"…and yes, Haven Academy was saved in the end, but I couldn't have done it alone," Blake said into the microphone attached to the podium before her. She paused to look out over the crowd, feeling incredibly numb as her thoughts continued to drift to the ruined mansion behind her. "It took multiple teams, and both faunus and humans to save the school. It's going to take all of us to elevate this island to something greater, and to repair… everything we've lost. My home, our relationships… we have a lot of work to do, among those who are still here. I hope you're all willing to join us on that journey."

Blake quickly stepped away from the podium as her mother replaced her and launched into a closing statement about repairing the mansion and strengthening Kuo Kuana. Only choice words made it through to Blake's mind as she half-listened while focusing most of her energy on keeping her eyes off of her former home. Her shoulders were tense, her throat felt tight, and her ears remained flat to her skull until a familiar, gravelly voice pierced through her mental haze.

"Hey," Qrow said softly as he leaned down slightly to speak to the faunus. "You did great, kid. If you need a minute, no one's gonna blame you. We're all exhausted and should probably turn in soon, anyway."

"I'll be fine," Blake insisted. "It's just… hard to see the mansion again."

"I get it," Qrow replied with a nod. "And I'm sorry. The upside is that the rebuilding effort has already started, but we definitely need to find a new place to stay. Any ideas?"

"One," Blake said quickly. "Maybe… I'll go and check it out with Neptune, while things finish up here? You're right. I should probably go," she admitted as she stole a sideways glance at a section of wall behind her. Charred wood gave way to a large blue tarp where a wall of the Belladonna manor had once been, and the very sight caused Blake's breath to catch in her throat.

"Go. I'll help Kali answer questions, or whatever else," Qrow offered as he waved a hand and headed toward the podium.

"Thank you," Blake said quietly before sniffling and rubbing at her nose. She quickly walked across the open area in front of the mansion and toward Neptune, who stood far off to Kali's other side. A quick cheer rose from the assembled faunus at the base of the steps leading to the manor, and Neptune raised his voice as he unfolded his arms from across his chest.

"Hey, you alright? I know this must be hard…"

"I'm fine," Blake replied quickly, only to heave a sigh. "I'll be fine, I mean. Come on- I want to look into finding us a place to stay. It's not safe in the manor."

Neptune eyed the partially hollowed-out structure with suspicion, unable to stop himself from hissing as he cringed. "Yeah, I… probably not. What'd you have in mind?"

"Even here in Menagerie… things have been silently segregated, for a long time," Blake explained as she began to walk while waving Neptune along to follow. "The White Fang has always had a presence here, and they've largely lived in small pockets with each other, even when my family thought that they were serving Menagerie's better interests. I guess that should have been the first sign that something was amiss…"

"Yeah, well, sometimes it's easy to overlook the obvious when you're too involved with something," Neptune offered. "Did all of the Fang leave the island for the attack on Haven?"

"Most of them," Blake confirmed. "I think some did stay behind and are now converted to our cause… but there are a lot of abandoned buildings standing around. While it's probably not the best idea to just assume and take over a seemingly vacant home… there is an inn here that used to serve the Fang almost exclusively. There will probably be a lot of vacancies, and it would give us each a room to ourselves."

"That's not a bad plan," Neptune offered as he cracked his knuckles and shook out his hands. "Any idea who's running the joint, though?"

"Potentially us," Blake replied. "The former owner was apparently a member of the Fang, so… we could be walking into an empty establishment, or we could be dealing with someone new."

"With our luck? A bunch of Fang stayed back, and we're about to start a bar fight," Neptune mused as he popped his neck to one side and offered Blake a grin.

"It wouldn't be my first one," Blake commented flatly.

"…what exactly did you do while in the White Fang…?" Neptune questioned as he arced a brow.

"Never mind that," Blake said as she shook her head. "We're here."

The pair of teens stopped walking near a large building with a staircase running along the back side, leading up to a café area upon the roof. Blake allowed herself a small smirk as she read the hanging sign for The Notched Blade as it swayed gently in the subtle wind. Warm lights glowed from within the frosted windows, though the usual raucous noise from inside was strangely absent.

"Homey," Neptune commented as he sniffed at the air. "Smells like beer. Which, you know, I totally haven't had before, being underage. Neither has Sun! He's a good boy. Absolutely."

Blake merely rolled her eyes as she pushed her way through the door, only to find a solitary figure nursing a steel tankard of ale at a table in the corner. She swept her eyes around the empty floor with a sigh and walked up to the bar with Neptune in tow. No sign of life bar a dirty rag resting atop the polished wood was present. Blake craned her neck to try to look into the kitchen area, only to jump slightly as a piercing voice rang out from within.

