Hello, everyone! This is Umbra the Hedgehog signing back in! Okay, guys, I am so pumped! Back around February, I watched the Sonic movie on premiere day (a first for me), and it was actually so good, I went and saw it twice! Now, the DVD and Blu-ray just came out for sale recently, and my pre-order finally arrived yesterday! Making the best out of the sheer joy I got out of this, and in order to try and counteract all the stuff we've all had to go through in recent times, I have decided to get straight back to writing for as long as the ideas are flowing, and oh man, are they ever. First off, a new chapter from me and the guys. Hope you like it!

NOTE:

-This is a collaborative effort between me, Noctis Gaelum and Alastar the hawk. We claim ownership over nothing except our own original characters.

SMWK

Many years ago…

"Well, there you go. All patched up… again."

Kai Zedong found himself back in his favorite place: the infirmary. Just as he hoped, he was currently under the care of a particular medic.

"Thank you, thank you." He didn't even try to hide his glee. "Same old Glaucia. When it comes to some tender, loving care, accept no substitutes."

In response, she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I bet you say that to all the ladies."

"Oh, they wish."

Glaucia scoffed. "No, I really don't think they do."

This got some laughs out of Kai, which made her facepalm.

"Oh, please, tell me the truth, doc." He affected an overdramatic voice. "Am I going to make it?"

She grabbed a scalpel and glared at him. "Not if you keep that up, you won't." Then she gestured toward the exit. "But your chances just might improve if you leave the premises."

"You got it, ma'am!" Kai gave her a mock salute.

As he made his way out of the room, he could hear Glaucia sighing loudly out of frustration.

"Let me guess: she loves you and she doesn't even know it?"

Right after closing the door behind him, he was greeted by the voice of his fellow soldier, Axel Midnight.

"Oh, believe me, she does. She just likes to argue." Kai smirked at him.

Much like Glaucia, Axel scoffed at his friend's comment, although he was much more amused by comparison. "Yeah, I'll bet."

"Bet your life on it, bud!" He beat his chest a couple times before holding his fist right in front of his heart. "She'll be calling herself 'Mrs. Zedong, Wife of a Hero' one of these days."

"Suuuuure, and while that happens, I'll marry that crazy Faunus girl and have kids." Axel's reply came quickly, dripping with sarcasm. "Heck, maybe I'll train them to hunt the creatures of Grimm!"

Kai started laughing again. "Is that a joke or a life aspiration I'm hearing from you, cadet?"

"Wait, you heard about that?" This time around, Axel really was thrown off by his friend's comments. "Man, I wanted that to be a surprise!"

And this time, it was Kai who scoffed.

"After all the times you've gotten me out of hot water so I can see my favorite medic's lovely face again? All the times you've gone out of your way to help others not end up like me?" Then he punched his fellow soldier in the shoulder. "The only thing that would surprise me is if you didn't get a rank up, you dork."

Axel rubbed the back of his neck. "…Thanks, Kai."

"So, what are you gunning for, Axel? Captain? Major?" Kai's eyes widened with an overly dramatic gasp. "Colonel? You're aiming for Sorrel's spot? Is that it?"

This earned him a slap upside the head.

"Nothing like that. I expect second lieutenant at best, and maybe things will escalate from there."

Kai scoffed again. "Maybe, he says."

"Come on, moron." Axel began to walk away. "I'll get you a cookie and some apple juice to help with those boo-boos."

Kai quickly followed suit. "Ooh, nice one, you jerk. Really feeling the burn."

They didn't make it far, however, before they heard a voice right behind them.

"How sweet. Two brothers, in bond instead of blood…"

A familiar voice.

"…It makes me gag."

Axel and Kai quickly turned around, and sure enough, from betwixt the shadows, emerged Bianca Prowl.

"And you didn't even know I was here…" Her eyes suddenly widened, as if she just realized she forgot something. "I mean, I wasn't… but I was."

