Another week another chapter. Someone mentioned that because RNJR have finally encountered Tyrian, it meant Qrow had a chat with Raven. This is correct, but I wanted to leave it out for the reveal of whether or not her eye survived for another time. One that will hopefully have a lot funnier interpretations.

Anyway, on with the chapter!

Weiss was feeling proud of herself. A sensation she hadn't felt in some time. She had made a plan and executed it perfectly. She had gotten Pyrrha to come to her Charity Ball, and finally was able to talk with a friend about what they had both gone through.

Even though their recounts of the event were different, Weiss was just happy to have someone there. But, it did lead to a concerning question. What happened with Crue? Weiss was certain of what she experienced.

But so was Pyrrha.

That Monster attacked Beacon. And she had thought it killed Crue. But, thanks to General Ironwood sharing what had really happened, now she was less sure. It seemed like Mercury had killed Crue, and then that Monster showed up and attacked him.

But then what happened to Crue's body? Penny's was left as it was, and a sickening thought made its way into Weiss' mind. Was Penny left alone because her body wasn't flesh and blood? There was no trace of Crue, and that Monster seemed eager to sink its teeth into Adam and Mercury.

But according to Pyrrha, Crue had survived somehow, and had fought against Cinder to save her at the cost of his own life. Did he die twice? Could the Monster have attacked Mercury just as Crue's Aura shattered, preventing Mercury from actually killing him and allowing Crue to give chase and try to find Cinder?

But, if that were what happened, why didn't Crue take Setanta? It was his weapon, and even if he had others in the form of those claws Pyrrha mentioned, he would still want every advantage he could get against Cinder.

"Are you listening to me?!" Oh, right. Weiss' pale blue eyes blinked once and she raised a singular white eyebrow at her Father. He had been ranting about how she was a shame to her family name and so on and so forth.

Weiss hadn't really been paying attention. "I have done nothing to shame my family's name." She stated.

"Oh no?" Jacques growled, sounding more like a frightened terrier. "The little 'friend' that was invited at your request certainly did. Arguing with guests in the middle of the floor, spilling drinks on them and then running off to some empty room with you."

Jacques' nose scrunched up at the fact. "You think I didn't notice your absence? Along with General Ironwoods?" He leaned down with a scowl. "What did you talk to him about? What are you plotting against me?!"

Weiss couldn't believe the man she called Father would be so arrogant- Scratch that. She could absolutely believe that he would think the only thing they talked about was him. "We discussed what happened at Beacon. Exchanging information."

"Do not lie to me, girl." Jacques stood tall. "What did you talk about?"

Weiss grew a smirk that her Father had never before seen on her face. "That's classified." Jacques face grew red with anger, his moustache bristling as though it was fighting to get off his lip and storm away in a huff.

"You think you can take this company from me? After all I've done to keep it from running into the ground?!" He exclaimed.

"What you've done?!" Weiss yelled back, standing to her feet. "All you've done is create problems for people. For Faunus. And because of you I nearly died! My friend did die! You are the worst thing to happen to the Schnee name since the White Fang!"

A crack echoed through the silence of her bedroom, and Weiss was barely able to recognise her Father had just slapped her. She blinked in shock. The hit stung. She hadn't had her Aura up. Why would she? Why would she have her Aura up in her own house?

The impact had sent her thoughts into disarray, and she couldn't think of what to do. Instead, she thought of what those closest to her would do in this situation as Jacques spoke calmly and coldly. Winter was a soldier. She would grin and bear it, though she doubted there would be any kind of 'grinning' from Winter if this were to happen in front of her.

She thought of what would happen if Jacques struck Whitley. He was younger than her. Smaller. Weaker. He wouldn't be able to take it. The idea of Jacques hitting her brother filled Weiss with an unsurprising amount of rage.

The sensation bubbled beneath her skin angrily, eager to get out and express itself in some way. And then, Weiss thought of what her other brother would do in this situation, as her hand clenched tightly into a fist.

