where does that leave you two?" he sneered at us maliciously as he trailed off. Sigh, now I know how Ankh whenever he's around this guy.

"Wait!"

All of us snapped to attention, I knew all too well on whom that voice belonged to. From the corner of my eye, Ankh emerged from a wall; his Greeed arm out even as he crossed it with his normal one. Kazari smirked.

"So, have you thought of my offer Ankh?"

Ankh spared the pair of us a look before eyeing the rogue. "I have."

I tensed my grip on Ren's sleeve; I wanted to hear him out. This could make or break everything.

"You know, I never really liked humans or faunus from the start. They all just seem so troublesome."

"Right you are my friend, so…do we have a deal?" Kazari could almost taste his Tora Core Medal.

It was brief, but Ankh shifted his eyes at me for a second as he flexed his Greeed arm pointedly. I scrunched my face in understanding and prayed that Kazari didn't notice.

The bird Greeed silently shrugged his shoulders, before shooting both me and Ren a death glare. Kazari smiled as he saw this display of hostility as their agreement. Beads of sweat trickled down our foreheads; Ren's was in fear while mine were in anticipation. I gulped hard as I waged all of my hope into this. It's all up to Ankh now.

Wow, two Greeed and one Yummy? Sometimes I think someone up there has it out for me. I could only hold back a breath as Kazari stepped forward to address us.

"Now…where were we? Oh, right its dinner time my pe-" both of us gawped in shock as Kazari's order was cut short; his face contorting in pain. Lodged inside the blonde's back was Ankh's Greeed arm, while the Yummy could only look on in equal astonishment that its master was incapacitated. I was more surprised by the fact that a) Ankh actually pulled it off, and b) that Kazari didn't see that coming.

"Wh-What are you…?" before the feline could finish asking, Ankh drew his arm back with a resounding pull; his fist clenching what medals he could pull out. Kazari lumbered forward as he felt like his insides were caving in. He hunched over and panted like he was out of breath, with his Yummy striding up by his side to keep him from falling.

Ren allowed a smirk to grace his lips; a twinge of gratified amusement on the Greeed's behalf as the once mighty creature that hurt his friends was not writhing like the worm that he was.

Kazari held his chest tightly, gritting his teeth as he cringed from the pain of having been robbed of his Core Medals. How many? He asked himself, how many…which one?

Ankh ogled the Cheetah Core Medal with a triumphant smirk. "Beautiful, I've got to hand it to you Kazari; I almost wanted to take you up on your so-called offer."

His eyes then shot up to glower at his fellow Greeed. "Almost"

From the first time that any of us had witnessed Kazari lose his cool; this had to be the moment that he truly let it all out. "How…how can you betray me? Your own kind!"

Ankh visibly blanched. "My own kind? That wouldn't exactly have stopped you to betray me eventually. Come now Kazari, do you really take me for a fool? I know you. Out of all of us you are the most unscrupulous. Scheming, self-serving, conniving. That is how you have always been and always will be."

He pocketed the Core into his arm before taking out his Scroll. "Funny thing about today's technology Kazari my friend," he jeered, "is that it's possible for you to put out anything of interest for other people to see. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon this while perusing through it days ago."

He held out the scroll to us as he dragged his finger from picture to picture. It was of the school; more specifically, it was pictures of me and Ankh walking around the halls and courtyard. There were other students alongside us minding their own business, indicating that the shots were taken at random like back at the cafeteria. I squinted when Ankh pointed to a peculiar looking shadow by the far end of the lockers. That is…!

"No way, how…?" Kazari buckled from the pain that he was in.

"That's right. You've been spying on me and my charge for quite a while now. I discovered to my burgeoning annoyance that the students would snap pictures of us every now and then without either of our consent. While I had a very good mind to throttle them for it, I had the further displeasure of realizing that you were shadowing us."

His lips curled into a grin unlike that of the rogue's. "So…what better way to take advantage of a situation than to capitalize on it; wouldn't you agree?"