Kai blinked a few times, utterly baffled by this sudden shift. "…Were you waiting in the shadows like a Grimm just to try and catch me in my bandages? Because that's just creepy… but kinda hot, too."

"And that's why Dr. Cold Shoulder will never give you the time of day." Bianca rolled her eyes in annoyance.

Axel interjected. "How did you do it?"

"Spy on you? Talk to you while also tailing your friend Kai far and long enough to know how he ended up with that scar on his shoulder?" She then flashed him a cocky smile, almost mockingly. "Single Double. Got it memorized? You might want to."

Right away, Axel reached for his weapons. "And you might want to leave. One false move and you'll have every man and woman here on your tail, Faunus."

"Oh, do it. Be my guest." She spread her arms out. "After all, how can you be sure I'm actually here… and not just tailing one of your little mooks while a mere puppet talks to you?"

Axel narrowed his eyes as he brought out a gun and aimed for her head.

This merely got a chuckle out of Bianca. "Don't do something you'll regret, Midnight…"

Back in the present…

"Single Double…"

At the dorm room that now belonged to Team SMWK, Set was busy pondering, as the memory of his parents' story crossed his mind.

"If only I could make clones that were powerful or effective, like Mom does…"

This caught the attention of Maza, who was in the middle of some more unpacking. "Hmm? Did you say something, boss?"

"Oh!" Her comment brought him back to reality. "N-Nothing. I was just… thinking about my Semblance."

Kale turned to him, holding a pair of headphones in his hand. "Want to talk about it, bro?"

"I mean, we might as well." Set shrugged at this. "Might be for the best to know each other's Semblances."

"Oh, right!" Maza eagerly agreed, putting down some books she was holding as she spoke. "Right-right-right, yeah, we were going to do that and then we never did it! It'll be great and it'll help us learn more about each other!" She turned around and placed all of her attention squarely on Set. "Do you want to start with yours, boss?"

Kale chuckled before placing his headphones around his neck. "Sounds like a plan to me too. I'll never get tired of hearing that explanation."

Set rolled his eyes at this, mostly playfully.

"Alright. So, mine is… something of a double-edged sword."

Maza nodded as she heard him out. "Uh-huh?"

"It acts as a sort of energy coat… but I become a bit more feral when I use it." He shrugged again. "Basically, my more canine instincts kick in. I normally manage to keep control, however… except under a full moon." He stopped for a moment, as if he realized what he had said. "Or whenever ours somewhat resembles it, given that it is a little… worse for wear."

Kale had himself another chuckle. "Right."

"Once that round cheese wannabe rears its ugly mug, that energy becomes far more visible, resembling a… I guess 'King of the Lupine Beasts' would be a good description." The way he said that, it almost came across like he was joking. "Don't count on talking sense into me when that happens. The other day, it almost looked like it was about to birth another energy beast…" Then he turned his attention to the window. "Sometimes I wish my energy resembled something more like… maybe a Corgi?"

As Kale voicelessly mouthed his brother's words, Maza brought her hands up to her cheeks with the biggest smile ever.

"Awww! That'd be so cute!" She then looked up at the ceiling, bringing a finger to her chin as she did. "Would that king also like belly rubs?"

Set scoffed at this with a grin on his face. "…Sir Posh, King of the Cute Micropups would prolly try to bite your finger, cupcake… but good guess!"

This got outrageous laughs out of his two teammates.

"What did you call it?" Maza asked him.

He smirked at this. "Something that made sense, given its duality. 'Wolfsbane'."

"Wolfsbane…" She repeated it to herself before nodding again. "Yeah, I agree. It makes perfect sense. Good choice, boss!"

Kale gave out one more chuckle. "That's my little brother. Always the clever one." Then he gestured toward the wolf Faunus with his hand. "Is it any wonder Professor Ozpin put him in charge and not one of us?"

Maza nodded in agreement. "Ozpin truly knows how to pick the best option for a leader."

"Yeah, I mean, he picked Ruby to lead Team RWBY, right?"

