The room was dark and cold. It was only now that the woman within had the awareness to register this information. The last… however long she spent wallowing in her own drool was a blur. But now she could work things out while she was…

Wait, was she strapped in a straitjacket?! What was going on?!

Her gaze used to burn with a fire that threatened to consume all in its wake, but her eye, which she just now registered was the only one she had, stared into the abyss in fear. She struggled, but it hurt to squirm. She tried to speak, but it only hurt her throat.

Then she heard footsteps and saw a man dressed in blue walk in the room. A police officer! He could help! He could free her and everything would be…!

Why was he looking at her so sternly? She didn't remember doing anything wrong! But then again, she didn't remember… anything about herself. Not even her own name.

"So you're finally cognizant again," he observed. "When we found you with that old Huntsman who brought you in, you were severely mentally damaged. Now that you understand your situation, you'll be able to face your punishment properly. Not as some brain dead vegetable."

"Mentally damaged?! Vegetable?!" she was hearing voices now, this one offended. "When I get my hands on this guy, I'm going to…! Going to…"

The lingering presence drew a blank, as she had no more of an idea as to what was happening than the nameless woman did.

"Who…?" she thought, in her real voice this time. "Is someone there?"

For only a moment, the woman thought herself insane. But things were starting to come back to her now. This wasn't the first time she shared her form with another. She had a friend, an other half, not of this world but dear to her all the same. Named after her most prized masterpiece, Crescent Rose. And this… this wasn't her.

"You look lost in thought," the officer said. "Feeling any regrets? Are your actions coming back to haunt you?"

"What could I possibly have to be ashamed of? Of course, other than the feeling that something's missing?"

The woman didn't feel as apathetic as her not-other, and more memories flooded into her. Names. Penny Polendina, who gave her life to protect her from the Grimm. Pyrrha Nikos, slain by some maniac and turned into ash. They were her friends. Friends she failed. Why wouldn't she be ashamed?

Then the officer's Scroll rang. She could tell from how he fumbled with it that he was relatively new. Was he trying to put on a tough face to hide his own insecurities? The sight gave her deja vu. While he talked to the person on the other end, everything seeped back into her brain little by little. Every Halloween birthday, every fresh batch of cookies, nearly all of it. Even the tragedies that came before.

Then he got off the device for a second and turned to her.

"Well, good news, miss. There's a new place that's willing to take in people like you. It's a hospital. They tell me you'll be treated well before you live out your sentence. They can help you. God knows you need the therapy."

"He's lying," the not-other warned. "I can't place it, but something about this situation feels… familiar. I don't like it."

The woman elected to ignore the strange voice in her mind.

While she choked back her tears, she nodded her head and agreed to let herself go to this hospital in the hope that she could heal. She didn't want to be hurting anymore.

"No. No, no, no, no. We are not doing this. They're trying to fool us, to torture us like they always do until we break. Take it back!"

The officer relayed the response to the caller.

"Now they just want your name to properly register you. What is your name again?"

The woman thought back to her reawakened memories as if on instinct. Something in her bones was telling her this was who she was, that deep down, she already knew what she called herself. So she tried to speak again.

"R-Ruby…" she choked out painfully. "Ruby… Rose…"

"Ruby… You don't exactly look like a Ruby, but who am I to judge?"

Elsewhere, the student body and faculty of Beacon Academy took part in the cleanup effort after the disaster that occurred. The headmaster, Ozpin, was dead, forcing Professor Goodwitch to take charge of both running his school and rebuilding it. It was a miracle that the establishment was largely unscathed, barring the endless carpets of black symbiote flesh that smothered it like a massive cobweb. So long as this structure remained intact, classes would no longer be able to function properly.

The students, who learned at Beacon or otherwise, were tasked with eradicating the ooze using their Semblances and weaponry. The task was proving quite arduous and laborious. Even those with an arsenal suited to deal with the issue, such as Flynt's trumpet, found themselves growing tired due to the sheer quantity of biomass. In the meantime, Atlesian soldiers were harvesting samples of living abyss and keeping them sealed in specialized containers.

Several days had passed and they barely made a dent.

The ones who had the least trouble were Team CFVY, especially Velvet. Having accidentally created her own symbiote Artillery during the attack, she was the most powerful student in the area now that Ruby was absent. While this fact meant that she made the most progress destroying the living abyss, she couldn't help but notice that it also hindered Team CRDL's performance. It made her feel a little guilty.

