"That was rather... interesting."

"You can put a little more spice in it, you know." Roman lit up a smoke, giving Neo a small pat on the head; the woman simply ignored the act, instead setting her sights on the lab surrounding them.

"Alright then." Clover let out, and then followed up with a quick hum before trying again. "I found Neo's skills in shadowing us quite curious."

"You're just pushing our buttons now."

"Neo doesn't appear to mind." Clover's observation was correct, even Roman could see that, but she was more of a wildcard than anything; trying to tie sensibility to her was like buttering a bicycle chain - if you weren't already questioning the reason you were doing it, then you were beyond saving, at least in Roman's eyes.

"Neo cares about action and ice-cream; at best we're just her toys."

"Then I hope she plays nicely with us." Roman nearly spit once he heard that, and was very very quick to correct the man.

"Don't say it like that."

"Say what?"

"This conversation ends now." Roman was certain Clover knew what he was doing, but unfortunately for him, he didn't seem to understand that while Neo didn't actively care about what people said, she was more than willing to take up any offers. Thing was, Neo didn't play nice, and she rather enjoyed inflicting pain; kinky little minx like her would keep you alive, but as you'd come to know, that was even worse.

"As you wish." Clover finished off, turning and walking ahead to knock on the door. Before his fist could even collide with the metal, it zipped into the wall, allowing space to be passed through. Clover then hummed curiously. "We're expected."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Roman wandered over, shooing both Neo and the guy. "Get a move on already; go on, git."

"Pushy." It tumbled out playfully, and as Neo chuckled in her usual soundless way, Roman merely rolled his eyes.

Kids these days.

"Hello?" An older, more jolly male voice rang out, and Clover was the first to respond.

"It's just us."

"Clover, is that you?" It called back, and so the addressed soldier reiterated.

"Yes, and I'm here with the pair."

"I see..." Roman stood mainly on the side as the man came out, being driven along by his chair; the thing was motorized to move him around with minimal Dust cost. Dr. Pietro Polendina didn't wear the most skeptical of faces, but he approached with an image of suspension anyways. "Roman; I didn't quite fancy seeing you again so soon. You haven't buried yourself into more trouble, have you?"

"I wouldn't say 'buried', it's more like a jealous ex." Roman kept his sass on the lower end as he spoke; Dr. Polendina was one of the few level heads in Atlas, and unlike everyone else, he wasn't near-insufferable.

Pietro hummed again, morphing it into a slight chuckle near the end.

"I wouldn't discount it." His voice evened. "Penny has been rather excited during your spars in the city, and it's nice to know you've kept property damage to a minimum."

"Well, I kind of need to keep the people alive if I'm going to extort them." Roman crossed his arms with a smirk, throwing aside a hand. "It's simple business practice really."

"Alright, and seeing as you're very much afloat, tell me: what is it that's brought on this visit?"

The older man treated this more as a casual affair, which may have appeared odd to the outside viewer, but for Roman, it was yet another point on the list of reasons Pietro was the go-to for most services. Ironwood had opened up the doctor's services to both Neo and him when they'd first agreed to help with Atlas's 'issues', and so far the man's improvements to their equipment never failed.

Clover interrupted the pair, cutting off Roman before he could speak.

"I'm sorry to intrude, but we were hoping to borrow Penny's services."

"Oh?" Pietro seemed a little surprised by this. "And what scene will you be creating this time?"

"Nothing involving me." Roman stole the spotlight again, sending a slight glare to Clover, who waved for him to take it away: turning back, he did just that. "We're currently tracking the idiots who stole Agent P's newest toy; I'm just here to help sniff 'em out - she can handle them once we smoke the guys out."

"Ah, so it's a cooperative venture." The chair-bound man chuckled, and soon evened back out into a lax tone of voice. "Agent P - as you put it - has yet to finish her patrol, but she'll be back soon. You may wait here if you wish though, she shouldn't be long."

"Right." Roman then stretched a little. "Always a little waiting." Then, after a quick puff of air, he called out once more. "Say, what have you been doing down here all this time anyway; you can't just be upgrading the girl scout all day long."

"While I tend to my daughter regularly, no, I have... other concerns to deal with."

