Hello, everyone! This is Umbra the Hedgehog signing back in! Alrighty then, we're back up and running. For anyone who cares, we know that things haven't been as fast as one would hope, but right off the bat, I just want to mention that we've finally sorted things out. We don't expect daily updates or anything, but we should be able to get new content out there much faster than before. Now, before this becomes a long string of babbles, let's get this new chapter started!

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

The following day…

Once again, it was early in the morning at Beacon Academy.

Much to the surprise of the students, many of whom simply stuck to eating the meal of the day at either the dining hall or their dorm rooms, the campus included a kitchen that both teachers and students were free to use. In a sharp contrast with most of the installations, the kitchen was relatively simple in its design, with stacked dishes next to the sink more often than not, a paper towel roll that looked like it hadn't been used or replaced in a while, a vase full of flowers, a refrigerator, and even a large window that allowed its occupants to get a good view of the outside, among other things.

And for whatever reason, this had caught the interest of one of the members of Team SMWK.

"…Okay, here we are."

Kale Midnight spoke to no one in particular as he made his way into the room.

"Let's see what we got." He took a moment to fully take in every single detail. "…Simple, but nice and functional. Yeah, I can work with this."

With that out of the way, he immediately went to open the fridge.

"Alright, what do we have here?" As he looked over its contents, he let out a chuckle. "Maybe eggs and bacon. Boy, how simple would that be?"

Since he had his head inside the fridge, he was completely unprepared for when he heard a voice right behind him.

"Do you… always talk to yourself like that?"

The sudden question startled Kale enough that he jumped up slightly, hitting his head against the top of the fridge.

"Ow!" The second he brought his head out, he immediately brought a hand over to the spot where he had hurt himself. "Sweet God of Animals!" As he turned to the source of the voice, eyes closed, he groaned in pain. "I really hope that doesn't leave a bruise…"

When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by a familiar face.

"Oh, hey, uh… Ren, right?"

Indeed, it was Team JNPR's very own Lie Ren, who was looking at Kale with what he could only presume was mild confusion.

"What brings you around here?"

Ren's answer was fairly direct. "I was going to make breakfast for my team. What about you?"

"Kind of the same thing, basically." Kale chuckled awkwardly. "Well, that and talking to myself, which yeah, I do have a problem with." Then he shrugged. "Sorry for weirding you out."

In response, Ren shook his head. "You didn't."

"Wait, seriously?"

Ren nodded. "I've seen stranger things."

"…Well, that's a first." Kale blinked a couple times, surprised by how calm his response was, before deciding to shrug it off and move on. "So… breakfast?"

Ren just nodded again.

"You don't mind if I… join in, do you?" Kale asked as he finally put his hand back down.

The sheer awkwardness in his voice as he asked that question made him wince slightly, but this was alleviated a little thanks to Ren's unflinching answer.

"Not at all." Although his face didn't convey it too clearly, this request had roused the boy's curiosity. "But why? I don't think I've seen you here before today."

Kale cleared his throat before answering him. "Well… I don't know if you've ever been to Vacuo, but it's not exactly a fine cuisine hot spot. Sure, it's hot, but not in that way." He had a little laugh at his own joke before moving on. "And since we're going to be here for a few years, I thought it might be good to expand my horizons beyond stuff like cave beetles and bat stew. I mean, I love crab steak as much as the next guy, but what are the odds of a mole crab suddenly turning up in Vale for us to feast on?"

Even though his comments had apparently unnerved Ren, as indicated by how his eyes had widened slightly, his voice remained calm. "I… see."

"So… yeah, is it okay if I give you a hand?" Kale pointed at him very casually. "I don't know why, but I get the feeling that I could learn a lot from you."

He could see that Ren was giving it some honest thought, which was actually more than he was expecting after all of that. Needless to say, he was quite ecstatic when he got a response.

"Sure." Brief and straight to the point, exactly as expected of him.

Kale couldn't stop himself from fist-pumping at this. "Alright! Thanks, Ren!" He followed this up with a relieved sigh before looking at Ren again. "Okay, lead the way."

"Of course."

And with that, Ren made his way over to the stove.

"First, we need milk." He grabbed a nearby pan. "And butter."

Somehow, this was all Kale needed to figure out what the plan was. "Pancakes?"

"Pancakes." Ren answered without even turning around.

"Awesome."

Some time later…

"Is this really necessary, sir?"