"Velvet?" Coco noticed her discomfort. "What's wrong? All the heavy lifting getting to you?"

"No," she replied. "It's just… a little hard to get used to. All of it. We came here to fight Grimm, Coco. It was simple. But now? With aliens in the mix, and me wearing one? I don't know how we can adapt to that so quickly."

"I'm with you there, Bun Bun. Sometimes, I still think about the breach. What happened to Ruby especially. 'God is coming,' she said. I don't think I'll ever forget that. But I'm sure that whatever obstacles we face, we'll come through. We always do."

"Primary reading of Coco's activity indicates optimism," Artillery said. "It is a sentiment I share, Velvet."

"But what about Cardin and his team?" Velvet asked. "Do you think they will come through?"

"I think those jerks at least learned something from all this. Don't screw with the Red Slayer or her friends. As long as they take it to heart, I'm sure they'll be fine."

Cardin was absolutely terrified by the predicament. Professor Goodwitch tried to ease his nerves by telling him that his actions have been all but forgiven, or at least forgotten, but he knew better. These creatures weren't living putty from outer space, but black demons from Hell.

The moment he laid his hands on Jaune, the Red Slayer's mate, he unwittingly courted death itself. And as his punishment, he was given a demonstration of what would happen if he betrayed what it meant to be a Huntsman again. The breach only made it all the more apparent what a fool Cardin had been to provoke such a ruthless and monstrous force of nature. And now it turned out that Jaune was one of them, too. The worst part was that, unlike the Grimm he trained to fight, they were intelligent. That meant they could hold grudges. He was sure that even now, they were both thinking of the most vicious and torturous ways they could make him pay for his sins.

Hearing his deranged gospel, even his own team thought he was being too paranoid for his own good.

"But I just think… Ugh, maybe you're right. With how her alien made her so… unstable, I can't believe Ruby even managed to forgive Cardin. It's taking every ounce of restraint for me to not sic Artillery on him and shove his tentacles up his-"

"Velvet," Artillery interrupted. "My sensors have detected an unknown life reading entering the perimeter. Consensus: whoever they are, they are unlike anything I have ever seen before. This warrants further investigation."

Coco noticed her teammate's pause.

"Are your new threads talking to you again? What'd they say this time?"

"It's… nothing too serious, Coco. Still no Grimm around. I wish we knew why. Artillery just picked up someone suspicious around here. We're going to find out who we're dealing with."

"'We' as in you and me or you and the suit?"

"Me and Artillery. The more of us go out there, the more time it'll take to get rid of all this black goo. Besides, you're almost out of Dust. Just in case things get violent with our mystery person. So. Stay. Here."

Coco nodded wordlessly and watched her friend swing off into the rooftops. Even though she was the leader, she knew Velvet could look after herself, and she could do far more than that thanks to her symbiotic battlesuit.

Still, Velvet hadn't been so harsh before she created Artillery. Nor was she much of a lone wolf until now.

It was almost concerning.

Summer Rose, having been reanimated by the young symbiote named Umbra, took on a new form with a billowing white cape, orange highlights on her body, and a symbol incorporating the Rose family emblem on her chest. Her frame was quite gaunt and emaciated, not having eaten anything for years before her second chance at life, and her masked face bore jagged black fangs as well as six silver eyespots taken from the Wyvern her granddaughter possessed before becoming the Fall Maiden. While she could fly using her new powers, she instead gravitated towards a pair of dragon-like wings to take to the skies.

It took them some time, but the bonded pair made it to their destination and landed on the blackened tower.

"Beacon Academy…" Umbra mused. "This place was my home. Yours as well, once upon a time. It wasn't like this when I left it."

"What happened here?" Summer asked, saddened by the sorry state of the place. "I know it was attacked by that Cinder woman and the White Fang, but where did all of this dark slime come from?"

"That 'dark slime' is living abyss. It's far more than what forms Mother's body. All of it pulses with the Light within us. This was a mass spawning…"

"Mass spawning? I thought… I thought you were Ruby's only daughter, Umbra."

"I believed so as well, Grandmother. But it makes sense. I was only born before the Bad Woman decided to annihilate everything. Before her attack threatened to destroy Mother's hive… They may all be mindless, but what kind of threat would be so grave to promote such high fecundity?"

Neither Summer nor Umbra knew the answer. For all they knew, the only thing that could even qualify was still locked in a state of hibernation.

