Thanks to all of those who left reviews or even followed this story. I appreciate it very much.

I don't own RWBY. RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum. I only own my OCs.

Maroon grabbed the wrist of the White Fang soldier that swung at him. Yanking it to the side to throw him off balance, Maroon disarmed the grunt before driving the pommel of Ember Rose into his back. He fell forward quite a ways. Maroon stalked forward as he struggled to get off the ground. With speed nearly unmatched, the grunt got off the ground and threw a punch at Maroon. Batting the punch aside with the blunt edge of the grunt's blade, Maroon spun to build momentum and slammed the hilt of the sword into his face. The White Fang soldier lay unconscious.

Maroon sighed as he tossed aside the the unknown sword and sheathed Ember Rose over his right shoulder. It had only been a day or two, but it was long and grueling. The White Fang had continued to strike without Roman as Maroon said they would. And although they had managed to capture quite a bit of them, none spoke. Whether it was from fear, or something else, they couldn't tell. Still, in the past three days, it was considered that Maroon did more work than the local police force, according to the news. Of course, they didn't know his true name, so they didn't actually use it. Something also told Maroon that was probably also some of the reason he had positive press behind him too.

"That all of 'em?" Someone behind him asked.

"Yep, seems like it."

"Good. This damn place is becoming a jungle. It's a damn hassle to get any Dust."

Maroon had to agree. Even though he had only just arrived, he had already expended quite a bit of Dust fighting the White Fang. So he too was feeling the effects, even if he had funding from Ozpin himself on behalf of Vale's council. It wasn't a matter of money, it just that the official channels of getting Dust, like through shops, were getting taken out fast. It would take a while to restock and repair as well, so it would likely be that way for a couple of weeks.

"I'm glad we have you with us, Reaper."

Maroon cringed at the alias, the very thought of it leaving a bad taste in his mouth. "And I'm... glad... to be here." He didn't see fit to correct the policeman on his name though. As much as he hated it, Ozpin was right. It allowed people to rally behind his name and gain morale. As such, they would preform better.

"Yeah, I can't imagine how fucked we'd be without you." The policeman said, putting his hands on his hips. "Man, I can't wait to tell my daughter I met you. She's a huge fan of yours, y'know? She wants to be a huntress when she grows up."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. She won't stop talking about it. She's so convinced that she'll be just as good as you."

Maroon bent down and snagged a fire Dust crystal. He stood back up and inspected it. It was a bit chipped and it had energy missing, but it would work for a few rounds or even as a small explosion. Maroon pocketed it for later as he turned back around to the policeman. "That doesn't sound right. She should aim to be better than I am."

The man bust out laughing at Maroon's statement, as if he just heard the best joke of his life. "That's what I tell her, but she always says she doesn't want to be better than you! She's such a fanboy."

"Hmm."

Maroon didn't know what to think about that. Of course, huntsmen were public figures. Being that they pushed back the Grimm, huntsmen were praised practically everywhere. Some of the top huntsmen actually had toys, comics, even fanfiction wrote and modeled after them. Maroon, or the Reaper, was one of them. He hated it, but he supposed that it didn't hurt that they had something to give them hope. Except for the fanfiction. That stuff was weird and not in a good way.

"Hey, you think I can get your autograph? My daughter wouldn't believe me if I said I met you."

"Uh... I suppose?"

"Oh, thank you! Here, this is what I want it on." Lo and behold, the policeman brought out one of those said comics. "Right here, on the front."

"Uh, okay...? You sure you're not the fanboy?"

The man just shrugged it off with a laugh. "Please, I only own these cause of my daughter."

"Uh huh, sure. I believe that." Maroon said in sarcastic drawl. He finished with the autograph and handed it back to the man, who looked at it with shiny eyes as he studied it.

"Oh, thank you so much!"

"You're welcome." Maroon said as he backed up a little. He felt his scroll vibrate in his pocket and picked it up to study the message he received.

It was from Ozpin and it was telling him to come back to the tower. There was business to discuss.

"Look, I have to go. Ozpin's calling me back. I hope your daughter enjoys that."

"She will. Thank you!"

Maroon sat in the elevator as it went upwards. He wondered what Ozpin wanted. He had all but said to continue doing what he was doing as it was working and Ozpin was confident that Maroon would find a solution. To need a talk now spoke of something else. Something that was more important than what he was currently doing. Did it have to do with the Schnee? Did she know Ruby and Yang somehow? If that was the case, then maybe Maroon should've stayed away from Beacon. Too late now, though. He was already on the elevator up.