"Wanna share? We've got time." Roman took the smoke from his mouth, slipping a small cubic clip from his pocket and putting out the end - he was more in mind with saving these as much as he could, and he'd had his fill for the time being. Slipping the cigar away, he set his attention back on Pietro, who waved them along, and they followed.

"I've been doing a few more upgrades to our systems, believe it or not; our Grimm radars can never be too accurate."

"Well, we're already about to head out and take back a radar upgrade anyways; how will this one be any different than the previous ones? Doesn't it detect Grimm well enough already?"

"Yes, however that isn't why I'm trying to improve them." Pietro stopped, and before them all appeared to be a massive holographic screen. Roman took a good look at it, taking note of the outline of a person clearly displayed, however it seemed to have some sort of pixilation across certain points, and others were just cut off. "This new hobby of mine was sparked when Penny brought back some of her findings from Beacon."

"Okay." Roman tossed out, squinting at the display; there was something familiar about it. And then it hit. "An aura scan, right? As in, one from the scanners which are always being used to check on a hunter's aura; the kind in hospitals and the academies."

"It is." Pietro said, hardening his voice. "And it's precisely this that I've been trying to figure out." He then clicked away at a nearby keyboard on the desk before the screen, which then brought up another Humanoid figure, only this one lacked the pixelation and missing areas of the image. "When I first looked over the data she brought back, I noticed what she meant in her reports."

"You mind elaborating a bit." Roman sent an irritated gaze. "I'm not seeing anything weird yet."

"Yes, sorry." Pietro cleared his voice, and spoke. "As you know, general Ironwood has ordered lookout for the figure he's code-named 'Black-Heart'; otherwise known as Vermillion Rose. Believe it or not, my daughter ended up crossing paths with him back before Beacon fell, however the reports she sent back were... well... I believe the graph before us displays it fairly well."

"What about it?" Roman questioned, stating the basic observation. "One side's fine, and the other is all broken up and jumbled - might wanna get that fixed."

"The screen is fine, but yes, the aura displayed is jumbled."

"The screen is-" Roman paused, sighed, dropped his head into his open palm, and then looked back up. "Okay, let me guess." He pointed up to the screen. "This here is an aura graph, as I've previously stated, yes?"

"It is."

"And that..." He flicked his finger towards the image on the left, which contained the pixelation. "Wouldn't happen to be our spooky little boy, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, this is the scan Penny brought back." Pietro never commented as Roman looked to wilt, instead continuing on with his explanation. "As you can see, parts of the man's aura are broken, and others are missing altogether... or so it would seem on a first glance."

"Excuse me." Clover called, perking up a brow as he next asked. "What do you mean by 'seem'?"

"Take a look at this." Pietro typed away again, and this time the image of the figure with full aura was replaced with one that contained noticeable holes. "This here is my aura. As you can see, parts are missing, which is an effect due to Penny's creation."

"I'm well aware." Clover let his tone fall a little. "You gave her part of your own aura, right?"

"Correct." Pietro's face then shifted. "However, I want you to take a look at this." He then zoomed both images in, and on the right there was an outline around the holes of Pietro's aura, whereas Vermillion's had none; the aura just... vanished. "As you can see, the areas of my missing aura are visibly present, showing the cut-off point of what I gave up. However, as we see with Mr. Rose over here, his aura appears to just 'disappear' upon first glance."

"Alright then." Clover crossed his arms. "But it doesn't quite sound like you believe it just vanished."

"No. I have a theory, and this may be a long-shot, but I think that his aura hasn't so much 'disappeared' as it is 'unreadable'. I believe it is still there, and that we just don't have a scanner advanced enough to detect it."

"Now hold on just a second." Roman shot up, his face appearing more and more agitated with every passing second. "What kind of sense does that make? How can you see half of it, and not all? If that was true, wouldn't it all be invisible?"

"That's where this gets interesting." While Pietro's voice remained calm, Roman nearly tumbled over with how tired he seemed, and Neo just offered a pat to his back, all the while keeping her focus ahead as the doctor continued. "These readable sections of aura, they don't seem to be his own, which is something Penny herself reported noticing back then."

