Chapter 16: Days Gone By

Location: Beacon Academy, Kingdom of Vale

The cold clash of steel filled the room as the two students fought. They gave it everything they had, but in the end, only one proved the winner. Pyrrha Nikos had absolutely destroyed Cardin Winchester, making a mockery of him and his team in a few simple strokes. The four teenagers couldn't help but lay on the ground in pain, while Pyrrha stood over them. It was no secret the Four Time Mistral Champion didn't exactly like the four. Especially due to their attrocious behavior toward Beacon's faunus students. This was merely a lesson, not just for what they did to the faunus, but for what they had attempted to do to her in the Forever Fall Forest a few months prior. Professor Goodwitch's words barely registered in her mind, her gaze locked with the screen showing her aura. It had hardly dipped below the yellow, while the four boys had been deep in the red.

"That was an excellent show of power, Miss Nikos. Do try to go easy on your fellow students, we wouldn't want to hurt their self-esteem, would we?" Glynda Goodwitch asked, causing Pyrrha to nod sheepishly. She bowed respectfully to the four young men, making her way toward the locker rooms. "Now then, to our visiting students from Atlas, Haven and Shade, we will allow you to partake in battles with students from Beacon. We will choose randomly, but we also take requests. Would anyone else like to volunteer?"

Levi rolled his eyes, tugging on his cloak as he looked back down at his notebook, where he was putting the finishing touches on his song. His ears flicked around as he listened to the chatter of his fellow students. They were all wondering who would volunteer, and speaking about strategies for the Vytal Festival. It was only a few weeks away, so all of the visiting students were carefully eying the competition. He felt a tap on his shoulder, causing him to look to his left, where his partner Cadence was sitting, her smile radient as always.

"Yes?"

"Why don't you go down there? You've been training hard these past few weeks. I think it's about time you show the fruit of your hard labor." she said. He looked back down at the arena, seeing two students, an Atlas Cadet and someone from Shade, going toe-toe with each other. He shook his head, his eyes drifting down to his notebook.

"I don't think so, Cady. I just want to work on this song, it's going to be the one I sing in the Vytal Festival. We've been planning this for weeks you know, and I want it to be good. Especially after the blunder at the Beacon Dance." he said, frowning. "Do you think they caught that intruder?"

The pinkette shrugged her shoulders. "Not sure, but aren't we supposed to keep that underwraps? Your mother was very specific about it."

"Yeah, and she also told us to keep our eyes and ears open for anything. I'm just..." he paused, shaking his head. "I have this bad feeling, like something big is happening, but no one is doing anything about it. I was looking at the misson boards earlier and Team CFVY is still out on theirs. Not to mention a lot of requests have cropped up around Mountain Glenn. Team RWBY was sent in to investigate some stuff in the Emerald Forest, and they were saying something about Merlot Industries."

"Merlot Industries?" Sonata chirped, grabbing their attention. "Why are you talking about that business?"

"Team RWBY ended up finding some stuff in the Emerald Forest that used to belong to them. The word through the grapevine is that they're doing something in Mountain Glenn but no one is sure yet. It is the perfect place to run an operation. Maybe if Aria wasn't such a stick in the mud we could have taken that mission,"

"I told you already, Cadence, our abilities were better employed in quadrant four than it would have been in Mountain Glenn. We stopped Ralsberg from being destroyed by Grimm, I think that counts for something, right?" the wolf faunus and leader of Team ACPL said. "Besides, not all of us are up to par, the last thing I want is a death on my hands."

Cadence and Sonata shared a look. "What's that supposed to mean?" the former asked curiously.

"You know what I mean. I'm talking about the weak link holding us back,"

"Oh, here we go." Levi said, snapping his notebook closed. "Look, I've been training for years. I know some mistakes can happen from time to time, but I told you that only happened because the calculation for my energy glyph was wrong. That's why I ended up slipping. It's particularly hard to calculate how much aura and energy dust goes into a glyph without blowing a hole in the world."

"And that's exactly why you are a weak link. You are unpredictable, not to mention too stubborn and headstrong. You don't listen to a goddamn thing I say. All you end up doing is costing us precious time and resources."

"I took down a Nevermore all by myself!"

"After Sona and I weakened it, and Cadence held it down with her whip. All you did was send yourself into a tail spin and slice its head off. That's nothing special sweetheart. When you can take down a Goliath by yourself, then I'll acknowledge your strength." Aria said, her eyes going back to the match below, which had just concluded. Levi growled, his ears flat against his head.

"You are such a bitch, you know that?!"

"I've been told."

"No, no you seriously fucking are. We've been together for two fucking years and you still refuse to acknowledge all the hard work I put in. I train with Cadence and Sonata on a daily basis, I practice my semblance, do my homework, maintain my weapons... but you never seem to acknowledge anything. You don't even give me a glance. I'm so fucking sick of your goddamned attitude!" he shouted, making her look up at him.

"You are sick of my attitude yet you're the one throwing a temper tantrum? You are so cute~"

"And you are a stupid hag!"

"Why you-"

"Can you two please stop? People are staring," Sonata hissed, her eyes darting around the room. All of the students of Vacuo, Atlas and Mistral, along with Beacon's very own, were staring. Cadence had her face hidden behind her hand, while Levi and Aria continued their deathglare.

"You know Aria, you talk all this good shit about how strong you are and all this other fucking nonsense, but I haven't seen you fight a single person in the arena since the semester began. In fact you actively avoid it. Why don't you go in there and show us just how strong you are?"

"Pass, I don't want to waste my time on useless fighting," the wolf faunus said, picking at her silver colored nails.

"Because you'are a pussy. You talk all this good shit yet you don't even decide to back it up. You're just scared that someone will beat you and show you just how weak and spineless you really are!" Levi said, a grin on his face. He stood up from his seat, giving her a smirk. "Oh, are you perhaps scared to show how good of a fighter you are because daddy dearest will want you to take over your family's clan?"

Aria's eye twitched, the nail file she was using snapping clean in half. She rose to her full height, looking right into the young man's eyes. "Fine, you want me to humiliate you in front of everyone again, then let's do it. Let's have ourselves a good old fight. I have to make sure my subordinates keep up after all."

"Children, the fighting arena is to test your skills against your fellow hunters in training. It is not to settle petty arguments." Goodwitch said, making the crowd boo. Her face remained firm, but her eyes were filled with annoyance as she looked around the room. Her shoulders drooped a bit. "Be that as it may, it seems the crowd wishes to see this, so I will allow it. I want a good clean fight out of both of you, alright? No funny business."

"I'm not using training rounds," Levi said, as he walked down the steps, giving Aria a glare. "I'm going to show you just how strong I truly am, you stupid wolf."

"Bring it on, no more kid games," she said angrily. The two separated as they went to their lockers to suit up.

It only took them a few minutes to make sure they were ready to fight. Levi had ensured his weapon was primed and ready, with live ammunition, just like he had said he would be using. Normally, people would be given training rounds with rubber bullets, though the amount of dust was still the same. It encouraged students to treat all fights like they were real. Of course, live ammunition was allowed, so long as the students paid for it out of pocket. Levi made sure his arm was in place as he walked back to the Arena, where Aria was waiting, wearing her own combat armor.

It was simple in nature. a sleeveless, strapless red shirt, with chainmail over it, along with a heavy set plate of chest armor. Her naval was left exposed, and even though Sonata had told her that was a weakspot, Aria didn't care. Saying that it ruined her style to even consider full armor. She wore matching armored graves, her weapons, Crime and Punishment, firmly strapped to them. She wore a pair of brown leather pants and armored military boots. Her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail. The smug look on her face only served to anger him more. Professor Goodwitch stood between the two, giving them firm looks.

"Alright, this match will be treated like a true Vytal Tournament match. So I want a good clean fight."

"Professor Goodwitch, if I may, could I perhaps request a deathmatch?" Aria asked, not at all surprising Levi. She always requested deathmatches. They were matches no one took, as it it involved dropping someone's aura entirely, leaving them entirely exposed to harm. It often lead to people losing limbs, breaking bones or worse. First Year Students weren't allowed to take them, but since she and Levi were both second years and knew the risks, they could take them whenever they wished. The woman sighed, giving her a nod.

"Of course, but only if both parties-"

"I don't mind," Levi quipped. The blonde woman looked toward him, frowning.

"Mr. Athan, are you sure about this? You know your mother wouldn't..."

"Professor Athan isn't here to stop me, is she? She's never here when I need her, so it doesn't matter what she would say in this instance. Aria wants a deathmatch, so I'll give it to her." he said firmly. Goodwitch nodded, changing the style of the match from "Hit to the Red" to "Deathmatch". Once everything was all set, she gave the two a firm look.

