'Nero Nox? Normally I would've expected to meet you during the initiation ceremony. To meet you 6 weeks earlier is… definitely not something I expected.'

'Professor Ozpin.'

'... In my lifetime, I had seen many people with heterochromia… but never someone who has bright yellow pupils. And the combination of Black and Blue irises are a first too. Unique to say the least. '

'... It's one of a kind.'

'Yes, one of a kind… Here's some cookies and milk. I'm sure the holding cell wasn't providing adequate food for you.'

'...'

'... Just the milk? I can assure you that the cookies taste good too.'

'Not a huge fan of confectionaries, Professor Ozpin.'

'I see. So, I guess you've gotten the general gist of Personas.'

'That they are a part of ourselves?'

'Yes, that they are a part of ourselves. Ones that protect us and help us live our life, in the form of images taken from stories such as legends or fairy tales that deeply affect the collective unconsciousness of humanity. Using gods and demons as archetypes, a symbol to borrow to show what they represent.'

'... You're saying that my Persona being Thanatos is a distressing sign?'

'... Nero, what is your view of death?'

'Something that happens inevitably, yet something that must come naturally in the end.'

'Indeed. Death is neither a benevolent nor malevolent force. But simply just what must exist for life to exist as well. But humanity always fears the unknown, so quick to be a target of hate and fear and insult and ignore death. To turn their eyes away from it as if it is a force hellbent on destroying us. That is why Immortality is seen in a positive light, for if you're immortal… you have no reason to fear death. To be eternal, is to escape death's grasp. Which means in other words, your Persona using a god of death from an ancient Sanus Mythology as an archetype… may tell us that you feel that while you exist just like every other kid your age, you feel… like you are excluded, feared, hated. And since Personas are more about a cognitive part of you built within your own subconscious, I will admit that it is a worrying sight to see negative imagery. But rest assured, most of that worry is gone once I have heard that you have managed to properly awaken and control it before it became berserk.'

'Well, I think therefore I am. Whatever anyone else says, they will not deny my existence.'

'... Yes, We think. Therefore We are. I have already heard from Taiyang Xiao Long how much of a hard time you have had during your study in Signal Academy. Though rest assured, I will try my best so that it will not be repeated in my school. Now, moving on. A few things you must know about Personas. Attacks from Personas will mostly ignore the Aura of those who do not have Personas.'

'Could I ask the mechanism of that?'

'It's simply due to the difference in frequency of the Aura. The frequency that the Aura is emitted from a Persona user and a Non-Persona user is different, with Persona Users having a much, much higher frequency.'

'... Because the frequency of a wave is proportional to the energy it holds.'

'Correct. Persona Users are what we could also call someone who has activated a second threshold to more Aura. As such they have access to much more Aura than a standard Huntsmen, and those Auras are compressed and emitted out faster. Aura can protect physical harm or from other aura attacks such as semblances because those auras clash together, meaning they are emitted at similar frequencies. But like I said, higher frequencies are of faster movement-'

'In simpler terms, Auras of a non-Persona user are just too damn slow to catch up and block the Auras from a Persona.'

'Yes. Though fortunately, so long as you do not summon your Persona, or attempt to channel their attacks for you to use it yourself, your Aura frequency should match the rest of your classmates.'

'You're asking me to not use my Personas during a sparring match.'

'I'm asking you to try and not use your Persona out in public as much as possible. While I'm more than happy to answer your questions regarding Personas, I would like to clearly state here and now that Personas are information that the public yet must not know about.'

'Right, sure. I can do that.'

'... Thank you for complying, Nero. And last but not least: during your study as a huntsman-in-training, you will see that when Grimms dissipate upon death the smokes and ashes they turn into will be absorbed by you. Please do not be alarmed, as this is a natural process of any Persona Users.'

'Tell that to my classmates.'

'Most of what you absorb will be faint, barely noticeable. The only difference being whether the ashes disappear into the air without a given direction, or if they are slightly drawn to where you stand. But you may notice it, and you can simply know that it is your Persona using the Grimm's remains as a building block to make itself, and therefore you, stronger.'

'So what, they act like experience points in RPG games?'

'... If these experience points make it so you, your aura, and your persona progressively grow stronger simply by killing more Grimms without the need of additional training, then yes. And absorb enough of Grimm remains, and your Persona may learn new skills, change form, or even… create a new Persona, by drawing out another part of you and trying to mould a new form out of the ashes you have absorbed.'