The remaining members of Team SMWK found themselves making their way through the dorms, looking like they were searching for something. Set and Maza, in particular, were actively sniffing the air, as if trying to follow a scent.

"We have a grand dining hall that can provide us with all the meals we might require." Wyatt wasted no time in questioning their course of action.

Set briefly stopped so he could answer him. "Yeah, but that's not where that smell is coming from, is it, Snowstorm?"

"I smell it too, sir, but I really don't think sweets are good for a balanced meal for Huntsmen and Huntresses."

The Faunus boy rolled his eyes and scoffed at him. "Who's talking about sweets?"

"I am!" Maza answered him. "I'm per-eeeeee-tay sure that's pancake syrup!"

This got a laugh out of him. "Okay, so Foxy over here smells sweets." He sniffed the air again. "I smell my brother."

"Sir, I'm telling you, the last thing your squadron needs is a sugar crash in the middle of a mission." Wyatt sounded fairly concerned. "Don't you agree?"

Set raised an eyebrow. "Do those super ears of yours only work half the time, or d'you just choose not to listen to me?"

This made Wyatt sigh and shake his head.

"…I didn't listen. I'm sorry for my insubordination, sir. I will not dispute your decision again."

His team leader stared at him in confusion for a moment before shrugging. "Whatever floats your boat, Wrecker."

Before the conversation could go any further, the two boys' attention was brought back to their teammate.

"Guys, I think we're close!" Maza sniffed the air again. "Yep. Definitely syrup!"

Set did the same. "And my bro."

And with that, both of them kept on moving forward, Wyatt reluctantly following close behind.

It wasn't long before they finally made their way to the kitchen, and right away, the very first thing that caught their attention was several tall stacks of pancakes sitting calmly right at the center of a table. Needless to say, Maza gasped loudly, her eyes widening as she brought her hands up to her mouth.

"It's so… beautiful…" She whispered in absolute delight.

This got an amused scoff out of Set, who then brought his attention away from her and back to the pancakes. "Yo, Kale!"

Right on cue, his brother's head poked out of the many stacks.

"Oh, hey, guys!" He waved at his teammates. "You're right on time. I was actually just about to call you."

Wyatt simply decided to sit down on one of the nearby chairs, looking at him for a moment before turning his attention back to the pancakes. "So… you did all of this?"

"Not exactly." Kale shook his head. "It's more like I helped make them. I was working with a professional here and learning what I could."

He gestured to the side with his head, and right on cue, Ren came into view, simply waving at the three teens.

"Oh! Hi, Ren!" Maza enthusiastically waved back at him. "I didn't know you could cook!" She gasped again, before suddenly smiling at him. "Aww, and you made breakfast for us and your team? How thoughtful!"

Set smirked at him. "Gotta say, that's pretty cool of ya, ninja boy."

"I know, right?" Maza nodded in agreement. "What do you think, Wyatt?"

She and her teammates turned to him, and they were immediately taken aback when they noticed just how confused he looked. It took a moment, but as she went back and forth between looking at him and looking at Ren, who also seemed somewhat taken aback at this, she suddenly realized something.

"Oh… right…" She chuckled sheepishly before slapping herself in the forehead. "You two haven't met yet, have you?"

Ren was even more surprised when the Faunus girl quickly jumped over to his side and then dragged him over to where Wyatt was sitting, not to mention how ecstatic she seemed to be.

"Wyatt, this is Ren. Ren, this is Wyatt. Nice to meet you— I mean, introduce you."

The two boys just stared at each other in silence for a bit before offering up a simple response.

"Hello."

Set blinked a few times at the exchange. "Well… that was epic."

"I know, right?" Maza clapped her hands excitedly before heading for her seat. "So, who's ready to have breakfast?"

With nothing but a shrug, Set did as she did and took a seat at the table she and Wyatt were at. Taking that as his cue, Kale grabbed a couple plates and walked over to the table.

"Okay, guys, here we go." As he put a plate down for Maza and one for Wyatt, he decided to go into detail a little more. "Ren did most of the work, but I had the idea of putting stuff inside the pancakes." He soon did the same for his brother and himself. "First off, Maza gets strawberries. I'm sorry it's not chocolate chips, but I'm pretty sure that'd just get me an earful for being unhealthy. Bro, yours has bananas because I know that hits close to home… and because they're delicious." He pointed at his own plate. "Mine has apples because I love them." Then he looked at Wyatt. "Wyatt, yours are just plain pancakes, and no, it's not that I don't like you. I just have absolutely no idea what you like and you don't seem like the kind of person who'd appreciate me making things up as I go along, so there you go. If that doesn't work for you, just tell me right now and I'll put them over there along with Ren's batch."

