Big Issues

AN: Welcome back for another chapter. I'm glad I got this one done faster than I expected. Things are going to heat up but it's only the beginning.

Confrontation

"Yang?"

"What is it Weiss?" The blonde didn't look away from the pot she was using to cook dinner over a fire.

"I… I was wondering, how is your arm? Sorry if it sounds rude." The heiress looks away, unable to watch her friends reaction to the question.

"Hmm… you mean this one?" She lifts her left with a smile.

The attempt at humor did break the tension. "You know that's not what I meant." Weiss huffs, leveling a les than serious glare at the blonde.

"Yeah, I know. It's just… Well, Denko helped me so much with this whole thing that I don't know where I'd be without him."

Talon was sitting nearby as she had helped to prepare the food and rations, wordlessly offering to take the cooking duty so Yang could concentrate on her friend.

"Thanks." Yang passes the ladle over and sits on the log with Weiss.

"How bad was it?"

"Weiss… it was part of the reason I got huge in the first place." Yang sighs as she leans over to prop her elbows on her knees and drop her face into her palms. "It was just… everything going on. The attack on Beacon, team split up, Blake trying to run away again, my arm… Did I tell you that Ruby tried to sneak out with nothing but a letter to explain where she was going?"

"SHE WHAT?!"

"Yeah, that was our reaction too. Found out that she was going to meet up with Team JNPR and go to Mistral to find out what they could about Cinder and her cronies." Yang explains with a wry smile.

"What did you do? She apparently still went anyway." Weiss crosses her arms to show her frustration.

"Hehe, we got the team to come up to the house and Uncle Qrow met them on the way. Me, Denko, Dad, and Qrow wound up giving them an interrogation session before we let them go. Qrow made sure that what they were doing was an official mission with Goodwitch… I don't think she was happy about that. Then Qrow left for his own mission that he told us would keep him close to Ruby's team. I guess he's been helping them on their way." Yang shrugs at the end.

"But it shouldn't take so long for them to get to Mistral, it only takes a day or two to fly there."

"From what I read in one of the letters… They had a crash but everyone was okay. From there, they were stuck on foot since the few towns rarely have any airships coming through."

"Ugh, why do I get the feeling that I might have passed them on my way back to Atlas?" Weiss groans as she rubs her temples.

"What? Like some show where one person leaves just as the person looking for them arrives to find no one?"

"If that happened, can I smack Ruby when I find her?"

"Um… why are you asking for my permission for that?"

"Because now you have a fair warning about what I'll do."

"Meh, fair point." Yang shrugs. "Oh! That reminds me, how long do you think it will take Ruby to notice this?" She lifts her right arm.

"Can't say, I think she'll be too busy being smacked and hugged by us."

Yang sighed again as the original topic came back and dropped her arms on her knees since her belly covered most of her lap. "But yeah, things at home were pretty bad for me. Ruby was gone, arm had to be taken off, Dad… he didn't really know what to do to help besides letting me live there."

"Was it that bad?" Weiss asks as she puts a comforting hand on the blondes shoulder.

"Weiss, pretty much everything seemed to be lost to me. I spent months just going through a thoughtless routine. Once or twice I was so bad I was considering… to just end it all."

Weiss gasps as the implication set in. "You've obviously gotten better." She tries to steer things away from the dark route.

"Yeah, got my man to thank for that. He may have spent a lot of time doing missions for The Watch at home but when he came home, he was there for me. Helped me with the nightmares, getting washed, shopping…"

"And he got you the arm?"

"Yeah, he was pretty sneaky about it too. It took a while and a lot of work from him to get me to the point where I began to really accept how things were." Her arm detached and she lifts the stump. "How this became my new normal."

Weiss didn't want to stare but the connection point for the arm drew her attention. The new weapon that Yang wore covered the joint as a bracelet so she didn't have the best view but her sharp eyes fought some details. The slight difference between the actual nerve and arm cap to the socket that connected to the cap and the rest of the arm. The easy detachment must be a feature to allow for escape from certain situations or the cases like this where Yang would make a point. Though she could see the blonde making jokes and pranks with that if she were in a better mood.

"Did you know I tried to push Denko to have sex with me? I just wanted an escape from my misery."

"Please tell me you didn't." The heiress groans.

"Yeah, I'm not proud about it either but he turned me down. We settled with holding me through the night and waiting for happier times."

