AN: Next chapter after a long hiatus. No real excuse for it besides burnout for writing in general. I cherish every comment and hope a few of you can find the time to share your thoughts. It helps knowing somebody besides myself finds enjoyment in this story.

RWBY

The massive transport ship hovered over the group like a predator. Barely seconds after appearing over the ruins, the machine descended for a hasty landing and the large ramp in the back opened before it touched the ground, showing the impatience of the passengers to get out as fast as possible.

Glynda Goodwitch was furious. In a stride that chipped the paint off the metal with every step, the headmistress of Beacon jumped the last part to land among the waiting audience. "Absolute disgraceful behavior, unfit for this academy or any other on Remnant!"

Headmaster Ozpin showed more composure, joining his fuming colleague in a slow and relaxed gait. "Glynda, you are scaring the students."

"They should be scared! If I had any say, they all would be thrown out!" Glynda saw a nearby ice box and kicked it over to let a plethora of empty bottles rattle all over the floor. "Look at this! We are a school for raising the next generation of huntsmen and huntresses, not a damn fraternity of layabouts!"

The prospect of losing enrollment at Beacon enraged Nora to the point Ren had to hold her back. She still had the blisters on her feet from walking all the way from Mistral and now moments before achieving her goal the door could be slammed shut. "What else were we supposed to do? The stupid Winchester guy took the thingies!"

Weis chimed in, much calmer and composed than the mistralian valkyrie. "I concur with the statement. We had the assurance Mr. Winchester would join us to hand over the relics."

"Ah, that brings up a good point. Mr. Winchester, would you be so kind as to join us?"

The man of the hour appeared from the innards of the bullhead without any fanfare, walking into sight in slow and deliberate steps. Russel could tell Cardin was in an even worse shape than before, upper body caked in a thick layer of dried blood and black goo, one eye swollen shut and wounds deep enough to make visible holes in the flesh. On his shoulders he carried the remains of his foes, a bone-plate from the Nevermore head and the enormous golden stinger of the Deathstalker.

He had a noticeable limp down the ramp and Ozpin sought to lessen the young man's burden. "Mr. Winchester, you can let the grimm parts on the ship. Nobody will steal your well-earned trophies."

Every movement made audible cracks through the forest. "I'd rather not lose them. These will look great in my dorm room."

Ozpin gave the faintest shrug and Glynda scoffed, but let Cardin step off the ramp under the undivided attention of everybody. The brunette stood straighter, increasing the cacophony of cracking sounds from his broken body. "How is everyone doing on this fine day? Enjoying life to the fullest? Seizing the opportunities presented? Acting without regret?"

Eyes of people unfamiliar with Cardin focused towards the inked bear grimm on his exposed back.

Dead silence followed as the implications settled in.

"No? Nobody? Not even Blondie?" Jaune raised an eyebrow and Cardin felt the need to specify. "The mouthy one with the big honkers." Jaune's eyes went to Goodwitch. "The punch girl, Jaune."

Yang and Ruby still remained frozen, unaware of their surroundings and the approaching son of house Winchester. Right in front of them, Cardin finally realized their current state by turning the older sister into a bobble head with pokes against her forehead.

"It's so much fun!" Nora materialized beside him and started poking Ruby to make both sisters nod in sync. "But we are still mad at you, you mean relic thief! Give them back now!"

"Oh those things? I dumped them somewhere in the forest."

The large, pulsing vein building on Glynda`s forehead made the headmaster speak without the usual air of mystery to get to the point as fast as possible. A few more minutes like these and a new position as headmistress would soon open up. Even somebody as influental as him couldn't sweep murder charges under the carpet.

"Mr. Thrush, release your semblance. This concerns Miss Xiao Long and Miss Rose as well."

Russel complied with the order and once again the two sisters sprung to live.

"... UCKER!"

"...on't stop me!"

Yang once again looked around like punch drunk, still not acclimated to the sustained influence of Russel's semblance. Ruby didn't need any time, being stopped dozens of times today, scanning the area and people with lightning speed and finding her target.

The tall guy holding grimm remains.