"You are free to begin whenever you'd like. However, I won't stop the match until one or both of you calls it. Unless there is a medical emergency, of course,"

"Thank you, Professor. Don't worry, this match won't last long," Aria said, giving the woman a boastful look. Levi said nothing as he kept his eyes narrowed, and on his target. The two continued their staredown for a little longer, only for Aria to spring forward, jumping at him with an aura infused leap, swiping her weapons at him. Levi dodged it easily, keeping his distance from the young woman who attempted to take his head clean off his shoulders. His ears twisted and turned with each swipe, allowing him to hear what direction they would be coming from.

At this point, he hadn't even drawn his weapon. It was clear that Aria was aiming to incapacitate him early, but with all of her directionless swiping and growling, all she did was tire herself out. He waited for the right time, watching as Crime, the fire infused claw, was brought down on him from above. He grabbed a hold of her wrist, driving his knee into her exposed abdomen before bringing her over his shoulder, slamming her hard into the ground, enough to crack it.

The croud cringed, everyone watching as her aura dipped from 98% to 89. She was quick to get up, throwing a series of kicks at him which he was able to block or deflect. She caught him in a fake up, bringing her heeled boot right into his sternum, and even with armor, he felt the power of the hit. She lunged at him, claws glowing with fire and ice as he formed a glyph in front of him, blasting her in the face with a torrent of water. This left her open to a lightning dust infused strike, from Shiva, which he had finally drawn from his holster.

She stabbed her claws into the ground in an attempt to slow her down, looking like a feral beowulf as she stared him down. She took a deep breath, cheeks puffing out as she readied her semblance, but he didn't let her, surrounding her with a myriad of glyphs, blasting her with ice and fire from all directions, forcing her to slash her way through them. "You cheating little shit!" she shouted, as the volley ended.

She turned in time to see his crackling fist slam into the side of her face. He grabbed a hold of her ponytail, wrapping his arm around her neck before slamming her to the ground. Shifting Shiva into its gunform, he aimed at her chest, only for her to roll out of the way of the gunshots, each leaving a fizzling crater in the ground. She swept her legs around, turning into a backflip as she dropped her foot on top of him. He blocked it with Shiva, only for her to somehow spin around, slashing him across the chest with Punishment, freezing most of his upperbody.

Aria flicked her wrists, her claws bending inward as she started to punch the young man, who cringed in pain as the ice held him in place, his arms unable to move. She pulled her fist back, aiming for the center of his face when she heard something crackling beneath her. She looked down for a brief moment only to be sent flying via Vermillion Glyph. The heat of the combustion dust was enough to thaw Levi out, who immediately started shooting at Aria.

"How the hell is she able to deflect my bullets in mid-air?" He asked himself, as his team leader continued swiping to and fro as she fell. She used her aura to twist herself around, turning almost into a wheel as she brought her claws down on him, sending him flying back.

The two continued to fight, throwing heavy hit after heavy hit, neither backing down. By now, large chunks of aura were beginning to fall from the meters, steadily dropping from the green into the yellow, and finally into the red. Though tired, they continued to fight. Some people were beginning to wonder why they were still allowed to fight, while others were morbidly curious of what would happen the second their aura broke. Goodwitch kept a calm facade, but even she was beginning to worry for their wellbeing. Levi let out a scream as he took a heavy hit to the face, his aura shattering, fading away in little blue wisps. Aria walked forward, flicking her claws downward as she approached him.

"You don't know me, you will never know me. You don't know the struggles I've been through to be here. You think you can act like a spoiled child because your mother is a professor here? All while the rest of us work our asses off and get no recognition?"

"No recognition? What the hell are you talking about? You think because Professor Athan is my mother I get recognition? I get treated same as you. You are just too fucking blind to see it. I do more for our team than you do! I clean our weapons, I clean the room, I help with homework, I train with Sonata and Cadence. What do you do? All you do is bitch and moan because you think the world is against you. But it fucking isn't!" Levi shouted, as he stood up, holding his weapon tightly. "You are just a bitter rag who was forced to into a life by daddy and couldn't do anything but suck it up. Well guess what sweetheart, life doesn't work like that! You don't know the shit I have been through to get here, so don't you dare talk to me like you do!"

Aria let out a scream as she darted forward, swiping her twin claws at the man, who continued to dodge and deflect them with his gunblade. Without aura he couldn't use his semblance, and his dust bullets would have less of an effect, if any. He had to be careful. He waited for his chance and threw his weapon upward, taking Aria by surprise. He threw two solid punches to her face before jumping up to catch Shiva. He spun around, slamming the edge of his blade into her armor. Despite his aura being gone, the strength of his attacks was enough to shatter what remained of her aura.

He wasted no time, darting forward as quick as he could, throwing a solid strike to Aria's face, following it with a slash to her chest, making sure to hit her armor. He swept her off her feet, following with another punch to the face, slamming her hard into the ground, the air knocked out of her lungs. Despite this, she was still able to swipe at him, knicking his arm with one of her claws, his shirt was soaked crimson moments later, but that didn't seem to stop him. He raced forward, tackling her to the ground with all his strength, pinning her arms to the ground.

Levi rose his hand, knuckles white as he slammed it across her cheek. He followed it with a second hit and then a third, his vision going red. There was so much pent up anger in his body that had just expoded in that instance. He cries of pain didn't make him stop. He just kept going, not caring about anything else.

"Levi stop!"

He felt something wrap around his wrist, holding it in place. It only took him a moment to see it was Cadence's bladed whip. It cut into his wrist, but he didn't care. He pulled at it, growling as the sharpened blades mangled his wrist. He heared the chatters and the murmors, finally looking up at the crowd who all had stunned looks on their faces. He glanced back down, only to see his unconcious leader on the ground, her face bloody from his attacks. He could see her nose was broken and he had even managed to knock one of her teeth out. Despite this, she was somehow breathing, though raggedly. He shot to his feet, backing away from the girl.

"What... I... but.."

"Didn't you hear Professor Goodwitch tell you to stop?" Sonata shouted, as she dropped down next to her leader. She looked at Levi, hurt that he would take it this far. "I know you two don't get along but this was too far even for you Levi. What the hell is the matter with you?"

"This match is over, students. This is a prime example of why we shouldn't let our emotions guide us in battle, do be sure to reflect on this. Do not worry, Miss Blaze will recieve the best medical care we can provide for her. All students are dismissed for the day and have tomorrow and Wednesday off." The professor said, frowning as she watched the students get up. "Professor Ozpin is not going to like this one bit."

Levi didn't say anything, he just stared at his bloodied hand, shaking, adrenaline still flowing through him. He had wanted to prove himself to his leader, but now he had worsened everything between them. Even if he felt his anger dissipating and even relief, he felt like a horrible person. He raised his hood over his head and rose to his feet, running out of the arena. Cadence and Sonata cried his name but he didn't stop. He couldn't, not after what he had done.


Levi shot up in his bed, his eyes wide and bloodshot as he panted for breath. He sunk in his bed, shaking the throws of sleep off himself. He hadn't had the best night sleep, in fact, he would say the nightmares had gotten worse. For most of the night, he would replay the scene in his mind. All he could see was Neo's shocked expression, the look of fear and betrayal written in her eyes. Brown and Pink, just like her hair. Then there was the voice he heard. He had been trying to figure out who it had belonged to but decided to just put it on the backburner for the moment. He had passed out of sheer exhaustion, only to be plagued with a horrible nightmare, of a fight he had with his former leader. It seemed the world was against him this morning. He knew sleep wasn't going to return to him. The immense feeling of regret didn't let him get a single wink after his nightmare had awoken him.

He wanted to know where Neo was, if she was okay, or if she was still getting over what had happened. He had sent her a message, only to remember he had her scroll in his possession, and loathed as he was to admit, he had never jotted down the contact information of the black scroll he had recovered. She was gone, and he was the idiot who stabbed a knife in her back. The dream was doing nothing but remind him of what a terrible person he was. It hadn't been the first time he had exploded like that on someone and it likely wouldn't be the last.

It was around seven in the morning when he finally decided to get up, stepping into the bathroom before either Weiss or Sienna did. They wouldn't be getting up until around eight in the morning, in fact, thanks to his heightened senses, he could still hear the soft rhythm of their breathing. After his shower, he began the process of hiding his scar with foundation, making a mental note to pick some up before leaving Mistral. He used some to hide the visible bags under his eyes, along with hiding the ugly blemish he had sported in hiding for the last four years of his life.

Once he had finished drawing his tribal markings, he reached for the eyedrops he carried with him, hoping they could help conceal the redness of his eyes. He waited for a few moments before finally leaving the bathroom, almost bumping into Weiss who had been standing in front of the door, several articles of clothing in her grasp.

"Oh, um… good morning, Levi."

He merely nodded, sidestepping in order to let her use the bathroom. It was a big day today, normally he would start his aura training, but today he was going to meet with Qrow. He had gotten a reply from him early in the morning, along with the address he was staying at. So after breakfast, the group would be heading there.

