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Beta(s) :

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Wrote this whilst a bit ill.

Apologies for any scuff.

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"Come one, come oooon!" Ruby complained, tugging on his prosthetic arm and dragging him to the edge of the Manor the Belladonnas had opened up to himself and the young warriors when they arrived with Atlas' fleet. He stumbled along, offering token resistance, and Ruby complained more, "We're gonna miss out on the good spots, Thel!"

The young Huntress had changed a bit since coming to Menagerie. The sun had warmed her pale skin to a darker peach sort of color, and her hair had grown out past her shoulders. She wore a red sundress edged in black and black stockings under her grey boots, but little else he could see. Not even her weapon.

"The good spots…?"

"Studies and analysis show that a specific twenty seven point five percent of the audience area is the best to hear the music, undistorted by the crowd, from." Penny offered helpfully, pacing alongside him with a pleased, easy smile. She hadn't changed at all since leaving Atlas beyond trimming her hair. It sat around her shoulders now, like Ruby's but curlier. "If we arrive late, earlier birds will get our worm."

"I'm… Sorry?"

"It means if we're slow we'll lose out on the good stuff, and you promised last month you'd come with us!"

"Did I?" He chuckled, "I can't recall."

"Fibber!" She pouted up at him, "A promise is a promise. Come on, we don't have a lot of time!"

"Alright, alright, lead the way, Ruy." He sighed, snagging his cloak off the hook beside the door as they slipped out the door, around a corner and into the main foyer of the always busy manor.

Much had changed about Menagerie in the seven months since their arrival, Atlas' fleet and decimated military in tow. One needed only look to the mountains for the most obvious example.

In absence of a proper wall, Atlas' ships had come down along the rolling peaks and dips of the mountains that encircled Menagerie. From the center of the settlement, he could see the forts and barracks that had been erected by the soldiers. Most were only walled on one side, facing away from the settlement and lined by tall watchtowers topped by marksmen and machine-gun nests. More Atlesian constructions were clustered along the path down, spattered in little groups of houses, barracks and medical buildings and crossed back and forward by winding dirt roads.

The cannons on one of the ships rumbled distantly, faint puffs of white smoke rising from their other sides, as they bombarded some unfortunate Grimm.

Just as much had changed in the city, however. When Atlas first arrived, they had brought almost exclusively soldiers. But the second time a fleet had arrived, it had been sent North to the fallen Kingdom with empty bays. When it returned it brought salvage. Dust, manufactory machines that had been found in a semi-repairable state, drones of a variety of servile stripes, and even raw construction materials Atlesian engineers had gathered from the ruins.

Using those supplies, and under the Chieftain's supervision, much of the housing had been consolidated. Old, wooden homes were ripped down to make way and replaced by a block of towers beside the beach. They had been drab, grey things at first, but rose up ten stories and held enough space for all the Faunus in one tenth the space. As abrupt as the change had been, and as many had disliked it, they had needed the space for the massive factories Ironwood and Roland had overseen the construction of.

Over the months since, the Faunus making their homes on the small continent had seen fit to rectify its drab appearance, though.

Now, dark grey had been buried under a dark blue coat of paint. Potted plants hung outside with bright flowers and long veins that dripped down from them. It was a far more welcome sight, to say the least. Even the factory was now brightly painted, and surrounded by freshly dug gardens. A small park, with a fountain at its center, was even being built between the housing zone and the factories. It was all so bright, it brought a certainty of purpose to him he hadn't felt for some time.

Drab grey and silver was his least favorite part of Atlesian and UNSC architecture…

"Come on, Thel." He felt Ruby tugging on his prosthetic again and looked down at her beaming face. "We gotta get to the beach! Come on, come on, come ooon!"

"And she's gone… So very predictable, that girl." He rumbled a laugh as the woman vanished, leaving rose petals flickering through the air as she rocketed away over the heads of the crowd milling about the manor's open square.