"Yeah, yeah, hold on to your tits! I'm comin'!"

Neptune once again arced a brow at the statement. "This ought to be interesting."

"Or irritating," Blake remarked as the hanging divided curtains suddenly pushed forward.

A busty woman in a battered t-shirt with a faded band logo stomped her way up to the bar, where she planted her hands upon the wood. She wore heavy eyeliner, had several piercings along the outer edges of her ears, and her hair was a mixture of deep purple and blood red strands. A pair of large, midnight-black bat wings flared out to either side of her as she impacted the wood. She glowered at the pair of teens for a moment until her expression softened at the sight of Blake, and she stood up a bit straighter with a wicked grin parting her black-painted lips.

"Well, fuck me sideways," the woman commented as she jabbed a finger toward Blake's chest. The feline faunus took a step backward instinctively and bristled, while the woman leaned over until her chest was brushing against the bar itself. "You're Blake Belladonna, huh? First round's on me! You make a hell of an impression, and I'm all-in on your little revolution."

"Thank you, but I… don't drink," Blake offered as her ears flattened. "We're actually l-"

"Hey there," Neptune interrupted as he slid up to the bar and propped an elbow atop it, before resting his chin in his palm. "Neptune Vasilias- and I'll take that drink. What's good around here, cutie?"

Blake stared in disbelief back and forth between the two as Neptune offered the woman a cheesy grin. She straightened up once again and tugged down on her worn shirt, though it still didn't quite reach her navel.

"…Amaya Aka, and I'll mix you something to knock your ass out. Keep your dick in your pants."

"Someone's thirsty," Blake hissed as Amaya turned away and began rifling through shelves of alcohol. "What happened to being underage?"

"A cute bat happened," Neptune whispered back as he stood to his full height and brushed off his shoulder. "Besides- age is just a number, right?"

"Look at her arms. She would break you," Blake spat. "And what happened to Weiss?"

"Way, way out of my league, and we're apart for at least a few weeks, so…" Neptune trailed off as Amaya turned and offered him a glass filled with a yellow liquid and long straw. "Thanks!"

Amaya merely shook her head and narrowed her eyes at the boy before turning to Blake.

"Anyway, you were saying? What do you need, Blake?"

"We need a place to stay," Blake said as she glared at her companion while he sipped his drink. "We were wondering if we could trouble you for a set of four rooms. We can pay, of c-"

"Done," Amaya said with a wave of her hand. "And you're not paying shit. I've got your back, and you and yours staying here will drum up business again. Right now, people are too scared to set foot inside because the Fang used to use this as a scheming room or whatever. Well, that, and it smells like piss and vomit."

"Little bit," Neptune admitted. "But the view more than makes up for it."

"Ignore him," Blake insisted as she smacked a hand into Neptune's chest hard enough to earn a yelp of protest. "And thank you, Amaya. Really. We owe you."

"Yeah, yeah, we'll get to that later," the woman said dismissively as she walked out from behind the bar and toward a hallway extending from the side of a room. "I'll put you guys on the second floor so you get some actual peace and quiet. C'mon."

Blake moved to follow immediately, while Neptune brought up the rear with a whistle as he kept his eyes on the back of Amaya's deep purple skirt and the fishnet-covered legs beneath.

"Cool, cool. So, hey, what's in this? I'm feeling a bit of a buzz already."

"Straight apple juice," Amaya deadpanned. "I figured you were too much of a pussy for anything legitimate."

"Hey!"

Cinnamon stared across the platform at the invader, and silently clenched her fist beneath her arm-mounted crossbow. A series of clicking and shuffling noises rang out from within the crowd as several members of the White Fang aimed firearms at Tyrian, only for Cinnamon to raise her other hand in warning.

"No," she said authoritatively. "I'll handle this alone… for now."

"You'll handle me?" Tyrian asked as he put a hand to his chest, his face the very portrait of offense. "Oh, I beg to differ. Overconfidence is a dangerous ally, Miss Shoal."

"So is ignorance," Cinnamon remarked as she raised her weapon toward Tyrian's chest. "What do you want?"

"To make good on a debt your dear former leader had to my goddess," Tyrian said smoothly as he lowered his hand back to his side and adopted a ready stance. "Whether you pay that debt, or I take over the Fang and use them to pay it, I don't particularly care."

"Your goddess," Cinnamon repeated as she narrowed her eyes. A single word crossed her mind as she sized up her opponent, and her heart skipped a beat. Salem.