"You look like shit," Sienna said, as he entered the kitchen. He briefly glanced at the clock, seeing it was already eight-thirty. Had he been in the bathroom that long? He shook his head, grabbing a mug and the pot of coffee. "Did you even sleep last night?"

"Hardly."

"Levi, I know what happened is bad but you at least gotta get some rest."

"Tried, but I couldn't. Every time I closed my eyes I kept seeing Neo's scared face and my hands around her neck. I'd rather sacrifice my sleep than see myself choke my friend out." he said, dumping several spoonfuls of sugar into his mug. He stirred it around, grimacing a bit from the strength and sweetness of the coffee. "Finally passed out, and slept for about an hour or two before I had a nightmare about me beating the shit out of Aria back at Beacon. Could hardly sleep after that. Besides, I consider it a form of punishment."

Sienna didn't say anything, rather she returned to her scroll, too interested in what she was reading to reply. Everything moved at a blur for him. Weiss had left the bathroom and had volunteered to make breakfast while Sienna took her shower. He remembered the former heiress saying something to him but he hadn't replied, he was far too busy staring at his reflection in his coffee. He ate what she made him, his movements methodical, almost robotic, not even bothering to converse with the ladies like he had previous times. He just didn't feel like talking.

"Levi?"

He finally looked up from his empty plate, seeing the worried look on Weiss's face, making him frown even more. "Sienna mentioned you had a nightmare... about that day you fought Aria."

"Yeah."

"Would you like to talk about it?"

"No."

"Um... I know it's something that's affected you but... sometimes talking about things like this helps us get better," she said softly.

"Really? Because it just reminds me of how short of a temper I have. I had tried not to think about that goddamn fight, but then I just repeated it. I didn't let Neo speak, I didn't even let myself process what she had told me. I just went right for the kill, like I did with Aria."

"That was different Levi. It was a different time, a different circumstance,"

"It was the same, Weiss. I let all my pent up anger out on Aria that day and look at what happened to her. She had a broken cheekbone, broken nose and two missing teeth. If not for her aura and the medication in Beacon she would have died. She treated me like shit, sure, but that was not the right course of action. I promised myself I would never do that again and look at what happened here. I did the same thing to Neo, I almost killed her, Weiss. Do you think that's right? Do you think killing someone in a fit of rage of okay?"

She remained silent, slowly exhaling through her nose. Her lips curved down as she looked at the other end of the room, seeing the gashes her sword made on the wooden walls the previous night. "Killing should never be an option. But we've all been there, Levi. Sometimes, our emotions take control of us, and we do things that we regret. Aria recovered, and though she never acted the same, she still had the same attitude toward you. I don't condone what she did, but sometimes, people don't change. Despite how much they hurt others. It's just a sad part of life. It's okay to feel regret," she finished, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I never apologized to Aria for that. She didn't acknowledge it, she didn't say anything, but she did say she respected me for what she did. She was still an awful person to me. I thought she was starting to change, but then she pulled that bullshit at the Tournament and that was the final straw. i should be glad she's gone, but all I do is keep suffering and blaming myself for her death. Neo was there for me when I felt like shit and now she's..."

He didn't speak much after that, too focused on his own inner thoughts to say anything. Weiss had tried, but she decided to leave him be after a while. It was perhaps around 9:34 when his scroll beeped, causing him to jolt a bit. He had almost expected a message from Neo, but was in fact just Qrow, letting him know he and his friends could come over. He sighed, saying they were on their way before standing up. "Alright you two, it's time to head out."

"You didn't exactly tell us who we would be meeting, Levi. It isn't some random person you met, right?" Weiss asked, ensuring she had Myrtenaster with her, along with her dust pouch. Sienna did the same, looking her daggers over just in case. "We can't afford to take many risks especially with this sensitive information."

"Don't worry, this person can be trusted. In fact, I think you met him back at Beacon, so he should be familiar to you," he said, gesturing to the door. The ladies stepped out, followed by him who locked up behind him.

"Someone I met in Beacon? Oh, is it Neptune?"

"Who?" he suddenly asked, brows furrowing a bit. "Who the heck is Neptune?"

"Oh, he's this really cool guy I met back at Beacon. He's tall, handsome, and has blue hair, but he's afraid of water. He was on Team SSSN." she said. The way she spoke made it seem like she had a crush on this guy. He honestly didn't know how to feel about that.

"I wasn't aware the Schnee Heiress had a love interest. What's he like?" Sienna quipped, causing Weiss to smile.

"He's really nice, but he also gets super nervous around new people. He tries to act cool, but without Sun, his team leader, he's just a nervous wreck. Despite that, he tries to sell the cool guy persona, and he basically hits on every girl that catches his eye." she replied, causing Levi to cross his arms.

"So he's basically a pretty boy who acts like he's cool but is just projecting a persona that doesn't show who he truly is?"

"I mean… well yes, I suppose. But he is a nice person deep down."

Levi didn't say anything after that. He didn't know why but he really didn't like the sound of this Neptune guy. He racked his brain for a moment, thinking back on the teams that participated in the Vytal Tournament, and briefly remembered who he was. The all-male team that fought against Team NDGO. Specifically, he had been the one who had ran onto the opposite side's field, claiming they would never expect it. He remembered shaking his head, especially since he kept hitting on every girl in that team.

"Something tells me that guy wouldn't be able to hold a tune to save his life." he mused, holding back the urge to laugh.

"What's got you smirking?" Sienna queried, causing Levi to jump a bit. "Must be a really funny joke if you are holding back a laugh."

"It isn't a joke really, I was um… thinking about that Octavia girl, from Team NDGO. She was kind of cute, and her semblance was very cool."

"Yeah, I wouldn't think too hard about them. All of them might be gorgeous, but they are all terrible people." Weiss said, causing Levi to tilt his head in curiosity. She cleared her throat, shifting her gaze to the path ahead. "When the battle of Beacon started, they were among the first to get on a ship and leave. They didn't fight, they didn't help, all they did was just stand around muttering to themselves and chatting up Lisa Lavender. They took the glory they didn't even deserve, at least until someone pointed out how they saw them run away. They were laughed all the way back to Shade Academy."

"Oh."

"There is no shame in retreat, in fact, someone who retreats when the going is tough is a smart person. They get to live another day. But what those four girls did was distasteful, and disgusting. The title of huntress is too heavy for them." the faunus said firmly.

"Couldn't have said it better myself. Especially when there are people who fought tooth and nail to save lives and gave their own in return. Let's just hope they learned their lesson and took their training seriously. Being a huntsman isn't about the glory, it's about helping people." the white-haired girl said, a firm look on her face.

Levi didn't say much of anything as he moved forward, glancing at his scroll as he walked. It honestly hadn't been far from the apartment they had rented, just a level above them. Weiss and Sienna were lost in conversation about one thing or another, and it was honestly impressive. He never thought the former high-leader of the White Fang would get along with Weiss Schnee of all people. It was nice seeing how people could change if they simply talked to each other. Of course, there was only one person Levi wanted to speak with.

"Oh, Neo. Where are you? I want to talk to you, and say how sorry I really am. I messed up and didn't even give you a chance. I just hope you aren't getting yourself into any trouble."

xxx

It hadn't been the first time Neo had been soaking wet. In fact, there had been several bad storms that Hush wasn't strong enough to shield her from. She had gotten used to it, and was thankful that Mistral had varying climates throughout its continent. Being from a colder area in the north, she was used to being cold.

She was thankful for her semblance, it allowed her to blend in where otherwise she couldn't. It had gotten stronger over the months traveling through Mistral, but she knew it could get better. She would devote her time to this whenever possible. It was why she was currently in disguise, moving about through Haven Academy. It had taken her a long time to return, especially after swimming her way out of the vault. Rather than visiting the headmaster, she had gone to another place, Mistral's CCT.

Neo wasn't an expert hacker, but she knew enough to get into systems. It hadn't been hard to use her fake ID to activate the elevator leading up to the top. Haven Tower was nothing like Beacon Tower. This one had a more oriental feel to it. The floors were made with tatami mats, and the consoles were all on decorative teak tables, with sleek-looking red chairs. The front counter looked more like the command center of an Atlas airship. This was normally where students could come to access them and make data transfers with other kingdoms, but since the Fall of Beacon, this place had likely not been used.

She moved around to the center console, sitting down on the spinning chair, whirling to face the holoscreen in front of her. She slid her scroll into the special port, making a direct connection with the console. The screen lit up, and with a few keystrokes, she was in.

Weiss hadn't been kidding, Atlas had beefed up their security. The firewall was a lot tougher than she had been expecting, but the malware of this scroll was special. It was created by the same man that had spoken with Headmaster Lionheart, or so Cinder claimed. It wasn't hard to breach the new security, especially when the device itself was set to exploit any and all weaknesses in the system. Atlas was the cream of the crop when it came to technology, but they couldn't close every single door.