They continued to look around the overgrown school, now a silent hive without the usual bustle of the students. Sometimes, they found bodies from Cinder's victims or scattered parts built from technology Summer hadn't even known existed. They found their first signs of human life, clad in white armor and gathering pieces of living abyss. The men looked suspicious, so the pair followed them.

"What are you planning?" she whispered, curious.

What she saw was one of them, one of these soldiers, handing over a container filled with black liquid to a man with a white suit and hair of a matching color, wearing a clip-on tie and an expression of delight. As he shook hands with the soldier, Summer recognized him immediately. She couldn't make out much of what they said, but it didn't sound reassuring to her.

"Jacques Schnee? Something isn't right about this…"

"I assumed that much was obvious. Why would he want to collect my kind? I always took him for a Dust specialist."

"Maybe, but the Schnee Dust Company does more than mine for energy. Like any successful business, it can rake in profit from just about anything. It doesn't even matter that they can get away with hurting so many people if they're so powerful that everyone depends on them for comfort."

"You sound very upset, Grandmother. We can stop them here and now if it improves your mood. Make sure they don't enslave a second species."

Summer hesitated, allowing the SDC airship to leave with its new cargo.

"I appreciate the thought, Umbra, but I am… I was just a Huntress. They're a corporation whose influence spans the entire globe. Even with your help and the Fall Maiden's power, we can't fight something that big and hope to win. There's… nothing we can do."

"Why not? It hasn't stopped Mother. It still doesn't. The worst enemy of such a foe is determination. You are still one Huntress, but you're a very good Huntress. They always find a way to win in the end."

The old Huntress sighed.

"I never shared what happened before I died. Before I had Ruby, Ozpin trusted me to help him fight Salem. When I learned the truth about who she was, how long they were at war, and what she did to people with silver eyes like us, it shattered me. It was even worse because I had two little girls to look after by then. Oz's old tricks started to wear on me a bit. I knew that if I, if we stood by and did nothing, Salem would come for my kids sooner or later."

"Then… Why do you propose we do nothing now?"

"Back then, I thought… I thought I could take the fight to Salem for a change. I was her biggest weakness, after all. So I… I lied to my husband. I lied to my own kids. I promised them I'd come back, and I told your grandfather that Ozpin himself put me up to it. Of course, I couldn't do it alone, so I called an old friend of mine for backup. Raven Branwen."

"Aunt Yang's mother… she hates her, does she not?"

"Of course Yang hated her. Being abandoned can do that to people. But that's besides the point. By the time we met that night, I found out that Raven became the next Spring Maiden. I never asked how she got the power. Raven wasn't… still isn't the most open person I ever met. But she was dependable. That and one of the fiercest Huntresses I ever met, even without the Maiden's energy. With her by my side, I figured we would be able to defeat Salem. For good. I figured if we couldn't kill her, I could at least destroy her Grimm essence and permanently weaken her. How foolish of me."

Then tears started forming in Summer's silver eyes as she continued to reminisce about her secret mission. Her bare face would finally taste fresh air again. She was a little pale, her skin hugged her cheekbones a bit more, and her eyes were empty and soulless, but she was no less beautiful than she was when her husband buried her.

"Grandmother?"

"We thought… We thought we could catch her by surprise by storming her lair. But she was ready for us. She… unleashed a new breed of Grimm, stronger than anything I've ever seen. Raven's Aura almost broke fighting the thing, but she managed to trap it in ice, and then… then we entered Salem's chamber. I fought with everything I had left. We both did. But… Oh, God… she was about to kill Raven, so I did… I did the only thing I could think of and…"

"You saved her."

"…I saved her. I protected her from certain death, but… I was badly wounded. Luckily for us, so was Salem. The second her claws pierced my belly, I released my own powers and destroyed almost everything that monster was. When I realized how severe my injuries were, I told Raven to get us out while we had the chance, and… and she used what little Aura she had left to take me back to Patch. That… It was the last I ever saw of her."

Now she was sobbing like she was a little girl again. It looked like she was about to crack under the pressure.

"I… I kept my promise. Didn't I? Tai and the kids… they were so worried about me when I got back. He… He never left my side until I… passed on. And I still didn't have the heart to tell him about my mistake. Not before it was too late. I destroyed my team. I destroyed my family! And to learn that after all that, nothing changed! Salem survived our attack and came back strong as ever, just as she always does! I just wanted… I wanted to keep my daughters safe! All I did was put them in even more danger without me to protect them! What kind of a mother am I?"

