Big Issues

AN: Welcome back for a new addition to this series. This time we are going to relax a bit.

Aftermath

It was in the early hours of the morning when the team that had destroyed the Gluttony arrived back at Mistral. Along the way, they had passed the five ships going to that town to deal with what was left behind. And none of them complained about being escorted to the hospital for an immediate examination, especially since Qrow had the worst injuries.

Turned out that he had a minor fracture in his leg and sprained his elbow, among a few other bruises and light burns, something that would have the staff advising that he rest for the next week and get some good meals that include plenty of calcium.

Ren was easily in the best condition, having been out of the main fight. The rest had their own lumps to deal with, though nothing serious.

It was their psychological states that were the real concern after witnessing the destruction of a town and the population reduced to a mindless mob that attacked them and were mostly eaten by the Grimm that did that to them.

"I'm telling you, I am no stranger to this." Ren insisted to the counselor. Of course, it was in his records about the destruction of his hometown, the attack on Beacon, fighting the Nuckalavee, and now this latest mission.

—-

"Oh… it was so nasty! I had to eat a whole ration pack on the way back just to get the taste out of my mouth." Ruby was a bit more outspoken on her thoughts.

"I see. And are you sure that wasn't from the influence of the Grimm?"

"Eating that piece of it?" She twisted her face at the bad memory. "Yeah… I, uh, couldn't stop myself before it was too late. Good thing Uncle Qrow helped me snap out of it."

"Thank goodness for that. And tell me, do you often get hungry during a fight?"

"Why wouldn't I? I'm always running around and stuff, kinda builds a healthy appetite."

"Your report says that you and the others ate before the fight. 'Enough to be stuffed' as it says. Shouldn't that have carried you through the mission?"

"I dunno, maybe?" Ruby shrugs. "I usually get something to eat after a big workout or mission and after that one, I needed to get the taste out."

—-

"Miss Nikos, are you concerned about the lives lost in that town?"

"Of course I am! We went there to help them!" She protested but that bit of fire was quickly suppressed. "But we were sent in blind. We were far too late to help them." Her carefully maintained mask that she had years of practice with holding up from the interviews and such before Beacon began to crack.

"And the ones that could be saved?"

"There are survivors?!" She brightened up considerably.

The therapist realized the slip up he'd made. "Umm… the last report we've received from the party mentions only a few that were still alive but they are still looking and treating those they could find."

Pyrrha fell to her knees and sobbed for the people who she was sure would never be the same again after that ordeal. She was also sure that she was scarred for life from what she had seen.

—-

"I just wanted to help them! Is that so wrong?!" Jaune screams as tears run down his face. He had been fine while focusing on the mission and his friends but these sessions were conducted one on one with a counselor. And his floodgates broke.

—-

"It… it was as bad as being a kid again." Nora spoke quietly as she tucked herself into a ball on the couch.

"What happened when you were young?"

The ginger let a flash of anger cross her face briefly, but the other woman saw it. "Grimm attacked my home and my… mother left me to run on her own."

It was sad to know just how common of an occurrence that was.

"Found another town, ate scraps from the garbage, got picked on… then Grimm attacked." For someone so young to have been through two attacks that wiped out the settlements she was in, she must have been lucky to survive but clearly they left their marks.

"Met my b-best friend when that thing took his family, did you know that? We've been together ever since."

"I see."

"Killing the Nuckelavee… you have no idea how much that helped us. Like a big boulder off our backs."

"And now?"

"I wanna smash every Grimm with it."

—-

"Tell me, how are the kids holding up?" Qrow may have been meeting with a counselor himself but he decided to be the one asking questions.

"Shouldn't we focus on you?"

"Lady, I know how messed up I am and I deal with it as best I can by doing what I can to kill the monsters around us and preparing the next generation who will have to take my place." Qrow was serious despite his flippant tone. "Now, how are the kids holding up?"

"I'm not supposed to share information about other patients."

"Then if you won't tell me, I'll get it straight from them once we get back to the house."

"But sir!"

"No. One of those kids is my niece and she's already been through some really tough shit over the past year. All of them have." He gave her a glare to show how serious he was about the situation, one that practically froze her to her seat. "Seems like we're done here then."