"Alright, I'm in. Time to make a search of this system, I'm sure there are some hidden files here that I can access." the young woman thought, as she searched around. She opened and closed files, frowning a bit at what she saw.

Student records, past graduates, the licenses of every single Huntsman and Huntress that had graduated, and… wait, what was this?

"Shiro Wan, status, deceased, Heather Shields, status, deceased, Blanka Griffin, status, deceased, Boyd Raine, status, deceased, Aoi Rivas, status, deceased."

Every single name she came across, she saw the same thing, deceased. More than fifty huntsmen and huntresses employed by the Mistral Council, all graduates of Haven Academy had their operation licenses frozen due to them being dead. This was not what she had been expecting when she decided to hack into the system. She had been expecting something juicy, not every single huntsman and huntress contracted to the kingdom to be dead.

Of course, not everyone was dead, there were some with status known, status inactive, and of course, status in training. There had only been one report of a deceased student in training, a fourth-year who was closer to graduating. She even spotted a few instructors from this very academy on this list. Lionheart was hiding something sinister, that much was certain. She transferred all of those files onto her scroll, making sure they were safe and secure on it.

She had tried searching for Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald's files, but they were gone like they hadn't even existed. Lionheart had scrubbed that data out of the system it seemed. Everything else she tried to look up was met with a dead-end or useless information. The School's system didn't yield much, but finding out all of these huntsmen and huntresses were dead was more than enough. Just as she unhooked her scroll from the mainframe, she heard the elevator start moving. Eyes widening, she dashed toward the nearby window, trying to open it, only to realize it didn't open.

Neo looked around for a moment, unable to find a decent hiding place. She pressed herself against the wall, calming herself down as she heard the doors opening. Unknowingly, she had activated her semblance, her entire body glowing before it was completely hidden, only she wasn't aware she had even done it.

"Are you sure someone is here, Doctor? The systems are all down and the only ones that have access are students and faculty, none of which are currently here." the nervous voice of Leonardo said, as he stepped out of the elevator, followed by the lanky man from the previous night.

"I believe I would know a thing or two about breaching, Leonardo. After all, the one who created most of the CCT mainframes was me. I set up a special notice which would let me know if someone tried to remotely enter the system." he said, moving toward the center console. He pressed a finger on the holographic keys, eyes lighting up a bit. "Oh my, well isn't this a surprise."

"W-what? Did you find anything of interest?"

"Indeed I have, it seems there was a data transfer of very sensitive information, the true status of all the missing huntsman and huntresses contracted to work for the council. Not to mention several other things were accessed, including the student records. What's more interesting is that the one who did this used a modified version of my program." Arthur said, looking rather amused. "Cinder never did bring back that scroll I lent her, perhaps someone managed to retrieve it."

"Oh no, oh no! This is bad, if that information goes public then my entire career will be ruined. People will know those huntsmen were all killed by Tyrian!" he exclaimed, causing Arthur to look at him.

"Relax you, imbecile. I certainly doubt the person who did this is, isn't intelligent enough to go to the press with this information. What will they do with it? Especially if they ask how they procured it in the first place?" the man said with a chuckle. "They'll have to admit to hacking the CCT with malware used to bring down the Atlas Military's Fleet. It paints a target onto their back. Though it seems to me like whoever did this was looking for leverage."

Leo looked at him, a look of befuddlement on his face. "Leverage, against who?"

"Against you, of course. It is no secret that you have been acting strangely on the news. You aren't doing yourself any favors, my friend. It seems someone out there is out to get you and is looking for ways to blackmail you. But I should remind you, the second you turn your back on her Grace, is the day you sign your death warrant."

"I would never!" He said firmly, brushing past the man, rapidly typing on the console. "I'll just change the data myself, make it seem as if they are all missing."

"That's what you should have been doing in the first place, you buffoon. When a huntsman is on duty, their aura is tied to their scroll, and the second they are killed in action, they're given their deceased status. It is a pesky but effective system, especially for those who die in battle and their bodies cannot be recovered." Arthur said, glancing toward the edge of the room. Neo stiffened a bit as he looked right at her, but didn't seem to notice or even see her. "Do hurry, I have quite a lot of things to attend to."

"It's done, all of the data has been changed. If anyone says anything, they can just verify it with this modified version. It'll be their word against mine." the headmaster said proudly. Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Yes, let's hope that person isn't a buffon like you."

It wasn't much after the pair had left that Neo finally dropped her semblance. She looked at her hands for a moment, wondering how she had even hidden herself that way. Deciding not to try her luck any more than she already had, she looked around for a window she could use. Thankfully finding one, she squeezed her way to the outside world, quickly disappearing behind the CCT.

"That was close, far too close. At least I was able to get some good information, now I just have to wait for the right time to send it to Levi. He still has my scroll, so sending it there will be the best. It is encrypted after all." she thought, slowing down her run to a moderate jog. "Levi… I wonder how he's doing?"

xxx

Three figures stood in front of a door, all of them looking rather nervous. Honestly, Levi hadn't ever been nervous about meeting people. Sure, he had met all of these people back at Beacon, but it had been almost a year since he had seen some of them. Had the Fall not happened, he would be in the third year, and his underclassmen would be second years. They would have welcomed some new wide-eyed students and Ozpin would have launched them into the Emerald Forest. It had been so long since he had been on campus that it felt rather odd to him.

The women behind him just stood there, waiting for him to do something. The pair could tell there was a lot going through his mind but they weren't going to hurry him. So much had happened in the last twenty-four hours, and they knew even more was going to happen after this meeting. It was just something they could both feel. And while they wanted all four of them to be there, they knew they couldn't. Weiss opened her mouth to speak, but he beat her to the punch, finally knocking on the door. He tugged on his hood a bit, ears flat against his head as he heard movement inside.

It was Jaune who opened the door, at least that's who he assumed it was. It had been so long that he hardly recognized him. The once lanky teenager was now a stout and tall man, with a lean body and decently sized arms. He could see the sword strapped to his waist, waiting to be drawn. The door was only partially open, so Levi couldn't see past him, and Jaune could only see him, so it was an awkward staredown for a few seconds before the blonde boy spoke.

"Uh, is there anything I can do for you?" he asked rather sternly.

"Yeah, I'm looking for Professor Qrow, we met last night and agreed to talk about something. But if he isn't available, then Ruby or Yang will do. Tell them I brought their long-lost princess."

"Hey!" Weiss cried, causing Jaune to jump a bit. He opened the door further, his eyes landing on the former heiress. She clutched her arm in embarrassment, a sheepish smile on her face. "Hey, Jaune. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

He didn't say much of anything, rather he gave the shorter girl a hug, his arms tightly wrapped around her. Levi felt rather awkward, but remained quiet, while Sienna kept her head bowed.

"It's been such a long time, Weiss. You haven't changed a bit!"

"Oh, I have, just not physically. Admittedly, I am done growing for the rest of my life, but that doesn't mean my mind and my skills aren't as sharp as ever. So you better not serenade me, mister, or I'll be very mad at you."

"Serenade?" Levi muttered. Weiss shook her head, clearly not wanting to speak about it. Jaune slowly turned, gesturing for them to follow.

"Ruby and the others are in the training field downstairs. Qrow told us he was expecting guests but he didn't tell me it would be you," he said, his gaze moving to Levi, who frowned as he pulled down his hood. "Ah… I knew I recognized you. You're that faunus guy who fought his team leader for a jelly donut!"

"Pfft, it's good to know that's my greatest and most memorable achievement," he said, genuine mirth in his tone.

"Yeah well, hard not to forget when you and half of the student body were deafened for a few hours," he said.

The awkwardness in the house was palpable. Weiss looked like she wanted to say something but was far too nervous to speak. Sienna was, of course, staying quiet of her own volition, and Levi didn't have much to say, his thoughts being elsewhere. Sounds of fighting soon filled their ears, as they made it down to the bottom floor, which extended into a large training room.

Levi looked around for a moment, spotting the other members of Jaune's team, Nora and Ren, standing by the sidelines with a young boy he didn't recognize. Qrow was standing beside them, taking drinks from his flask, while watching the two combatants, his nieces, currently in an all-out brawl. Yang and Ruby were fighting each other, each throwing punches and kicks, though he could tell Yang was overpowering her younger sister. She didn't hit her too hard, likely wanting her sister to learn how to defend herself. Whether Ruby broke her defenses and landed an actual hit or Yang let her get one in was beyond him at the moment. All he knew was the fight ended the moment Nora looked over and noticed them, especially the white-haired heiress.

"Weiss!"

Ruby looked over, gasping a bit in surprise only for Yang to barrel her fist into her face, sending her flying back into the wall. Everyone cringed from the impact, watching the young girl land in a heap on the ground.

