Previously on The Defenders of Remnant...

"Our kingdom is happy to lend as many troops as it takes to ensure that this event runs as smoothly and safely as possible."

"And we thank you, General," The Councilman replied.

"Will that be all?" Ozpin asked evenly.

"For now," The councilman replied. "But after this festival comes to a close, we're going to have a serious discussion regarding your position at Beacon Academy. General Ironwood's reports of these last few weeks have left us somewhat… concerned. I'm sure you understand." The council's screen then faded away, and Ironwood's filled the screen.

"This is the right move, Ozpin," The general assured the headmaster. "I promise I will keep our people safe. You have to trust me."

Alright, guys, that's enough. The lady clearly wants to be left alone," he said. The gruff thugs turned to him, then ignored him. "Hey, I said-"

"We heard you. But we don't have to listen to you, Huntsman. You aren't the law out here," One of them said.

"Law or no law," Another man said, taking Qrow's side. It was the man who had been sitting next to him at the bar. He was a slightly shorter man, but stocky and built. He had a lot of hair on his arms, and had thick sideburns with slightly spiked hair, like a mutton chop/ducktail combination. He wore a leather jacket over a rugged gray t-shirt with dog tags, torn up jeans, and combat boots. "You heard the man. Now quit harassing that girl, or get lost, bub."

"Maybe we bit off a bit more than we could chew," Qrow said to the man.

"Nah, we got this. They're just punks."

"Eh, you're right. If we get out of this, I'll buy you a drink," Qrow offered.

"Sounds good to me, bub." The other man then clenched his fists tighter, and out of each fist came three metal blades.

He pulled his sleeve up to see a dark black burned cut in his arm. It was an injury he'd taken when the collider exploded, a piece of debris cutting just into his arm, not dangerous. Or so he thought. The blackened skin was unexplainable.

"Another specialist?"

"Indeed, and your only equal in the entire Atlas military. I trust you two will get along."

Qrow heard the hum of airship engines and looked over his shoulder outside to see an Atlesian ship flying in, towards Beacon Academy. At this, Qrow smiled a bit. "That one," he answered.

"Who are you trying to pick a fight with?" Logan asked.

"Don't worry about it, I got it," Qrow assured him.

The five of them got up and started for the nearest exit to the exterior landing pads. Weiss, however, stopped when she eyed what she recognized as a military Atlas shuttle flying by. Ruby ended up bumping into her when she stopped.

"Uh, what are you doing?" She asked. A wide smile grew on her lips as well of excitement and happiness filled up inside her.

"She's here…"

The Defenders of Remnant

Chapter 38: Winter is Here

As soon as the airship landed at Beacon from Amity, Weiss took off immediately for a neighboring pad. Ruby chased after, leaving the others left behind in confusion. "Hey, I'll make sure they don't get in trouble," Peter told the others. "I'll see you guys later."

"Gotcha," Yang replied. Blake gave a simple nod, and Peter rushed to catch up with Ruby and Weiss, meeting up once Weiss had stopped just short of the landing pad.

"Weiss, what's the big deal? What is it? Who is 'she'?" Ruby asked.

"Winter…" Weiss smiled widely. Ruby and Peter looked at the ship that had landed, and after a troupe of Atlesian Knights and normal soldiers filed out, a woman stepped out dressed in uniform with white hair put up in a bun, save for a strand twirling down the left side of her face and the bangs on her right. She had a remarkable resemblance to Weiss, save the scar on Weiss's own face.

"Wait… your sister?" Peter said.

"Winter!" Weiss called. The woman, Winter, turned to see Weiss, Ruby and Peter all rushing towards her, Weiss at the head of course. "Winter, I'm so happy to see you!" She was elated to see her older sibling, but quickly contained herself before changing to a more formal tone. "Oh! Your presence honors us."

"It does?" Peter questioned.

Winter smirked and put her hands behind her back, slowly approaching her sister. "Beacon. It's been a long time. The air feels… different."

"I mean, it is fall, so the air's probably colder…" Ruby nervously said, trying to make conversation. Weiss quietly but firmly punched her leader's arm before speaking to her sister as if Ruby never stepped in.