"Better than most."

"…What? But… I'm a failure."

"Raven left Aunt Yang when she was an infant. Salem murdered her own offspring. Even Mother, however best she tried, is still only sixteen years old. Not the ideal age to bring a child into the world and feel secure about their future. I understand why you wouldn't believe me, why you think you failed your children, but if you could only see firsthand how much they have grown, you would find some measure of peace knowing your sacrifice wasn't in vain. You asked what kind of mother you are, Grandmother? You are a good one. A failure, yes, but that only makes you more human. That's… alright."

Umbra snuggled Summer in a comforting hug. It was the best way her Aunt Yang knew how to make her mother feel better, so it had to work for her grandmother too.

"Thank you," Summer was touched. "I know I won't be able to make up for everything I put my family through, but I'll try my best not to waste this opportunity you've given me. That's a promise I won't break this time."

"That's what I like to hear," her alien granddaughter chirped. "How about we go out there and stop those Schnee scoundrels from exploiting my species?"

"As much as I'm tempted to, we still can't, Umbra. Even if we took out the convoys they're sending to gather those samples, and that's if we risk being branded criminals like the Fang, the SDC would just send more. And if they want Klyntar so badly, capturing one with magic would be like winning the lottery for them. We can't exactly get to our family if something like that were to happen to you."

"I understand keeping a low profile. Salem is still out there looking for Maidens, after all. But we can't just let this continue to go on. Perhaps there are… alternative methods. Ways to fight those villains without being so cavalier as to put ourselves at risk."

One of them was to find allies numerous enough to rival the monopoly. She might've been tired of Oz's incompetence, but Summer had to admit that he was smart enough to know when he needed help. They were stronger when they weren't alone.

It would've been nice to get Team STRQ back together, it was far harder to rebuild than it was to break. Raven was still unaccounted for, after all. And knowing Tai and Qrow, she couldn't just call them even if she had a Scroll. It had been a long time since her death, and it wouldn't be easy for them to process after years of accepting that she was gone. But who else could she count-?

"Grandmother, watch out!" Umbra screamed in her host's head, allowing her to weave past a gunshot that appeared to come out of nowhere.

It was game time, and that meant Summer could bare her teeth.

"I was afraid of this," she mused. "We've been followed!"

The assailant wore a brown combat uniform coated in a translucent blue layer of Hard Light Dust, with a luminescent glow emitting from her eyespots and mouth, which appeared as a fanged set of jaws not unlike Summer's own. The blue covering looked and behaved like another symbiote.

"I don't know who you are or what you want," the attacker told her quarry, "but you have a lot of nerve showing up on these grounds unannounced. The last people to do the same attacked our school and killed our headmaster, so I'm not taking any chances with you."

"Ozpin… is dead?" Summer inquired, confused.

"This is your final warning. If you value your life, either leave now, state your purpose, or fight for it. I'm far more powerful than the average Huntress, and certainly more powerful than you, stranger."

Summer was amused.

"Are you? If you really think that, why don't you show us?"

The girl with the Hard Light symbiote manifested a pair of gauntlets and fired shotgun rounds at the older Huntress, who dodged them with incredible speed, not unlike that of her daughter. Summer retaliated by lunging into her opponent and trying to slash her using Umbra's claws. The attack was intercepted when her new rival grabbed her wrist, but her cockiness opened her up to a swipe across the face and a punch to the gut. The counterattack allowed Summer to break free and get a better look at her attacker.

"Bunny ears…" Umbra observed the growths on the top of her head. "Is that… Velvet Scarlatina? She seems to have changed in appearance since I saw her last. I look forward to testing if she has changed in combat prowess as well."

"How do you know me?" the rabbit Faunus asked.

"I've never seen you before. Why do you…? Oh. You're talking to her."

Velvet was baffled.

"'Her'? Whoever you are, you're leaving me with a lot more questions than answers. And I'm going to find them, whatever it takes!"

Summer kept fighting, holding her own against Velvet due to both her greater combat experience and the fact that her symbiote was older than the one bonded to her Faunus rival. And that was before she called upon the Maiden's power.

"She's so strong…" Velvet muttered in between breaths. "Artillery! What can you tell me about our mystery Huntress?"

"Scans indicate that two life readings are present," the artificial symbiote explained. "Assessment: the unknown hostile is bonded to a Klyntar."