…

"Huh. Did you just feel, like, oddly proud of Weiss right now?" Crue asked, pausing in making sure everything in his bag was still dry. Winter had paused too, in the middle of buttoning up her coat as she stared at the wall of the cave with a small frown.

"I, I did, actually." She was unsure as to why, or as to how Crue knew. She looked over to him with a raised eyebrow.

He shrugged. "Sibling senses?" He suggested. A crude, but not inaccurate term that had Winter nodding in agreement. She ignored the fact that Crue somehow shared a 'sibling sense' with her in regards to Weiss, and focused on not putting too much pressure on her leg.

Aura could protect from a lot of things, but the pressure of having a leg trapped between rocks in a raging river was something it was unable to fight against. It would seriously limit her ability to fight. But, luckily for her, that did not seem to be a requirement at the moment.

Her blue eyes studied Crue as he busied himself, tightening the straps on his back and then making sure to put it under his cloak. As much as it pained her to admit it, she had been wrong about Crue. He was a threat, but not to her. He went out of his way to save her in a situation that had them both at risk.

And he had yet to ask for anything in return. There was no ulterior motive that she could see for saving her, aside from what she had overheard while pretending to be asleep. Weiss would be upset at her death.

It was a sobering thought, one that had her recounting how her first interaction with Crue had gone. He had protected Weiss from her. At the time, the idea of someone protecting her sister from her, was something that offended and angered her to no end.

But now, thinking about it from Crue's perspective, if she had witnessed someone about to strike her Weiss, she would have done the same. Even if Weiss could defend herself, she would still feel the need to fight on her behalf.

"Ready to go?" Crue's words brought Winter out of her musings, as she stood straight as she could, crossed her arms behind her back and gave a solid nod. Crue's face cringed in discomfort.

"If you salute me I'm dropping you back in the river." He warned. Winter did not flush red at the realisation of what she did, but she did die a little inside.

"A force of habit." She defended, loosening her posture. It was a difficult thing to do, but Crue was right that he was not her superior or in command in any shape or form. The idea of Crue attaining that rank in the military caused her eye to twitch ever so slightly.

"Right. I'm not sure where the nearest town, or road is from here. Unless we go back to the train tracks and walk along it." He made his way to the mouth of the cave, where there was blessedly little rain. "Plus…"

He trailed off, turning to look at Winter's leg as she limped over to stand beside him. "Do you expect us to walk to the next town?"

"Well do you see a car around here?" He asked, gesturing to the surrounding area of trees, grass and overall lack of any mechanical vehicles.

Winter gained a smirk, one that Crue had seen on Weiss a few times whenever she knew something he didn't and was keen to show off. His one eye briefly flit upward to make sure there wasn't a bucket of ice suddenly suspended above the mouth of the cave.

"I am a Schnee." Winter reminded Crue, before taking out her rapier. He instinctively took a step back, before she pointed it towards the ground a little away from them. "And we have certain… strengths when it comes to travelling."

A spinning white sigil appeared, and a bright white form began to grow out of it. A pair of white horns led into a mask that had glowing blue lines, leading towards a pair of bright blue eyes that seemed to stare directly through Crue.

A crown-like mane of bone surrounded the head, and behind it a pair of spectral wings puffed out majestically. A long and slender tail that ended in what looked like a scorpion stinger coiled around and laid on the ground.

The summon sat on its haunches, sticking its head up high and looking as though it was ready to take on the world. Crue sighed. "Of course you guys have Manticores here." He had never actually been this close to a non-violent summon, before, as Weiss had trouble perfecting the ability.

"Is it sentient?" He asked. Winter looked surprised at the question, as though she hadn't thought of it herself.

"I suppose to a certain extent. More so than regular Grimm, as it's not attacking us." Winter explained. Then, to her surprise, Crue stepped forward and began to scratch the underside of the Manticore's maw.

The summon reacted, its head lowering and its tail gently tapping against the ground. Crue let out a laugh, as if he hadn't expected it to work. "Do you think this would work on regular Grimm? Defeating them through the power of scritches?"