"So, what are you doing here?" Weiss asked.

"Classified," Winter simply replied.

"Oh, right. Well… how long are you staying?"

"Classified," Winter repeated.

"Of course," Weiss nodded.

"Man, real fun at parties, this one," Peter muttered. Another punch from the Ice Queen followed for him. "Ow!"

"Well… this is nice. I think…" Ruby said.

And, promptly, Weiss's formal veil fell. "You're going to love it here! I know you travel a lot, but so much of Beacon is different from Atlas! Vale too. The government and school are completely separate,can you believe it? I-!"

"I am more than familiar with how this kingdom handles its bureaucracy," Winter cut her younger sibling off. "That is not why I came."

"Right. I'm sorry," Weiss looked down.

"Nor did I come to watch my own blood fail so miserably in battle, but it appears I have no choice in the matter."

"But…. we won!" Weiss replied.

"Only a novice would refer to that as a victory," Winter countered.

Jeez, is all her family this harsh? If her sister is like this, I can't imagine her father, Peter thought.

"I count at least three strikes missed," Winter continued. She then waved to the robotic Atlesian Knights behind her. "Leave us." The machines then stepped away, putting distance between Winter and the three students before her. Then her own formal veil seemed to fade. "How have you been?"

"Oh, splendid, thank you for asking! I'm actually in the very top ranking of our sparring class. The rest of my studies are going wonderfully too-" Weiss was cut off when Winter's hand struck the top of her head. It wasn't maliciously though, Peter thought, or he would've sensed it.

"I don't recall asking about your ranking, I asked how you've been. Are you eating properly? Have you taken up any hobbies? Are you making new friends?" Winter questioned. Now she was starting to sound like an older sibling.

"Well, there's Ruby." Weiss answered, gesturing to her friend and leader alongside her.

"I see. So this is the leader you wrote of," Winter noted. "How appropriately… underwhelming."

"I can definitely see the Schnee 'charm' from this one," Peter remarked not so quietly. Winter snapped her gaze onto Peter, and if looks could kill…

"And this one is…?" Winter asked.

"This is Peter. Peter Parker," Weiss introduced.

"Greetings, Ruby Rose, Peter Parker. I wish to thank you for taking an interest in my sister," Winter thanked.

"Oh, uh, yes! Of course!" Ruby replied, putting her hand behind her back and standing straighter to seem more formal. "The honor is in my… court."

"Nice save," Peter remarked.

"I have business with the General and your Headmaster. But, seeing as I'm early, why don't you take me to your quarters?" Winter requested. Peter's heart skipped a beat instantly.

"Really?" Wiess asked with anticipation.

Winter started to walk forward with two Atlesian Knights tailing behind her. "Yes. I wish to inspect them and make sure they're up to my personal standards."

"Of course," Weiss nodded. "Just so you're aware, the bunk beds only look unstable."

"Bunk beds?" Winter repeated.

"I'll catch up-" Ruby started to say, but then changed vocabulary again to meet what she thought of as a formal standard. "I mean, I will reconvene with you… at a later… juncture!"

"Nice word of the day words, Ruby, but we have a problem," Peter said as the entourage of Atlas personnel left.

"What?" Ruby asked.

"Is BT at your dorm?"

"Uh…" Ruby said, then quickly pulled her scroll from her pocket and dialed Yang, frantically waiting for her answer. After two rings, her sister picked up.

"Hey, Ruby! What's going on with Weiss? Why'd you guys run off?" Yang asked.

"No time! Yang, is BT in the dorm with you guys?" Ruby asked.

"Uh, yeah? He wanted to hang out with us tonight, celebrate our victory, y'know? Why, what's going on?"

"Weiss and her sister are on their way!" Peter exclaimed. "Winter is an Atlesian Officer. If they find out about BT, they'll take him!"

"What? Are you serious?!" Yang replied.

"You guys just need to get him from the dorms to Peter's lab before Winter gets there!" Ruby exclaimed.

"That's across campus," Blake said. "What if she gets too close before we make it?"