"And what are you supposed to be?" Umbra retorted. "A replica of my kind? You must be born from Velvet's Semblance. How intriguing..."

Even as her older foe continued to outclass her, Velvet's curiosity only grew even as she held out, using her photographic memory to duplicate the weapons of her Beacon classmates.

"You must be like her, then… Artillery, run another scan to make sure."

"Affirmative, Velvet. Genetic analysis reveals a ninety-eight percent match with the Klyntar known as Crescent Rose. Hypothesis: this individual is her offspring, produced in an asexual spawning event."

"Asexual means making a clone, right? But you said there are a few differences there, too. Where did that come from?"

"The remaining two percent is human DNA. Observation: the genes present code for silver eyes, capable of producing divine Light that weakens Creatures of Grimm and damages living abyss. If my hypothesis is correct, the most probable donor would therefore be Ruby Rose, the host of Crescent Rose."

Velvet couldn't believe what she was hearing. The thought that this creature before her could have Ruby's DNA was a chilling one. Not only that, but she had no idea that DNA held the key to destroying Grimm… just like the Silver-Eyed Warriors of ancient legend.

"What about the host?" she asked.

"The unknown Huntress shares an eighty percent similarity in morphology and fighting style with Ruby Rose. DNA analysis of a human target is more complex. I require a sample for a more detailed analysis."

Taking that as her cue, Velvet manifested a trumpet to exploit the symbiote's vulnerability to sound and blew into it with all her might.

"GYAARGH! Make it stop!" Summer screamed in pain. "MAKE IT STOP! I DIDN'T COME HERE… TO DIE JUST YET!"

It took some effort, but she managed to repel Umbra from Summer's body long enough to pluck a hair from her head and absorb it into Artillery's biomass for study.

"The sample shares a fifty percent similarity to Ruby Rose. Consensus: the closest match is… No. I must be malfunctioning…"

"Artillery? Who is this person?"

"The closest genetic match is a woman named Summer Rose. A professional Huntress and the mother of Ruby Rose. But… this should not even be possible, Velvet."

"Why not?"

"Because Summer Rose died nearly ten years ago."

As Velvet looked back at the woman she encountered, she could see Artillery's point. Without the alien, Summer seemed so infirm and frail, pale like the living corpse she was and growing weaker by the second. It looked as if she was dying all over again.

"What… are you waiting for?" she strained. "Want me dead… right? Finish the job…"

"GRANDMOTHER!" Umbra cried before reattaching herself to her host as quickly as possible.

In a few seconds, Summer's vitality returned. Her eyes glowed with silver Maidenfire as she no longer had anything to hide, and it would be foolish to hold back against an enemy that knew her new weaknesses. That is, should the need arise.

"Intense energy signature detected," Artillery told his host. "It is likely supernatural in origin. Probability of victory: zero percent."

"Z-zero?!" Velvet gulped.

As a show of strength, Summer released a stream of flame from her gaping maw, searing the roof of the ruined building they were fighting on.

"I'll give you one chance to stand down because you're a friend of my daughter," she growled, "but my patience is wearing thin. I'm sure you know as much as your Klyntar that fighting me isn't a wise course of action. You want to know what's going on? So do I. Let's just… act like adults and talk this out."

The Faunus girl retracted her weaponry and released the tension in her stance. In turn, Summer summoned forth a freezing gust of wind to extinguish the flames, and the menacing flare in her eyes died down. They both sat down on the edge of the roof and recollected themselves.

"Alright then, I'll just get to the point," Velvet began as the blue ooze retracted from her face. "Why have you come to Beacon? The only people with a good reason for being here in this mess are students, teachers, and soldiers. So what's your stake in this?"

"I studied here in my youth," the older woman replied. "To me, this place was a second home. To my granddaughter, it was the only home she ever knew. Believe me, I'm confused as you are, Ms. Scarlatina. We want to know what really happened. Before there was living abyss everywhere."

Velvet, with some difficulty, told of how escaped convict Cinder Fall led an armada of Grimm onto Beacon and Vale, how she and Artillery helped their friends defeat known terrorist Adam Taurus, and how, when the carnage ended, several White Fang suddenly turned themselves in after unexpectedly helping save lives, human and Faunus alike.

"That's… quite the story. I'm also here as a concerned mother. Where are my kids now?"

"I don't know, Mrs. Rose. The last time I saw Ruby, she was asleep in the arms of some old guy with dark hair and a grumpy edge about him. Was he her father?"