After all that chatter, he took a moment to catch his breath, followed by looking at him expectantly. It didn't escape his notice that his other two teammates were doing the same.

"…You are right. I have not shared much about myself as of late." Between feeling guilty and remembering the advice that Tukson had given him, Wyatt's reply was somewhat slow to come out. "But I appreciate the gesture nonetheless." He forced out a smile for his teammate. "Thank you."

He soon noticed how surprised Kale was by this, and right as he turned to look at Set so he could see his reaction, the Faunus boy wasted no time in commenting on his response.

"Nightmare alert, guys. Somebody pinch me, 'cause I gotta be asleep right now."

Wyatt chose not to comment on his leader's snarky remark, and when he turned his attention to Maza, he was surprised to find that not only had she already finished up two whole pancakes, but she was getting ready to go for a third one.

"Did you just…?" Words failed him. "How did—"

She quickly interrupted him. "Hey, by the way, how do you like your pancakes, Wyatt?"

"I…" It took him a moment, but when he managed to shake off his confusion, he decided to answer the question honestly. "I don't think I'm in any capacity to answer that."

Maza tilted her head at this. "Why not?"

"Because these are the very first pancakes I have ever had."

Looking down for just a moment so he could take a bite out of his breakfast, he brought his eyes back up only to notice how all of his peers were staring at him in confusion. Even Ren, who seemed like he was busy with something, looked like he was baffled by his answer.

"Excuse me, whaaaaaat?" Maza was the first to speak up.

Kale was the next one. "You're kidding."

Wyatt merely shook his head at this.

"Growing up in Anima, outside of the safety of Mistral, means that you need to be prepared to run, or fight the Grimm, whether it's just one or a whole pack of them, or deal with thieves or bandits at any given time." As he explained, he suddenly began to stare off into space, as if remembering those times. "At certain points, you have to travel for miles with very short breaks just to stay alive, meaning it is important to pack light. Most of the time, my breakfast consisted of whatever fruits I could find out in the wild, along with special food boxes made for easy transport, and a special type of ration called hyorogan." He suddenly brought his focus back to his peers. "If you are unfamiliar with it, it's basically a combination of various plants, rice and flavors mashed together and shaped into tiny balls for easy transport and consumption.'' With that out of the way, he looked down at his plate briefly. "…Pancakes were never a part of that diet."

As he finally began to eat his breakfast in silence, he completely ignored the absolutely shocked stare that Maza was still giving him.

"A lifetime without pancakes…?" She spoke to no one in particular, leaning back against her seat. "Oh… what you've been missing for so long…"

Set, meanwhile, turned his attention to his brother. "Hey, we got it wrong. I think he needs to stay in more!"

"Well, to be fair, it's still more than what we normally got back at home." Kale made his own observation. "Plus, at least his rations probably weren't all spiced up, if you know what I mean."

This made Set shrug. "Yeah, I know. Just saying, it ain't something you hear every day." He quickly turned his attention to his plate. "Anyway, enough talk. Let's chow down like the others are doing!"

Right as he began to do exactly as he said, Kale was prevented from doing the same when he heard Ren's voice.

"I should go now." When he turned over to him, Kale noticed that Ren was carrying all of the remaining pancakes on a silver tray. "I have to take this to my dorm room. My team's waiting."

Kale gave him a thumbs-up. "Thanks again, Ren. Stay in touch?"

"Sure."

And with that, Ren left the kitchen while Team SMWK focused on their breakfast.

"So… how were they? Any good?"

It took a while, but the four teens eventually finished eating their pancakes. Kale was the first to stand up, immediately turning to the others as he asked for their opinion.

The boy was completely unprepared for when Maza basically lunged herself right at him, throwing him down to the floor as she locked him in a hug. Set shook his head as he chuckled in amusement at this.

"Thank you! Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" Her enthusiasm couldn't possibly be any more obvious. "I didn't want to forget saying it! Did I forget before? Well, if I did, then not anymore! Thank you!"

She squeezed Kale just a little tighter before letting him go and stepping back.

"I… assume that is a 'yes' then?" Wyatt asked with a raised eyebrow.