"Oh my god, Ruby!" her sister cried, already by her feet.

"Ugh… I can taste colors and smell sounds," she said, her head spinning as she tried to regain her focus. "Am I dreaming or did I see Weiss for a second?"

"You aren't dreaming, you dolt. Don't you know you should pay attention to the person you are fighting so things like this don't happen?" she berated, standing over the red-clad girl. "Your form was sloppy, you weren't throwing solid hits, you left yourself wide open to attack, your stance was wrong and most of all, you weren't paying attention to your-"

She was cut off by Ruby, who gave her friend a tight hug, burying her face in her shoulder. Weiss gasped a bit at the sudden hug but felt her own walls slowly breaking as she hugged the girl back. It wasn't long before Yang joined in, the three tearing up at their reunion. Levi couldn't help but smile.

"It's good to see ya here, kid. I was expecting you to bail on us," Qrow said, holding his hand out to Levi. He gave it a firm shake, forcing a smile onto his face.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world, Professor. Besides, we have a lot of information to share with everyone. Starting with my friend here," he said, gesturing for Sienna to lower her hood. She did so, shaking her head a bit, brushing some hair out of her eyes. Everyone except Weiss started with mouths agape.

"You brought the White Fang high leader here?"

"Yep, and believe me, you wanna hear what she has to say,"

xxx

"That's it, everything that happened to me up to when Levi and Weiss found me. They both nursed me to health, brought me to a hospital, and I managed to get surgery done." Sienna said, lowering the teacup she had been sipping from. She held her arm out, showing what remained of her arm. "See, he cut it off when I fought back. I put up a good fight, but I'm not the fighter I used to be. He got one over one me and took his chance."

"I'm genuinely sorry to hear that, Sienna. As someone who faced Adam in the past, I know exactly how you feel," Yang said, giving the tigress a smile. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll qualify for a kick-ass replacement like mine. You deserve it after everything you've been through."

"No, I don't." the faunus said, leaning back in her seat. She looked around the room, staring into the eyes of every human in front of her. "I mistreated your kind, I had my men get violent with you all. I took pleasure in killing humans that did terrible things to the faunus. But I had never gotten to truly know one. Weiss opened my eyes, she taught me that not all humans are the same, that they can not only become your close friends but also help you better yourself."

"That's all that matters," Ozpin suddenly said, causing the group to gaze in his direction. Levi was still getting used to the fact that this young man was actually his former headmaster. "In order for someone to learn, they must make mistakes. It is through failure that we achieve greatness. You took a chance and got a new friend in return. That in and of itself is plenty, is it not?"

"Sure is. Which is why I wanna do everything in my power to bring down the White Fang. It's no longer the organization it was when it was created. All it stands for now is the complete thing we wanted to stop. We became the very thing we wanted to stop. It goes to show how terrible of a leader I have been." she said. Levi placed a hand on her leg, giving her a smile.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Auntie. What's done is done, and what's important is that you realize how badly you screwed up. Besides, you aren't the only one with bad screw ups in their past," he said, quickly changing the conversation. "Now it's time for us to fix it, which is what brings me to my next piece of information."

He reached for his scroll, placing it on the table. He tapped on the screen, opening his projector app. A large screen appeared before them, showing all of the information that Sienna had gathered the night before. "Haven Academy is going to be attacked, it's a joint strike, with Cinder Fall as the perpetrator. Sienna found out they're planning to attack on-"

"The night of the full moon, we're aware," Qrow said, causing Levi to look over at him.

"How did you find that out? We literally found out last night." Weiss said, causing the others to share a look with each other.

"Well, we have someone providing us information," Ren said, much to Levi, Weiss, and Sienna's surprise. "It was late last night when we got this new message. It was sticky taped to the door."

He passed the note to Levi, who read the words written on it. It was nice and neat, almost calligraphic in nature. There were only a few words written on it, but it conveyed everything they needed to know. "Attack on Haven, Night of the Full Moon, Do not Trust Lionheart."

"I knew he was up to something from the moment we spoke to him. We wanted to trust him, but it was just a gut feeling." Qrow said, tipping his flask back. "We now know that there's going to be an attack on Haven, but Lionheart doesn't know that we know. That is our only advantage."

"No matter what happens, we must defend Haven Academy at all costs. The White Fang is hellbent on destroying Haven Tower like they did with Beacon. The academy is an important foundation, for humans and faunus kind alike. That's why we have to do everything in our power to protect it."

"You're right, Auntie. But something doesn't settle well with me. I mean, I get destroying the CCT, but why would they want to do it? To keep the kingdoms separated? Seems like a moot point to me. Sure, Beacon Tower is dead but what's stopping Atlas from creating another antenna and putting it somewhere else in Vale? Aside from the embargo and the closure of borders that is."

"You bring up an excellent point, Levi. Certainly, there must be something else they want." the former Schnee Heiress said, her eyes glancing around the room. She noticed the odd looks on everyone's faces, causing her to sit up a bit. "What? There is something else, isn't there?"

"Oz, should I fill them in, or do you want the honors?" Qrow asked, his gravelly tone filled with curiosity. The young man rose to his feet, leaning on his cane as he stood to address the three.

"Tell me, Miss Schnee, do you believe in Magic?"

"Magic isn't real, the only thing close to magic is dust, and there is no possible way it acts like the stuff written in fairytales. It's simply not logically possible," she said matter of factly. Ozpin chuckled, spinning his cane around.

"I assure you, Miss Schnee, magic is 100% real, or at least it was. Do you recall the story I told you, about my origin?"

"How you were cursed by the gods and have been fighting this Salem woman for thousands of years?" Levi questioned, earning a nod from the man. "Kind of hard not to forget, especially when there's a 15-year-old boy with the soul of my old headmaster chilling inside."

"Quite right, I suppose something like that is quite hard to forget. I have already shared this story with the others, but for brevity's sake, I will only speak of the finer points. Long ago, I shared my magical power with four young women, giving them the power to control the forces of nature. They became the first maidens. Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. All of them have the ability to open a specific vault, hidden beneath the huntsman academies. It is what lies within Haven's Vault that Cinder Fall wishes to retrieve."

"Let me take a wild guess and say it's something magical since you claim that magic is real. It's a lamp, and inside it is a genie with the ability to grant three wishes." Sienna said, almost jokingly as she finished her tea. When she didn't hear laughter, she lowered her cup, looking around the room. "Please tell me this is a joke."

"I'm afraid it isn't. You were close, the item that's guarded in that vault is capable of answering three questions every one hundred years. It can answer whatever knowledge of the past and present you want to know, nothing of the future. The wishes were already used, but that doesn't mean it isn't useful to someone." Qrow said, leaving the three in stunned silence.

"Do you now understand the gravity of our situation? We must protect Haven at all costs. Even without the Spring Maiden, it's dangerous to leave it unattended. With Lionheart closing the school for the semester and all the huntsmen and huntresses being out on missions, it will fall to us to defend this noble institution." Ozpin said firmly.

Levi stared at his hands as he gathered his thoughts. He didn't know how much time had passed nor did he necessarily care. He had heard so much today that honestly, he didn't know what was real from what was fiction. An immortal woman who makes Grimm, a magical relic, one of four hidden in the academies, four women who can control the seasons, a man who's lived countless lives and has been fighting the darkness in secret for generations? It was all so mind-boggling. If he hadn't been awake and aware of what was going on, he would have assumed it was all a dream.

Even still, his mind drifted back to Neo, briefly wondering where she was, what she was doing, and if she was safe. His heart continued to twist in pain at the thought of her being alone, doing reckless and dangerous things. It wasn't hard for him to figure out she had been the one to sticky note that information to their door. She was the only other one who knew about the attack, and the only other one who knew where Ruby was. After several pregnant moments of silence, the young miqo'te looked up, staring directly into Ozpin's eyes.

"There's only one thing I'm here for, Professor. My mother gave her life during the Fall of Beacon, protecting her students until the bitter end. Aria died protecting Sonata and my partner Cadence was carried off by a Nevermore. In a single night, I was left all alone, with nothing to go home to. I promised my mother and my friends that I would find the one responsible and take her life. I hardly care about this Salem woman or the Relic guarded at Haven. As long as I can drive a sword through that bitch Cinder's chest, I'll walk through the gates of hell for you."

"While I appreciate the gesture, Mr. Athan, revenge isn't healthy. Yes, this woman has done a great many things against us. She attacked our academy and got people we care about killed, but you shouldn't fight for that. You should fight for what is right."

"I apologize, Headmaster, but to me, this is what's right. Nothing you or anyone says will change my mind. It's all I have left. Without this promise, I have nothing, I am nothing. So I will fight. Because that's all I can do." he said, standing up from his seat, stretching his arms. "I'm gonna go for a walk, there's someone I'm hoping to run into, I've got a lot of apologizing to do."