"And it gets even worse!" Roman popped up again, once more ignored by all but Neo's sympathetic motions; her hand was quite kind to his back, even as he was losing his mind.

"Penny met quite a lot of people at the festival, and she'd cataloged all the data collected, mostly for study on how to appear more Human. However, when observing Mr. Rose's aura, she noticed how it appeared to be an exact match with one Ruby Rose - even in its fragmented state."

"But aura is unique to the individual." Clover pointed out. "There's no possible way to have someone else's... unless."

"Unless it is stolen, or given." Pietro finished, typing again, and bringing up another image to compare. "However, that isn't quite as solid as one might believe. Take my daughter for example: as you see here, her aura is full, and yet is only a fragment of my own, but look closer, and tell me what you see."

"It has subtle shifts throughout." Clover observed, and the older gentleman nodded.

"Yes, it does: this is because it is adjusting to Penny's own consciousness; her mindset, if you will. Aura on its own is simply a form of energy at its basis, and while it makes up the souls of all living things, it is not tied uniquely to any one of them. However, when we're born, all of us end up developing unique personalities and mindsets, and from here the soul will shift its aura output and type: this creates what we know as our aura signatures, and is how we can determine one individual from the next, even when disguising their physical appearance. This is also how people end up developing semblances, but everybody knows that already."

"I... didn't know it was so… personal, I thought everyone's aura was always unique; I never knew it wasn't." Clover admitted, and Pietro hummed.

"Hardly any do. Usually, this doesn't matter, but what it means for Penny specifically, is that - given enough time - my aura will shift, and become unique to her."

"Hold on." Clover paused for a bit, and then carried on with a more curious face. "Wouldn't that imply she'd end up creating her own unique soul?"

"I do not know. All we can do is wait and see." He then paused himself, stilling a little as his eyes hardened on the screen. "But I believe something similar may be happening to our more curious friend. At first I believed he may have been related to her in some way, and that our systems were just reading it wrong, but no matter what upgrades I employed, the results remained the same: that is indeed Ms. Rose's aura. Siblings and family often share similar auras, but never exact copies-"

"Which is exactly what this is, isn't it?" Roman appeared to be back from his mid-life crisis, now huffing his cigar again, which from the looks of it was nearly extinguished altogether. Pietro hummed in acknowledgement.

"Yes: the parts of his aura that are visible, they are a complete replica of the young girl's."

"And once again, little red is here to mess up my day." Roman took a deep, deep breath as he restrained his contempt. "Don't we have any good news for once, news that - preferably - has nothing to do with the walking wad of insanity that is the kid up top?"

"Perhaps..." Pietro then shut down the screen, and turned back. "In my pursuits to create a system capable of detecting the man's aura, I've made a bit of a breakthrough. Our scanners can now not only detect aura and Grimm themselves, but also a sort of energy emanating from the Grimm, an energy that appears incredibly close to aura."

"Close?" Clover tired, rolling his hand. "Or perhaps, you imply this is the Grimm's version of aura?"

"I believe so."

"I don't even care anymore." Roman shook his head, completely defeated. "I just don't care."

"Don't care about what, Roman Torchwich?" Instantly, that partially lifeless, yet oh so chipper feminine voice had Roman resurrecting from the grave, and he bore all too happy a face.

"Agent P!"

"Agent R!" Penny replied with a smile and salute. "Salutations, nemesis of Mantle!" Her arms found themselves back at her side. "Are we off to prison again?"

"Not this time Penny." Clover called from behind, all the while Neo offered a chipper wave, which the town's protector repaid with her own. "Actually, we're here to help you. We've found out who has your upgrades, and Roman here is going to help us track them down so we can recover them."

"Joy! We are allies this time; what a wonderful change of the status quo!"

Roman then popped on over, wrapping an arm around the metal-woman's shoulders with a relaxed grin of his own; more relieved than he realistically should have been.

"You can say that again."

.

.

So they used Raven to get to me.