"I'll see if we can slow her down at all," Peter said, "But you guys need to move now. Even if it's not Winter, we can't risk anyone finding out."

"Got it. We'll get going. See you soon, guys," Yang said before hanging up.

"We just dodged a bullet," Ruby sighed in relief.

"Well, we're not out of the firing line yet. We have to catch up with Weiss and Winter and see if we can slow them down."

Winter and Weiss strolled along the main path that led directly back to the main Academy, a straight stoned path still populated with both students and spectators from Amity. The two Schnee sisters walked with two Atlesian Knights close behind, and two more trailing further behind.

That is, until the further two were torn apart and a slurred voice called to the Schnees. "Hey!" Both Winter and Weiss stopped and turned around to see Qrow holding one of the dismembered robots in his hand. "Yeah, I'm talking to you, Ice Queen." Qrow tossed the destroyed Knight aside.

"Halt!" Winter commanded the remaining two Knights, who immediately took aim with their weapons. Weiss, however, furiously stomped towards the old drunk, stopping just in front of him.

"Excuse me, do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

"Sh sh shs…" Qrow mumbled, placing his hand on Weiss's head. "Not you." Qrow then pushed her aside and continued on to Winter. "You. Saw that gaudy ship of yours in town, guess you're here too."

"I'm standing right here right before you," Winter replied with a furrowed brow.

"So it would seem," Qrow smirked.

"You realize you just destroyed Atlas military property?" Winter questioned.

Qrow put up his hands in mock guilt and gazed around at the destroyed Atlesian Knights, their severed cords still sparking with electricity. "Oh oh oh, I'm sorry. See, I mistook this for some sort of sentient garbage."

"I don't have time for your immature games, Qrow," Winter said coldly.

"Wait, you two know each other?" Weiss asked.

"Jeez. You Atlas specialists think you're so special, don't ya?" Qrow remarked.

"It's in the title," Winter firmly replied.

"Well, you know what you really are? A bunch of sellouts, just like your boss."

At this, Winter began to genuinely become angry. She could accept slander to her, but not to Ironwood. "I don't know what you think you're implying, but I've heard enough."

"Oh, I heard too! I heard old Ironwood finally turned his back on Ozpin," Qrow frowned.

"Ozpin?" Weiss questioned.

"Weiss, it's time for you to go," Winter said, pushing her sister further back and away from the conflict.

"What?"

"Listen to big sister, Weiss," Qrow cut in, "She'll protect you. Just like Atlas is gonna protect all of us, huh?"

"If you won't hold your tongue," Winter hissed. She drew her sword immediately, a silvery blade with a slight curve and intricate handguard like a rapier. "Then I'll gladly remove it for you!"

"Alright then," Qrow smirked even more, swiping his hair back and standing straighter up, "Come take it."

Winter scowled. She wasn't having any of it. She quickly launched herself forward and went straight for Qrow's head. The older man dodged it easily, and dodged each subsequent strike for his face that Winter made. The specialist was just angered more and made a horizontal swipe for Qrow's neck, as if aiming to behead him, but Qrow bowed forward and the swipe went right over him. Winter continued her momentum, though, and spun around before bringing down a vertical strike that only connected with the sword on Qrow's back, bouncing off of it. Qrow smiled cockily and gripped the hilt of his weapon and stood back up, holding one hand up further back and putting his blade forward.

"This is nonsense," Weiss snarled before stepping forward and gripping Myrtenaster's hilt and began to pull her weapon from its sheath when a brawny hand gripped her shoulder. She turned back to see a man she didn't recognize. He was barely taller than her, had dark black hair, blue eyes and thick sideburns. He wore a leather jacket over a worn and dirty gray t-shirt, dark blue jeans and biker boots. He also had dog tags hanging from his neck.

"I wouldn't step in if I were you, kid," Logan warned. "Both of them seem to be out for blood. I think it's best if you let them hash this out themselves."

"Why would I do that? And who are you?" Weiss frowned.

"The guy trying to keep you from getting cut to shreds, kid. Now stay back, and let them figure things out," Logan said.