With that, he limped his way out of the room to meet up with the rest of the team.

—-

If there was one thing that Coco Adel really missed about Beacon, it was that sand was in short supply.

When the team had decided to ensure that their education would continue as unhindered as possible and looked at their options, they had some serious concerns.

Velvet didn't want to go to Mistral if she could help it, the anti-Faunus sentiment was strong there and it had taken her a while to trust Yatsuhashi at all, despite him not being racist at all it was simply a matter of where he came from.

Neither of the girls had Atlas as their top pick either. Velvet because she didn't want to risk looking like she was getting special treatment just because her father was a head scientist there. Coco simply didn't want to deal with the cold and she knew that Atlas was a place that was far from the best for the common Faunus.

The boys didn't mind if they went to Atlas, with Fox joking around. "At least I don't have to worry about snow blindness."

And Vacuo… familiar territory for Fox and the westernmost Kingdom didn't care if one was human or Faunus, just if they could survive.

And so they found themselves in the planet's largest sandbox where every day was a battle with the heat, missions had them finding that the terrain was just as dangerous as the Grimm, and the way that Shade taught its students made the stern Goodwitch seem warm and inviting.

They couldn't deny that they got results though. Spars between students did not end when someone reached fifteen percent of their aura, rather they were encouraged to break their opponents aura completely and even then the fight may continue if the fighter could keep going. Surrender was simply taboo.

The Headmaster was a bit of an odd one, occasionally getting into spars with students, just because he could and would justify it as a teaching moment by showing the chasm in skill between student and teacher. He would also make some seemingly random decisions, such as creating a new schedule for the entirety of Shade that would last a week before it would shift again… and again back to the original schedule. Claimed that life rarely was predictable and that they needed to learn to adapt quickly.

Still, Team CFVY was in their third year and just as they had done at Beacon, they established themselves as a powerhouse team. They rarely lost any matches and only then to the fourth years. Anything they didn't win was a draw agreed by both sides.

But there was something that was a bit off. Strange things going on where some Huntsmen and Huntresses would just disappear. Rumors about a Crown…

—-

"Tell the troops to start packing up." Adam orders his new Lieutenant.

"Yes sir!" The woman salutes, her quills gleaming in the light as they rattle softly.

Since losing his trusted friend back in Vale during the train plan, the bull had been searching for someone to replace him. And Porco Spino was as loyal as he could find with the skills he desired.

Outside of his tent, he could hear her delivering the orders, only a small group would be left behind to move whatever equipment that remained to the next staging area that was already being set up.

But for him, his leg still hurt from the stab wound that Blake had given him. The white bandages clashing against his black pants to keep the fabric from catching on the patch underneath was a constant reminder of what she had done.

His only solace was that she was no longer around humans but at the same time… she was no longer with him.

She had been the only one who he opened up to and she opened up to him in turn. They had dreams and aspirations of being together as they fought for the rights of Faunus.

They had been friends, mentor and apprentice, confidants, partners, teammates… and had gone further. Perhaps if his responsibilities to the White Fang as he rose in the ranks had not kept him so busy, perhaps they would have officially begun courting.

Then again, her own drive for change had been infectious, spurring him to push for their shared goal even harder. And as their feelings grew, they pushed themselves harder and harder… until that day two years ago.

The mission was going as expected, a little resistance that they handled with ease, the cargo was in their grasp. The Praetorian had been unexpected and gave them some trouble but that was dispatched soon enough.

Then when it came time to finish the mission that would have landed them a grand haul and strike back at their oppressors… She abandoned him.

Seeing her just looking back at him from the next car before she cut the link… it had made him freeze in place. Those words, "I'm sorry." echoed in his mind and her form pulling away was seared into his eye.

The pain of their years-long relationship coming to a sudden end without explanation, without warning, hurt him as much as the scar over his left eye. The scar that she was one of the few he had trusted to see it.

By the time he found her again, she had been enrolled in Beacon and thus out of his reach while following his business partners plan. But she was surrounded by humans, hiding her beloved ears from the world with a stupid bow and worse of all- the Schnee heiress was by her side.

How many times did they fascinate about having such an opportunity to take the girl and hold her for ransom? How much would the Schnee Dust Company pay and give up for her return? But to see them working together as friends… allies… that hurt him again.