The room remained silent for a few moments, only for it to be broken by Nora, who sipped her empty soda, shaking the can to get the last few drops onto her tongue. "Boy, that was awkward."

"Forgive him, he's been through a lot these last few months," Weiss said, nervously rubbing her arm. "I won't sugar coat it, we've been through hell. I was kidnapped by bandits and he was almost sold into slavery, not to mention our close friend tried to assassinate me in a bathroom, or and there was the Grimm we had to fight, and Sienna almost dying on us. It's been hell,"

"You were kidnapped by bandits?" Ruby quipped, earning a nod from her partner. "How?"

"I ran away from home, ended up getting passage to Mistral on a cargo ship. This red-clad, raven-haired bitch of a woman caught me and threw me in a cage. God, the audacity of this lady. Oh and the smug look on that henchwoman's face was so unbearable."

Yang sat up a bit, setting her soda can on a nearby coaster. "Wait, what was the name of that girl?"

"I dunno, Vernal I think? If you had met her you likely would have punted her across the camp," she said. Yang grimaced, holding back a chuckle as she rubbed her neck.

"Hoo boy, so you were the "Low life, cheating, stupid, greedy, animals" my mom was referring too. Small world huh?"

Blinking a few times in confusion, the gears in Weiss's brain started moving, putting together what her blonde friend had just said. She slowly stood up, fist-shaking in anger as she stood over the brawler. "Your mom was the one who kidnapped me?"

For the next few minutes, Yang and the rest of her friends would witness a storm, unlike anything they had seen before. One does not simply anger Weiss Schnee, after all.


Location: Bandit Camp

Things had been rather quiet since Yang's visit, and since Weiss Schnee and the miqo'te had escaped. She had been making plans to break apart their camp and move, especially since most of the forest they used to hide in had been reduced to ashes. But just as she had, Salem had come knocking on her door.

It hadn't been a personal visit, of course, but four of her lackeys had shown up to her camp, in order to make a deal with her, one that she regretfully had to accept. If it meant surviving, then she would make a deal with anyone, even the devil herself. It was why she was currently making sure things were in order, for the inevitable attack that would be led upon Haven Academy. The hour was fast approaching, and something told her she wouldn't just be seeing her dear brother there on that night.

"Well, this is a rather fancy place you've got here, Miss Branwen." the smooth voice of her contractor said, as she strolled into the tent. Raven looked away from the things she was packing, crimson eyes meeting fiery orange. "Oh, I don't like that look."

"I don't like people intruding upon my personal space, that's all," she replied, earning a giggle from Cinder, who strode into the tent like she owned the place. Raven's eyes narrowed in thinly veiled anger, following her every movement.

"I'm afraid you no longer have the luxury of having your own space. You have something that I want, so it is up to me to make sure you aren't up to any funny business,"

Raven scoffed, setting the box she was holding down, turning to face Cinder. "We have nothing that you desire. We have agreed to open the vault for you. The Spring Maiden will be useless after you have the relic. That was our agreement, so long as you kill my brother, things will be settled."

"You never told me why you wanted to kill that dusty old Qrow. Are you perhaps jealous of his loyalty to Ozpin?" the red-clad woman asked, taking a seat at Raven's vanity, leaning back a bit. "Is it perhaps because you feel like he abandoned you for a suicide mission?"

"I don't think answering personal questions was part of our agreement either. As I said, deals like these are built upon trust, and I don't trust you. Perhaps if you had earned some I might be willing to share more," she said. Cinder rolled her jaw a bit, tracing the edges of her dress with her fingertip.

"Alright, then let us speak about something else. You've been inside Beacon Academy's vault, correct? Would you mind telling me where the Beacon Relic, the Relic of Choice, is hidden?"

Raven's brows furrowed a bit, her lips curving into a frown. "I'm afraid I don't know where the Beacon Vault is located. Headmaster Ozpin showed us the decoy vault and told us about how it worked, but he never mentioned the Relic of Choice. As far as I know, it might not even be hidden at Beacon."

Cinder's fist tightened, her eye flashing orange for a brief moment. "Damn that Ozpin. When I find his reincarnation, I am going to make sure he suffers my wrath."

"Revenge isn't going to make you feel better," the older woman said, causing Cinder to look at her. "All it's going to do is drive you to madness."

"Madness? I was already driven far beyond the brink. There are a lot of people that must pay for what has happened to me. Starting with your dear silver-eyed daughter, Ruby Rose."

"She's not my daughter," Raven said simply, shrugging her shoulders. "Do with her what you will. The moment you touch Yang though is the moment our little partnership ends."

Cinder let out a laugh, tapping into her powers. Her eye glowed bright orange, the flames of fall erupting from her body as she formed a fireball in the palm of her hand, letting it grow in size. Raven didn't even feel threatened by this 'show of power' that she was witnessing. "You clearly aren't aware of who's making the rules here."

"And you clearly aren't aware of me not giving a damn. You think you can force everyone to do your bidding because you have some fancy magic? Remember, Cinder, even if you have magic, it relies on your aura. And if you have no aura, you have no fancy maiden powers." Raven said, partially drawing her sword. "You aren't as infallible as you believe yourself to be."

"Neither are you, I'm afraid. I mean, look at where you live. You were once one of Ozpin's most trusted, and you ended up leaving. You became a petty criminal, you killed, stole, ravaged, pillaged, and pilfered your slimy black guts out. You even sat back and watched your daughter almost being murdered by Adam Taurus and did nothing. Why, if a "Worst Mother of the Year" award existed, I'm certain you would win every year."

Raven remained calm, but thoughts of slicing Cinder's head off her shoulders swam through her mind. It could be easy, her draw was the fastest in the world. Not only that, but with her Semblance, she could disappear rather quickly. Alas, she couldn't leave her family behind. So she swallowed her anger and sheathed her blade, causing Cinder's flames to disappear entirely.

"Good girl, it seems we've arrived at an understanding."

"Um, Cinder. I hope I'm not interrupting anything," her loyal friend, Emerald said, stepping into the tent. She cleared her throat, ignoring the glare Cinder was giving her. She walked over to her, holding her scroll out. "Doctor Watts wanted to speak with you, he said it was important."

The woman swallowed the annoyance she was displaying, taking a hold of the scroll, pressing the unmute button. "This is Cinder."

"Ah, good to hear you, dear, I hope things are going well with those bandits."

"Things are flowing smoothly. In fact, me and Raven just finished having a chat," she said, flashing the woman a brief look. "She says hello, by the way."

"Give her my regards. Speaking of Raven, it seems we will have to move into the next phase of our plan. I have already contacted the White Fang, and they are ready for the destruction of Haven's CCT. However, it seems someone has breached the system."

"And that matters to us because?"

She heard Arthur huff angrily on the other side. Sometimes she just did it to annoy him, other times she plainly didn't care. "It matters because there was sensitive information stored there. Information about the Huntsman and Huntresses our dear friend Tyrian has dispatched. But that isn't the half of it. The most interesting part is the fact someone used my operating system to breach the CCT."

That was news to her. Cinder sat up a bit, a look of interest on her face. "I see. Well, perhaps you shouldn't be listing that system on the where anyone can purchase it. I understand you want to prove yourself to be better than Pietro Polendina, but this is just silly,"

"I didn't sell my OS, you twit. There was only one other person in possession of that system, and that my dear, was you. The OS you used to hack Beacon Tower was the same one used to breach Haven. I am going to ask you this once. Did you retrieve that scroll at any point after Roman used it?"

Truth be told, she hadn't. She had forgotten about the device and had assumed it had been destroyed when the Prydwen went down. The fact that it was still floating around was impressive to her. She cleared her throat, lips pressed into a thin line. "I'm afraid I didn't. I was far too busy trying to get the Relic of Choice and fighting off Pyrrha Nikos. Do you not remember? I was blasted point-blank by Ruby Rose."

The line was silent on for a few seconds, an exasperated sigh coming through the speaker. "That complicates things."

"Wow, how interesting. The famous Doctor Watts entrusted someone with a very precious artifact and she wasn't even capable of retrieving it. My, Salem needs to get better henchmen."

"Hey, you shut your mouth!"

"Watch it, missy," Raven spat, drawing her katana, aiming the tip at Emerald. "I won't hesitate to cut that tongue out. I doubt Cinder would mind that too much. In fact, I think it might beneficial,"

Emerald immediately shut her mouth, the look of fear clear on her face. Raven chuckled inwardly, shaking her head as she sheathed her blade. It was easy to see Emerald was just a scared little girl who was way in over her head.

"Needless taunting aside, we need to convene, and quickly. We're not exactly sure if this information will go public, but when it does, the Mistralian Authorities will be all over Haven Academy like horny Lancers around their Queen. Keep in touch."