"Welp, Little Miss Icy Bliss was a definitive no-go." Set replied very casually. "Shadowcat seems a bit reserved to command on prompt, and Sunshine? Let's harken back to the Great Explosive Brawl of Two Thousand and less-than-a-week-ago."

This time, it was Maza who chuckled. "You have a thing for nicknames, don't you, boss?"

"Yep. It's more than just a thing; it's his thing."

Set nodded. "Ever since our first meeting, 'Cupcake' has been my go-to for you, but I'll shake it up every now and then. Kale here normally responds to 'Soldier' if I ever feel like using it, and Wyatt must be off his rinks from putting up with all the new codenames I've given him."

"Out of all of them, I think I liked 'Titan' the best. It feels fitting for him somehow." Maza commented innocently. "Okay, boss. Since you started, you get to choose. Who's next?"

Set looked like he was thinking it over, but his teammates could tell from the look on his face that he really wasn't.

"You're up next, little big bro." He pointed at his brother. "Let us hear you somehow describe yours."

In response, Kale rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, man… really putting me in the spot here…"

"An eye for an eye, a Grimm for a Grimm. You called me out just now, so this is my sweet payback." Set then let out an exaggerated evil laugh, trying to seem somewhat comedic.

"Don't be nervous, Kale! Just speak from the heart!" Maza encouraged him with a smile.

The older teen brought a hand to his face, followed by a mighty sigh.

"Okay… okay, here we go." He brought his hand down before looking at Maza. "Word of warning: I'm not a wordsmith like our fearless leader here, so forgive me if I stumble more than a drunkard stuck in a Goliath stampede."

She had herself a laugh at the analogy before nodding. "Duly noted."

"Alrighty then." He looked like he was about to say something, but then he just facepalmed again. "So, Kale, how do you best describe something you do naturally and yet you can't even put into words for some stupid reason?"

Maza just watched him expectantly, while Set still had a silly evil grin on his face.

"Right, so, uh…" Kale cleared his throat. "Bringing it back to what Set mentioned, remember when Wyatt and Yang had that fight a-and we pulled that one maneuver and-and we broke his weapon?"

Maza nodded immediately. "Totally! That was such a cool move!" Suddenly, her eyes widened. "Oh! Is this about the part where you just disappeared out of nowhere?"

"Y-Yeah… pretty much." He used a finger to scratch the side of his neck. "I-It's not like teleporting or anything, though. I just… kind of jump into a shadow and… disappear. A-And then I reappear somewhere else."

Right before she could say something to that, she stopped herself, and then, she suddenly started again. "Wait, if that's how it works, how did you come flying in that night? Because you were crazy fast and—"

"I appeared at the top of Beacon Tower and then jumped off." His response went by very, very quickly as he averted his eyes, almost like he was embarrassed by it.

Suddenly, Set started snickering. "I still remember that one time we were practicing and you jumped and somehow landed yourself in Pops' bathroom." He laughed a little at the memory. "Oh, man… she was only smiling with a slight frown on her brow, but you could tell Mom was livid."

Kale groaned at that, right after yet another facepalm. "Jeez, I couldn't make it sound worse if I—"

"That…" Maza interrupted him. "…is so… cool!"

At the sound of that, he immediately looked at her again. "Say what now?"

"You're practically a ninja! You can jump from one place to another in an instant, literally disappearing in the shadows!" She exclaimed happily. "How cool is that?"

"I—" Kale blinked a couple times. "I— uh— I— bu— di— y— I— uh—"

Set looked at him in mild amusement before turning to her. "I think you broke my brother, Foxy."

"Oh… sorry." Maza chuckled sheepishly. "I'm serious, though. That is an awesome trick you have there, Kale. Tell me something: can you only teleport all of your body, or could you just move your arm between shadows? I mean, that would be so useful if you wanted a cookie but didn't want to leave your bed!"