That was when he began to believe that she had abandoned not just her parents' legacy of the White Fang, their ideals, him… she had abandoned everything that she had ever built up in her life.

When he had confronted her by chance during the attack on Beacon, he had been willing to put all of that aside if she would come back to him. If pulling the White Fang out of Cinder's plan would have been her ultimatum for rejoining him, he would have honored that.

But she had tried to fight him in defense of a human. He had trained her in the way of the sword and she had never come close to beating him. Then that other girl came along, a teammate, a friend, he had decided then to make Blake regret ever making him her enemy.

Cutting through the blonde had been temporarily gratifying but he wished it could have been the Schnee who had found them. He would have enjoyed carving her up so she'd have to be sent home in pieces. Or perhaps ensure that she'd survive their encounter but just barely.

Anything to help ease the pain in his heart even if it meant that he'd inflict that pain on everyone else.

—-

"YOU DID WHAT?!"

Perhaps it was a good thing that they didn't have neighbors at the house with how loud half of the occupants were being right now.

"What were you thinking, Qrow!?" Raven punched her brother in his good shoulder. "Taking the kids to fight a Gluttony of all things!"

"Didn't have much of a choice left to us without pretty much giving up on the job." He responds as he rubs the shoulder. "We got sent in blind and the damn thing had a communication jammer in it somehow."

If he wasn't so overwhelmed at the moment, he would have laughed that his sister was being so defensive of the team after only a few days of knowing them. Maybe being around her family so much was unlocking a side of her that she normally kept sealed away.

Meanwhile, Taiyang and Yang were fussing over Ruby, much to her embarrassment. Weiss and Denko standing near the family couldn't help but sympathize with her and the attention she was getting while also feeling slightly jealous.

At the same time, the rest of the team from the mission were being grilled by Talon and Anya.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Do you still feel it's Hunger?"

"Injuries?"

Through it all, the four of them could only nod or shake their heads in response since their voices would have been drowned out by the others. Luckily, with the attention spread around things calmed down after a few minutes.

"So…now what are guys gonna do?" Denko asks to fill the silence.

"Sleep." Was Qrow's simple answer as he dragged himself from the couch to the stairs.

"Get a shower first. You stink." Tai was the first to point out. Then again, he shared a room with the man and didn't want to deal with the smell more than he had to.

Qrow waved him off as he climbed but soon came back down with his supplies.

"I guess we better get ready too." Jaune shrugs as he makes for the stairs, followed by the rest of the team.

Turns in the bath were taken as a simple meal was made- sandwiches. That was chosen both for the ease and out of consideration that the cooks were sure that the team didn't want anything to remind them of their mission. And by the time Ruby got her turn to clean up, Qrow, Jaune, and Pyrrha had already eaten and went upstairs to bed.

However, Weiss had noticed that her best friend had been unusually quiet since her return and followed her into the washroom.

"W-Weiss!" Ruby squeaked when she saw who had just slipped in. "What are you doing?"

"Did you ever realize that you never lock the door behind you?"

"What?" That wasn't something the younger girl expected to be asked.

"I noticed it at Beacon and I see you're still doing it here." The heiress explains flatly.

Weiss leaned against the wall and slid down, helping Ruby relax. "Sit down, please."

"Huh?" Ruby was confused but complied, jumping a bit when her rump touched the cold tiles and she leaned to her left slightly.

"How bad does it hurt?"

Silver eyes darted around the small room, trying to avoid looking at the girl in front of her. "Does what hurt?"

Blue eyes fell to give her a hard look, one that made Ruby squirm. And the gaze was maintained until Ruby broke.

"It's not that bad." She was barely audible.

"I'll be the judge of that." Weiss states in a tone that Ruby knew meant that there was no deterring her from seeing her decision through to the end. "Skirt, now."

Ruby lets out a sigh as she stands again and complies, removing her belt and then her skirt.

"Turn around."

The Reaper turned but only a small amount and in the opposite direction. An annoyed sigh and glare were directed at her before a glyph came into existence under her feet. A glyph that locked onto her feet and spun her around in a flash.

Now Weiss had full view of the ample bottom that Ruby carried, noting the smooth, soft skin that covered the twin orbs. Or an almost full view. "Shorts."