Speaking of, the elevator dinged, signaling that it had reached Maroon's destination which was the top floor. The doors slid open to reveal Ozpin sitting at his desk, a familiar face standing there, with another one a scroll call. Maroon release a breath he did not know he was holding. Thankfully, it wasn't the familiar faces he was dreading, but one he was sure he would get into odds with.

"Good, you've arrived. You're familiar with Specialist Winter Schnee along with General James Ironwood, aren't you." Ozpin spoke as he gestured to both respectively.

"I am." Maroon replied. "Long time, no see Winter."

"Rose."

"Ahem!" General Ironwood cleared his throat to get everyones attention. "Now that Rose is here, may we discuss what Winter is there for?"

"Yes, we may."

"Very well. Roughly four weeks ago, our supply lines got hit. At first, we thought they were Grimm that took down our bullheads as they went down far beyond the zone of recovery. That was until a few days ago when another bullhead crashed, but this time much closer to recoverable space. It was still out there a ways, but I had to take the risk. What we found was missing cargo, dead bodies, and bullet holes."

General Ironwood went silent as he let everyone process that. After all, Atlas was the biggest military and Grimm couldn't create bullet holes. Grimm would also have no use for cargo, but you could attribute that to the crash itself. Maroon pondered this information. What then? Had the White Fang moved on from only Vale and begun attacking Atlas in earnest? Or was this a new shadow organization?

"Upon further inspection, the black box for the bullhead was found and, while I can't reveal it's exact contents, I can tell you that the pilots behind the wheel had managed to identify that their attackers were White Fang. Following this information, we gathered some volunteers, as well as some professional huntsmen to get them out safely, and sent another bullhead out with cargo that had trackers in them loaded with orders to leave it if they did get shot down."

"You didn't tell them to defend it?" Maroon butted in, slightly confused on Ironwoods tactics.

"No. If the other bullhead hadn't crashed to close, I might have. But the idea here was to trace the cargo's path to see where it might end up. I also value the safety of my troops far more than cargo lost in transit."

"Let me guess, the cargo wound up in Vale?"

"We lost it's signal, but yes. Somewhere to southeast of Vale, to be precise."

Maroon put a hand up to his chin as he contemplated that information. "Southeast? That's Mt. Glenn. Why would- oh that is clever."

"What is it?" Winter questioned.

"Mt. Glenn has a Grimm problem, but if you can circumvent that, you have an entire city to yourself. No doubt there would be plenty of places to hide resources in it. That's not even mentioning the entire underground part of it."

"Hmm, Rose has a point." Ironwood conceded. "Alright then. I can have my forces over there in a few days. Once they arrive-"

"Wait a sec." Maroon cut him off. "We don't have nearly enough information about them. We've only just figured out that that they're holed up in Mt. Glenn. We don't know what numbers they have, the tier of their equipment, nor how much equipment. Rushing in now would be foolish."

Winter moved to defend Ironwood's actions, only for Ozpin to beat her. "I agree with Mr. Rose, James. What would the council and the people of Vale think when a fleet of Atlas airships shows up unannounced?"

"I would simply tell them that I was helping with their Dust problem."

"And do you think they would appreciate that?"

The room went silent as everyone waited for Ironwood's answer. Ozpin simply waited as Ironwood thought it through in his head. Winter seethed as she glared at Maroon. Maroon glared back, even though he probably shouldn't have. He knew it was childish, but he didn't care. It was fun to annoy her.

Ironwood sighed as he looked down on the call. "I suppose they wouldn't like it much. I wouldn't be surprised if it started a war. Very well. Winter, I want you and Rose to go investigate Mt. Glenn for enemy forces. I want as close of an accurate count as you can get. If it's possible, I also want some supplies recovered but not unless it jeopardizes your mission. Unless, it isn't okay with you?" He asked as his face turned to Ozpin.

"I have no qualms against it, but Mr. Rose might."

Maroon scoffed as he crossed his arms and stood firmer. "Please, the only person in this room that has a problem with it is Ice Queen."

"I can assure you, I do not. Even if I dread working with you, if General Ironwood commands it, it will be done."

"That apply to you sucking his di-"

"Mr. Rose!"

"What? You can't tell me you weren't thinking it."

"Ahem!" Ironwood cleared his throat yet again. "This should be a joint venture between Vale and Atlas. The Valean council might not appreciate Atlas getting involved for now, but they cannot deny the fact that the White Fang have attacked some of my convoys and brought their supplies here. It'll reflect better publicly than if I were to just send Winter without any warning."

"I agree. I'll get in contact with them." Ozpin stated as he leaned back in his chair and took a sip out of his mug. "Still you should start getting prepared for the trip to Mt. Glenn."