Ruby stared blankly, pale, as if she'd seen a phantom. We'd not been separated for too long, truthfully, but something about her appeared startled. Even so, her cautious face was only broken by the surrounding action, and by surrounding action, I meant the other Ace-Ops pointing all manner of weaponry towards the group - they appeared to have come down quickly, and had surrounded the group during the initial arrival when Raven stepped through the vortex. They consisted not only of Ruby, but the rest as well, and it appeared as though their surprise visit wasn't so welcome.

"Atlas colors." Raven muttered from ahead, and I heard the click of her blade as she slowly drew it. Being visually blocked by everyone else, I could only assume she was readying up for the fight which would no doubt break out if somebody didn't clear the air immediately. "So, he did manage to find his way here after all."

"Remain where you are." Came the voice of Harriot, and while she wasn't armed, she seemed ready to go with her fists raised and a stern look on her face. "Otherwise we'll be forced to act."

"And so will I." Raven didn't seem all that impressed, almost lax really. There was a tense silence that followed, however I quit paying attention to everyone else at that point, instead setting my focus back on Ruby.

Her shock had partially faded, but her eyes still remained locked on me. However, at the same time, just looking at her myself gave me this odd sort of... tingle at the back of my skull. She must have noticed something, as her eyelids fell faintly into a less startled view, and she very carefully appeared to take in a breath. Her footsteps were shifting and careful with her walk, and for a second they stilled as the instructor among the Ace-Ops pointed her weapon towards the girl, and an audible click echoed out as it a round was loaded up.

"Not another step."

Yang was almost ready to leap, only for Qrow to hold her back, stopping her from lashing out. With a growl the woman's fury was supposedly suppressed, but for how long was anyone's guess. No, I knew what would set Yang off: all it took was someone making a move, someone other than them...

And me.

"You're quick." I said, ignoring everyone else and approaching the crimson-cloaked young woman, seeing her eyes seem to widen a little as I stopped before her. I was certain someone called out to me, but I wasn't listening to them: Ruby was my focus right now, and being so close made that tingle inside swell larger. "Did you make it to Argus, or has Raven delivered you from the woods?"

"W-we spent a few days with Jaune's family." The girl muttered just below standard volume - not quite a whisper, but deeper than the norm. "She only showed up today."

"Today..." I paused for a bit and flicked my sights to the older woman, who simply continued to stare down her not-quite-yet opponents. Internally, I wondered why it was now she chose to show herself: perhaps she'd finally managed to secure safety for her tribe? Raven herself stood differently however, as even from here the rigid caution she often bore from our last meeting was noticeably missing: what I saw was confidence, which begged the question as to what sat so surredly in her mind?

"What happened to you?" The young Rose before me spoke with sadness, which brought my vision back to her. I watched as the dampening emotion spilled over her features, and saw how they soaked each and every dry refuge in its tide. I felt her hand cup my cheek, and then something changed.

I recoiled unwillingly with a hiss, feeling the slight burn as it zapped through the skin. Something was wrong, different, or maybe scrambled. I saw from my peripheral vision the glow around her hand, and sending a sparse look, the wound I had inflicted during our parting shone bright; a reminder of my previously rash reaction. Seeing it again, I felt another spark, although this one was softer, weaker even, and unlike the previous, it did not leave me with a burning sense of hate.

Like a bolt of lightning splitting the old withered oaks atop the mountains, it hit me: the realization that I'd been graced with an indescribable shock of hatred, with its sudden entrance having torn apart the scene, leaving nothing but shreds of smoking splintered bark as a reminder of its power. Hate... that same profound rage which governed my insanity once before, that same hatred my younger, more juvenile self gulped down greedily as he wrought unjust pain upon the innocent of my last nightmare, before all feeling abandoned me. It left almost as soon as it arrived, and quickly enough my sights turned back to Ruby, who was now shaking a little, most likely holding the belief she'd hurt me.

She couldn't be further from the truth.

"I-I'm sorry, I-"

"It's fine." I spat, perhaps a bit too hard considering she stumbled into another recoil. "I was merely surprised." I let my eyes settle on her still glowing hand. "Is that not the injury I left you?"

"Y-yeah... yeah, it is." Ruby appeared to calm down again, and her eyes found themselves wide once more. "B-but I'm not mad or anything. I'm not... I'm not upset. It's... kind of my fault anyway; I never thought about how you might have been feeling, you know, after everything."