Ruby let out a small groan of embarrassment but pulled the garment off, not that it ever fully covered her but it was enough.

And now Weiss could see her target fully, a bruise. It looked a bit splotchy and random at first but then she reached out with her left hand, ignoring the shiver that passed through the other girl at her touch.

Yet while her hand was too small to fully stretch across the bruised area, there was no doubt that it was caused by a hand grabbing there. A thought that made Weiss' blood boil.

"Who did this to you?" She tried to keep her anger in check.

Ruby didn't answer, just turned her head and squeezed her eyes shut. But that only made Weiss more determined to get to the truth.

"Ruby, please, who did this to you?" She asks again but more gently.

"It doesn't matter." She could barely be heard.

"What do you mean? Of course it matters."

"No it doesn't." Ruby was a little louder this time but her tone had an edge to it.

Weiss stood up so they could talk face to face and spun the taller girl around. "Tell me why it doesn't matter." She states with her hands on Ruby's shoulders.

But now Weiss could see the tears in the silver eyes, pain, regret, frustration and more on her face as she tried to hold it all back but the dam was crumbling and fast.

"Because he's dead!" Ruby broke down and let out her tears in Weiss' arms. "He fell off the roof and the others ate him! And the Grimm ate them!"

That left the white-haired girl speechless as she began to imagine what that must have looked like. Given the way the adults and the older team reacted earlier, she knew that it was a powerful beast but she had been spared the details of just how horrific it truly was.

That left her with the only option of staying with Ruby until she calmed down.

Outside of the room, Yang rubbed her eyes as she heard her sister cry and bare things to Weiss. As much as she was upset that Ruby didn't go to her like that, she understood the desire to do that in private- something that the sisters hadn't had an opportunity for. But the fact that Ruby had her best friend in Weiss there, that gave her a reason to smile.

"Everything alright in there?" Denko asks as the blonde emerges from the toilet that led to the washroom.

"Not really, but they are getting better."

"Ah."

"Gonna need some sister time, maybe tomorrow."

"No problem. I'll keep myself busy."

—-

Leonardo sat heavily in his office chair, quickly pulling out a handkerchief to wipe his brow. "Thank the Brothers they survived."

He had been able to put on the calm act when he saw the team off, partly out of ignorance of what they would be facing, thinking that the plan was just to keep them occupied and out of the way. But upon their return and reading the reports that it was a Gluttony that they fought and won against, he had been little more than a nervous wreck.

As much as he hated sending out Huntsmen to what may have been suicidal missions, he could rationalize that they were professionals who willingly did the jobs knowing that any could be their last. He would quietly celebrate those that returned on their own power.

For those who he saw as his students… any who died weighed heavily on his conscience. They may have been taking missions where survival was no guarantee but they were still children to him, at least until graduation.

And he hated that so many were now gone in just the past year. Enough to hate himself and the decisions to betray his friends. The mission he had been on to capture or kill Tyrian Callows years ago had brought him face to face with Her. The pure fear that ran through him because of her mere presence, his desire to live… had made him an unwilling servant to Her.

His greatest solace in his servitude was that She rarely needed his 'help'. Cinder and her team getting fake paperwork, staying quiet about his involvement…those were fairly easy.

But since the attack on Beacon and Vale, it was true that with the Grimm being agitated that night and over the following weeks that many Huntsmen had been sent out to stem the tide of destruction. They were spread thin and worn down by the number of missions that needed to be done. And the body count rose.

Now with the Grimm comparatively calm, students and the surviving Huntsmen fought hard to maintain the peace. It was tenuous but progress was being made, enough that the students could return to the classrooms for the new year.

Of course, those that would be in their fourth year now would be graduates and the rest of the students would move to the next year of classes. Plus they would be awarded for their dedication and services to Mistral. At least the list of applicants for new students was at its usual size.

But now he and the rest of the Mistral Council would have to deal with the aftermath of the Gluttony. Care for the few survivors, cleaning up the town, tracking down families…

Leo slumped over his desk with his face in his hands as tears filled his palms. "Why did I ever agree with her demands?" It was a question he asked himself often and especially more frequently as of late.

—-

"Gather your men, we're moving to the staging area." Watts says as he walks by Vernal.