As realization dawned on me, I suppressed a chill from running down my spine. He planned this. Ankh had actually planned all of this from the very beginning. Ren was more or less stunned as well, both of his guns dangling from his now slack arms.

Kazari took deep heavy breaths as he motioned for his Yummy to feed him Cell Medals, which it happily complied. "Hoho…that was pretty smart of you Ankh. Tell me, were you not tempted by my offer at all? Can the humans and faunus really give you anything better than your fellows!?" he barked out the last word as he slowly felt his strength returning from the steady supply of medals that Yummy-Nora was giving.

"Better? No, but I'd rather take my chances with them rather than with a snake like you. I wouldn't underestimate them if I were you, as they have come a long way since the last eight centuries. Look at what they have accomplished." Ankh spread his arms out to emphasize.

Kazari chuckled mockingly. "Please, sacks of meat can never possibly advance at a rate on par with us Greeed. I will make sure you pay for your decision." After one more medal entered his body, Kazari straightened and transformed.

I curbed back a chuckle as I gave Kazari's weakened state a once over. Without the Cheetah Core to help stabilize him, his lower armor had vanished, leaving only the same brown and tattered bandages wrapped around his legs hugging his waist; the buckle of his belt was noticeably darker in color. Ren and I nodded as we exchanged a look, readying ourselves for one last battle to save Nora.

Before I knew it, Ankh was by my side holding out the King Combo in front of my face, while Ren rushed forward to give us some cover. He shot at the enemy duo, careful to only graze Yummy Nora as she trotted up to defend its master. Kazari himself was dodging the bullets this time. Now that he was weakened even further, he was vulnerable. Oh, the bullets didn't exactly hurt, but they could still go through his body now that it wasn't as reinforced as it was earlier, with the slight chance that one might hit his remaining Core and spill it out. Smug bastard that he was, even he wasn't stupid enough to take that chance now that OOO was also here to back the boy up.

I readily snatched the King Combo from Ankh and slotted them into place, tilting the buckle into position before taking out the O Scanner from its holster. The familiar chime rang through my ears as I ran the scanner through.

"Henshin!"

TAKA!

TORA!

BATTA!

TA-TO-BA TATOBA TA-TO-BA!

In the blink of an eye, I was once again donned in my armor. I unsheathed Medajalibur just as Kazari was lunging towards me. The both of us jumped back, dodging his claws. The difference in strength was staggering; just one Core taken out of him had succeeded in weakening Kazari.

Kazari pounced again before I raised my sword to meet with his claws. I tried to kick him away, but he swiftly whirled his body around to slash at my back just as my foot was about to connect; even at such a disadvantage he was still formidable. I stumbled forward a bit before catching myself, and then spun around in a swift motion to deliver a slash in retaliation as he was going for another blow. This time, I made contact as sparks and Cell Medals flew from his body.

He staggered back a few steps, but caught himself to race forward with as much speed as he could muster. Fortunately, the Taka lenses allowed me to actually see his precise movements as he tried to deliver a series of slashes directed at my torso and arms; he was going for the Tora Medal. Of course, when a part of the armor sustains enough damage, the medal corresponding to it will forcibly pop out from the Driver before the transformation cancels out. I could only inch back as he refused to give me any openings while rapidly clawing away at my sword that I held up to guard. Raising a clawed arm up at an equally fast pace disallowed me to block as my sword wasn't angled for me to react in time; this was a killing blow.

A Dust enhanced bullet suddenly struck the Greeed by his temple, buckling him aside just far enough for me to deal another slash. I looked to my right and saw Ren dancing around Yummy Nora's clumsy attacks, pelting her with bullets and hoping it would be enough to draw the creature out. I had a good mind to thank him later.

I returned my focus to Kazari as he rose from the ground with a few Cell Medals he managed to pick up. He tossed them in the air before they fell absorbed them into his chest. "Had enough Kazari?"