However, her teammate hadn't quite gotten past his situation yet. All she got was more of Kale stumbling over his words like there was no tomorrow.

"Right, maybe this isn't the right time." Maza nodded before turning to Set. "Did he give it a cool name like you did?"

He just shrugged at that. "Ask him. To my recollection, it's a catchy name."

"Sure, boss." Maza nodded. "Hey, Kale?"

This finally broke him out of his stupor, which had basically devolved into low-level muttering by that point. "Huh? What? What was that?"

"What name did you pick for your Semblance?"

"Oh, i-it's, uh… 'Shadowjump'." Before she had a chance to respond, he kept going. "I know, it's really on-the-nose, but… that's what it is, right?"

She nodded with a smile. "Right. Besides, I think it's pretty fitting, too."

"Y'know…" Kale chuckled for barely a second. "…you're making it all sound a lot better than it really is." Then he suddenly pointed at the window from over his shoulder, as though there was actually something there. "Seriously, with how you tracked down the relics that Professor Ozpin left for us, your Semblance has got to be at least five times better than mine."

"Are you kidding me?!" The boys were slightly taken aback by her incredulous reaction. "Kale, you can sneak attack and surprise someone from literally anywhere! You can get out of a sticky situation with one single jump! You can slice a Grimm in half before it even growls at you!"

Set offered up a humorous retort. "She's not wrong, Soldier Boy."

"Compared to that, what good is my power in combat?" Maza asked the two.

Kale scoffed at that. "Oh, I don't know. Why don't we ask the Boarbatusks who got the business end of your weapon with only barely a look from you?"

"Nah! That was a completely different thing!" Maza replied with a wave of her hand before hugging her weapons. "Grimm don't have feelings, so if not for my trusty Cor Cristallum by my side, I would be pretty much doomed."

"Okay, now you're the one who's kidding." Kale gestured at her with both arms. "Seriously, they didn't even breathe on you! It's like you knew exactly what they were going to do!" Then he turned to his brother. "I mean, we saw the footage. You and I both got hit at least once, but she was practically dancing circles around them! Am I right, or is that just me?"

In response, Set gave her a curious look. "I'll admit, for the longest time I was wondering how you pranced around and came out with less scars than us. Fess up, kiddo. What's your deal?"

Maza suddenly started laughing. "We're the same age, boss!"

"I'm with him, though." Kale pointed at his brother while saying that. "We got a brief summary at the forest, but now that we're not surrounded by Grimm, how does your Semblance work, exactly?"

"Oh, right! Now it's my turn!" Maza said excitedly. "Alright, going off of what I know, my Semblance allows me to detect and read people's Aura. It's not like I'm telepathic, but it's almost like I'm hearing their emotions. Pretty neat, right?"

Kale raised a hand. "There's got to be more than that, though. Again, you anticipated and countered every move when you fought those Boarbatusks. I'm pretty sure they don't have an Aura."

"And you knew exactly what Ozpin's toys were and where he stashed 'em." Set also made an observation.

Maza tilted her head to the side. "Well, how else do you guys explain it?"

"It's a shot in the dark, but I'm guessing… psychometry." Kale put his hand back down as he answered her. "Probably only to a limited degree, but enough that a solid reading would make you pretty much untouchable."

The Faunus girl's eyes immediately widened.

"You mean like perceiving a residual sensation from energy fields given off by objects and living beings?"

She gave the theory some serious thought. Whether it was intentional or not, she stuck her tongue out as she did, much to the amusement of her teammates.

"…You know, that sounds just crazy enough that it might be it." As she spoke, she began to recall the fight that Kale had mentioned just a while ago. "I mean, when I fought those Boarbatusks, they did kind of leave a trace of light as they moved around, almost like a faint neon mist."

"Neon… mist?" Set looked utterly confused as he posed a new question. "You claim yours is nothing special, but you can follow a trail of sheer energy from their attacks without even thinking about it? Are you sure you got your facts straight?"