Now standing between him and Set, Maza turned to him and nodded vigorously. "That's definitely a 'yes'. It's the yes-iest 'yes' that ever yes-ed in the history of yes-ing!"

"Heh, great!" After catching his breath, Kale turned his attention to Set. "Bro?"

He shrugged with a half-grin. "They were good." Then he looked at Wyatt. "Anything to say, grumpy?"

"As I said, it's my first time eating them. I'm not exactly sure I can say anything about them yet."

This response made Set roll his eyes at him.

"Did you like them?" Maza asked him.

Wyatt raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes…?"

"Well, there you go." She smiled at him, which got an amused scoff out of Set.

With a sigh, Wyatt decided not to answer her again and just move on from that subject, looking at Kale as he began to straighten himself up.

"Just out of curiosity, was this a special occasion of some sort, or do you intend to keep taking care of our breakfast from now on?"

Kale immediately turned to him. "Huh? Oh, the breakfast thing?"

"Yes, that's right. Do you plan on being in charge of that from now on?" Wyatt asked again.

Kale shook his head. "I'm still just learning. I make no promises. It all depends on whether or not Ren is available again."

"I see." Wyatt nodded, apparently content with his answer. "If by chance you wish to find some useful tips, I know of a bookstore that has every book under the sun."

Set snickered at this. "When did you get a sense of humor?"

Before his teammate could come up with a response, all four of them heard a voice behind them.

"Hey, goofballs."

Kale and Maza were surprised. Set looked pleased. Wyatt's eyes widened in horror. They all recognized that voice, and as soon as they turned around, it was just as they suspected.

Yang Xiao Long, standing there with a hand resting on her hip, used her other hand to wave at them. "What'cha doin'?"

"Hey, Yang!" Maza enthusiastically waved back at her. "We were just having breakfast." Then she shook Kale around a little. "Kale and Ren made pancakes! Isn't that awesome?"

Yang raised an eyebrow as she grinned at him. "Oh, no kidding?"

"Uhh… well…" Kale averted his eyes, clearly taken aback by that. "I-I-I helped, m-mostly. Ren's the expert."

In response, Maza nudged him slightly. "Aww, don't be so modest, Kale. They were really good."

"Were they?" Yang asked her. "Well, you're gonna have to call me the next time they do that. I might drop by with the others!" Then she turned her attention over to her team leader. "Hey, hotshot."

In turn, Set wiggled his eyebrows. "How's it going, rockfist?"

Maza looked at the two of them, apparently surprised.

"Oh, new nickname?" Yang chuckled in amusement. "How many more do you have?"

Set did the same thing. "Try me."

And then, as if having come across the greatest thing in the history of Remnant, the Faunus girl's eyes widened as she gasped silently, her hands only barely concealing the enormous smile that had taken over her face.

Yang looked over at Wyatt, completely missing Maza's reaction. "Hey, buddy."

"Good morning, Miss Xiao Long." Everyone could tell that he was forcing himself to keep a neutral tone. "Glad to see you in good health."

As he quickly made his way over to the sink, empty plate on hand, Yang just shrugged. "Okay, we're still doing that. Got it. I'll play your game."

He offered no response.

"Soooo…" Maza quickly broke the silence before it could get any more awkward. "What brings you around here, Yang?"

This got the blonde brawler's attention again. "Oh, yeah. Did any of you guys get anything this morning? Gift card? Fruit basket? Discount code for one of the local stores?"

"Not really, no." Kale shook his head. "Why do you ask?"

That seemed to surprise her. "Well, I got a weird letter this morning at our dorm room and I can't make sense out of it. I asked Ruby and the others if they knew anything about it, but they had no idea what it was about." She shrugged again. "I was going to ask Team JNPR about it, but…"

"Pancakes?" Set asked her.

Yang nodded. "Yep. Pancakes." She pointed at them. "I figured I'd ask you guys about it next." Then she gestured in Wyatt's direction. "Maybe Smiley over there heard something?"

He immediately tensed up at her suggestion, which they all noticed as soon as they looked at him. While she and the two brothers looked away soon after, Maza kept looking at him thoughtfully.

Kale shrugged while giving Yang an apologetic grin. "Sorry, can't say I know what that's about."

"Ditto." Set's response came quickly.

"Oh…" Yang could feel her arms dropping down to her sides. "Well, I guess that's a bust. Thanks anyway, guys." She gave her next comment a little thought before going for it. "Do you know where Team BRGD's room is?"