"You have guts kid I'll give you that. Why don't I take a peek and see what they look like?" he raised a clawed hand up front before once again going for the offensive. Exasperated, I rolled forward to dodge as he swiped at me, careful to avoid cutting myself with my blade as I picked up three Cell Medals to prepare Medajalibur's finisher. I was about to slot them in when Kazari blew me away with a well aimed cyclone. My grip on the sword loosened before it was blown back as well, skidding on the ground until it was too far for me to reach.

Great

Ankh rolled his eyes at the blunder as he was watching the battle calculatingly. He coolly drew a Core Medal out of his arm. "Enrique!" I snapped to attention as I dodged a few roundhouse kicks from my foe, before spotting a Core Medal coming my way. I jumped up with the Batta legs to catch it before Kazari jerked his head to glimpse at the trinket flying through the air.

I caught it before switching the Tora Medal out. I tilted the Driver and grabbed the O-Scanner to swipe it across the altered set.

TAKA!

KAMAKIRI!

BATTA!

Now armed with the Mantis Swords of the Kamakiri portion of the armor, I extended them before going into a stance.

Kazari inwardly grimaced as he shook his head. "You're only prolonging the inevitable. Give me back my Core Medals and I might just show you mercy."

My answer was breaking into a run and pouncing at him. He sighed as he did a side-step to dodge and blocked a few blows as we scuffled again. I narrowed my eyes as I noticed that he was now on the defensive. This was my chance. The Kamakiri Medal flared to life as I willed to imbue the blades with energy. I lunged forward to do a double slash again at his chest, hoping to spill more Cell Medals to weaken him again. Unfortunately, he dodged to the side while lining a clawed hand by my buckle, before thrusting forward in a swift motion.

Sparks flew as I fell back, barely aware as one of the Core Medals was forced out of its slot, and much to our rotten luck it was the Kamakiri Medal. Ankh gawked at the scene as Kazari wasted no time in jumping after the once again airborne trinket.

Recovering in time, Ankh launched his Greeed arm straight for the medal, only to be intercepted by the feline who was still much faster despite the loss of a Core. Ankh inwardly cursed at this sudden turn of events.

This is bad; I only had enough time left to remain armored before the transformation cancels out without a complete 3-medal set to sustain it. I had to take another gamble. I looked up from where I fell and spotted Ankh's arm floating above us; my thoughts instantly went to Nathan, who was probably lying prone on the ground without the symbiosis to keep him alive. But time was of the essence, and since Ankh was conveniently providing me with a much needed distraction, pulling this off might just give the advantage we needed.

"Uva's Core…not exactly mine, but you work with what you get I suppose." He absorbed the Core inside his body before looking up at Ankh's floating arm. "Now, would you kindly return to me the rest of my Cores?"

Ankh hovered over the air in stationary silence, further testing the feline Greeed's patience. However, had the bird Greeed still possessed a body, Kazari would have caught on sooner and realized what his fellow homunculus was ogling keenly.

Which was my fist connecting with as much strength as the suit allowed against Kazari's back, catching the guy off guard as I dug deep inside his torso. He could only freeze helplessly as I grabbed hold of what I prayed was a Core Medal; it felt weird to say the least. The inside of a Greeed was literally nothing but medals swirling around in an enclosed space.

Doing this to the professional backstabber, I had to hold in a snicker at the irony.

"My Core..." Kazari whimpered, that was all I needed to confirm my haul as I pulled back my arm. He buckled from the pain as he fell on his knees, while I slowly opened my fist to see the fruit of my gamble.

Ankh flew past the currently immobilized Greeed and grabbed another Tora and Cheetah Core that was resting comfortably on my palm. "Good job. It's not the Kamakiri, but it'll have to do to make up for the loss."

I smiled behind my helmet; this was the very first time he ever really complimented me. Two new Core Medals was better than nothing after all.

Kazari lurched as he rose up in a hunch. "Ankh, I will make sure you regret this. Mark my words…" this would have been a prime opportunity to finish him off, but the distant cries of battle dictated my immediate attention elsewhere. I almost felt a twinge of pity as the rogue Greeed stumbled away pathetically while picking up what little Cell Medals he could carry. Then again, knowing the kind of person he was, it was a little more than what he truly deserved.