"Yeah, I will. Take care Ozpin." Maroon said as he walked out of the room.

The room sat in silence for a second before Winter spoke. "I hate that man. I'd go as far as to say he's worse than Qrow sometimes."

"Will you have a problem working with him?"

"No, sir."

"Good. We need his help."

Maroon swung his sword at air. Diligently and swiftly, he practiced his motions as he focused his mind on the mission ahead. He brought his sword up in a vertical cut before spinning and using the momentum to put a little more energy behind the strike. A blade of air swooped across the arena he had reserved in Vale. Even if he was an active huntsman, Maroon still trained. The more his skills sharpened, the better fighter he would be. If he was a better fighter, he was a better protector. It also helped to keep him in peak physical condition. Maroon ducked, acting as if he dodged a strike, before coming up with slice.

When he first got Ember Rose, it had felt unbelievably heavy. He could barely hold it in his hands. Now though, it felt as if he was using a paperweight to train. The sword was special to him. Having designed it alongside Qrow and his mother, Summer Rose, he had finally made it only about four years after he ran away to find her. It was made for a full-sized adult then, so it was natural that it felt heavy. However, after eight whole years of wielding against Grimm and sometimes people, he had gotten used to it's weight. Or got strong enough that the weight didn't matter.

Maroon spun around before delivering one more imaginary strike. He brought Ember Rose in front of him and calmed down his breathing. He flourished the sword and sheathed it in one motion as he finished his training. He sighed as he walked out of the training room. It was a gym for huntsmen, so you were permitted to train with your weapon, so long as you did so in a way that was safe. That meant making sure you were in a designated area for training with your weapon. If it had a gun designed into it, you didn't point it at people.

As he walked away from the gym he noticed a pharmacy along with a pair of faunus in front of it. One of them was a small child, a dog faunus if he had to guess with brown hair and eyes, the other a full grown adult who had the same features. Their clothes were rugged and hair unkempt, a sign of low income and poverty. As Maroon walked forward, he was able to hear snippets of a conversation.

"Please, my daughter needs this medicine!"

"I'm sorry, sir, but unless you have a prescription for this, I can't give it to you."

"But I have one right here!"

"I told you, we don't take fakes."

Maroon slowed as he heard this. He waited for more as he listened to the conversation he knew he probably shouldn't have been eavesdropping on.

"You haven't even checked it! How do you know it's fake!" The man said as he seemed to get even more frustrated with the clerk behind the counter.

"Sir, please calm down-"

"You're just singling me out because I'm a faunus, aren't you! It's because of people like you that we get pushed to the White Fang"

Upon the name drop of the terrorist organization, the building's security began to converge on the man. Maroon began to start walking again before he heard something that stopped him in his tracks.

"Daddy, it hurts."

"Mommy, it hurts."

Before Maroon even knew it, he was already fighting the security before they could attack and take the man into custody. After struggling to push back several men back without hurting them, they finally backed off and observed the new entry. The clerk seemed to be surprised, probably because he recognized Maroon's red cloak. Maroon took a few breaths as he calmed himself down.

"What's going on here?" He asked.

"Thank goodness! This faunus was trying to-"

"Get medicine for my daughter!"

"-Steal from me. Please, you have to believe me!"

Maroon scowled as he looked to the both of them. He hated getting involved in other peoples business. "Quiet. You. You said you were trying to get medicine for your daughter?"

"Yes," He said. "I was. She has an infection in her dog ears. If it's not treated, it could spread. It's already extremely hard to get human medicine for us, not to mention some faunus medicine as well."

"But he-"

Maroon snapped back around to the clerk, shutting him up almost instantly. "I thought I told you to be quiet. Do not interrupt me or him again." Maroon sighed as he looked back to the faunus man and motioned for him to continue.

"My daughter had been complaining about hurting in her ears for a few weeks. When I finally managed to scrounge up the money to take her to the doctors, I did. They gave us a prescription for ear drops that should help relieve the pain and treat the infection, but when I got here, the clerk refused to give them to me, saying that I had faked it without even looking at it."

"As if you could afford it." The clerk mumbled under his breath.

Maroon audibly growled at the remark, letting the man know that Maroon had caught it, but otherwise let it go. "I see." Maroon said as he scratched his chin. "I suppose if I asked you the same question, you would answer it the same way, no?"

"Uhh... Yeah?"

"But, if you hadn't looked at it, then how did you know it was fake?"

"You can't be serious!"

Maroon crossed his arms as he grinned at the clerk. He had him. "I'm deadly serious. You do know that racism is a crime in Vale, right? It wouldn't do if innocent people didn't get the meds they need because of a racist store clerk."