All of a sudden, Maza turned her attention back to her as she raised a hand. "Actually, Yang… I think I've got a better idea."

"Oh, yeah?" Her interest was immediately piqued.

Maza nodded rapidly with a huge grin on her face. "Why don't you borrow our team leader for a little while?"

"Uhh… what?" Set turned to her, more surprised than anything else.

Intrigued, Yang raised an eyebrow. "Why? Does he know something I don't?"

"Wait, what?" This quickly brought his attention back over to her.

And that in turn got a smirk out of her. "Is this a prank, guys? Is that it?" She brought a hand up to her hip again. "Because if it is, it sure was original. Now you've got me curious about the punchline!"

"Nope!" Maza rapidly shook her head. "I just thought he could help you find whoever wrote that letter." Then she pointed at Kale. "When we woke up, Kale wasn't there, and he tracked him down just with his sense of smell. Seriously, I think he's got a super— no, super-duper nose!"

Kale tilted his head at that. "Are you sure that wasn't just the smell of our pancakes?"

"Nah, that was her who sniffed those out." Set playfully nudged his brother. "You? All me."

Yang had herself a chuckle at this.

"Alright, I'm sold." She crossed her arms. "Think you can sniff out any vending machines where I can get some Sunflower Pop?"

Set scoffed at her. "Can I?"

"Confident. I like that." With that, Yang turned away and began to make her exit. "Come on, hotshot. We've got work to do."

He quickly followed suit. "Just try and stop me, Fireblast!"

As the two teens left the kitchen behind, Kale could only stare at the entrance they had just walked out through, his mouth hanging open at the whole display.

"Wow…" A surprised chuckle escaped him. "Nice."

Maza, meanwhile, had a goofy smile on her face. "I know, right? Your brother's so cool!"

"Yeah, well, I guess one of us had to be, right?" Kale stretched his arms for a bit. "Anyway, I think I'm going to go for a sparring session. I really need to get in top shape for that rematch." He turned to his teammate. "Do you want to join in?"

"Actually…" She looked at him with a sheepish grin. "I kinda had plans to hang around the city already." Then she brought a hand to the back of her head. "Maybe next time?"

Much to her relief, he didn't seem the least bit fazed by this. "Sure! Well, catch you later, okay?"

As he also made his exit, Maza waved at him, even though she knew he couldn't see it. "Bye, Kale! Later!"

Once she was sure he was out of earshot, she sighed loudly.

"Perfect."

And so, she turned her focus over to the only other person left in the kitchen.

Wyatt was still standing in front of the sink. Since she couldn't hear any water, she could only assume he had decided to remain quiet and listen to how everything was unfolding, probably in the hopes that everyone would just forget he was there. And maybe it worked with the others; she wasn't really sure.

One thing she was sure about, though? It didn't work on her.

Maza immediately began to approach him very slowly, tiptoeing as quietly as she could, and as soon as she was standing right behind him, she took a deep breath and raised her arms up, as if getting ready to tackle or push him.

"…You are aware that I can still hear you, I assume?"

Wyatt turned his head around so he could look at her… and was immediately confused by the enormous smile that she was sporting, which didn't seem forced or insincere.

"Yeah, I know."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You sound… satisfied, almost like you were planning for this outcome. Have you set some sort of elaborate scheme in motion?"

"Oh, you mean getting Set to hang out with Yang because he obviously likes her a lot, meaning they'll get to chat in a friendly manner all on their own without anyone else around and stay as far away from you as possible because you clearly don't want her to talk to you? Which is probably because you guys destroyed the gym and were sent to Professor Ozpin's office the last time that happened and you really, really, really don't want any of that to happen a second time?"

After her… very elaborate answer, she finally lowered her arms.

"Yep! You caught me!"

Wyatt found himself staring at her for a moment, confused by her answer, until he finally sighed in defeat and turned his head away, unable to come up with a response for her.

"Soooo… would you like to hang around the city?" Maza asked him. "I can show you where I bought those earplugs!"

He said nothing, but she could see him slowly raising his head, and when he finally turned to look at her, she noticed how surprised he was.

"Okay, here we are!"

Having followed Yang's lead, Set found himself standing outside Team RWBY's dorm room.

"I'm gonna assume you're talking about the door next to you and not the one behind me."

Yang scoffed in amusement. "Good going, snippy. That's Team JNPR's room behind you."