"Indeed she is…" Penny nodded, a quiet edge of something he could not make out before she rose into the air, thrusters thrumming with power. She turned to him to offer a polite salute and then she, too, was off, trailing after her mate.

Chuckling, he began to push his way through the crowd after them.

At least he could look forward to hearing some more of Menagerie's so-called 'speed metal' when he got there. He didn't comprehend the name, but all he needed to do was enjoy it, he supposed.

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His fingers moved deftly, ejecting the magazine of his assault rifle. The rounds inside were pristine, stacked by his own hands hours earlier. He slid the magazine home with practiced ease and reset the connection between the AR's internal computer suite and his MJOLNIR interface. It came back green, but he did it twice more for surety's sake. Satisfied, he reached for his magnum to do the same-

"Chief." Jorge sighed from his side, watching the Atlesian flotilla coming down towards Menagerie with his arms cross and his face hidden behind his Atlesian visor. When John cocked his head to the side to acknowledge the man, he rumbled, "You're not going into a firefight. Relax."

"I know." He turned away again and drew his Magnum, ejecting its magazine as he had done his AR. Pristine rounds, stacked neatly - and his systems connected to it with less than a tenth of a second's delay for monitoring. Quietly, he added, "I… Need something to do."

"Standing is something." Kelly offered from behind him.

"Breathing, too." Frederic bounced off of her from the woman's side. "Linda?"

"He's nervous." She spoke over comms, but she was only a few dozen feet away, kneeling and leaning against a support frame for the wet-docks and watching them all. "He's always been like this with… Others."

"Don't say that like it's strange." Jorge grunted quietly as the massive military ships came to a stop and their bays opened, dozens of landing craft sliding out and into the air like bees from a floating hive, "It's not. I was the same way as he was, when I landed here."

"What…" He paused, unsure of what to say, really, before he settled on, "Helped you?"

"A good woman helped me, John. Egy nő csodája, with a lot of patience for nonsense." Jorge huffed a deep, rumbling laugh and shook his head before he turned to him. "But I was never the worst of us for it, a barátaim voltam?"

"I suppose not."

"Ah, here it comes…" Jorge grunted as one of the Atlesian transports came down and angled its side toward them.

Menagerie, sea-based settlement that it was, had already had a long series of docks jutting out along its coast. With Atlas' arrival and engineers, they were lengthened and expanded turning a handful of wooden piers into a hundred long dock-ways forged out of steel and concrete that stretched out into the ocean, ended by wide, circular landings for air-transports to land and for ships to off-load cargo salvaged from Atlas onto.

As the air-ship came down to rest on the platform, the door slid open and the Master Chief watched for young Hunters step out. The one in the lead, a smartly dressed woman with a purse slung over her shoulder, flicked her gaze to either side before she looked forward and noticed them.

"Coco!" Jorge bellowed as he lumbered towards her and the transport lifted off and turned away. "Get over here, girl!"

"Daddy!" She crowed, practically sprinting across the open space and leaping into the Spartan's arms. He caught her easily and she let him hold her up, her arms around his neck and purse dangling from a hand.

He saw her take in a shuddering breath and heard Jorge rumble, "Rendben van, szerelmem. Jól vagyok."

"Tudom." He heard her whisper as her team reached them, smiling gently and simply observing the display. "De amikor megkaptuk a hírt…"

"Bocsáss meg." Jorge grunted as he peeled her off of him and set her down on the ground. The largest of their group stepped up from behind her to rest a reassuring hand on her shoulder and she turned to pay him a smile before turning back to her father. "You, ah, read my letter, yes?"

"Yeah…" She leaned to the side to look past Jorge at the three of them standing behind him and cocked her head. "Gotta admit, always just thought you were senile, Apa."

"Durva." Jorge grunted with a small chuckle as he stepped aside and gestured for them to come closer. They did and he grunted, "You, too, Linda. Family reunion, means you can't skip."