"And that time was your birthday?"

"What can I say? Lots of good food, great guy, beach time, and when we got home we fought a bunch of Grimm. Even killed a Silverback Beringal that day. Then came the cake and sexy time. Not a day I regret at all!"

"And you killed that thing while you had a missing arm and hadn't trained in months?" Raven asks with genuine curiosity and a touch of pride.

"Oh yeah! It smacked Denko away and grabbed his weapon but he shocked it. I jumped on its back and started choking it." Yang gestured as if doing it again, complete with detaching her arm. "Then I blasted its brains out!" She mocks the recoil with her stump while grinning wildly.

"That's rather impressive, think you can beat it again in a straight fight?" Raven was proud of her daughter's accomplishment but it was a bit of a Branwen trademark to add a snarky challenge.

"Now? Hell yeah."

"Then I guess we'll see how you do when it happens." Raven takes the bowl of rabbit stew from Talon. Just from the smell alone she could tell it was going to be good.

Turns out that the meal was very good and Weiss kept up her conversation with Yang while everyone else listened quietly. "How well do you feel things with the new arm?" She had noticed that the girl was using her left hand to eat rather than right like she did back at Beacon, assuming that it was a force of habit from the past year.

"Well…. It's not the best at feeling things, that's for sure. Kinda like wearing some heavy duty leather gloves. I can feel things that I touch, but nothing like I do with my other hand."

"Everything works just fine, right?"

"Yeah, as far as I can tell this is about as good as it's gonna get." Yang shrugs.

"Don't forget that the guy who made that recommended that you take it up to Atlas to him so he can give it a tune up every few years." Denko adds with a grin.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. It's only been a few months so there's plenty of time until then." She waves him off, making sure to use her right hand.

"When do you think we'll see Blake again? It's been almost a year and it's not like we can just call up Menagerie right now." Weiss asks, though she noticed that both blondes stiffened a bit at that. "Did I say something wrong?"

Yang let out a sigh. "No, you're fine, Weiss." She offers the girl a small smile yet Denko looks ready to move or speak if needed. "It's just… it's just that I can't just let go of a few things with what she did after the attack at Beacon."

"Are… are you still angry at her?"

"For trying to ditch us all at the first chance while her friends were laying in the hospital?!" Her tone and rising volume did plenty to show her irritation.

"She explained to us why she was going." Weiss offers a way to calm things down.

"Doesn't change what she did and it's not like when she ran away after you were arguing with her. Before the dance, I told her a little story about when I was acting like she had been. How my obsession should have gotten me and Ruby killed that day." She paused to take a few deep breaths and Denko silently sat down next to her, rubbing her back to calm her.

"Obsession?"

"Do you know what kind of scars it leaves in a kid when their mother leaves on a mission and never comes back? When that kid finds out that their mother wasn't the one who gave them life? When they find out that their real mother had abandoned their family right after she was born?" Yang's eyes turned red as she continued. "When that kid searches for answers but nobody can or will tell her anything? And the first real clue she gets, nearly got me and Ruby killed! We were just lucky that Uncle Qrow showed up just in time."

Weiss was speechless and had no idea that her friend bore so much, never guessing at the pain she hid with her smiles when they were at school. But she also couldn't help but notice that Denko was doing his best to comfort Yang while also giving a glare at Raven. Looking at the woman though, she held her head down so her hair covered her face but she was obviously conflicted, looking like she was torn between maintaining her aloof demeanor and breaking down. That was an image that Weiss had seen too many times in mirrors to not recognise.

But the clues were laid bare and she didn't hesitate to give Yang a hug.

"But yeah, what Blake did opened up a lot of old wounds and if she hadn't been caught before, it could have been a lot worse." Denko explains as Yang was taking deep breaths and leaning into the hugs so she wouldn't break down or lash out. She still remembered that she had given into the latter when talking to Blake the day she had told her about her mother.

Weiss waited a moment to let the blonde calm down. "Yang? Do you hate Blake?"

"No… I don't hate her." She didn't look up but she didn't need to. "I still think of her as a sister, same as you and Ruby. It's just…if we run into her again, I'm going to need some time to trust her again."

"You've been thinking about this a lot, haven't you?"

"It's been nearly a year." Yang looks up before jabbing a thumb at Denko. "And he wouldn't be bad as a counselor." She gives a small grin.