"If you feel confident enough to stick your hand next to a Grimm's maw, you're more than welcome to try." Winter rolled her eyes, before walking over and trying to get a leg up and over. The summon lowered itself completely onto the ground, allowing her a better stance.

"Who's a good Manticore? You are, yes you are!" "Crue!" Winter snapped, causing the Faunus to straighten up and quickly move round to mount the summon. He froze, once he realised he would have to sit directly behind Winter.

Treating it with the same delicacy that one would a ticking time bomb, he kept a safe distance between them and activated his Semblance. "Ready." He called. He saw Winter's head nod, and realised she had never put her hair up since coming out of the river.

He was about to say something, before Winter pat the Manticore's side. It took off immediately, the rushing winds giving Crue a faceful of hair that he quickly spat out. He held onto the bright white fur of the Manticore for dear life, not feeling quite brave enough to place his hands anywhere on Winter's body.

They flew continuously upwards, Crue squinting his eye closed as the winds buffeted against him. It didn't help that he had to battle against the stinging whips of Winter's hair and the wind. As he turned his head to avoid another successful attack from Winter, he suddenly found himself among a sea of white.

"Wow…" He let out a breath that was lost among the rushing winds, and could practically see the smug look Winter was wearing. He let his arms spread out as he laughed loudly above the clouds. "I'M KING OF THE WORRRLD!"

Winter glanced back with a raised white eyebrow, wondering what the Hell he was doing. Crue gave an unapologetic shrug as the grin stayed on his face. He let himself lean back, resting his back on the summon as he stared upward to the sun-kissed sky.

It was surprisingly relaxing, once you got over the fact you were literally thousands of feet above the ground. "Plan?" He shouted to Winter over the rushing wind.

"Find a new base of operations." She called back. "Attempt to contact the rest of the Ace-Ops. From there… We will play it by ear."

"Oh, cool, I'm great at that. I've got four of 'em." Crue laughed back, and didn't need to see Winter's face to know that she probably rolled her eyes so hard they nearly fell out of their sockets. They continued to fly for a while, finally leaving the cloud cover and seeing the ground far below.

They were over a mountainous area, and Crue could see the occasional bridge connecting them. Even from high up, he could tell they weren't the sturdiest things, given how they swayed in the breeze.

It was getting dark, and there was a near ever-present fog, and the few clouds that were still above them were raining. Not as strong as the storm that knocked them off the tracks, thankfully. However, despite the conditions, Crue was able to spot shining lights in the distance, able to pierce the rain and fog easily. He gave a tap on Winter's shoulder and pointed once she turned around. She gave a nod, and steered the Manticore in that direction.

Crue wondered what the lights could belong to in such a mountainous region, as they were quite clearly manmade. His answer came with a dropped jaw. A city, an entire city, tucked into the open mouth of a mountain shone brightly in the darkness.

Neon lights shone through the fog, and along the walls Crue could make out some anti-air artillery, presumably for attacking flying Grimm that could pose a threat to their city.

Like the kind they were flying on right now.

"WATCH OUT!" Crue screamed, as though Winter was deaf to the thumping 'thoom' of the guns, or blind to the bright blast heading their way. The Manticore weaved out of the way, doing a barrel roll that had Crue holding on for dear life as another shot whistled past them.

"LEFT! LEEEEFT! RIGHT!" "STOP BACKSEAT FLYING!" Winter yelled back as the summon began a nosedive, causing Crue's eye to water as the wind rushed into it. The force of the dive sent Winter sliding back into Crue's person.

He let out an 'oomph', before seeing what they were diving towards. They were getting closer to the wall, and Crue could see security towers along it. They were constructed in a way that had them sticking out over the wall, presumably to get a better visual on enemies approaching.

"I HAVE AN IDEA!" Crue had shout to be heard over the rushing winds. Winter didn't respond verbally, but she did nod. "FLY UNDER THE TOWERS THEN SEND IT SKYWARD!" The summon followed Winter's instructions, diving so low to the ground that its paws brushed against the short grass.