A giant vortex of rose petals speared towards Cardin and exploded against his chest without any impact. The guy with almost two heads in height on the girl in front of him, watched said girl prod and poke him all over to check for injuries. The attempt became fruitless when Ruby couldn't remember which wounds and bruises were new. Her limited medical expertise was enough to discern he wouldn't fall over dead anytime soon, so the redhead allowed herself to act upon the first urge coming to mind.

A meaty slap across Cardin's face.

Cardin, more stunned than hurt from a hit Ruby had to make with a jump to reach him, waited for the pouting little thing to explain herself.

And she fully intended to make her reason known. "Don't you ever again dare to stop me from helping somebody! Even if that somebody is yourself, got it?"

She received a look as if a corgi had just threatened to eat him. "You do realize how easy it would be for me to crush your skull like an overripe grape?"

The little girl stood her ground. "I am afraid of a lot of things. You aren't one of them."

Jaune prepared to jump in at any moment to stop his friend from ripping Ruby's head off. He'd seen him brutally dismantle people for way less sass. Instead of getting angry and trying to turn Ruby inside out, Cardin rubbed his cheek and looked at the smiling girl with renewed interest, which was in a way much more concerning.

"What was your name?"

"Ruby Rose!"

"I will remember that."

Yang hadn't moved since restarting, she just kept staring at Russel as if the smallest provocation would make him stop her again. A flinch shot through the blonde when their eyes met and it was Russel that broke the stare by looking at the ground.

Goodwitch noticed the exchange and gave the young man the most disgusted glare. "We will have a separate discussion about the ethical usage of your powers Mr. Thrush. Especially against young women."

Russel steeled his expression to an emotionless mask. Even his visible breathing stopped to the point you could have mistaken him being influenced by his own semblance, if it hadn't been for the barest of nods with no sound escaping his mouth.

The tense silence was broken by two massive grimm remains dropping on the floor in a low thud. Passing by Ruby who shrieked from getting pushed aside, Cardin planted himself in front of Glynda Goodwitch close enough to almost make their noses touch.

"The fuck are you saying about my partner?"

Russel closed his eyes. "It's ok."

Jaune moved to join Cardin, expression turned to stone. "No it's not. That went too far."

Russel witnessed a catastrophe in the making when Sky and Dove got ready to join as well. Any moment the four of them would throw down with the authorities and anybody else who wanted a piece of them. No hesitation, just blind rage against anything and anyone daring to offend one of their own.

And him, boring Russel, right in the middle.

"Guys, why am I here?"

The four stopped wherever they had been on their trajectory towards conflict with the Beacon staff. Even Cardin turned away from Goodwitch to look at him. Using the opportunity, Russel got something off his chest that had bothered him for a long time. Might as well now before they punch themselves into prison and out again.

"I can barely fight and my semblance is useless against Grimm. What good am I as a huntsman?"

The guys seemed suddenly lost on what to do when faced with a problem they couldn't punch away. Jaune had that sudden look of helplessness towards Cardin who didn't fare much better in terms of ideas. Support among them didn't go beyond lending a hand in a fight, let alone handling emotional problems in a delicate manner.

Ruby Rose to the rescue of four socially inept guys. "You're more than good enough to be a huntsman! There are other things than killing grimm in the job description. Your semblance is amazing for catching bad guys!"

Russel guffawed. "Me? Law-enforcement?"

She took a bite from the premium brand cookies he had provided as peace offering and moaned from the taste. "Sure!"

Glynda Goodwitch grinned with a dangerous glint in her eyes. "And as luck would have it, a bad guy is right here and ripe for apprehension."

All color drained from Russell's face. Ruby, eager to make up for the last criminal she let escape, took only a nanosecond to stay ramrod in front of the headmistress. "Huntress-in-training Ruby Rose at your service!"

Adam Taurus knew how to make himself inconspicuous among a crowd of people, despite his above average height and very noticeable features. But even he couldn't dodge a finger pointed directly at him by the smug headmistress showing for everyone the intended target.

"Have at it, Mrs. Rose. The criminal is right there."

Strangely enough, Adam was more concerned about the attention of another person he had tried to avoid. Cardin Winchester followed the pointed appendage with his eyes and they lit up like a spotlight after recognizing him in an instant. Despite his massive frame, the guy could move with the speed and grace of a gepard when motivated, and nothing motivated him more than catching up with an old friend.