"Not completely." Maza innocently admitted. "But then again, isn't that the reason we're all here? To learn more about what we can do?"

Her leader made another comment. "I do recall you saying you can tell when people are close."

She nodded at that. "Sometimes, if I get really lucky, I can even hear bits and pieces of things they might have been thinking."

"I'd say Kale gave a pretty on-point description." Set soon kept on going. "It would be best to get to know everything we possibly can, Maza. It could represent a grand advantage in battle and strategy alike."

With how he harkened back to her very casual description and used her name instead of another cute nickname, it was clear that he was quite serious about getting a full understanding of her Semblance.

"Yeah… you're right, boss." She nodded.

Kale pointed at his brother again. "And that is why he's in charge."

"Yep, that's the boss right there!" Maza had herself a bit of a chuckle. "I'd like to know more about my Semblance too." She crossed her arms, suddenly looking dead serious… or about as close as she could get. "I'm keeping the name I made up for it, though! I thought really, really, really hard about it and I have no plans of changing it anytime soon!"

This got Kale's attention. "Hey, what did you call it, by the way?"

"Well, it's a passive Semblance, and I use it just as much as my five senses, so I decided to call it…" She paused for a moment, as if waiting for a drumroll or something. "…'Sixth Sense'!"

Set immediately grinned at her playfully. "Heh… pretty straightforward."

"Yeah, but hey, it does fit pretty well." Kale also commented on it.

Maza nodded with a smile. "Yep! Simple, cute, and to the point! I just felt like it was me."

"Sure sounds like it."

Suddenly, Maza turned to look at the empty bed in one of the corners, which also got the boys to do the same.

"Only one more to go." She looked up to the ceiling once more. "I wonder what his Semblance will be like…" Then she quickly brought her attention back to the bed. "I guess we'll just have to wait for him to come back."

Kale sighed at that. "Five Lien says he won't show up until we're asleep or busy somewhere else."

"Ten Lien says he'll try to avoid telling us when we sniff him out." Set sounded pretty annoyed.

Maza raised a hand. "Fifty Lien says your teammate—that's me, by the way—can treat you guys to some waffles! How's that sound, huh?"

This caught the two brothers off-guard. They looked at each other incredulously, as if they were voicelessly asking each other if she was kidding, before turning to her again, the earnest expression on her face making it transparently clear that she was being completely serious.

"…Doesn't sound too bad, sunshine." Set was the first one to answer her.

Kale nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, let's go for it!"

"Awesome!"

Meanwhile…

After making his way to the city of Vale, Wyatt had found himself wandering around, searching for parts to fix and upgrade his weapons. As he kept an eye out for any hardware stores he could find, he decided to take advantage of the situation and also focused on memorizing the locations and pathways for future reference.

Once he had managed to find the final piece he needed, the boy was on his way back to Beacon Academy when, in the corner of his eye, he caught a small library not too far away. Nothing about it seemed out of the ordinary, but the sign on the front had gotten his attention.

'Home to every book under the sun.' Wyatt shook his head and scoffed dismissively. Yeah, right. Like that's even possible…

He was about to walk away, but much to his own surprise, he only took two steps away from it before looking back over his shoulder.

Then again… they could still be well-stocked. Maybe there's something that will help me stay away from Miss Xiao Long, or a book on how to control my temper… or some kind of guide on how to approach the odd partners that I'm now stuck with.

After giving the matter a lot of thought, a grunt escaped from his mouth.

Ah, screw it! What do I have to lose at this point?

With that, he turned around and walked over to the store entrance. As he opened the door, a bell announced his arrival.

"Hello? Is anyone here?"

He got his response in the form of a voice coming from outside the room. "Be right there!"

Upon entering, Wyatt noticed that, indeed, there were many books lining the shelves in an organized fashion. He also noticed that there were some comics at the front, but he dismissed them very quickly, along with the novels in the middle and back. As he approached the counter, he took a couple of quick glances at the rest of the books, seeing if any of them caught his attention.