"She also had other friends and a doctor to help her come to terms with a lot of things back home." Denko adds.

"Hmm, but when we see her again, what are you going to do?" Nobody missed the slight emphasis on 'when'.

"Not really sure. Kinda think I'll give her a punch and a hug while we talk things out. Not sure on the order though."

"Haha! That's definitely the Yang I know." Weiss laughs as she gives her friend a squeeze.

"You know, now that we're on the subject of runaways that need to earn our trust." Anya speaks up and draws attention to herself. "I think it would be best if we learn exactly how you got the power of the Spring Maiden."

All eyes turned to Raven who was already upset and conflicted from the earlier conversation.

-—

"Wow! And Sun went to a school like this?" Ruby couldn't keep still as she looked around so much that it looked like her head was spinning on her shoulders.

It was hard not to see why with the grand view of Mistral on one side of the school and the broad landscape of mountains and valleys on the other, so long as one could see over the walls and through the trees. But so much of the school had an open layout with a large quad before the Grand Hall and surrounded by several dorm buildings. Near the Grand Hall building that served as the main administration building and held the medical station, other buildings rose out of the tree lined grounds that held the actual classrooms and indoor sparing areas.

All buildings took the the same design structure that Mistral was known for, large and tall buildings that looked to have wood supports with white plaster and wood paneled walls, sloping blue tiled roofs with corners that hooked upwards, balconies, large windows and sliding doors to allow for as much natural light and breezes to have access.

The CCT tower itself was tall and followed the same appearance of the other buildings, just rounder and has four large legs that gave it extra support from the wind and storms that met the structure about four stories up the nine story tower. A matching tower sat on the other side of the quad but rather than being for communications it was originally a lookout tower that was converted into a meeting spot for students where they could have one of the best views that Mistral had to offer.

All around them, the grounds were mostly fine stone and sand that was carefully maintained wherever there wasn't a solid stone paved walkway. Many trees were around the edges of the grounds and made for natural walls between many of the buildings while low walls served as large planters where bright flowers and shrubs grew to add color. Several wooden benches sat next to the walls while a large fountain sat in the middle of the quad.

Overall, it was a grand display of wealth and power, yet also minimalistic in a way thanks to the simple designs that clearly meant to bring peace without much distraction. The biggest standout of the school that brought questions were the large cables that ran from every building to the Grand Hall, though one could assume that they were for communications before more modern technology and they never felt like removing them.

Qrow led the teens into the Grand Hall, the stone steps rising above the field and gave way to lacquered wooden floors with large carpets spread in areas that added color and dampened footsteps in high traffic areas. The inside of the school was no less extravagant than the outside, tapestries, banners, and paintings hung in the hallways, statues sat in different places now and then but none compared to the large marble woman just inside the main entrance. Yet the Huntsman led the five further into the building, navigating the corridors with practiced ease.

Qrow seemed to grow agitated the more they walked and it wasn't hard to miss that the Academy was practically uninhabited, raising questions in everyone's minds.

Then they arrived at a large room with a secretaries desk in the corner, several books stacked on the corner. An expansive brown rug with the Haven symbol in gold led from the entrance to the door on the other end lit by the chandeliers overhead and the small lamps along the walls that provided light to the black leather couches under them. The walls are painted green to work with the varied shades of wood of the floor walls, and ceiling as a few potted trees and bamboo and framed paintings served as decorations.

But the desk was empty, which led to Qrow taking hold of Harbinger and deploying the blade, soon followed by the teens readying their own weapons and moving towards the door as quietly as possible and lining up behind the desk corner and along the couch, with Qrow moving up to the door itself to put his ear to the wood.

Hearing nothing, Qrow stepped back and lifted his leg to kick the door in, only for a twinge of pain to race up the limb from his wound. Wincing, he put his leg back down and motions for Nora to take his place. While Ruby looked relieved that he didn't push through the pain and potentially hurt himself again, she also looked like she was going to have some words with him about it.

Nora… she simply looked like she had been given a present by the grin on her face. A glance at Qrow showed him holding three fingers up and began a countdown.

CRASH!

Nora kicked the door open with ease, splintering the frame and showering the office within with wooden shards. However what they found just inside shocked them all, Professor Leonardo Lionheart was just out of range of the swinging door and he was so scared by the door bursting open that he gave a strangled gasp and fell over. Nora let out a small shriek of her own from the unexpected sight and fell backwards.