Summer chuckled a bit.

"Her father has blond hair. You must've seen her uncle Qrow."

"Right. My mistake. Either way, wherever she is I'm sure she's safe. Actually, 'safe' might be putting it mildly for anyone wearing one of those aliens. But when you said 'kids'…?"

"My stepdaughter Yang went here, too. Is she okay?"

"I'm not sure. She broke down after Taurus's attack, and I haven't seen her since. Her partner found her weapons and told me she needed her space before she left."

"Aunt Yang…" Umbra was dismayed by the ambiguity of the news. "Where could she have gone to?"

Velvet was mildly startled by the other voice in her head.

"Your, um, alien, she's talking in my head again. Didn't you say you knew me from somewhere?"

"My apologies. Mother kept me hidden when I first saw you during the Vytal Festival. We haven't been properly introduced. My name is Umbra."

"Umbra… I like it."

Then Velvet's Scroll started ringing. It was Coco, and the Faunus was almost certain she was worried about her. She saw why when she saw the time. Nearly two hours went by since she first encountered Summer.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hey, Bun Bun," the voice of her leader replied. "What's going on out there? You almost got me worried. Did you finally run into any Grimm?"

"It's… still nothing, Coco. Just another friendly face trying to make sense of this crazy new Remnant we live in now. I mean, she's really friendly, not like it's just a mask."

"It's good to know you're okay. Anyway, the boys and I came across this large wall of gunk by Professor Port's room. Even Yatsu's having trouble clearing it out. Your suit might really come in handy here. Maybe your new friend can tag along? We could use the extra manpower."

"I'll be right there. I'm not so sure about our acquaintance. What she's looking for isn't at the academy, and she seems to prefer keeping a low profile."

"Real shame. At least the Beacon Relief Program might help with the cleanup. If it's legit, that is. Fundraising can really go a long way if it catches on, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so. At least we're not alone here. I'm about to head to your location now. Goodbye, Coco."

As Velvet hung up, Summer was still a little confused.

"Beacon Relief Program? What's that?"

"It's a small organization that came up a day or two ago. My friend Coco read into it a bit. Apparently, they're holding fundraisers to try to funnel money into repairing our school. I heard they're also trying to improve mental health in Vale. We're not sure if it's legitimate, but I was told they have a lot of Faunus working there."

"That sounds fascinating, Grandmother," Umbra said. "Perhaps we should keep this 'organization' in mind."

"Maybe we can take a small detour. Where can we find them?"

"There's an address on their website. Let me just boot it up on my Scroll and send it to you."

There was one problem with that.

"I… I don't have a Scroll. Maybe you could write it down or- URK!"

She was interrupted as Artillery's tendrils jammed into where her ears would be, interfacing with her brain and pumping in the information Velvet wanted to convey.

"Download complete," the synthetic Klyntar intoned. "My apologies for any discomfort you may have experienced, Mrs. Rose."

"It's… no trouble. I died from worse, Ms. Scarlatina. We should probably both be going now."

"Please just call me Velvet. But you're right. I shouldn't keep my team waiting. And when you do find your daughters, tell them I said hi, okay?"

"Don't worry, Velvet. We will."

With that, they each went their separate ways, with Velvet returning to the heart of her infested academy and Summer spreading her wings to fly away. Whatever this Beacon Relief Program was, learning more about it might just allow her to make more sense of everything going on.

But first, she needed to return home and do something about her appetite.

As with any other startup company, the Beacon Relief Program was having a rough beginning. Its headquarters was located in an abandoned warehouse. It was a stroke of luck that it could even be funded at all. It had a small workforce composed mostly of ex-White Fang, many of whom felt they had nowhere else to go after their role, however temporary, in terrorizing Beacon.

But that's what it was about, right? Atonement. Taking responsibility for their misdeeds and working to make things right. No words were minced regarding how difficult the endeavor would prove to be, but the underlying premise was that the results would be worth it.

For now, in the dead of night, business hours were over.

Roman Torchwick, the man in charge, sat on the couch in his office and stared at the television screen.

"This is Lisa Lavender, reporting live from Beacon Academy," the newscaster on the screen began. "Large quantities of black, viscous liquid were reported to have mysteriously appeared throughout the facility's infrastructure. Oddly, the earliest known reports of this bizarre phenomenon seem to coincide with the vicious attack that occurred nearly one week ago. On the scene is Acting Headmistress Glynda Goodwitch, who was present at Beacon during the incident. Ms. Goodwitch, what can you tell us about the nature of your… situation?"