"A'ight, okay, now I know how you knew about the pancake thing." Set offhandedly pointed at her door. "After you, meteor."

With that, Yang took out her Scroll and opened the door with it. Even before stepping in, Set caught a whiff of the scent coming from the room; it smelled like library books and Atlesian perfume, with a slight hint of strawberries. Once he actually made his way inside, he was surprised by the way the room was set up.

Most of it looked pretty normal; there were several stacks of books organized in different parts of the room, along with a number of empty boxes lying around and a whole bunch of suitcases tucked away in one of the corners. However, he noticed that the curtains looked like they'd been slashed up and then stitched back together, and the beds…

"Are those… bunk beds?" Set asked on impulse.

Yang smirked. "Yep."

"And you're holding that one up… with books." He pointed at the beds on his right as he spoke.

She shrugged. "They work out better than you'd think."

"And that other one…" He turned to the ones on the left. "Who turned that bed into a wood hammock, and who turned that wood hammock into a camping tent?"

This made her chuckle again. "That'd be Ruby."

And then, as if on cue, the young Huntress suddenly came into view, her head poking out of what Set had playfully described as the "camping tent" over one of the bunk beds.

"Hey, guys!" Ruby waved at the two of them. "Pretty cool, right, Set? Weiss kept saying that there was no way it'd be stable, but we proved her wrong!"

The sheer amount of pride in her voice made Yang grin. "We sure did, sis."

"…You were there all this time." Set, meanwhile, just seemed confused.

Ruby nodded.

"A'ight, that explains the strawberries." He quickly scratched the back of his neck for a bit. "What'cha doin' there, Hoodie?"

In response, she brought her Scroll into view. "Oh, just playing one of my favorite games, Kung Fu Ninja Ultimate Slayer Death Battle!"

"A.K.A. the best game ever." Yang chipped in.

Set nodded in agreement. "With the worst name ever."

"I know, right?" Ruby and Yang answered in unison.

The Faunus boy shrugged with an amused grin before looking around. "So, where's that letter you want me to sniff out?"

"Right, the letter." Yang walked over and reached up to the other top bed, grabbing something before going up to Set again. "Hope it doesn't smell too much like all of us."

This time, it was him who laughed as he took the letter from her. "Cute."

From the moment he opened it and had a look at the contents, Yang studied his reactions. At first, he seemed amused by the whole thing, but as he read through the letter itself, his face turned more and more confused. He looked around for a moment, as if looking for something, then at Ruby, then at her, and then back to the letter. She could see him mouthing the words, stumbling over them despite not even vocalizing them, and what little sounds he did make just came off like his brain couldn't process what was happening.

It brought her own reaction to it to mind.

"…Okay, this is either the worst love letter or the nicest stalker scare in the history of Remnant." The joke was all his own, however. "Is this a prank, you guys? Is that it?"

That immediately made Yang laugh as she realized something. "That's my line!"

"Yeah, well, it was too good." He closed the letter and just looked at it in confusion. "But seriously, where did it come from?"

Ruby merely shrugged.

"No idea." Yang, meanwhile, had more to say. "It was just there at the door when we woke up. No signature or anything like that." She patted him in the shoulder. "But hey, that's why you're here, isn't it?"

For a moment, Set seemed to be taken aback by her question, but after taking a deep breath, he soon returned to his usual expression.

"…Right. Let's do this." He quickly brought the letter right up to his face and began to sniff it. A few short whiffs, followed by a slightly longer one, before his eyes suddenly widened. "Wait…"

As he continued to examine it, his reaction had the two sisters intrigued, but this time, Ruby was the one who spoke up. "What's wrong, Set?"

He took one last, very long whiff before looking like he had just realized something important… only for his face to suddenly reflect both disbelief and annoyance.

"You gotta be kidding me…"

Okay, definitely less than a year this time. I can't even begin to tell you how good it feels to not have to apologize for taking that long to update this, especially after where we stopped the last time.

Like I said at the top, me and the guys finally managed to resolve the issue that kept us from working on this story on a more regular basis. I do have plenty of projects that I hope to work on by myself, and those will continue to come at their own pace (but hopefully faster than they've been for a while), but for this story? I can definitely guarantee that updates won't ever be as slow as they've been for that past couple chapters.

Once again, no names to exposit on this time. What can we expect to see when it comes to this letter? That'll have to wait until the next chapter, but for now, just like the last time, from all three of us…

This is Umbra the Hedgehog signing off.