Soon enough, one of them managed to do just that. Ironically, it was resting on top of the counter, away from all the others, and he briefly flashed an amused half-smile when he noticed the title.

"How to Form Connections in a New Kingdom", huh? Well, how about that?

After picking it up, he began to browse through the pages, briefly inspecting the content as he waited for the owner of the store to arrive.

"Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun!" His concentration was broken by the voice from earlier, and he quickly looked up to find the source. "Looks like you found one already."

He was met with the sight of who he could only assume was meant to be the owner of the bookstore. The man wore a short-sleeved quarter-zip burgundy and black shirt with a visible white undershirt. His hair was fairly short, although he also had some very noticeable sideburns, and his arms were rather muscular and kind of hairy.

"Y-Yes…" Wyatt faked a cough as best as he could, trying his best to pull himself together after that scare. "You're Tukson, I assume?"

The man nodded. "That's right. How can I help you?"

"This book caught my attention." Wyatt turned his attention to the book's cover once more. "Tell me something… does it really work? I mean… the advice it gives." He raised an eyebrow. "Does it really help you… make friends?"

Tukson looked at him curiously for a moment.

"…You're not from around here, are you?" Contrary to what Wyatt expected, his tone came across as polite and very genuine.

Wyatt sighed and looked down, putting the book down on the counter.

"It's that obvious, huh?" He stayed quiet for a moment. "No… no, I'm kind of new here. I just recently arrived at Beacon Academy and, well… adapting to this place hasn't been easy."

Tukson thought it over before speaking again. "How long have you been here?"

"Five days, if you count the entrance exam, and things haven't improved since day one." Wyatt confessed.

"Oh… it hasn't been that long then." Tukson then looked at the book again, his eyes going straight for the title. "Is it really so bad here?"

Wyatt shook his head. "No, not really. This place is kind of interesting, actually. It's very different from what I knew back home, but…"

Much like Tukson had done, the boy turned his attention over to the book.

"…I'm not that good at socializing." Then he looked up at the man again. "So, I ask you once more: does… the book… work? Do you think it could help me?"

Taken aback by what almost sounded like honest desperation in his otherwise stoic tone, Tukson considered his next words very carefully.

"Well, if there's anything I've learned in this line of work, it's that any book you need help from can give you exactly what you need, just as long as you let it help you." Then he turned his attention to one of the shelves. "You might even find something you didn't even know you were looking for."

Wyatt was surprised by his response. The man came across to him as straightforward and no-nonsense, but also approachable and sincere in his mannerisms. Finding his take on the situation to be convincing enough, the boy reached for his wallet… only for something to draw his attention away from that when he turned to look at the shelf that Tukson was focusing on.

Hmm… 'The Complete Guide of the Soft-Hand Style'… 'How to Speak with Huntresses'… He approached the shelf. I guess I could use some additional help.

And with that, he picked out all of the ones that had grabbed his interest and put them on the counter.

"Can I buy these alongside that one?" Wyatt asked.

Tukson took the books that he was presented with. "Of course you can. Would you like a bag?"

"Sure." Wyatt nodded and reached for his pocket once more. "Oh, and… thanks for listening."

"No problem."

Once the boy finally took his wallet out, Tukson took the money he was offered and worked on giving him a receipt.

"…Do you have friends?" Before handing the books over, however, he surprised his customer with a question. "Where you come from, I mean."

As he waited for an answer, he noticed Wyatt frowning at that.

"I did once. Quite a few of them. It… didn't work out, but that was my own fault." Suddenly, however, he started chuckling with a smile on his face. "Except for one. She never did give up on me, even when I gave her every reason to do so."

Tukson nodded in understanding. "The people you're trying to connect with… are they different from them?"

"…Not much, come to think of it." Wyatt surprised himself with his answer, not having considered that until now. "I would dare say that they are very similar, actually."

Tukson noticed this, and he went for one final question. "Do they seem like good people?"