Ren was up to his wits as he dodged another claw swipe from Yummy Nora. He had been relentlessly doing all he could to lure out the creature, but so far none had worked. I was certain that his ammo was close to being depleted and was now compensating with hit-and-run tactics. We flanked him from side to side as a kick pushed him back; we caught him before his back could kiss the ground.

The armor dispelled again shortly after Kazari left when I failed to slot a new medal in time, but since my opponent had dropped out early it was of little concern. With sword back in hand, I spied the now enraged Yummy enveloping Nora's body. Its power echoed and threatened to push the three of us back as it released an echoing roar.

"It would seem she's nearing the end of the infection. It won't be long until she is consumed entirely." Ankh explained as I slotted my new medals.

Ren's heart sank after hearing this, "N-Nora…"

A memory reared itself in my mind as I watched him sympathetically.

Years ago…

"Look bro! I'm queen of the castle!" Marie hollered from above me, her arms spread out like wings.

"Marie, be careful in that tree house," I called out to her. My words fell on deaf ears as Marie took a step forward and slipped; luckily I caught her in my arms on time.

"Marie, are you all right!?" I asked frantically, my heart racing at the close call.

Marie could only engulf my neck in a tight embrace as she snivelled in fear, visibly dazed that she was so close to getting hurt.

I hardened my gaze as the memory faded. "She's going to be okay Ren, this I promise you!"

"Tch, at her state I don't even think she's worth it." Ankh remarked, attracting another scowl from Ren.

"When I promised Ren that I would save Nora, I meant every bit of it to fulfil that promise – even if I have to fight you to do what must be done!" I shared the dual wielder's sentiment; Ankh was already pushing it as it is.

"I'd be more impressed if you did." He muttered as I tilted the buckle and scanned. "Henshin!"

TAKA!

TORA!

BATTA!

TA-TO-BA TATOBA TA-TO-BA!

Armored once again, I drew my sword at the ready and lunged forward to slash at its torso. Much to my surprise the blade literally bounced back as I staggered in kind, falling on my rear.

This was just like in the show. I knew that I had to hit harder if I was ever going to pierce through its tough skin. But I couldn't risk hurting Nora if I did that. What if I…

"Ankh, give me the Cheetah Medal!" I called out as I rolled away from a claw strike. Ren peppered it with more shots to push it back. A stray ricochet grazed his left cheek, but he fluttered on; past the point of caring about his own safety if it meant saving Nora.

The bird Greeed was about ready to object before adopting a thoughtful expression. "Hm, yes…that could work." He released the Cheetah Medal out of his hand and tossed it towards me. I stabbed the ground with my sword; I wasn't going to need it for this. I caught the trinket in one hand as the other removed the Batta Medal from its slot.

Ren ducked and leaped away from the Yummy before it could crush him in a bear hug. "Whatever you're doing, do it fast! I can only keep this thing distracted so far!"

It was now or never as I scanned for another Combo change.

TAKA!

TORA!

CHEETAH!

The Batta Legs gave way for the Cheetah legs in a swirl of energy. A resounding roar echoed through my ears as the legs glowed with power. In a burst of speed, I pushed the Yummy back with a strong swipe of the Tora Claws. As it staggered back, I jetted towards it in a sprint and grabbed its shoulders. I held on tightly as I lifted both of my legs to deliver a flurry of kicks straight at the Yummy's stomach.

I persistently delivered a steady barrage of kicks at the Yummy's midsection; the throes of exhaustion being held back by the armor's energies. Yes, it was working! A stream of Cell Medals started to spill from the gaping hole from its stomach. With the Taka lenses, I spotted a prone figure within the beast hanging on for dear life. It was Nora, whose body was now severely emaciated as opposed to how enlarged she was.

"Help me!" she cried out in desperation.

I stopped my tirade as I held out my hand to her. "Grab hold, quickly!" I leaned in closer to get within reach, with the creature punching and clawing away at my back as it was very much unwilling to release its host again.