"My students were well-trained in the art of combat," she told her interviewer. "We all were. I want to believe that prepared us to a degree, but to tell the truth, we were all caught off guard. We were trained to fight monsters without so much as batting an eye, but it terrified us knowing that the monsters we were fighting then were people. My coworkers were all hit hard, but Ozpin, may God rest his soul, he would've been disappointed to see his school transformed into a hollow shell of its former self."

"I cannot express how sorry I am for everything you and everyone else here have gone through, but I must digress. What do you know about the black ooze?"

"We only know that it is highly resistant to conventional weaponry and can manifest in a variety of shapes. In our attempts to eradicate this substance, we found that fire and sound are the most effective means of destroying it."

He could tell Glynda was lying through the skin of her teeth about not knowing about the aliens. Badly. As a liar himself, he had to know what traits made one good at it. The posturing, for one. Also, that cadence that makes one sound confident when they're just pushing out things from off the top of their head.

But Beacon? That was the truth. He was there, after all. Over the last few days, Roman couldn't help but replay it all in his mind. He nearly died for his part in that attack. He owed Little Red, once his most personal rival, a goddamn life debt. Not that he was complaining, because he got to survive. Sure, he was on probation for appearance's sake, but now that he had a fresh start, it was clear he now wanted to live.

But of course, with every boon came its problems. First of all, he nearly burned through the small fortune he made by returning the Dust he stole to retailers. Furniture was expensive, and what few workers he had needed pay. Second, he needed to expand if he wanted to live the way Little Red did. Nonprofit as his venture was, Roman had to increase its scope to keep it afloat. Which also tied into problem number three. Besides the repentant White Fang, almost no one wanted to work for the Beacon Relief Program. The reason?

This was Roman freaking Torchwick they were talking about.

His thoughts were interrupted when the channel changed to a cooking show. He turned to the remote to find his girlfriend sitting there with an innocent smile and a small bowl of homemade-looking ice cream.

"I'm not in the mood, Neo," he groaned. "Turn it back, will ya?"

Neo was worried. Even though she didn't mind that Roman delegated the role of economic advisor to her, she didn't like seeing her dum-dum so dour. Everything that happened changed her, too, but having started her transformation earlier, she knew there was no use dwelling on it. It was just the way things were now. Still, she complied after seeing a few eliminations and returned to the news channel. The report made it clear that they missed some of the content.

"You have my word, Ms. Lavender, we at the Atlas military are willing to devote our time and resources to solve this crisis," the gruff voice of General Ironwood said. "With our brightest scientific minds and those of the Schnee Dust Company, I believe we may even find some benefit from this new material."

"Benefit, my ass," he scoffed with contempt. "Can you believe this crap, Neo? The only benefit they care about is more money in their pockets! It doesn't even matter to them how much destruction they cause with these things if they come out on top! If only we could stop them somehow, and then… Oh God, I'm starting to sound like Red, aren't I?"

Neo nodded with a cheeky grin on her face. Everything that was Little Red was a part of her now, so she knew full well what she was like. Though she rejected them at first, those ideals and values rubbed off on her. If this was any indication, they were rubbing off on her dum-dum, too. She offered him the frozen treat.

"You made that yourself?" Roman asked, getting another nod in return. "What recipe did you use this time?"

As he ingested his first spoonful, he failed to notice his girlfriend shrugging her shoulders. He learned the hard way that she had no idea what she was doing and rushed to the trash can to spit out the foul-tasting concoction she had devised. When he returned to the couch, she patted her boyfriend's back reassuringly.

"I know it's not poison. It just… needs a little more work, is all. If anything, it's a good distraction from all this alien nonsense we've been through. I'm sure one of these days, you'll make every ice cream company in Vale wet their pants."

She knew he was just saying it to make her feel better. Coming from a sheltered, aristocratic life, Neo had zero talent in the kitchen. Maybe she should've thought about taking culinary classes before thinking about starting her own ice cream business. Still, experience was the best teacher, so she kept experimenting to get it right on her own merits.

But then again, she knew her limits and suggested going to a parlor to pick up something that wouldn't make Roman gag. It would be worth it if she made him happy.

"It's just not the same if it's not yours, sweetheart," he declined, planting a chaste kiss on her cheek before they lovingly nuzzled each other on the couch.

Everything about her life right now, warts and all, was worth it.