'Does this mean that Grimms have some sort of connection to Personas?'

'... A secret that the public isn't ready to know, is that Grimms… and Personas… share their origins…'

'... They're the two sides of the same coin.'

'That is why I try not to let the secrets of Personas escape to the public. After all, there is a reason why I'm more worried about a berserk Persona than the symbol they represent. Well, Nero Nox. I say enjoy your 6 weeks of Holiday, and I will see you again in my Academy.'

"We… have some breaking news. It was revealed by the Mistral government today that the former criminal organisation known as the 'Kouza' family, known for their presence over majority of the criminal activity occurring in the Kingdom of Mistral, have all… been… found assassinated. The head of the family was also found, well… beheaded in his own office. The Government believes the perpetrators to be the infamous 'Raktabija' family based on the evidence gathered within and nearby the site of crime, however they cannot confirm that it was their doing without further investigation."


Nero silently watched the current happenings of Mistral through his phone.

Just criminals dying on the streets. The only thing that was eye turning about it to the Mistral civilians would be that it was a 100-year old crime family that turned up dead.

Nero barely let the news finish as he immediately swapped over to a different video.

If Nero had his way, he would've already reached Vale to spend the next month however he wanted before he was shipped off to Beacon Academy.

Quite unfortunate that, instead of a single day flight to Vale on a bullhead, Nero had to go for a 2 week trip from Atlas, to Mistral, and then to Vale.

His bloody grandfather had wanted him to act as a free bodyguard for their new product.

Something that was made in cooperation with Atlas government's Pietro Polendina, that was to be sent to Vale.

Onyx didn't elaborate, simply asking him to protect the train that would carry this product across Mistral. They couldn't use any of the Atlas Military equipment as that could give off the wrong impression that the Atlas government was invading another Kingdom.

And that could risk a conflict between kingdoms and unrest in civilians of both kingdoms.

Everyone knew that just spelled out a grimm attack.

So the best they could do was place a bunch of private security robots…

… and Nero as the only living thing in the train.

The robots were made to fight off any intruders that might board the train, not to make small talks.

… Yeah, sure, fine, whatever. Nero didn't need to make conversations. Nero wasn't bored, he only needed his scroll.

Nero soon lost interest in his scroll once he spent 4 hours scrolling through it.

Bloody train. Nero thought to himself as he tossed his scroll to the side and leaned back on the rumbling metal walls of the train.

If only the train didn't use Schnee Dust Company as a cover up. Then no one would have batted an eye.

… No, that was a lie. Nero had to begrudgingly admit that. Even if it didn't have a logo printed on it, the Mistral Government would try to pry into it. And that would definitely cause a lot of problems for the both of them.

Between the White Fangs and another Kingdom, Atlas was much more willing to risk a fight against the White Fangs. After all, death of a terrorist wasn't going to set off a large-scale scandal.

… But that's if the White Fang even decided to show up. Nero honestly wished they wouldn't. The train ride itself was exhausting, he had to go through 4 hours of custom in the Argus port alone! He didn't need more stress piling on.

But if they were coming, it'd be much better to face them after getting some rest.

And judging by the scenery he had seen briefly outside during this ride in the Forever Fall…

… as much as Nero wanted to deny it, it was clear to him that at least two were coming.

Sleep wasn't going to come to Nero easily, though at least the dimly lit cart helped. Nero even decided to light up a cigarette just to allow the nicotine to calm his nerves down a little. Taiyang from Signal Academy gave him enough of an earful about smoking but Nero had always just let the Blonde Man's speech go into one ear and out the other.

Nero already learnt that there were barely any consequences or punishment to what he did. No one could really stop him. Hell, even the rest of the teachers were more likely to try and ignore Nero rather than confront him like Mr. Xiao Long did.

Everyone tried to ignore him.

… Shit, maybe smoking wasn't a good idea after all. Nero dropped the cigarette to the ground and grinded his boots into it, then briefly opened the door behind him, throwing the cigarette stub out the moving carts. Going back to tossing and turning behind the crates in the corner.

The sudden sound of mass landing on metal echoed out from the distance, outside of the cart. Nero had to stand back up and grab the curved hilt of his Gunblade.

Someone was already here.

Additional sounds of footsteps were heard, before the sound of metal being sliced signalled the sound of someone dropping down to the floor Nero could only roughly calculate… 2 carts down from where he was.