Everyone else watched the events unfold silently, stunned by what happened and that the Headmaster was unharmed… sort of.

"Um, found him." Pyrrha says as Qrow facepalms.

A few minutes later, Leonardo woke up on one of the couches in the waiting room outside of his office. Clutching his head, he sat up to find a familiar face sitting not far away as several teens wandered the room and his office as they examined the decorations.

The man looked older than Qrow by more than a few years judging by the grey in his hair and beard that resembles a lion's mane. His skin is naturally tanned but also a bit of weathering from years as a Huntsman in the field. He wears a brown greatcoat with a matching mantle over his brown vest and white long-sleeved shirt. Lower, he wears dark brown slacks and dress shoes. A thin black tie kept his collar closed and the chain of a large pocket watch can be seen leading to the device in one of the vest pockets. Interestingly enough, he has a tail with a darker brown tuft on the end, resembling a lion's. It was also noted that he had been affected by the Issue as well, making him rather stout but still carries the strength of an aging warrior.

"Hey, glad you woke up. Almost worried you were gonna kick the bucket there." Qrow smirks as the Headmaster shakes the fog from his head.

"Qrow? Wh-what are you doing here?" He asks as he swings his legs to the floor to sit up properly.

"What am I doing here?" The man exaggerated his shocked expression. "Leo, you know I only stop by when things are serious."

"Hmm, that is true."

"But that brings up a good question, where is everyone?"

"What do you mean? Things have been difficult and I've extended the semester break so the students could go on missions." Leo explains as he stands up stiffly, giving his limbs and back a few quick stretches.

"Leo, it's nearly two months until the usual break." Qrow protests as he follows the Headmaster into his office, the teens following after him soon after. "And where are all the teachers? The other staff?"

"Qrow, many of the teachers have also been on missions, some leading the freshman teams as needed. For many of the others, they have been using the time for a short vacation or coming in every few days to keep the academy clean."

"But who's guarding the Relic?"

"Qrow! The children." Lionheart tried to yell and keep his voice low at the same time as he panicked.

"They already know. They've been involved for a while and she's been brought in since last year." Qrow jabs his thumb over his shoulder at Pyrrha.

"This is a major breach of secrecy, Qrow! We kept our numbers small to prevent leaks like this!"

"Tell me something I don't know. But Fall forced our hands, you know that. Then Salem began to make her moves, even sent someone we thought was dead after my niece on her way here."

"What? What do you mean by that?" Leo leans in.

"Tyrian Callows." Qrow tells him flatly, keeping his eyes locked on his fellow Circle member.

"Surely you must be joking?!" The Headmaster stands up as his hands slam on his desk, the chair sliding back. Even the holographic keyboard sprung to life.

"I wish I was. Spent the last week in your hospital recovering from being stung by him." Qrow crosses his arms and leans back in his chair. "I can show you the souvenir he left me if you want." He points at his right leg.

"Hmm, no thank you. But if you fought him, I can assume that he's gone this time for sure?" Leo asks as he accidentally hits a key before sitting back down.

"Good news and bad news with that. The bad news is that he got away. The good news is that the kids cut off his tail so he won't be poisoning people again."

Leonardo rests his elbows on the desk and drops his face into his palms. "Well… that may not be the best news this week but you also survived the encounter."

"Barely but I'm sure you heard the other news about what happened after that?"

"I've been rather occupied and honestly a bit overwhelmed by trying to keep Haven running almost by myself. Even the rest of the Council has been leaving me alone so I can be ready for the next semester. I haven't had time for the news or gossip."

"Fine, I understand. Here's the short version: as the kids were carrying me here after the tussle with Tyrian, the local Nuckelavee paid us a visit, brought a bunch of friends with it. These guys managed to take it down permanently just before we were picked up by one of your patrols." It was hard to miss the pride in his voice.

Lionheart sat with eyes wide and mouth hanging open for a few seconds. "You're telling me that five first year students took on a beast that we've been unable to kill for centuries and won?"

"Hey, they were among the best in their year, earned themselves a lot of field experience since Beacon, and got damn lucky." Qrow defended. He missed the teens swelling with pride until the luck comment deflated them rapidly.