"Ready to move so soon?" She turns her back to the fire to speak to him, her face now in shadow.

That made the Doctor stop. "Time is of the essence. There is a schedule to keep and it's best to strike while we have the opportunity."

"Uh-huh." She crosses her arms as she stares flatly at him, clearly not buying his reasoning.

"Besides, I've grown tired of our prisoner and I'm actually quite surprised that Atlas hasn't sent a warship to this location yet. Best not to tempt fate with that."

"Hmph, fine. The faster this operation is done the sooner I get away from her." Vernal spits to the side and jerks a thumb at Cinder on the other side of the camp.

"Oh? Then we share a common goal, on that idea at least." Arthur had never been shy about how he felt about the Maiden, even if he covered it up with forced niceties and backhanded insults. "Either way, the staging area is ready for us and we should arrive after sundown."

"And our supplies?"

"Being packed away in the concealed cave nearby. You should have no trouble retrieving them once our business has concluded."

"Fine. I'll have them ready to fly in an hour."

"Thank you."

—-

"Try it again!"

Oscar had gone through a series of movements with his cane far too many times for him to count at this point. His friend had made him this cane in the hopes of having a tool that could help him in the long run. And part of that came with training to use it as a weapon.

A series of jabs, slashes, parries, and blocks combined with light but sturdy footwork was drilled into him, mind and body both. But his teacher had warned him that the lessons had only just begun, having several more practice sets waiting for him as he gained mastery over the previous.

That didn't include the exercises that he did as well, though a large part of that was due to the odd jobs he did to help pay for their meals. To be quite honest, it wasn't too different from working on the farm again and he was already in pretty good shape thanks to that, for a young teen.

"Hya!" Oscar shouted as he ended with a jab and brought the cane back to his side.

"Not bad, especially for someone so young." His mentor claps softly. "Keep this up and you'd have no problem getting into a Huntsman Academy."

"You really think so?" Oscar couldn't stop the blush from the praise, something that he wasn't used to.

"Well… you'd need to unlock your aura and keep training hard but you are well on your way already."

"Do…do you really think I should try?" Oscar asks as he slips the cane into his belt like a sword.

"Meh, that's up to you kid. Could go out and have some grand adventure saving the world or settle down in some nowhere town to protect it or something else, that's up to you. I'm just saying that you have the skills and it's probably best not to waste them." The man shrugs as he polished his own cane.

Oscar hangs his head as he thinks. "But my aunt…"

"Sent you here to have a better life. To get an education and learn some skills beyond farming." Oscar was interrupted. "Not saying that farming is bad, we all need to eat, but just because you might go into a different trade that doesn't mean you can't do some farming on your own."

—-

Ren found himself taking a walk that evening, finding sleep to be fleeting. There was so much on his mind that he couldn't sleep for long and he was used to a more regular schedule of only sleeping at night.

So he spent much of the later afternoon wandering the streets aimlessly. Perhaps he could have gone up to Haven and used the training facilities there to work out his frustrations but he didn't want to risk drawing the attention of Lionheart. As much as he would hope that he could get some information to help with the suspicions of the man, he didn't trust himself to not slip up and reveal that they were onto him. That would simply ruin everything they were trying to do now.

But Qrow was expecting to go speak to him on his own the next day. If anyone could get the Headmaster to slip up, it was him.

The sun began to get lower in the sky, casting longer shadows on parts of the city, especially for those on the eastern slopes of the valley.

But he was still having inner turmoil about the last two big fights he'd been in. The first had spurred him into becoming a Huntsman after being unable to do anything to stop the Grimm from destroying his home and killing his family and everyone else he knew.

Everyone but Nora.

But then the Gluttony… and the disaster it brought by its mere presence to a town. It took a growing population and reduced them to mindless shells that released the worst that humanity could offer and they turned that on each other and anything that crossed their paths.

At least it was killed by the bomb that Nora had whipped together.

Nora

So much of his life involved her. Almost revolves around her. So much that he was afraid of not having her around.

Which often left him unable to say anything or act too much on his feelings when she was around. Perhaps part of it may be thanks to his Semblance's power to suppress emotions affecting his own which led to him usually being so unusually calm and quiet in most circumstances.