"Fine, fine…" She sighed and moved to join them, grumbling all the while, "Because no one knows what spacing is, apparently."

"Lin…"

"Yeah, Fred, I know." She sighed as she reached them and rolled her shoulder. "It was just a joke."

"Well, Coco…"Jorge cut in, reaching up to remove his helmet. He attached it to a magnetic clamp on his waist and put his hands on his hips, smiling widely. "Should I go first or should you?"

"You're older."

"Ha." The Spartan snorted and rolled his eyes, gesturing to the Spartans one after the other with a hand as he spoke. "That's Kelly-087. One of the best CQC marskwomen you'll ever meet and the fastest Spartan alive. Frederic-104, the other best CQC mnarsman the Spartan corps put together. The shy one is Linda-058, the best sniper the UNSC has ever known, far as I'm aware-"

"I'm still unchallenged in that regard." She confirmed with a nod, "Twenty odd years hasn't changed that, 052."

"-And she also has one of the fastest mouths I've ever seen." Jorge huffed, turning to John, finally, and finishing with a smile, "And this is John-117. The luckiest fattyú to put on a suit of MJOLNIR and, if the rumors are true, the man that saved the galaxy."

"I wasn't alone." He cut the other man off sharply, "I went to the Ark with a full ship and an Elite fleet."

"Uh huh, uh huh." Jorge grinned, lopsided and toothy, and waved him off without a second thought. Still smiling, he turned to the woman and grunted, "My brothers and sisters, each and every. I trust you'll give 'em a proper Remnant welcome?"

"From what I hear, a Leviathan did that for me." She smirked and crossed her arms, bobbing her head to one side and grunting warmly, "Velvet Scarlatina, cutest bunny girl on Remnant-"

"Coco!"

"-and incredibly shy." The woman laughed as she raised a hand to intercept the hand coming around for her head. While she defended against the Faunus' red-faced attacks, she went on with a smile, "Big guy behind me is Yatsuhashi Daichi. Don't let his size fool you, he will step on you if you come onto Vel."

"I will not, in fact, do that."

"Shush, mommy is talking." She chided, thumping him with her hand and finishing, "And that's Fox Alistair. Resident punch boy."

"Is… That what you call being the hand to hand specialist now?"

"Yep." She nodded, "You like it?"

"...No."

"Then it's settled, punch boy." She grinned and then scowled when the Faunus finally got a hand in and stole her beret. She turned a scowl on her but the Faunus just stuck her tongue out and plopped the hat on her head. Then she spread her arms and posed, like it was a challenge, and Coco growled. "Damn it- Just because you look cute with my hat on doesn't mean I won't get you."

"Uh huh, uh huh, try it then."

"Ugh." She rolled her eyes but let it go, running a finger through her hair and turning back to the Spartans. "So… Numbers kinda suck for last names, don't they, dad?"

"Your mother thought so."

"Mhm." Coco nodded, "So, since we're family and all, I think it's only right."

"What is…?"

"John Adel." Jorge rumbled lowly, smirking when his visor snapped around to the smiling Spartan. "I suppose it has a nice ring to it."

"I think so." Coco nodded, "What do you think, Uncle John?"

"I…" He blinked, as something tightened in his chest, and then he nodded mutely. "I… Suppose it's better than a number. Kelly?"

"We've always been family, Chief." The woman shrugged, "Why not, eh?"

"We just gotta make it official." Jorge grunted, "And between Ironwood and the Belladonnas, I imagine I have some favors we can call in to get the paperwork pushed through. Coco, you can come if you want."

"Sure." She nodded, "Concert on the beach, guys. Hang out for a while."

The woman paid him no more than a nod as she slipped by and Jorged followed after her. For a moment, he stood still in their wake, surprised by the sudden turn. But, before he could dwell on it, Kelly laid a hand on his shoulder and turned him towards the settlement."

"Come on." She chuckled, "Family reunion. Means we can't skip out. Right?"