I didn't care. I promised Ren and Ruby that I would save Nora, and if it meant enduring pain, then so be it. I stretched my arm as far as I could without letting my own body be consumed. When I felt her hand tightly grasping it, I held on tightly and pulled. With a forceful tug, Nora's thin but very much alive body burst out of the hole accompanied by a few Cell Medals as we both landed in a heap.

I set her down gently for Ren to attend to before shifting my focus back at the Yummy, who was fiddling with the gaping hole that was slowly but surely regenerating. Oh, he was so going to get it this time. Ankh seemed to read my mind as he tossed me Medajalibur. I inserted the three Cell Medals I pocketed earlier into the slot before running the O Scanner through the blade.

TRIPLE SCANNING CHARGE!

"Ha!" I let out a battle cry as I swung the sword in a swift and determined motion against the Yummy, bisecting it and the area behind it diagonally before reality reverted back into place. I hung my head in relief when the creature blew up in a literal explosion of Cell Medals, with Ankh's arm happily flying through the air and consuming as much as his arm could catch.

I looked back at Ren who was cradling Nora up gently. She had thinned considerably from the obese mess she was just moments ago. "The Yummy drained her of her calories to make up for the Cells he gave Kazari to replenish him." Ankh idly commented as he flanked my side. Well, at least she wouldn't have to spend a fortune on the gym, that's for sure.

"Is she okay?" I asked smoothly as we walked up to the couple, having dispelled the armor. Ren looked up from his friend and rewarded me with a smile, after giving Ankh the stink eye.

"She's weak, but she'll pull through." Nora's eyes were glazed in fatigue, but she too graced me with a small smile

"Great, now if you'll excuse me-" I trailed off before I fainted, everything going black.

By the time I awoke, I heard a faint voice ringing through my ears. It was only after gaining back some semblance of consciousness that I realized that it was Ruby, whose kind face was the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes.

"He's awake!" Ruby shot her hands up in glee before snaking them around my neck in a vice grip. I choked for dear life, futilely patting her on the back before having the wind knocked out of me again. She yelped in oblivious panic as she kept saying my name as she shook me by the shoulders.

I finally regained full cognizance after Yang managed to calm Ruby down. I sat up by my bed in the infirmary and scanned my surroundings. Both Teams RWBY and JNPR were circling my bed; with the exception of Ren and Nora, who were situated by the bed from across mine. The orange haired spitfire had long recovered from her brush with death and was now happily munching away at a fresh plate of pancakes…while a large stack of empty plates flanked the right side of her bed.

Ren was by her side and was attending to her every need. He gave me a friendly nod of gratitude, which I waved off with a raise of a hand. I was just happy that I fulfilled my promise. I was informed that I and Nora had slept throughout the day since the battle ended and was indeed proven of that when my stomach grumbled. I examined my surroundings and saw that both Teams sans Nora were already fully recovered of their injuries. Man, if only I had some of that aura too.

Weiss was standing by the foot of my bed while crossing her arms along with a stoic expression; her sharp eyes studying me, while Blake and Yang were smiling at me as they sat together by the bed on my left. Jaune and Pyrrha were next to each other by my right while Ruby was sitting by the right of my own bed. Ankh was sitting by the bed near the entrance, his back towards me while he brooded. I had no doubt that Ren was still quite sore from their brief clash.

The sound of a food trolley snapped us to attention as we all swivelled in the direction of the source, where a pale skinned woman holding a scroll against her chest and pushing the trolley by the other was walking up to us. She was dressed in a grey business suit, a knee length skirt and black stilettos. Her blue hair was done in a side ponytail that reached down to her shoulders. The helmeted biker was trailing behind her, still adorned in gear. He spared Ankh a glance as he walked by, causing the Greeed to rise from his seat and follow them in suspicion.

Weiss moved aside as the trolley stopped by the foot of my bed before the woman walked up so that she was now standing in front of me. Her gaze lingered on me for a moment before presenting the scroll up front with the screen facing us. The display flickered before a middle aged man dressed in a black business suit under a white apron and clutching a sifter for baking hailed us jovially.

My jaw dropped as I instantly recognized who this was; at least I hope it's him.