"But I did check his prescription! I promise you!"

Maroon's eyes narrowed as the man in front of him tried to weasel his way out of the situation Maroon had placed him in. "Is that so? Well, then there is one thing that can clarify this, thankfully."

"And that is..?" Both men asked at once, eager to see other fail at convincing him.

"Check the prescription again. If it's identified as fake again, then you were right and I won't interfere. However, should it not be a fake, then you will give this faunus what he needs."

Both of them seemed to ponder it. Though, the faunus didn't need much thinking. He did think about the outcomes and such, but they were all somewhat positive in this case. Or, at least they were because of how fast he'd acted. He was confident that prescription wouldn't be identified as a fake, so he didn't really need to be afraid. Now, that isn't to say he isn't using a fake, but the fact that he was so confident means that he feels as though his side was right one.

The clerk, however, thought on it a long time. Maroon smirked as his trap sprung. An early way of telling who was innocent in this verbal fight. If the clerk truly hadn't actually looked at it, then, when it came up that it was real and not faked, he would be outed as a known racist. So he thought it over thoroughly.

In the end, he made the safest decision.

"Fine, he can have the damn medicine."

A few hours later, Maroon sat at the airspace, waiting for Winter to show up. She was late. That was unlike her, but Maroon didn't think too much on it. She was a big girl and a professional specialist too. She could handle herself. Mainly, he thought about the faunus pair he helped earlier that day.

After that whole fiasco, they had come up to him and told him thank you. No one else had stood up for them like he had. The dad was glad there was still people willing to do the right thing, not matter what. Maroon felt guilty when he had said that. If it wasn't for his daughter pulling a memory of his mom out from him, he probably would've kept walking. So, as recompense, Maroon gave them a few thousand lien. His own bank account was full on account that he usually took very tough jobs with an insane reward to compensate. It was pocket change for him, literally in this case. The man's eyes shone when he saw it. Maroon told him to play smart with it and not to waste it. His daughter thanked him and gave him her name, Hazel. Maroon gave her his own and after that, they left.

Maroon crossed his arms as he stared out to the horizon, a deep pink settled across it due to the setting sun going down and allowing the shadows to grow ever larger. Maroon took a second to take it all in as he breathed in the fresh air, his billowing red cloak floating in the wind.

"I didn't take you as one to take in the scenery."

Maroon turned to see Winter walking up to him. Maroon grunted as he turned back to the sunset, watching the last little remnants of light fade. "And I didn't take you as one to be late, but we all have some surprises. Who knows? Maybe you secretly like to be late and are ashamed of it."

Winter's face scrunched up. "Don't tell me this is apart of some… degenerate fantasy."

"Pfft, you wish. I could do better than you." Maroon shot back as his face stayed the same kind of neutral. Deep down, he felt a flicker of warmth at the banter.

Winter seemed to have a different opinion about Maroon's statement, however. "Only a fool would hope to do better than a Schnee."

"Is that a confession I hear?"

Winter looked away as her face lit up in a beet red which was very noticeable against her pale skin. "D-Damn you."

Maroon busted out laughing as bent backwards. "It's way too easy to tease you, you know that? Anyway, why were you late? Something I should be worried about? Ice Queen can't handle me after all?"

"If you must know, I was catching up with my sister. Something you know nothing about."

Maroon's happy mood ceased instantly. "Hey, I know I made some fucked up decisions and such, but let's not talk about this one."

"Can't handle it? Maybe you shouldn't dish it out then."

"I don't believe I ever insinuated that you're a failure or a monster because of something in the past."

Winter looked back to see Maroon's face. One etched in complete seriousness with an underlying hint of anger. "… You're right," Winter took a second to respond to Maroon's statement. "I have no right to judge you. But I do have the right to judge your actions."

"The hell's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that the longer you wait to tell them, more you damage your relationship with them."

Maroon growled as he looked away. His brows furrowed and his mouth formed into a frown. "It's not that simple."

"I do believe it is that simple. You just don't want to see it as such because you can avoid it that way."

Maroon took off, marching his way into the airship that was set to fly them out of there. "Fuck you, let's just go already. I can't believe I was nice enough to pack half your shit already."

That's all. Rather short one, this time around. I didn't really know what to do for this chapter. I needed the scene of Maroon and Winter leaving for Mt. Glenn, but it would've been way short, had I done only that. Anyway, Mt. Glenn. Yes, it is being done early. Yes, it is going to affect V2. I won't say in what way exactly, but it's not going to be the same.

To be honest, I felt like I ended this kind of early, but I didn't really know how else to drag out the ending scene, so… this'll have to do.

Love y'all and see y'all later!