But Nora was one that could break through that regularly.

The talk with the pilot came to mind and the mere thought of trying to tell Nora just made his mind freeze.

"Hi Ren!"

"Gah!"

And just like that, the subject of his thoughts seemed to pop up out of nowhere just for the laugh after seeing him surprised.

"Hehehe! I got you!"

"How did you find me?" He wasn't exactly sure where he was right now.

"I'll always find you, no matter what."

That simple statement made him smile. It was small but enough. "That you do."

"You know, I was hoping to ride a horse around here but nobody would let me." Nora began on one of her stories that were usually fantastic and entertaining. "Then I thought I'd try pretending I was riding a horse."

She then proceeded to lift her arms as if she were holding reins and began some sort of skipping walk that kept one leg in front of the other.

"But it doesn't seem right without the clip clop of the hooves." She complains.

"What did you do?" A simple question but one he had to use frequently with her around.

"I went looking for coconuts!"

"Please don't tell me that you think coconuts migrate."

"Well…"

He knew he shouldn't have spoken his mind then.

"What if a bird gripped it by the husk and flew it here!?"

"There are no birds here that would eat coconuts, let alone fly to the south and carry one back here."

"Meh, no fun." She shrugs but keeps walking with him on the otherwise empty road. "But I did get this!" From seemingly nowhere, she handed him a set of coconut shell halves.

"Where did you..?"

"C'mon! Clap them as I ride!" She took off in her odd skip again and with little better to do besides going back to brooding, Ren began clapping the shells together and making the desired sound. Seeing her brighten up with a smile, he began to experiment a little until he reached a pattern that sounded like four hooved feet at a light gallop.

"Hey Ren! You could be my bard!"

"What?"

"Every knight needs a bard! Sing!"

"They had minstrels."

"Sing minstrel!"

Ren shook his head at her antics but decided to go along with her request… and he quickly found a way to have some fun of his own.

"The tale of Lady Valkyrie!" He wondered how long she'd go with this.

"Bravely bold Lady Valkyrie

rode forth from Vale.

She was not afraid to die

Oh brave Lady Valkyrie!"

Nora only seemed to get a spring in her step as she grinned widely, more than pleased that she got him to sing.

"She was not at all afraid

To be killed in nasty ways.

Brave, brave, brave, brave

Lady Valkyrie!"

If only they had someone to record this to see later.

"She was not the least bit scared

To be mashed into a pulp.

Or to have her eyes gouged out

Or her elbows broken.

To have her kneecaps split

And her body burned away!"

That verse he was making up as he went was making her look back in surprise, the turn of the song was more than unexpected.

"And her limbs all hacked and mangled

Brave Lady Valkyrie!

Her head smashed in

And her heart cut out."

"Ren!" Nora was laughing too hard to keep up her horse charade, nearly doubled over as she held her stomach. "No! No more! Hahaha!"

There was a small ledge next to the road that he pulled her over to so they could sit and relax. It took a minute or two for Nora to calm down and catch her breath.

"I knew you could be funny." She accuses as she wraps her left arm around his right, ensuring that he couldn't leave.

"Sometimes an opportunity needs to present itself." He shrugs it off but took comfort in her proximity.

Then she saw the view and it took her breath away. Sunset in Mistral is a spectacular sight as the sky darkens to purple and the light mist produced by the city and waterfalls turn pink in the fading light. The brightly colored roofs, the greens of the foliage everywhere, the sight of Haven perched on the mountaintop across from them…it was

"Beautiful."

"Hm." Ren agreed as they sat there together. And when Nora leaned on him, still holding his arm, it just felt right.

Despite probably being the best time to be open about his feelings, everything required to do so seemed to lock up. So he did what he did best and stayed quiet and let actions speak for him.

And he leaned against her shoulder, momentarily shocking her with that simple action before she snuggled against him. Both wore smiles and could see them on the other but for them, this moment was more than enough.

They sat there watching as the sun set and the lights in the homes flicked on like fireflies.

—-

CLANG!

"Alright! Listen up people!" Itazura shouts out to the assembled militia volunteers. "This here is one of the shields being made to help protect you all from whatever Adam's insurgents might throw at you!"