"NOW!" Crue yelled, before wrapping his arms around Winter's midsection. It was as if a cable had been wrapped around them and pulled taught, as they were both yanked backward off the summon. The Manticore continued to fly, pulling up and soaring skyward.

Shots continue to ring out, though thankfully none were directed at Winter and Crue, who were currently pressed against the underside of one of the guard towers. Crue's back was against the wall, with the soles of both feet pressing against it and a single hand stretched out to make contact with the tower.

Winter was, for lack of a better term, cradled in his other arm, her own wrapped around his neck and holding on for dear life. After the adrenaline of being shot at had worn off, they realised the position they were in.

"I'm guessing this is another thing we will never speak about?" Crue hazarded a guess. The look Winter gave him suggested not only would he be flayed alive for mentioning the situation, but resurrected just to be killed again.

"Got it." He gave a nod. "Now I know how Spider-man feels whenever he has to save his girlfriends. Dude's had like, eighteen different relationships." Crue angled himself so he could get a better view of his surroundings, before walking around the corner of the tower.

Winter, trying to spare the indignity of being carried bridal style, moved herself around so that she could be on his back, placing her arms around his neck. Below them was a grimy looking street, surrounded by warehouses.

Crue leapt down, landing with nary a sound. The same could not be said for Winter, who gave a hiss of pain as Crue had to tighten his grip on her leg. "You alright?" He whispered back.

"Fine." She grunted out. "We need to get our bearings. If we're where I think we are, we may be in trouble."

"As if that wasn't obvious from the fact they tried to shoot us down." Crue mumbled, making his way further away from the wall. His destination was the glowing neon, but he needed to find something else first.

There were several crates laying around, none of them open unfortunately. It was probably a bad idea to leave any kind of product out under the seemingly constant drizzle. Thankfully, however, he spotted what he was after.

He reached up, snagging a large black cloak from what might have been a washing line, though it was certainly a weird place for it. He held it up over his shoulder, and Winter took it without comment. Winter's hair was fairly distinctive, and the fact she was injured probably wouldn't make anyone think twice about trying something.

With Winter covered, Crue felt at least a bit safer in picking up the pace. "So, where are we? Or where do you think we are?" He asked, his one eye constantly checking his surroundings. It was quiet, and the bang of the turrets had faded.

Crue gave a mental salute to Manny the Manticore in thanks for his service. "If I'm right, we are in the city of Kuchinashi." "Gesundheit." "Not funny." Crue could feel Winter's unamused side eye, even though the thick cloak. He gave a shrug, inadvertently causing Winter to shift.

"Kuchinashi is, for lack of a better term, an egg in a viper's nest." She explained. "A labyrinth of dark, twisting and turning streets, and home to every pirate, brigand, assassin, thief, vagabond, creature of the night and evil-doer. We were briefed on it before coming to Mistral."

"Sounds homey." "Yes, I'm sure you'd fit right in." "Oi." Crue's tone was annoyed, but he held a small smile. Winter seemed to share a similar smirk.

"Needless to say, we need to be careful here. And find somewhere to contact the rest of the Ace-Ops." Crue nodded, and picked up the pace, jogging towards the bright neon lights he could see. The warehouses grew further and further apart as they travelled, and Crue could see a torii ahead.

Finally, he could see other people walking around and talking. They had come up to a kind of shopping strip, several glowing neon signs advertising businesses and products. Their presence immediately drew eyes, and not the friendly kind.

He could see a small group change their stance to face them, nudging each other as they did so. Crue reached back under the cloak, ignoring Winter's sharp inhale, and grabbed her sabre. He didn't brandish it threateningly, but he did hold it outside of the cloak while carrying Winter, letting it be seen.

The energy of the group changed completely. They froze in place, quickly realising their quarry was armed and wondering if they could take him in a fight. Crue knew the type. A young group, barely even a gang, but wanting to prove themselves.