Weiss growled, but realized he was right. Winter and Qrow were speeding back and forth in their battle. If Weiss wasn't a trained huntress, she wouldn't be able to keep up with it at all. It was then that Ruby and Peter arrived on the scene. A large crowd had formed around the fight, and the two had to struggle to get through to the front where Weiss and Logan were. "What's going on?" Ruby asked.

"Some crazy guy just started attacking my sister!" Weiss exclaimed.

"Oh no! Who would do such a-" Ruby turned to look at the other combatant, only to recognize it as her own family, and her concern immediately changed to excitement. "-That is my uncle!"

"What?!"

"Kick her butt, Uncle Qrow!" Ruby called out.

"Ugh! Teach him respect, Winter!"

"Very sporting of you guys. It goes from an assault to basically an unregulated match. Great…" Peter deadpanned.

"Hey, webhead," Logan said, catching Peter's attention. It took Peter a moment, but then his own look of recognition formed.

"Logan?"

"Yeah, long time no see," Logan smirked.

"W-What are you doing here?" Peter questioned.

"Long story, bub. I can tell you later."

"What are you doing at Beacon?" Peter asked.

"Well, over the past couple months, I've seen you and the Defenders on TV, so I knew where I needed to go to find some familiar faces, and on my way I ran into Qrow."

"Wait, you came here with that guy? Makes sense, he seems as unstable as you are," Peter remarked.

"Real good comin' from you," Logan replied.

"Yeah, right…" Peter said. A deafening boom brought him back into the fight. Apparently while he and Logan spoke, Qrow and Winter had gotten to elevated positions and came crashing back down, cratering the main Beacon path and kicking up a cloud of dust. Before it even cleared, the two were already speeding back and forth at one another, the clings and sparks of metal notifying the strikes between them. The speeding continued until Winter dealt enough force with a blow to send Qrow flying back to where the fight started. The drunkard dug his blade into the stone to slow his acceleration until he came back to a dead stop. With both fighters now still, Peter noticed Winter held a smaller blade in her off-hand, one that seemingly had been pulled apart from her main weapon.

Winter sneered and crouched down on one knee and dug her main blade into the ground. Blinked into existence below her was a large white glyph identical to Weiss's, and spawning from it was a flock of luminescent birds that circled the specialist. With a simple hand movement, Winter sent them speeding towards Qrow. Each one zoomed past him, clawing and snapping at him and began to encircle him instead. Qrow slashed at every opening he had, destroying each target with a single hit. Winter smirked confidently, believing she held the advantage now.

Until a white slash of Dust energy sped towards her. She swiftly dodged it, but had to release her glyph as she did so. The birds and glyph faded from existence, putting them back on equal footing. Winter frowned now, and created another glyph directly behind her, intent on finishing the battle. Qrow smirked, and flicked a switch on his large blade. The gears in the circular opening of the pommel began to spin and turn, and the main blade began to split and segment, each segment rotating and starting forming a curved blade. Winter pulled her blade back, priming her attack.

And then Qrow suddenly flipped the switch again, returning his weapon to its normal state and sheathing it behind his back, much to Winter's confusion and the crowd's disappointment. Qrow just kept smirking and gestured for Winter to attack anyway. No matter. She'd end him here and now. She let out a battle cry and the glyph blasted her forward. She aimed her blade right for Qrow's throat and-

"Schnee!" Ironwood's voice echoed in the courtyard. Winter stopped dead, the point of her blade a mere inch from Qrow's neck. She sighed and lowered her weapon before turning around to see the general backed by a fresh troupe of Atlesian Knights, Specialist Castle, and Penny. She quickly stood at attention.

"General Ironwood, sir!"

"What in the world do you think you're doing?" Ironwood asked.

"He started the altercation, sir!" Winter reported.

"That's actually not true," Qrow denied, completely relaxed with his hands behind his head. "She attacked first." Winter gritted her teeth frustratingly. It took all of her restraint not to kill him on the spot even with Ironwood right there.

"Is that right?" Ironwood said, shifting his attention from Qrow back to Winter. The specialist was frozen for a moment, then simply hung her head, ashamed. Ironwood glanced at the gathered crowd around them, confused and shocked and interested stares by students of all four academies. He internally sighed in frustration then let his eyes fall back on the drunkard. "And you…"

Qrow saw the general's attention shift and pointed to himself as if innocently asking You mean me?