The call ended moments later, causing Cinder to frown. She slowly rose to her feet, giving Raven a thousand-meter stare. "Head to Haven, meet up with Headmaster Lionheart, and tell him to call that dear brother of yours. We attack tomorrow night."

"So soon? I thought the White Fang had agreed on the night of the full moon?"

"I don't give a shit what those dirty animals want. We attack tomorrow, no questions asked. And don't even think about growing a brain, Raven, because we have your entire camp surrounded. The moment you make a false move, their lives will be forfeit. Is that clear?"

The raven-haired woman nodded, eyes narrowed in anger. "Yes. I will head off right away."

Raven took a few steps forward, tapping into her magical powers. Her body glowed bright red as she turned into a raven, flying off into the distance. Cinder smirked, facing her close friend. "Tie the bandits up, and let some Grimm into the camp. That should keep them in check."

"Yes ma'am, right away,"

Cinder licked her lips, she was close to getting what she wanted. All she had to do was step through the portal and take it.


Location: Higanbana, Mistral

Blake grit her teeth in anger as she leaned back against the side of a building, her ears concealed by a black ribbon. It was raining, the partial awning served was enough coverage for her not to get wet. Despite this, her pants and boots were soaked and caked in mud, not that she minded much. Her fist struck that wooden building behind her, her hand shaking in anger.

"Shit, are you certain, Rocket?" she asked softly, pressing her scroll tightly against her human ear, ensuring no one else could listen in on their conversation.

"Yeah. I've been following their movements closely. Tiana managed to make her way into the camp by disguising herself as a new recruit and she confirmed it for us. They had settled on the night of the Full Moon, but now they're moving in tomorrow."

"I'm sorry Blake, I really wanted to get more information, but it's been hard just moving around. They keep moving around so swiftly. They commandeered a train and are currently stuffing everything they need inside." the firm, yet dainty voice of Tiana, Rocket's teammate, said. "It's been hard not getting caught. I had to blow a guy just to get him to shut up."

"That's uh… something I didn't need to know, Tia," Blake said, her face flushing for a moment.

"Yeah, Tiana isn't afraid of pushing the envelope as long as the mission gets finished," Azura quipped, earning groans from the others. "It doesn't matter. What does matter is that we'll be boarding that train. We're going to try and uncouple a few train cars. All of the supply carts are to the back so it shouldn't be too much of an issue."

"Just be careful, you guys. I can't afford to have more of my friends dying on me. I've lost too many people already, and knowing Adam, he will do everything in his power to make me feel true despair."

"Don't worry Blakey, we aren't going to let that asshole do anything to us or your friends. I recommend getting the fastest train here though. I'm not sure what will happen between here and tomorrow, so do hurry. I'll keep in touch if anything happens."

"Thanks, Rocket, take care of yourself." she said, ending the call. She sighed, pushing herself away from the wall. She walked away from the general store she had been at, ignoring the "No Faunus Allowed" sign as she walked past the entrance. Once she was far enough, she undid her ribbon, shoving it in her pocket, approaching the camp that was just at the edge of town.

"Welcome back, dear. How are things in town? Were you able to get the train tickets?" Kali asked, earning a nod from her daughter, who pulled out a stack of tickets, handing it to her. "Nice work! But I can tell you are upset about something, did you get discriminated against?"

"No, nothing as petty as that. I just got a call from Rocket," she said, gesturing for her to follow. The pair entered her father's tent, which was called "The Command Tent" by Sun. It had been a simple tent, but he had wanted to make it sound cool, much to her and Ilia's dismay. They, along with Ghira were there, staring at the aerial images of Haven Academy they had gotten from the Net. "Dad, we need to talk."

"Sure thing sweetheart, what's the matter?"

"Rocket and his team called me to check-in. The White Fang is attacking Haven Tomorrow night."

"What?" Sun exclaimed, his eyes wide in shock. "But I thought we still had a week?!"

"That was before someone hacked Haven Tower and made off with sensitive information. Whoever is in charge asked them to move the attack and Adam told them tomorrow night. I had been hoping to get some more training in, but now we have no choice. We need to break camp and head to Mistral right now."

The tent fell silent, as everyone processed what was happening. Ilia pinched her eyes, slowly exhaling through her nose, her nostrils flaring a bit. "We're up shit creek without a paddle and our mouths are wide open."

"You're telling me, I knew we would have to take a bit out of the shit sandwich but I didn't think we'd have to do it today."

"Can we stop talking about shit?" Blake asked, clearly stressed out. "We don't have time to joke around. I know the situation is dire but this is not the time for jokes."

She felt her father's hand on her shoulder, giving her a light squeeze. "It's alright, sweetheart. We all have different ways to cope. What's important is that we take things calmly and move swiftly. We will arrive in Mistral in the early morning and the attack is at night. We have plenty of time to prepare."

"You're right, dad. Sorry for snapping at you." she said, looking around the room "At all of you,"

"It's no problem dear, we are all as stressed out as you are. Let's just focus on the here and now and start breaking up camp. The faster we do it, the faster we can board that train!" Kali said cheerfully.

Blake smiled, hugging her mother tightly. She was glad to have gone back home, even if she had to deal with the White Fang. She only hoped she could see her friends someday soon.


Location: Downtown Mistral

Clearing his mind had been the purpose of his walk, sadly that had been the least of what he had done. Being in a new place allowed him to explore, to free himself, and experience the culture of whatever place he was at. He had been in Mistral for a little while, but he hadn't seen much of the city. He honestly found it breathtaking, seeing so many people of different cultures and ethnicities mixing together, mingling, and talking was a breath of fresh air. It reminded him a lot about Vale. It was one of the many things he had enjoyed about growing up there, the acceptance. Mistral was different, there was still inequality and racism, but it was only a select few people. He had never set foot in Atlas, but from what Weiss had gathered, it wasn't a pleasant place for faunus.

What had started out as a simple walk, led him to travel down the twisting paths of Mistral, until he arrived in a place he hadn't been expecting. It was an outlook that overlooked a large field, surrounded by rocky outcrops and large pine trees. Mistral's outer wall had been built just beyond it. It was called "Haven Point" and had apparently been the place Haven held their initiations. But what he found there was something he hadn't expected.

It was a large stone monument, with an iron plate on the front. The crest of Haven Academy was etched at the top and at the bottom, the words "Gone but not Forgotten" was written on it. This monument listed the names of all the Haven Academy students and Faculty who had lost their lives, not just at the fall of Beacon, but from the chaos that overtook the world afterward. It didn't take him long to find a few familiar names.

Pyrrha Nikos- Battle of Beacon

Aria Blaze- Battle of Beacon

Those two names were the ones who stuck out to him, they were the names of people he recognized and even admired. Pyrrha had been an excellent fighter and a kindhearted person who would help anyone in need. He had the honor of sparring with her various times during Combat Class, despite him always losing. She always had a smile on her face and pointed out several things for him to correct. She even offered to train with him, but he had declined, saying he would hate himself for taking too much of her time. He didn't realize it at the moment, but she was likely looking for some friends.

Then there was Aria. He never got to truly know her, she was his team leader, nothing more nothing less. But there was more. Aria was a force of nature. She hated faunus, was friendly with humans, and didn't take shit from anyone. But there was a side of her that only a few ever saw. He was reminded of that mission in Vacuo, where they had gotten separated from Cadence and Sonata. They had been stranded for two days after a sandstorm and had nothing but power bars and boiled water to drink.

That night, he had gotten frightened, and Aria had decided to sing him a lullaby. It had been the oddest thing, but at that moment, he had seen something in her that had changed his opinion of her. He always ignored her passive-aggressive rants and several other of her quirks. Like when she randomly forced him to wear a mask because she wanted to wear her see-through nightgown, or she forced him to get her ice cream when she was on her menstrual cycle.

She was rude, did many things to him, and goaded him into a fight that ended with him hurting her severely. There were many other small things she did to annoy him, but those had been the freshest ones that had flashed onto his mind. Despite everything she had done, he truly did value her. He considered her a friend and an invaluable partner, and he regretted never telling her that. He regretted never apologizing to her for that fight, and he regretted never telling how that, despite her treating him like trash, he still thought she was a good friend. That he could see the good in her, beyond her bad attitude and crappy behavior toward him.

"You are truly the worst person I have ever met in my life. I really hope you do die, maybe that would make your pathetic existence mean something."

"I hate you. You are nothing more than a dirty liar, a criminal who should pay for what she did. Why should you get to live when Aria is dead? When Cadence is dead? It was because of you they died, it was because of you my mother is gone! I will never see them again, you fucking bitch! You ruined my life, you took everything from me. EVERYTHING!"

His ears flattened against his head, as those words rang through his mind. They were so gross, so utterly disgusting, and he hated himself for saying them. He was a terrible person, who didn't deserve to be alive. It should have been him, not Aria. Maybe then he wouldn't have met Neo, and he wouldn't have hurt her feelings.