"Yes… they do seem nice." The boy looked down to the floor. "A little too laid back compared to what I'm used to, but nice nonetheless."

Satisfied with his customer's answers, Tukson gave him his own take on things.

"In that case, I'm pretty sure everything will work out for you." He paused for a moment. "Just make sure you don't fall in with the wrong crowd. Trust me, you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

Wyatt brought his head back up. "I'll keep that in mind."

With that out of the way, Tukson finally handed the books over to him, along with a receipt.

"If you ever have a hunger for more books, or if you just want to talk about anything else, feel free to come again."

Wyatt nodded. "Thanks. I'll make sure to remember that." A half-smile made its way to his face. "After all, I still want to see if you really do have every book under the sun."

That got a laugh out of Tukson. "That's great."

"Well… I'd better get going. Thanks again for everything." Wyatt offered him a hand. "My name is Wyatt, by the way. Nice to meet you."

Tukson was surprised by this, but he returned the gesture. "Likewise."

And so, Wyatt turned around and began to head for the exit, satisfied with how things had turned out.

"You know…" Right when he reached the door, however, he suddenly stopped. "…my teacher told me all about what it's like. Now that I've seen it firsthand, I guess I understand why you would rather hide it, and I respect that." He then looked back at him. "But for what it's worth, I don't mind it in the slightest. You have earned nothing less than my full respect."

Just as he expected, that visibly caught Tukson off-guard. "How did you…?"

"My teacher is… like you. Everything I know came from her." He then nodded once again. "Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me."

With that, Tukson's troubled expression relaxed. "…Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Finally, Wyatt opened the door and made his way out of the store.

When he returned to his room later that day, Wyatt sighed in exhaustion and dread as he turned the knob.

Much to his instant relief, however, the room was completely empty. Wherever it was that his teammates had gone, they had either just left recently, or they were still busy and they hadn't come back yet. Even though his self-reflection from a few days ago had motivated him to put aside his discomfort and he did his best to remain civil to them, he didn't feel ready to try and actually bond with them.

His talk with Tukson felt like that one last push he needed, however. He hadn't given it much consideration besides the need to work with the three of them as a unit, but the store owner's words were just the kind of straightforward wisdom that he was used to, and even though he didn't feel like doing it right after his visit to the bookstore was the right way to go, especially since he had left them behind yet again to follow his own schedule… he was going to heed the man's advice and try to actually connect with them.

And he would do everything in his power to steer clear of Yang Xiao Long's very existence.

Wyatt sat down on his bed, only to stand up very quickly when he felt something beneath him. He turned around to try and find it, and he was surprised when he found a small box with a note on it. Putting the note aside, he opened it and reached inside, and when he pulled out its contents, he was even more surprised to find… a pair of ear plugs.

He had been hoping to be able to pick some up while he was out in the city, but his focus had been so completely taken up by the work he wanted to do on his weapons, as well as his visit to the bookstore, that he had completely forgotten about it. He hadn't told anyone about this, either; the fact that someone was able to realize he wanted some without even asking him was genuinely unexpected.

He grabbed the note, hoping that might give him some kind of an explanation, and after having a closer look at it, he was able to make out what it said.

So you don't stir at night anymore!

What surprised him most of all, however, was the thing that passed itself off as a signature.

Maza's emblem. A blue silhouette of a butterfly with a huge heart at the center.

The Faunus girl somehow figured it out on her own, and she left them behind for him as some kind of present.

Looking at the ear plugs again, Wyatt thought long and hard before coming to a personal decision.

"…She'll be the first."

After sitting down on his bed again, he put the ear plugs on, and immediately sighed in relief as all of the surrounding noise finally stopped. Feeling much more at peace than he had in some time, he opened one of his books and began to read through it. As he did, he couldn't help but reflect on the complete and utter disdain that he initially felt towards Maza, which he suddenly felt really bad about, and as he realized this, a particular thought crossed his mind.

…Is this what Set and Kale's parents felt back in their day?