Ironwood stepped closer so only Qrow could hear him speak. "What are you doing here?" Ironwood muttered.

"I could be asking you the same thing," Qrow replied.

"I-" Ironwood started to say, but now the trio of Ozpin, Glynda and Matt were on the scene, and Beacon's headmaster took charge of the situation.

"Now, now, everyone, there is a sanctioned fight happening just around the corner at the colosseum that I can assure you has better seats, and popcorn," Ozpin smiled.

"Move along, everyone! We can take care of this mess," Goodwitch frowned.

Matt tilted his head and then turned it toward Logan's general direction. "Logan?" Matt said.

"Yeah, been getting that a lot recently," Logan replied. He then looked at Frank, dressed in his full Atlesian uniform. "Didn't think I'd ever see you enlist again, Frank."

"I'd really just hoped I'd never see you again period," Frank replied.

Logan chuckled a bit. "Same ol' Punisher."

Ironwood straightened his tie and looked over his shoulder to Winter. "Let's go," He commanded. He, Winter, the Knights, Castle and Penny went straight for the courtyard exit. Penny turned back and gave a happy smile and wave to Ruby, Weiss and Peter on her way out. Ruby waved back then leapt for her uncle.

"Uncle Qrow!" She cried, gripping onto his arm tightly. "Hi." Qrow smirked and put his arm out straight. Ruby hung there precariously with a big grin on her face. "Oh, it's so good to see you! Did you miss me? Did you miss me?!"

"Nope," Qrow replied before ruffling her dark hair and setting her back on the ground.

"Qrow," The headmaster called as Glynda pieced the destroyed pathway back together with her power, "A word, please."

"I think I'm in trouble," Qrow whispered to his young, energetic niece, forcing a giggle from her lips.

"You did kinda tear up our courtyard," She replied.

"Yeah, I did," Qrow replied before fist bumping Ruby. "Catch ya later, kid. Logan, you'll wanna come too."

"I didn't break anything. For once," Logan replied.

"Yeah, but we have more to talk about. Come on," Qrow waved.

"Well, guess I'm going too," Logan said to Peter. "We'll catch up later, webhead. See you around." The older man then joined Qrow as they left the plaza with Ozpin, Matt and Glynda.

"And suddenly, your recklessness makes sense," Weiss remarked to Ruby, crossing her arms in an annoyed fashion.

"You're just mad that he whooped butt," Ruby smirked.

"That was a draw at best," Weiss frowned. "Who's that other man with your uncle?"

"I dunno. I've never seen him before," Ruby said.

"Actually, he's from back in my world," Peter said. "His name's Logan."

"So we have another superhero? Cool!" Ruby exclaimed.

"I guess Venom isn't the only person not at the collider who got pulled in. He'll really help us out with ending the Taskmaster threat. He's been at the hero thing for a long time" Peter said. "And it looks like he gets along pretty well with your uncle, Ruby."

"Yeah! My uncle's cool! Everybody likes him!"

"When you say a long time, what do you mean by that? How old is he anyway?" Weiss asked.

"Over two-hundred years old," Peter answered matter-of-factly.

"You're kidding!" Weiss laughed him off. "You're uh… you are kidding, right?"

Ozpin, Glynda, Qrow, Matt and Logan were all crammed into the elevator to Ozpin's office, just barely having enough personal space each.

"Is there a reason we're bringing him?" Glynda asked, gesturing to Logan with hatefulness. Logan snarled at the attitude directed his way.

"He's coming because I say he's coming," Qrow spat back.

"Qrow, you don't honestly think you have the authority to-" Glynda started.

"Enough, Glynda. We can discuss this later," Ozpin said.

The elevator came to a stop and opened into Ozpin's clocktower office, where Ironwood and Winter were waiting. The two Atlesian officers spun on the entering group immediately.

"What were you thinking?!" Winter snapped at Qrow.

"If you were one of my men, I would have you shot," Ironwood created a fist in front of himself to emphasize his point.