"I'm weak, I'm useless. It should be you here, Aria, not me! I don't deserve it. All I'll ever be good for is breaking promises, and stabbing people in the back." he thought, as the tears threatened to spill.

"Are you here to visit someone?"

He jumped a bit, slowly turning around. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, looking down at the young woman that stood before him. She was holding a bundle of gardenia's in her grasp. She was a wolf faunus, judging by her appearance, someone who worked at a nearby restaurant. She set the flowers down in front of the memorial, beside the others that had been set there by countless others.

"Oh, I uh… I was just passing through," he admitted. It had been true, he had been passing by when it had caught his eye. The young girl nodded, forcing a smile onto her face.

"That's good, even if you don't know anyone, they appreciate the visit," she said, her cerulean blue eyes turning back to the monument. "I come to visit my sister from time to time."

"Your sister?"

"Mhmm. She was an awesome person, she took no shit from anyone, got what she wanted, and was a hard worker. She told our father she wanted to be a huntress and left for Beacon the moment she graduated from Sanctum. She was so strong and so pretty. She may have had a rude attitude toward everyone around her, but to me and my brother, she was just big sis." she said, a smile on her face as she stared at the names on the monument. "You're a huntsman, aren't you?"

"In training, I was a second-year at Beacon Academy. I… lost my teammates during the fall."

"I'm sorry to hear that,"

"I'm sorry for not being there for them. I'll be the first to admit me and my leader didn't get along well. But I appreciated her being there. The things I took for granted are things that I miss now. There was a point in time where I saw her sweet side, but ended up ruining it, all because of a petty fucking argument." he said, looking at the floor. "I think about those words all the time. And just when I was getting over it, I fuck it up and stab my friend in the back. I feel so useless."

"You aren't useless, no one is."

"But I am! The last thing I told my leader was that I hope she died because it would make her pathetic existence mean something." he snapped, clenching his eyes shut. "I never got to apologize to her. I never told her how much she meant to me."

He felt the girl take his hand, giving it a soft squeeze. He looked up at her, seeing the soft look on her face, the look of sadness mixed with joy. It was as if she had met her favorite idol or someone she really admired. She reached inside her apron for something, placing it in his hand.

Levi looked at it, his hand shaking a bit when he saw it was a necklace. Not only that, it was a set of dog tags. He noticed one was in the shape of a familiar emblem. He flipped the second one over, seeing Aria's name engraved into it. He tore his gaze away from his hand, looking back at the young faunus. "Who are you?"

"Alto-Marie Blaze, Aria Blaze was my big sister. You must be Levi Athan, right?"

He nodded dumbly. She giggled, brushing his bangs from her eyes. "Ari was right, you do have gorgeous eyes."

"G-gorgeous? She said my eyes were gorgeous?"

"Yep, she said a lot of things about you. She said you were headstrong, committed, kind-hearted, knowledgeable, and savvy. You annoyed the living hell out of her, but she annoyed you so it was a give and take. She only did what she did to you because she wanted to test your resolve and see how kind you were. You see, growing up, we had a lot of issues with our father." she said, glancing away.

She took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts. "My dad is the chieftain of the Blaze Familiar, a very important faunus clan here in Mistral. They are descendants of the first settlers here and have a lot of sway in the city. They even have a partnership with Little Miss Malachite, who essentially dominates the underground. My sister was the firstborn of the family, and while she wasn't male, she was expected to lead. But she didn't, she hated it. She was forced to do things she didn't want to do. She had to learn the trade, become a good fighter so she could collect debts. She absolutely hated it."

"Aria never mentioned any of this to us."

"Why would she? She left for Vale to forget about this life. She wanted to live a life of freedom where she got to choose what she wanted to be. Her father wanted her to be a fighter, so she chose to become a huntress. She developed a sort of loathing of the faunus. She said if she had been born human she wouldn't have to deal with that inane bullshit she had been saddled with. But I'm sure if all of us were human, she likely would have gone through the same ordeal. The night she was set to graduate, she forwarded her papers to Headmaster Ozpin, and the day she got her acceptance letter, she left for Vale."

Levi looked back down at his hands, tracing the emblem with his thumb, ears twitching as Alto continued to speak. "Oh, did dad give her a verbal lashing. She wasn't having any of it and told him he could shove the clan where the sun don't shine. She was still expected to become the chieftain. Dad just figured being a huntress would strike fear into their eyes. Then the fall of Beacon happened."

Alto took a shaky breath, glancing up at the sky. "She called me from Amity, said what you told her. She was so distraught. She went to the bathroom to cry. She had this tough girl persona because she thought if she let her walls down, that people would treat her just like our father did, and force her to do things his way. So when you said you hoped she died, she thought she had ruined things with you. She was going to look for you and end the facade then and there, but the school was attacked. The last thing she said to me before she died was "I love you". I never saw her again."

It took Levi a few moments to realize she was crying. He wrapped an arm around her, holding her close to him as she dug her hand in her apron to try her tears. "When it was confirmed she died, protecting a human of all things, my dad realized she wasn't fit to lead and sought me out since I was the next one in line. But my grandmother forbade him from dragging me or my brother into it."

"I see… what about your mom? Did she say anything?" he asked. Alto's ears drooped down, a frown forming on her lips.

"My mom is a prostitute," she answered, making the boy grimace. "Dad ended up getting drunk one day and shagged her outside of a bar, 9 months later, I popped out. He had this fling with her on and off, but it didn't work off. One day, I woke up to find my little brother in a basket outside of our house. She said in a note that he can keep his mistake to himself. I never met her and I don't want to meet her."

"I'm… so sorry, I…"

"Don't be," she said, shaking her head. "I'm not like my mother nor will I ever be. Aria though, she was the daughter of a famous huntress. The Silver Wolf, or something like that. My dad fell genuinely in love with her and was about to leave the clan to pursue his relationship. But when my sister was being born, her mother had a complication. She lived for about ten minutes after Aria was born. She told her to stop crying, and to have fun and enjoy her life, and then she passed away. When Aria died, her mother, my grandmother, took us away from our father, so that we wouldn't be forced to do the same shit as her. We live comfortably and enjoy our life working at the ramen shop she owns. But we constantly wonder what it would be like if Aria was still around."

"I-" he paused, wiping his tears away from his eyes. "Alto I'm so sorry. I wasn't there for her, and I-"

"It isn't your fault, Levi. Tell me, did you get her notebook?"

"Notebook?" he muttered, his eyes widening. He reached into his empty holster, pulling out the black notebook with Aria's emblem on it. He handed it to the girl, who flipped toward the middle pages, holding it out to him.

"She wrote you this letter. Something told her she was going to die, so she wrote it for you. It's an apology, for everything she did to you. She left me one as well, telling me to give this book to you. When Professor Goodwitch found it, she asked if I wanted to keep it, and when she read the letter out loud, I told her to give it to you. Did you read it?"

He shook his head, causing her to frown. "Then please, do it. I know you must be blaming yourself for her death a lot, I can see it in your eyes. But you aren't at fault. No one is. No one blames you. I don't and neither does Aria. You have to live your life free and happy, that's what she wanted for all of her friends."

Levi's hands shook as he took the book from Alto, reading the first words, Dear Levi, but he couldn't. He shook his head, snapping it closed. "I'm not ready, Alto. I can't."

"Then promise me you'll read it later. That's all I could ever ask for," she said. Her ears perked up as she heard a loud beeping, causing her to reach out for her scroll. "I'm late for work. Do me a favor, keep in contact, okay?"

He nodded dumbly, reaching inside his pocket for his scroll. She transferred her contact information into his, taking his in return. "Even though we never met, Levi, I feel like you are part of my family. You knew my sister, you were her friend, and you cared about her. Don't let her die. Live your life freely, just like she wanted to live hers."

With that, Alto took off, disappearing into the crowds of Mistral. He briefly stared at the tags in his hand, looking closely at them before finding her name on the wall. The clouds above him rumbled loudly, causing him to look up. He blinked a few times as it started to rain, making him sigh audibly.

"I'm sorry, Aria. I never got to know the real you. If I had known, I wouldn't have been such an ass to you."

"Hey, I was being an ass to you too." a familiar voice said, causing him to turn around. He spotted his deceased friend standing at the edge of the observation deck, staring out into the distance. She glanced over at him, giving him a smile. "Take care of my tags, would ya? Oh, and feel free to use that crest of mine. You don't have one of your own, so you can borrow mine. Wear it proudly, old friend."

Levi gave her a smile and a nod, slowly lifting his hood over his head. He reached around his neck, hooking the dog tags around his neck, letting them hang over his shirt. He would do just that. But not only that, he would create his own crest, one that stood for everyone he held near and dear to his heart. He would never let them down, never again.