"Greetings! Enrique, Team RWBY and Team JNPR! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" yep, it was him. This guy was definitely Kougami, which surprised me that there even was a Kougami in this world; will wonders never cease?

"Uh, it's not anyone's birthday…is it?" Jaune inquired. When no one answered, he slumped in disappointment.

"Of course there is! When new people meet, that is the catalyst for a brand new birth!" he declared, his gaze wandering around the other Teams present.

"The man you are speaking to right now is Kousei Kougami, Head of the Kougami Foundation." The woman finally spoke up. Either my ears were playing tricks on me, or she sounded exactly like that woman from the series, Erika Satonaka if she were an English speaker.

"THE Kougami Foundation!" Weiss exclaimed in recognition.

"You heard of them Weiss?" Ruby asked in curiosity.

She knit her brows in bewilderment at her partner's ignorance. "Only that they're one of the leading developers of vehicles and transportation, even coming up with new alternative fuel sources aside from Dust." She turned to the Scroll, "Not to mention that they're one of my father's associates."

"Indeed Miss Schnee, although I cannot say that I…agree with a lot of what your father does." He regarded the blonde critically.

The young heiress could only huff in indignation at the slight as she jerked her head away while crossing her arms.

"The Kougami Foundation would like to express their gratitude for the service that you all provided yesterday in dispatching that Yummy." The woman spoke again, while the biker trotted forward with a large silver briefcase. He held it up before us and opened it, revealing twelve new Candroids. He shortly snapped it shut before handing it to Jaune, who eyed it curiously along with Pyrrha.

Ankh watched the President with a sneer. "I take it that you were the one collecting my Cell Medals old man?" The biker seemed to react as he turned his head towards the red Greeed, but remained silent.

"That is quite right!" he answered as he removed the apron from his person, "I actually called for this meeting to negotiate certain terms with you Ankh."

"Negotiate?" Ankh repeated. "You want us to share Medals?"

"Exactly!" he pointed a finger at Ankh, "My foundation will offer precious equipment like bikes or weapons. In exchange of course, for a reasonable fee of Cell Medals." At this, both Teams gawked in comprehension.

"YOU! You're the guys who made Enrique's sword?" Ruby asked.

"And delivered all those new vending machines?" followed by Yang.

"And made all of those cute Can thingies?" trailed off by Weiss. All of us turned our heads to stare at her. "What?"

"Tch, as if!" Ankh scoffed, marching up to the woman to knock the Scroll out of her hand, only for the mysterious biker to get in between them with a gun drawn out; the muzzle precariously jabbed against the bird Greeed's chest.

"Don't even think about it." He warned; his voice slightly muffled by the helmet, "I won't miss." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes; at that distance? He'd have to be a special kind of inept to even graze, let alone miss.

Ankh's face contorted into one of his familiar death glares, growling under his breath.

"Well Ankh, it would seem that now is not the right time to be discussing such matters, seeing as how that you are all still recovering from what happened the other day. Miss Haven, if you please."

The secretary obeyed as she ended the transmission, before removing the cloche over the plate of food – revealing a steaming breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs, bacon and two slices of muffins. My eyes widened at the delectable meal before looking up to see the two visitors about to vacate the infirmary. The biker was the last to follow his associate as he trained his weapon on Ankh a bit longer before withdrawing it and converting the once single gun into twin short swords.

"Humph, another headache," he looked down at me, "you better get out of here soon." Before sauntering off, most likely back to our dorm.

Jaune opened the briefcase again as we studied the twelve new Candroids. Each of them was lined together by their corresponding color; four green Kamakiri Cans, four blue Tako Cans, and finally four red Condor Cans.

"I want one!" Ruby exclaimed as she snatched one of the red cans and pulled the tab. The Candroid instantly reacted and transformed into a small bird-like machine. It cawed out cutely, eliciting a hearty squeal from the scythe wielder as she cuddled the tiny avian in glee.