"...Yes." He nodded, "Yes it does."

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Yang hefted the bus-sized boulder up over her shoulders and grunted as she turned, hefting it overhead and beaming at the other woman on the beach, "Babe! Look!"

"Wow, you brought me a rock." The Faunus lounging on the towel and sunning herself drawled.

"Mhm, 'cus you rock my world!"

"Tides…" Blake rolled her eyes and waved a hand at her, "Would you put that back? You're ruining the terrain."

"Whatever m'lady desires!"

"Oh for the love of-" Blake snorted a laugh and waved her over, patting the extra large beach towel beside her pointedly, "Would you please just get over here and enjoy the sun with me? We've been Grimm slaying for two weeks. I want to enjoy my time off."

"So you don't enjoy using Gambol Shroud to hang an Ursa in a tree so I can beat it like a pinata…?"

"Okay as fun as that is…" She pointed at the spot beside her and snapped through a wide, happy smile, "Get."

"Sure, no problem." She grunted, dropping the boulder back onto the ground beside a tree and bouncing over to join her girlfriend. She settled in and Blake turned, cuddling up against her and resting her head on her shoulder. Chuckling awkwardly, Yang murmured, "I-I, uh, thought you were sunning yourself."

"Yang?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

"Yes, dear." She sighed, running her fingers through the woman's hair and watching the ocean. After a few moments, her eyes started to get heavy and she laid back against the warm sand and let the early warmth of a nap start to bog her down. Quietly, before she faded away, she asked, "Hey, babe, you think she'll…. You know, do the thing?"

"Dunno." Blake shrugged against her, "But right now, let's just enjoy the peace and quiet."

"Sure…" She murmured as she finally slid into her nap. "S'fine."

She'd always hated it, before, but maybe peace and quiet weren't so bad after all…

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"And you are certain?"

"We performed the test yesterday morning, Arbiter." Roland answered, projected by the holo-display built into Ironwood's chosen flagship. "We had a few more shake-downs left to run before I was comfortable reaching out, though."

"And there were no problems?"

"Our transit drifted about fifty kilometers, actually." Roland countered breezily, mind no doubt working on another dozen items in preparation for what was coming. "And the energy needed to power the drive-sequence was twice the normal amount. But this is the best Atlas can manage, and as long as it can work with the anomaly to transit us to Sanghelios space…"

"It shan't matter…"

"Exactly our thoughts." Ironwood nodded and turned to the display, looking up at the holographic model of the Black Sun. "I've reached out to teams RWBY and JNPR. Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee have both agreed to act as representatives alongside you to Senghelios."

"But not the others…?"

"Belladonna and Xiao Long are staying, due to Yang's prosthetic." Ironwood explained, "Specialist Schnee and Specialist Adel will stand in for me for the same reason. Leaving orbit would be lethal for me."

"I see." He nodded - it was sensible, Yang could not go and Blake wished to stay beside her. Quietly, he asked, "JNPR?"

"Juniper… Didn't respond." Ironwood answered simply, "They left a month ago, to return with Oscar to his family once again."

"I see…" It was time, then, or soon would be, for Oscar to say his goodbyes in finality. Quietly, he considered, "I should go to the boy as well, then. Ruby and the others will wish to see him off too, I have no doubt."

"She is already aware, and spoke to him through Roland's broadcast systems yesterday." Ironwood said, "They both agreed that what is best for Remnant must come first. You must go to Sanghelios and honor your promises. As soon as possible. It's painful, and you have my sympathies, but…"

"But…?"

"But I set aside my wants for the greater good."Ironwood's voice was as hard as his gaze - unyielding, like steel. "Now it's your turn."

"I see…" He murmured. He disliked it, but if such was Ruby's decision, he would not rise to hypocrisy. So he resigned himself and then, curious, cocked his head to the side and asked, "And when did Ruby make this call?"

"Yesterday morning." Ironwood answered, "Early."