Crue's head slowly turned to stare at the group, his one eye connecting with the largest member of the group. The man froze, as Crue shook his head. It seemed to be enough, as a few whispers later, they turned away from the two of them, returning to their own business.

"You seem to have a way with thieves." Winter murmured into his ear.

"They weren't thieves." Crue corrected. "They want to be, but right now they're just a gang of kids trying to fit in. If this place is what you say it is, wouldn't surprise me if they get picked up to run drugs." They continued on, and spotted a flickering sign that read 'hotel' in bright red neon.

"You sound like you're talking from experience." Crue's face tugged down into a scowl at Winter's words. She had no idea just how right she was.

"I am. But that's worlds away now." He smirked at his own little joke. Their conversation ceased as they entered the building, finally getting in and out of the rain. Crue immediately shook his head to dislodge the water, much to Winter's annoyance as she got an unintentional spritzing.

"Careful with that." She complained, before removing the hood and looking around. The foyer was rather sparse, coloured a dull pink with signs listing prices. There was a single woman with mousy brown hair and a pair of reading glasses sitting behind a desk who looked up as they entered.

Her blue eyes seemed to widen as she put down a book, one Crue unfortunately recognised as a part of the 'Ninja's of Love' series, and sat up straight. "Hello and welcome to Kuchide Hotel. How may I be of service?"

"Just a room for two, please." Crue requested, before trying to fumble for his wallet while still holding Winter.

"Leave it to me." She said, reaching into her own pocket and taking out a bright white credit card. "It's for the mission." She handed it over to the woman, who swiped it through after pressing a few buttons.

"Wonderful. You're in room eight. Is there anything else I can get for you?" She asked, handing back the card.

Winter opened her mouth to say they were fine, but Crue beat her to it. "Actually, could I get a bowl of uncooked rice?" Winter blinked in confusion, staring at Crue from her place atop his back. "Weird request, I know."

"I've had stranger, sir." She smiled with a nod. "I'll send it up to your room shortly."

"Grand. Thanks." He gave a short nod and turned toward a stairwell, quickly making his way up to the next floor where their room was meant to be.

"Rice?" Was all Winter said.

"For your Scroll. If it's just water damage, the rice should absorb it. Guess we'll see in the morning." He opened the door to the corridor, and immediately regretted the fact his Faunus trait was his ears. He could hear all kinds of sounds that he desperately wished he couldn't, like the squeaking of beds or various moans.

Crue power walked his way to their door and opened it, immediately closing it behind him and resting his head against the wood.

"Should I ask?" Came the voice of Crue's passenger. He had forgotten he had company for a second as his body seized up, before slumping as he groaned.

"Just be glad you don't have four ears." He turned round to examine the room, and immediately realised he had made an error when asking the receptionist for a room. A single double bed took up a majority of the space, and he could feel Winter stiffen upon his back.

"There's a sofa." Crue said, before he could be thrown out of the room. True to his words, there was a garish, bright red square sofa on the opposite side of the wall. It looked big enough for him to sleep on semi-comfortably.

And no way in Hell was he going to become part of some 'there was only one bed' type story. "Wait. The Author's dead. Huh. I guess this shit just does happen sometimes." He turned his back to the bed and let Winter get off, the woman pushing herself up by the headboard almost immediately.

Crue rolled his shoulders and let out a sigh of relief. Winter didn't weigh much, but he had been carrying her for a while. He took out his Scroll and saw he had a very faint signal. There were probably some boosters around in a city such as this.

"So, we'll stay here and then search for the Aesops in the morning?" He asked, craning his head slightly. Behind him, Winter had placed one of the, surprisingly numerous, pillows behind her back as she lay against the headboard. The cloak was tossed to one side of the room.

"Yes." She nodded, her eyes closed. "If this, rice trick of yours works, we should be able to find them without issue. And you said the name wrong." A smirk blossomed on her face, causing Crue to roll his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. Not my fault you guys don't have an Ancient Greece." He got up, poking around the room just for something to do. Winter, meanwhile, wondered what old grease would have to do with how they named their operations.