"There's no fighting this tide, little fishy," Tyrian taunted with a mirthful cackle. "Even if you were to subdue me, you won't be able to swim away fast enough. She is a leviathan to your toothless minnow, and she demands tribute for your clan's failures at Haven!"

"You know… I've grown tired of people thinking they can take things from me against my will," Cinnamon replied before charging forward.

Tyrian leapt backward and curled his tail underneath himself while raising a brow as the woman rushed in. His bladed bracers snapped to life to intercept Cinnamon's overhead blow as the arms of her crossbow flipped forward to extend into a pair of parallel blades. Tyrian crossed his arms to place her into a deadlock as she leaned in, her expression calm and serious as Tyrian cackled.

"Oh, I like you!"

"The feeling's not mutual," Cinnamon spat as she rocketed a knee forward for Tyrian's crotch. His tail whirled around him and batted her appendage away before turning and thrusting forward, stinger-first, for her stomach. Cinnamon dodged to the side and rolled out of the weapon clash, before dropping to one knee and letting a series of bolts fly for Tyrian.

"So close!" Tyrian taunted as he dived to the side into a series of handsprings, before looping his way back toward Cinnamon. "But I'm already getting bored."

Suddenly, the man's eyes flashed a neon purple as an energy wave of the same color rippled down his body and concentrated into the points of the blades on his right arm. He lunged forward at high speed and thrust for Cinnamon's chest, only for the woman to dive out of the way and roll to stand at the edge of the platform.

"And there it is," Cinnamon said ominously. "Showing your hand first is bad form, my friend."

Tyrian's aura rippled back up and around his body as he turned with a sneer. "You speak as if you've got something up your sleeve. I've faced down far more intimidating opponents than you, High Leader."

"Maybe you have," Cinnamon replied as she unstrapped her weapon and let it fall to the wooden floor of the stage. "But you're about to become your own worst enemy."

Tyrian let out more mad laughter as he raised his arms and began to fire a hail of bullets while strafing around Cinnamon. The woman responded by leaping off to the side and sliding along the stage, circling opposite of Tyrian until he began a charge of his own. Cinnamon suddenly leapt high into the air and narrowed her eyes, watching for the first sign of movement from her grounded opponent. Tyrian took the bait and thrust his tail for the spot in which he expected the woman to land, and she slid downward into a split while taking hold of the limb, just below the stinger.

Without a word, Cinnamon yanked the faunus toward herself and curled her arm as her spines flexed outward. Tyrian let out a cry of pain as a venomous quill jabbed into his stomach, and stumbled sideways as he was thrown by his tail. The man kept his footing as he grit his teeth through the searing pain that worked its way up his abs and throughout his body. He let out an anguished cry before grabbing the embedded quill and hurling it to the ground in an impassioned fury.

"You're dead, you bitch!"

"Try me," Cinnamon said confidently as she hissed in pain as well. A gaping circular wound was in place of where one of her quills had been, but she raised her arms into a boxing stance all the same. She waited patiently as Tyrian darted in again, and when he was within a few feet of her, she extended an arm and made a quick pulling motion.

Tyrian blinked in confusion as Cinnamon's eyes adopted his signature violet coloration, and he felt all of his aura concentrate into the points of his right gauntlet against his will. He barely had time to open his mouth as Cinnamon slipped forward and threw a hard chop for his throat, stealing his breath and causing him to double over as he wheezed, clutching his throat. A sudden impact at the back of his head from the woman's elbow caused him to quickly crash down to the floor, and then his vision went black.

Cinnamon drew in shuddering breaths as she stood over her unconscious opponent, blood trailing down her left arm from the oozing wound. A cheer broke out within the assembled members of the Fang as the lizard faunus that she had looked to earlier leapt up onto the stage, his eyes full of concern. The man pulled down his half-mask to show a worried frown, and he quickly closed the distance as he reached out to try to take her arm in his hands.

"I'm fine," Cinnamon insisted as she pulled back her limb. She looked around the concerned man as she raised her voice once again and addressed the crowd. "Get him into a cell, and leave me! I am not to be disturbed!" She looked back to the lizard faunus and shook her head, before lowering her voice to a gentler tone. "Not here. The command tent."

"Okay," the man replied in a low voice as he moved to follow the woman. "It's good to have you back, Cin."

Cinnamon spared the man a look over her shoulder and offered him a soft, genuine smile of relief.

"…good to be back, Dai."

Author's Note:

Not to worry- Sun will return next chapter, and we'll be checking in with Ruby's crew as well. I haven't forgotten about them. Probably.

-RD