"Hmm… I see. Given that you are the one vouching for them, I'm inclined to believe you." He pauses before addressing the youths. "Qrow may be a sarcastic pain in the tail most times but he won't steer you wrong." He brought up the screen and began searching the reports until he found the team in front of him along with the video confirming the destruction of the Nuckelavee.

"I see, that is very good news and will let many rest easier. We lost many good Huntsmen and Huntresses over the years to that thing, especially when THAT happened at the Vytal Festival last year." He opens a drawer and pulls out some cards. A few commands later, he spread them out on the edge of his desk. "Your rewards for services to Mistral and the world for ridding us of that monster."

Each of them took one of the six cards and out of curiosity, Jaune scanned it with his scroll to see how much was on it. Then his eyes went wide and his mind seemed to shut down. Pyrrha was quick to catch him and sit him in a chair.

Nora picks up the dropped scroll and reads the display. "FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND!?"

Needless to say everyone but the Headmaster was shocked, though he was stunned by the volume.

"Ahem, yes. The Grimm you all slew did have a large bounty placed on it in hopes that the reward would encourage a concentrated effort to kill it. There were a few who tried and the reward grew. I don't suppose that you are opposed to receiving half of the total amount?"

"This was only half? That's three million between us?" Ren had more words than his usually chatterbox friend this time.

"Well…. Yes. I believe that you would appreciate it if I send the other half to the reconstruction efforts at Beacon?" Leo asks as his fingers hover over the keyboard.

"They could really use the help." Ruby answers. "Thank you Professor."

"You're very welcome." He says as he makes the transfer of funds. "Now, what was it that you all came here for? It's not exactly a short ride from Vale to Mistral."

"Oh, sorry! We thought we would have been here months ago but our Bullhead crashed and we mostly walked our way here." Ruby stepped up and rubbed the back of her head.

"You walked across Anima? Hmm… you are tougher than I thought if your team did that and you managed to kill the Nuckelavee along the way."

"Yeah, we fought all kinds of things on our way here." The rotund reaper grins and rambles about the Grimm and the highwaymen they encountered… until Qrow gave her a small jab in the ribs with his elbow.

"Get on track."

"Hehe, sorry about that."

"Not a problem, Miss Rose." Leonardo waves her on.

"You see, we actually came here for any information that you may have about Cinder's team. Anything to help us track them down and bring them in for what they did at Beacon. She said that she came from Mistral and they wore your uniforms."

"I see. And I suppose that you'll be taking this straight back to Glynda then?"

"That's our mission. We came this far and we're not going to stop now." She flashes him a bright smile and the rest of the team step up to show their support.

"Hmm, very well. I'll go down to the records department and copy everything that we have there on them. It will take some time to get it all, I'm not as familiar with the records as I should be but I'll call one of the staff up to assist me."

"Thank you sir." Ruby bows her head and is mimicked by the others.

"Now, do you have somewhere you are staying so that I can send the files to you?"

"Actually, I was hoping that you could set us up with one of the Huntsman homes for a few days." Qrow jumps in. "If things are gonna take a bit of time to get ready and we could use a little time to relax from the road. Docs want me to take things easy too."

"Not a problem, I suppose you'd like the usual one you stay in when you're in town?"

"Sure, that will be fine."

"At least it will have plenty of room for your charges." Leo chuckles.

"Yeah, that will be needed. Now, onto why I am here."

"You mean you weren't simply escorting them?"

"Leo, they started the mission on their own and I just made sure it was cleared with Glynda before they left. Didn't even meet up with the kids until the crazy scorpion showed up. I've been tracking down all kinds of leads that we needed intel on."

"And what did you find?"

"First, tell me why you were so quiet to Oz before shit hit the fan. From what I heard, the two of you hadn't spoken directly since the Issue at the schools began."

"Really? Is that what this is about?" The lion began to act defensively as he stood up and began to pace behind his desk. "The reason I didn't report to Ozpin was because there was nothing to report about. The vast majority of the Issue was being handled by the others on the Council and they had been in constant contact with the doctors looking into how to stop that."

"Fine, I get it. Even so, a little chat just to say hello now and then would have been good." Qrow waves his hand as he puts that topic to the side. Then he got much more serious. "But my investigations did turn up a few things, like the possible location of Spring."

Leonardo's eyes went wide as he stood up. "You mean you've found her? You finally found the Spring Maiden? This is great news!"