[Intruder. Identify Yourself.]

Light from the lamps changed from white to red, and the robots within Nero's own room started to activate and move towards the doors.

Guess the White Fang arrived sooner than Nero could have hoped for. He at least additionally hoped that whoever decided to hop in without a ticket wasn't strong enough to handle the sudden onslaught of robotic guards, but the sounds of sharp metal and loud blasts of bullets only told Nero that he wasn't going to get anything he hoped for.

… Nero at least thanked his luck that this wasn't a public location.


"Perfect. Move up to the next car." Adam closed the lids of the dust containers as swiftly as he opened it. "I'll set the charges."

Blake frowned at Adam's decision. Time and time again, Adam would make a reckless choice without hesitation.

"What about the Crewmembers?"

"What about them?"

Blake could only respond to Adam's cold and heartless answer by trying to avoid his gaze. The two Faunuses used to serve and follow the White Fang and the meaning it carried loyally. But over time one would start to follow it more aggressively and vehemently, and the other would start to realise how that wrath and hostility no longer meant anything the White Fang had stood for.

Blake stood on a road with many paths, hesitant to make a choice on which one she would walk down.

That was until today. That was until Adam had decided to no longer care about the lives they were going to sacrifice in the so-called name of justice.

That was the final straw for the feline lady in black.

But that didn't matter to them right now.

A slight tapping of a thick blade echoed out from the room. Blade that was neither Blake's nor Adam's

Night vision didn't mean squat when walls of containers hid the third person in the cart.

Though that slowly stopped becoming a problem when the figure started to walk out from the obstacles that hid him.

The black and blue irises in the darkness stared at the two faunuses.

"Yes, Blake Belladonna. Adam Taurus."

And the black and blue irises knew their name.

"What about me?"

"... Adam?"

Nero initiated the assault.

The revolver chambers turned as Nero aimed his Gunblade at the two and fired, Adam deflected the bullets while Blake rolled on the floor to avoid it.

Blake tried to aim for an opening by throwing her Gambol Shroud, but Nero closed the distance and threw her back down on the floor with a chainsaw heel.

Blake yelped as her head and chest hit the metal, and Adam protected his partner from further attacks by running to Nero and swinging his crimson blade as he spun.

Nero dodged to the left, kicking in Adam's left knee in and returning the favour by swinging his Gunblade. Aura projected out from the sword in a wide sharp arc, flying towards Adam who was forced to dodge it by rolling on the floor.

The blade of Aura instead hit the dust container behind Adam, causing the container to break and detonate the dust within. Nero didn't care. The dusts themselves were nothing more than a coverup, a decoy for the real purpose of this train.

Nero didn't stop to follow through with his attack, this time aiming for Blake with a Gnashing Fang.

Adam quickly approached Blake and carried her away from the spinning overhead strike, which instead dug into the metal floor as if it was made of wafers.

"Adam, we need to get out of here!" Blake's desperate plea to Adam was something Nero was more than happy to comply with, as he quickly reloaded the chambers in his Gunblade and decided to use all 6 of the fresh new bullets.

His Gunblade glowed with black light, before the entire cart flashed white as Nero swung his weapon out.

Adam and Blake couldn't react, only realising what happened once the bright light faded out of their eyes.

They were thrown out of the cart, the walls in front of them slashed open. Blake and Adam stayed in the air for a few good seconds before hitting and sliding on the floor.

The car they landed on had no walls or ceiling. Which meant that if they wanted to leave now, they could.

Nero gave them a choice.

The young man himself casually walked out from the massive hole he had created.

Adam decided to stay.

"Buy me some time!" His voice held frustration, maybe even a hint of wrath. Blake didn't like that. They were given a chance to walk away from this but Adam refused to even look at its direction.

"Are you sure!?" Please, Blake pleaded to whatever conscience remained within Adam. To decide to at least consider a more peaceful option.

"Do it!" But beasts had no conscience. And Blake had no choice but to follow it for now.

Blake ran towards Nero once more, Gambol Shroud back in her hands. She dashed past Nero, swinging her black blade as she went by. She changed it from a katana to a kama, throwing it at the last opponent she had to face today.

Gambol Shroud hit Nero's shoulder, and the momentum created was used by Blake to pull herself into the air, trying to pull Nero off balance and into the ground.