She paces in the ring of the small amphitheater and raps her knuckles against it as she passes by it being held by Ilia. "This thing is heavy, no doubt about that. But the real trick is that we aren't expecting you to go marching around with these things all of the time, only in battle.

Those of you who will be using these will have to remember that YOU ARE the ones who are keeping the others safe. You ARE the wall between those who attacked us and those who are fighting to maintain your freedoms.

"These shields will hold up well against maces!" The fox picks one off the nearby table with an assortment of weapons that were made for the militia and swings it at the shield.

CRASH!

The metal on metal contact was a bit much for those with sensitive ears but the shock passed quickly. But the shield barely had more than a few scratches and very slight dents at where the contact was made.

"Swords!" CLANG! "Spears!" THUD "And most guns!" She drew Lagh from her waist and fired from very close range, the Fire Dust shotgun shell doing little more than a scorched dent. The durability certainly got the crowd talking excitedly.

"However! Those new rifles that they came here with are not ordinary guns!" That got the crowd to be quiet again, especially when Itazura took one from the table and readied it.

Ilia nodded from behind the shield and Itazura fired once, resulting in a deep crater in the shield's surface.

"As you can see, this weapon will do much more damage than anything else but one shot to it is not enough to break it!" She fired a few more times, those who paid attention noticed that the fire rate was slow.

"Now, the shield is weakened but will still take a few more hits!" She punctuates that by grabbing the mace and wailed a few times on the shield, making Ilia glad that she had most of the weight on the ground. The shield was left with a few more dents and part of an edge was rolled back.

"However, this gun WILL break through the shield if it hits the same spot twice!" She hefts the gun again and aims for a mark away from Ilia who nodded when she was ready. The Dust burst forth and hit the target, blasting through the shield with a shower of sparks out the back.

Ilia let the shield fall to the ground to let the smoking hole work itself out now that the demonstration was done. "As you can see, the shield is still usable, but greatly weakened." She declared as the crowd looked on.

Later…

"Keep your hands apart." Sun takes a moment to correct how a man was holding a spear. "You need them apart for the best balance and thrust. One provides the power and the other keeps it steady but both aim." He moves the man's arms in the motion. "Good. Do that fifty more times before moving onto the target dummies."

"Yes sir!"

Another training ground…

"There are certain strike zones when using a sword, starting from the head and moving around the target's body in eight parts with the ninth being a thrust at the heart." Blake explains to the group that will be using swords and maces.

"The key to hitting your target is following through on the strike but also to maintain your balance and control. Your target will not be just training dummies that can't hit back but other people who will be looking to hit you as much as you are to them. So you will also need to anticipate their attacks, dodge, block, or redirect them, and hit them before they hit you. Got it"

"Yes madam!"

It was… weird for Blake to be the center of attention, let alone teaching a class like this. But while she hated the fact that it had been Adam that had drilled her in this way, she couldn't deny the results as she was among the best sword users on the island, quite likely the best. But passing on the fundamentals is what she could do, not just to help defend her home but as an act of petty revenge against her former mentor, friend, and something more.

Elsewhere…

"Eyes on target! Both hands on the weapon at all times!" Itazura was with the Watch Captain as they drilled the few that weren't part of the Watch and were going to be using firearms. To their surprise, most of them weren't bad shots but some of them are hunters and were used to the weapons.

In short, the recruits were keeping busy and the training is best described as a crash course, yet they were improving faster than expected. But they only had three days before they'd load up on the ships and depart for the Anima mainland. Some other sailors offered their ships to assist in the attacks, spending the time to make any repairs and fortify their vessels, even adding some weapons like a mounted machine gun.

As for the ships from Atlas, Vale, Mistral, and Vacuo that had been in the docks during the attacks, they had sustained minor damages and apparently Sun's plan that blew up a portion of the dock had spared them from the insurgents going after the ships and sinking them. But the crews would travel with the small fleet, at least to see them to the mainland but the Atlas and Mistral ships would be staying with them and provide supportive fire as needed in the case of a naval battle.

And the days passed quickly until they set sail.

AN: Things are heating up, and not just because we visited Team CFVY in Vacuo this time. We have multiple groups on the move, a bit of dealing with trauma, and who knew Ren could sing? Cookie to those who know the source for the song.

Until next time, reviews are welcome and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!