"If I were one of your men, I would shoot myself," Qrow replied while pulling a flask off his belt.

"While I don't condone his behavior," Glynda said, "Retaliating like you did certainly didn't help the situation."

"He was drunk!" Winter exclaimed.

"He's always drunk," Glynda replied, just for Qrow to emphasize her point by opening his flash and loudly chugging the contents, which nagged at Matt's sensitive hearing a little bit. Everyone else turned to look at him. He awkwardly stopped when he noticed the attention on him, glanced at the flask in his hand, and simply shrugged.

Ozpin sighed and sat himself in his desk chair. "Professor Murdock, meet Qrow Branwen."

"Raven Branwen's brother. I've heard of him," Matt said.

"You met my sister?" Qrow asked Matt.

"Not personally, but she was involved in the death of a… colleague of mine."

"You might wanna get in line for that," Qrow shook his head. "Raven isn't exactly a people pleaser."

"Qrow, why are you here?" Ozpin asked.

"You've been out of contact for weeks," Ironwood added. "You can't just go dark like that in the field!"

"We're not a couple of your special operatives, Jimmy," Qrow snapped back.

"General," Winter corrected.

"Whatever. You sent me to get intel on our enemy, and I'm telling you, our enemy is here."

"We know," Ironwood said as he sat on the edge of Ozpin's desk.

"Oh, you know! Well thank goodness I'm out there risking my life to keep you all informed!"

Ironwood sighed. "Qrow-"

"Communication is a two-way street, pal," Qrow said before pulling out his scroll and showing it to the rest of them, pointing to a green button at the bottom. "See this? That's the 'Send' button!"

"They had reason to assume you'd been compromised," Winter defended.

"And I have reason to assume you don't need to be here," Qrow replied. "Seriously, who invited her?"

"I could ask the same of your burly friend there," Ironwood gestured to Logan.

"To catch you up to speed, bub, I helped Qrow out on his mission the past few months. I'm informed, and I'm on Qrow's side about this. I have every right to be here that he does. Or does the threat of Vale being toppled over like a bundle of sticks not matter to you, General?" Logan questioned.

"I can root for Logan's trustworthiness, Professor," Matt said to Ozpin. "He's a friend of ours as well."

"I see," Ozpin replied, before giving a nod to Ironwood.

Ironwood sighed again. "Schnee, we'll discuss this back on my ship."

"But, sir-!" Winter started to protest.

"Winter. Leave," Ironwood sternly ordered.

Albeit reluctantly, Winter stood at attention and saluted. "Yes sir." She then brushed by with a glare to Qrow, and left the office, taking the elevator back to ground level.

"Go on," Ironwood nodded to the two.

"You're little infiltrator isn't just another pawn," Logan said. "He's the reason that Fall Maiden of yours is roughed up so bad."

"What?" Glynda questioned.

"Despite what the world thinks, we're not just teachers, or generals, or headmasters," Qrow said, "The people in this room, the leaders of the other two academies, we're the ones who keep the world safe from the evils no one even knows about. It's why we meet behind closed doors, why we work in the shadows, so you tell me, James, when you brought your army to Vale, did you think you were being discreet, or did you just not give a damn?!" Qrow got close and stared Ironwood down. The general was unfazed.

"Discreet wasn't working," He said. He slipped his scroll from his jacket pocket and placed it onto Ozpin's desk. A hologram of Vale, Beacon, Amity and Ironwood's fleet appeared in the center of the room. "I'm here because this is what's necessary."

"You're here because Ozpin wanted you here," Qrow countered. "He let you into this inner circle and opened your eyes to the real fight that's in front of us!"

"And I am grateful."

"You've got a funny way of showing it, General," Matt said.

"The people of Vale needed someone to protect them, someone who would act. When they look to the sky and see my fleet, they feel safe, and our enemies will feel our strength."

Logan laughed at the statement. "Is that what you think, bub? The ones you're up against aren't scared of flashy toys and airships. They'll just wanna play in the toy box themselves. The only people you're scaring are the ones that supposedly feel so safe."