"You might want to simmer down a bit." Qrow cautions before the older man could hug him. "Bring up a map and I'll show you where I think she is."

Leo dropped his arms and while looking a bit put off, complied with the request. A few commands on his computer and the screen displayed a map of Remnant and was enlarged several times over so everyone had a clear view.

"This area, just a bit south of Lake Mashu is where I think she is, for now. But there's a catch."

"What's the problem?"

"I'm almost certain that she's with the Branwen Tribe."

That stunned everyone in the room, especially the teens as they gave each other questioning looks and Ruby shrugged when the looks came her way. Personally, she hoped that the name was just a coincidental match to her uncles.

"Last time I spoke to my sister, she let something slip, which combined with my other intel, points to her having the Spring Maiden with her."

"Hmmm… that is something to be concerned about. If we were to go after her… Qrow, you and your sister have been evenly matched as long as I've known you and you are among the best in the world right now."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence. But with you and the kids, we should be fine."

"Qrow, stop. We need to think this through! I know what these children have just done to come here, that is no small feat to be sure. But they would be far outnumbered by bandits who wouldn't hesitate to kill if given the chance. And I'm not the Huntsman I used to be. I'm getting old and have been out of the field for too long. I may be able to provide support but I can't handle combat like I used to.

Mistral controls more territory and settlements than any other Kingdom and in turn, that makes defending all of it that much harder. Our forces are spread thin and the attack on Beacon led to attacks here as well. We lost many good Huntsmen during that time.

I'm sorry Qrow, but I'll have to talk to the Council and see if I can get some to help you for this mission. If we're lucky, some will already be in the area that could meet you there or some may have just returned from a mission."

Qrow let out a heavy sigh. "Alright, I get the picture. You talk to them, I'll see if I can find some acquaintances to help." He shoved his hands in his pockets as he turned away. "And the house?"

Leo returns his screen to normal and enters a few things, ending with Qrow's scroll chiming. "Done. And I'll get the paperwork for the children as well."

"Alright, we'll stick around for a week or two to wait for the Council's decision. Hopefully it won't take too long since we know how the tribes like to move."

"Very well, I'll keep in contact with you. Have a good rest and while you are here, feel free to take a tour of Haven Academy. If any of you would like to transfer here to continue your education while Beacon is being rebuilt, just ask and I will get things started."

"Thank you, Professor Lionheart." Pyrrha bows her head and the others mimic her words and action.

"Not a problem. Now please, enjoy your time in Mistral." Leonardo smiles as they file out the door.

"Remember." Qrow teases as he wiggles his scroll in the air.

With the door closed… mostly, it still needed to be repaired, Lionheart let out a long sigh as he sat on his chair again.

"Now that was quite a surprise, Leo. I'm sure our Lady will be quite pleased with this information."

The Headmaster didn't bother looking up to see the stylized W spinning over his desk, he knew that voice far too well.

"I know, Arthur, I know." Leonardo certainly didn't sound very proud.

-—-

"What exactly are you looking for here in Minstral?" Oscar asks as he walks the streets with his friend. The two of them had arrived just that morning and had been looking around the city ever since.

"We are going to find somewhere to live, a cheap hotel will do fine until something better comes up." They were in the lower levels of Mistral but still where things were fairly respectable and clean. That also meant that they were in an area that was much closer to their meager budget.

"Okay. Are you sure you know where you're going?"

"I grew up here, kid. I know what I'm doing. It's just a matter of scoping out what changed while I've been away."

"Alright."

-—-

The small army of Faunus and even a few of the humans raced down the mountain as fast as they could down the road, though Sun, Blake, and Itazura took the more direct path of going straight down and leaping from tree to tree.

That also meant that Kali was largely left alone aside from a few people who volunteered for guard duty.

"Alright! Let's get the food packed up and brought inside to the kitchens!" The cat woman orders before turning to the guards. "I know we don't have much in the way of weapons around here so we need to make this as difficult to get in as possible. Start setting up barricades with the tables. Some out here and more inside. Get all of the trash and take it inside and put it in the main hall, we'll use it on anyone who tries to break in here!"

Everyone followed her without question and soon all of those with children were taken back to the classrooms while others took up positions in various rooms, some tools being made into improvised weapons. The food and drinks were quickly packed away and the tables and chairs were scattered through the halls as defensive barriers to impede the progress of anybody who got through the shield and over the walls.