"Oh, sweet." Came Crue's voice. Winter cracked open an eye to see what had caught his attention. He had opened a second door within the room, light beaming out from inside it. The Faunus' head turned with a smile.

"Shower." He gave a nod into the bathroom. Winter immediately sat up straighter at the idea of one. "Do you want to go first or second?" Crue asked.

Winter immediately weighed the pros and cons of each option. If she went first, it meant the water would be hotter, and she could dry off without Crue's presence. There were few downsides to it, so she decided to take it.

Crue let her, continuing to poke around the room. The sound of running water floated into his ears, and he tried to remember when the last time he had a shower was. Idly, he brought up his armpit to check. It didn't smell too bad, but he was very recently dunked in a river.

"Damn, hopefully I can find a chance to have another shower before I meet everyone." He took out his Scroll once more, and flicked through some of the apps. When nothing caught his interest, he opened up his files and activated the 'Cent Controller'.

His Scroll background turned black, with bright green lines running through it. In the middle was a symbol Crue recognised all too well. A half circle with a line going through it. The virus controller was Penny's last gift to him. He had to use it well.

The UI was well designed, and Crue wondered if this was Penny's work, or Watts'. Regardless, he clicked the button labelled 'Available Units'. Four options showed up. The first was his Scroll, but Crue worried that checking his own would cause a kind of infinite loop, so he stayed well away.

The other three were registered as 'ACE-1', 'ACE-3', and 'ACE-4'. Clover, Vine and Elm respectively. He had never intended to get their data, and honestly forgot that the virus would give him access to such things. But, at least now he could hopefully get a lead on their location.

A small radar popped up, similar to one you might see on a submarine or a jet- "Do they have submarines here?" Crue's head suddenly jerked upward to stare at the wall in thought. "They've got boats, but submarines are mainly meant for wartime and stuff. Plus, with all the Grimm in the water, it probably wouldn't be a good idea."

What had started as a mission to find out where the Ace-Ops were devolved into Crue trying to figure out the logistics of how viable a submarine might be in Remnant.

Not much progress was made past that.

…

"I'm afraid I'll have to pass, Colonel." General Ironwood raised a hand passively, walking through one of the many corridors of the Atlesian Military Base. "There is simply not enough time."

"I must insist, General." Colonel Harper strode in time next to her superior, not without difficulty. "I didn't believe it could be of worth until I tried it myself." She had raised a rank since her successful stopping of the attempted breakout at Galug.

And as such, now had a closer connection to General Ironwood. "Really, Colonel, I am fin-" Ironwood was cut off by a notification coming from his Scroll. He paused, immediately taking out the device as Harper stopped next to him.

She watched as Ironwood's eyes scanned the message, blinked once, and read it over once more. The Scroll powered off, and Ironwood took a deep breath through his nose as he closed his eyes.

"On second thought, I think I will take you up on that offer, Colonel." Ironwood finally spoke after seconds of silence.

Harper's face broke into a wide smile, before she immediately recomposed herself and fell into a more neutral expression. "That's wonderful. What made you change your mind?" She asked, olive eyes glancing to his Scroll.

"Because apparently…" The General held up the Scroll in question. "One of my Specialists used their vitally important, mission assigned funds, to book a room in a Love Hotel."

White Wolf now canon? Absolutely... not. The Love Hotel thing was something I thought of ages ago and knew I had to put it in for the Hell of it. Crue and Winter don't know it's that type of hotel, and will never learn. I think it's funnier that way.

Meanwhile, Weiss standing up for herself! Smacking that moustache off his face. Incredibly satisfying to write. And while we didn't see a Weiss summon, we did see a Winter summon. Oh, and if it wasn't clear why the city was attacking our favourite reluctant duo, they were literally riding a Grimm. No one there would have known it was Winter, they would have just seen a shining white Grimm, and assumed the worst.

I mean, if you saw a glowing white tiger you'd probably assume there was something wrong with it or it was stronger than normal.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter, let me know if you did, and as always...

Until Next Time

-Friday