"You're wrong: it was entirely my fault - I'm the one who struck first."

"I mean... okay, but-"

"Don't take blame for something out of your control." I clarified, not only for her, but perhaps myself as well. The shock she offered, it left me with only a sparse second of it, but along with that hatred I felt other things slip in as well: they were gone now, but that didn't change the fact they'd returned.

Perhaps another feel would produce similar results.

"I... okay." She breathed in deep again, exhaling after as the expression settled. "Alright." Her eyes then fell back to her hand, and she held it up, observing it closely; she appeared almost perplexed at the sight of it. "It's never glowed this long before though."

"May I see it again?" I tried, watching as her eyes hardened a little with worry.

"Are you sure? It might shock you again."

"I'm certain." Shock or no, the touch had temporarily bestowed me with feeling, and if that was the case, then I needed to figure out why. She next extended the limb my way, and I took hold with a grasp.

With her hand clutched tightly in mine, I once again got to experience that previous explosion of emotion, of hatred. It raged across every surface, ripping across the skin in ways that left me nearly doubling over. I remained standing however, and as I looked to our linked touch, I saw a sort of smoke seeping from underneath the leather plating along my arm, and soon enough...

Flame.

It was black even as it flickered from beneath the leather covering it, and yet, it did not burn the material. It simply billowed as it grew, never coming out more than a sparse inch around the rough bindings shadowing it. I then recalled how such black fires looked before, in another instance granted to me by the obelisks, and as I cast my vision downwards, I saw how the black fire flowed evenly along my veins, seemingly ignored by my attire. The hate was all encompassing, and yet I didn't feel the urge to unleash it upon anything; it just sat there, patiently.

Once Ruby collapsed however, I released her hand entirely, and soon fell to catch her.

"Ruby?" I felt it, that miniscule drip of worry, now just a tad greater than what I could muster previously. It was not all back, but somehow, contact with her wound had done... something. The palm no longer glowed, and the immense wildfire of rage had faded back to its more somber life between the cracks of my mind, but I knew I'd be able to raise it anew, to the same levels my concern now sat at.

"I'm fine, I'm good, really." She removed herself from my grasp and made to stand again, to which I followed. I knew she was lying, but I couldn't find the strength to seek any more answers than she was willing to give.

I instead ran though what I'd experienced in our contact, because while I felt myself regain my emotions to an extent, I also felt something being taken from me. I paused, shaking myself mentally, and instead focused on Ruby; I could dwell on those concerns later, right now I needed to keep an eye on her, and drum up whatever beats of hope I could that I hadn't harmed her.

That was the one concern I now wore.

.

.

"I can't do it without instruc-"

"Don't lie to me!"

Ruby didn't know what she saw, only that it flashed before her so quickly she'd lost her balance. She could feel his arms as he caught her, and yeah, it was kind of weird he needed to catch her in the first place, but that didn't stop the instances from blaring out.

"Fine, alright." The man had a similar appearance to Jinn, even lacking the features which would have made her blush. The image shattered again, but once more filled her mind. "However, it needs to be possible."

Ruby wanted to question it, to ask why she was seeing this now, and both why her head ached and her heart burned. However, such a luxury was not accounted for, and she was greeted with more.

"Jinn! Have I not made it possible already?" The spirit looked no different than before, even as she floated above the desolate lifeless landscape, backdropped by the shattered crimson moon. The scene was made even more conflicting as a hand held up what looked to be a golden tiara. "Answer my final question!"

Jinn seemed apprehensive, and yet, she relented; Ruby had never heard such blatant anger seep from her own voice before, and it frightened her a little.

"That which has occurred can never be erased, nor can it be changed or replaced. However: yes, you may employ Ambrosius, to stand before them upon Beacon's land once more, although they will recall none of that which has transpired."

Ruby saw her vision ripple away, back towards the glowing man, and the expression of genuine concern on his face sent a spike of fear deep into what felt like her very soul, and yet no such panic was present in her own voice, which then rang loudly.

"Now do it!"