Kali made sure that she had people in lookout positions in the cliff side classrooms and the CCT tower itself while she took the central position within the Headmaster's office, at least it would be once they appointed someone. For now, it had a simple wooden desk and chair along with a few filing cabinets, decorations were limited to bamboo shades on the windows.

Those shades were rolled up so she could watch through the large windows and see most of the Sirius Academy grounds and the town below. And from what she could see, things weren't going to be good down there anytime soon.

"Kali! We have a situation!" One of her appointed guards calls over her scroll.

"What's going on?"

"We've been infiltrated! Roughly five people pulled out guns and took the classrooms hostage!"

"Damn it! Keep them contained and get them talking, find out what they are up to!"

"Yes madam!"

Kali hung up and she drew her pistols from their hiding place within her clothes. Her right hand twitched in anticipation of deploying a knife from her sleeve.

-—

"It's them." Blake growls as the trio peek through some leaves at the Faunus wearing the distinctive masks as they rounded up the civilians who didn't go to the celebration in front of the Belladonna mansion, forcing them to sit as guns were trained on the growing crowd. What made things worse was that they saw many of the Fang members were those they thought were simple shopkeepers, workers, and homemakers.

"This is wrong in so many ways." Sun grits his teeth.

"They aren't even trying to hide that they don't really care about people. All of that talk about defending Faunus was just bullshit to let them gain more power, and that is all they really care about." Itazura mutters.

"What's the plan?" Sun asks.

"Too many hostages and guards just for the three of us." Itazura notes out loud.

"And they are setting up a barricade on the road to the school. Dad and the others are going to have to work to get through that."

"And I'd bet that they have others coming in by boat." Sun adds.

They watch for a few more moments before Itazura speaks again. "You're not going to like this but I need you two to head towards the docks and take out whatever White Fang reinforcements are coming in."

"What? What about you?" Blake hisses at the fox.

"I'm gonna stay here and help your dad get through so they can drive out the Fang."

"By yourself? That's crazy!" Sun kept himself restrained to a whisper.

"Hey, sometimes crazy works." The fox shrugs. "Now get going, I'm sure some of these idiots will be drawn away once the fighting starts."

"As much as I hate this idea, I can't argue against it. You better not let anyone die." Blake warns as she rises to get moving again.

"I'll do my best. No promises, especially with the Fang." Her tail flicks with a bit of anticipation.

"Good enough for me. Let's go." Sun leads the way towards the docks, quickly taking to the roofs of homes to avoid risk of running into a patrol that may raise the alarm.

It didn't take the pair long to reach the best place to see the port and sure enough there was a smaller boat leaving the dock for the much larger ship that could be seen on the horizon, another small boat heading their way with a fresh load of White Fang soldiers. On the docks, there were already roughly fifty men armed with swords on their hips and a model of rifle in their hands that was new to both of them. A few carried pistols of some sort as well.

"Think we can take them like we did back in Vale?" Sun asks as they watch the soldiers lining up and moving some cargo.

"There are more here than there were then." Blake comments before her eyes caught a pair of soldiers dragging a limp body between them before dropping the person into the water. "And they've gotten even worse."

"Yeah, and we better move fast to take them out. I doubt that's all that big boat is done unloading troops." Sun reminds her. But he does spot something that could help them. "Hey, give me a few minutes and I'll have a distraction going."

"Wait, what?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do!"

"Good, I trust you too. Think you can get over there without being seen?" Sun points to the small building that serves as the shipping office.

"Yes?"

"Then you'll see the signal when you see it." Sun grins before giving Blake a peck on the cheek. "For luck."

"What about you, don't you want some luck?"

"I just want to get to bed with you sometime tonight. That's enough to make me be careful."

"Just get going, Dork." Blake couldn't help but grin before she set out for her destination and was curious as to what her boyfriend was going to do.

AN: Well, things are going right for everyone, huh? Weiss and Yang get into a deep talk, Oscar and his friend make it to Mistral, and RNNJR and Qrow have their talk with Professor Lionheart. Too bad the celebration at Sirius Academy has been cut short by the White Fang attacking Menagerie and have already taken hostages. Makes one wonder how they are going to get out of this mess... and what Sun's big idea is. You'll have to wait until next time to find out along with Raven's questioning about how she became the Spring Maiden.

Until next time everyone, reviews are welcome!