I smiled at the scene before spotting Ren taking two green ones out before walking back to sit beside Nora. Jaune and Pyrrha each took blue ones, while Weiss, Blake, and Yang took a red, blue and green can respectively.

They all pulled at the tabs simultaneously and were soon regaled by the tiny machines. Nora clapped in delight as she ogled her Batta Candroid hopping around her bed, while Ren's was sitting calmly by his palm.

"Look Ren, it's a cute little grasshopper! Oh! Can I keep it, can I keep it, PLEASE!" she pouted adorably up to her friend, who smiled down at her as he nodded in consent.

"Those are the Batta Candroids. Aside from detecting Greeed or Yummies, they also serve as two-way radios." Nora gasped in joy at my explanation, no doubt imagining ways on how to take advantage of the little critters.

The other cans were already self-explanatory as the Tako and Taka candroids that were opened floated above us. I was so mesmerised by them that I failed to notice someone gently placing my breakfast on my lap.

I looked up to my eyes met with golden yellow orbs, but they were full of warmth and care as Blake smiled kindly at me. My features fell as I remembered my outburst the other day.

"Hey uh…about me blowing my top at you the other day. I'm really sorry." My voice cracked as I trailed off; whether from exhaustion or how rotten I felt, neither reason mattered as she closed her eyes and shook her head; water under the bridge.

I gave her a small smile before looking down at my food to eat. The rest of the day was spent in bed resting. It was early evening when the nurse deemed me well enough to leave.

When I finally arrived at our dorm room, I found Ankh lounging silently by the top bunk while playing with his scroll.

"Did anything else happen while I was in the infirmary?" I half-expected him to answer, if only to get me off his back for the time being.

"No…well, there was that girlfriend of yours coming here and asking for you." He didn't even glance at my direction as I massaged my eyes at his choice of words.

"Was it Blake?" at his nod, I sauntered off to find her. I wasn't in any mood to argue anyway.

Her friends were more than a little helpful as they pointed me to the library where Blake was currently at. After I arrived, I almost reeled from how massive it was. I made my way through row after row of shelves; keeping my eyes peeled for a black bow atop ebony hair. When I finally stumbled upon my quarry, she was slouched against one of the larger bookshelves, her eyes glued at what I could only guess was a novel of some kind.

I hung my head in thought; maybe I should start over with her. I carefully strode up to where she was seated, dragging my feet along the carpet to muffle my steps. It was then that I took notice of the peculiarity of her bow twitching again, just as it had back at the cafeteria. I slowed my pace, inwardly convinced that she somehow caught wind of my presence.

As if to prove my guess, she looked up from her book and spotted me as I approached. Her yellow eyes seemed to glow in the dim corridor as I came up to her, but I dismissed that away as just my imagination.

I looked down at Blake shyly, before carefully sitting down next to her and leaning back against the shelves to relax. I took a deep breath then exhaled, taking in the strong scent of paper.

"It's bad for your eyes." I muttered.

Blake blinked. "What?"

"Reading in the dark I mean…it's bad for your eyes."

Blake's lips pressed together tightly like she was considering something, before directing her gaze back to her book. "I'll keep that in mind."

We sat together in awkward silence for a few minutes before I tilted my head to gaze at her. "Listen, I think we got off on the wrong start. I just…want to say that I'm sorry. I'm really sorry…about, well, everything."

"You already apologized this morning remember?" she reminded me, still focused on the book.

"I was talking about being a total wuss the other day at the cafeteria. I should have done more to keep you guys from getting hurt." I rasped, starting to feel the onset of sleep.

Blake snorted as her lips contorted into a smile. "If anything, I should be the one keeping you safe."

I blinked at her quip. "Ren told us that you…don't have an aura or a semblance. Is…that true?"

I sighed as I threw my head back against a row of books. "Yeah, I'm really not cut out for getting into scrapes like you guys. But…I just can't help but feel like…helping out whenever I see someone that really needs it, you know?"

"I know what you mean," she concurred, "what's wrong with trying to help out someone every now and then?"

"Right…" I closed my eyes, but still striving to stay awake.