"Ah…" Before the concert, then. No wonder she had pressed so hard for him to spend time with her. It was time for him to go home, at long last. Taking a deep breath, he leaned against the holo-display and rumbled, "Very well. Let us see this done."

"Indeed." Ironwood nodded, "But… Oscar asked me for a favor."

"Hm?" Thel looked down as the man stepped closer and set a box on the edge of the display. Curious, he picked it up, "What is this?"

"Oscar wouldn't say." Ironwood answered, "He only said that… He owed it to you?"

"Hmph." He looked down and, gently, undid the pale blue ribbon that tied it closed. As he lifted the lid, his eyes widened and he gasped a simple, "O-Oh…"

The knife was immaculate, straight-edge lined in bronze with a fine, dark wooden handle and a brass guard. The grip was textured, but not for human hands. The grooves were too wide and deep for that. No, this had been designed with Sangheili fingers in mind from its very base. Quietly, he withdrew the knife and it's dark wooden sheath both. They came with a thick satin cord and he tied it to his waist without a moment's doubt.

So, this was Oscar's goodbye, then…

The Arbiter chuckled and turned back to the General, "He has found his way. So now we must find ours."

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Jaune rapped his dirty knuckles on the door and smiled when the quiet voice offered a meek, "Come in."

The room was small and simple, with a long bookshelf on one side, a desk under a window and a simple bed. All of it was clean, courtesy of the bag of dirty paper toilets and the just about half-empty dusting agent on the floor by the door, he supposed. And, in the center, Oscar sat with his knees tucked up against his chest.

Jaune closed the door behind him and knelt beside the boy to ask, "How are you?"

"Tired…"

"So, maybe it's time to rest?"

"If I do, I'm…" He froze and pressed his forehead against his knee. "I didn't sleep all last night, Jaune. A-And Ozpin says that when I do, next, we'll… I'm scared, Jaune. I-I'm not even going to die, I'm just gonna… Be gone."

"I know." Jaune laid a hand on his shoulder and sighed, "I am, too. But if it helps, I'll get Nora and Ren, and we'll come up here and sit with you."

"I…" Oscar sighed, "I'd like that, yeah."

"Alright." Jaune stood, "I'll get 'em, then. And something to drink, too."

"Thanks…"

"Yeah." It was hard, but when Oscar looked up at him, Jaune forced himself to smile. "Don't worry about it."

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The decision was made swiftly after that, and Thel was waiting outside the Chieftain's manor when Ruby and Weiss arrived. Her eyes shot to the stump of his arm and then to his eyes and he rumbled a laugh.

"I saw what happened to your sister." He rumbled meaningfully, "I will make due without it."

"Oh, yeah…"

"Gods, you're such a dolt sometimes." Weiss sighed, standing ramrod straight in her long white coat and pressed grey pants. Her long ponytail was gone, now, trussed up in a tight bun on the back of her skull. Her shoulder was blacke, however, emblazoned with Atlas' symbol. She saw his gaze and huffed, red-faced. "Yes, yes, I know. But… I wanted to honor her."

"So you enlisted?"

"So I enlisted." She nodded and smiled, "Ruby did, too. Though she doesn't like the uniform."

"Oh?"

"I hate pants!"

"Well, that's certainly a sentence to walk in on." The Atlesian Spartan rumbled as he joined them. Thel chortled at that and looked past him, where the other Spartans stood, helmets on their hips as they spoke to a young woman with short, brown hair. When the Demon turned to accept the hug she foisted onto him, he turned to Jorge, question obvious in his gaze. "My daughter."

"Your daughter…"

"Mhm." He nodded and added, quietly, "I'll introduce you next time you're Remant-side."

"I…" Thel paused and bowed his head, "I would enjoy that greatly."

"Mhm…" After a moment of quiet, the Spartan turned and called back, "John, it's time."