Many years ago…

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and pull the trigger, soldier boy!"

Axel Midnight and Bianca Prowl were still in the middle of their stalemate, his weapon aimed at her forehead while she invited him to take action.

"Come on, Axel! Do it!" Axel's fellow soldier and best friend, Kai, egged him on as well. "You've got her right there! Singe her eyebrows already!"

Both Kai and the Faunus mercenary were surprised, however, when his hand started to shake.

"…No."

Bianca scoffed derisively at this. "I knew it. A soldier with no backbone." Then she raised an eyebrow. "Or is it something else that keeps you?"

"Yeah, come on, what gives?" Kai pointed at his still-shaking hand. "You've got a perfect shot lined up!"

Axel sighed. "Yes… too perfect of a shot." His hand finally straightened up before he put it down. "You're not really here, are you, Faunus?"

Bianca merely grinned.

"Am I? Am I not? Am I here? Am I far?" She put her hands behind her back. "Well, little drummer boy, if you look closely, you'll find your answer."

Kai just looked at his friend curiously, as if waiting for an answer.

"Don't worry, I don't bite… all the time."

In response, Axel put his weapon away.

"Sorry to disappoint, but we've done this dance before. I'm not going to fall for it again." His tone was dead serious. "We're just wasting our breath on an empty facsimile."

At those words, the expression on the Faunus mercenary's face changed, and she almost looked… disappointed.

"…You always were the sharpest of the two."

Axel uttered no words, merely giving her a glare that could cut through stone.

"And yet…"

Before any of her enemies could react, she quickly jumped at them, throwing a punch at Kai. While he instinctively shielded himself from the attack, Axel merely watched her going through with it, only turning around to see where she would land.

Just as he suspected, her attempted attack went right through Kai's body, causing no damage to him at all, as if she were some kind of ghost.

"…so careless that if I'd been real, Casanova here would be dead."

As Kai frantically checked himself to make sure he wasn't injured, Axel took a step towards her.

"You know where this base is." She turned to look at him at the sound of his voice, and she noticed the confused expression on his face. "You know how to make your way around here, too. You could've made a move at any point. Something that would destabilize things or demoralize everyone. You could've led all those other Faunus to us… but you haven't."

Bianca merely smirked at him.

"…Why haven't you?"

Her response was equally as brief as it was cryptic. "Figure it out."

Axel and Kai could only look at each other, even more confused than before, only to turn to her again when they heard her voice once more.

"We'll meet again, handsome."

With these final words, Bianca's double vanished into a stream of sheer Aura energy, leaving no trace to be found.

"Well… that was weird." Kai immediately commented on that.

Axel nodded. "Too much for my taste."

"Should we inform Sorrel?"

After giving it some thought, Axel shook his head. "That's exactly what she expects us to do. I'm not going to give her the satisfaction of knowing she spooked us with this."

"Okay, it's your call." Kai shrugged at this.

And so, having chosen to try and forget what had just happened, the two men made their way out of the spot they had been standing at.

"…She called you 'handsome' before she left." Kai didn't even need to turn his head to know that his friend shot him a confused look at those words. "Something you wanna tell me, buddy?"

Axel chuckled at this. "That you're an idiot?"

"Ooh, burn." That got a good laugh out of Kai. "Come on, cadet. You still owe me a cookie and some apple juice!"

Man, has it really been one whole year since we last got to update? I really hope this isn't going to become a norm, because this has been a fun project to work on since the beginning.

For anyone who hasn't given up on it, we're glad you've stuck around, and we hope this has been fun to get through. For anyone who's just jumping in and got all the way here, your interest is greatly appreciated. We hope to keep going a lot sooner compared to how long it took us to get this baby completed and uploaded, and we especially hope to impress rather than disappoint.

No names to exposit on this time, either. What's coming up next for our four aspiring Huntsmen (and Huntress)? Only time will tell. In the meantime, on behalf of both me and the guys…

This is Umbra the Hedgehog signing off.