"Does that extend to you as well?" my eyes shot open as I tilted to look at her again, with her meeting my gaze.

"Not sure…ever since…well, ever since that day…I haven't been able to give a damn about myself at all."

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't disregard your own happiness. Ankh mentioned that you don't have any desires. What about dreams? What do you want to be when you grow up?"

I snorted at the rather childish question, but I smiled toothily nonetheless, with her chuckling in kind. "I don't know. Never really thought of it before…"

Blake's brows furrowed as she leaned in closer to me. "That can't be healthy. There has to be something."

I pondered in silence before my eyes widened a bit. "A writer…"

She beamed. "You see? What's wrong with pursuing that? Take me for example, I like books." She hefted the one she was holding to highlight her point. "My favourite past time is reading. When I see a good book, it almost makes me want to shake the author's hand for making such a fantastic piece of literature."

"So…I'm guessing if I write something good and you like it, then you'd want to shake my hand then?" I barked out a small laugh, expecting that she'd take it for the joke that it was.

"Of course I would."

I blinked again as I jerked my head to her; she was still sporting that kind smile. "Well, I don't really know what I would write. I mean where to start?"

"Anything you want I guess." She bookmarked the page that she was reading before sealing it shut, saving it for another time as she let it rest on her lap.

"That sounds nice. I would have…" I bit back the words before they came, suddenly recalling Marie looking up at me with love.

Blake's eyes shot up. "Enrique?"

"It's nothing." I mumbled as I rose from the carpet, Blake's eyes trailing my form. I was ready to walk back to my dorm when she held her hand out to me.

"Hm? Do you want me to help you up?"

She slowly shook her head; her smile returning. "Consider it an advance on when I finally get to read that book of yours."

I paused, still hunching over with my hands on my knees to help me up. I blinked a few times before sighing – damn, I did it again.

"No promises." I gently took her hand and shook it, her palm felt soft against mine; warm even. I felt a blush coming on as I straightened up and left.

Blake looked down at her hand. "Warm…he was warm." She raised it up to hold her chest, as if wanting to savour the warmth of his touch. "But it was also empty…so much pain."

Even though she didn't know Enrique all that well, she could tell that he knew the pain of being alone; being on your own with no one to be there for you when it mattered, it should have been an alien concept to someone like her as she had lived amongst her brothers and sisters of the White Fang almost her whole life. She thought of Adam and the friendship they shared since childhood – until it fell apart.

However, when she actually dwelled deeper into it, there was always something that was…missing from her life; a void that she was never quite able to fill. Whenever she was alone in her old room, she would curl up in bed and block out all the horrible things that humans would do and say against the Faunus. Human children would always distance themselves whenever she tried to play with them, with their parents scornfully driving her away.

It should have been more than enough to hate humanity for their prejudice against her kind; Adam showed her that. But why didn't she? Why could she never really bring herself to hate humans? As her mind continued to wander, she thought back to the day of the initiation where she first came to know her three teammates.

Something seemed to click in her as she recalled that day. "Is that it?" her teammates; her human teammates – her friends. Were they even really friends? She always wondered how they would react if they ever found out about her true nature, dreading the same hate and scorn from them. She shook that thought away as she exited the library and walked back to her dorm.

"If that time ever comes…they've been good to me so far. So maybe…?" she bit back a sob as she hugged her book tightly against her chest, the familiar emptiness creeping back in again.

CURRENT CORE MEDALS:

Taka

Tora (x2)

Cheetah (x2)

Batta

(NEXT TIME)

"But I wonder if your taste for fashion can bring you to the depths of sadness?" she said as she presented a silver coin between her fingers.

"Velvet, run!" I shouted as I grabbed her hand as we began to run away from Uva.

GA~TA GATA GATAKIRI–BA! GATAKIRIBA!

Next Time: Trouble with Fashion! The Strongest Combo Arrives!

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this rewritten chapter. Thank you to one of my BETA Readers, Kid Eternity to point some things out. Don't forget to check out my other stories and check out my profile for the poll for a Halo 5 crossover. Stay in the shadows everyone!