Although Adam considered this relationship status as one-sided, and definetly not close enough to be put in a tight side hug by the bloodied brute. He tolerated Cardin at best and couldn't stand his antics at the worst.

"You want to lock up my favorite bovine buddy? Over my dead body!"

Most of all his inane cow puns.

Seeing the imminent outbreak of violence on the horizon, Sky left the side of Weiss and summoned a lance with a grenade tip. He twirled the close combat tank buster with practiced ease like a drum major. Dove, still tired from his workout with Pyrrha and resting against the tree, lazily got up and joined with his freshly recharged hard light sword but much less enthusiasm.

"It looks like we will be doing something stupid. I'm sorry, Ruby." Russel said and made it the first occurrence of him using her name when he joined his group and turned his back on the girl. "Guys, just let me stop them and you get out of here. There's no need to fight."

"And we abandon you here with them? "The sound of ripping fabric and Jaune Arc's new shirtless state established what the blonde thought of that idea. "No deal, let's skip to the part where they have to get through us five to lay a single finger on Adam."

A protective ring formed around the bull faunus with practiced ease. Everyone had their respective spot in the formation facing outward toward the rest, when Blake formed ranks with the boys, almost vanishing between the taller and broader Cardin and Jaune.

Her clear and loud voice compensated for the lack of presence amidst the mountain of testosterone.

"Six..."

Cardin did a double take towards the raven-haired beauty. "Who are you?"

"Adam's girlfriend…" Blake leaned away from the bloody and mangled giant staring at her face.

"And my new partner at Beacon," Jaune added. "At least until now. That's surely off the table once we start punching our way out."

Adam's knees almost buckled from a hearty slap on the shoulder from the brunette brute with a buzzcut. "Dude, I didn't know you were capable of affection. She's a looker. Nice catch, Bessy!"

"Cardin, I am aware of my luck without your unnecessary approval." Adam replied evenly, but unable to banish the look of concern on his face when catching eyes with Blake. She recognized that expression from other instances he felt guilty. Beacon had been her opportunity to change things and his presence ruined everything.

"Blake, I…"

She drew her weapon and smiled. "It's ok. There are other academies."

"Seven!" Nora brandished her re-straightened hammer with a resounding battlecry. "For no other reason than aiding true love and the fact I hate the nagging boss lady!"

Ren could only watch as their planned life as Beacon students went up in flames. Months of preparation, travel time and all their savings wasted in a single knee-jerk reaction.

"Eight…" he said without hesitation. A Ren has to stand with his Nora. Always.

Weiss started to type on her scroll and took position between Sky and Dove, who instinctively made space for the smaller girl before looking in confusion at their newest sister-in-arms. "That makes me number nine. A free Adam Taurus is more beneficial to my interests. I already contacted my legal team to spin the narrative in our favor."

"Ten." On a glance, Pyrrha Nikos seemed calm and collected as she joined her partner with a blank expression. The champion knew how to act in public and only an attentive observer would be able to gain her real state of mind from the subtle sign she wasn't capable of hiding.

Signs like the small tremble in her arm when she pulled the smug heiress closer to hiss in her ear, inaudible to anyone else around due to the low volume. "The moment this is over, I want my rematch with Dove. Make it happen."

Yang watched the growing number around Adam ready to fight with Jaune and Cardin building the first line of defense. The latter who shouldn't have been able to move or stand anymore after getting brutalized by her and slaying two elder grim, let alone jump right into the next fight at the drop of a hat. Jaune hadn't even reacted to the horrible state of his friend, completely content with having him guard his back.

"Eleven…"

Jaune gave his fellow blonde a passing look of acknowledgement but Cardin and the rest of his guys didn't even spare a glance. Being disregarded like that caused Yang to clench her fist until the metal part of both gauntlets bent.

Only Ruby stood on her own. "But he's a bad guy…"

Jaune shrugged. "Adam is more the broody vigilante type than a hardened criminal. Heck, purely measured on punishable criminal records, I'm the bigger fish to catch for the authorities."

"Same here," Cardin said, "His vest is white as snow compared to us filthy ruffians. Mr. Moo is too careful to be caught in the act. The highest charge would be affiliation with a terrorist organization at the most."