The other Spartans didn't speak, they simply pulled their helmets on and turned towards the Pelican parked in the open ground of the manor-square. Thel moved to meet them, the other Spartan and the Hunters in tow as they boarded the Pelican. Frederic and Linda both moved to the cockpit while they all strapped in for the ride and, within moments, he felt gravity shift as the Pelican angled up towards space.

The ship shuddered as it touched down in the Sun's bay and the ramp slid open.

"Arbiter, Master Chief, please proceed to the bridge." Roland said, "I'm making my way towards the anomaly and spooling up the drive."

"Understood."

"Also, uh…" Roland paused, "We have a stow-away in the cockpit?"

Thel and the Demon exchanged glances before they stood and moved for the cockpit at not-quite-a-run. When the two of them arrived they were met by a small woman with vibrant, multi-colored hair dressed in an Atlesian engineers uniform and laying across the captain's seat with her legs draped over one arm and her head resting on the other.

"Identify." The Spartan demanded, Magnum leveled on the girl.

She only raised a hand, frost sparing to life from it to spell out, 'Fall Maiden. The blonde doofus asked me to come and help you.'

"The blonde…" Thel blinked, "Yang?"

The woman nodded and added with a flourish of her fingers, 'My name is Neo.'

"Neo…" He'd heard of the lethal little woman more than once, in the months since the Fall. Gently, he laid a hand on the Spartan's forearm and nudged it down. Then, warily, he asked, "Why would you help us?"

'When Atlas came down, it was because I couldn't do what I promised.' Neo explained simply, 'Blondie said I help out here and it's square.'

"Somehow, I feel your motivations are something… A bit different." Thel rumbled, but all the woman offered as an uncaring shrug before she rolled off the seat and paced over to the far wall to sit on the floor. With a sigh, Thel turned to the Spartan and saif, "A display of magic would be useful in convincing my kin…"

"Fine." The Chief grunted as he holstered his sidearm and took his seat. "Roland, track her."

"Yes, Chief."

"Now," he sighed as Thel knelt on the floor of the bridge, "take us home."

The AI didn't answer, but Thel felt the familiar pull of Slipspace envelop him. And then he felt unconsciousness drag him away as he slumped to the side and came down on the cool floor of the bridge.

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Just one or two more chapters, now.

And then our journey will be at its end.

Been one hell of a ride, everyone. Love ya.

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KPMH 2001 :

I view Irondaddy as a man very prone to fascism, or authoritarianism if you prefer, and write and consider him as such. Here, his demand for loyalty was never made into a dividing weapon thanks to circumstance. Here, his military was only ever aimed outward.

What many people grow confused over is when, and why, he becomes who he dies as. Like most, his fascism is not innate - it's created. Fear and need created it. This is why Irondaddy discourse is so wobbly. Ozpin has a similar problem, where people don't seem to get the actual issues people in-universe and out have with his actions and decisions.

It's complex is my point, lol. And complexity confuses we dumb apes often.

Nantono :

The Grimm predate Salem. Even with her gone, they will persist. It's only the intellect guiding them which is gone.

RIP Soldier Bois (Guest) :

I mean, yeah, sci-fi and fantasy tend to have heavy casualties. But here, Irondaddy is pissed at their deaths. He just acknowledges that, as Thel said, they're dead no matter what. All that can be changed is what comes next.

He chooses to use Roland to make it worth something.

Khajiit of Lordran :

To be fair, they kinda can't get a message out even though they might want to. And when they return, debriefs with ONI and Thel disseminating information will do plenty to warn most.

Arashi Uzukaze :

Yeah, Salem is… A tragedy. Sad, but sometimes that's how things go.

Mattysteel :

Yep! There's just a wee bit left to this story, but their adventures continue.

Smokey Panda :

Oh yeah, I made Roland one CHEEKY bitch, lol.

Joe Cola :

I wouldn't be TOO hyped - I'm not a romantic person, so I tend to fumble with romantic plots. I wanna try, but I just dunno what'll come of it.