Ruby saw the vision shift, and behind the man she spied something truly wild. Far off in the distance and centered curtly in the dampened sky sat a pair of massive frightful dragons. One bathed in darkness, almost skeletal even, and another radiating light, somewhat coiling around the sky. From them all color looked to fade, and while the pale gold one moved with purpose, the hazy purple one - nearing total midnight even - seemed almost... bored, and sat in its position plainly, barely mustering any movements whatsoever.

The blue man grimaced, shaking somewhat as he shot his hands forward, and soon enough a small white orb sat between them all, and began to expand.

"Fine. You don't even know what you're doing, but fine: here." He froze for a bit as the blinding white vortex began increasing in size, nearly devouring all and only looking to speed up its growth with every second. Then, only as the light began to edge closest to him, did his face twist with what Ruby could only describe as regret. "Remember: you asked for this."

"Ruby?" She heard his voice, and now, saw his face. The darkness coating it from before seemed to die down, and the smokey fire had dissipated entirely, leaving him similar to when they parted, only darker in a way.

"I'm fine, I'm good, really." It was a lie, but right now she needed a moment to herself. She was certain V was once again responsible for this, however she still had no idea why. Who was that other figure, the one who looked so much like Jinn, and why were the Brother Gods of all people up in the sky? They looked identical to how they'd appeared in Jinn's vision, right as they annihilated the world. None of it made sense, and now she was left off even more lost than before.

At least you seem alright. Looking up at V, she realized how much easier he was on the eyes - now that he wasn't smoking anyways. Crimson, white, and black: he kind of reminded Ruby of her older outfit, at least in color anyway; he didn't have the cloak, but the short cloth at his waist seemed to make up for that lacking accessory, even if it was a little short compared to her own strip of red.

Ruby pulled herself up, and as she tried to run over what she'd seen, heard someone call out in the distance; someone she hadn't heard in a long while. Turning her eyes away from her friend, she spied general Ironwood right as he walked into the fray.

"Students." He turned his head deeper in, and a subtle smile slipped into place "Qrow." Next his eyes fell upon Yang's mom, Raven, and he sported a questioning face. "And Raven as well. Interesting; I never believed we'd personally meet one another, face to face."

"Had the rules stayed the same, we wouldn't have." Raven sheathed her blade, flinging her eyes to look at V, only for them to face forward again . "But things have changed, and I guess you can say my own favored fairy-tale has come into play."

Ironwood appeared a little conflicted with what she said, but Ruby watched that confliction fade as her uncle Qrow spoke up.

"I'll explain it later: it's an old family story I never really brought up to Oz; it just kept slipping my mind."

"Right." The general returned his sights to the whole of the group. "Regardless, I'm glad to see you all again, more than you can possibly imagine."

Something in Ruby's mind clicked as she saw him shift his eyes over them, and she called out.

"Sir: we need to talk." Rather than give him a chance to respond, Ruby unclipped the relic from her belt and held it aloft, watching his face falter for just a split second.

"I see." He held up his wrist, and seemed to press and hold a spot on it. "Winter."

"Sir." The voice came from said wrist, and Ruby assumed he had some sort of communication device hidden somewhere underneath his glove. "We're currently searching-"

"There's no need: I've found the intrusion. Inform the others that everything's fine, and prepare a few rooms in the dorms - we have guests who'll be using them later on."

"Yes sir." The tail end of the words cut off, and the general simply turned and started off. "Come with me: we'll talk in my office."

Author's note

…

Here we are again, only this time, things happened - and didn't; weird, huh?

Penny finally made her grand return, and by golly it was about time; I missed the little bucket of bolts. Roman and Clover also got a crash course in aura reading, as well as what Penny had mentioned long long ago - I would have brought it up with Penny herself earlier, but it took forever to get here. Besides, who better to give diagnostics than a doctor?

Ruby's come face to face with V, and it seems she's aided him just a little bit; where this leads is anyone's guess.

A quick note before we leave however: the next few chapters are going to be much shorter than they are now - my new job has started me out with some long hours, so I won't be able to put out large chapters like this every Friday, they'll be short like before.

Anyway, that's it for this time, see you next Chapter.