Ruby furrowed her brows and Cardin provided further clarification. "He volunteers in soup kitchens for goodness sake! Hardly villain material, don't you think?"

Blake's head snapped towards her boyfriend. "You do? When? And why don't I know about that?"

"I had time between missions and tried to fight my boredom with something useful. It's nothing world-changing, so I didn't think it was worth mentioning."

"I could have helped!"

Adam sighed. "You were busy with your preparations for Beacon. I thought you needed space!"

"Not to the point we drift apart!"

The steadily rising heat of the exchange had the effect of them getting closer and closer to each other until their noses touched, Adam leaning down to compensate for the height difference. The rest of the present company had fallen silent and were watching the quarrel with varying degrees of interest. Put on the spot like that, the two faunus blushed and stepped away from each other.

"Aren't they adorable?" Jaune said to the pensive Ruby holding her scythe. "Tell me, does this look like a nefarious criminal?"

"Twelve…" Ruby relented and with the last resistance crumbling like a cookie the redhead loved so much, the headmaster and headmistress stood alone against three teams worth of people.

"Seems like they came to an accord, Glynda."

"This is not up for a vote!"

Ozpin raised an eyebrow at his furious assistant. "I fail to see why you would want to fight twelve people to incarcerate the most moderate White Fang operative their organization had in a decade. You remember what James told us about the kind of White Fang he has to deal with in Atlas? Do you really want to jinx some of those nutjobs replacing him?"

Glynda firmed her lips to a tight line, blazing eyes drilling into the tranquil ones of her employer. She could follow his line of reasoning, even see the logic behind it, but every fiber of her being screamed in protest against letting a known criminal leave unopposed.

"This courtesy is a one time deal from Beacon, Mr. Taurus. Don't expect any leniency next time."

"I didn't expect it the first time, headmaster."

And just like that, Ozpin considered the matter settled and turned his attention to more pressing matters, the twelve exceptional people unable to finish their initiation test. "After overseeing the test and taking the background of each participant into account, I came to the conclusion that the standardized studies of Beacon won't benefit you. Each of you excel in certain parts that are vital for being a huntsman or huntress far beyond most graduates this year. I think a curriculum tailored to the individual needs would be more beneficial to your growth."

Weiss perked up."A special program for the exceptionally gifted?"

"Feel free to sell it as such for your PR statement, Miss Schnee. I care more about results than optics."

"What about teams?" Pyrrha asked, stealing glances towards Dove and Sky.

"Formed on the spot depending on the task and lesson. Only partners will be sharing rooms. Everyone still willing to enroll at Beacon under those conditions, please board the bullhead back to Beacon." Ozpin gave Adam a genuine smirk. "I hope you understand that Beacon can't offer a ride for a wanted person."

What followed would be the most colorful and awkward procession of people boarding an airship. Only two individuals tried to postpone the departure for as long as possible. Blake had always known her choices would separate herself from Adam. A huntress and a terrorist couldn't interact openly, but knowing and accepting were two entirely different things when faced with saying goodbye to your loved one for a long time.

She had realized text messages, calls and even video conferences weren't a satisfactory substitute. Her resolve wavered under the weight of feeling alone.

"Will you be staying in the city?"

"Blake, didn't you want to know as little as possible about the White Fang? What was it called? Plausible deniability?"

A dampened growl escaped her lips just as she flung herself into the arms of Adam, holding for dear life until he hugged back. "I changed my mind. As your girlfriend I'm allowed to do that. Contact me, as often as possible! And leave nothing out!" The hug between them turned from desperate to tender. "And Adam, please be careful out there."

"That should be my line. You will be the one fighting monsters for a living."

"I'm not too worried, considering the monstrous powerhouse you got me as bodyguard."

Glynda Goodwitch put a timer on their farewell. "Miss Belladonna, this is your last chance to board! Get on or be left behind!"

And the headmistress didn't sound too distressed about the latter option.

A million things still left unsaid went through their minds in the span of mere moments, forcing the two to scramble for the most pressing matter and being unable to choose. Reaffirming Blake in her choice to enroll at Beacon and showing support? Assuring Adam that their diverging paths didn't change a single thing about how Blake felt about him?

Only one thing seemed simple enough before she jumped on the ascending airship.

"See you soon."

"Not soon enough."