Nero spent enough time listening to his Semblance to know what Blake was trying to accomplish. He had enough information, and that's all he needed to win wars.

Nero immediately started to run towards the Momentum created, preventing Gambol Shroud from doing anything effective.

Blake was forced to recall Gambol Shroud back to her, and instead opted to spin in the air and swing her scythe down.

Nero dodged the blade, and Blake aimed for Nero's legs the moment she safely landed back down on the ground. Nero blocked Blake's sword with his, but everytime he tried to retaliate Blake's image would disappear the moment his Gunblade had touched her. The real Blake would always be behind the mirage she created. Nero knew this was her semblance. He already found out both of the Faunuses names and semblances back when he was silently watching them search the dust containers in the previous car.

Blake attempted to stab up from below, and Nero dodged the stab only to be hit by the bullets Blake's Gambol shroud unloaded into him.

None of them broke Nero's Aura, and Nero used Gambol Shroud's straightened blade to his advantage. He grabbed the weapon to make sure that Blake either didn't escape, or lost something she needed to fight him with. Then he struck Blake's knees with a kick without hesitation, the weight of the strike was made heavier with Aura focused into it. Blake fell to her knees, no longer able to dodge even with her semblance. She took the full brunt of the upward slash delivered by Nero, who didn't stop there. The upward slash immediately changed direction, the downward strike hitting Blake's back and throwing her back down to the floor.

Nero spun once, twice, thrice more as he repeated the downward slice. Blake managed to finally use her semblance to avoid the third strike, returning back to Adam's side. Hopefully that was enough time bought for the bull faunus.

Nero didn't slow down in momentum, instead opting to spin one more time and unleashing another aura blade in a wide arc in Adam and Blake's direction.

Adam brought his red blade forward, absorbing the entire energy Nero had shot out with his semblance.

Adam's red hair started to glow, indicating that he finished charging.

Nero dashed to Adam and Blake. It was clear that the chance he gave to them was wasted and ignored by at least one of them. That only meant that he would have to finish this fight.

The moment Nero got close, Adam reacting by unsheathing his sword and slicing towards Nero in one go.

"Thanatos!"

But the power Adam unleashed never reached Nero.

Thanatos mirrored Adam, it too unsheathing its golden blade and slashing forward in one swift movement.

But Thanatos was just faster.

The trajectory of Adam's slice was twisted away from Nero by Thanatos's blade, and the image of death filled its sword with a curse, letting out a slice that was much more dangerous and ferocious than the White Fang's.

Adam's blade helplessly broke apart and hit the floor, the ends that had hit Thanatos's blade rusting and decaying in an instant.

The fact that Adam had managed to block most of Nero's retaliation proved his skill in swords, but that didn't mean the faunus remained unscathed.

Adam's right shoulder was bleeding, black fabric cut open to show flesh. Strength was draining from Adam's arms, going out from the wound created. Adam instinctively knew that until he went back to get it fixed, he won't be able to use it.

Knees hit the floor, and Adam had no choice but to helplessly experience Nero passing by him, ignoring him completely now.

Blake had been blown down to the ground by the sheer strength between the two men clashing blades.

Blake saw the Gunblade getting aimed at her face, pupils shrinking at the realisation of what would happen next.

She was completely exhausted. Could she even make another shadow to take her fall?

Would…

Would their heads be sent back to the Schnees as a message to the rest of the White Fangs?

To her family?

A few minutes of silence permeated between the two, with fear slowly causing Blake to think up of a way to safely escape, to slowly work up the courage to at least try something.

Nero quietly stared at Blake, before giving out a short laugh and lightly hitting the side of his blade on the Cat Faunus's cheek. Then he returned his Gunblade to the holster on his back, passing by Blake as well.

"There's no other crew members on this train. And the Cargo in these cars are just decoys. Cut them off on your way."

He lit a cigarette and blew out a smoke, and Blake silently watched him until realisation of what he said hit her. Blake looked back to Adam for the last time, who could barely even keep himself awake anymore.

"He won't die. Unless you want him to."

"... Don't…" Whatever strength Blake did have was squeezed out through her voice. Hearing her plea, Nero quietly moved to the next car, taking another sip of nicotine and blowing out another smoke.

The last thing Adam saw before everything turned dark was Blake using her Gambol shroud to sever the train cars.

"Sorry, Adam. Goodbye."

And the last thing he heard was his partner's voice saying her farewell.