"And as I recall, general," Matt added, "Protection of the people of Vale seems to have gone well with us. We don't use shows of power to send a message, we take action, the very thing you claim to be doing. We're already doing the very thing you're trying and failing spectacularly to do: make people feel safe. We make the crooks run away and give the people something to look up to."

"And as I recall, Professor Murdock, Salem and her underlings are not common crooks. Your methods are good for domestic control, but she is an entirely different story and you know it," Ironwood replied.

"They're right, James," Qrow agreed. "I've been out there, seen the things she's built. They are fear."

"And fear will bring the Grimm," Ozpin said as he stood up from his desk. "A guardian is a symbol of comfort," Theheadmaster gestured to Matt respectfully, "But an army is a symbol of conflict. There's an energy in the air now, a question in the back of everyone's minds; 'If this is the size of our defenses, what is it we're expecting to fight'?"

Ironwood looked at all five of them in front of them. All of them took the same stance, that the Atlas military's presence brings more harm than good to the kingdom of Vale.

Again, the general side, before walking forward and taking his scroll from the headmaster's desktop. "So then, what would you suggest we do?"

"I suggest… that we trust our current guardians, and find who will be our next," Ozpin said.

"And what does that entail, teach?" Logan asked.

"It means we find who will be the next Fall Maiden."

Peter's head ached. His vision was a blurry mess, and it felt like the whole world was spinning. He felt weightless, as if he had no body at all. It was like an out of body experience.

Then he suddenly started seeing flashes, visions, images. A surge of pain flared up in what he felt to be his arm injury. Even though the images were brief, instantaneous even, he saw each clear as day.

A boxed canyon with two structures at each end.

A large piece of land with a massive tree in the center, like something out of a fairy tale.

A circular structure in space.

Beacon and Vale in flames, Grimm running through the streets.

The final images confused and frightened him even more than that.

He was in an environment that was too obscure to recognize. There were dozens of people around him, most of whom he didn't recognize. He was looking around in a panic for some reason. The people around him were fading away, turning to dust. He couldn't make out any faces. Everything was a mess in his mind.

And then it changed again, to one last image. It was back in the destroyed, flaming Vale. He was seeing the woman in red, her face obscured, with a bow in hand, aiming it down at a figure on their knees. He couldn't tell who the second figure was, because its form was constantly shifting. One moment it was Pyrrha, then the next it was Peter himself.

And it didn't stop shifting. It constantly changed back and forth.

Pyrrha.

Peter.

Pyrrha.

Peter.

Pyrrha.

Peter.

Pyrrha.

The shifting went faster and faster, becoming too much for the eye to track-

Peter's eyes shot open, and his entire body was drenched in sweat. He was breathing heavily, and his lungs ached as much as his arm, which itself was pulsing as if something was squirming under his skin. He held his arm in complete pain and gritted his teeth with a shark's strength. He threw the covers off and looked at the wound to see that that blackness had gotten worse, and had spread further. He gripped his arm tightly as the pain just got worse. So bad, he barely heard the knocks on his door.

"Hey, Peter! You up? We're going to the first tournament matches of the day and BT's coming too!" Ruby said.

"Yeah, we found a neat way to hide his face enough where you guys don't look like twins," Yang added.

Peter couldn't force out a response, as if the pain in his arm started taking function away from the rest of his body.

"Pete, you up?" Yang asked.

Peter started convulsing as his arm felt like it was on fire. He tossed back and forth until his body slammed onto the floor.

"Peter!" Ruby exclaimed. The door was then kicked open by Yang, and the entirety of Team RWBY poured into his dorm and crouched next to him.

"Pete!" Weiss cried.

"What's wrong with him?" Ruby asked.

Blake eyed him up and pulled him over to see the blackened wound on his arm. "I think I found it…" She shuddered. The entire team saw the wound and had varying reactions. Weiss covered her mouth in shock, Yang cringed in almost disgust, and Ruby seemed even more concerned.

"Oh my god…" Weiss shuddered. Meanwhile, the wound kept pulsing and writhing.

New Cast Members!

Steve Blum as Logan/Wolverine

Elizabeth Maxwell as Winter Schnee